• Life is uncertain
• People can be mean and hurtful
• Marriages do fail
• People do fall out of love
• People do fall in love unexpectedly
• You can be happy if you truly want to be happy
• YOU are in control of YOUR emotions
• You cannot choose your family so deal with them
• If you don’t like something change it, but stop complaining about it
• Love hard, play hard and try not to hate anyone
• Life is messy, if you don’t get dirty what is the point?
• Trust, honesty, loyalty; these are traits that you will rarely find in a lot of people.  You’ll be hard pressed to find it in one.
• Surround yourself with a few good friends, don’t try to be friends to everyone.
• Bad things happen; recover and remember to stay strong is the key to survival
• Kids are a gift from God; treat them as such
• Treat others as you would want to be treated
• If you don’t like someone then stay away from them; don’t fuel their fire or give them attention in any way
• Work hard at your job as if you don’t want to lose it. 
• Age is a number; how you feel is up to you.
• Attend church; the sermon will stick in your head and it’s good for you.
• Tell someone you love them as much as you can
• Fall in love at least once if you can; even if you get hurt it’s worth the trip.

Your life is your road trip.  You can take the easy road or the crazy road trip and that’s totally up to you.  You can pull off to the side, you can take a few side roads, but always remember to forge ahead.  Never look back just forge ahead and be happy with your trip.  Memories are there to remember past trips, but moving forward is important for you sanity.  Be happy, life is short.

I can forgive past wrongs, this is a little easier and I’m working on some of those now. I have to admit when you do let go you do feel so much better about yourself and the ability to feel free. 

What I struggle with is when you have people in your present life and they wrong you and even as you are thinking to forgive them they wrong you again.  How many times do you have to forgive?  When is enough truly enough?  If you have someone with a problem and they won’t get help or won’t see their problems how do you continuously allow them to wrong you and forgive them?  How strong must we be as one person?

Our preacher said, “The person that said time heals all wounds  must have not been hurt very badly.”  I agree.  Time doesn’t make the hurt just go away.  You have to allow forgiveness and let go of the past.  You don’t have to forget.  Memories are apart of who we are, it makes us who we become.  I guess the people in our lives now are where I struggle. 

It’s a tough call to say, “I forgive you.”  More difficult sometimes than to say, “I’m sorry.”  Is there someone you need to forgive?  Is it time to let yourself “let go?”  Life is short, think about how you can try to let go and forgive. It will set you free.

She came out and looked at me and said did you see where my child went?  He is 18 months old, Thomas the Train shirt and he crawled under the stall and I couldn’t get my door open.  That quick and he was gone.  She was in a panic as any mother would be of course.

We started to tell the attendant and anyone that would listen to help us find this child.  First of all the attendant acted as if we had told her there was too much water on the floor.  Her reaction sucked and the level of urgency was pathetic.  The second thing is that we couldn’t seem to get anyone else to help us.  Maybe 3 or 4 other females helped us start searching for this child.  I even heard one loser woman say, “This isn’t my problem” as she walked away.

20 minutes into this search the child was located and let me tell you he had wandered quite a long distance in this short time and ANYONE could have taken this child.  My heart went out for this mother so much because all I could think was this could be me, it could me by niece, it could be any of us and no one seemed to give a care.

When they met the mother grabbed this child as a mother would and burst into tears and I have to tell you I cried a little too.  I was just a little overwhelmed with what happened.  My sister asked me why I was crying and I just told her it was too much for me.  It broke my heart.  More so that no one seemed to want to help us find the boy.

Thank goodness he was found.  Also during the day at the crazy water play area there were 2 other little girls that were lost and they were no older than 3.  The parents didn’t even seem to care when they hooked up with them.  It was as if they just waited for someone to help them show up.  One lady even let her child back in the madness and went back to her chair. 

I don’t get people and how they choose to let children roam free with all the evil in the world.  Noah went NO WHERE at that park without us by his side at all times.  People are just crazy.  You have to protect your children, they are a blessing.

It was a fun way to spend the night and beat the heat outside.  We put all of our pillows and blankets down and just hung out for the night and then we even slept in the tent (until about 1:00 and then he decided the bed might be better!).

Sometimes the simple things can be fun and kids love it.  I actually had a pretty good time too once we got settled.  We even had a wild cat from the jungle that kept attacking our tent from the top and crashing into us!  We had to finally lock her up for a while!  It was exciting stuff.

We may get back in the tent tonight, but we haven’t decided yet.  He wanted to think about it!  We used the back of the couch and draped sheets over to the top of chairs and used heavy books to hold down the sheets.  It was easy and fun. 

If you get a chance build a tent and hang out; it’s better than sweating in the heat and being exhausted when you come in for the night!

It was a long haul full of studying, working and taking care of a household and she is one hardworking gal!  Her ability to do all of these things AND maintain her great attitude proves she will make a fantastic nurse.  Anyone would be lucky to have her take care of them.  Just ask Noah, to him Aunt Cheryl is the BEST! 

