Planes, trains and AuToMobilEs..oh my!

It was 10 months ago that Erik placed an order for his DREAM CAR....A SHINY BLACK Camero. He had dreamt about it, pondered over it, stressed about it and designed it just the way he wanted it to come directly from the factory. I thought that in the end...things wouldn't work out for him and that he wouldn't be able to get it....BUT, they were able to approve him for a loan and delivered his car on Friday....turning this grown man into a "little kid at Christmas time", bubbling over with excitement and thrill, he just couldn't quit smiling. It's a really nice car with alot of awesome features inside. I got to go for a ride in it and Erik proceeded to test my "speed tolerance" as he went from point A to point B in a matter of "split seconds"...lets just say that I prefer to be on all 4 wheels when I am on the road...flying is for airplanes. Deron got to ACTUALLY take it for a drive, getting to be the MAN behind the wheel with all of the power. He too was infected with the "smiling disease"...he said that it was the funnest car he had ever driven, grinning ear to ear. The Camero rides really smooth and it makes you feel like you are KING over the road. BUT...I have to say that MEN like expensive toys and I don't think that they ever outgrow their thrill for fast cars. Although, Erik is a really smart driver, cautious and careful, and I don't think that he will be "flying" much...he just had to test his wings a bit to see what his new car will do (at least that's what he's assured me). It's a fun ride. It looks really sharp and classy and I think Erik's going to have a lot of fun in it!

Time...its a true gift!

Dad's are one of those people that just "make the world go round"....at least my dad is!!! He turned 70 years old on Friday. As a teenager I remember when my grandparents turned 70 and I was sure that they "were SOOO old" but my dad doesn't seem "that old". He still gets around, doing whatever he wants to, he drives, he builds furniture, he reads, he plays with the grand kids, goes fishing, hunting...etc...maybe not moving as fast as he did a few years back, but all in all, he doesn't act like I thought a "70 year old" would act (maybe it has something to do with me "aging" as well). My brother and I planned a big party for him, hoping to make his day a WONDERFUL day packed full of memories. We had a party with a big cake and lots and lots of PIZZA. Who knew that we could all eat so many pieces of Pizza...but it seemed to disappear rather quickly. The kids all played guitar hero, hide and seek and sat around and chatted. Its fun to see the kids together with each other, and even though my kids are ALOT older than most of the cousins, they still enjoy talking and spending time with their cousins. Get together's with my family always result in alot of fun....we are a loud and goofy group of people...but we love being together.

Coming up with ideas for birthday presents are always hard, but for someone that seems to have everything that makes him happy and has everything (within reason) that he wants, it seems to be even harder. But...after talking with my brother about what to get Dad, he came up with an awesome idea. We decided to give him the "gift of time". Dad loves to spend time with his children and grandchildren. He loves to go fishing with them, visit with them, camping, having them over for the night, going for rides...anything- he just enjoys being with his family. What better gift to give him than "time" to do just that..."time with the people that he loves". So each of our families (my siblings and I) took a month during this next year and made a coupon good for "a special day with Dad/grandpa" doing different things ranging from a day of surprises, to dinner in the city, to going to the movies, to BBQ's and picnics. It will be fun to make special memories for both him and for our families, spending time doing fun things together. Dad had a wonderful party! He smiled alot, observed alot and seemed to be glad to be surrounded by the people that love him. ALL of his children (-1 daughter in law that had to work)

and most of his grandchildren (-3 grandson's, two that weren't able to be there and one deceased) were there, which made the day even that much nicer. I think he will love the "Gift of Time" especially as each month comes and he gets to spend a day with one of his children and their families. He will cherish the memories that he'll make for many years to come.

Monuments and Milestones...those big days in life!

