Happy 40!

My heart makes a skip and jump.
In a really good way.
It's getting close to 16 years since I first met this person, and our 15th wedding anniversary is only a few months away...
My heart still skips and jumps and grows bigger and almost brings pain in my chest when I think of HIM.
He's my husband.
That sounds so cold and formal thou.
He's so, so, so much more.
Just thinking of just HOW much more he really is, makes me dizzy and teary-eyed and happy.
My soulmate is turning 40 on Thursday.
You'd never believe it.
Really.
Not just through my rose coloured glasses does he look great, I really think he looks good in most peoples eyes.  And if they don't agree... they are just jealous!! :)

What can I do for him to celebrate him properly??
I know he'll think I'm super nerdy going on like this.
That's ok.
Nerdy comes easy to me.

Yesterday we had a houseful of friends and family.
I'm talking more than 45 people.
What a great great evening we had!
His parents are in town (from overseas), and I'm sure they find it hard to believe that their oldest kid is actually this "old". 
His only sister and one of his brothers, also from across the pond, were also here, so with the out of towners over, it made the day extra special.
Lots of laughs and memories and yummy food and cakes...
Just the way it should be!

In the evening my Hubby thanked me for arranging and holding the party.
He was really happy with his day.
A thought came to my mind
"Work done out of love is light work"
I enjoyed my day too.
I love having people over, and I truly love to do things for others, so for me it's almost like a "treat" to hold these kind of events!

So... I haven't got a real "gift" for him yet.
Don't know what to get either.
We are planning on going out for dinner together on his birthday, that'll be fun.
But I wish I could get him something that "shows" how much I love him.
We don't really have a whole lot of money to spend, so it surely won't be anything extravaganza...
Hmmmm.....
Looking back over our years together, and remembering all the good, great, fun, loving, sad, funny, crazy moments together, I don't recall any special things that were part of the fun.
It truly seems like the best time spent together, are times spent with each other.
And of course times spent with our kids.
But stuff??
Yeah, maybe doing Sudoku together...
Or reading something funny from a good book.
But it's all small things.
It's nice to realize that the best in life is free!

When it comes to stuff he or I need, we usually end up getting it anyway, so to go out and buy some new socks or a t-shirt for his birthday seem kind of pointless, he'd get that no matter what if he needed them!
To go and get something nice, just to get something, is kind of dumb too....
I need to be honest with myself and admit what I knew all along.
He doesn't want any gifts.
When he says he's happy with what he has, and that all he wants is to be with me and the kids, I believe him.
We are his gifts every day, and we sure keep on giving!
So much love, so much laughter.
Hugs, kisses, smiles...
When you have everything you need in the shape of love and people that truly love you, the need for stuff really goes away!
It's almost funny to think that getting an item somehow will represent what and how I feel for him.
I can show him that myself by keep doing what I've been doing for the last 15 years!
Loving him!

Happy Birthday my dear Hubby.
I will do my best to keep showing you how much you mean to me and how much I love you.
No batteries included?  No probelm.
I got what you need! :)
I hope and pray that God will keep us safe together for many many years to come.
Every day with you has been a blessing from above.
Thank you for being who you are.
And like I always say "You're a good man, and you are way cooler than Charlie Brown!"

Angry Birds take the cake!

Here it is. 
The cake I made for our oldest daughter and her friends last Friday.
I can't remember last time I made a cake,
or took the time to decorate one,
but I sure enjoyed this little project!



It tasted good too!!



My talented daughter!

Happy early birthday girl! 
14 on Sunday - WOW!
So far you are turning out ok, not too much fuss having a "teen" in the house.
But we are not quite "done" yet... :)
With 6 girls in a row... there's still much drama, many tears, arguments, loves, heartbreaks etc in the future.
Well, I went through all that too, so I know what's "normal" (= nothing!!).
I feel worse for my Hubby... But he's survived me for almost 15 years, so I think he'll be just fine.
Kind of.

