First snow day of the year. The kids were pretty excited. Except for my son, who was supposed to start track today. He's old enough now to understand today has to be made up at the end of year. I am so ready for spring, I can hardly stand it. Luckily I have food in the fridge and movies we just rented. I hope this stuff doesn't stick around long or my sanity will be tested for sure. Spring...where are you??

Today's project...getting a picture for a photo contest I want to enter. The theme is pets. The 3 catagories are capturing your pet with a little friend, dressing up your pet or pets when they're babies. I chose the first catagory because #1, Ridge is just way too big to be in the puppy catagory and #2, there is no way my hubby would let us dress Ridge up in some crazy tutu. So, my little girl volunteered to pose with Ridge. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. As you can tell from the first photo, Ridge's tongue got in the way! But, I'll enter a few and hope for the best. First place is a digital camera! I hope we at least get an honorable mention after what we went through... :)

My baby girl has a diagnoses...Vasovagal Syncope. A big word for a little girl. Two years ago, she had a seizure-like episode. Come to find out, she had minor little episodes periodically since she was only about 1 yrs. old. It was the hardest thing to witness and the hardest thing to watch her go through the tests. An EEG, blood work to test for diabetes, epilepsy and some other diseases I can't even remember. After they all came back negative, we had to make the choice to give her a CAT scan, which would reveal any tumors in her brain. That was bad, but even worse was the 3 day wait for the results. In those horribly long 3 days, i would watch her play, dance, run and hope, pray and literally cry for no tumors. The scan came back all normal. no tumors. but still, we didn't know what would cause her to react like she had. The doctors told us to carry on as normal, they couldn't find anything physically wrong with her. We went for a whole year and then it happened again. Then again it happened just last December. She lost her tooth, saw blood and fell to the floor in a seizure-like state. Minutes later, she was back to her normal self. Then just last week, I got a call from the school nurse. She had went down on the playground. My heart went into my throat. By the time I got there she was awake. I took her home, she ate lunch and was running around like nothing had happened. After doing some research at Mayo Clinic, we have finally nailed down her condition. Vasovagal Syncope. It's a nerve in her neck that is triggered by something like the sight of blood, dehydration, hunger and several others. These are the 3 I notice that could be the culprits for her reactions. It causes her to basically faint. 85% of children outgrow it. Scheww. I can't tell you how glad I am to know a name for this thing. She is a bright, beautiful little girl who brightens up your day just by walking in the room. It's not often, but it may happen. I just thank God for giving us the name and the peace of mind that comes with it. There's no better feeling than that.

Run and play, little one, you're going to be just fine.

I finally get it. After 37 years of wondering what I am supposed to be doing with my life, I finally get it. It's taken me a long time to figure it out but factors contributing to the light bulb going off include...my kids, my husband, Beth Moore, friends that have reappeared in my life and most of all, just listening to what has been said to me for all these years. And accepting it.

It's funny how I pushed God out of my life. I never wanted to listen. I thought I knew what was right for me. I thought I knew what would make me feel complete. But I didn't. Over the last few years I started to realize, this is my plan. This is what I am to do. And everyday, I get it more and more. I was not destined to live the life of a millionaire, or even a thousand-aire. I wasn't meant to live the life of a famous person. I am here to raise my children in our humble home, in our humble town and live a humble life. And I love it.

You see, I get it. I get the plan. It is so clear to me now. That acceptance is what makes me feel so fulfilled, so complete. And you know what, I am so happy about where I am. Even though it took me so long to figure it out, now I can instill what I've learned into these 3 little kids running around me right now in hopes they will get it long before I did. See what I mean? It's all in the plans. Can't wait to see what else my journey has before me.

This little girl is from one of my photo shoots this weekend...she is anxiously awaiting spring too.

I almost inherited a $7000.00 painting today.

You see, I enrolled my girls in art classes at a local downtown gallery. They love them and are so excited for me to see their work when I pick them up. So today, the gallery owner, a total sweetheart, asked if I had seen this new piece she just got in. It was this huge, huge canvas painting of something I can't even remember because the price tag had my attention. $7000.00. I just kept looking at it wondering why it was so spendy when all of a sudden my littlest one came out of the workroom, came barrelling towards me and the painting. She went right up to it with her hands in a rather rough way. The painting swayed a bit back and forth. At this point, my heart is in my throat and I'm not breathing. Finally, my voice squeeked out, "Oh we don't touch $7000.00 paintings," Scheww. We got out of there in a hurry after that one.

Note to self: Exposing children to art galleries BEFORE taking art classes is a good thing!

...my girls...

Why didn't I think of this earlier???

