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  Tonight I had all intentions to blog about vacation and post some pictures, however, I am beat. This week has been packed full of a doctor apt(I now am wearing a holter monitor for a month- fun fun), track practices, small group, grades being due, basketball awards banquet, Nathan leaving early this morning and laundry. I am pooped. Thank goodness tomorrow I can come home after Track and relax(aka, put Easter stuff together, finish laundry, clean the house, get some MUCH needed exercise in, and cook dinner) I am sooo looking forward to it and Friday we don't have school so that is even more exciting. YIPPPEEE!

   I am off to catch some zzzz's however, I will leave you with some 'towel art' from our trip! 

 

dear vacation

Dear Vacation-
  Oh how I miss you. I miss your sunshine, I miss your 'spend every waking(and sleeping) moment with my husband', I miss your delicious dinners, I miss your ocean breeze, I miss your salty waters, I miss your 'brown eyed girl song' that you played 500 times, I miss your towel art before heading to bed, I miss your sand under my toes, I miss the laughter you allowed us to have so many times, I miss your cell-phone free week, and I miss hearing the water hit the side of your boat and we cruised the open sea.
         Vacation, you were wonderful- thank you. I miss you already!

sailing

Today we are sailing away!!! After a few last minute stops along the way our bags are now packed and we are ready for our cruise. Happy Week!!

sailing

Today we are sailing away!!! After a few last minute stops along the way our bags are now packed and we are ready for our cruise. Happy Week!!

packing

 Tonight was a night for packing for our trip(yipppeeee)...at least that was what was supposed to happen. But...nope that didn't get done! Instead, Mandy, Morgan and Marek made a visit up to see us(and some pictures too). It was so much fun having them here. We played outside, enjoyed the beautiful weather, ate some food, played some more and loved every second of having them here. Thanks so much for coming up guys!
 Once they left, we decided we better get packing...at least that what was supposed to happen. But...nope no packing for us, we laid around and watched march madness! It was a much need relaxing time for Nathan after working so hard this week. I guess you can see what takes priority at our house...basketball for sure! Just so everyone knows- Nathan and I are tied so far @ 80%....but that wont be for long, I am feeling pretty good about my bracket!
  So when are we going to pack??? not sure. not worried.  The plan was to head out of here at 3:10 tomorrow. opps. Guess we will either leave a little later OR just go without packing and buy all new fun stuff on the trip. haha. stay tuned to see the outcome of this decision. :)

songs

  This morning was another EARLY one- Nathan was up and out of the house by 4:30, the plan was for me to get another hr. of sleep and get up and do a little cleaning. Well, the 'sleep' wasn't happen' so I got up and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, then got ready for school. I was dragging a little as I jumped in the car but that didn't last long, as I turned on the radio I heard one of my all time favorite songs.. Livin' on a Prayer!!! This was all I needed to get the blood flowing and the vocal cords going. So with the windows down and sunroof open, I called Nathan and as soon as he answered I started signing...REALLY LOUD(I am sure he was lovin' it). I just kept sayin' Oh Oh we are half way there!!' The week is half-way over and its almost time for vacation. This song, paired with the BEAUTIFUL spring weather that God gave us was what I needed to get through the day- it was hump day but we are 'half way there!'
  The kiddies were very excited it was St. Patricks day and it was so cute seeing all of them dressed in their green, hoping they would be able to pinch me- not so fast my fine friend- this is an Irish girl you are talkin to. I was sporting my green just as much as everyone else! After a crazy day at school, I headed to the mall to pick up a new dress for the trip that I had had my eye on, however, left empty handed because they didn't have my size. bummer.
  On my drive home I did alot of talking to God and my Dad. I was thanking God for the beautiful day he had given us and for the many many blessing he has put into our lives, I was also asking him a few questions of Why? Why did you have to take my dad so soon? Why did you need him? Why are sunny days so hard? Just like the Kenny Chensy song says, ' Sunny days seem to hurt the most,' its so true. They are so wonderful and beautiful but man are they hard. They remind me of that terrible day, they remind me of the funeral, they remind me of the pain that I have in my heart. I was talking to my Dad- telling him how much I miss him, how much I wish he was here to meet my wonderful husband, how much I wish he could see how much of a man Gavin is, how much I miss him for mom. Man, I miss him. I can't be mad at God- as much as I want to I have to have faith to know that there is a reason he needed my dad and as much as I miss him, he is an amazing place that we all stive to be in somday. I am confident in that,  which makes these sunny days ok.
  So from one song and set of emotions to another song with a whole different set of emotions- I am going to strive to be faithful, knowing that God has a plan for each for each of us just as he reminded us in Hebrews 11.1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

It might not be the plan I have in mind(which is really really REALLY hard sometimes) but it is the plan he has set designed just for me and that is pretty cool to know.

weekend fun

This weekend was just what the dr. ordered! Full of family time, Morgans birthday, and AWESOME AWESOME church message, and some r&r today.

