I had the most wonderful weekend, It was just what I had envisioned it would be. I picked up my grandchildren, and daughter Heidi, Heather had to work:( then off to the corn maze in Syracuse. We spent 4 hours there going thru the maze, playing on the slides, train, and just sitting and enjoying the day. We had Lexi, and Brohlens faces painted so cute, Jaxon, Mattie and Alex had tatoos painted on their arms. We ate a big bag of Kettle corn, and basked in the sun, (when it finally came out).

After we were thru there we went and got a couple of movies, one of them on the scary side, therefore it was for after I was in bed. Together Heidi and I fixed taco's for dinner, yummy. The kids played games for a while then we watched Coraline, (totally Weird), they watched the scary one as soon as I went to bed. Blankets, pillows, and bodies all over the front room.

I have to say, we love to have them over for the night. They make us so incredibly happy! I love you Heather, Brock, Jaxon, Alex, Lexis, Heidi, Kevin, Mattie, Brohlen, Billy, and Callie. You are our world.

Mothers love

Tomorrow I am going to have a bladder repair surgery. I am not at all worried about it, in fact I am looking forward to it. I will finally start feeling good, and not have to worry about if I will make it to the bathroom in time. But, most importantly I will get to spend the next couple of weeks at mom's house. She is going to take care of me and make sure that I don't over do it.

Most people would wonder "what is she thinking?" Well, it has been a long time since I have had anyone take care of me and I am just thrilled that it is my mother. Nobody cares for you like a mother does. She always put us first, making sure that we had what we needed, while she went without. She has always let us know that we were special to her, everything that we did or said was important.

Most people believe that it is a mother's responsibilty is to show her daughter/daughers how to become a woman, I know that in order to do that she had to teach me love, compassion, honor, confidence, responsibility, patience, and so much more.

I want my daughters to know that I love them just as much as any mother could, and I learned this from their grandmother, my mother.

Stuck in a Rut

Sometime I feel like I am stuck in a rut... Especially in the evenings when I am at home alone. I spend the evening hours drifting around the house aimlessly, watching television and pretty much filling time until I go to bed, I know that there is somethings that should be done but I just don't want to do them. I need to shake things up and do thing differently. I need to start taking walks in the evenings again, writing in this blog more often, expand my horizons and get more inspired.
I really enjoy working on making cards and trying to use my creativity. I just wish that I was more right brained, more able to come up with my own original ideas. So, instead of wandering around looking for something to do, I will start DOING things.

Stressed and Excited

6 and 1/2 weeks until the end of the school year. That make me extremely stressed and overly excited. Stressed because it is now time to do the End of Level or CRT tests at school. So, along with all of the other jobs that I have, (I am not complaining, I love my other jobs) I also help with the testing. No, bathroom breaks, no lunches, no walks in the park during lunch, no visiting the office... JUST TESTING... All day long. Then, when a student doesn't show up I will spend every other free moment trying to locate them, getting them into the lab, taking their car keys away and sitting there watching them test. No Child Left Behind law mandates that we have 95% of the students tested, this is when I really do not like sluffers. Someday I hope that they realize what a big mistake they made.

Excited... School is almost over. Camping trips, sleeping in, fishing, 4wheeling, working in the yard, wait what did I just write? Working in the YARD!! I wish that was true all summer long, but as soon as it gets to warm, working in the yard is just as bad as locating truant students. But, at least I have one of those jobs where if I wanted to work all summer in the yard I could. I have also planted my first garden. Yep, one of those square foot gardens. I sure hope I get some of the onions, broccoli, califlower, brussle sprouts, and lettuce to grow. Want to start another spot just for tomatos, cucumbers, pumpkins, etc... Sure hope that it will be worth all the work Mark and I have put into it so far. And, a very big Thank you to my great neighbors who let me put our garden in their back yard. Hopefully they will enjoy the bounty as much as we do.

Reclaiming my Childhood


When I was a child, I played with my friends, run free around the neighborhood, and approached life with spontaneity and excitement. But along the way to adulthood, life became cumbersome with responsibility, and obligations.

But, as I grow older and hopefully more wise, I am beginning to realize that even though I am not a child, I can get back the joy of childhood. As adults we work hard, so why shouldn't we be able to have some fun? Right!

I am going to make a point of bringing a little joy and laughter into my life, and to those around me. I am going to commit to doing something that I love to do, and make me feel the freedom I once had as a child.

Picking flowers
Smiling
Playing games with the grandchildren
Smiling
Chasing butterflies
Smiling
Stand up, spread my arms, and spin around and around.
Have a good laugh!
As you can see Smiling is on the list a few times. I have a problem with smiling. I always look mad. I'M NOT. Just thinking! So if I smile more, it can benefit me and the person getting the smile.

