STUCK ON SEUSS....

Yes.... there really was a Dr. seuss.  He was not an official doctor, but his prescription for fun has delighted readers for more than 60 years. 

Theodor Seuss Geisel ("Ted") was born on March 2nd, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Throughout  his life he was an American writer, poet and cartoonist, most widely known for his children books.  He published 46 children books including "Green eggs and ham"     "Cat in the Hat"   and " How the Grinch stole Christmas".   He had 11 television specials and 4 feature films.

What child doesn't grow up having memorized Dr. Seuss quotes?  His words are so lyrical and rhythmical, its nearly impossible not to remember them.  The people and animals in books by Dr. Seuss serve as models of caring and dedication.  They teach us IMPORTANT LIFE LESSONS that stay with us long after we've grown out of childhood.....

I guess as adults we can still be kids at heart....Some quotes and sayings are sillier than others, some are funny, some make you think, and all make you smile :)

we all need to be reminded, that yes indeed we will succeed!!

best kind of day... when it rocks!

one of the most famous quotes is so true..." You have brains in your head.... you have feet in your shoes... you can steer yourself any direction you choose!"

and, and , and... i like this one! sometimes there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in the day, to tick tock time away with all the ones you want too! yet i try to cherish every  moment!

Dr. Seuss tells us...."something you've always wanted to do? You should. You can do it! Before the day's through!"

it's all about having a good time...

awwwww... from me to you!

Out of all Dr. Seuss quotes, i think this is the one i have heard the most, especially the last few years...."Be who you are, and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter dont mind!"

This is another one Of those LIFE LESSONS...."Try to remember, through thick and through thin, when you give it your best, why that's when you win!"

life is about balance... alittle work, alot of fun!!

I love this one.....so many of these people in my life..."YOU MAKE THE WORLD SMILE WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE!"

This one by far reminds me of how lucky i am to have the amazing people i have in my life!

I like simple, the simplier the better, yet extremely meaningful and fun!

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple....   the more quotes of Dr. Seuss i read and remember the more they make sense and apply to my life....

"From there to here, and here to there, thankful thoughts are everywhere"

and...

"Today you are you, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is youer than YOU!"

LIFE LESSONS ARE EVERYWHERE..... especially when we take time to listen and learn and apply...

so with "HIS AMAZING GRACE"......



MY LIFE-LINE......

God didn't promise days without pain.....laughter without sorrow or sun without rain.  But God did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way....

In March of 2000... the news hit us hard....you know  Some want a new house...a new car...a new iphone...to lose weight..... but to someone battling cancer, all they want is to win the battle....and so far she has beat the battle.  My mom... my lifeline...

It's a terrible disease that affects millions of lives.  It affects sons and daughters and husband and wives.  People take the news different kinds of ways, it makes some people cry and some people pray and fall down to their knees.  But you've got to be strong, to beat this disease, this fight can be won, believe it or not, you just have to put your faith in God and pray a whole lot!

Thats exactly what my mom did.... she turned it over to God...and we never stopped prayin

The day is still so vivid.... my mom home in Missouri, my dad here in California.. the dreadful words.."I have breast and lymphatic cancer"  Immediately my dad got on a plane and flew home.... In May, she had a mascestamy, i was there, when the doctor came and told us, not only breast cancer, but lymphatic cancer...few months later, chemo treatment started.  Her brother Ken and sister-in-law Johna were there to take her to her first treatment.  This was the biggest challenge in her life, she was so sick... a monster chasing a monster....

One month later, a clump of hair had fallen and found its place on her pillow.... it was time to just get a haircut....

haircut day.....the before...

mohawk time!! and she still smiles...

It was very difficult to be 2000 miles away from my mom during this battle... because she is my world, my strenght...at times all i could do was cry, every nite I'd pray.  Every night when the shiniest star twinkles and gleams... I smile, close my eyes and keep the the happy sight of my mom in my head....and dream a happy dream.