Birthdays are a big thing in our house. We always try to make the "birthday person's" day big and special. They chose what they want for Breakfast and Dinner (lunch if they are here) and then an activity to do after we eat their chosen birthday cake. Kim and Cameron were both having "monumental" birthdays this year, as Kim turned 18 (2 yesterday) and Cameron turns 16 tomorrow. Kim's birthday was going to be super busy day as we were going to be at Cameron's Region Wrestling matches, so we opted to have her big birthday dinner a couple of days in advance. Her dinner of choice was...Italian Seashells, Olive Garden Salad (mock) and garlic toast...with rainbow chip cake for dessert. Eighteen is a huge birthday. Its the big day that you "all of a sudden" become an adult. She plans on graduating in May and then heading

off to get a job and going to college shortly thereafter. I don't know how thrilled I am to have another one leave the nest...but I also know that if she continued to live with us for years to come, that wouldn't benefit her growth as an adult either. I realize that moving out is an important part of growing up. She is a very independent and responsible young lady, who seems to know what she wants in life and doesn't seem to let anything get in the way of her dreams. I hope that she will continue to have that fight and drive as she heads out into the big world and sets forth to accomplish her life long goals. I am proud of the person that she is and I am excited to see what she continues to become.

I love you Kimber, you are a fun, corky, crazy wonderful kind of girl....You are a ray of sunshine in my life!

Hope you had a Happy 18th Birthday!

Blessings...despite turmoil~

Its been a long week to say the least.....BUT our heater is up and running now, thanks to some hard working"plumbing and heating experts" and some long hours. Its a relief to have "real heat" again....and ONE LESS thing to worry about! I have a wonderful family, both extended and immediate. They are all so very thoughtful and caring. It means so much to know that no matter what it is that I am going through, they are always there for me. Dayna popped in for a VERY surprise visit this week. I was shocked, but so thrilled to see her as she walked in the door. She has no idea what her visit meant to me, especially this week. I am grateful to have such a very thoughtful daughter, I don't know what I would do without her. I am blessed as a mother to have such amazing kids! I not only consider them my children, but my friends.

LESSON #1....NeVeR take things for Granted!

The statement that..."you don't appreciate something until its gone"...holds true for me, right now more than ever.

We have a heater that circulates water through copper pipes and then into baseboard heaters in each room. Last week the circulation pump on our heater quit working....so it wouldn't circulate the HOT water through the pipes, resulting in a COLD house. We called someone to come and fix it. He came and was able to pound on the pump a bit and get it going again. He said that the pump gets full of hard water deposits and then it quits working (but the pump being 20 years old and just wearing out, plays a big part into that too). There is no quick fix for it other than to replace it. So he was going to order us one and then said that he would come and replace the pump when it came in....but for the time being the heater was working, the pump was pumping and we had a warm house once again. THAT is until yesterday (1 week later) when once again the pump quit and we had a cold house.

My dad came to the rescue with an electric heater that he let us borrow (did I mention that I have the best dad ever!!!). It's called an EdenPURE...which heats like a charm!!! I honestly think that it would heat my entire upper level all by itself (and that's alot of space). It so efficient...and extremely quiet. I can't believe what a wonderful little machine it is. I think we might have to invest in one (or two)

of these awesome machines

in the near future. We also had a couple of other electric heaters that we have spread throughout the house to keep things from freezing and to keep us warm. So until we are able to get our heater running again...we will be relying solely on electricity to keep our house warm.

...and when our heater starts running again, I VOW... NOT to take it for granted. I am so VERY grateful that my sweet dad that let us borrow his AMAZING heater and that we also had a few to spread around...but there is nothing like our big burly heater to keep the house warm and snugly...day in and day out.

The "Frosting on the Cake"?...its in the eye of the beholder!

"WINTER"

...depending on where you live and who you are....could be most enjoyable or most depressing. If you are an avid follower of my blog, you know how I feel about the subject of

"Winter!"

BUT

after the fog lifted this morning and the blue sky

came out for a very small "peek"....

there was "FROSTING"

all over my little world

and I have to admit...EVEN I thought

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!

(AND that says a lot)

Some say that the "Frosting" is the best part of the cake...and today- I would have to agree!

Pay offs and ReFLecTioN~

I love living in a small little town, where everyone knows everyone (pretty much) and the little things that happen in our town...are the BIG things to us. I had the privilege of attended the Region 16 Drill Team competition this week, (which was held at our high school) where our little home town high school team took 1st place for the seventh year in a row. It was thrilling to watch as the girls got out on the floor and gave it their all. I was impressed by the talent and

abilities that they have. You have to be a dedicated team to get the pay off in the end.

