Season Of Change...

Yesterday was a tough day filled with memories and lots of raw emotions. It marked the 9-year anniversary of my mom's passing. The very instant I woke up, I remembered. The pain of that day is just as intense as it was 9 years ago, but I've learned to manage it and not allow it to overtake me. Still, I feel like a part of my soul has been ripped from me...and I will never quite be the same, again. Mom meant the world to me and we were so incredibly close. I could go to her about anything and everything knowing that she would understand. Oh, and then there were the laughs we shared. We could turn one giggle session into an all-day event! She was my dearest and closest friend and I can't even begin to put into words just how much I miss her.

As you know, Brittany's last high school cross country season will end on Saturday when her team competes at STATE. Well, I joined another mom yesterday afternoon to take some pictures of the girls that we're going to include in goody bags we're making for them. They were just the cutest...cracking up at each other every 5 seconds or so. Typical teenage girls! We had them do 4 or 5 different poses and they all turned out great! Looking through my camera lens made me very misty eyed, I must admit. Those girls don't realize that what they have right now, in this very moment in time, is soon to be forever changed. There are 5 seniors on the varsity team, so some of their friendships will fade, as is often the case when you grow up and move away. I've grown to love all those girls so much. I'm sure going to miss them when it's over. While I was at the park getting ready to take their pictures, Brittany pulled me aside and told me that one of her teammates who rode over to the park with her had cracked her windshield. We couldn't really talk about it with everyone standing around, but I didn't get the impression that it was anything of much concern. Well, she mentioned it to Chris when she got home and we all went out to take a look at it. There's about a 12" crack in her windshield on the passenger side! Apparently, her teammate thought there was a spider on the inside of the window and punched at it with her fist. Well, she must have hit it pretty hard for it to have cracked as badly as it did. Chris called her father and told him about it, which was very awkward for him to do. Thankfully, his daughter told him what had happened, so he apologized and agreed to have it fixed. He was very nice about it...thank goodness. So, looks like Brittany will be getting a new windshield soon. Here's what it looks like...

As they say, when it rains it POURS! Speaking of which, there is no rain in the forecast for Saturday, so the girls should have perfect running weather! Yippee!

I have a busy day ahead, but I'll try to get around to visiting all of you sometime today. Thanks for always bearing with me!

Still On CLOUD 9!

Saturday morning, we woke up to cloudy skies and rain in the forecast. Just what we needed for the day of Brittany's cross country meet...the Region 7 AAAAA Championships! It's the meet that qualifies individual runners/teams for the STATE XC Championships on Nov. 7th. So, it was very important that the girls do well. Adrenalin was pumping through their veins!

Here's the girls on the starting line for a quick team pose. I can't help but LOVE their crazy socks!

The gun sounded and away they went! They were on a mission!
Here's Brittany coming into her second turn around the course. As you can see, the conditions of the course weren't the greatest. It was very muddy in several spots and it got much worse once the rain began to pour. However, the girls stayed with it and placed 4th overall! Brittany finished in 13th place and medaled...her best buddy, Alicia, was 14th and medaled, too! The best news is that the girls and boys varsity teams both qualified to go to STATE on Saturday! I am so thrilled! What a perfect way to finish out Brittany's last high school cross country season! The course they'll run is one of Brittany's favorites with several hills. She always does extremely well on it and great weather is predicted! I can't wait!
Now, with Regions being on Halloween, the girls went home, rested awhile and cleaned up, then got ready for trick-or-treating fun. Here's Brittany and Alicia about to head out the door to a Halloween party. I have no idea what my daughter was thinking when she picked out a baby costume! I about died from laughter when she waddled out in that huge diaper! Let me assure you that she had a pair of shorts on underneath it...though it sure doesn't look like it! Oh, the reactions she got!

Here's Abby who was getting ready to go out with a group of her friends. It was the first year I didn't tag along...sniff, sniff! She had a great time and everyone wanted to "honk" her nose!

Brittany and Abby both had their friends over to spend this night, afterwards.

So, Saturday was a day full of excitement, fun memories, and exhaustion! I wouldn't have traded it for ANYTHING!

P.S. Go over and pay a visit to my bloggy friend, Amy...she's having a fantastic giveaway!

Multiplied Talent!

I'm a huge fan of the TV show "Glee" and was searching up a video to post about it when I came across this one. I sat there and watched and listened in amazement. I love the song "Don't Stop Believing", but this video adds a special flair to it. Check it out for yourself...



Isn't that the neatest thing? The singer is super talented, but can you imagine the time and creativity it took to pull this video together? It's all the same person! All I know to say is, "WOW"!

Have a fun and safe weekend and above all..."Don't stop believing!"

BLESSED!

If you're like me, you don't take enough time to STOP, BE STILL, and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. Life can get so hectic that, often times, the really important things take a backseat. Well, the other night I took some time to reflect and understand just how truly BLESSED I am.

After the girls got home late yesterday afternoon from school/practice, we ate a quick dinner of leftovers from the fridge. I had to be down at the high school at 6 PM to help make decorations for the upcoming cross country banquet. Brittany had an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting that she was planning to attend at 6:30 PM. Abby opted to stay home so she could get her homework done.

Well, I was gone for longer than I had expected...nearly 2 hours. We had to make photo cards for about 100 runners! I made it home shortly after 8 PM. When I walked in the door, Abby had already gotten her shower and she informed me that she'd given Bella a bath. She did those things without even being asked or reminded! You have no idea how much that made my day! She completed all of her homework, too! I let her know just how much I appreciate her.

