This Girl

Today Cassie is 12.  12!  When I met this sweet girl she was 3 years old, and I can't believe how little she was.  She's always been a happy little thing.  She's my middle girl, my party girl.  Cassie finds fun.  If there is a good time to be found, Cassie is there.  She doesn't care what the group is, if it's adults having fun, or tiny kids- she's happy to join in!

She's a giggler and a BIG smiler.  Anytime there is a "sunshine" award, or a "happy" award Cassie wins it.  She's a shoe-in.  When she played soccer with her first team, the "Butterfly Kickers" she was the one out on the field giggling the entire time.  

She has always been a hoarder.  This girl saves EVERYTHING and stashes it in her room.  When she was tiny she used to make little stacks of things in corners and under the couch.  I'd be vacuuming and find piles of pennies, a stick of gum, a bouncy ball and a Littlest Pet Shop animal.  She would swipe stuff from Holly and Christian and stash it in her room in odd little places.

Cassie has always been great at making new friends.  She will just go up to any kid and start talking to them.  When she was little she would tell everyone our entire family story, which at times can be very confusing!  

When she was 5 she went through a stage where she was convinced that her name was "Tink Cassie Cassandra Sassy Pixie" and called herself by all four names.

And now look at her!  She is turning into a beautiful, caring young lady.  She is a great big sister to Hannah who teaches her so many big sister things, from dance moves to soccer.  She is a voracious reader and lately I have found myself saying the same thing that my mom said to me, "Put the book away until you get your work done!" Every time I look at her I'm surprised at how much she has changed.  She is so tall and has become so independent.  I can't wait to see where this girl goes, wherever it is, you can bet she will have fun!


Happy Birthday Cassie!

Prison Pup

My sweet friend Tonia lost her dogs this year. Both of them within months of each other. These weren't just pets for her and her husband, they were family, her children.  So they were our family too.
She was determined that she would wait for awhile before getting a new pup. It was just too heartbreaking and they had plans and were they really ready to make this kind of commitment again?  And, and, and...

And then...

This is Zoey and she is in a medium security prison as part of the Death Row Dogs program.  DRD is a fantastic program that takes dogs in high kill shelters and places them with inmates for a twelve week training program. Once Tonia and David applied to adopt Zoey (after an interview process) she received the word that Zoey was HERS!

This is such great news, not only for Tonia, but also for this sweet girl, who was born in a shelter and has lived her entire life there, except for the 12 weeks she has been in prison!  And this puppy is sitting in a cell right now, not even knowing the awesome life she is about to begin.  She doesn't know that her new family is spending their time preparing for her to come home.  They are re-working their schedules to ensure that she has quality time with them, they are reading about how to introduce a new pup into their home, and they are making plans to go to jail on visiting days.  

They have been getting weekly reports from her inmate trainers on her progress.  "This week, Zoey has been working on her manners and leash behavior"  or "Zoey has trouble focusing this week" are some of the reports that she receives.  And when she is ready, she will graduate with a ceremony at the prison including cake, punch and doggie treats!

Tonia and her husband are nervous, so nervous.  They are worried that Zoey won't like them.  They are worried that they won't make a connection with her.  Although I know for a fact that Tonia's animals are better cared for than my children, the real proof is right here:  just look at this face

I don't think either of them have anything to worry about!

In a Split Second

Last week a man in this community died. It was a tragic, senseless death of a young father, husband, son and friend. I didn't know this man, Brandon Bradshaw, but like many, I followed his story and sent many, many good wishes to him and to his heartbroken family.

I don't know the details and won't add to the rumors already surrounding his death, but there was a shooting, that much we know. In broad daylight. In Bowling Green, Kentucky. A man, Tommy Brown, husband, father, son and friend shot another. Some say in self defense, some say not. In a split second two men having normal, average days lost everything.

Much outrage has been vocalized about justice, but not by the family. The family has taken to Facebook to express some of their sorrow and their pain. Over and over the father of the victim asked for prayers, not only for his son, but also for the family of the shooter. He knew that they were hurting too.

