There was only one thing to do in soaring temperatures

with high and I do mean high humidity

93 degree temperatures in fact

but to float in 83 degree pool water....

drinking an iced latte

{having an iced latte in hand prevents me from being splashed more than I already am!!!}

As I sip and float

I grab a dive stick

tickle a mermaid

count how long another can stay underwater

watch shark boy discover his new found freedom of swimming to his sister and back...

clap and say do it again...

My mind is busy planning...

to tackle a room

the house

the possibility of painting the guest room

furniture switcheroo

it's all been so neglected

in a good way

but

it desperately needs some TLC

I just can't figure out what to do with the wet dog

and 8 wet foot prints that make there way from the pool to the pool room

up the stairs

down the hallways

with a litter of towels left in their wake...

I trip over a crock

step on a Lego

find a bathing suit that didn't make it to it's proper hook to dry...

a Popsicle stick stuck to the table

and just when I pluck the last swimmer from the depths of the pool

it's dinner time!!

xo,

Yesterday was a day to surround ourselves in color...

varying shades of color at that!

bright blue

natures lush shades of green

warmth of sunshiny yellow

It was just what we all needed

we soaked it up

we felt our mouth break into a smile

because we saw the most fantastic smile beaming back at us from my little chickadee

for the last 35 days she's had her arm wrapped in blue...

a beautiful shade of blue with sweet signatures from her very loved friends

but it's

S U M M E R

&

my chickadee needs water

during the summer months she goes by

her mermaid name

she can swim the length of our pool coming up for air 2 times...

her goal for this summer is to make it across in one breath...

she's patiently watched her sisters and brother splash around for the past 5 weeks...

never complaining

eating a Popsicle together as we soaked our toes in the shimmering water...

I loved the company

but

as a mom I know when my fish needs to be back in the water

&

it was time

We finally got the a~okay from our very kind orthopedic doctor to change to a

water proof!!!!

of course

the power of color is amazing!!!

as she entered the water she was nervous

her elbow was stiff from being bent for 35 days..

but it didn't take long

for her to forget about her arm

stretch it wide

&

swim

What do I say...

what do I write...

my thoughts keep bringing me back to the meaning of family.

What does a family do when a horrific accident occurs

and takes one of our family members this past weekend...

a cousin to me

who was a husband

a father to 2 little boys

a son

a brother

a uncle

a doctor

a Naval officer

a friend

When your first thoughts are of "why did this have to happen"

On every level it's such a terrible heart wrenching accident that has changed the course of his family and has a rippling effect to all the layers of our family...

I've come to the conclusion that you can't ask "why"

as mortals we will never understand

we can't focus on a question that can't be anwered.

All we can do is unit

the way we were taught

it's what it means to be a family

grab hold of each others hands

stand on strong legs

pour out our hearts of love to give strength to the ones in the deepest of pain

pray that peace enters their hearts

that life on earth will one day be good again for his family

that rainbows are still meant to be seen

laughter is meant to be heard

that life needs to be lived to show 2 little boys that yes their life on earth has been change,

their daddy will now be loving them from above

a wife whose cross to bare is very difficult, may God wrap her in his warm embrace

his parents now suffer the tremendous loss of a child,

his 7 siblings will greatly miss their brother

as cousins we lost one of us...

but still so loved by him and us!

A family

who will stand strong, hug deeper

and love

it's what we are

FAMILY

Bob you will be missed deeply. Your family will be taken care of and loved by us all.

xo,

It's now all a memory...

a wonderful, festive memory from a celebration for a great group of teens

as we bid the last guest goodnight...

turned off the pool lights...

extinguished the tiki torches

gathered up the remaining items and made our way back into the house

I thought to myself....

all the work...

last minute running around...

the planning

the worrying we all do as mothers

the altered travel plans

was all worth it...

because I witnessed

the hugs

the smiles

heard the laughter...

the cherished words of...

thank you

&

if that was not enough

when all was said and done

I finally collapsed into a chair

and read the letter my daughter wrote to her Dad and I that was given to us at graduation....

On my blog I talk about my children but don't show their faces

it's just the decision I made when I began this amazing journey of blogging

but it doesn't stop me in the least from writing about the journey they take me on and how they enrich my life daily...

