Happy Birthday USA!

God bless America, land that I

love.

Stand beside her, and guide her,

Thru the night, with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,

to the oceans white with foam,
God bless America my home sweet
home.
God bless America,
My home sweet home.

This weekend, we enjoyed cook outs,

fire works, parades,

swimming, time with our family.

We enjoyed all of these things because somewhere,

someone made a sacrifice so that

we could be free.

Someones son, daughter, mother, father,

brother, sister went to fight a war

for us, for our country.

Brave men in history fought so that we could

celebrate the fourth of July.
Thank you to every

veteran who has served our country.

Thank you to all of the families of veterans who

sacrificed just as much.

Thank you for fighting for my freedom, for my children's freedom,

for my country.

Happy Independence Day!

Summer Fun

One warm and sunny day, plus

one water hose, plus

one slip and slide,

equals one very fun summer

afternoon.

Brothers

My boys are rough and tumble. From the moment

they wake up, until the moment they go to bed,

life is an adventure.

Currently, I am the most important woman in

their lives. They can't wait to tell

me EVERYTHING!

I love that.

I know, without a doubt, the God chose

my boys, made them my sons, and

has given me the awesome responsibility

of raising them.

It's a job that I love.

I wonder daily what type of

men they will become, what

their lives will be like.

I pray for them, their future wives,

their future children.

I cherish their childhood.

I thank God every day for

bringing them to me.

My boys make my life an adventure.

Birthdays

I was born on the day of my baby shower.

My Mom hated all things social, and so she started

praying that something would happen so that she wouldn't have to

go to her shower. Something did happen, me,

three weeks early.

Every year, on my birthday, my Mom would tell me that story.

Every year, on my birthday, my Mom would make me a cake.

She took a cake decorating class when my brother

and I were small, so that she could decorate any type of cake for us.

One year, there was a merry-go round cake.

One year she made me a doll cake, a Raggedy Ann cake,

and when I turned 16, she made me a giant hamburger cake.

I had the privilege of spending almost every one of my birthdays

with my Mom. Last year, while she was undergoing chemo,

she made a point of making sure her chemo schedule would allow

her to spend my birthday with me. She wanted to make me a cake.

As she said, a birthday is a way that you tell someone you're happy

that they were born.

My Mom always made sure that we knew she was happy

we were born.

This year, I had been dreading my birthday.

I couldn't think of the day without my Mom.

Dad would ask me what I wanted, what I wanted to do, and

I just couldn't think of it. I hated the idea of celebrating the day without my

Mom.

My birthday is also our older kids moving in anniversary.

Every year, on my birthday morning, they get a cupcake, with a candle,

and the privilege of hearing their parents sing

"Happy Anniversary" to them.

This year, on my birthday, they celebrated their four

year anniversary in our family.
They also celebrated the fact that they have a Mommy.
I knew, that for them, it was important that I celebrate my birthday.
I knew that my Mom would have wanted me to do that.
So I did. I woke up, thought of my Mom. Went for a run, thought of my
Mom. Sang Happy Anniversary, thought of my Mom.
Went out for breakfast with my Dad, Jon, and the kids
and thought of my Mom.
Missed my Mom, thought of last year with my Mom.
Was so thankful for my Mom.

A few months ago, my Dad asked someone to marry him.

I haven't written about it here, because I wasn't sure

how I felt about it. No, that's not true, I was sure.

I hated the idea. I hated the idea that life had to move

forward. To me, it seemed like life should have stopped

when my Mom left. She deserved that.

She wouldn't have wanted that.

Cheryl, my Dad's fiance, is one of the sweetest and kindest people

that I have had the privilege of knowing. She loves

my Dad, loves my kids, and loves me.

She makes my Dad laugh. Something that

he hasn't done in a LONG time.

She makes him happy, something my Mom would

have wanted.

Yesterday, on my first birthday without my Mom,
she made me a cake. She knew that my Mom
made me one every year, she wanted to be sure that I had a birthday cake.
She helped to make my birthday so special. She cared enough about
my Dad, to care about me, and for that I am truly grateful.
Last year, I blew out my birthday candles, and I wished with
all of my heart that my Mom would be here this year. She wasn't.
This year, I blew out my candles. I didn't have the heart to make a wish,
because I had everything that I could want seated around my dining
room table. I have a family that loves me. That cared enough
about me to carry me through a birthday without my Mom.
I have a family that was happy I was born and wanted
to let me know it.
Thank you Dad, Cheryl, Jon, Big K.,
Doodle Bug, P. and J.
Thank you for making my birthday so special.
I love you all more than you will ever know.

Never Too Young To Help

He may not have mastered potty on the

toilet yet,

but he loves to help.

This morning, he was vacuuming for me.

June In Pictures (With Some Words)

For the first time, in what feels

like forever, I have been feeling

like myself again.

There are days, and times, when I really

miss my Mom, and I think

of all the things that I miss about

her, and all of the things that
I wish we were still doing together.

Then there are days, when I remember how blessed

my life is. I think of how good God has

been to me.

This month, I have been busy doing

what my Mom would want me to be doing,

living.

I have spent time enjoying my kids,

my husband,

our family.

We have enjoyed time together making memories
with each other.

We've visited new places,

and done new things together.

The kids finally finished a very emotional third grade

year. This year, they said good-bye to their

grandmother and hello to

their brothers.

Together, we celebrated Jon's birthday

and Father's Day.

We have spent time loving each other,

enjoying our family,

and planning all of the fun things that

we want to do together

this summer.

I know that if my Mom could see these pictures,

read this blog, she would be so proud

and happy to see us enjoying each

day that we have together.

Our time together is truly a gift to be treasured.

Hope you are treasuring your family and the time

that you have together.

Welcome Summer

Welcome Summer.
We can't wait to enjoy
the long hot days,

trips to the park,

time to play,

and all of the relaxing that we know

summer will bring.