Mr. Bradshaw's wife relayed the conversation she had with one of her three children; how she answered his most important questions like "Who will you be married to if you aren't married to Daddy?" and "What will we do if someone breaks into our house?" I keep thinking of Mrs. Bradshaw. Right now she is, I'm sure, surrounded by friends and family. But what about the nights? What about the moments when she is alone? The "busyness" of funerals and memorials are distracting; there are pictures to gather and songs to choose and verses to be collected. And that distraction is good. It's the AFTER that is the hardest. After everyone leaves, when you realize that even with your world falling apart, bills still have the nerve to arrive and children have to be fed, and clothes have to be washed- that's when it's the hardest. When you wish that just for a few days the world would stop and LET YOU GRIEVE.

In times like these one feels so helpless. I know I have Pollyanna tendencies, but I can't believe that Mr. Brown started his day believing that he would shoot someone. Just as I'm sure Mr. Bradshaw thought he was going to run a quick errand to the drugstore. Two men, both upstanding citizens, both married with three sons- a life can change so quickly.  And then, because Brandon Bradshaw was an organ donor, eight other people's life were changed in a split second.

The memorial service for Brandon Bradshaw is tonight and so, so many people will attend to support this family and to pay their respects. His children will be proud of their dad, and hopefully all the stories shared will be remembered. Not by the children necessarily, but FOR the children. Because in the future they may slowly forget and they will need those stories to be told again. And again.

And the other family involved, Mr. and Mrs. Brown and their children, they are on my mind as well. I'm sure they are stricken with grief and guilt.  Will people share good stories with them? Will people comfort them? I hope they have support.

So today, I'm sending good thoughts out for both families and their friends. They have all lost so much.

A Day in the Life

It was a hard day.  Not many of my normal days start with "Run a 5K."  This was a "To Do" list from a few Saturdays ago, so I can now say that we made it, but while we were in the middle of it I wasn't sure it was possible.  Friday and Sunday looked very similar to Saturday.  I kept updating these notes and sending them to Paul as tasks would drop off or be added. I am very cognizant of the fact that in a year I will have a teenage driver in the house,  in two years I will have two.  I'm sure I will wish for these days to return.  But maybe not this particular day.  It was hard.

On second thought, maybe I wouldn't mind replaying this day.  It was filled (FILLED) with activity and togetherness, music, dance, and friends.  SO, not a bad day after all.

Balance

Balance has always been difficult for me- impossible actually. I suppose I have always been like this, although I don't remember my younger self much. I do remember a childhood filled with notebooks, charts, folders and special pens.

Another obsession: Girl Scout badges. I was going to have ALL the badges on my vest. ALL OF THEM. One of my regrets in life is that I've lost my vest filled with hard earned badges.

I become obsessed with completing whatever project I have volunteered for, or whatever project looked like a new business venture, or whatever just looked like fun. Then I move quickly to uninterested. Most of my crafting hobbies fall into this category. I find something that looks interesting, like crocheting an afghan, I do the research (and research and research), then get the supplies, then go to work. I expect an afghan to materialize within a few minutes and when it doesn't I get discouraged. If anyone is interested in several half completed craft projects, I'm your girl.

Some of my past obsessions:

Terrariums

Beaded Crafts

Handmade Paper

Baking

Granny Squares

Dieting

Decoupage

Guitar Playing

Little House on the Prairie and all things Laura Ingalls Wilder

Blogging

Some future obsessions that I'm pondering:

The PTO

Crocheting

Party Planning

Blogging

You might notice that exercise isn't on either list. Although in the past it could have easily appeared on the past obsession list (several times,) I have decided that this will be the main focus of balance for me. It's super hard for me to continue working as hard as I am when I'm not losing massive amounts of weight immediately. Every single day I have to remind myself that fitness is a way of life, not a hobby. That it is something I do just like brushing my teeth. So, this is my new motto, this is the picture on my phone, this what I recite to myself every damn day:

Our Wedding Reception

After our fun and fabulous private wedding in Vegas we had an equally fun bash at home with friends and family to celebrate our wedding. Paul's cousin Melissa, friends Candy, Jennifer and Libby helped with the planning and decorating. I though it was just perfect! We had a giant tent in our backyard with beautiful lights and candles. My friend Mary catered with delicious food and treats. All the kids ran around and played all night and I think everyone had a good time.