Thinking Positive

“ Blessings sometimes show up in unrecognizable disguises.”
~ Janette Oke

Ending.....

"There is something deep within us that sobs at endings. Why, God, does everything have to end? Why does all nature grow old? Why do spring and summer have to go?"

 ~ Joe Wheeler

Nine years

What a difference nine years makes.  I love them as they are, but I miss them as they were....

“Nothing stands still, except in our memory.” 

~ Philippa Pearce

tbt: Approximately 9 years ago....

“so familiar that you slide back to the place where you fit.” 

~ Jodi Picoult

Joy

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” 

~ Mark Twain

National Dog Day

I haven't had a dog for many years.  I still miss that sweet girl.  We decided to get a dog for a variety of reasons.  We thought it would be good for Alex to have company when he was home alone, and to have a watch dog to let us know when intruders were present.

There were a few things I wasn't prepared for....a puppy, for instance...and potty training a puppy, and a puppy getting into everything.  I had conveniently forgotten all about that.  She sure was a handful...very spirited as a pup.   I wasn't prepared for a dog that just loves to come and hold my hand.  I wasn't prepared for a pup who just so much wants to love us and be near us every minute...and protect us from all the evils that lurk outside.   There is one more thing I wasn't prepared for...how much we would love her.  I wasn't prepared for the joy, for laughing at some of the silly things she does....and tries to get away with.  We are so blessed to have our girl, Allie Cat as part of our lives.

She is a beautiful pup with a beautiful, loving spirit and I can't imagine our life without her.

“No matter how close we are to another person, few human relationships are as free from strife, disagreement, and frustration as is the relationship you have with a good dog. Few human beings give of themselves to another as a dog gives of itself. I also suspect that we cherish dogs because their unblemished souls make us wish - consciously or unconsciously - that we were as innocent as they are, and make us yearn for a place where innocence is universal and where the meanness, the betrayals, and the cruelties of this world are unknown.” 

~ Dean Koontz

Treasured Friends

We took a much needed dinner break to meet up with some treasured friends in Oswego on Saturday.  Life happened and we just hadn't gotten a chance to see each other.  It was so great to see them, if even for a little bit.  They are so much a part of our family's memories.  We love you Jim and Wendy!!

"Beautiful and rich is an old friendship,

Grateful to the touch as ancient ivory,

Smooth as aged wine, or sheen tapestry

Where light has lingered, intimate and long.

Full of tears and warm is an old friendship

That asks no longer deeds of gallantry,

Or any deed at all - save that the friend shall be 

Alive and breathing somewhere, like a song." 

~ Eunice Tietjens

Minus 2

Well it must be fall.  All summer long there were cars jostling for parking spaces in the driveway.  Now they are gone and the house seems strangely quiet, and our furry friends are trying to figure out where there humans coule possibly be.  But they are where they need to be and they will be back before we know it.

So, I guess I must begin the process of bidding summer a fond farewell.  I am not ready. There is more of summer I needed to spend with family, fun and a slower pace.  But, all I can do is enjoy this last bit of time and cultivate an attitude of gratitude for what may lay ahead.

“I give you this to take with you:

Nothing remains as it was. If you know this, you can

begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.” 

~ Judith Minty

Back in Oswego

It has been a loooooooong day. But Alyssa is now in Oswego, having driven herself in her own car. We followed in the van with the rest of the stuff.  She is now in the process of getting ready to begin her Junior year. It just doesn't seem possible. I know this will be an awesome year for her!! We miss her already. It will never get easier to say goodbye to one of my babies.

“It is always sad when someone leaves home, unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches.” 

~ Lemony Snicket

Apologies, in advance...

Tonight was the culmination of 2 weeks of  marching band camp. It was the parent night, where they got to show us some of what they have learned and accomplished.  When Alex first began this journey...it seemed a bit grudgingly at first. I am beyond proud at how he has grown in just the past two weeks...in oh so many ways.  He is my baby...my youngest......and watching him tonight, I was beyond proud!

So, I apologize to those of you who from time to time, stop by here and listen to me and look at what is going on in my life...I apologize, because for the next two months or so....you are going to be seeing more than your fair share of marching band photos.

As for me, I will be snapping and sharing more than my fair share....because I am fairly certain that this sense of overwhelming pride I feel tonight, will only continue to grow.

