Family...again....

Important things today:

*Sarah is cancer-free! Woohoo! awesome. simply awesome.

*I can't wait to see my family all together tomorrow...ok, so since we're getting there probably after everyone has already hit the sack...I can't wait to see everyone on Saturday!

*I'm stoked to learn more about my camera and take some (hopefully) great shots of the kiddos this weekend.

post and pictures to come after this weekend, I'm sure...

Family

Today is scary for my family. Today we wait and pray. Today Sarah has to have surgery because of the "c" word. cancer. Cancer is such a strong and ugly word. There are different reactions to hearing that ugly word: tears, anger, questions, fear.

There is fear: fear of the unknown as well as the known.

There are tears: our family is a pretty amazing group of people and when one of us is hurting, we all hurt. We joke at times that one person starts crying and that releases the waterworks for everyone else.

There is courage and faith: "Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore

As my cousin Jessica said, "Sarah has a gentle heart, a kind smile and a serious faith that will carry her far in life." She SO right. That serious faith is inspiring to so many.

“Promise me you will always remember – You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think” - Christopher Robin to Pooh

~ Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles. ~

Fillin' in some blanks

1.   My favorite quote is       I love quotes! I have many that I like, but here are some of my favs:  "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." -unknown

"People are just about as happy as they make their minds up to be." - Abraham Lincoln

"PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston Churchill
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

2.  A bad habit I have is    fidgety feet. Brian laughs cause I am alway curling my toes up or tapping my feet on something. What else? um...laughing inappropriately. I laugh when I am happy. not a bad thing. But...I also laugh when I am embarrassed or in an uncomfortable situation. Not always a good thing.

3.  The first time I felt like a "grown up" was       I sometimes still don't feel like a grown up! Probably when I bought my first car or rented my first apartment. For some reason spending that much money makes you feel grown up pretty quickly!

 

4.  Weekends are   awesome. Even when I have to work weekends they don't seem as bad as the weekdays. Weekends provide time with family and friends, lazy days, movie nights, getting away, the opportunity to choose how you spend your days.

 

5.  When I was a child I wished my name was     Jennifer. I have no idea why. That is what I called my Barbie dolls. I thought that if I couldn't have that name, then somebody should!

6.  I wish        lots of things. I wish that Brian could go to school without having to work. I wish that people I loved didn't have to get sick. I wish there was more time each day to do the things we wanted instead of things we HAVE to do.

7.  A secret I have is       on my days off I sometimes stay in my pjs until early afternoon until I decide I should probably take a shower for the day. Sometimes on REALLY goofy days. I shower late and just put on clean pjs. ha!

"To thine own self be true" -- Shakespeare

Birthday sunrise. Beautiful.

My birthday post. Today I turned 32. Older, yes. Wiser, possibly. I don't feel any older than I did yesterday. My grandmother turned 100 years old last year. Amazing woman. Amazing family. Even during these last several years of being ridden with dementia, she has been a great source of wisdom. She once told me that at 98 she only felt she was in her 60s! Awesome! Being only as old as you feel makes getting older not so daunting.

32...today I feel like a teenager who got a snow day. I didn't have an agenda, didn't feel guilty for being lazy. I spent most of the day in my pjs, sipping coffee (only I didn't drink coffee in high school), watching bad daytime TV, playing on the Internet, ignoring my piles of laundry, snuggling with my dog...basically whatever I felt like doing. I find now, that I get more joy out of simple things. I don't need a big party with lots of friends and presents to have a good time. (although that sounds pretty fun! I'm always up for a good party!)

If I was half my age...16...what would I tell myself?  Enjoy the ride! You don't have to be perfect, just being you is enough. When you doubt yourself -- "to thine own self be true."  

awesome fluffy snowflakes today!

Be happy. Be real. Love deeply and greatly. Laugh a lot. Smile a lot. These last two things will give you wrinkles, but they are so worth it.

Who am I kidding...I'm in my thirties and still need to be reminded of these things. I think we all do sometimes.