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| “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.” ~Unknown Grateful for Autistic Bartenders Not only did he write a huge book of all the drink recipes that he thought I would like, he went as far as to write the (optional) items to add. (such as orange bitters) He also made sure to write down all of his notes and all of his drinks with the most expensive and best booze in each drink. The kid's a freaking genius. Austin has been on a mission since we finished our garage, to be the "Bartender" at the garage. He wants it to be an Irish Pub, a place where he can serve people drinks, people can swim, have a fire, play darts, maybe a little pool...(we need a pool table first. :)) . But he is full out serious about this. He often asks about what he should wear. What his uniform should be. And how much an hour are Uncle Matt and I going to pay him? I told him he will get to keep all of his tips..for sure. :)  This entire notebook is filled with his drink lists, ready to go for the bar. We have to build the "bar" first, things have kind of taken awhile to get in place this summer. Patio is done, love it...now we just need to have the lower part finished (which it will be done by Sept. 7) with the built in fire pit! :) JUST in time for the PARTY at our house in on Sept. 9th...where we are raising money (Free will donations) for Bill Allen, who recently passed away from Alzheimer's. His family is trying to raise money for the Alzheimer's walk for their team. Austin thought this would be a great time and opportunity to be the bartender at our house for people and have a great time in doing so. (He loved Bill as did we all.) So, we are going to have a good time. Lots to drink and lots to eat, plenty of fun and friends. Kids can swim, play games, and just hang out. We will definitely have smores too. I encourage you to ask Austin how to make a drink or two. You will be amazed at his knowledge, and you will love hearing all about how the drinks are made and maybe a little history behind the drink as well. The kid is a walking freaking encyclopedia. He is sooo excited. Now, I just need him to be more like Rainman, and count cards. Then....WE ARE GOING TO VEGAS, BABY!!! |
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Day 221
Monday, August 29, 2011
Day 220
"I see the moon, the moon sees me...God bless the moon and God bless me."
Grateful for one moment at Whitefish
One night. One magical night at Whitefish Cabin 2011.
Fireworks.
Clear sky, stars out, moon shimmering down on the lake.
Family that we have missed and missed and missed surround us...and we all felt love at the very moment that Grammy and Papa began to sing the moon song together.
Priceless...and one of the most beautiful moments that I have ever experienced.
God Bless the moon, God bless me.
We love you, Grammy and Papa, we love you Anne, Pat, Sean, Molly, Muffie, Marne, Missy, Erin, Jimmy, we love you...and all of your families.
We love you to the moon and back.
We have missed you all, and we are blessed to be a part of this amazing family.
<3
Day 219
I will stand by you. Because you always have for me.
Grateful for Matt
Most of the time, we are the "Bickersons"....Mr. and Mrs. I don't like that we bicker back and forth, but...that's what we do best. Fact is...between all the bickering, we truly love each other.
We know that somehow, some way...everything is going to be ok.
We know that no matter how many crappy things come our way...that we can handle it as best we can.
Matt stood by me through Gram's death, and my grieving.
Matt stood by me through Aunt Jean's battle with cancer, and through every rotten emotion I had.
It hasn't been a fairytale.
It has been, though, the best years of my life to have someone who stands by me...no matter what.
(most of the time.)
<3
I love you, Matt, and I love our girls, I love your family, I love my family.
You continue to stand by me, I will continue to stand by you.
"Everything will be ok, I'm afraid"~Papa referring to your sister Erin.
<3 you.
To the moon and back.
Thank you for being you, and for being my best friend.