Not only are you my lifeline... you light up my life! I love you more each day!

CANCER can do alot of things... yet CANCER "cannot do alot of things...

It cannot cripple love

it cannot shatter hope

it cannot eat away peace

it cannot destroy confidence

it cannot kill friendships

it cannot silence courage

it cannot shut out memories

it cannot reduce eternal life

it cannot squash the spirit

omgoodness with no hair, then the decision....wig??? hat??? bandana??? or....

yes, BALD is beautiful!

On Christmas Eve, after all family and friends had come and gone, my mom decided to take her wig off... well not everyone was gone..... Steve Dunnigan and Renee sitting in the kitchen and steve decided to wear my moms wig and her wear his baseball hat!

nice look steve...

a baseball hat anytime over a wig!!! these 2 kept us laughing!

yes, to sexy  for their hair!!! both good sports!

It's always better to have a sense of humor and laugh alittle, instead of crying!

One of many hats.....

My mother, my hero... never lost the faith, never quit fighting, never quit praying, she had so many reasons to fight.  She knows the meaning of life and no doubt continues to live LIFE...

Life is an opportunity... benifit from it...

Life is beautiful...admire it...

Life is a dream.. realize it...

Life is a challenge...meet it...

Life is a duty....complete it...

Life is a game... play it...

Life is a promise... fulfill it...

Life is sorrow...overcome it....

Life is a song...sing it...

Life is a struggle... accept it...

Life is an adventure..dare it...

most important....

LIFE IS LIFE.. FIGHT FOR IT.....

My mom is an inspritation to everyone she meets....  she loves the Lord, worships Him and gives Him all the glory and praise!  I have never heard a "not-nice" word come from her,  I believe ALL things are possible if you try your hardest and God promises' us that He will never leave us or forsake us! I believe everything happens for a reason

Everyday is a new day...I followed my mom on her journey, thru the good and the bad.  I know the road is not always straight, its not paved, it can be bumpy and is full of lessons to be learned, yet untill our body hurts from every hair focile to our toes, or untill we walk a day in her shoes,  i still believe that all things are possible if you try your hardest...I believe EVERYTHING happens for a reason.

I believe in God, I believe in living your life to your greatest potiental, and i believe with His

AMAZING GRACE.....my mom will continue to live her life to her greatest potiental, let her light shine, and wont let Saten blow it out!

my MOM....my lifeline......

and with His AMAZING GRACE.......



OLD FAITHFUL......

  "OLD FAITHFUL"....

In the Universe of summer vacations ( or winter vacation) spots, certain desitnations rank as super!  The Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls and Old Faithful, they are vacation destinations that deifne a child

-hood or even an adult-hood.  What's magical about those spots, i've discovered, is that no matter how many times you see them in a photgraph, or read about or see them on t.v., they still blow you away in real-life!

In 1870, The Washburn Expedition named Old Faithful for its nearly regular schdule of eruptions.  Temperature is about 199 degrees, and it goes off every 30-120 minutes, it lasts about 1.5 minutes.  it shoots 3700-8400 gallons of boiling water, .and an average of 145 feet into the sky... What's not to love?  Plus, yellowstone itself, the first National Park, founded in 1872.  It offers 2.2 million wilderness acres, and the largest concentration of wild mammals.  There is 370 miles of paved roads.... or as we only know it, snow covered roads. 

This is a trip we made many many times.....Pocatello Idaho.....some of our bestest friends ever lived there....we would drive to their house and all go to west yellowstone, rent snow-moblies and spend the day enjoying all God's beauty.....

AMAZING...

DEFINELTY WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM..............

MONTANA, WYOMING AND THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE....

SNOW-MOBILING IN YELLOWSTONE IS BEYOND WORDS.....

WHEN.... i remember our several trips to Yellowstone....i cant help but remember, the wolves, the moose and the buffalo,  and God's beauty....

