Thoughts:

"Normal fear protects us; abnormal fear paralyses us. Normal fear motivates us to improve our individual and collective welfare; abnormal fear constantly poisons and distorts our inner lives. Our problem is not to be rid of fear, but rather to harness and master it."

Martin Luther King

"There are moments of such pure, sublime, unparalleled perfection that they will force you to close your eyes and hold on to them as best you can. Life is a series of these moments. Everything else is just waiting for them."

Iain Thomas

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."

Author unknown

"As you grow up, you will learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it will get harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

 

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin."

 

Unknown

Jr. Prom - Mckelsie 2012

Mckelsie's 1st School Dance/Prom and Date!

Dec 2012

Dad helped Mckelsie (did the whole thing) ask Valentino to the dance.

 Valentino and Mckelsie

Mom and Dad chaperoned (paid for the date)

Mckelsie at YW



Las Vegas

Chicago!

My Chicago Trip With My Amazing Friends!

Melissa and I were able to go visit Karen at her home, just outside of Chicago. 

We had so much fun seeing the sights, EATING, TALKING and LAUGHING like crazy!

Thought:

"Parents, we should make a conscious decision to see our children the same as we see ourselves — a struggling, scared but divine, amazing human being in process, learning and growing every day. We can give them permission to be human, make mistakes and be less than perfect, and still deserve our love and respect. We must not come from a place of judgment and see them as less than us.

Then, we should set our thoughts and feelings aside upfront, and ask questions and listen to them. We can learn important things about our children when we listen more than talk."

- unknown

Halloween Time 2012

Happy Halloween 2012!

This year wasn't much different than years past, other than we were able to have Carter with us for Trick-or-Treating, which was a ton of fun!  The kids dressed up for school, did their normal parties there and I dressed up for work.  Now, I always dress up (most always) for work and sadly there's not that many people that share the love of Halloween like I do and do not dress up.  BUT....this year, nearly everyone in my department enjoyed the holiday and dressed up or agreed to dress up in extra costumes brought by others.  My favorite part is having the little ones come into the office and trick-or treat....they are so darn cute! 

Jayden and I (me-Vampiress / Jayden-Zombie Baseball player)