Family Fun

Family Pics

Here's just a sneak peak of some of the many family pictures we took today :) Stay tuned!

Beach Bums

Company

We are enjoying a week long visit with family from New Hampshire. The weather couldn't be better and we all are enjoying each other so much. Today was Sea World, tomorrow the beach and after that....we aren't sure... but we are looking forward to seeing Robin the the gang...even Aunt Betty from NC is down. Stay tuned to the blog....alot going on this week.

The kids (and Rob!) rode the Kraken...check out how scared Rob is!!! (Tyler, his girlfriend, Alicia and Rob all in the front row... I snapped this as they were whipping around.)

Potty Progress

Cooper is totally getting the potty! We started yesterday and you can see he's made it twice :) He gets a sticker each time and after he is done playing with the sticker...we proudly put it on the potty and clap. He loves it and is so proud. I thought 19 months was kinda young and it may take a long time to get out of diapers but...he does seem to "get" the concept.

The River of Change

I have been reading a book my mom gave me called Broken Open and it has been very eye opening in the area of grief. Losing my dad and Hope to cancer in less than 2 years time qualifies me for delving pretty deep into the grief pool. I have never been the type of person to wallow in grief in the past, but I feel like these two deaths for me are too large and leave too big of a hole in my heart not to grieve sufficiently. I wanted to share something from the book that really has changed the way I think:

"Life is always changing; we are always changing. We live in a river of change, and a river of change lives within us. Every day we are given a choice. We can relax and float in the direction that the water flows, or we can swim hard against it. If we go with the river, the energy of a thousand mountain streams will be with us, filling our hearts with courage and enthusiasm. If we resist the river, we will feel rankled and tired as we tread water, stuck in the same place.

If we had the patience and a high-powered microscope, we could sit and stare at our hands and watch the river of change flowing through our own bodies right now. We could watch our cells changing and dying and being replaced, over and over and over. From year to year, every one of our cells is replaced. Literally, who we were yesterday is not who we are today. Our skin is new every month, our liver every six weeks. When we inhale, we breathe in elements from other organisms to create new cells, and when we exhale, we send parts of ourselves out into the atmosphere- into the living, breathing universe. "All of us," writes the medical doctor Deepak Chopra, "are much more like a river than anything frozen in time and space" "

So... as I change like a river I hope you all come along with me.....lay back and enjoy the ride with me. It sure beats floundering around and drowning...like I feel I have done for so long.

A side note:when I am done with this book, I hope to read Tori Spelling's new book on MommyWood....switch up the pace a bit...don't ya think? :)

Another Sea World Filled Sunday

This weekend went by fast. We just came back from such a nice day at Sea World, the weather was perfect. Sat night I went out shopping and then to River Rocks for a dinner/benefit for Relay for Life. It was a so-so night...no offense to the company of course, I just wasn't really feeling myself, I missed Hope terribly and just the whole thing left me feeling out of sorts.

Today, we enjoyed a nice day with the dolfins...nothing like capping off the weekend with a family outing :) Rob was in heaven with the dolfins as you can see... we also caught a great Elmo show that Cooper adored.

Livin' on Island Time

We are loving the weather right now. We can open up the house, no worries about bugs, and play, play, play outside after dinner until the sun goes down.

I want to remind everyone I am doing Relay for Life on May 2 so if you haven't donated yet please click the button on the right side bar of the blog to make your donation. For those who did...THANKS! I am really looking forward to a great event.

Happy Easter!

I hope the Easter Bunny brought you everything you were looking for :)

Have a blessed day!

Jim and Dennis

We are enjoying a nice relaxing weekend going back and forth to the beach with Jim and Dennis. Happy Easter :)

Good Friday...getting ready for Easter

We are getting ready to eat tons of Peeps! Hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend where ever you are :)

Gardenia

The gardenia bush we planted in honor of Aunt Gracie sprouted one lonely flower today. Cooper and I enjoyed the sweet fragrance that I love so much. After this picture he ripped it off the bush and I could hear Aunt Gracie's hearty, happy laugh :)

Sunny Sunday

We spent a very relaxing morning at the beach while Cooper practiced his life guarding skills pointing at the water. He also is totally into digging and playing in the sand while Mommy and Daddy relax...so nice :)

We are recovering from a burst of spring cleaning around here and we are digging out from laundry, laundry and more laundry this evening. So sad to see the weekend go by so fast.

Easter Bunny

We had such a nice day with Meredith and Brody seeing the Easter Bunny, having lunch and hanging out. Our Annual Easter Egg-stravaganza :)

Cooper wasn't into the Easter Bunny but we managed to get one picture. Mere and I tried to do a photo shoot of the boys in the mall....they weren't really into it as you can imagine. Here are some out takes to enjoy :) Meredith also posted some great pics on her blog.

Click HERE to see Cooper's picture from last year...so much changes in a year!

Tuckered out

This week seemed to go by so fast, we are all just wiped out. It's a nice rainy day again here and we hope to have some sunshine this weekend.

My grandmother (or as Cooper says.."eek eek") is just fine...seems it was anxiety not a heart attack and her blood pressure is back to being manageable. I on the other hand didn't handle it well at all and I myself seem to now go into full blown anxiety anywhere in/near or around a hospital or anything related to illness of a loved one.

Go figure.

Saying I am emotionally maxed out is an understatement. If you know me well I act like I can handle anything. Well folks...it seems I can not. So...I am taking a break. I took at great yoga class the other day while Cooper played at the gym and am taking a concerted effort to do something I haven't done in a long time now..take care of myself. I have been turning off the cell phone, going to bed early and (this is shocking I know) I have been taking naps. Seems I need all this stuff called "rest". Again...go figure.