On Saturday I got the privilege to take pictures of Morgan's birthday party- it was so much fun. I loved every second of it. After 2 hrs of shooting, and about 400 pictures, I was beat  but I loved EVERY SECOND of and could really get used to doing that full time!! :)

Happy Birthday Morgan, 

Your Aunt and Uncle love you so very much!!

I posted  more over on the 721 blog! 

After church today we enjoyed hanging out at home- Nathan cleaned the garage, I worked on pictures and then we grilled out and watched Selection Sunday! Let the March Madness begin!! YIPPPEEE :) I am looking forward to a full week of 'bracktology', packing for our trip, small group, track tri-outs for me- nothing too crazy though- Nathan on the other hand- 3 inventories(4 am'ers), a re-set(don't ask, I dont know), a DM meeting AND 6 audits! That is enough to make anyone go crazy- good thing a vacation is right around the corner. :)
  o that note- its off to get some shut eye. night y'all!

smart cars, rainbows & a friday night- oh my!

This post is a little random but I couldn't pass up posting these pictures!

Last weekend Gav & Sarah drove over in his new sweet ride... an Aldi Smart Car!!! I don't think I have laughed this hard in a long time. As Gavin said 'I am a driving produce aisle!' HAHAHA
The boys decided to take it for a little pimp ride....I really think they were trying to pick up chicks with this car! LOL

and off they go!  Hope this gave you as good as a laugh as it did me! :)


On another note- Yesterday I was out playing with my new camera lens when it started raining and then a beautiful rainbow came out. If this doesn't scream SPRING- I don't know what does. I love the rain on the road too..so cool.

A Friday night @ home...what is that?!?!? Tonight I got to come home after school and put on comfy clothes, snacked on unhealthy stuff, am watching basketball and blogging! It has been the first Friday night in a LONG time that I have been home.... I must say I have missed it so I am trying to enjoy the r&r to it's fullest! It probably hasn't been the best idea for my diet but oh'well...thats what a morning run will be for right?!  As for tomorrow- we have a busy day full of our niece Morgan's birthday photo shoot!! I can't wait.
Happy Friday and Boiler Up

lots of updates

This might be the longest blog in history but I have lots of things to write about.


first off- Basketball season is over....so hard to believe. I had bitter sweet feelings Monday night as we walked off the court with our final W of the season. It has been a season full of learning for everyone. On Saturday we had our Conference tourney and were scheduled to play the top ranked team first. They had beaten us earlier in the season and are a very good team. I was confident if my 'intense, passionate and top notch' basketball team came out we would take the W, however, if my 'other' team showed up to play it could get ugly. We came out strong and I was feeling pretty good- however, their talent and shot percentage from the 3 point lined seem a little too much for us to handle. We were down 13 going into the 4th and it wasn't looking so good. Lesson 1: Never EVER give up- no matter how 'down' you are.
    This is what I kept telling my girls- and they listened!! We held them scoreless in the 4th and won by 1!!! It was so exciting and I was one proud coach. I am certain there were not alot of people in the stands that thought we could pull that one off- but we did and boy it felt good.
  Game 2 was a few hrs. later and I was pretty nervous because my girls don't do well after sitting for that long. Unfortunately that 'other' team showed up to play. We were down 22-10 at half and my girls didn't seem have the desire that it was going to take to win. As I walked into the locker room I thought of two half-time speeches I could give... I knew when I got in there God would tell me just what to say. It went something like this 'girls- you are a great team, each of you can play, however- if you don't have the passion and desire it takes to win, you can't. I can tell you the plays to run, how to play defense, and when to foul. However, I can't tell you how play with passion, I can't tell you how to play with heart, and I can't tell you how to play with the desire to win. That has to come from you heart. I will leave you in here to think, dig deep, and decide how you want to finish this season. I hope you find what it takes- because I know you have it.' Lesson 2: You have the put your whole heart into something if you want it to work.
  I guess it worked... we went on a 13 point scoring run and tied the score at the end of regulation to send us into OT! We played great throughout the extra 3 min. and we were up by 3 with 1.3 seconds left in OT...that was until they hit a last second 3 in the corner to send us into 2OT(great for my heart I must say). The double overtime was just as nice to us and we were up 1 with 1.2 seconds left- I felt the W and was ready to hear the buzzer. Nope- wouldn't happen. They hit a runner to win by 1. We lost. Lesson 3: Sometimes no matter how hard you fight- you come up a little short. It was a bummer but I could not have been more proud of the way my girls came out after half time. Gutsy. And now that the season is over- I am hoping that those girls take them same lessons and can apply them to life- because thats really what its about.


Second thing!
  I went back to the Dr. yesterday with Nathan and my mom. I  LOVED them- they were the best. I don't think I have ever been happier with a set of doctors ever. After looking at all of the test results and readings . they are not really sure what is going on with my heart. Dr. Denes said 'You are a puzzle- but the good thing is that I like puzzles!' It is some type of SVT but they are not sure what is causing it. The good news is that it is nothing life threatening and the structure of my heart looks great. I am going back after spring break to get an 'event monitor' that I wear for a month and they will also do a stress test. Although they didn't find the actual cause- I was very happy to hear that my heart looks healthy and there is no damage or blockage. Thank You Lord! I still can't say Thank You enough for the prayers and phone calls. I have the best friends and family anyone could ask for.