Well.  Our 1st born has never waited for anything.
She's a real "go getter" .
It's comforting to know that I will never need to think for her or make up her mind.
She has her own plans, ideas and talents.  Lots of talents.
One of them is making her mom pull out her own hair...
At times I feel like putting my foot on the break.  Hard.  But at the same time her ideas peek my curiosity...
I want to SEE what she's creating in her head.
And if I always said no, I think her brain would suffocate.

From the day she was born she has known what she wanted.
I tried to wrap her tight in a baby blanket... only to watch her fight her way out.
She rolled around on the floor at 2 months.
Crawled on all 4 at five months.
Walked along furniture at 6....
When she was a toddler she just did what she wanted, and got what she wanted, one way or another.
There's always a way to get on top of the fridge.... (where I'd stash anything she should NOT have)
In JR Kindergarten, at age 4, she illustrated pictures to the new song they had learned.
Her teacher actually copied her illustrations and printed out a set for each child! :)
Further up in the grades when she was recognized as a "gifted" student, she was given special assignments at school.
In grade 6 she got to plan and hold classes with the younger grades.
She was the person the principal called to the office to guide a visitor to the right room.
Well... the list could go on and on... and on.
I sometimes wish I would have taken more pictures and written down some of the projects that she has come up with... so today I'm sharing some of her productions.
Her true passion these days is baking.
It's not only the decoration (although that's her favourite part of course), but she also comes up with interesting fillings etc.
She has made up a few cakes from scratch.
I know most people don't like to listen to other parents "gush" about their kids, but as a parent of this kid, I have to say that I often stand on the sidelines and watch with my mouth open!
The funny part is that she compares herself to me many times.
Wanting to be at the same level in some ways...
Well dear... you'll have time to be all grown up too.
For now, enjoy being young.
Keep being talented, creative and fun.
Even if it drives me a bit bonkers at times... I wouldn't want you any other way!
And thank you for being a great kid.
Really.

A smoothie is not just a smoothie.
It's an occation.

One of her talents, being a good big sister, in awe of her Little Brother... (and HIS talents!!)

Aaawww....  Cupcakes.

A cheesecake she made for her cousin's baptism

A cake she made in honor of the Swedish Crown princess' new baby girl

She made all the decorations from fondant for this cute birthday cake

When her grandparents visited from Sweden she made these fruitbowls as a dinner side dish the last day of their visit!

And for her Birthday she "needed" to make these Angry Bird cupcakes for her friends at school!!

A year went by!

It's been just over a year since I wrote my 1st blog post here.
Man, did that go fast!
Today our 5th daugther is turning 6, and she's one proud and happy girl.
This morning the whole gang went to sing for her, while she was still in bed.
A slice of cake with a candle to blow out, a cup of chocolate milk and a handful of candy made up the nutricious breakfast in bed.
The new Barbie made her smile, in fact, her whole face glowed!
There's nothing like a brand new Barbie for a little girl.
The hotpink package, the beautiful gown.... Aaah!
Maybe it's not the perfect role model for a young girl, but I know that this unproportional, beautiful friend, will give her hours of fun imaginary play.
I can balance out the reality for her!!

Our 6year old is a fast thinker, and usually hangs out with her older sisters.
The best thing in the world for her is to have alone time with her 4 years older sister.
Just the two of them playing.
She says
"We need some alonetime!"
And then she and big sister spend half a day tucked away in one of the bedrooms, playing and playing...
You can tell she spends a lot of time with her older sisters, she sure acts like them!
When I was pregnant with our 6th girl, I could tell how much fun our 2 oldest had together, then number 3 and 4, so I figured girl number 5 also needed a sister to "team up" with.
Well, she did get a sister, only 19 months younger than her, and they are great friends.
But if she can choose.... she picks her big sisters any time.
Good thing girl number 6 and our little boy are BFF's.
Very much.
He even tells me "M is my best friend!" :) (he's just over 2)

So...  what do I wish for our birthday girl?
She's smart and whitty and cute, and she can really drive me bonkers at times.
She really acts a lot older socially, so when she uses all the same expressions and manners as her older sisters, it's hard to remember she's only turning 6.
I hope she takes her time being a little girl.  Big people life comes fast enough.
This fall she'll be starting kindergarten here in Finland (they don't start grade 1 before the year they turn 7), so in that way she gets to be little a bit longer.
I'm all for that.
So, to my lovely and fun "big" girl: "Have a great year!"
God bless and keep you.
And you know how much we all love you. 
That's the easy part!