YET.... i cant help but relate Yellowstone and espesically OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER to a freindship... a friendship that no matter what happens, good , bad, sad, death and births, health issues,laughter and tearrs, with years that pass by, and we can pick up right where we left off at!

Those FAITHFUL friends are Ron and Jodi Hepworth.  (and their kids and grandkids).  love,love,love them!

this says it all...... whether its OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER or  FAITHFUL FRIENDS!

With HIS AMAZING GRACE.....God continues to bless and love His faithful people!

PIECES OF THE PUZZEL....

As children we all played with those "connect the dots" puzzels. We would trace along the numbers from 1 to 2 to 3... until suddently a picture appeaered.

Life is alot like a "connect the dots" puzzel.  The direction of our life takes many turns, changing jobs, new friendships, lessons learned from bad choices and good guiding us toward inward reflection.  As we trace along more and more "dots" in our life, what appeared as random events fall together with meaning.  We begin to see our direction and what once was a puzzel to us is suddenly becoming clear

When most of us think of the word PUZZEL we usually think of crossword puzzel, word search puzzel, sudoko, or jigsaw puzzels.  The word puzzel means to baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter, or to clarify or solve.  As a noun it means a game, toy or problem that requires solving.

I love jigsaw puzzels....easy ones... and ones i can relate to, and that have meaning to me.  I'm definetely not a crossword puzzel person (i've tried) and so not a word search problem person unless its in a resturant with one of the little ones who needs help with the word search on the kids menu!  but give me a jigsaw puzzel of beach waves with sandles, or the amish country, or farmers market, i'm a happy girl!  and they really need to be under 500 pieces, other wise i get little frustrated!

The 1st jigsaw puzzle was produced in 1760 by a London engraver and mapmaker.  A map was put on a sheet of hardwood and cut around the borders of the countries using a fine bladed saw. The end prodcut was used as an educational past-time.  Eventually puzzels were made out of plywood, then in the late 1800's cardboard puzzels were introduced primary used for childrens puzzels.  A jigsaw puzzel is a tiling puzzel that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, inter-locking pieces.  Each piece usally has a small part of a picture on it.  When complete a jigsaw puzzel produces a complete picture.  Most come in 300, 500, 750, and 1,000 pieces.  The largest puzzel has 32,256 pieces, they come in 3 dimensional, styrofoam and puzzel globes

Life is a puzzel in more ways than one.  You know you can't quit something you have begun.  Each piece of the puzzel represents parts of you....your journey, your goals and all in your view.  The notches are bonds that will join you with your friends, who are also connected to you on their end.  You cant force yourself where you do not belong, if you do, your puzzel will turn out wrong.  Perhaps if you feel that you're missing a part, you will have to look deeply within your heart... each and every puzzel is a beatuiful design.

As i take the time, and put the puzzel pieces together, whether its a cardboard puzzel or forming the pictues of my life, some of them fit tighter it seems as I place them side by side. Sometimes i stare at the puzzel before me, trying to fit the pieces together, just like my life, trying to make things work, make them feel right. 

Different puzzels in my life.....

When mike and renee were born, the way they snuggled into me and fit right into me like a puzzel piece...as they have grown and made a life of their own... that puzzel is still in progress, one piece at a time.

When i went to Lousiana with the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina , i was on the outskirts of the damage, where evacuees had to head to safer ground.... i was baffled by all the damage and things lost, so it took several trips more to re-visit the 9th ward and New Orleans to fit all the pieces of that puzzel together.

Family hertiage.... lots of missing pieces, family is everything to me, but i can only imagine and search for the pieces from generations back, it is an interesting puzzel for me...

My brother's life.... only 48 short years.... there was so much more to that puzzel, a puzzel of life... the beautiful image was broken into a million pieces and scattered all over, not able to be collected and put back together..... as hard as i try, as hard as i want to bring jeff back... this puzzle has to be a memory...

