Wordless Wednesday

 

My sister and her husband had their wedding reception back home this past weekend. I couldn't be there, but my husband and auntie took pictures for me. This is one of my favorites with my sister and their cake 

Hawaii Day 4

Thursday, August 25

I can't share too many pictures of the wedding day, since Colleen hasn't been able to share, but I think I'm safe in sharing just these few. 

On Thursday, August 25 at 5 pm, my sister got to marry her best friend. It was the most beautiful, most personal ceremony I've had the chance to attend in quite some time. 

I spent most of the day with Colleen helping (and by helping I mean supervising) her getting ready and then had the all important job of holding the bouquet during the ceremony. 

I am just going to share a couple pics, special things that jumped out to me. 

Can't get ready without COFFEE! 

The bouquet

she wore my mom necklace around her bouquet, so a piece of her was there 

This pin belonged to my grandfather's mother (Oma Schallig) 

The pearls belonged to my grandmother 

Hopefully I will be able to share more pictures of the actual bride and groom at a later date. Until then, enjoy what you have!

Wordless Wednesday

My sister is engaged! 
Wedding is August 25 in Lihue, Hawaii

 

A SHORT Visit

 So, when she was asked what she wanted for her 16th birthday from her aunt sissy (my sister), McKayla said all she wanted was a visit. 

Because my sister spoils my kiddos, this weekend she and her boyfriend drove over and picked her up for a slightly longer then 1 week visit. 

Had to get a "selfie" while sissy was here!

They drove the entire way here, stayed a night in a hotel and left the next. To that I say, NO THANK YOU! We are talking an 8 hour drive. Not something I could do. I'm too old for that! But McKayla is thrilled to be visiting. She gets to spend the first few days with my bff then head over to Colleen's house when she's off work for the holiday. 

She will return home with the rest of the family December 8. We have to come over for a funeral, so it worked out perfectly for a short visit and bringing her back. 

When I asked my sister for pictures (I was thinking more their week together, but she figured right away was good!) 

Hopefully I get more pictures then that during the visit. =) Happy Monday all~

31 Days of Free Writes: Share

I have to share something else I did this weekend. My amazing sister was here and it was a surprise to me visit. Little did I know, along with the visit she had already booked and paid for our sister tattoo appointments. So, Sunday afternoon we went to Resurrected Tattoo and got inked by the lovely Donna.

We had already decided not to go with the traditional sister tattoo but instead went with something more us.

Since we were both born in Florida (Navy babies!) we picked Florida animals, made them cartoonish (isn't that just more fun??) and gave them both baby blues. Now we have a coordinating pair of Florida natives adorning our lower legs.

That makes four tattoos for me! Only two more in the planning stages but who knows. Tattoos are certainly addicting.

My Sister

Today is national sister day. 

When I was younger, my sister drove me crazy. She and I are eighteen months apart and we shared a room almost all of my growing years. To this day, I remember the fighting but I also remember the fun times we had. 

There was this one time we were making jewelry (basically just stringing beads) but she held her string out to me, her fingers holding each side of where she wanted me to cut. Well, I cut the string as well as her finger. She ended up with stitches in her finger. To this day, when I think about that it makes me feel bad, but she hardly ever gives me grief about it. 

My sister and I have become amazingly close since loosing my mom. I never would have imagined the relationship we now share. I call her every day during my commute. When something happens, she is literally the first person I call. When I need help, she is always there. She has bailed me out of more situations then I can count. 

Not only is she an amazing sister, she is the best aunt to my girls. She spoils them more then I will ever be able to. They love their aunt sissy so much and are constantly talking about her or asking about her. She may be a fun aunt, but she's also there when I need her support. I remember several occasions when I was at my wits end with Natalie. When I was close to pulling all my hair out, I would call Colleen and ask her to talk to Natalie. Every. Freaking. Time she got that kid to calm down. She's like the tantrum whisperer, kills them with a simple conversation. 

There is no way I can possibly tell her how much she means to me. I know when she reads this, she will understand. God blessed me with a sister like you. 