Happy 10th Birthday, Bug!!

We have another birthday to celebrate!!
Our 3rd girl is turning 10 tomorrow.
So.... let's take a walk down memory lane....

10 years ago I was 10 days overdue with this gal.  I remember a few weeks before when I went to one of my Dr checkups, and the Dr asked me
"How are you feeling?"
"Pregnant!!" I replied.
"You should, because you are 8 months pregnant!"
He, he... He was this older obstetrician, with a dry sense of humor and a great personality.
So, the day before she was born, I felt very ready.  I had a a Dr's appointment, and he told me that if I didn't have the baby by Friday, he'd induce me then. (this was on a Monday)
Well.... Tuesday early morning I went in to labour.
My Hubby was already at work in the States, since this was only 6 weeks after 9/11 2001, it took a LOOONG time to cross the border in to the USA, so he'd leave from home at 4 am to make it to work for 5 am.  If he left any later, the same drive would take up to 3 hours.
So... I called him around 6 to let him know that he needs to come back to Canada.

My in-laws came over and picked up our 2 oldest, who were 3½ and 2 at the time.
Then Hubby and I went to the hospital.
Of course when we got to the hospital my contractions became less frequent, I think it's a rule...
But since I was 11 days overdue, they kept me anyway.
We had breakfast in the cafeteria, and were excited about what the day would bring.  It was sunny and unusually warm outside.  My contractions came and went, and when they came they were good and strong.
Around 1pm they decided to break my water, to help things along.
Turned out I had so much water, I had to stay in bed after that, or the baby might have flipped around = c-section.  I got a bit frustrated since walking around had felt so good.  But I knew things were getting closer, so that was exciting.  I had made a decision to try to go without en epidural, since after my 2nd one I had quite a few complications due to it.

I had a fantastic nurse at my side, who kept me believing that I could do it!!
Shortly past 2pm, things got bad.... I started to have really strong and painful contractions, and I remember looking over at my Hubby telling him I was scared!  His face looked so helpless, it hurt me.
Good thing for that amazing nurse!
After about 40-45 minutes of pure ****, we were able to welcome a beautiful girl to our family.
I was so out of it I couldn't even hold her...
But amazingly enough, I felt WAAAY better within a very short amount of time.
I took a shower only a few hours later, and I had all the energy I needed to care for our little pumpkin!

Almost 2 years later we just about lost her to undiagnosed diabetes.
She had been sick, and slowly gotten worse, for about a month and a half.
We had a newborn baby at the time, and my brain was mush.
I averaged about 3 hours of sleep per night for a few months straight, and for several weeks I kept bringing our little sick girl to the Dr's, trying to figure out why she was disappearing in front of our eyes.
This smiley, busy girl, turned in to a shell of herslef.  She finally quit walking, talking and eating, and her bowels stopped moving...
My mother's instinct KNEW that this was more than a viral infection, besides non of the other kids were sick!  We finally got her type 1 diabetes diagnosed, just a week before her 2nd birthday.
I was relieved to know that she'd be fine, but devestated knowing that our baby had a chronic illness, that would change her life forever.

For the next 5 years we managed her diabetes via insulinshots, about 4-5 every day.
When she was almost 7 she got her insulin pump, which has made her life (and ours) a lot easier.

So, what is she like today??
Well, she's our Angelina Ballerina through and through.  She has the looks and built of a dainty fairy, she's fun and smart and at times a bit ditsy.  She plays great with her younger siblings, and most of the time she carries a smile on her face.
Knowing how close we were to losing her, and knowing what she has gone through with her sickness in her young life, makes her a bit special to us.
It's also a reminder of how much we should appreaciate what we have when we have it, and how quickly things can change.  It makes me love all our kids even more, because they are merely gifts for us to care for, and there's nothing that's for sure in life....

