My Mama

Mom, I miss you so much! I don't think any love is as great as a mom and her daughter. You were an angel on earth, who now shares in God's blessing of eternity. Please look down and guide us and send us a wink every once in a while. Love you!

I remember trying to play tennis with my son and saying to myself, "Boy, I'm No Good!

On living and dying

It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure on the world.
John Steinbeck

GRACE

The strangest thing happened today. I went for a walk and then decided to just stroll around a couple stores. I purchased a new perfume and a journal-datebook for next year. When I got home I noticed both items contained the word "GRACE". The perfume was called Pure Grace and the book was called Perennial Grace. How strange? I thought about the word Grace. I had always admired Grace Kelly, but what I really enjoy is the song Amazing Grace sung by II Divo. As in the beloved old hymn, the amazing kind of grace is God's gift of redemption, the grace which prompts us to repent, causing us to think again when we find ourselves in a bad way, and which prompts us to return, putting us back on a more godly path.

And That's The Way It Is

My posts have seemed to dwell on one theme lately...death...but tributes need to go where they are deserved. I feel like I lost a member of my family today. Throughout my life he sat with us while we listened to the events he told us about, from the tearful day of President Kennedy's shooting, the landing on the moon, the Viet Nam War,and news events through the years. "The most trusted man in America" is filling another space in the heavens.

Loved It!

Turn off playlist on right first!

boys 10 @ Yahoo! Video

STOP IT ALREADY!

I never used to do this, but......I HAVE BEEN EATING WAY TOO MUCH ICE CREAM LATELY!

PARTS OF MY PAST

Today I woke up thinking about "death" and how I need to make a will. Then ironically this day brought 2 terrible losses..parts of my life as I grew up...Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Farah and her beautiful hair...how I wished I looked like her and envied her fitness even as she got older and Michael...his songs were all I played at my wedding and the time I followed him in his white van with my Datsun B210 down the Dan Ryan from White Sox Park to Michigan Avenue. "The Victory Tour" and my husband actually being on the news as he sat camped out at the head of the line to get tickets for it because I wanted to go so badly. I had a terrible crush on him during his Thriller days. I will never forget the Motown 25 show when I first saw him "Moondance". He was awesome! His talent and creativity were like no other. His popularity crossed generations. Bless Michael and Farah and may they rest in peace.

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Today

I thought that it was only me obsessed with the break up of Jon and Kate, but it is everywhere. It bothers me most of all because I thought they were just like our family, a few knocks here and there, and life goes on. But does it really? It seems that death and illness has succumbed to so many of my fellow workers and/or their families this year, making me realize how precious life and people really are. Enjoy those around you, live life to the fullest, and tell those who mean something to you how much they do. Work is a place to earn money. Sometimes it is enjoyable and sometimes it is a tightrope walk. However, if it were not for work I wouldn't have found some of the people that mean as much to me as they do. God, thank you for bringing them into my life!

Today they said the Gosselin's had a better chance of working out their differences than the US had in moving on! WOW were they wrong!

I MISS MY KIDS SO MUCH

STUBBORN Husbands and Directions

STUBBORN: unreasonably or perversely unyielding; performed or carried on in an unyielding, obstinate, or persistent manner; difficult to handle, manage, or treat.


Today we went to the USA vs Honduras Soccer Game at Soldier's Field. I told my husband, "Let's park where we usually do and walk." He did not want to do this as he said it was too far. I couldn't believe it because we have been taking incredibly long walks lately. Well, when we got to Soldier Field parking lot and saw that we would have to walk as far as we would have if he listened to me, he agreed to turn around and go to where I originally planned, only this wasted 30 minutes turning around. However, as we were doing this, we got to see the bus which had the US National Team on it! It was a fun, brisk walk....all the excitement, crowds, and anticipation of the game. Even better, we actually won. There were over 50,000 people there, and it seemed like 3/4 of them were Honduran supporters though the screams for the US were overwhelming.

Then came the walk back. My husband was in a big darn hurry. He wouldn't listen to me about directions, he just kept walking, with me trailing behind like a newborn duck. I knew he was going the wrong way, but he just kept going. How embarassing being the only 2 people going against the traffic of the crowds. Somehow he got into McCormick Place. I didn't get to the door he was entering fast enough, and it closed right in front of me. I was on a deserted street. I immediately began pounding my head off, and he came back and opened it up. It got worse, we were in this building surrounded by concrete walls, and I kept thinking we shouldn't be in there and someone is going to see us on their cameras and come and shoot us. We got on freight elevators and went up and down. Finally, we found a window and saw where we were. The only way out was through emergency exits and he said, "Well you ready?" I was gearing up for the sound of alarms when I saw this door and said, "How about this?" He opened it, and there we were-right where we should have been in the first place. See what happens when men decide to listen! The return trip was twice as long as the trip there, and I have blisters to prove it!

There is Always Sunshine Above the Clouds

As I was coming home on the plane from a recent trip, contemplating on the dreariness of the weather, the plane soared above the clouds revealing sunshine and splendor. I thought to myself how appropriate and meaningful this site actually was. "There is always sunshine above the clouds!"

"Mother's Day is no different. I love you and appreciate you every day."

Sums Up So Much

I found this video on you tube. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPmhrZon6ak

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl.

"Stephan Hoeller

One is nearer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth.

Train Station

A friend sent me this and I thought it was awesome:

Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

One Shining Moment 2009

AFTER THE WIN

931 images were used to take this timelapse created by Jarrard Cole, Andrew Dye and Andrew Johnson.


Timelapse: Franklin Street after the victory from The Daily Tar Heel on Vimeo.

The thought of snow again was not pleasurable, but waking up and seeing it coming down, blanketing the lawn, decorating the trees, and knowing I don't have to rush off to work was rather nice! I think I'll go take a walk.

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LANDS

The past several nights have been spent running out at the time designated by NASA to see the Space Shuttle-looks like I have one less thing to do tonight!

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GRADUATION COMES TOO SOON

Time flies way too fast.

Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.

Shel Silverstein

TODAY'S THOUGHT

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart…. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Carl Jung

Isn't she adorable as she waits for her mom who appears to be going to a wedding?

This is one reason why we seemed to lose weight on our trip!

The children of South Korea were so excited to say hello to us as they were on their field trip.

NIAGARA FALLS

Another Voice Silenced on February 26,2009

Time passes and we fail to see the effects it has. We think people still look as we remember them..wasn't it just yesterday that we heard the "voice" of the Chicago Bulls? That voice was silenced on the 26th of February, 2009, but fortunately he had been honored several days before.



The voice and memories of Johnny Red Kerr will live on in our hearts.

The Nubble

As you can probably tell, I am completely fascinated by the Nubble Lighthouse. I spend hours reading about it and looking at pictures of it, which seem so different from each other in their own special way. I recently read further about the ghost ship and the Wreck of the Ship Isidore, which ironically had a song written about it which I remember hearing. Here is a look at the lighthouse from a different perspective, overhead. The distance from the land looks suprisingly farther than it does from the ground...but oh, the peace!

2009 Australian Open Award Ceremony

While everyone was partying around the 2009 Superbowl, I, fortunately, heard from my college son, who said he was watching the Final of the Australian Open. I immediately changed the channel, and our Superbowl watching plans went out the window. My husband, who does not sit around watching tennis matches, was completely drawn into this one, and what a game it was! I was most touched by the true sportsmanship displayed at the end, filling me with so many emotions.