WW: Six Summer Moments

Linking up with Mama Kat again this week for writers workshop. If you want to learn more about it, click the link at the bottom of this post. The prompt I chose this week is: List your top 6 favorite summer moments so far.

1. My feet in the sand. Being able to watch my little family enjoy the ocean.

2. Hearing McKayla tell me about how she passed her swim test at camp and could go off the diving board.

3. Listening to Alivia's story about the pirate who was at campfire one night at camp. She told me how the pirate looked just like her aunt Sissy. Explaining that it couldn't have been her aunt Sissy because she wasn't wearing glasses and Aunt Sissy can't see without her glasses. (PS It was aunt Sissy

4. Seeing pictures of all the girls at their swimming lessons.

5. Watching how quickly Natalie is learning how to spot slug bugs and how hard she hits. That girl plays to WIN!

6. The moment all three girls coming running for me, knocking me over with their excited hugs, the day they came back after 16 days away from me.


This post inspired by:

Wordless Wednesday

Daddy and I

Sissy and I

Alivia, Colleen, Natalie, Odin, Daddy and McKayla 

Wonderful Weekend Surprise!

This weekend, I knew my husband had something up his sleeve. He insisted on driving me to work. He also told me to quit asking questions so I didn't ruin anything. Well, since he dropped me off, he also had to pick me up. When I climbed in, I saw my dad and sister in the back of the van! I had ZERO idea they were planning this. Such an amazing surprise. They live about eight hours from me so we don't see enough of each other. I get to spend all Memorial Day weekend with them. SO GRATEFUL for three days with most of my family. Just missing my little brother.

Along with my sister came birthday presents. She spoiled me. One of my favorite gifts is the socks though. I love fun socks and she made sure I got a few new pair to enjoy. I also got a new devotional book for Stephen and I to do together, a GIANT bag of hot tamales, a new tea steeper, and a cool new popcorn popper.

I think I am most excited to be spending this time with my sister and daddy though. We already had a full Saturday today. Went to the MK Nature center and walked through the wildlife area. Then we went to Ann Morrison for a picnic in the park. Took a LONG walk to look for baby geese and ducks. Found quite a few and enjoyed the sights along the way.

Sibling Day

So, according to facebook, yesterday was sibling day. You all know that if it's on facebook it has to be true. To conform with the "in" crowd, I posted this picture:

So, belatedly I wish my brother Michael, sister Colleen, and sister by love, Sam a happy siblings day. I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for my siblings.

One thing I didn't mention on facebook is how happy I am that my girls have siblings. Not only the two that their dad and I gave them, but now more siblings from their dad's side. Someday when my girls talk about their childhood, I hope they feel as lucky as I do. They are more blessed then they realize.

Our Christmas Pictures

The girls' stockings hanging under Papa's Christmas cards. 

Beautifully lighted tree

and a view of how spoiled they were! 

Happy Birthday Sissy!!

Today is my beautiful sister Colleen's 30th birthday!!

Sissy I am praying that you have a wonderful year and that many more follow. Thank you for being such an amazing sister!

Colleen and I - date unknown, waiting to ask someone who knows more then I do. :P

Thankful Tuesday

I have so much to be grateful for in my life. But there are still times in my life where I find myself saying "I wish ___" or "why me?" That is why I choose to be thankful. Every week I list at least five things I am thankful for. I think for me, it has really helped me be a more grateful person.

• I am thankful for my books. They provide an excellent escape from my life. 
• I am thankful for the girls' counselor. She is just amazing and has really helped the girls, especially Natalie. 
• I am thankful for my oils. I have been suffering allergies for YEARS and was taking a daily allergy pill. Since getting into doTerra I haven't had to take any. When I have the horrible sinus symptoms I simply rub some lavender on the bridge of my nose and it keeps it from running. Put some on this morning at work and it lasted ALL DAY! 
• I am thankful for skype. I had a great chat with my aunt last night and another with my sister Saturday. Both were able to watch Alivia open her presents in real time. Love having that connection. 
• I am thankful for conversations with my sister. She is now my phone call on the way home from work and I love being able to just talk to her and joke like we did when we were younger. 