Bug, we love you so much, I admire your strength, and how you almost never complain about what you have to deal with on an everyday basis.  Like I've told you many, many times,
                                                               "You are the bravest girl I know!!"

Happy Birthday, again!!

Today we again celebrate one of our kiddos.  This time it's our 6th daughter who's turning 4! 
This little girl has something about her that make people notice her, even when she's not seeking out attention.  She's sweet and funny and most days she says things that have us all laugh our heads off!  Kids that age are like that, but you never get too much of it, it just keeps being cute and funny!
She really, really knows what she wants, and she makes sure to get it, pretty much all of the time.  Her poor, somewhat older, sister has to give in a lot...  At the same time she is really caring about her little brother, so I guess it evens out.

One of her little "things" she does is to giggle at just about anything.  She can be sitting by herself, playing quietly, when a slow giggle starts to build up inside her, and before you know it, she's laughing out loud, by herself, at something funny she did or thought about!

My pregnancy with her was NOT enjoyable.  At all.  I had the most morning sickness (lasted for 16 weeks), then my veins on my legs started to bug me, as my belly started to grow really fast!  At 5 months along many people started to ask if I was due soon.  I felt like saying, "Yes, I'm really due - to pop your head off!!"  I had to have extra checkups and ultrasounds and labwork.  They thought I was having twins for a while!  Turns out I "just" had a lot of amniotic fluid, no explanation to why this happened.  (there are several theories to why this can take place, but they did not fit me)  So, during one of Windsor's hottest summers on record (you can look it up if you want), I was measuring as if I was pregnant with twins, but I wasn't...
 
I had a very active toddler to chase, and... yeah.  I got pretty swollen and very uncomfortable before I finally was able to have this little girl.  My Dr. saw an induction to be my safest choice, since things could turn pretty risky if the water broke at home.  So 8 days before due, I went to the hospital to welcome our 6th girl.  (we knew what we were having, I had so many ultrasounds with her so it would have been very hard not to find out!)
The Dr broke my water, and they had to use a hose in my bed to suck it up.  After they had got a lot of the fluid out, my belly had literally lost half its size!  My Dr. claimed that he'd never seen that much amniotic fluid from one lady in 23 years!!  I believed him...
Our little girl made a safe arrival, but had to stay in NICU for the 1st night for observation.  She was fine, and screamed the loudest by far among all the preemies... (she was 8 lbs, and some of her roommates were probably a 10th of that!!)
The next day when I got to have her with me, I was holding my newest miracle, and thought "They are such a joy!", and then I knew that Joy would be her middlename (we hadn't decided on one yet).
And a joy she has been! 

Happy Birthday to a special girl, who makes our lives even more worth living!

Happy Birthday!!

Today millions of people around the world remember that dreadful day 10 years ago.  I remember that too.  Looking back I hope we all focus on what made us stronger, and not what others tried to ruin for us and make us weak and scared.  May God bless and keep us all safe from evil, and may we first of all remember to take care of ourselves and the ones who are dear to us.

This day, 12 years ago, a miracle happened.  We became parents for the 2nd time when our 2nd daughter was born.  This little lady was 9 days over due, just like our 1st one, and she made sure to make the hot summer feel even hotter for me... When she finally decided to announce her arrival, she came in a hurry!  From sitting at my brother-in-laws house, eating burgers, at 5pm, till us calling back to them from the hospital to share the latest family news, was less than 4 hours!!
This little lady made sure to keep us in line.  She refused bottles, so I had to feed her every 2 hours, around the clock, for her 1st year of life!! 

When our 1st born was a toddler, she "followed the rules of the book".  She was increadibly busy, but she would listen to me explaining, and usually be pretty obedient to what I said.  I thougth this parenting thing was falling into place quite nicely.
Well.  Let me just say that #2 proved me wrong!!  What ever worked with our 1st one, did NOT work the 2nd time around.  She'd throw fits and scream like the best.  She was the kind of kid that made you leave the shopping cart mid-isle, and walk to the car...  trying to make yourself look as descreet and small as possible.