“If you reach for the stars, you just might land on a decently sized hill.” 

~ Stuart Hill

tbt: Cara's first band camp

As Alex nears the end of his first band camp for marching band, I think back to where it all started.....to the time when our family fell in love with marching band.  I think back to the days in August 2005 that we began living life. planning our entire life around marching band.  I have to admit that I am a little rusty after a 2 year sabbatical.  I am finding however, that it is a little like riding a bike.  It is all coming back, the schedules, the list of to-do's and most of all....the thrill of it all.

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” 

~ Phil Jackson

Time with friends...

As the summer wanes, and we prepare to go back to places and routines of the school year, it becomes necessary to spend some quality time with good friends.  Thankfully, Michalyn put up with Alyssa's cooking lesson....and ate every last bite and then helped us make dessert...which was out of this world....and definitely not gluten free. 

As both girls get ready to head back to school, we wish them success....and can't wait to get together again.

“You can go through life and make new friends every year - every month practically - but there was never any substitute for those friendships of childhood that survive into adult years. Those are the ones in which we are bound to one another with hoops of steel.” 

~ Alexander McCall Smith

Fly

“Don't allow the fear of falling stop you from pursuing your dream. Prepare. Practice. Pray. Jump! It's through the fall that you'll realize you can to fly.” 

~ Yvonne Pierre

Band

Alex decided to join marching band.....and I know he is asking himself why.  I know it was partly because his sisters did it and it was a huge part of their life and our life as a family.  Alex is the kind of kid who prefers to spend his time locked away in his room doing something with a computer.  He has never been much of a sports kid and marching band is hard physical work.  It takes a lot of strength and stamina as well as coordination, and memorization and the ability to play your musical instrument while moving into specific forms.  It is a lot more difficult than it looks.

I know Alex has been exhausted in every way from his marching band experiences thus far.  I know there has been more than a part of him that has wished...and wished fervently.... that he was home relaxing in front of his beloved computer.  But he has stuck with it and is doing his best and I could not be more proud of him than I was when I watched him on that field today!!

“You have been given all the good things one must have, be proud of yourself and enjoy your gifts.” 

~ M.F. Moonzajer

Broadway

The truth about our family is that there isn't much we would rather be doing than going to see a Broadway musical.  We had a great family day to bid a fond farewell to summer.

"The truth is I love musical theater and always have."

~ Idina Menzel

Farewell Fajitas

Well, it's that time of year again.  Time to begin the long, painful goodbye to summer and begin thinking about the new school/work year.  I started a tradition when Cara was just going off to college.  The last meal at home is Farewell Fajitas. And since, as the schedule works out, this is our last meal at home together before everyone disperses to their own corners  of the globe.....tonight was Farewell Fajitas.

This summer...like any other time, had it's good points and bad.  On the whole, I wouldn't give it super high marks...Alyssa suffered through her summer job, Cara's summer plans fell through and I felt a good deal of professional stress myself. The weather wasn't wonderful.  Our one trip to the beach  resulted in bad burns and an allergic reaction.... But, we weren't expecting to see too much of Cara, and we were lucky that she ended being home much more than anticipated...and although we didn't get to s'more quite as often....we still did get our s'more time in.  We got to have ice cream and do some fun family things together....and we are all filled with pride as Alex begins marching band.

So, despite the fact that this summer won't go down in the history books as being fantastic....it did provide us with some redeeming qualities.  As Cara heads back home tomorrow and back to work on Monday,  as Alyssa heads back to Oswego next Saturday, as Alex and I brace ourselves for a busy fall....we say farewell to summer, to carefree days, a more relaxed schedule, to warmth and light and to each other and family time together.  And what better way to say farewell then with Fajitas? 

“What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” 

~ Jack Kerouac

My little boy

I miss this sweet little one, and don't remember the moment that he turned into the young man who answers to the same name.

I'd give all wealth that years have piled,

The slow result of Life's decay,

To be once more a little child

For one bright summer day.

~Lewis Carroll

Challenge Accepted

Here are three of my favorite people.  Two of them are, of course, my beloved children.  The other one is a much loved friend.  These brave souls took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge tonight.  I don't think there are too many people out there that actually WANT to have ice water poured over their heads.  But they were good sports and did it in the name of a good cause!!  I was happy that I got to be present for the event. I was even happier that I was behind the camera and not in front of it.  Alex was happy that he got the honor of pouring the ice water over a few people.  All in all a good time....and all are safe and warm now.