I would like to share an excerpt of my letter in my daughter's words...

I gently rolled our letter

wrapped in with the ribbon she tied on it

tucked it in my bedside table

turned off the light

wiped my tears away with my pillow

&

thought I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings..

xo,

Hello my sweet friends!

It's so nice to see you...

I'm finally able to surface from the whirlwind of the last 8 Days!!!

I can't tell you how many times throughout the days I've wished for 10minutes to run to my computer and document what's been going on...

but I knew 10 minutes would not be enough time to properly articulate what my feelings and thoughts were....

Let's start at the beginning....

with

I have to first say my children have been attending a Catholic School

pre-K through 8

and it's a rather small school....

this year my daughter had 24 students in her class

compared to other schools that is tiny!!!

I sent the invitation via evites...

so much easier to get an accurate RSVP response!!!

each night my daughter and I would click on and see who else responded and we'd laugh over the comments they would leave...

the yes column continued to grow

I received emails from parents asking if they could stay and be apart of the celebration...

my response....

So, here I was last Thursday with 35 people all heading to our home to

swim

&

eat

by the way my husband was on travel and getting back in the nick of time to sleep a couple hours, shower, put on a suit and get us to the graduation on time!!!!

The nightmares I had all week with visions of him stuck somewhere at an airport left me sleep deprived!!

With a situation like this

There was only one thing for me to do....

have the food

catered!!!

I flipped through my roller deck of ideas...

quickly settled on the idea to order trays and trays

of Subway sandwiches...

veggie

club

turkey

ham

roast beef

dashed to the wholesale club

tossed in the variety pack of chips

ran to the bakery section

for an assortment of treats

swooped up some fresh flowers...

&

prayed for good weather

or my so called "Pool Party" was heading indoors!!!

to be continued....

Wishing you a lovely Summer weekend

eating Popsicles

catching fireflies

listening to your favorite music

savoring that first sight of the sun rising on a new day

&

watching the sunset with the ones closest to you!!

xoxo,

and saying, heLLo June!

May turned out to be everything I thought it was going to be...

and a little more!

Life's little detours definitely

keep your reflexes sharp

But even more than that it reminds you to embrace everyday

savor the moments.

Saying heLLo to June comes with swirls of emotions

because it means change is about to happen...

there's no stopping it now...

the months have come and gone...

we are down to counting days.

Change that has the mother in me a little bit sad

a little bit nervous

and a little bit excited....

A big chapter will be coming to a close...

On Saturday I will have an 8TH grade graduate

I remember taking her to preschool and what she wore...

Her little bow in her hair

ruffled socks

holding my hand

I can still picture her running into her new class after a quick hug and not turning back...

together we learned the ropes of elementary school

middle school

I know the ins and the outs

and now that I've finally mastered it

it's time to change again!

and I have no experience mothering a High Schooler...

this morning she hugged me tight before we all piled into the car

we looked right into each others eyes

the same way we did when I would sit and nurse her as a tiny baby

that direct

looking straight into each others souls

kind of eye contact...

My eyes were saying I'm here for you every step of the way

please lean on me

ask for advise

don't close me out.

This week I was suppose to be heading to the Pacific Northwest...

I had plane tickets in hand

big plans to attend

Farm Chicks
everything was set

until I found out that my daughter's graduation was the same day as Farm Chicks...

seriously

this had to be a very bad joke...

placed a quick call to the school principal

I hung up

with a broken heart

and saw my trip vanish

poof

gone

not going to happen this year...

I just couldn't miss my daughter's day

I've been with her every step of the way...

&

if this Chick is missing Farm Chicks because of an 8 TH grade graduation

there was only one thing to do....

throw a very big party for my daughters entire class...

oh yes I am...

I invited her entire class

to head on over to our home

for an evening of

swimming

eating

music

picture taking

hula hooping

autograph signing t~shirts

Graduation Party!!!




Here's to facing change head on

taking disappointment and turning it into a party

showing my children that life is unpredictable

there will be many bumps, curves, celebration, highs and lows

but no matter what

I'm always by your side!!!

Let the Pool Party prep work begin....



xo,