This was a great little pastime for my girlies this weekend...give 'em a pile of shaving cream on the table and let them "fingerpaint" away! Bonus: the shaving cream eventually disappears, easy cleanup and smooth little hands. They loved writing words in the cream, drawing pictures and mostly being able to be free to be messy! Again, I ask...why didn't I think of this years ago??

You know you're getting old when entertainment is watching the laundry spin in the new washer and dryer....

I've never been very good at expressing what I'm thinking. I can write them but when it comes to words, it just doesn't come out right. There are so many things I think and when i try and speak them, my choice of words do not express what I mean. Sometimes I find myself not saying anything and later wishing I would've said this or should've said that. Maybe because I'm afraid I'll really say the wrong thing. I don't know, I just wish sometimes that I could shout out who I am and what I believe in. I want my friends and my family to really know who I am. Right now, I don't think they do because I never truly express it.

Maybe one day, my words will come and all these thoughts and dreams I have for me, my kids, my friends, will come out. And maybe I'll even make sense. Know what I mean?!

So...all is well in our household. Despite the fact the Mr. Favre has left us. My boy took the news like a pro, after the tears flowed a bit, he felt better. He said he felt like someone died and in a way, I understood how he felt. But he is so glad we went to that game and he is so glad he has pictures of it and he is so glad he can still wear his #4 jersey. And he's always going to be a Packer fan. I told him one day we'll go see all those Favre memoribilia in the Hall of Fame. And we'll even still make it to Lambeau Field. We watched the big retirement speech today and after listening to it, I was thankful once again for my young sports fanatic to look up to a guy like Brett Favre. He is such a humble man, never once boasting about all his accomplishments. He is like a silent Christian. He's someone who never talks about his faith but it shows in everything he does. That's the kind of person my boy thinks is the greatest athlete ever and I couldn't be happier about it.

It's going to be a sad afternoon after school. Just came home, turned on the TV which was already on SportsCenter as usual and there it was, all over the news..Brett Favre is retiring. My heart just sank. My boy's heart is going to sink even lower. It makes me cry to even think about how he is going to take this news. I know he is going to cry and I need to prepare myself to talk about the positives. About how we got to see him play in person, how we got to see him break the record for the most touchdowns passed ever in NFL history, about all the school papers he has written about Favre, about how just watching the games, he has learned to play football even better, about how he knows every statistcal fact by memory. and more importantly, about how he learned how being a hero like Brett Favre isn't just about breaking records but being a good person, believing in God and making the right choices in life.

I know, I know, maybe he'll take it better than what I am anticipating. But when you look up to a team and it's quarterback as much as my son does, this is going to be a big deal in his young life. So be thinking of us and although there are alot of worse things that could happen, it's still going to be a sad night for my little man. He'll always love Brett Favre, on the field or off. And he'll still be wearing his cheesehead every chance he gets. Speaking for my young Packer-roid...Go Packers!

WOOHOO!

It was the big Roger Haas basketball tournament in Yankton today. My basketball son was up before the sun this morning for his first game at 8am. It was a nail biter to the end but they won, 26-24. Second game tip off was at 9:40...another good game but the boys were pretty tired towards the end. They held on to win, 22-14. That win took them to the championship for their bracket at 3:30...you could tell they were rested, fed and had plenty of gatorade. It was an awesome game with our boys winning 36-17. They took the first place trophy and after he recovered a bit from being winded, he was all smiles. His trophy is proudly displayed in his room and marks the end of his 5th grade basketball season. What a way to end. My excitement has leveled off now too from the games and we have a bit of a break now until soccer season. Schewww. I don't know how much more competition this mom can handle. I think I get more nervous than him.

Way to go #51 and to the rest of the team!!

Got my shirt today for the Mile-A-Day Challenge...I'm happy to say after 2 months, I'm still in.

the last week has been a flurry of activity...

2 dance classes

2 basketball practices

1 washer and dryer bought

1 cabin rented

1 trip to Sioux Falls to see mom and dad

4 stores visited

3 new pairs of shoes

1 new swimsuit

3 photo appointments

3 kids who needed help with homework

24 cookies baked

1 visit from the tooth fairy

1 birthday party attended

1 lunch with great friends

12 roses smelled

2 Charlie's Pizzas devoured

15 miles ran

Hundreds of prayers said

1 mommy ready for bed...

My husband and I are planning our summer vacations...already. Yes, the winter has taken its toll and we're more than ready for warm sun. But since there is quite a bit of the cold, wintry stufff left, I think it makes us both feel better to plan for June/July. So we're online looking for cabins in the Black Hills to book...and it's hard! There are so many and most of them, I don't know whether to trust the pictures or not. Is it really that nice or is it just the photo? It's kind of a frustrating feat. We need something in between Deadwood and Mt. Rushmore for all the touristy stuff. So i'm opening up this blog space for any suggestions/ideas for great cabins for a family of 5. You may just help us narrow this search down a bit and then we'll really feel like summer is on the way!

