Still playing with legos

My baby girl just got her first job!!

 She is running some rides at Legoland. As far as first jobs go, I think this is one of the best.(And she looks cute in the uniform too! )

23R

My family and I fondly call my prosthetic leg my 'robot' leg. Which I think makes me sound pretty cool. Well a couple of months ago I was giving my foot a good scrub down with some household cleaners and as I was looking at the bottom of my foot I noticed a number stamped on the bottom. How could I have not noticed it before now. Well anyway, this is what it looks like..

It says 23R. I hadn't noticed it before. And since then I realize that I have an official robot name. I feel like R2D2 or C3PO. This is awesome!!

Mom

Although my mom is beautiful, I did not learn certain things from her. Like how to have perfectly manicured nails, or how to shop for designer clothes. We have never been to a spa together and she didn't even take me for mother/ daughter massages. I  wouldn't even know how much of a tip to leave for that.
But she did take me to mother/ daughter service days spent mowing old ladies lawns in the scorching sun and she taught me how to care for a friend in desperate need. She has taught me that no amount of money or recognition  is worth trading my integrity for. She taught me that when I give my word to someone that I better mean it and follow through to the end. She taught me to never give up. And that good things are worth the wait.
She even taught me that it would be better to have callouses on my hands then pretty nail polish. Wrinkles from the sleepless nights I stayed by my son's hospital bed, and sore knees that I got from kneeling in prayer rather than spending my free time playing golf with the ladies at the country club.
I wouldn't trade spa days for serving others and shopping trips for time with my children. I wouldn't trade my honor for fame, or integrity for money. I continue to learn from my mom as we are growing older together. Not the 'finer' things in life, but the 'important' things of life.
I am blessed everyday that Heavenly Father sent her to me.

Her legacy lives on in my children.          Life is good!

Waiting on heaven

There has been alot going on in our family over the past couple of weeks. And I have been affected by all of it.
In some of my privious posts I have written about my daughter and her friend. I have fondly refered to them as Double Trouble, or Partners in Crime. One bonus to their friendship is that I am dear friends with his mom. Two weeks ago she collapsed and out of respect for her family I won't go into details of her struggles yet but she spent a week in a coma with not great odds of waking up. My heart ached for days as I waited to talk to her again. When I would stand by her bedside I really felt a humbled feeling, like she may have been going between heaven and earth and I was reminded how close heaven really is. I have put my own heartaches to rest and I am ready to help her fight on!! She is Amazing!!

Back to the Old West

Over spring break we got season passes to Knott's Berry Farm. I have great memories of going there as a child. It is bassed on the Old West. It has many shops and attractions that reflect the Gold Rush and what life was like for the first settlers. But then it has fast roller coasters for the older kids. We went twice over spring break. The big kids are old enough to spend the day on the roller coasters while the two younger ones and I went to all the attractions. It was fun for Charlotte because she is studying the Gold Rush right now in fourth grade. While panning for gold she was chatting it up with the worker about dates and places of early prospectors. I was impressed.

 We did one small ride with Ben but the noise was too much for him. He was happy sitting and watching the roller coasters go by and laugh. Here is one spot we stopped to watch the faun around us.

Hahahaha! I think the caption should read;    "Hey cowboy, I don't care that you have a gun.. She is with me!"

Hair everywhere

I took a picture of back of my hair on my one year anniversary but was embarrassed by the desperate need for some professional hair coloring touch up. But I was going through old pictures and found a picture of me at 2 months of re hair growth. It was fun to see the difference.

2 months of  growing new hair

 And this is my messy mop head after one year. I have experimented with lots of different colors of hair too. End result is still BIG hair.

Chemo Graduation day Anniversary!

It has been 1 year today since I finished my chemotherapy and I am still cancer free. I feel very lucky and blessed to be alive another year. I cannot express how valuable life is when you realize each day you are lucky to be alive.
I went through my old pictures to see what I looked like at this time last year. I never posted the pictures back then because of how awful I truly looked and how I can see in my eyes how awful I felt. I was ready to look at the pictures again today.

Finishing chemotherapy

I have no words that could describe what it felt like to be in that much pain. There was not a single part of my body that didn't ache or want to just give up. It is actually hard for me to feel it all over again.
So I will move on to a happier picture. This is me today. One year later and feeling a whole lot better!

Sincere Grattitude!!