My recovery is a puzzel... a puzzel that as hard as i try will forever be ongoing... day to day, minute to minute, second to second... yet  there are a million pieces to my puzzel... pieces being people in my family, my support group, my meeting, my stepwork, my shairng my story, my passion in helping others, my dream of being a substnace abuse counslor.

Life is like a puzzel...everyday you add something to it...and sometimes you must take the pieces away for they do not fit.  Life is like a puzzel becuz it takes so long to put together, just like a lifetime of living.  Life is like a puzzel becuz each and every piece represents your past, your present and of coarse your future.....

My puzzel is a true blessing.....  because of Him and

HIS AMAZING GRACE.....



LIFE ACCORDING TO ALEXIS.....

OH, to be a kid again.... especially during the summer time.... when it doesn't matter if its monday or saturday, slumber parties, pool parties, t.v. all day, popsicles from the ice-cream man, hopscotch, trampaline with friends, summer reading programs, just no worries which kids dont need anyways, because their turn will come!

Alexis is all girl... loves shoes, purses, dresses, yet know how to be a tomboy!  she is a love of my life and we have memories to already last a lifetime... yet i look forward to many many more, and she promises to always want to hang out with me even when she is in highschool! As of now, i wanna share with you "LIFE ACCORDING TO ALEXIS'.....

what an imagination she has... she loves anything magical, fairytales, make-up, and she is a great hair stylist, loves to give pedicures, and manicures, and gives the best massages!

she loves to be a helper, whether its making cookies, folding clothes, watering my flowers, and she does it with a smile!

alexxis's favorite color is PURPLE.....favorite cookie is CHOCOLATE CHIP... beverage of choice is ICE-TEA with sweet n low added!

she thinks she is Ellie's mommy, loves to hold her and take her for walks or i should say for rides!

Who loves MATH? yep thats her favoirte subject!  i have to say several times i had to admit I WAS NOT SMARTER THAN A 2nd GRADER... her math problems had me stumped!  it was actually a family homework project, and we all had come up with different answers!

oh how she loves Disneyland... autographs, autographs and more autographs... Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are definetly her favorite, even though Pooh is pretty sweet!  When it comes to rides, TOWER OF TERROR for sure!

a collision with her dog Mia in the park... left alexis saying all i want for christmas is my 2 front teeth.  lex has the best dentist ever, he even came in on a sunday to see her!  she admits she brushes her teeth but she hasnt mastered flossing yet!

see....  the tomboy in her comes out here and there.... she loves the game of soccer, and shes pretty agressive and has scored lots of goals!!

LIFE is all about summer time and reading Judy Moody books.  when Nae and i took her to Barnes and Nobles, you would of thought she was in a candy store!

Alexis says she has several favoirte foods but if she had to pick... the winner is greg's grilled cheese snadwich!

did i mention she loves the game of soccer?? oh i think i did, but she mentioned it to me several times when i asked her tell me about your life....

The GOOD life is stayin up hecka late and being able to sleep in!  the computer is so much fun....  pedicures are a great way to be spoiled, what girl doesnt like to be pampered!

besides soccer... swimming is another one of favorites and picking my flowers is pretty fun too!!!

IF lex could go anywhere in the world, its gonna have to be HOLLWOOD!  she so wants to find Selena Gomez and hang out with her, no lex she's not gonna share her boyfriend silly!

the beach is so quiet, so peaceful, so warm and so sandy... she loves to camp and play on the beach, build sand castles , and chase waves...

RIO is a favorite movie and....JUSTIN BEIBER IS THE GUY FOR HER!!

Her last sentence to me about the GOOD LIFE was..."i miss Nae-Nae and want her to move back to me!

as you can see, this little one is pretty special to me.... she has been a huge part of my life for over 7 years and she promises me she will be forever!!  i learn so much from her and what a GOOD LIFE IT IS!! 

With His AMAZING GRACE.......

Alexis.... continue to live and realize what exactly the GOOD LIFE IS..... I LOVE YOU



WHEN I COUNT MY BLESSINGS.... I COUNT YOU TWICE....

