Weather, weather, and more weather!

It is hard to believe that it is almost July already. What is sad about this is that I can count on one hand the nice days we've had since school let out for Em on June 10th. As most of you know I took the summer off to spend time with Em before she gets too old to want to spend time with me. :) We had a lot of plans made and most of them involved the outdoors. The weather has put a damper on most of our plans so far. We were supposed to pick a destination and walk there each day no matter how far it was. We've only been able to do that twice. I can't blame the weather for this everyday though. We've had appointments and Em had the Boost program last week. We did have a great day on my birthday though. We left in the morning and didn't get home until about 5:00 p.m. or so. We shopped, saw my mom, went out to eat, did some more shopping, went to Cup of Joe and then had a great supper made by Allison. That following Weds. was another beautiful day but I spent it baking pies for my sons birthday and some cookies for him to take to work. Now I get to blame it on the weather for the rest of the change of plans. So many nights have been spent staying up until 4:00 in the morning monitoring the severity of the storms and making sure all was clear before I could go to sleep. It looks like it may be another long night tonight as well. I could just go to sleep and let my phone wake me up but I've been this way ever since I can remember. When I was little I HATED storms. My dad finally got me to go outside with him for a very short time to look at the clouds. He always made us stay in our cellar and he reassured me that we were very safe because it was a cellar and was underground. I'm not afraid of them anymore and have been known to storm watch on more than one occasion. My kids hate that! At least Em does. Em's fear of storms didn't start until after the Parkersburg/New Hartford tornado from 2 years ago. I don't blame her. So many lives lost and the damage was unbelievable. Then of course the July storm we had last year was pretty bad too. We lost one of our trees in the backyard which surprisingly did very little damage to our property. It fell between everything it could have hit. It did take out part of our swing set though. If there is even a hint of bad weather she brings all of her things down to the living room and camps out. Of course that means I do too. I can only pray that tonight isn't as bad as it seems it might be by looking at the radar and the storms that are likely to hit us that are on their way down from Minnesota. I need to call my niece and tell her to keep that crappy weather up there! There is some good news to celebrate---if the forecasters are correct then we will have beautiful weather pretty much all next week which means Em and I can start having our daily adventures as long as she is back for play practice by 3:30. Her 12th birthday is on July 1st so I am extremely happy that the weather is supposed to be nice. YAY! Have a super week one and all!!!

If truth be told...

Beware of the half truth. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half. ~Author Unknown

(Just to warn you---this is not my typical blogging. It is kind of a letter to everyone that I care about.)

The above quote is one of my favorites. I wish more people would think about what is told to them and by whom before believing what they hear. Sometimes I think we should all live our lives as if we have the mindset of a child. They seem to know what is true and what is not and they also tend to be totally honest when they give an opinion. They don't hold grudges and they are always, always willing to forgive.

I have learned so much from the kids I work with and my own kids about listening to every side of a story and trying not to pass judgement because sometimes it is impossible to figure out just what the truth is. Sometimes when a person voices an opinion on something that is all it is...an opinion.

Someone I care about lost her husband today in a terrible accident. I know this isn't exactly related to my blog subject but then again it kind of is. What I want to tell everyone is that life is too short to hold grudges and let hurt or hate rule your heart. Most of the time what is perceived as the truth is only a half truth or not true at all.

Please, please hold your family close and just love them. God gave them to you for a reason. And I don't just mean your immediate family. I mean anyone that is related to you in any way, shape or form.

There is one thing more that I need to say. If I have hurt anyone in any way I am truly sorry. If you really, truly know me then you know I would never intentionally hurt anyone. That isn't me. I am not perfect and I say things without thinking about how they might be perceived. I'm only human...

Big Dreams and Moving On

It is hard to believe that in 2 more days Em will no longer be in elementary school. It is exciting but scary at the same time. (She is excited and I am scared.) I know every mom feels this way when their "baby" grows up but somehow it seems more difficult for me to let her go than it was when her brother and sisters were her age. Dan and Laura went to St. Pat's through 8th grade and Allison went there through 6th grade so I guess their moving on seemed like less of a drastic step. Dan also went on to Columbus instead of the public schools. Em transferred to Lincoln when she was in 3rd grade. Hmm. Kind of weird. We switched the girls over to the public schools each at a different grade level. It gave them so many more opportunities than Dan had. It also exposed them to more cultures and religions which I think is a really good thing.
Em had a dance recital this past weekend. She did a wonderful job especially during the ballet dance she was in. I went both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon so I could watch her dance twice. She was so poised and graceful during the ballet number. It brought tears to my eyes. She did pretty well in the jazz number she was in too but I think she is destined to be a ballerina. :) She's been in ballet since she was 5 and she gets better and better each year. She wants to go on to be a toe dancer eventually but she has to be older so her feet have a chance to grow to their full length before she starts. I'm going to talk to Ms. Jackie about putting her in an additional ballet class so she can get more time to practice. She would love to dance with the company (and she does do company ballet) but I don't think her schedule and homework demands once she starts at Holmes this fall will allow it. It is a dream of hers to continue on in dance and the performing arts all the way through college and beyond. I love her dreams. <3