Last but not least....
 IT IS 65 DEGREES HERE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND SUNNY!!! How awesome is that!!
 I am heading out for a run/walk now and then the girls and I are having a much needed dinner together. So looking forward to some girly time.

I think thats all for now. I am happy to say that I should be back in the blogging world a little more often now that basketball is over. Track starts next week but that is not as time consuming as the other.
Happy Day y'all!

well...

March has been adventurous to say the least. I will make this loooong story short and to the point.

 Wednesday night we had a basketball game and in the middle of the 7th grade game I started feeling really bad. I was very lightheaded and my heart was beating VERY fast for a long time. I thought something might be wrong but decided a little food would help. After some water and food I tried really hard to focus on my breathing, not passout and get my HR to come back to a normal speed and it did! :) for about 2 minutes and then it happened again. This was the point where we made the decision to get to the hospital. Unfortuanlly, they thought it would be best to call an anbumance 'just incase' which I was not happy about. I didn't want my girls to see me like this, I hated having the focus on me and not the game and I really didn't want to make a big deal out of it.
 However, for some reason no one would listen to me and we were taken to the ER. I was admitted and hooked up to lots of different machines along with a slew of tests that were ran. Luckily(well sort-of), I had 3 more episodes of this craziness while I was there so they could see what was going on. The decided to call it SVT, and said there was not much I could do but go home and rest. So we did and I was up and ready for school yesterday morning. We did not want to make a big deal out of it and decided we would stay hush hush about it(bad idea... i learned my lesson...not happy family members or friends- I am sorry!).
 I got to school yesterday and had 2 more episodes before 7:30- this is when I decided I better get back to the dr. So I called Nathan, my mom and Linda(MIL) to figure out the plans of where I should go and what I should do. I must say everyone at school was AWESOME and HELPFUL! Nathan and Linda got there about the same time and we headed to Chicago to meet my wonderful and amazing Aunt who is an ER nurse at Northwestern. When we got there she was so helpful and such a calming force. I was so very thankful she was there to help us. Thanks Shelia!!
 They kept me(I should say us because Nathan, my mom and Linda stayed with me...thanks guys- ur the best!) over night to monitor my heart, ran lots more tests and of course I didn't have anything while I was there(duh, I was laying down for 24 hrs. not doing anything...what do you expect!). I got up to walk and they watch my HR double what it was when I was sitting so thought it would be best if I came home with a Holter Monitor for 48hrs, go about my day and see what happens. So that is where I am at now- lots of cords hanging from me. fun.
   We have our basketball tournament(they played on Thursday night and it was driving me crazy not being there!) tomorrow and yes I will be coaching the games...hey they said to go about my normal day! They also encouraged a run on Sunday- I cant wait for that!
 I must say it was so nice getting all of the emails, texts, phone calls and most of all prayers! They are working!!
I was also so thankful for my wonderful husband who sat by my side every step of the way. He really is the best! It was also extra special to have my two moms there too- they even ran and got Garrett's popcorn for us! :)

well- now that I have just typed all of that out- I am off to get some rest. Lets just say thats enough excitement for the month- I am ready for a vacation! 

night y'all- Thank so much again for all the prayers, I really appreciate it! 

March

  I can't believe March is already here!!! I must say- I AM SO THANKFUL IT IS!! February was a month full of stress, emotions and some drama too. It is behind us now and March is a new month with a new attitude- so watch-out world! :)
  Not only does March mean February is over it also means a few other fun things too!  MARCH MADNESS BABY, Spring Break, warm weather(hopefully soon), grass, buds on trees trying to peak out, MARCH MADNESS BABY, time to change the decorative couch pillows and put out the beautiful spring ones, bright happy colors, outside runs, and in case I didn't mention it yet MARCH MADNESS, BABY!  We were so excited for Selection Sunday next week because we are certain the Boilers would be a #1 seed...that was until last week when #14(Robbie Hummel) tore that o' so loved ACL. We went to the game on Sunday and I cried for him. To see him standing out there watching his teammates warm-up and get ready for the big game was heart breaking. Been there. Done that. Not fun. Although I am sure many are second guessing their capabilities without the loved #14, we will be standing behind cheering just as loud as before! BOILER UP!!
  This week we start our conference touney for basketball. We finished with a record of 3-3 in the conference putting us at a tie for 4th, which means we will be playing the same team we played on Monday. If my talented, gutsy, and intense team shows up we are pretty much unstoppable and will competing for the conference title again on Saturday. This is the plan-  however, if my lazy, lack of desire, and girly team comes out we could be finished on Thursday. Oh' the joys of coaching 8th grade girls basketball!!! I will keep you posted.
  Tomorrow is a big day for 721 too! Stayed tuned to meet the new additions to the team. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!!!
  Happy Wednesday y'all!