I hesitate...

I hesitate to post this. Maybe it's too personal. Maybe it's still feeling a little 'raw' right now, but the fact is, is that most people that see this blog are my close friends and family... those of you strangers reading, well, you don't know me, so it's ok - Just might not be the most interesting post for you I suppose.

Anyway, you might recall that Marcia, my mom's only sister, had been on chemo for 2 & 1/2 years. She was diagnosed with colon cancer which had spread to her liver and lungs. After doing all the different kinds of chemo and combinations she could, she decided to go off chemo. The drs weren't optimistic about her time frame once she stopped chemo, but she had made her peace and her family was trying to do the same thing.

Marcia passed away this morning.

My mother got to go see her during spring break and then my mom, Sophie, and I went up two weeks ago again. My mom and dad were on their way there this morning when she passed away. I had to call them on their cell phone and let them know so that they had some warning before they showed up at her house. The funeral will be on Monday. My siblings and I are still trying to work out who is going and how. I'm supposed to be going with Aaron to a business conference of his. My sister and brother are supposed to be working. So, we're all trying to rearrange things so that we can go and say goodbye, but more importantly, support my mom.

I hope that no one thinks I sound crass, because that's not my intention, but I'm glad that it was fairly quick. Her quality of life had slipped so much in the last two to three weeks that it's crazy how quick it was. Towards the end she had slipped into a coma. I am thankful that she is released from that body and that condition. I pray that God blesses her children, and my mother, with His Spirit and comfort.

Yeah, I'm Old....

Well, maybe not too old, but last night Aaron and I went to the first part of his 10th year high school reunion. Mine is next year. It was... interesting. :) Aaron didn't actually want to go, but I had a lot of friends in his class, so long story short -we went. A lot of my closer friends (in HS) live far, far out of town and didn't make it. It would have been good to see them and catch up, but I wonder how much we actually still have in common. Instead, we spent most of the night talking to friends that we weren't necessarily close to in HS and thank heavens Ryan and Merilee were there! AND for name tags!

Something else that is interesting to me is exactly who comes up and talks to you like they remember you or you remember them... enough said. It's interesting to see who is still single, who is either currently stoned or has lost so many brain cells from previous use that they have a permanent look of being stoned, who has lost how many teeth, who is trying way too hard with that push up bra, who gets plastered, who has all these kids, who married who, etc.

I have to say, I am darn happy with my life. There is not one other person that I would rather be in their shoes. I have been blessed with a great hubby who is really committed to me and our family. He has a great job and I am able to have the best job of all - a stay at home mommy. I have a beautiful, sweet daughter and another little one on the way. I definitely am blessed.

Nature Watch Has Ended

Well, our birds have finally flown the coop...

We have two of these little nests on our back porch and this year we were lucky enough to have birds nest in them, lay eggs, hatch baby birds, and yesterday our three babies finally flew the coop.

It was so interesting to watch this little nature drama all unfold, right outside our sliding glass door. I hope that they'll continue to nest there year after year so that Sophie and our other kids will get the chance to see it all happen. Sophie loves watching the birds but I realize that she'll probably have no memory of them this year. It's been a great family affair but we knew that it was coming to an end. Yesterday, and a little the day before, the birds were standing on the side of the nest flapping their wings as hard as they could, practicing for flying. We weren't lucky enough to catch their first flight, but every once in awhile we do see one of them around the yard. FLY little birdies!

What DOES A Goose Say?

We went to the Moon Farm today. I'll post more about it later, but I wanted to get this video up because it is just so darn cute... maybe just funny. It's kinda hard to see while the video is so small, but watch for the jumping :)

Reminiscing

As this new baby has been more active and practicing her karate moves in my belly, I find myself reminiscing about when Sophie was brand new. It doesn't seem possible, in a way. She's so big now with such a large and continually expanding vocabulary, she knows so much what she wants and how she wants it, that it doesn't seem possible that she was this little bundle just two years ago. And, at the same time, it doesn't seem possible that in a few short months (well, more like 3) we'll have another little bundle. Can you believe it??

Quote of the Day

Me: Oh Sophie! You're not supposed to go poo-poo in the tub. You're supposed to go in the potty.
Sophie: Icky.
Me: Yeah, icky.
Sophie: Me see icky?
Me: No, you're going to go get dressed now.
Sophie: Me see icky?
Me: No.
Sophie: Ok, bye-bye icky. Bye-bye!!

Red in the face

I am getting everything ready (well, trying to) for our trip to Idaho to see my aunt Marcia (the one who this new baby is going to be named after, in a round about way). I have a ton of things to pack, to wash, to do - yet, where do you find me? I was going to just really quickly check my email, but after reading it, I felt I needed to post something.

First of all, I posted a few days ago (or yesterday maybe? ah, the days all run together when you're a sahm) a link to a great wall hanging - that's it above - that I am currently lusting after for "the girls" room (both Sophie and soon to be Brielle). Little did I know that the owner of the company would see my blog about it... how? I don't know, but she did. And reading her comment, I felt a little red in the face, or felt like I had egg on my face... now I can't remember the correct expression... something to do with my face and me being a little embarrassed (I blame my lack of memory on mushy pregnancy brain).
Here is the comment if you wish to read it:

"Thank you for the compliment (I think?) about my artwork. I did hope to clarify a couple things.

The pricing is based on our manufacturing costs. I always strive to bring the highest quality products at a competitive price. My products are made by moms like you right here in the USA. Good news is, we have just leased our own in-house printer! Once we are up and running we will be reducing our prices on the artwork. While we are getting notices from all our suppliers of price increases, we are still striving to lower ours.

I have a personal conviction about gifting to celebrities. Instead we are involved in a foster home in our community by donating a portion of the proceeds from our product to help provide for the needs of these children. Many babies and children come with only the clothes on their backs. If we give away products I have decided it will be to these children in need, not to the celebrities. You can read about Agape Families on our website http://www.mimiscollection.com/about.shtml or http://www.mimiscollection.com/about_paula.shtml and click on "We Give Back".

Oh, and we give 20% off your first purchase. Click on "join Us". So if you wait for our new pricing (and we'll have new items) in July, and the 20% off might help.

So, thanks again for the mention, and congratulations on a beautiful family and girl #2."

After reading it, I thought that I needed to offer an apology to Paula Press. While I still know that I never could justify spending that much money on a wall hanging, no matter how beautiful, I did want to commend her for doing business much like I would do... hmmm, there is a better way to say that compliment I'm sure... I wanted to thank her and commend her for being a socially conscience business owner and working to give back and improve the lives of those who really need it.

It always urks me when I hear of all the free stuff that celebrities get... all the baby stuff that was sent to Brad and Angelina for Shiloh (and no doubt for these twins too) immediately comes to mind. I think "why give away stuff to people who obviously can afford it and don't need it?" I know it has business applications behind it - that they're hoping people will see their baby wearing it or using it or blah blah blah and it'll help their business. I get that, but it doesn't mean that I don't have a problem with it.

So, when Paula mentioned that she has a personal policy against it, she instantly won my heart. Then, when she said that instead, they partner with foster homes in their area, I was thrilled and decided that she needed an apology from me and whatever small "word of mouth" my blog reaches.