Congratulations and good luck moving forward, getting a job and pursuing your RN degree!

And I thought I was in debt!  I’m glad I’m not this chic’s neighbor and I’m not trying to keep up with her; can you imagine?  This article is just something else right?  Can you imagine being 11M in debt?  I would be freaking out!  So much for me Mafia theory because I’m thinking they wouldn’t be in that much debt if they had the Mafia behind them!

That house they live in is unbelievable, but I can’t imagine building and decorating a house if you can’t even begin to afford it.  What are people thinking?  She is crazy clothes shopping all the time and I guess we will see how it all unfolds!  I just can’t imagine being 11M in debt.  I haven’t watched the show for weeks, but I will have to check it out in the next few weeks to see if they say anything about it.

Nice debt problem!

Every once in a while though we all deserve a treat and when you find such a treat you should share the knowledge with the world.  I mentioned this earlier in an entry, but I want to share it again.  This is by far the BEST ice cream cake ever and if you haven’t ever tried one; you must.

They aren’t cheap; I will warn you in advance, but then again you pay for what you get.  It’s no Dairy Queen ice cream cake I can tell you that!  This is real, fresh cake with cookies and cream ice cream and the icing on the cake is whipped and fresh.  The combination of these items is just an amazing taste that explodes in your mouth and makes you want to dance with joy!

Yep, and I’m not even an ice cream fan!  It’s yummy, happy, fun and a great way to celebrate any event!  We don’t have a store in Indiana, but there are 3 locations in KY just in case you want to check it out.  It’s worth the drive too!

Growing up I have to say that I had a basic “Leave it to Beaver” family life.  It was very close to perfect.  We had a great set of parents, we always had fun, we were treated wonderfully and our parents always enjoyed us being around them. 

My dad was the kind of guy that participated in our lives.  He practiced my sports with me, played with me, taught me things about nature, life, history, family and so much more.  He never missed any sporting event that I had and trust me you knew when he was there!  I was fortunate to have a great father growing up and to this day I still ask him questions about things in my life and I KNOW I’m fortunate to have him in my life.

It’s awesome to have Father’s Day to celebrate your dad, but remember to celebrate them all throughout the year.  Also remember to celebrate Uncle’s, Brother-in-laws, Grandpa’s and any other important men in the families lives!  It’s takes a village to raise a family and all men should be appreciated when it comes to Father’s Day if they help out!

Happy Father’s Day Weekend to all!

IT’S HIGH TODAY IN MY PERSONAL WORLD; USUSUALLY I HAVE TO USE THIS IN MY WORK WORLD, BUT TODAY THIS IS FOR MY PERSONAL LIFE.  IT’S RUNNING HIGH WITH PEOPLE IN MY PERSONAL LIFE. 

SOMETIMES I WONDER HOW I LIVE THE LIFE I LIVE!

I was surprised at the items chosen by people, but it taught items that I would purchase when I want to donate to any local pantry or charity food drive.  Just in case you are interested, the following items are highly popular:

• Canned pineapple and apricots
• Canned Tuna
• Canned Pork or Chicken
• Canned Chicken and Dumplings
• Dried Northern Soup Beans
• Egg Noodles or Spaghetti
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Green Beans and Corn (Not really peas or carrots)
• Juices; Apple, Grape and various others
• Cereals for kids
• Ravioli and Spaghettios for the kids
• Rice and Pasta Sides

That is just a few of the most popular items that were chosen repeatedly from the pantry so if you ever want donate to a particular food drive I think these are good items to think about donating.  We also give meat, but they have a freezer to store it so chicken and beef were given out as well. It’s good to know what to buy sometimes so we can give people what they want. 

They squirt dead-on and they can load up fast for quick shooting.  My family has full, scale wars with these babies in the pool and on land and it’s a blast.  Sadly we are just deadly with these bad boys, but it’s just too much fun.  If you get a chance go to the Dollar Store and pick up a few of them.  If you have kids they are easy for them to use and it’s a great heat relief and just pure fun.

It’s just a fun way to take a break in the heat and let the kids have a little stress release before the go to bed.  You’d be surprised how much you get into it as well.  We were laughing so much the other day in the pool; it was killing me.  It was no rules for anyone (Oh, except no spraying in the face because that hurts!).

If you see them pick them up and I guarantee you will have some fun!

The Food Pantry is an organization that allows families to come and shop off of a grocery list and obtain food items for their family.  They offer meat, vegetables, fruit, pasta, juice, frozen items, amenities for the home, items from the church garden in season as well as misc. items that have been donated. 

The night I volunteered 46 families were assisted and I was amazed at the food that was given out to each family.  They are allotted a certain number of each food item and it’s not like it will last them an entire week, but it will certainly help out. They are also given a list of local churches in our community that offer a dinner meal each night of the week which is awesome.  They have a place to go every night if need be for a hot dinner.  It’s awesome that a list is available for them to take with them.