Haven't published much about Ridge in a long time. He's 2 years old now. I'm surprised he is still with us...last summer was filled with chasing him around the neighborhood, trying to teach him to stay in our yard. I was close two times to giving him away to some family that lives in the country. But over the last few months, he has finally accepted the fact that he doesn't own the house, the Weimeriner down the street doesn't want to be his friend and he has rules to follow, just like the kids. He is becoming a really good family dog, runs with me and loves to hunt those birds.

I just wish that big head wasn't soooo stubborn...

I just found out yesterday that girls weekend is set for April. I marked my calendar and labeled it "mom's weekend away." I was thinking after I wrote that how much I really don't get to "shop" anymore. Really if it weren't for these weekends, I probably wouldn't get to a mall without kids/husband ever. My shopping abilities have been on the decline over the years. I don't even know what the latest trends are. When I was younger, I could spend hours at the mall, trying on clothes, matching shoes and jewelry. I loved planning my outfits for the next day. But now, i'm just lucky to find a shirt and pants that match. I just don't have the time to seriously shop. If I do get to clothing store, I'm always on a time limit..."only have 15 minutes before so and so needs to be picked up". so I end up cruising through, picking up the first black shirt I can find, then putting it back because I always feel like I wear too much black. Then I'm discouraged because I just wasted that precious time and came home with nothing. I really need to get away from black but I can't. I have recently found brown to be a nice color. too bad I can't pair the two up. Then I'd have a wardrobe. I don't even know what looks good on me. Last year, Carey was my deciding factor on some outfits...thank God for her. Lately, believe it or not, I have relied on my husband. He can give it to me straight on what looks good and what maybe needs to be sent back. So I am hoping someday my shopping abilities will come back and I can look like I belong in this century. Please someone send me to "What Not To Wear"!!!!!!

My girls.

Sometimes I wonder what life will be like with them when they get into those teenage years. Because right now, they are just not clicking. Up until about a month ago, life was peachy for them. They played together, daughter 2 did whatever daughter 1 did, etc. They share a room with daughter 1 having the bigger bed. So we often find daughter 2 soundly asleep with her big sister in her bed. It's quite cute. But lately, well...the drama has begun. Drama and girls go together I think. Daughter 1 is very dramatic and the littlest things will get her going. Daughter 2 knows these buttons and pushes them from the minute I pick them up from school. Grrrrrrrr......so they end up both getting into trouble. Lately, I have had to have them play in separate areas of the house. Things are nice quiet then. Seems to work so far.

It still makes me laugh though because they could be tattling on each other, picking on each other 'til bedtime....and I still find the little one sneaking into the older one's bed to sleep. They love each other even through all the drama.

I got a call from my brother last week and I knew there was something wrong by the sound of his voice. He told me he had a brutal week. I couldn't imagine what would cause him to have a shaky voice, a quiet demeanor. He told me the story that I have been reading about all week.

http://www.cbs2chicago.com/ has stories, reports and pictures of Randy Salerno, an anchor for the station and a great friend and neighbor of my brother, Brian. They had planned a snowmobiling trip for weeks, taking a small plane to Wisconsin for a weekend of trail running. Brian said the first night they were, he was behind Randy and another guy. He said the driver was going way too fast, missed a turn and crashed. Brian was the first one on the scene. He said he pulled off Randy's helmet, began CPR. It was late, dark, in the middle of nowhere but my brother said it was too late. His chest hit the tree and there was nothing anyone could do. Now the driver of the Snowmobile has been charged in his death because he had been drinking. This guy was a lifelong friend of Randy's and my brother said he is devastated beyond anything you would ever see. I asked Brian how he was doing. It's been brutal, he said. he can't sleep. When he does, dreams and flashbacks wake him up. He can't focus. He is struggling and my heart just sank. A weekend of fun turned into a tragedy that he can't even describe. Brian wanted me to read up on Randy Salerno, the accident and just pray for everyone involved. So that's what I did. I googled it and it wasn't hard to find. It's been on my mind all weekend.

I'm passing the story onto you for your prayers for a family that you may not know. But I truly think all prayers help, even when they are for strangers. and please pray for Brian, my brother. Pray that he can find peace and comfort. Pray that he can find the reasons behind this tragic accident.

I realize more and more everyday how short of time we have on this earth. I told Brian I loved him, which I haven't told him in awhile. It's one of those things that we assume they know but the words aren't said. I am worried for him becuase I know he is taking this very hard and really doesn't know how to overcome it. Thank you for your prayers. They all mean a lot and I know in time, they will be answered.