Dad Survived a Heart Attack (2 years ago)

Written two years ago but never posted:

Last Tuesday was the scariest day in my life. At noon, my sister called to tell me my father had a heart attack. For the first time ever, I didn't know what to do. I'm usually the organizer, the planner, the control freak ~ but I was dumb-founded it was so unexpected. Fortunately, my sweet husband took over and got all the kids and pets organized and we jumped in the car on our way up north. Because I was the furthest away, my other siblings got there before me and I wasn't able to make it back home until after visiting hours were over. My heart sank when the clock struck 9pm, knowing the nurses wouldn't let me in to see my Dad. Although I had been reassured by my other family members that he was OK, I just really needed to physically see him to know that was true.

Here is a layout I created a few months ago to show how we are so glad he is still with us.

The Sweetness of Snuggling

This morning, like many recent mornings because of the excess of snow and lack of school, I had the distinct pleasure of snuggling with my two favorite little 'ladies'. My DD is 7 and our DP {Darling Puppy, named Lady btw} is 21 pounds of snuggly, licky fun. She is a dachshund-beagle mix and has snuggled and licked her way into our hearts ever since we rescued her just 5 short months ago. I just had to mention how lucky I am to be married to a man who is willing to work two jobs in order for me to have the maximum amount of time with my kids during these formative years.  I am one lucky girl! To top it off, during above mentioned snuggling, my DD looks at me and says "I'm so lucky that God picked you to be my Mom". So, in true Mom fashion, I nuzzle my nose into her baby shampoo smelling hair and cry tears of joy. It is certainly a good day to be me.

Snow Much Fun!

A popular topic has obviously been the snow that has been poured down on our area in very large quantities... what this has meant for me though was an unexpected winter vacation with my kids. Since summer vacation ended, the leisurely days of sitting around in our PJs eating popcorn and watching movies at noon have since vanished. In the midst of the wintery wonderland I've been reminded of how lucky I am to now be a stay-at-home-mom of almost a year. Sure there are moments, especially in these last two weeks of an unexpected school vacation, where I've said, 'I wish they had school today'...however, I know all too soon, they'll be all grown up and their favorite place to be will NOT be up my kazoo.  I try to laugh and find some humor in that now to keep me sane even though as I write this my daughter is sitting on the floor next to my desk and has asked me at least a dozen questions during the course of this post. Now I am off once again to get the requested crafty item, because after all, how can I say no to "Mommy, can you print out a picture of Fossil & me so I can make a scrapbook page?"...those are certainly beautiful words to hear for more reasons than one!

Not so fast, please

Recently, during a playdate, Summer & her friend Jillian decided to play with make up. I gave them the ok as long as we could wash it off before we had to leave the house. Both girls had a blast applying lip gloss, blush and eyeshadow and surprisingly we did not end up with crazy looking clowns. What we did end up with however is a flash into the future, as I looked at my daughter's face I could see her growing up right before my eyes. Gone are the chubby, baby cheeks and the baby teeth. Her piercing blue eyes have, of course, remained but now they are surrounded by the face and curiosity of an elementary school girl trying to be fashionably girlie yet somehow still a tom-boy. I was able to capture the perfect picture as she looked up at me beneath the beautiful blonde locks and her dreamily long eye lashes. My little girl, my pretty girl - oh, how I wish you could stay this age forever, don't be in a hurry to grow up, at least not so fast, please.