Savanna's Floor Routine

Here is Savanna at her last meet. She got 2nd on Floor and this is her routine.

Survival

I recently read a book called The Survivor's Club. It was about how people survive, what gives them an edge, why some persevere and others simply give up. It recounted stories of cancer, unemployment, car accidents, mountain lion attacks, you name it. Anyway I've been thinking a lot about surviving lately. We had a couple of weeks I wondered if I'd survive. Now of course these were minor in comparison to having your face ripped off by a mountain lion, surviving cancer or having acid dumped on you but it was what I've been dealt...so far. Our family got a respiratory flu for about a week and then Luke's turned into pneumonia which triggered asthma and put him in the hospital for 3 days. That was a first for us, because a)I've never had the flu for that long and b)we've never had a kid in the hospital, scary. It definitely made me grateful for the time we live in. I couldn't help but think about the flu epidemic of 1918 when so many died from it. I hope we never have to survive something like that.
I think sometimes we can equate survival to the good times as well, like say surviving a family reunion. We had a great time, horseback riding, eating, fishing, eating, chasing kids, eating, laughing, eating...there was a lot of adrenaline going on and when that was gone I got violently ill for about 4 hours, probably something I ate. But I survived and with some great memories. All in all survival is one of those things that comes in all shapes and sizes, it can be small or huge and life changing, it can be very public or it can be something no one is ever aware of, it could be a trial and a burden or a satisfied sigh at the end of an amazing adventure. Regardless of what package it comes in we are all survivors.

Happy Birthday Liam!

Liam celebrated his 3rd birthday Sunday. I can't believe it's been 3 years since he was born. Here are a few pics of his big day.

Liam is a hug fan of Scooby Doo,

and also monster trucks.

Calling all Conservatives - The Follow Up

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post and for the interest you expressed. What I decided to do was find a group that was already formed. I used meetup.com and found a local group of conservatives that get together to discuss the books they are reading and talk about what they can do to make a difference politically and otherwise. We are meeting Tuesday, March 31st if anyone is interested in going with me. I'm a little nervous so wish me luck!

Calling All Conservatives

I was wondering if anyone out there with conservative ideals and values would be interested in starting a group of sorts. Somewhere we could get together, educate each other, share information, ideas and ways to support what we believe in and fight what we don't. I want to be involved but struggle with knowing where to look and what to do. Maybe if we share what we know we can be more of a voice. I'm not sure what the best setting would be, online or in someone's home I am open to suggestions. I just need some support so please comment with any ideas. Thanks.

Slipping Through My Fingers

I spent the weekend with Mark's mom and sisters. It was a great time and we watched the movie Mama Mia. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a movie made from a musical and all the music is by ABBA. I can't say much for the story line but one scene did catch my attention. The mother in the story is helping her daughter get ready for her wedding and sings this song called "Slipping Through My Fingers". I added it to my play list (it's in the bottom right corner of my blog) if you want to listen to it. I know a few ABBA tunes but had never heard this one. It really made me think about how much I absent mindedly wish away my kids childhoods or maybe it's more me wishing away my time as a "young mother" and I need to knock it off!

One of the lines says: Then when shes gone there's that odd melancholy feeling And a sense of guilt I cant deny What happened to the wonderful adventures The places I had planned for us to go(slipping through my fingers all the time)Well, some of that we did but most we didn't and why I just don't know

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now It's just been on my mind and I'm afraid of that "Melancholy feeling and a sense of guilt I can't deny." I don't want that to be me.

Anyone out there have any ideas on how to stay grounded? How do you keep them from slipping through your fingers? I mean I know they are going to grow up and I have to let them go but how do I do it without regrets?