welcome to my island :)

***UPDATED: Originally posted on 6/22/07. I finally took the time to go in and fix the pictures that didn't upload. Enjoy! :) ***

My family and I spent last weekend at one of my favorite places on earth. I picked my favorite pictures and still came up with a lot! So, I've uploaded them small, but if you click on them, they are REALLY big. The better to see them with, my dear. :) So, sit back, grab a drink, kick off your shoes, and enjoy my virtual tour of our vacation.

This is the monument on Put-In-Bay, Ohio. It was put up to commemorate the Battle of Lake Erie which took place during the War of 1812. My son kept singing the line, "You are my strong tower, shelter when I'm weak" from the praise song we hear on the radio. Too cute!

The Ferry

Here is my family at the back of the ferry that is taking us to the island. That's my mom, my husband, and he's holding my son. My daughter is in front of my husband. Oh, and that's my husband's other woman, his red Jeep. :)

Here's the superstar AKA my daughter. She likes when I take pictures in black and white. She said she is gazing out at the water. Gazing.

The House


Now before you go and think we are rich or something, we did not stay here. We camped at the state park located on the island. But, I will tell you that this is my new house (if only in my dreams). I scoured the island and this is my favorite. Look at the next couple of pictures and you'll know why.

This is the back of my new house (wink,wink). It is BEAUTIFUL, even if I do say so myself.

And this. This is why I found my perfect house. This is the view from my back yard. Can you believe it? Who gets so lucky as to have THIS as their back yard view. Sigh. I would just die. Okay, not really, but it would be really awesome.

Fishing

I was thinking of you blogger friends while I was on my vacation. I snapped this picture of my family. Everyone is in it except me and my son. From left to right, let me introduce you to my father-in-law, my daughter, my mom, my husband, my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law, and his soon-to-be wife (my soon-to-be sister!!).

One of the fish they caught. It had such pretty colors on it. Click on it and see!

Grandpa and his little buddy. I think they are taking a hook out of a fish. (YUCK!)

The WATER

Thank you, husband, for getting this picture from the base of the monument. As you can see, the main mode of transportation on the island is golf cart. But beyond that, LOOK at that water. Ahhhh...

My absolute favorite place on the island. At one end of the island, there is a point. Beautiful. Pure bliss for me.

This is my daughter at the same point at dusk. Look at the reflection of the sky in the water. Priceless.
Same point. My daughter, my son, my husband, and that beautiful water.

This is at the state park dock as the sun sets. Isn't that wonderful? This is my desktop picture these days.

These are the two types of birds that I took a lot of pictures of. We don't have these birds where I live. They are really neat. Both make me think of the blue water.

So we are home now and mostly unpacked. I sure miss my blue water though. I hope to go again soon! Maybe one day, I can even live there! That would be so awesome to me.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual vacation! I know I enjoyed reliving it again. :)

giveaways everywhere!

Another giveaway has been brought to my attention - a 37" Flat Panel LCD HDTV!!! To enter, click here to go to 5 Minutes for Mom. The TV is being provided by Best Buy so stop by there and check out the specs. How excited would my husband be if I won this? My fingers are crossed...

and the winner is...

I put all 171 comments into the random number thingy and this is what it said:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

105 

So, if I counted right - and if I didn't, we're going to pretend I did - the winner is.....

Toni from In the Midst of This Season!!!!!!

Go congratulate her!

dog days of summer bloggy giveaway

***COMMENTS CLOSED***

I've been otherwise occupied lately and haven't blogged in awhile. So I thought, what better time to get back in the swing of things than for the totally cool Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway? Go ahead and click on that to learn about all of the FREE stuff that bloggers are giving away this week. WAIT - don't go yet - let me tell you what I am giving away...





Here is a small kit to pamper yourself. There is a journal, a takeout for two kit, and six Partylite votive candles in the kiwi strawberry scent (yummy!).