1000 Gifts: 3 gifts waited for

1. It is a gift to have found Stephen. He is the man I never knew I was waiting for. 
2. It is a gift to be a part of Jamberry. I hesitated getting into a direct sales company but this is a perfect fit for me. I'm so glad I waited for the right opportunity. 
3. Waiting until the last minute to get the girls' Easter baskets ready was a gift. Stephen and I got to spend some time together, we only spent about $35 on all three baskets and the girls were thrilled with them.

FMF: Share

Once again, linking up with Kate Motaung for five minute Friday. The prompt this week:

We are all taught as children that we need to share. Share our toys, share our coloring crayons, even share our space with siblings and friends. The act of sharing is forced on us, like it or not. I remember as a kid, I hated sharing a room with my sister. I felt like it was the worst. I wanted nothing more then my own room and my own space. Then it happened. My parents actually built me a room in the garage. For the last two years I lived at home, it was in a small yellow walled room in our garage. It might seem strange, but it was all mine. I loved every inch of it's poster covered wall. It was completely freeing to be in a space all my own. But, it wasn't all wonderful, I no longer had someone to share late night talks with. Today, I miss those times that my sister and I shared in our room. I remember once, we were beading (really late!) and she asked me to cut her piece of string. So I did and somehow managed to cut her finger as well. She got stitches as a souvenir of our jewelry night and now has a scar to remember it by. Lots of my childhood memories involve the sharing of space and things with family, friends and loved ones. The weekends I spent at my aunt's house with my cousins were also memorable. Sharing the space with six kids was challenging, but I am sure glad that my mom and aunt made it a priority. Now that I'm an adult, I'm fairly certain the kid swaps weren't for us, but we sure benefited from them. Sharing that time with them brought us closer as a family. I can't imagine my life without those days we shared.


What about you, what is one moment in your life that sharing changed?


1000 Gifts: Three gifts found in Christ

• unconditional love. He loves me the same when I am awesome as when I am grumpy and mean. 
• unending grace. His patience with me never fails. He offers me grace anytime I need it. 
• wonder. His creation often makes me pause and ponder how great our God is, to have created this world just for us. 

Our Family Has Grown!

I want to start off with this. Today is a very special day, it is the day I became a big sister. My sissy was born on this day 29 years ago! Colleen, you are in my thoughts today and my prayers always. I hope you have a wonderful year and that God richly blesses you. You are the most amazing sister I can imagine having (and I have chosen a few of my own :P) and I cannot imagine a life without you in it. You have stood by me through everything. You are beyond amazing and I see great things for you in your future. Know that you will always have me in your corner, on your side. Happy birthday Sissy! Love you sooo much and can't wait to see you again soon!! 

Now onto the blog title, I know what you are thinking and that's not what this post is about! While we were getting married, the last of our ratties passed on. So, to celebrate our return home, we adopted four new babies! They are six and eight weeks old and we LOVE them! 

From the top left: Midnight (8 weeks), Peanut (6 weeks), Pikachu (8 weeks) and Dawn (8 weeks). 

I know rats aren't a traditional pet, but they are perfect for our family. =)

1000 Gifts: three gifts from your savior

• Hope. Without him we would have no hope. 
• Grace. It is the only way we can be in His presence. 
• Love. He gives the best example of agape love. We don't have to do a single thing to earn it. 

31 Days of Free Writes Part IV & Five Minute Friday

This is my final post for 31 days of five minute free writes. I have really enjoyed writing them and I do hope you enjoyed reading them.