“It is easy to smile in the face of a challenge, when we believe in ourselves that we won't back down.” 

~ Ellen J. Barrier

Pie

Zoe had never had Toll House Pie before. I am not quite sure how she ever lived without it!! Now, however, her life is complete and I know I have made someone's corner of the world happier!!

“Never promise to make pie and fail to deliver on that promise.” 

~ Kate Lebo

Light

"Sometimes just looking up and seeing the light is enough." 

~Terri Guillemets

You will be missed....

He brought laughter into our hearts and homes....je was a comedic genius.....but the moments that I loved best were his soft tender moments.  I wish he had believed in himself the way we all did.  I wish he could have seen how he made our world a better place.  I wish he could have stayed around a little longer.  It is yet another reason to be kind to everyone....for we never know the path they walk, the battles they fight and the demons that lurk in the shadows of their minds.

Rest In Peace Mr. Williams.  You made the world a better place, and you will  be missed.

“You will have bad times, but they will always wake you up to the stuff you weren't paying attention to.” 

~ Robin Williams

Reach out....

This guy was one of our favorites!!

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”

 ~ Eleanor Roosevelt 

Visiting Friends...

We had a beautiful day to visit some of our favorite friends!

“How it is that animals understand things I do not know, but it is certain that they do understand. Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it. Perhaps there is a soul hidden in everything and it can always speak, without even making a sound, to another soul.” 

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

International Cat Day

In honor of the cats that rule our lives and our household and have turned my firstborn into a self-proclaimed "cat lady"!

“Time spent with a cat is never wasted.” 

~ Colette

My amazing blessings....

"And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen." 

~Terri Guillemets

Time passed....

“Inelegantly, and without my consent, time passed.” 

~ Miranda July

Transformation Tuesday:Alyssa & Sophie

Transformation Tuesday...to the days when Alyssa was actually taller than her little cousin. In spite of the fact that they have changed places in height order, Alyssa continues to adore Sophie, and Sophie will always look up to her cousin Alyssa.

"Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed."

 ~Irene Peter

May it always be so

And even when you are grown.....may it always be so!

“Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.” 

~ Sarah Dessen

National Sisters Day

I never had a sister, but always wished for one.  It would have been nice to have a built in best friend.  Others who have sisters, have told me it doesn't actually always work out that way.   I am told that it is National Sisters Day.   I am not a sister, but I gave birth to a pair of sisters.  They are totally different human beings. They have different personalities, different likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams.  They are made of different fabric...yet the same thread runs through it.

They don't always agree with one another, they sometimes get on each others nerves....but they have grown to be close...to be a trusted and best friend to each other.  I suggest you do not cross the other one's sister.  I love that they can still laugh and be goofy and want to spend time together.  I am so proud of each of them for who they are...and especially proud of the sister relationship that they have!!

"You can kid the world. But not your sister. "

~Charlotte Gray

Laughter

If laughter were really the best medicine....than Alyssa would be a world renowned physician.  She has kept us in stitches not only tonight...but all through her days.  This is one of her greatest gifts....because she doesn't have to try that hard....the humor just seems to pour from her veins.

“Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it.” 

~ L.M. Montgomery

Prom

Today I went to a prom.  It wasn't any ordinary prom.  It was a prom for some amazing people who have never been to a prom before.  It was for some extraordinary young men and women who face significant challenges in their lives.  From start to finish it was amazing...the outpouring of kindness and generosity which made it all possible in the first place.

And as truly wonderful as all of that was....it couldn't light a candle to the looks on the faces of they guests...all dressed up and ready to party, the endless love and energy of all the volunteers who I'm sure could have made other plans after work on a Friday.

Sometimes you just see love.....and it is so bright and brilliant that you just can't take it in.  Tonight there was dancing, holding hands, reaching out, hugging, lifting up, whirling around....but most of all there was love in its purest form.

I was touched and moved and honored to be part of it.....and I pray that the world could be a little more like that prom tonight....a place where there was so much love and joy in dancing through life together!

“The way you treat people who are in no position to help you, further you, or benefit you reveals the true state of your heart.” 

~ Mandy Hale