To enter, just leave me a comment. Make sure I have a way to get back in contact with you. You don't have to be a blogger, just leave your email address when you comment. Only open to people in the U.S. (sorry!).

Okay, now you can go find out all the cool things you can enter to get - FREE! Just click on that cute dog picture!

eleven today

it seems just yesterday
that i was welcoming you
to the double digits

and now another year
has slipped by

it's been a big year for you
clothes and hair were suddenly
things to be conquered

very important
and never perfect

boys became more than
a passing thought
and the phone, my goodness, the phone

i think i'll scream
if you ask to use it one more time

and it's only just beginning...

you started to work hard in school
your curiosity unsatisfied
proof in your honor roll report card

it dawned on you
that school wasn't just for making friends

i've enjoyed many conversations
and i see the hint of the young adult
you will become

remember to always keep your own opinion
don't borrow someone else's

your face and body are growing up
your heart is beautiful
and that is reflected outside

keep your eye of Jesus, sweetie
and you will always be beautiful

i miss you today

i can't wait to celebrate with you

happy birthday, baby girl!

*************

God,
I'll never understand your master plan - placing this precious girl in my care.
I'll never forget the miracle - watching her wiggle into this world.
I'll never know all the answers - which is more evident the older she gets.
I'll never fail to be amazed when I look at her - and see me.
I'll never stop trying to shape her heart - reminding her of your love.
I'll never feel as if I am ready to let her go - but every year, it comes closer to that time.
I'll never get tired of saying thank you - for the blessings that she gives me.
So today, on her birthday, as always, I say again - thank you for my daughter.
Amen.

catchin' up with a meme

I was tagged more than a month ago by my friend Chels at My Puddles of Thoughts and I never got around to doing it. I've been wanting to blog for a few days and couldn't get my thoughts together. Today, I remembered this tag - perfect!

Here goes...

What were you doing 10 years ago?
July of 1997 - I was working full time and getting ready for my baby girl's very first birthday. That means she'll be 11 this week!!

What were you doing 1 year ago?
July of 2006 - juggling my daughter's custody schedule and dealing with my son's strep throat. Wow, bet that was fun.

Five snacks you enjoy:
*pretzels (unsalted)
*cookies
*BBQ chips or pretzels
*muffins (cinnamon or pumpkin are my favorite)
*gummy anything

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to:
*Greatest Man I Never Knew by Reba
*Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot
*Sara Beth by Rascal Flatts
*Jesus, Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood
*Everything I Do, I Do It for You by Bryan Adams

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
*Live on an island
*Buy a new car, probably a minivan
*Pay off all my family's mortgages (and then some)
*Travel
*Give away a lot of it, probably to kids charities

Five bad habits:
*spending too much time on the world wide web
*leaving the last load of clothes in the washer - forget to switch it to the dryer
*when the light in the car comes on to let me know I need gas, I wait another day until I really need gas (I know, pretty dumb of me)
*leaving the kids toys out at the end of the day - like Chels said, why clean them up when it's going to look just like that tomorrow?
*procrastinating about everything

Five things you like doing:
*spending time with the family
*surfing the world wide web, especially blogs
*reading
*taking photographs
*writing

Five things you would never wear again:
*Most things from high school - it wouldn't fit
*the cute barrettes my mom made me when I was in school - they were cute but wouldn't be in style now
*a two piece swimsuit (unless I lose, I don't know, 50 pounds)
*jelly shoes
*the ugly puke yellow volleyball jersey I wore in high school

Five favorite toys:
*laptop
*mp3 player
*Cars movie cars (they keep the boy quiet)
*my daughter's personal DVD player (hey, I didn't buy it and it keeps her quiet on car trips)
*I guess I'll say the TV, even though as a rule, I am anti-TV

I'm gonna tag -
I'm going to take the easy route and say whoever wants to do it, feel free! Just make sure you comment so I can come visit! :)

friday's feast #149 (#18)

I've been away for a while. I needed a break. And I thought a perfect way to get back in the swing of things would be this handy-dandy meme. I'll be back soon to share pictures from my recent adventure in island living. Let me tell you - it's rough being back on the mainland!!

