Silly

I have been serious on the blog for awhile, so I thought I would entertain you today instead.

Well - have Pinterest entertain you.

Have you been to Pinterest?  Don't do it - it will suck your life out of you.  But it is fun.

I was on the humor section today, and enjoying myself.

This first one is how I live every day of my life since I became a mother 9 1/2 years ago.  My kids have not gotten any smarter about this stuff:

 

 

                              






This next one is our Scooby:

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Ha ha - this next one is SOOOOOOO Mat:

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 This is me - every day of my life:

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net via Jennifer on Pinterest

This is how we felt about Florida from the moment we arrived to the moment we left

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Mat's work cycle:  Well, Life cycle, really:

Me and Cooking:

Source: failblog.org via Jennifer on Pinterest

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For my daughters

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I want both of my daughters to know that they can do anything. I tell them everyday - you can do it. I believe in you, so YOU need to believe in you. Arlington has a strong personality, and she is going to do great. Finley needs a bit of a push. And the harder things get for her, the harder she will need to be reminded that I believe in her. As does her dad, her family, her friends, and everyone who thinks of her every day.

Bunco

Today was another successful Bunco Fundraiser for Finley.  I can't believe I was ever hesitant to try these out.  Thank goodness my friend Maria doesn't take no for an answer.

They have been the most fun we have ever had with a group of women.  Tonight we had around 30 women and we had an awesome time.

The best part?  We made over $1400 for our RDH12 Fund for Sight!  2 hours worth of Bunco - not too shabby.

What I noticed tonight, too, is how amazing women pull together for each other.  Bunco has become a girl's night out fundraiser.  Friday night after a long week with the kids - we escape, eat, drink, and laugh.

And while I was chatting and talking to everyone and thanking them for coming, the women gathered together and cleaned up.  I didn't even have to lift a finger.

We have been in our new town a year, and they have taken in our family and take care of us.  I am overwhelmed and grateful for our new friends and new Finley supporters.

Another step toward our final goal.  I can't stop smiling!!

Finding your Destination

In 2009, Mat and I started on an incredible path.  At the time, it didn't seem so incredible - it seemed like a desolate, lonely road through the thickest of woods.

Quickly enough, the path became incredible.  Do you know why?  Because we knew our destination.  We were no longer fumbling with what ifs, what is, what is not.  We were working with here is where we are, and here is where we need to go.

Our destination gets closer every day.  A cure.  No permanent blindness.  We are almost there.

We are headed into the sunshine.  The sunshine that Finley will not only feel on her face, but will be able to see as well.  Three years of rain has been quite enough, thank you.  And even though the storm gets a little shorter every day, it is not quite over.

 Dr. Thompson.  Dr. Bennett.  Our RDH12 family.  Our family.  Our friends.  Strangers.  All have joined us on this path, and have not left our side.  We will reach the destination together.

And when we do.....it is going to be a glorious day.

Always Will Remember

Today marks 11 years since the tragedy of September 11th.  I have watched a lot of the coverage all day, including the Today show from 2001 as the events unfolded.

To watch that 2nd plane coming toward the towers has never gotten easier to watch.  Knowing that those are the last few seconds those people would live here on earth is just unbearable to think about.

How much we have changed since that day.  11 years is a long time.  Mat and I have lived in 6 states and have had three children since then.  Arlington wasn't even a thought in our mind that day, and now she is about to turn 10 years old.

Time goes by so quickly.  On September 11th, we couldn't even fathom how we would recover as a country, or how New York City was going to get rid of all of that rubble.

And now?  Now where the towers stood is a beautiful place.  A place to go and remember.

Hug your family a little tighter tonight.  Don't ever go a day without an I love you, or I am sorry. 

Inspiration

Tonight, I am watching MasterChef.  I don't normally watch cooking shows, but this year, I have been following along with Christine Ha.  She was diagnosed at age 19 with Neomylitis Optica, and slowly lost her sight.

She is blind.  And she is a chef.  And she WON.

Watching her is amazing.  She has a helper who just basically tells her where the knives are, and when something is blended completely.  I can't cook on a normal day with normal vision, so I am inspired.

The more we travel along this journey with Finley, the more people I meet, read about, watch that are blind.  They are not living with their parents.  They are not uneducated or unemployed.

They are graduates of MIT, Brown, Harvard.  They climb Mount Everest.  They work at the World Trade Center.  They are tri-atheletes.  They win Gold Medals in the Olympics.

The more I learn, the more I realize that Finley can do ANYTHING she puts her mind to.  Anything.  Just like any other person.

The only thing that holds you back is you.  Lately I have become more sure that Finley is going to have an amazing life.  I can't wait to see what path she chooses.

A few catch up pictures

This past week with the kids starting school, and me getting ready for a small fundraiser we had this weekend, I took some pictures I didn't have time to post.  (this is considered being a bad parent to the grandparents)

So - here are a few things that happened!

Arlington got her hair cut really short.  It is really cute on her

 Finley ate a cookie the size of her head at Eat N Park:

We made an orange brain with Finley's jello mold:

 The kids cooled off in a local lake:

 The kids helped paint the dog house.  It is......ahem......beautiful  (cough cough).....

 Rosebud waiting for us to leave so she can dig a hole somewhere:

 Trying to coax the dog in.  They didn't want to go in there:

 Rosebud is as cute as she is bad:

 Scooby being forced to stay there: