Thought:

My Ladies

My girlfriends, ladies, girls..... What would I do without them!!??!!

Karen, Melissa and I have been friends for nearly 10 years or so.  We all met through a neighbor of mine and began getting together for lunches with the kids.  We've had other friends apart of our little lunches which turned into "Girls Nights", late night phone calls, laughing fits, shoulders to lean on, houses to clean, kids (and maybe husband(s) ) to complain about and great food to share.  The only ones to stick through it all, to always show up were the three of us.  Now 10 years later, we've all moved away from our original neighborhood meeting place and Karen is now moving REALLY far away.... Chicago!  The lunch dates will be a bit harder to pull off but knowing our friendships over the past years we'll still be a big part in each others lives.  We have had so much fun, been through some amazing things together and I feel blessed to call both Melissa and Karen my friends.  I know without a doubt that my Heavenly Father helped our worlds come together to build each other, love each other and most of all learn from from each other.

I am SO excited for Karen's new adventure and the "Girls Weekends" that we now will get to have! 

I love you girls!!! 

"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things."

~Author Unknown

"A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked."

~Author Unknown

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." ~Elisabeth Foley

"She is a friend of mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind."

~Toni Morrison, Beloved

Demolition Derby.... 2011

The Dark

So, I got home last night from work and what usually is a well lighted neighborhood was dark.  The houses were dark, the street lamps were dark and it definitely left an creepy feeling in the air.  When I pulled up to the house I could tell candles were on in most every room and walking downstairs I saw Randy and Jayden lighting this old fashioned candle that I typically use for decoration.  The power ended up being off all night so we had cereal for dinner, played a banana game we got for Christmas and bundled up before climbing into bed.  I found My Randy brushing his teeth with my decorative candle and just had to snap a picture.  Kind of fun to have a night in the dark!  I was especially grateful though that the plumbing still worked even in the absence of electrical power.... I can go old school with the lighting but the outhouse idea is just not for me!

Model Car

This was one of Carter's Christmas presents, a model car.  Sunday morning, while everyone else lay sleeping soundly in their beds, Carter, Randy and I (mostly Carter and Randy) put his model car together.  Carter did so good and was so excited when it was all put together!  He screwed all the screws, read the instructions and with a little muscle from Dad.....  a very cool model car is complete!

Jazz Game

I got a pretty great stocking stuffer for Randy..... apparently! 

Randy and I went to a Jazz game which cost us a whopping $5 each!

Hanging out for Christmas break

I love this pic! 

Jayden was "doing his homework",

eating Mcdonalds for lunch, 

watching TV and had music on the computer! 

Bedtime

All ready for bed!  

Thought:

"Life is truly a ride.  We're all strapped in and no one can stop it.  When the doctor slaps your behind, he's ripping your ticket and away you go.  As the years go by, sometimes you will put your arms up and scream, sometimes you will just hang onto that bar in front of you, but the ride is the thing.  I think the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair is messed up, you're out of breath and you didn't throw up!"