Happy Birthday Lee!

Happy Birthday to our little Lee, thanks what everyone used to call him when he was a toddler. Actually his sister Lauren called him Wee and then she said she was Wauwen. They are only 2 years apart and they have been buddies their whole life.

One thing that Lee wanted me to make him was bow ties, I really didn't think he would use them after I made them but...as you can see it did work for him!
It is hard to believe that just 19 years ago, they rushed me into the surgery to hurry and do the c-section because Lee's heart rate was dropping too fast! Just in minutes they place our 8lb 12oz baby Lee in our arms. Lee was our last baby and we were all crazy about him. He was our fussiest baby at the beginning but after about 3 months, he calmed down and became quiet the dream of a little baby. Of course life was busy for him with all of his siblings, still he didn't seem to mind it. He was either in the car seat taking his nap while we drop off or picked up his brother or sister, if he wasn't doing that then he was usually getting in to some kind of trouble with his very creative and mischievous sister Lauren.

He has been a tenderhearted boy and even though life right now has been really tough for him, we all believe he has it in him to figure it out and to grow and stretch from this trial in his life. Plus, their isn't any reason he shouldn't succeed,  because he has a big family behind him. We love you Lee! Happy 19th Birthday!

"Every year on your birthday, you get a chance to start new."
Sammy Hagar

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."  ~Jane Howard

"The family.  We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."  ~Erma Bombeck

Labor Day Birthday!

Our son Bradley was born on Labor Day, that would have been appropriate IF... I would have labored having him, but I didn't ...he was a planned C-section. I just remember hearing him cry for the first time and then they laid him up next to me and I cried. I was worried that my heart wouldn't be big enough to love two kids but...how wrong I was. Brad was a great baby and a 100% boy. He always had to be moving and making some kind of noise, he loved the outdoors, and could eat a potato bug...quicker than anyone! :(
Life seemed to move faster with two kids, there was always something going on, still having Brad around was a joy in our lives. I like this poem because that explained him to a T!

Little Boys Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,
Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,
With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,
Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins.
They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while
Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.
And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy
Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!  ~ Unknown

But then Brad started growing up and I remember the first time he left home...I cried my eyes out again. I wondered if I had taught him everything he needed to make it for himself out in the world? And boy did he ever, he served a 2 year mission for our church in the Philippines and loved it and the people there!

Then he got married to our cute Krystal, and in April they both graduated from college!

And now they are working and expecting their first baby! How does time go by that fast? I can still remember of getting up early on Labor Day to check in to the hospital to go have Brad, and now he is going to have a little one of his own.

Brad is such an incredible part of our family. He is funny, he has a very good heart and loves everyone. He is so talented and passionate about his work. I don't think we could have picked out a better life for him. I feel grateful and blessed to be his Mom. How proud I am of the man he has become. Happy Birthday son!

"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons.  And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes."  ~Walter M. Schirra, Sr.

"Good fathers make good sons."  ~Author Unknown

51 years and counting!

Today was my 51st birthday and I was very grateful for it. Yesterday, however was hard for some reason, I kept thinking of all the things I wanted to do and accomplish this past year but didn't. I dwelled on the cup being half empty instead of half full, so yes...yesterday was a bit of a tough day. However today, I realized that I might not accomplish everything I wanted to; but there is nothing to say that I can't accomplish it this coming year. It is a new year with all kinds of possibilities in it, so....I need to make some changes, try a little harder, be more diligent and have more faith, so that anything can be possible!

I am thankful for the chance to have had 51 years here on earth. They have not all been easy or happy years, but each one have taught me incredible lessons for which I am very grateful.

Thanks to all of you for your birthday wishes, calls and cards! I feel loved... and that is no small thing. I do wonder if I have made a difference in the world at all by my being here? Have I helped someone, been kind enough, has my example been good or bad? Yes, these are questions that have passed my mind, but instead of dwelling on that too much, I have decided to set some new goals this year, so that I can hopefully be better, stronger, healthier, happier, wiser, kinder and more obedient. Yes, I have another year to improve and I am so glad that I do! I am glad it's my birthday!!!

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." ~ Aldous Huxley

"Don't regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many."   ~ Unknown

"May you live all the days of your life."  ~ Jonathan Swift

"It takes a long time to become young."   ~ Pablo Picasso

"We turn not older with years, but newer every day."  ~ Emily Dickinson

Happy 4th of July!

Well, the 4th of July is coming to a close, but I can sill hear a few fireworks going off outside. And although this wonderful holiday is almost over, may we never forget the freedom we enjoy. May we pray daily for the men and women who fight for our freedom, and their dear families that sacrifice too!

 
ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR
It's that time of the year
for the red white and blue
They stand for freedom
in all you say and do
Show off those colors
for all the world to see
Fly them proudly over 
the air the land and sea
We celebrate the birth
of our blessed country
It surely is indeed
the land of the free
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! 

http://www.funmunch.com/events/4th_july/4th_july_poetry_for_free.shtml

"Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!" ~ George Washington

"Freedom is never free."  ~ Unknown