How liberating it will feel, When I finally have the child like attitude and enjoy the childish pleasures in life.

Simple Pleasures

To be able to sit down in the morning and enjoy a cup of coffee, read the newspaper, and listen to the birds. These are just 3 simple pleasures I enjoy. Those simple little pleasures that help us relax and appreciate all that we are blessed with can make a big difference in the way we look at life around us.
I think that in the last couple of years I have learned to settle down, and not be so up tight. I wish that I had learned this as a young mother, I often regret not having more patience with Heather and Heidi. If I had taken the time to just watch them grow!
What did I miss? A Lot.. and so did they.
But, I can not change the past, So I will try to make the future a better place for me and my family.
I WILL slow down and take the time to appreciate ordinary events, they might not be terribly exciting, But stopping to smell the roses is a great simple pleasure.

“Life brings simple pleasures to us every day. It is up to us to make them wonderful memories.”
~Cathy Allen

Personal Achievments

I do not currently measure my level of success against benchmarks such as what work I do and or what I have. But, by what is important to me in my life. Granted, having a great job, or knowing the right people is alway good, but would it really make me happy? I don't think so.

I have a loving caring family.
I have a job, I love getting up for in the morning.
I have friends that make me smile and give me comfort.
The students that come by my house or office to tell me "Thanks, you were the reason I graduated from high school."
These are just a few of the personal achievments that are important to me.

I personally believe that positive thinking will help anyone with their personal achievments. It might not be exactly the way you pictured it, or the way we thought that it would happen. But somehow it always ends up being what is best for each of us.

The achievement of personal goals doesn’t always guarantee our personal fulfilment. We should never forget the importance of, or the rewards which can be gained, in serving those less fortunate and in highlighting the good that exists in all of us. So, in regards to that statement I will always try to do more to help those in need, be there when people need me, and to listen.. I mean really listen, sometimes silence tells us much more than what we really hear.

Being Thankful

Sometimes, we as people, tend to find fault or look for problems rather than just being thankful for what we already have.

I have had a hard time trying to figure out exactly what I want to blog about. Today I sat down and made a list. At the top of the list was Thankfulness. Am I thankful? If you stop and think about it there are a LOT of things to be thankful for. So, for today I will just start with one thing, then as I go on, with my blog I will add others.

After much contemplation, I have decided that today I am really thankful for my Memories. I am so glad that I can think back and remember on all the good things that have happened to me in my life, and the bad. Now I will be the first to admit that I do have a bad memory, but the things that I can think of are very important to me.

I remember camping trips, vacations, and ball games with my parents. School days, choir trips, and best friends. I remember my courtships, breakups, and tears. I remember the day I married Mark, and how enchanting it was. The birth of my daughters, and the love I felt the first time I laid eyes on them.

I remember my Dad. I try to remember every little detail about him, because I am so afraid that someday I might forget. I will never have another chance to do something with him that will give me another great memory. So I take the memories of him that I have and cherish them with all my heart.

So, if you have something that you are thankful for, let someone know about it. See if it doesn't help to make you a happier person.

Mom

I miss my mom. I did not realize how much I would miss her until she left, She is down at her home in Beaver Dam Arizona. She is my best friend, along with my cute daughters, and I miss my Tuesday dinners. She has been sick and had no one to take care of her. She is now on the mend and Theresa and Lane went to visit. I hope they can keep her down a little bit.
I do talk to her everyday, but it is still not the same. Can't wait to go see her in April.

Great neighbors

Anybody that knows us will know that we love wildlife. So, last year, while I was having one of my midnight views of the neighborhood (I wake up a lot) I see this deer walking down the middle of the street, along with hoof prints all over my yard. Now I watch for them all the time. I live in an ordinary neighborhood, lots of houses and dogs. There is a hillside at the bottom of my street and during the Christmas break I looked down the hill and there is a herd of deer on the hillside. I asked Brock (Heather's friend) run me down there in his truck, so that I can get some close up pictures. Then this week, Brock saw something that he at first thought was a dog. He gets out his camera and realizes that it was a red fox. He goes down to the hillside sneaks up on it and captures a few good pictures. I just love my neighbors.

Making your own sunshine

While I was growing up I learned one important saying from my grandmother. "Make your own Sunshine". If I was not happy, or someone or something upset me, she would remind me of this phrase. Well, today at school, one of my coworkers came in not in a good mood, I walked by and told her to "Make your own Sunshine", an hour or so later she walked into my office and thanked me. She told me that she was in a much better mood and it was because of what I had said. My daughter Heidi tries to go by this saying also, and is always reminding her own daughter of the saying. So, thank you grandma for reminding so many people that "you have to make your own sunshine"