October 25

I am having a really hard time focusing on a specific thought with this word. One thing I am thinking about is enjoying the process. That's something I am really trying to work on with the wedding planning. I want to enjoy this process and be able to look back on it and be happy about the way we did things. I want to enjoy the time I have with my girls and be able to look back on my time with them and know that it was well spent. I want to enjoy my time at church and learn lots about God. I want to be able to think about church and how much I enjoyed being there in the presence of God. Same with my workplace. I want to work in a place where I enjoy being. I spend a LOT of time at work, so it's super important to me to enjoy the environment and the people I work with. I know it's nearly impossible to enjoy every part of my job every day, but I'm pretty darn close. Compared to some of the other jobs I have had, I really do enjoy my work and the people I work for and with. I want my kids to enjoy their childhood. That's one of the reasons I have held off on chores so long, I want them to be kids as long as they can be. Feel the joy of spending the day outside playing with their friends and being kids. I was so blessed to have a great childhood. I feel like my family really helped us kids be kids for as long as we could be. Some considered us sheltered, but it was a HUGE blessing to not be forced to grow up so soon. I can honestly say that I enjoyed my childhood. Were there times I wish I could do over or never have gone through? Absolutely. But without those times, would I be the person I am today? Who really knows. To sum it all up, enjoy what you are doing when you are doing it! You never know when it might be over.

October 26

I was so blessed this last weekend to get a visit from my love and my sister. They live 8 hours away by car, so it isn't often they get to come over for the weekend. We didn't do a whole lot of anything, but we sure had fun in each other's company. I think that is just what I needed last week. Though, I am going to admit that this week I have been feeling especially homesick. It's one disadvantage to living so far away, visits are a big deal! But I have told my family and my friends back home, that I will continue to visit them. As much as I hate living so far away, I love my job and my kids need to be close to their dad. So, I will continue the visits for now. Another thing I think of when I see the word visit is visiting the doctor's office or the hospital. It isn't some place you would want to live or stay for an extended period of time, but it's nice to be able to visit once in awhile. I am sure there are places where you can't visit your loved ones in the hospital. I can only imagine how much harder that would be. I think of when my mom was in the ICU. We had to jump through quite a few hoops to get in to her room. We had to call on a phone, make sure no one was in the room with her and take turns going in. The visitation limitations became a lot less when we made the decision to let her go. The hospital staff was so wonderful, allowing us to be with her every minute of the process. I am sure that wasn't part of their visiting policy, but they did it for us. It was a horrible situation but I felt so cared for during the whole ordeal. Crazy how my mind jumps from one kind of visit to a completely different one. Mom has been on my mind a lot lately though. I wish I could visit with her one more time.

October 27

Free is an amazing price. Did you know that we are all given a gift for free that had an enormous cost? We have all been given grace from God, for free. In fact, He paid the price for us. He sent His only son, allowed him to die on a cross in unimaginable pain just for us. I have really been thinking about this since having my own kids. It's one thing to say I would give anything to save my child, but what if that cost was giving up another of your children? Not so easy a decision is it? But that is the choice God made to give us the free gift of grace. We often take it for granted or don't take it at all. I want to make sure that I am making God's free gift to me count. I want to be living the life that God called me for, to honor the gift He gave me. I cannot imagine having to ask for forgiveness like they did in biblical times. Having to sacrifice something to pay for my sins. But I don't have to. All I have to do is ask. Another free gift because of the death of God's one and only son. Amazing right? And it is free! All you have to do is ask. No strings attached, no "purchases" required. You can come just as you are and ask for the gift of eternal life, and it's given to you. Not only has God given us that gift, but when His son left this earth, He left us with a helper. Not a helper we would have to pay for, but one that was freely given to us, to help us on earth. The holy spirit. I don't always understand exactly how the trinity works, but I do know that the holy spirit is here and it can work in mighty ways. The only reason we got it is because of the gift God gave of His son.

October 28

I am not a morning person when I am sitting in bed, hitting the snooze button over and over. More often then not, I hit the limit of snoozes on my phone and have to get out of bed. But, like magic, once I am out of bed, I can handle the morning. I think it's just the thought of getting out of my warm cozy bed and out into the not so cozy house. It's hard to get myself to shake out of the sleepiness and into my wakeful normal person. I think at least two thirds of my girls are the same way. They hate getting up but once they are up, they are okay. It's hard having kids that can be so much like you. Then there come the morning when no one in the whole house wants to wake up. We no longer have a "back up" to wake us up, we just have to be responsible for ourselves. I remember when i was younger, school age, and my mom would knock on the door to wake my sister and I up. If we didn't respond in five minutes or so, she would be back in, often singing "rise and shine and give God the glory." She had the wonderfully off key voice. I miss it so much. I miss waking up to that sound. She would always say that God told us to make a joyful noise, he never once said it had to be pretty. Waking up knowing that I will never be able to hear that voice again is so hard. Some days it just seems downright impossible. I had one of those days this week. Dragging myself out of bed was a challenge, getting myself ready was a challenge, driving to work was a battle against my tears. But I did it, and got through the day. You just have to wake up and see how you are going to make your day. We are all given a new start every morning. How are you going to wake up and use it?