Here's this week's edition of Friday's Feast...

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have.
Funny habit, not bad habit, so I won't tell you about that one, or that one or hmm...that one. Let's see, I have a funny habit of sleeping with the covers up to my chin but my one leg sticking out of the covers. Hey, that's the best I can think of...sorry. :)

Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?
This one's easy. The piano. I love the piano and can play the right hand notes but my lessons ended before we got to the left hand.

Salad
How long is your hair?
It used to touch my shoulders but a couple of weeks ago, I got a perm. So now, it's really curly and falls to about my chin.

Main Course
When is the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?
Wow, that's a loaded question... Forgiving is something that you have to commit to do and then do it continually. Life sure would be easier if you could decide to forgive and the hurt and everything associated with it would just go away. But it doesn't. Unfortunately, it lingers. What? Oh, sorry, I got on my soapbox there and haven't answered the question yet. To protect those around me who are still living and could be implicated by this question, I will say that I forgive my dad regularly. It's a long story but he fell way short of what every little girl (namely, me) wanted in a dad. And he wasn't able to be there for me, emotionally or in person. When he died in 1998, I began peeling the layers back of his complicated life. I found out that he wasn't equipped with the social skills to show his love for someone. His heart had been scarred as a little boy and I don't think he ever recovered. Not that he tried to but forgiveness extends to that too. It's weird to continually have to forgive someone who is dead but I do. I guess at this point I'm doing it more for me than for anyone else. Otherwise, the bitterness of holding a grudge would crowd my life now. That wouldn't be good.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
My KitchenAid mixer. Oh, never mind, I don't have one of those. I guess it would be the microwave. It makes things so much easier. What did people do before them??

Well, that's it for now, folks. If you'd like to join in, click here. Happy Weekend!

gone

exhausted
i sit here
watching her

she writes while
listening to her cd
over and over

humming unknown words
saying random sentences
about music
only she is hearing

forcing the tears back
i wonder
what all will change
this summer

something inside
tells me
it will be different
this time

i can almost see
the changes
before they even happen

maybe because
she is such a mix
of child and
teen

my heart breaks
knowing that when
she walks out that door
tomorrow

90 nights will pass

and my little girl
will be gone

***********

oh jesus
take her into your arms
hold her tightly
guide her
protect her
keep her as your own

help me be calm
knowing you are there
where i want to be
desperately
but you will never leave her

protect the bond we share
bring her home safe to me

amen.

friday's feast #146 (#17)

Appetizer

Name something you think is "the best".

My husband is the best husband in the whole world. He works hard so that I'm able to be home with our kids. And he knows me the best. Oh, and he's cute too. :)

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 highest), how stressed are you today?

And on cue, the baby I am watching starts screaming...Considering the fact that she's slept 45 minutes since 7:30 this morning, I'd say about an 8.

Salad

What kind of cleanser do you use to wash your face?

St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I LOVE St. Ives stuff. I wish they made shampoo too! :)

Main Course

Tonight is a blue moon! What is something that you believe only happens “once in a blue moon.”

Meeting your soulmate. My daughter cleaning her room. Winning the lottery.

Dessert

When was the last time it rained where you live?

I honestly don't remember. Maybe it's been a week. The grass is starting to turn brown.

That's all for this week. If you want to join in, click here. Have a great weekend!

school's out

last day of school
another door to childhood
closes

there you are
so tall and smart
so pretty and funny

it's hard to believe
that you came from me
God's miracle

i'm sad today
the clock begins to tick
soon you'll be gone

90 days isn't so long
but it feels like an eternity
every summer

for the first few days
i actually check on you
at night

it's always a shock
when you aren't in your bed
breathing in and out

i forget that you are sleeping
under a different roof
for 89 more nights

the fog threatens
when i think of you
knowing how you will change

through it all
stay true to you
and remember always

i love you