Day 218
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| Um...I am going to vow to do better at being thankful for another day. Another anything. Grateful for giving thanks to Him If I woke up today with what I gave thanks for yesterday...I would not have very many things...with the exception of my children, my husband, my Mom, Dad, sister, brother, nieces and nephews. I thank God every night for my family, and I pray that someday, somehow, someone will find a cure for cancer. But I didn't thank God for the trees, the blue sky. I didn't thank Him for the sunshine, the flowers, the birds, the bees, the animals. I didn't thank Him for giving me the opportunity to work with people with special needs. I didn't thank Him for a lot. I didn't thank Him for giving me another day. I didn't thank Him for loving me, and for putting up with how stubborn I am. I will do better at this. If it weren't for Him, there wouldn't be anything. Not one single thing...or person...or feeling...or animal...or breath...nothing. Sometimes...or most times...I just forget what is important, and what I need to do. Sometimes it just means that I open my heart, and I let Him in, instead of always trying to do things alone and then being crabby about how bad things suck from day to day. I will go to bed tonight with a different prayer. I will, because God holds my heart, my soul, and He holds many of my loved ones who I miss terribly. I just need to let Him in, and let Him guide me more often. Can't hurt. Might help. I do know I am blessed many times over with the friends and family that I have. Thank you, God, for everything and more. <3 |
Day 217
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| Soo true. Somewhere this lies in the "Being a Mom" description. Grateful for Wednesdays So with the school year starting, activities in full swing, work, homework, etc...I find myself trying to "schedule" time for me, because there just isn't time. But, I need to make time to keep my sanity and to keep myself healthy. This year, each Wed. we are going to St. Paul to O'Shea Irish Dance. I will have time in the car, six hours to be exact---that's without stopping...to get a plan together. I can schedule appointments for the kids, manage things at work, and I can keep a clean house and keep up on the laundry. BUT. I need to find time where I can go for a walk. Hit the gym. Go out with a friend, or my sister, or my Mom. I realize that I suck a lot at being Super Mom. I will never be her. I just want to land somewhere in the middle. Happy medium. My girls are growing up way too fast, I make sure they have our support with homework, with anything else they need. We want the best for our kids, but we also want them to know how we grew up. I have realized the following after doing my September calendar.... ...make time for me even if its 30 minutes of a walk. Make time to plan out meals for the week, we will save money and time in doing so. Make time to write a letter to Papa and Grammy, and our cousins up north...and to the Bergs in Pewaukee. We miss them. Make time for God. Make time for church, and try to volunteer when I can fit it in. But most importantly...make time to breathe and be grateful for what we have...and not worry about the little things so much. This, for me, needs to happen. I am grateful that I can see this need today. <3 |
Day 216
We love Pirates. Arrg. We love pirate talk, pirate head wear, pirate everything. Whenever I have been at Disney World, I always choose the pirate ears with "Mama" on the back. Maybe its because deep down, I wish I was a pirate. I could get used to sailing the seas in search of lost treasures. I could get used to using the word "poop deck" mostly because it cracks me up. Well, and having a monkey do shit for you would be a plus. I also would dig the parrot that would say swear words. Also, I like that pirates like rum. And when Jack Sparrow freaked and said, "Where has all the rum gone?!?!" Um...Matt and I both laughed our asses off, because... ...well, that would suck. Never be without. Aye, Matey. Yo ho, yo ho...a pirate's life for me. P.S. Its one of my favorite Disney World rides. P.S.S. I will never get tired of riding that ride and hearing "DEAD MANS CHEST" Pirates are way cooler than ninjas. | ||||
Day 215
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| I love kids. They are always so honest. Grateful for smarta#@ test responses Not going to lie here. I have written something VERY similar on my homework since I was small at St. Cecilia School. I would usually end up in Sister Marylin's office explaining what I had done, and then trying to come up with why I shouldn't do whatever it was again. (trust me, that was super hard most of the time....I know that surprises you.) Well, I hated math. It made my brain beep...or throb. I hated paying attention, really. I didn't seem to get how important that was until college life...which at first...my attention span was also questionable. It was Sister Mary Agnes in Chemistry. Saint Scholastica. I decided that I would rather draw cartoon pictures of her than listen to the lesson. You know when they say Nuns have eyes in the back of their heads? THAT IS NO SHIT RIGHT THERE. TRUE STATEMENT. Here I was, drawing her, passing the picture around, and then she turns around, and says, "THIS IS COLLEGE CHEMISTRY, NOT COMIC STRIP LAND." (I immediately turned red, and then wanted to barf, but instead, I started laughing, because I was like, who the hell knows what comic strip land is....and would I like it there? Yes, answering myself, because I wouldn't be in chemistry.") Wow. And then I wonder where I got it from.... RENO. But the part where I started laughing...that is JANICE. It's ok. My kids now have the traits too. Pay Backs. Karma. Whatever it is...I have it. And it's not too bad- in fact, its funny. Most of the time. |