October 29

Unite. It's a word that I had a really hard time finding a picture for. I ended up making myself this one. I found the image of the twisting strings and thought it was fitting. When I think about "uniting" I think about coming together. About taking each one of us, as individuals and creating something beautiful together. It is much like the sand ceremony we are planning for our family. Once Stephen and I have done the wedding in Oregon, we are planning to come home to Idaho and have a sand ceremony and reception for my friends here and for the girls. If you haven't heard of a sand ceremony, what you do is have each person with a separate color of sand, you each pour it into the jar together. It is to help my children understand that even though Stephen is my husband, he also helps to make our family complete. We are united as one family. Harder to separate then the sand in the bottle. I want my kids to see that not only is mommy getting married and bringing someone new home, but that he is now a part of our family. We will be a united unit. One family made up of five separate people and personalities. We might have to work at it sometimes... actually we will have to work at it a lot of the time, but we will work to make it work. There won't be giving up on this.  Our family united will not be broken like their last one was. I believe that this ceremony will help to show them that. Please pray for us as we continue in the planning of not only the uniting of husband and wife, but the uniting of our new family.

October 30

We have so many firsts in our lives. I wrote a bit about my first child on her birthday yesterday. I wrote about the first day I was a mother. There have been so many firsts since then with my children and so many more to come. The thing I am worried about with firsts is the firsts since losing my mom. We are approaching the holiday season, my first ever without my mom here. For 29 years she has been a constant in my life. I don't want to do all these firsts without her. I don't want to get married without her here. I don't want to spend my first Thanksgiving and Christmas without her. I hate starting anything new without her because my first thought is that I need to call mom and tell her that. I wonder how long that will last. I wonder if, for the rest of my life, my first instinct will be to pick up the phone and call her to tell her what one of the girls did for the first time or one of the huge accomplishments I made for the first time. It breaks my heart that my girls won't get to spend time with their grandma the way I did with mine. I don't want to keep going. I don't want to have the firsts without her. But I have to. She is gone and I won't see her again until we are reunited in Heaven. My life can't end because her's did. I need to be fully present and excited still about all the first that are yet to come. I just can't help but wishing that she were still here. That we could share our joy in the firsts that are yet to come. I can only hope that she is able to watch from Heaven and see the firsts that are coming, to watch over us like she always did. Mom, you were the first person to love me and I think I'm going to miss you forever.

October 31

Leave. When I say it to myself it sounds like a bad thing. I imagine the feelings I got when Jimmy left me or when my mom died and left me here. Even though I know that my mom is in a better place and that without Jimmy leaving I would never have Stephen, it still hurts. Still makes me wonder if there was something I could have done to keep them both with me. Leaves me worrying that it might happen again. Ask Stephen, I frequently question if he might someday get sick of me and leave. That isn't going to happen (believe me we have had the conversation, we had it last night actually!) Honestly, right now I can't even think about a good kind of leaving. Oh wait, there is a good kind. For people in abusive relationships, doesn't matter if it is physical, emotional, or even both. It is a good to leave that kind of situation and never come back. I can't even imagine how hard it would be. You don't want to break up the family or be the one who left, but sometimes you have to do it. I randomly want to sing "Leaving on a Jet Plane." It is one song that gets stuck in my head like no other. Anyway, if you were to leave this earth today, what legacy would you be leaving. Would people remember you as a good person? I want to leave a legacy like my mom did. I want people to remember me fondly, miss me when I am gone. I want people to strive to be better because of me, not be complacent to sit where they are. I want to be a person that others can look up to. I want to leave a legacy.

PS, sorry I get sidetracked like a squirrel. lol

Happy Halloween and thanks for reading!!