This past month..... when my parents were here, my cousin Sandra gave my mom an apron... it was Nora's apron... WOW... being the sentimental person I am.... it is hanging in my kitchen and im blessed it is being shared with me....thank you sandra and mom....means the world to me!

JUNE 20TH, 1934.... the world was blessed with Nora Glendean Reynolds... she is one of my dad's sisters....

Not sure if you're supposed to have a favorite or not... but I did! My AUNT NORA was the best..... talk about lovin to spoil everyone.  I'm sure it wasnt just me she spoiled (in fact, i know i wasn't the only one) , but she made you feel so good and so important.  She had tons of love to give away. Nora married the love of her life Jim Boyd july 23rd, 1955.  They only had Janet, and her and I were only 14 months apart ( yes, i'm older and yes i was always the strong willed one!) so we grew up together.  Tons of memories.  We would spend lots of Saturday nites at there house in Lodi, playing cards, watching Lawrence Welk and Hew-Haw... we always loved to shop, she would let us pick out our favorite meals and cook them for us.  I would stay a week or more at a time during the summer, we would go to Disneyland each year, one of Nora's favorite places..  I loved visiting her at work, she was a school secretary for years.  At Easter, she always got the prizes for who found the most eggs, the special egg and so on... she would either give us money or See's candy.  You couldnt ask for someone with more kindness, she always gave gave and gave of her love and time.  She loved to eat at the OLD HOOSIER INN....(hamburger steak, well done, like leather!) making the resturant one of my favorites....she loved each and every neice and nephew, her brothers and sisters, planned each holiday, made everyones birthday cakes, and took pride and joy in everyone she knew!   Her life was cut way short, she had so much more for her and Jim to do, go and see, but I guess the good Lord needed her more than we did.  Her husband Jim was quite the guy too.  I don't think I ever met someone who loved their wife more than he did, I probably didnt know that then, but after she died in 1992, you couldnt have a conversation with Jim without it involving Nora!

Tonite.... i was able to have a conversation on facebook and texting with my dad and my cousin Ilene and i'd like to share our conversations about Nora.....

awww... my daddy (as i shared on fathers day) is and was pretty spoiled but his words tonite brought tears to my eyes.....

dad:  "SHE COULD NOT SPOIL HER BROTHERS AND SISTER ENOUGH AND ESPECIALLY ALL OF HER NIECES AND NEPHEWS.... GREAT COOK AND FANTASTIC CAKE DECORATOR.  ANY BIRTHDAY OR HOLIDAY WAS SPECIAL FOR HER.  STILL MISSING HER;(

ilene: i have been thoroughly enjoying your blog.  Keep it up, its inspiring.

me: Awww thanks Ilene, tonite or tomorow it's all about Nora.... her birthday is June 20th

ilene: thanks for the warning.  I'll get out my box of kleenex before I read that one.  What a special aunt. She took me in as a niece and loved on me alot!

me:  My dad was just telling me how much she spoiled everyone! He said "I miss her"

ilene:  remember her sweet tea? We tried everything, but we could never make ours taste like hers, and i still make Jerry's favorite strawberry dessert that aunt nora always made for him (here i thought she always made it for me...)  Jerry says he remembers aunt nora and uncle jim coming down to ceres and buying a bag of hamburgers and bringing them to the house to share.

Gosh, once i get started on memories of my aunt nora, i dont want to stop... she was the happiest, kind hearted, giving, loving, nurturing,talented, and most important the impact she had on so many lifes.  Today, i am a better person because of her.... she loved the Lord,she placed her faith in Jesus, and we prayed...  she had struggles and i believe she gave and gives my daddy part of his strenght today... You see... Nora was on kidney dialyslis.... she lost that battle on December 5th, 1992.  Yet, when my dad was faced with kidney failure and going on dialyis, or the alternative... he took much into consideration....and Nora came up several times... she is part of his inspirtation, his willingness and desire to win this battle, i believe and feel she is smiling down and so glad her baby brother has chosen to fight and to fight hard!  i know she is also enjoying watching down from heavean... her one and only grand daughter HAYLEE MARIE.  She blows kisses down to all of us....

