The Big One!......

This was the really BIG ONE!!!  The year that you are finally Medicare eligible and can start drawing that coveted social security check!

This is the birthday when the words "senior Citizen" really apply to you.  

This is that totally great year when you can get a discount everywhere from Dunkin' Donuts to American Airlines.  This is the year when all of those senior jokes mean "hey they are talking about me".!

This is that GREAT year when you can actually enjoy the golf clubs, the bicycle, the lake, the garden, the grandkids, and all of the other things that were just out of reach before.  No alarm clocks or schedules or bosses on your trail.

This is the year you turn 65!

Happy Birthday Jimmy.

2013 In The Books......

It is complete.  Another Memorial Day walk is in the books and it was awesome.

The crowd was enormous and the purpose was clear...honor those who have given so much to Carry the Load for us.  

There was no question that everyone understood the mission and it was beyond what I could even believe once again when we saw how many had gathered to support our family and the whole Carry the Load event.

 It is Memorial Day done right.

 It was hot...and it was a miserable type of humid and many participants were dressed in full camo gear carrying as much as 50 pounds of weight on their backs.  Drew once again walked 42 miles with 20 pounds of weight on his shoulders, with his bride to be at his side.

 The effort of some who could barely make it up a hill was something that cannot be explained in words.

 The camp sight was packed...for the most diligent did not go home....they walked the whole night, stopping only to eat a small meal and then carry on.

 The sun rose and other walkers joined Drew's team.  

 Mission complete, they crossed the finish line together. 

 Mandy and Tim walked many, many miles with Brooklynn in tow for the first lap...and proudly crossed the finish line with the whole family.

 Joining us both days was Matt's wife Kim and her new family.  To say that this made the whole event complete would be an understatement.  To know that her family is so respectful and supportive of the fact that she did lose her husband in such a tragic way after only three months of marriage and to be so openly willing to support her in this walk is a tribute the wonderful people they are. 

 I am so proud....so very, very proud.  I am proud of Drew, Heather, Mandy and Tim for their total commitment.  I am grateful for our generous friends who contributed, walked, and supported us once again.  

 I am hoping that Drew's mangled feet will heal in time for his walk down the aisle in two weeks!

 I know that God continues to fill the empty space that was left in my heart when Matt died with so many good things and so much joy.  I know that my blessings are many and there is just not enough room to list all the things I am grateful for today on here.  My prayers of Thanksgiving are lengthy.

 Another Memorial Day is in the books...and I am so proud that my family has chosen a way to celebrate that lets everyone know we do remember.

We will be back in 2014.

48 Hours Away.....

It is Memorial Day weekend. 

It is the official beginning of summer! 

 It is parties in the backyard or at the lake....it is barbecue and beer!!!

It is swimming pools and sunshine and laughs with the family!

It is all great...but for us we will stand together as a family and celebrate the weekend in a way that makes me prouder of my children and my husband than anything we have ever done together.  We have once again committed to "Carry The Load".

Three years ago two very close friends created a way to put the real meaning back in Memorial Day.  They instituted a 20 hour and 13 minute walk to honor all military, police and firemen that have lost their lives protecting ours. 

There are no words to describe the emotion of seeing the thousands gathered to remember family members, friends, and acquaintances who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.   

It is not difficult...it is an honor. 

I will not make the whole walk but like last year I will be there.  I will support all who have taken on this task.

I will cry during the national anthem, I will hug many friends who gather for this event, I will remember how proud I was, and am that two of my boys did dedicate themselves to years in the US Navy.  I will remember that Matt's life did serve a purpose in so many, many ways.  I will be especially proud of my youngest son who was the first in the family to sign up to "Carry the Load" and enlist everyone he could to be a part of this event.  I will stand and remember all of our friends and family who have supported us emotionally and financially as we take on this walk once again.  And when we all cross the finish line with American flags in hand at 12:13 pm on Memorial Day my heart will be full of pride in a way that I will never be totally able to explain.  I thank God for this day every year.  What a gift!

Where Did It Go????.......

I am suffering from blog brain freeze.  I have a total lack of creative cells at work right now.  I do not lack activity to talk about, I just lack coherence in the right or left side of my brain to hammer out what has been happening.

The family is simply on over load....it is three weeks prior to a wedding and everyday life does not take a time out so you can focus solely on burlap silverware bags and wedding programs.

Time is needed to squash in scholarship interviews for Matt's yearly scholarship, my newly found devotion to Meals on Wheels, dentist appointments (step two of an implant), time out to recuperate from that, a family confirmation, and so on and so on.....

But...there is always time to review the many "CHEESE" faces of Finley we photographed this week.  She is nothing but fun and you can always set aside the critical projects to laugh a little at her developing personality.  She is such a blessing!

God is good!!!

There Are No Words....

I simply have no words for this.  I have boxes aplenty, but really I am struggling for a way to justify this.

To clear the confusion right off the bat, I have not gone to work in the shoe stockroom at Dillards, Macy's or  another other department store.  I am not the designated purchase person for a function that requires flip flops for a cast of ten.  I am not a testing agent for footware.
I clearly just lost my head when I ordered some shoes for the summer last week.  My favorite flip flops...YELLOW BOX were on sale. (SALE being the operative word here as we all know if you tack those four letters on anything I am a like a shopper on steroids)  That is rare....for these to be on sale that is.  So I jumped online and choose a few pair.  Well, I choose five pairs so that I could qualify for free shipping...a key to selling more.  Merchants are no dummies.  I may have to stick the "dummy" label on myself!  So when I pressed submit I was told that four of the five were unavailable.  I don't really need a size 9.  A size 8 1/2 will work...it is a flip flop after all.
So I just submitted a new order for the same 5 pairs of shoes in a different size.
Imagine my surprise when all 10 pairs arrived at my door.  Or...imagine my sense of "what do I do" when I tried to figure out where I could put all 10 pairs until I developed a plan...to return or hide or something...because I promise my husband does not have a total of 10 pairs of shoes to his name!
The horror of him discovering all ten yellow boxes would really not be a pretty sight.

Tonight I am still in awe of the large stack of yellow boxes in my closet.  I am keeping the door closed and tomorrow I will choose a new pair.  My trusty old pair that have been my constant companion for the last year will go in the Goodwill bag....or to the lake to be a pair of mud shoes.  Then maybe I will ship back some of the excess...or maybe not!