I remember one night when she was right around 4 years old, and we had a newborn baby, an almost 2year old, and the oldest being 5½ half.  I had said the prayers at night, and my little girl had finally settled down after an unusually trying day.  I cried.  I felt that I did not have what it took to be a good mom to this little girl.  I sent a deep sigh, and a sincere prayer, that God would please give me strength.
After that day we saw a slow change.  We got her a hamster that she loved with all her heart, I need to tell you that she does have a huge, loving heart, for anything living.  As a 2-3 year old she'd collect bugs and worms and play with them.  Toads and frogs have been her pets.  Any dog anywhere was her friend to play with, to her mom's great fear at times!!  She'd follow any stranger anywhere, as long as they were attached to a dog!!
As the months went by... I one day realized "That difficult girl was gone!!"  In her place we got a really, really sweet gal, with a temper intact, and puppy-dog-eyes that could get her pretty much anything (but a horse).

She's still sweet and loving, and looking back I know that God has helped me along the way.  Every child you are given teaches you something, she sure tought me a fair scoop of patience!  She also is my voice of reasoning many times, helping me to see things from a fair point of view.
The other night she told me how everyone has some weakness that they struggle with, and as an example she mentioned how one of her sisters can be very slow at times (this is a known fact), then she mentioned a few other examples that were right on, after that she very diplomatically told me "And you mamma, you have to work on not being so hard on yourself!, I can see how you put yourself down sometimes, and you shouldn't do that!, you are a good mom, and we love you, please try to work on that!"

I tell yah, kids are so smart.  Little angels sent to us, to keep an eye open for us, to help us along the way....
Dear 12 year old!  We love you so much. Don't change. Keep your sweetness intact, keep loving this beautiful nature and all its animals!  Thank you for your wisedom and love.

Congrats, you just won another 2 weeks of pregnancy!!

Hm.  I went for my 1st ultrasound yesterday.  Based on all the facts, I SHOULD be almost 12 weeks along now.  I have felt that this is the right number of weeks, and my body sure has felt and acted its part.  But what do I know, right??  According to my ultrasound, the nice technician informed me that "Hmmm, this baby is only measuring 9 weeks 5 days", so 2 weeks less than I had figured.

What???  I don't get it.  It does not make sense.  I'm not going to share any details, but the whole thing is rather strange and confusing.  I have had 7 kids, and many ultrasounds, and they have all been within 5 days of my estimated date...  Now this.
You might think, "Who cares? a few weeks more or less?"  Well, I DO care.  Now we are having an April baby instead of a March baby.  It makes it sound like a whole month later!!  (even if the date "just" moved from March 20th to April 4th.)  Now I have to do week 10 to 12 all over again!! 

My oldest daughter is not impressed either.  She has been over the moon about the fact that I'm expecting a baby within 2 days of her birthday, and now that will most likely not happen...  My dear hubby does turn the big 4-0 in April thou, so Happy B-Day Big Guy!  This one is for you :) 

Well.  There.  Now I got to gripe abou that a bit.  Now I'm hoping that the baby will surprise me and come "early", actually meaning, that my own duedate was the right one all along...

Visitors, Birthday and Getting organized

Today our overseas visitors left to head back home.  It's with sad hearts we saw them leave, but with happy memories sharing the space.  We had such a great time together, and got to do many fun things.  Our 2nd oldest and her BFF had a packed schedule, including shopping, swimming in the lake, taking saunas, picking berries, visiting with friends, going through an obstacle course and last but not least, the highlight of the trip, "Horsebackriding!!"  They even got to try galloping a bit!  After a few hours on the horsebacks, they came home with huge smiles on their faces.  I'm so happy everything went so well, and now we wish them a safe trip back home to Michigan!  A special thank you to BFF's aunt who made this trip possible.  It was a pleasure to have you here, and our door will always remain open for you!  Thanks for all the help as well, our Little Guy talked about you this morning!  We will miss you both for a long time!