Thankful Tuesday

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:25-34 esv

We have so much to be thankful for in our lives, but we are often too consumed with the things that are troubling us. I don't know about you, but I am a worrier and this verse is so good for me!

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:18 esv

Right now in my life, it's so much easier to look at all the things that have gone wrong or that aren't good. I need to stop, take a breath and think about the things that I do have and not focus on the thing things (people) I don't. So, that is why I make it a focus, every week, to list at least five things I am thankful for. It helps me to get my focus back in the right place. If you decide to do the same, leave me a comment so I can check yours out. =)

This week I am thankful for:

1. I am thankful for my very amazing sister. I did briefly mention this last week, but I am VERY THANKFUL and wanted to go into a bit more detail. When the package with the dress I was planning to wear to my wedding arrived, it was obviously too small. It's so small that Natalie can wear it. Anyway, I asked my sister if she could make me something. Only halfway teasing. She freaked out a little, called me and we talked about what I wanted (nothing elaborate, just simple and pretty). She agreed (thank the Lord!) and has been working on it since. She has it pinned and ready for my first fitting this weekend when she visits. Did I mention she lives in Oregon, where I'm getting married? Makes it a little more complicated but she is still doing it! I am so very thankful. I am going to get a beautiful dress and a custom Colleen creation. I don't have to worry at all because I know that she is capable and just as ocd as I am. She will make sure I look amazing. 
2. I am thankful for the beautiful weather we had this weekend. The girls were able to go out and play in the sunshine. We were also able to celebrate a first birthday with family and spend some more time outside. It's odd for October but I am loving it! 
3. I am thankful for etsy. It seems silly, to be thankful for a website, but I am! I am so NOT a crafty person and have wanted some special things for the wedding that I cannot pull off on my own. Thankfully there are millions of crafty people who are willing to share their talent (for a small fee of course) and I have been able to mark a few more things off my one of my lists. =) 
4. I am thankful for my daddy. Yet again he is pulling through and helping my family. He asked me for a list of things we need for the house that he could send us. I know things aren't easy with mom being gone, and it means so much to have him still wanting to help me out. Plus he has a costco card and there are a few things there I needed. 
5. I am thankful that both Stephen and my sister were able to manage a short trip over between now and the wedding. I am SO excited to see them both on SATURDAY! 

What is one thing you are thankful for this week? Let me know in the comments.

A Difficult Lot, Favorite Photo & Childhood Story

Another three posts today. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading them as much as I am enjoying writing them!

Day 16: Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it. I think the biggest difficulty I have had about my "lot in life" is the whole divorce thing. I consider this a "lot in life" because it was something that happened to me. I didn't choose divorce, actually had no choice in the matter. Anyway, this was something very difficult for me because it wasn't in my plan. I did not want to be divorced and definitely did not want to be a single mom. It is so much harder to do this on my own then I could possibly have imagined. I am working to overcome this by using my resources. I am trying to get past my pride and ask for help when I need it. I don't think I will ever "get over" what happened to me fully, but I do think that I can move past it and will be a stronger person because of it.

Day 17: A favorite photo of yourself and why. I am going to cheat and use two here. I couldn't pick just one because both are equally my favorites!

My mommy and I shortly after Liv was
born. One of my very favorite pictures of us

My sister and I at her graduation

And just because I feel bad that a couple other had to be "cut" here are some other top picks:

My daddy and me

my girls and me after a race 

Day 18: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt. The most vivid memory I have of my childhood is my first broken bone. I don't remember what time it was, but it was after "bed time" but I felt the need to mail this letter before I went to bed, so I wouldn't forget. Well, I guess my brother Mike saw an opportunity to scare me so he stood just inside the doorway and jumped out and scared the bejesus out of me. I screamed and swung my arm out to hit him. Only, it wasn't him I hit, it was the wall. My middle finger got jammed really hard against the wall. I was crying and screaming at him (because who else could I scream at) when my dad came out. He doesn't get mad often, but apparently us waking him was not a good thing. In a calm voice he says "Elizabeth Marie Schallig, be quiet and GO TO BED!" I was still crying and pretty upset. Told him that I was pretty sure I had broken my finger. He told me he didn't care, that my mom would deal with it in the morning. I remember trying to sleep that night, my hand on an ice pack because it hurt to bad to put it on top. Mom did end up taking me in to the doctor the next day and sure enough I had chipped a piece off the knuckle on the middle finger. I don't even remember my dad's response to finding out I had actually broken it, but I do remember how bad he still feels about it. Not that we could do much besides go to the ER. It is definitely a fun story to tell. Makes my dad sound like a really mean guy, and those who know him can just laugh at that (because he is so NOT mean!)