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day 214
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| "If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope he likes enchiladas, because that's what he's getting." — Jack Handey Grateful for enchiladas Imagine all 11 kids just had enchiladas. Well, since God likes them, He hangs out with them. Good thing, because when we are at the lake, the kids are with God. For the most part. :) |
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Day 213
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| In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort~ The Hobbit Grateful for Bilbo Baggins The Hobbit. The RECORD...the LP...of the Hobbit...was played many times over at our childhood home of 410 Wellons Drive. We didn't have Direct TV. We didn't have Nintendo DS or the Wii, or Gameboy. We didn't have iPods. We didn't have VCR movies or DVD's. We grew up with a tv that had no remote control. We were our Mom and Dad's remote control. We had to get up and turn the knob to the channel that we had. Which mostly consisted of 5, 8, 11, and 13. We would put this record in, and lay on the couch, or on the floor with a big snuggler. (The 70's version of a snuggie.) We would listen, and our imaginations would go wild. We only had the picture on the front of the record to show us what some of the characters looked like. I especially loved the songs from the Hobbit. Especially the one about what Bilbo Baggins hates..."So carefully, carefully...with the plates." Now that we are so stuck in the technological age...that everything comes with instant satisfaction with a live streamed video, etc...I feel like the kids need to learn what we did when we were little. This fall, while we go on our trips to St. Paul every Wed., we will be listening to audio books. I think its something that the kids will learn to like...cuz the DVD player in the car at this point...they don't even really watch what's on half the time. Back to the basics...I feel like it won't be half bad. They might learn to love something new, and find that imagination within that I feel like the kids loose these days. Or, maybe I am just a dork. Which could be the case...but whatever. Gonna give the books in the car a shot. Maybe I will get The Hobbit. Just for old times sake :) |
Day 212
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| "I like big butts and I cannot lie." ~ Sir Mix A Lot Thankful that I am not Sir Mix A Lot I don't like big butts and I cannot lie. Right now, I have a big butt. And even if Sir Mix A Lot likes big butts, well, I sure don't. I am glad that we are not friends, me and him. Because what would he say to me? Hey...I like your big butt? (He cannot lie) Well, I, one time at band camp...had a small butt. Then a medium butt. Now...well, its large and large. And large. Butt... When I saw the above post, I had to laugh. Because its true for me. I love my kids, my family, my friends...with all my heart... ...but my ass is bigger. So I love them all with my butt. Bahahaha. |
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Day 211
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| I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott Grateful for storms The storm hit in Hayward. Lights and power out in a flash. Winds, rain, waves, lightning, thunder...boom. Power gone. Jamie and I go to the boat right after we lost power to pump the water out so it didn't sink...and this is what we saw. Pure beauty. Painted by God Himself. A double rainbow...the storms still to come, the stories and memories made during the "Great power outage and storm of Hayward 2011"...are things we will never forget. Ever. Grateful for rainbows, for storms, and of course, for the memories. |
Monday, August 15, 2011
Day 210
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| Um...then I am 1. Not pretty, and 2. Fugly. and 3. immature because I think farts are fun. ~Me Grateful for farts It is what it is. Maybe you are one of those people who think farting should be saved for the privacy of your own bathroom or bathroom stall. Ok, well....your own bathroom....yeah, that's fine. But bathroom stall farts...well, don't think that all of us in the other stalls don't hear that shit. We do. And if you are me, (which I know you are thanking God you are not)...but if you are me, you have to do everything in your power (even in your 30's) to not laugh aloud. Trust me, its hard. REALLY HARD Usually I am sitting there plugging my nose and quietly laughing but then either a squeak comes out of my nose, my mouth, or my ass. Then...well then, I just bust out laughing. I blame this mostly on my father. He taught us, from the time we were little...to "Pull my finger." Which we would do, he would fart...and laughter...and stink. And then more laughter followed by my Mother saying, "RENO! Are YOU done!?" Then Dad and us kids would go into this almost asthmatic laugh and chuckle about the fart. Mom always laughed but had to turn around and fake like she wasn't. But...now with 11 grand kids, Grampie has taught them all that farts are "Fun." So, that's how it rolls in our family. If you don't like it...then go fart your rose smelling non fart somewhere else where you claim you don't fart. In this family, we fart. And....farts are fun. |
Day 209
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| For twenty-three years I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now... well, being a Christian woman, I can't say it!”~Auntie Em Grateful for Ms. Gulch Not because I like her. Not because she was mean, but because since I was little, I really disliked this woman. Mostly, when I was little, dislking her because she took Toto. But when Toto got away, and ran back to Dorothy, it was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Ms. Gulch. We have plenty of them in our lives. How we react to them, how we deal with them...is what matters. I really like the flying monkeys. I wish that sometimes, I could release them on people. That would be awesome. |