Our 4th girl turned 8!!!
Happy B-day dear "S"!!  I'm looking back to the day you were born, and I still marvel over the fact that you decided to enter this world 10 days early, and not the same amount of days past due, like your older sisters did!!  This made my pregnancy 3 weeks shorter, and I'm still thankful for that.  My water broke at midnight, after an evening spent with lots of friends over at our house.  I had seen my Dr the same day, and he figured this baby would follow my previous babies patteren, so he was pretty surprised to see me in the hospital hall about 12 hours after my appointment!!  At 6.13 am our 4th little girl was born, weighing 6.13!!  She was born on my older sisters 30th birthday, so we named her after my sister.  This new addition was a quiet and content little soul, and that sure made our lives easier when our 3rd daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, only 3 months after our baby's birth.  Our lives became increadibly busy, it felt like we had twins!!

The 1st year of #4's life is a blur to me, but from all the pictures we have saved, I can see "S" smiling, looking content and happy.  She could sit, or lay, and play with toys for long stretches, this I do remember, since she was our 1st baby to do that!  By 10 months she still didn't show any interest in crawling or walking, so I figured she'd be a bit later than average, but soon I discovered that when this lady puts her mind to something, she gets stuff done!!!  So shortly after her 1st birthday she was walking.
She was the same way when it was time to learn how to talk.  At 21 months she didn't say much, but by 2 years old, she spoke in scentences!!  And that's the way she is.  She's not in a hurry to be 1st, but when she wants to do or learn something, she gets the job done fast!  We love having her as a part of our loud gang, just like all the rest of them, and I wish her a blessed year as an 8 year old!  We all love you so much! xoxo

What else??  Well, this house is getting more and more livable for each day.  My hubby and I have both been busy cleaning and organizing.  Today I'm tackling some windows in the foyer, there are 8 of them, but they are tall and skinny so they go pretty fast.  I WILL get a camera soon.... then I'll post some pictures. Here are a few that our visitor downloaded on our computer....

BFF's in the woods

A beautiful evening spent at our friends cottage.  Swimming, sauna and good food.

Making a birthday cake!

Pink marzipane for the birthday girl!

(Good job big sister who made the cake!)

Obstacle course

This is high up in the air!

Our lovely kitchen (messy as usual...)

Livingroom

Horseback riding!

Happy Birthday Big Guy!!

Well, I have a little tradition going here.  I've written about my 5 year old as well as Miss 13 on their birthdays, and today is my Dear Hubby's big day, so I guess the turn is his.
This is his last year in his 30ies.  The kids think he's, well, OLD!  I think it's wierd to be married to a guy twice my age!!!  Or did time just fly???  I bet his parents feel like he just became their age... He's the oldest of 7. 

Well.  This summer it's 15 years since our eyes first locked, and the bystanders heard an audiable "click"!
Or whatever the sound is when 2 people just fall in love with no warning.
I was the least romantic girl I knew, I thought all those romantic stories about "Love at 1st site" was a bunch of "Hooey".  Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life.  And I was very much real and alive.  So of course it happened to me!  I was almost mad when I realized that my mind was totally toast.  I had a hard time focusing on anything else than Mr.  And I talked about him.  All the time.  My poor friends.... (I thought LUCKY THEM that get to hear about this amazing person!!!) 
The biggest hurdle for us was that I lived in Sweden and he in Canada.
No fun.
So, 11 months after our first meeting, we tied the knot in Sweden, and then I was officially imported into The land of  Moose, Maples and Hockey players. 

