Joy

I'm finally coming up for air. Sometimes, life can just knock the air out of you and it takes awhile to come back up. But I'm here! And a sweet friend (Lavon) has reminded me that through life, you can't forget the Joy! Joy doesn't mean the outside appearance of happiness, but the internal gratitude of the small stuff. And I noticed that I don't have to look for Joy - it is already present...in my friends, in my husband and children, and the fact that I am loved. This weekend I enjoyed watching Brandon go tubing and wake boarding for the first time. The pure excitement on his face was priceless. That truly made my day. The weekend before, I went to a wedding in Tahoe. Man, I am old! It was a little girl I use to babysit...scary! I spent alone time with my husband, without constant interruption...and I can now remember why I married him in the first place! Gianna and I went to the Miley Cyrus concert two weekends ago. When Miley Cyrus came out, I watched the raw joy on Gianna's face. It's amazing that a six year old knows what to do at a concert! So all in all....I got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in my heart!

Just When...

I thought I could breathe, cancer hit again. A lot of my friends say that in order to make this blog...you gotta have cancer. Frankly, I'm sick of writing about this! My friend Vickey (the one in the pink) just found out last night that she has to ride this journey. Two things I know for sure is this......

1. A group of girlfriends (such as us) can not be reckoned with. Our strength is uncompromising

2. God has a plan, even when we don't know what it is - His hand is in it all. We just need to learn to trust it.

I'm still processing it all. Not much more to say...only that I love you Vickey!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINA

What is in a number? In the past 365 days, this number has built a friendship for a lifetime. Last year at this time, Nina didn't know she had breast cancer. And through all the struggles of the past year, I have learned to love this woman ( in a non-lesbian way!). She has a humor that is unparalleled. A strength that is bottomless. Courage beyond the lion in the Wizard of OZ. And today I am so happy that I get to celebrate another year with this amazing friend! I love you so much. Although, I have to say... I am jealous that you will be getting a new and uplifting rack! Happy Birthday Nina!

I Just Love Him!

I was always that type of kid that was every one's friend in school. To think of it..I'm pretty much that way as an adult too. I never really was a part of a main group at school. I always felt bad for those kids that didn't have a lot of friends. I guess, maybe, that's why Brandon is the way he is. He came home from school the other day and said he felt bad for this kid in his class. "Mom. He doesn't wear the type of clothes everyone else does. And he pretty much wears the same thing. No one wants to be his partner in class and no one wants to play with him at P.E. But I told him I would be his partner and so I played with him." I told Brandon that is one quality that I love about him..his empathy and compassion. "Brandon, you are so amazing! Do you know how you made that kid feel by doing something so simple as that!" I looked over at Brandon and I knew he understood his impact. He had big tears that settled right underneath his bottom lid and said, " I know, Mom. I feel sorry for him. That's why I did it!" Gosh, I just love that little guy.

Broken Prayers

The kids and I were driving on our street, when I saw this cat that just didn't look right. After further investigation, I noticed the cat was bleeding out of every part of its face. It must have gotten run over by a car, but was still walking around in a daze. Sadly, I called several places in our area and nobody could help. Feeling hopeless and disgusted with our Community, I crawled under a big bush, in my work clothes and high heels. I captured the injured cat and drove his little battered body to the vet. As the kids and I were leaving, Brandon said, "Mom...I prayed for that cat. I prayed that he would be okay." Knowing well enough that this kitty was beyond survival, I said, "Well..sometimes God doesn't always answer our prayers, the way we think He should. Sometimes, He just uses us to help. Maybe God brought us to the cat, so that he wouldn't suffer anymore." Tears ran down Brandon's face. It is such a hard lesson to learn that some of God's answer to our prayers is a simple..No. And to most of us (especially a nine year old) it just doesn't make sense.

The Mind Of A Six Year Old

It was 7:59pm and 59 seconds. To be honest, I was done being a parent for the night and I was so ready for the animals, I mean "darling children" to go to bed. I tucked them in, wishing that I had slipped them a little benadryl, to help them sleep better - which I would not do, for all those astonished mothers out there. Anyways, I got cozy on the couch, nestled my bowl of strawberries and whip cream on my lap, preparing my mind to slow down. And I heard it. WHAAA! WHAAA! WHAAA! Frustrated I got up and walked to Gianna's room. "What's wrong" I asked, pretending that I was concerned. "I don't want to grow up" she cried with the biggest tears I have seen! "Why are you worried about that?" "Because", she replied. "I don't want to drive!" "Well, " I said, trying hard not to laugh. " You won't be grown up for a long time. You don't have to worry". I hugged her. "How many days?" she asked as she wrapped her tiny fingers around my neck. "Thousands upon thousands" I said as I kissed her wet chubby face.

My Lovely Nail

I've had ghetto toes for the last few weeks. My feet have gone through the ringer with white water rafting and camping for a week. All I had left was a smudge of pink on the big toe with a decal of a white flower. Damn...I got my moneys worth on that five dollar decal! Lesson learned..never go to a party in flip flops where all your friends can see your ghetto toes! They will pin you down and give you a good ol fashion pedicure. How many friends does it take to paint 10 toes? Three! One to wipe off the nail polish, one to file and put on the base coat, and one to paint them bright orange. The best part? Pretending we were in a chinese nail salon! Pick you color...you want decal?....I give you one pretty nail! Cindy and Ronda tried to give me a decal of a blue flower, but it ended up looking like a blue blob. Thank goodness, through the wine, they admitted that the fee (free) decal was butt ugly....and they started over again! Gotta love those friends who pretend that they are chinese manicurists! Not only that....they look just as good and I saved myself 30 bucks! Not only do I have one lublee (lovely) nail, I have 10 lublee (lovely) toes with no decal! You know you have good friends when they can touch your gross feet. Thanks for the makeover Pam, Cindy, and Ronda! You be friend fo long time!