I walked back to the guest room where Brittany was sitting on the bed talking on her cell phone. I could easily see that she'd been crying. I thought that she might have gotten into an argument with her boyfriend. When she hung up the phone, I asked what was wrong. Through tears, she shared with me that during her FCA meeting, a young man got up and gave his testimony. When he was in college, he was in a bad car accident and suffered a severe head injury. She said he made it to the podium with the help of a walker and his speech was obviously impaired. He's living at home with his mother so that she can care for him. She said he stood there and praised God for his life and his abundant blessings. Choking back the tears, she told me, "Mom, it was the most touching thing I've ever heard." She explained how she felt so bad that she complains sometimes and takes so much for granted. Don't we all? I gave her a hug and we had a nice, long talk. Simply put, appreciate all the God-given blessings you have and use every opportunity you're given to share with others what God has done for you.

Well, I got up early yesterday morning to find that a friend of mine had sent me a video he wanted me to watch, knowing that I'll soon be facing some major changes in my life. I hit the 'play' button and from the very start, the tears started to flow. There's just something about those words and the images that grab me right in the heart. Take a listen ...



So, on this day, I feel incredibly BLESSED. Blessed to be alive and well, and to be surrounded by those who love and nurture me. Blessed to have a husband who works hard all week to provide for our family. Blessed to have two beautiful daughters who always find ways to make me laugh and to feel proud that I'm their mom. I feel blessed for more reasons than I can even count. I am far from deserving, but God has been so good to me!

Have YOU taken time to count your blessings today?

"Paranormal Activity"~A Review

With Halloween drawing near, who doesn't like to watch a good scary movie, right? Well, Chris and I have been hearing all the hype about the new movie, "Paranormal Activity". So, when he came home on Friday, we decided to head to the movie theater and take it in. Now, we've seen movies before on a Friday afternoon and the theater hasn't been packed, but there's usually a good number of people there. Well, when we walked in to find our seats, we soon realized that we were the only two in the theater. One other woman did eventually join us. You could interpret that one of two ways. Either the movie was just as scary as everyone had been saying OR it was the complete opposite. We were about to find out.

"Paranormal Activity" is about a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are living together. Katie has been followed by a demonic entity since she was 8 years old. The movie centers on their quest to capture video footage of the spirit as it makes itself known. It's done in the format of a documentary. There are only 3 characters in the movie: Katie, Micah, and a psychic...4, if you count the entity.

Now, I'm not going to give away any details of the movie, just in case you choose to see it yourself. All I'm going to say is that the movie lacked heart-pounding moments you typically get in scary movies. You know the kind where you cover your face with your hands and peek through your fingers? For both of us, there weren't any times during the movie where we jumped out of our seats. The woman sitting a few rows behind us agreed. In fact, we all looked at each other when it was over and sort of shrugged our shoulders as if to say, "Was that it?"

I know that "Paranormal Activity", is ranked #1 at the Box Office, but it goes to prove that hype sparks people's curiosity...it did for Chris and me. However, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the scariest movie you could ever imagine, I'd have to give "Paranormal Activity" a 2. For me, it simply lacked the "WOW" factor. Plus, the foul language during the second half, especially, was a huge turn-off. Oddly enough, Brittany has some friends who've seen it and they told her they've been having the worst nightmares because of it. Hmm... did I miss something?

So, tell me, have you seen it? What did you think? Are you having to sleep with one eye open?

She Had A BURNING Desire...

So, did my title grab your attention? Almost sounds like something out of a steamy romance novel, doesn't it? Well, I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, but this is all about a very special lady in my life, Maddie. She's our dachshund and her 9th birthday was on Saturday.

Now, in order to celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to give Maddie something she loves almost more than sleeping...a HOT DOG! When Maddie fixed her eyes on it, she immediately started salivating! Her taste buds went into overdrive! Brittany had the "brilliant" idea of sticking a lit candle in it. She crouched down close to Maddie and we sang "Happy Birthday" to her. We barely made it to the second stanza when Maddie took a leap like a kangaroo and gobbled down the hot dog AND the lit candle in one gigantic gulp! We had no time to react...it was GONE! Maddie just licked her chops like that was the best birthday gift she could have ever received. Oh, what I'd give to have captured that moment on video!

Poor girl...she had heartBURN the rest of the night! :)

Ready For Some R & R!

Seems like this whole week, I've been going, going, GOING! I'm just plain ol' tired! Yesterday, I had to help drive the girls' cross country team to run the Regions course...it's 20 miles or so away. You can imagine what it was like coming back home in all that Atlanta traffic! I dropped the girls off at the school, then Brittany and I drove home to pick up Abby. We zipped over to Chick Fil-A for a very quick bite to eat. We had to take Brittany back to her high school so she could be there for 2 hours to watch a JV football game until 8 PM. It was a requirement for the Sports Medicine class she's taking. The good part is that we have a FREE weekend, so we get to rest and relax! Brittany takes the ACT in the morning at 8 AM, so I'm sure I'll get up to fix her a nice breakfast before she leaves. Who knows, I might just crawl back into bed, pull the covers over my head, and sleep the rest of the morning away! ZZZZZ!

Hope each of you has a fantastic weekend...with plenty of rest!