Friday, August 12, 2011
Day 208
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| "And I give you...the highest honor....the Ellie badge." ~Mr. Fredrickson to Russell. Grateful for the Ellie badge. The highest honor. The Ellie badge. It represents true love, no questions asked. It represents that you are in a club, with someone that you would spend the rest of your life with. The Ellie badge...it came with the courage to find your new adventures that lie ahead. It means that no matter what, you have someone by your side and that you belong to this club no matter what. No questions ask. The Ellie badge. The highest honor. Everyone needs to have an Ellie badge in their life. We do. We all have one in our family. The highest honor... ...love and more love. Forever. Cross your heart. |
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Day 206
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| Tremblay's. Hayward, Wisconsin. An annual tradition. Grateful for traditions Every year, the candy shoppe on Main Street is where it's at. The kids (and parents) look forward to going to the candy shoppe all year round. Not that any of us need the extra goodies, or the fudge, but...we love the candy store. We love filling our baskets up with so much candy that they are over-flowing. The kids have this smile on their faces, the look in their eyes, the excitement as they fill up those white bags is priceless. I am grateful that my parents did this with us. In this very same candy store. It has been here as long as we have been up here. Every year. Since we were small. That smell of the fudge being made, the peanut brittle, the turtles, the ladies in the striped uniforms and the strong guys stirring the hot copper pots with the wooden over-sized spoons. A memory that I have...the smell of that store, and the pure excitement of arriving at Tremblay's... Its awesome. |
Friday, August 5, 2011
Day 205
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| The Moccasin Bar. What's for breakfee? Grateful for breakfast So the Moccasin Bar in Hayward is full of weird shit. I think that anyone that stuffs chipmunks and dresses them as singing people is effed up. That's the Moccasin. The world record musky is in there. Well, since going to Hayward since we were small, the Moccasin was always a landmark that I remember, but never went into until this last couple of years. This year, when Dad's boat needed to be looked at, we dropped the boat off, and Dad and I had a bloody mary or two at the bar while Jamie and mother had coffee at the shop next door. One, my sister thought she was better than me cuz she chose the coffee *her loss* on the Bloody Mary Two, sorry, but in the end, booze is always the best option. So Dad and I discussed boat issues as well as what bait to use to catch whatev on Round Lake with these guyz. Youze guyz. Well, boat was fixed, motor good *story for another time* and off we go. Bloody Marys for breakfee....equal....awesome. Coffee and stating you are being good with yo mama..(jamie) not awesome. Bloody Marys equal waaaay better. I heart the moccasin...and I brought Austin in there too. Played pool with him there. He was all about the trivia...about fish, etc. and stated his Grampie has caught the biggest fish ever in Hayward. Um hmmmm..... Well, almost. Grampie and Austin have good fish stories. :) |
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Day 204
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| Thank God for little things we notice. Grateful for little things Little things. Like dragonflies. Like Grampie helping you bait your hook. Or Grammie making your favorite pickle and bologna salad. Or telling stories, or painting nails. Or playing games, or sharing stories. Little things. Like telling your kids you love them every single day...no matter what. Like calling your brother and sister, parents. Telling them what happened during the day, just because. Little things. Buttons from Gram Hancock. Sorting earrings she had. Playing spoons. Holding hands...or trying to punish one of the kids for sassing...and then Grammie busting out laughing about it...yeah, priceless. Little things. I love little things. We need to look for more little things that matter. Little things add up into big things. Not sure what the hell dragonflies have to do with it, but i am sure that somewhere...dragonflies matter. But, I think they are annoying as shit and they scare me. I don't like them flying close to me or landing on me. Obviously I didn't snap this photo. It might have hopped on me. Or peed on me. Asshole dragonfly. I would have been too scared to slap it and kill it, but then...I secretly wish someone would slap and kill this one and I wonder why the eff someone would take a picture of this thing. My sister. She is my hero. I would have stepped on the effer. (just sayin'.) |
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 203
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The Gift of Life I didn't give you the gift of life, But in my heart I know. The love I feel is deep and real, As if it had been so. For us to have each other Is like a dream come true! No, I didn't give you The gift of life, Life gave me the gift of you. --- Unknown |
Grateful for Michael
Michael is my cousin. He was Grandma Hancock's pure joy as we all got older, out of the baby and toddler stage.
Michael is a gift. Michael was the single best gift that Aunt Darlene and Uncle Steve got...and he is a gift to us.
When he was small, he told us his name was..."My-toe Hantot."
We love Mytoe Hantot.
My girls love him and think he's the best thing ever.
Thank you, God...for bringing our family Michael.
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