My dream is that these memories will live on forever, through sharing them with each other.  Generations have come and gone, lives have been lived and families have been loved.  Some family members i will never know, except through fragile photos and maybe a letter, yellow with age, from a forgotten corner of the attic.  But they are my family, and they have endured hardships and heartaches.  I cant begin to imagine.  Life was slower then and they experienced simplier joys.  While weaving stories and photos together, i was caught up in a journey only my imagination could take me.  Nora loved  family, and instilled that in all of us.  I wish i could step back into time and be a part of their stories.  Then it would be easy to fill in between the lines.

but for now, i will continue to gather memories and pictures and a few faded words or names from the back of the old photos.  I am a part of the puzzle and a peice of my heart is tucked away in each memory. The precious life of NORA and sweet memories are definelty a part of who I AM....

With His AMAZING GRACE....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT NORA....

IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT.....

I love to be happy..... don't we all?  For me.... most of the time its the most simpliest things that make me the happiest.  And it always brings to mind and to my heart the song "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands, stomp your feet, shout AMEN!"

SIMPLE is what I'm about...so i will simply share some things that make me happy.....

CLOUDS...... they have made me happy my entire life.  One of the most enjoyable relaxing activities is looking into the sky and finding cloud shapes.  i love watching them pass by, i love fluffy ones, i even wish i could take a nap on one! I even love dark ones, that let the rain come.  Clouds make me happy!

FRIEND ENCOUNTERS- it makes me happy when i unexpectedly run into a friend.  It always feels good when this happens, because you have a chance to catch up with someone. Random encounters are almost always enjoyable.  There's something special about realizing you can still run into a friend in such a big world....old friends, new friends and really special friends.

A DANDELION.....omgoodness... these little blow flowers baffle me.... to see them blowing in the wind make me soooo happy!

WRITING IN THE SAND.....happy is as happy does... there's no words to describe writing messages in the sand.....

SMILES.......those things are contagious.  How could you not feel happiness when someone smiles.  A friend smailing at you during a really long day at work, a random cashier at the grocery store wishing you a good day or a baby who does not even realize what a smile is... all the smiles are good, and make me HAPPY!!

LAUGHING.......even better than smiles is the ability to make someone laugh!  The best laugh is the kind that is a fun, good belly laugh, that you dont even have to explain and cant stop even when you want to...laughing and giggling makes me happy!

WINNING.....this may not be the most humble one on my list of things that make me happy, but it's true!  I like to win, I don't like to lose! yet, I'll never win a spelling bee... maybe headbands for 5 year olds and most likely Yahtzee!

COTTON CANDY.....who says cotton candy is for kids!  i love cotton candy and it makes me sooo happy, especially when i get to share it with someone, (my grand-daughter is the best one to share it with!)

COVERED BRIDGES.......no need to explain why covered bridges make me so happy, so quaint and and and...

SWINGING.....so care-free, hair blowing in the wind, who can swing the highest.... swings make me soooo happy!( love to be pushed in a swing also)

TEXTING......texting  makes me happy, rather it be with Ms. Alexis, friends, family and especially my daddy!

AS YOU CAN SEE... SIMPLE THINGS MAKE ME SO HAPPY....   *sunsets    *crosses    *lady bugs   *french-fries    *Disney   *starbucks   *butterflies     *flowers   *soft purple or brown blanket    *a fireplace   *4 leaf clovers   *family    *photographs    *RECOVERY....****AMAZING GRACE

SO IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT..... THEN YOU'RE FACE WILL SURELY SHOW IT.. IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT.... SAY AMEN!

WITH HIS AMAZING GRACE......