9 months later our 1st daughter was born.  Our souvenier from our Greek Honeymoon.... 
When she was 6 months old, Big Guy graduated from University with  a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Around this time I became a Landed Immigrant in this great nation, and I was allowed to work.
I held a job at Pizza Hut while Big Guy was looking for his 1st job suiting his degree.  Until then he'd worked construction, part time at Chrysler as well as a personal financial advisor.  He landed his 1st "real" job with an apartment management firm in Detroit, doing accounting for them.  This meant crossing the border every day.  He patiently stayed with this company for almost 10 years, during which time we dealt with the aftermath of 9-11 in 2001 (I was 8 month pregnant w. child #3).  For several months he had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning to beat the traffic on the way in to the States.  The customs was extra cautious after the terrible terrorist attacks, so all the cars were searched on a daily basis.  You have your 6000 something daily commuters, many crossing around the same time each morning... so you can imagine the lineups!!!
This is also the busies international bordercrossing for commercial traffic in the world, so the trucks would line up for hours on end .

I don't know how Big Guy dealt with this all those years.  He's a very patiend man, let me tell ya!!
He switched jobs in Sept. 2008, still working in Detroit, but this was better in several ways, and he sure needed a change.  That following spring, he went to Finland to help one of his brothers build his house, and he so enjoyed himself, he felt that THIS is what he really wanted to do!
He was sick of the commute, and the office ho-hum.  I sure don't blame him.
He wanted to bulid a house too, and I said, "Sure, but only if we also move there, it has to be an experience for the whole family!"
This is 2 years ago, and now we've lived here for almost a year!
Big Guy is truly enjoying the change of work.  No more sitting on your butt all day.
At times the weather has been pretty brutal (just before Christmas they had a deadline to meet, and they were out in -25 C, not being able to use the powertools, they were too cold.  I joked and said that using the hammers will keep you warmer at least!), but then he has thought about the option of sitting stuck in traffic, or dealing with various people that know how to NOT make your day... and the cold all of a sudden seemed perfectly fine!!!

What else????  I could ramble on and on about this guy, and mostly it would be really good stuff.  I don't know a person who does not like my hubby!!  He's an easygoing dude, who gets along well with everybody.  He smiles quickly and is a great listener.  He's a  fun dad, who sometimes talks in extremes...  He likes to explain how things work, and is a great math teacher.  I love his humor, and in any situation he'd be the person I'd take with me.  He's truly my best friend, and I thank God he's mine!!!  And I'm praying for many, many years together.  Happy Birthday my dear Hubby, I Love you forever and always!!!!

Last day as a child?

I was just realizing something... I know there's no age limit to being a child, I think I'm still very much a child at heart, and I can act pretty childlike (good and bad!!) at times.  But when you become a teenager, are you officially "done" being a child?  Our oldest daughter turns 13 tomorrow, and as this realization came upon me, my eyes grew a bit misty...  It really seems like only a few days ago that I was 8 days overdue with her and went in to the hospital, but was sent home again... 13 years ago today.  Tomorrow is the big day, and on Saturday she'll be hosting a birthday party with a gaggle of other giggling girls about the same age.

Today she and her friend in school, who happens to be only 2 days older than my girl, brought in some goodies for the class to share.  They must be among the 1st real teens in their class, since their birthdays fall this early in the year.  Will they get a different status now?  I'm starting to realize how long ago it is since I was their age... The world has changed a great deal, and I really don't know what she is in for.  I try to be a mom with her eyes and ears open, but at times I know that I morph into a "Tyrannosauros Rex" right in front of my daughters rolling eyes.  I know she'll read this... and that she'll roll her eyes while reading it ;) 
Guess what thou?  I remember being 13 and 14, and I remember hurting inside, feeling like NOBODY understood me AT ALL!!!  And I remember vowing to myself that I would NEVER EVER forget what it felt like to be that age.  Never ever.  And I haven't.  Those feelings can still come up fresh and strong to the suface, especially when I see my girls feeling that way too... Sure, time has put a fuzzy blanket over the intensity, but I haven't forgotten...  I still get tears in my eyes thinking about that heap on the bed, crying her eyes out, feeling so lost and misunderstood... Me. 

So to my dear daughters and all you young girls out there!  We didn't forget what it was like being you.  We did grow up thou.  A bit stronger, a bit braver and a bit wiser.  Realizing that we didn't know quite everything...
I hope that I can be a mom who will never forget what it was like being a child, and how much it can hurt when the bud starts to blossom!!