Life Goals

So we did it. I calculated the risks, reviewed videos, read blogs, and asked opinions from people/co-workers I respect and trust. And I took Paige to Disney World. We had a cruise booked for October during Fall Break - Halloween on the High Seas. It would've been the first cruise for the girls and Jeremy and I's third cruise. I was so excited for them to experience it. When COVID started getting a lot of attention in the US in early March, Jeremy said 'what about our cruise'? And I was like - our cruise is in October, I'm sure they'll figure this out by then. I was crushed when we made the decision in early July to cancel (and Disney has since officially canceled that cruise as well).  Paige was crushed when I told her, she was very much looking forward to the cruise. As an alternative, I had started looking at something fun Paige and I could do for her birthday. As Disney Vacation Club members, we have 'points' that we can use to stay at the resorts and...

Reasonable - what is reasonable for us as a society? Consistent - what is the best chance of having a consistent learning environment for my kid? Flexible - how flexible will the virtual learning option be? Normalize - how long will we be wearing masks? will we eventually think of it as normal? Anxiety - what is our society going to look like one year from now? Fear - when will I have to take my COVID-19 test? These are words that have been circling in my head for the past couple of weeks. Words that I didn't think would ever have as much weight to their meaning as they do right now.  Parents, we are facing decisions. For some, it's the hardest decision we've had to make. For some, it's an easy decision. For some, the decision is out of their hands.  In-Person Virtual Homeschool For us, it's one of the hardest decisions we've had to make. Until last week I was adamant about the girls going back to school in-person. We are both working from home and doing virtual...

My first class is finally over.  Done. So long. Good riddance. I learned two things from this class. 1. Online classes in an 8-week period are NOT my jam. Too much information, too quick. 2. Group work with people you don't know absolutely sucks.  - Weekly readings, from not 1, but 2 textbooks. - Weekly quizzes - Weekly discussion board posts.      - Initial response - 600 words      - Replies - 2 of them, 450 words each.      - All had to have 2 references and one biblical integration - Group project      - Annotated bib; outline; draft; final This class started off okay. I knew going into it there would be a lot of homework.  The readings - yes, they were terrible. Cramming 150-200 pages of reading in just means that I don't retain most of what I read. Highlighting didn't help. I just read too fast, just to get it done. I think there may have only been one week that ...

Facebook Post: February 7th: 2019, 11:11am John 14:1-3 "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going."  Mom passed peacefully early this morning with her family by her side. While we are saddened and grieving, we are celebrating her new life in Heaven and that she is no longer in pain.  Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers during this time. We will update when we have more information about celebrating her life.  One year ago today we were huddled around mom's bed as she drew her last breath. We were there with her the moment her earthly body was no longer, and she rand into the arms of Jesus. One year ago today my dad, my brothers, and I sat around d...

Goodbye, but not good riddance. The definition of good riddance: to express relief at being free of a troublesome or wanted person or thing . I don't want to be 'free' of 2019. I want to remember it and cherish it. Towards the end of 2018, mom made a great facebook post listing all the great things that had happened. To the best she could, she chose to look at the positive things that happened. At the end of 2018, we didn't think 2019 could be much worse. 2018 had been a hard year for our family. It was a year of sickness, loss, and death. We had no idea what 2019 would bring. 2019 may have been a year of loss, but in the midst of our grief, we found joy. January - - Celebrated family Christmas (very late due to one person being out of town). - Mom got to spend time with some of her closest Huntington friends - a group of women who watched their kids grow up together. I'm so thankful they all took the time to get together. - Carole (mom's best friend)...

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas is set up and ready. But it still doesn't feel like the holidays. I didn't get my camera out for pictures. Mom and I haven't been talking about our 'Black' Friday deals all week. We didn't have to run out to Meijer on Thursday morning for those last-minute things. November has come to an end and as I mentioned in my last post I wanted to look past the dark to find the light, to find warmth and joy this season. Overall it was a good month. Nov 4th - Started the application process to go back to school for a Master of Science in Health Informatics Nov 5th - Mom's birthday - we celebrated with cake and chocolate/peanut butter milkshakes Nov 9th - Game Day - always fun! Nov 10th - Dad's birthday - we took him to Texas Roadhouse and spent a beautiful afternoon helping rake up some leaves. Nov 14th - So You Think You Can Dance Tour! Went with a friend and we had a blast! Those dancers are amazing! Nov...

November, December, January, & February These are the 4 darkest and coldest months of the year. I feel like this year they will be a little darker and a little colder. From tomorrow until February, the months will be flooded with memories. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real. There are days I wait for her to send me a message and ask me what we are doing that weekend or how the girls are. The tears still come and go - the girls occasionally tell me they dream about grandma and tell me often how much they miss her. A year ago tomorrow we celebrated mom's 60th birthday in Santa Claus, Indiana. It was what she wanted - a weekend of family. So, we all made arrangements and our whole family was there and mom and dad's best friends Jim & Carole. It was a weekend of love, laughter, food, games, and family pictures. From my perspective, after this weekend is when things started progressing. On election day last year, mom was walking towards the building where ...