Thankful Tuesday

I think it's so important to count your blessings! This week I have so much to be grateful for!

I am thankful for my health. I had a little bit of a scare on my way home Sunday. About 2 hours into our trip home, I had to pull over and call 911. I had sudden weakness and numbness in my arms and hands. It got so bad that I no longer felt safe driving. It was so bad that I couldn't even hold my hand up to my ear to hold my phone. I had to have it on speakerphone while on the line with the operator. I was blessed to find a safe place to pull off (I had just passed through Portland!). When they arrived, my blood pressure was really high (like 100+/190-200) and my ekg was abnormal. They also tested my blood sugar which was low. The paramedic was pretty sure it was a stress induced panic attack so I felt alright taking a break and eating before driving again. I did make it home safely, so don't worry!

After seeing my doctor on Monday, I am feeling very reassured. The only steps that we are going to take at this point is to restart one of my medications I had discontinued. So, for now I am back on that. At this point he isn't concerned with the EKG, suspects that it is a normal one with just an irregularity. He also thinks the higher blood sugar may have just been my body overreacting to the higher carb/sugar lunch I ate.

I am thankful that my girls are all older. I cannot imagine being in the situation I was in yesterday with younger children. It was so scary and it was actually so comforting to have McKayla taking charge, keeping Natalie and Alivia distracted and busy. The paramedics also checked on me while I was still in the car and I think that made a HUGE difference.

I am grateful that my mom was willing to drop everything (literally) and come out to rescue me. I didn't end up needing her and she wound up turning around before even getting to me, but knowing that she was on her way was so comforting. Having her and another friend both checking in on me (and having me check in with them) along the way also made me feel very loved.

I am thankful that I have a job where I can take vacations to go home. This trip was just what I needed. For the most part I returned home much more refreshed then when I left Boise. I had a little bit of pleading from a few people to move home, but everyone understands why I am staying for now. I am already counting down the days until my next trip home.

This birthday for Alivia is also something I am very thankful for. I was totally overwhelmed at the first part of the year, wondering how I was even going to keep moving forward, I asked my sister if she could plan a party for Liv for when we were over, that way I wouldn't have to stress that as well. Not only did she pull it off (fabulously!) but my kid was spoiled rotten! I felt so grateful to be surrounded by friends and family during the first big celebration post-separation.

So there you have it, my LONG winded thankfulness post for this week. What about you? What is one thing you are thankful for today?

Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done!

Dinner Dates!

While on vacation I have been blessed to get to go out on a number of dinner dates. Tuesday night our whole little family got to go out with my auntie Analise (auntie "Lease" to the girls) and my grandpa (Opa to the girls). The girls weren't quiet, but it was an enjoyable dinner and pie date!

Then on Wednesday night I decided that mommy needed to have her "date" without the kiddos. I got to meet up with my good friend Wayne who I haven't seen in more years then I want to admit. I somehow managed to mess up the time and arrived an hour early. I didn't mind too much because it gave me time for a walk around the state capitol. At sixish it was finally time for dinner! We enjoyed some pitas (my first time there!) and talked for more then an hour. It was amazing to catch up with him. We have been friends for most of my life. In fact, we were both thinking and can't remember a time before we were friends. I can promise you it won't be years before I see this guy again!

My final dinner date was with my sister, her bestie and my good friend Stephen. Colleen wanted to treat me to dinner, so I let her. =)

On the left is my sister in the back and Maranda up front and on the right
I'm in the back and Stephen up front