Congratulations 2010 Talons!!!

My love for the drill team started several years back when my oldest daughter, Daynalee, was just starting her freshman year in high school. She had worked her tail off and made the drill team just to find out that they might cancel the program at our school because of the lack of a coach. She begged and pleaded that I go in and apply for the position. I laughed...and then laughed some more. I didn't know ONE THING about drill team, let alone coaching. I grew up playing basketball...not dancing. ALTHOUGH...I always wished I could have done dance...(but that's another blog post). SO, because I loved my daughter so much and wanted to see her have the opportunity to do something she had wanted to do for so many years, I went in to the principle and applied for the job! (which still surprises me that I had the guts to do that!) After talking for awhile, and having the principle ask me about what kind of experience I had with dance and coaching and what I expected (money wise) to make...I told him that "first of all, I was shocked to hear that I would/could make any money at all...I thought it was completely volunteer, second..I didn't have any experience coaching or dancing- but I would be willing to learn and I would work hard and do what it took to have a good team.....and THEN, he said that I had THE JOB! After having "bravery remorse" and coming to grips with what I had just taken on, I jumped in feet first with my eyes WIDE OPEN. The girls were very sweet and patient as I learned the ropes of this new job. Over time it got a little easier and alot more fun. We started out having practices after school for 2 hours, but I later moved the practice time to 5:15am. We started out having 8 girls on our team and later ended up with 12-14... and other years even up to 18 girls. We started out with girls who only came to practice when they wanted to and later ended up having every girl to every practice....It was definatly alot of trial and error. The first year was tough and I wondered how in the world I was going to be able to coach when I didn't know anything about what I was doing but I studied alot, read alot and watch alot of DANCE! I had some awesome girls on the team that also wanted to have a coach that knew what she was doing...so they helped me out immensely. After 3 years of coaching and seeing improvements every single year...alot more winnings at our competitions (than losses), much more commitment and dedication from the girls and alot more excitement from new and upcoming girls about wanting to be on our team...we finally hit the jackpot in January of 2004. We won our (my teams) first Region Championship. We had worked tremendously hard and I think we deserved to finally win it. We went into the State Competition with high hopes and alot of enthusiam which carried onto the floor as they performed each and every routine. I was THRILLED BEYOND MEASURE as they announced the STATE 1A Drill Team Champions for 2004 as...DHS, our little home grown, home town team, where most of the girls hadn't even

had a stitch of dance experience before coming

onto our drill team. This was the first time that DHS drill team had EVER won a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. It was so exciting for the girls as well as myself!!!! One win led to yet another years win, and then another...the so the story goes- the drill team has gone on to win every single year since then.

I retired after 6 years of coaching because of some health problems that I was having at the time. The only thing that made leaving my team even a "little bit" okay with me, was that the girls were getting a awesome coach that would work hard with them and continue to strive for a winning team. Our wonderful choreographer has also continued on with the team and has continued to choreograph championship dances for the team as well. I miss coaching, when it comes to the close of the year where the team is competing and all of the hard work is finally paying off. I miss the close relationship that I had with each one of the girls as team members, but also as individuals. I miss their laughs, their smiles and most of all their friendship. I miss them coming over to my house to sit and visit. Coaching, for me, was more than just "morning practices, performances and competitions"...it was a lasting friendship and relationship with the girls that I coached. I loved them like my own children.

As I watched the 2010 DHS drill team win their 7th Region Championship in a row..

I reflected on the feeling that I felt as a coach those many years ago when we won.... the wonderful "HIGH" that comes from the WIN....It's the pay off for early morning practices, hard-VERY HARD- work, stress that seems like its going to last forever and best of all... a whole lot of fun.

That experience in my life is one that I look back on with a smile. I don't know how I ever did it..I don't know how I managed to stay sain...but it is an experience that I enjoyed and wouldn't trade for anything.

Good Luck at STATE this weekend

2010 DHS TALONS!