The church I recently left had a Wednesday night meal and it was strictly fellowship. There was never a mention of assisting anyone.  Now, don’t get me wrong I’m all for fellowship, but please explain to me how you can stand up every, single Sunday and beg for money and say we are in the red, but yet you can fix a meal every Wednesday night that is strictly for fellowship purposes only.  Why are we wasting funds to fix a meal for people that can afford a meal when in reality we could do fellowship in a different manner? Shouldn’t this meal be opened to the public to assist someone who is actually in need as most churches do?  It just left me in a bad mood to think we were wasting money to socialize when most churches want to reach out and help people.

The Food Pantry is an awesome organization sponsored by donations, Dare to Care and some government assistance.  It makes me feel good to be a part of something and to help give back to the community.  There was no shame, pressure or guilt toward anyone; that is the goal.  Everyone has need at some point in their lives and it’s an amazing feeling to know you can help someone’s family.  I know I have had tough times and it’s good to know we can all help each other.  Noah went and was our runner taking the list from the hall to the back room to help us keep the orders moving. We talked later in the evening and he completely understood how we were helping families.  It’s never too early to get kids involved in giving back to the community. 

We all have our organizations and I just wanted to give a shout out to all of those who give back and volunteer to any organization.  Where would we be without volunteers! 

I watched the boys just go hog wild on this thing and I thought OK this will be a piece of cake.  They were running back from the garage and jumping onto this piece of plastic and just sliding down to the mini-pool of frigid water as if it was the slickest thing since the ice storm of 76′, and it was hilarious. 

Diving head first and never looking back seemed to be quite harmless until it became my turn.  I started my run and when I got closer to the yellow plastic; fear overtook my brain and it began to tell my body, “We are SO not doing this you idiot.  You can’t just dive onto the hard ground onto a small piece of yellow plastic.  What if you don’t slide?  What if you roll off onto the grass?  What if you break a body part - we are NOT 20 anymore!”  I stopped dead in my tracks and froze like a iceberg!  Much to my dismay and many catcalls from my family. 

This is what I would envision my slide would look like; butt all up in the air, body all stuck to the plastic and not being able to finish my slide!  Why I have no idea, but I have a fear of the slip n slide!  I am going to try an conquer this over the summer, but I’m not sure I can.  My first thought is that we had it on flat ground and for some reason in my head it should be on a hill or slope to make this an easier process.  Not that this mattered to the boys in our family, but for me, I’m needing the slope!

Wish me luck to overcome my fear, but I am hoping to overcome my yellow plastic, slip n slide fear!  Make light if you will, but when is the last time you old people has really tried it?  PS:  The water is as cold as a North Pole waterfall just in case you are curious.  That doesn’t exactly make you want to dive in either!

A friend of mine was telling me the other night a fight broke out at the t-ball game (keep in mind that t-ball is 3 – 5 age group).  She wasn’t even sure what started the issue and it doesn’t matter. What truly matters is that a parent pulled a knife.  Seriously pulled a knife, but wait it gets better, to one up that parent another parent pulled a gun.  OK, welcome to crazy town, what is wrong with these parents?  

If you have ever coached any type of child team you know from experience the kids are just there to have fun and it’s the parents that cause the issues.  Inevitably a parent starts yelling at the coach or the ref about some injustice toward their child or team and the party gets started.  It’s ridiculous and unnecessary, but it happens every season and you can almost guarantee a parent per team.  Most of the time the child has no clue the altercation is happening.  Again, they are just playing the game and having fun.   

Sadly you also have that “ULTIMATE COACH” that thinks he is coaching the US Olympic team and living vicariously through the kids.  We all loathe this man and love to also make fun of this man don’t we?  He totally exists in so many leagues!   

What I really want to know with so many parents is that do you ever ask your children if they want to play these sports?  I know I ask.  I never start a new season without asking and we have one rule; if we start any sport we finish the season.  If Noah doesn’t want to play a sport I would not push him.  We are just not into the scholarship push and it’s not that important.  I understand that college is expensive and for some it may be the only option but you MUST understand that the child must also be happy in life and there are other avenues they can take other than sports.  Heaven forbid we would push academics as we push sports right?  

Now from time to time tempers flare and words are said and that is normal.  Rules are rules and they need to be followed.  You have cheaters, Ultimate Coaches, bad nights, bad parents and just things that happen. For this, exceptions are to be expected and apologies are made and the evening moves on.  However, knives and guns being brought around children’s events?  I’m thinking these people need to maybe find a new sport to attend and it more than likely won’t involve children.  

Talk to your child, make sure they are on board with the sport they are playing and for the love of Pete make sure THEY are having fun when they are playing the sport.  If not, it’s not worth it.  It’s about fun, learning and still being a family affair.  Not yelling, fighting and dragging your kids to an event.