Thankful (Procrastinated)

11-26-13
Yup, I looked at this and covered my mouth in disbelief.  Really Becky?  You did not just put a date and leave this post to be written?  Ah, but yes I did.  I had so much to be thankful for that I really had no words and then life just got crazy and this post got forgotten.  But I have decided to post a procrastinated thankful now.  Better late than never - that can be a great motto at times!
I think it was just hard knowing where to start and thinking I might leave soemthing out.

I am thankful for good friends - the ones that just get you and are there no matter what.  I have realized that some come and go and others are for seasons but the best ones are when you can pick up right where you left off and just connect.  Ones that laugh and cry with you.  Ones that walk alongside you in struggles and triumphs.  Ones that cheer you on and ones that inspire.  Kindred.  Heart connections. 

I am thankful for my family - we are very close and have each other's backs.  Oh we have our quirks and things that make us roll our eyes, but in the end we are there in thick and thin!  So blessed.

I am thankful for my husband - wow was he ever worth the wait!  What a man, I can't even say enough about him - you know this may have to be a post of it's own. 

I am thankful for (vain alert) - my silky, thick hair that grows pretty fast, and good skin, and small lips, and a button nose, and little chunky hands, and good eyesight, and cute little ears, and high cheekbones (AKA chubby cheeks in my book), and a curvy shape, and my waist....um that is about all I have right now.  I just decided when I wrote this that it is ok to write because I should love me, since I am me and know me better than anyone else and I am a pretty cool me! :)

I am thankful that God loves me and never gives up on me.  He gives grace abundantly and He provides even in the smallest details.  He is the most amazing ever! <3
   

Inside Jokes

8-18-13  It is so much fun building a life with someone. I was pondering today our most recent inside joke and it made me want to record them all...

Chips

My feet hurt

Picture frame

Brrrk

WE
Pants
Joe Pichler
That's the way the cookie crumbles...not if it is chewy
There are more; maybe a few other posts as the years go by

Starting a Bucket List

11-5-13  I want some new goals and dreams in my life so here goes:
Visit the Taj Mahal
Sew a T-shirt quilt for my hubby
Learn to sew  and knit other fun things and crochet an afghan
Take my hubby to see my Pearl lady in China and some of my fav spots there too
Lose some pounds and tone up - I think discipline is key and self-control
Memorize Scripture
Make a family tree for me and hubby to pass onto our kiddos
Spend time with cool couples and glean from them
Relearn guitar - bar chords are hard with small hands
Host exchange students
Learn Italian, German, Spanish and French
Brush up on Mandarin
Read a book a month
Join a small group
Skydive - yea I can cross this one off and NEVER do it again! EVER! - stay in the planes!
Get a college degree - teaching? TESOL? Business? Administration?
Clean and organize and decorate the house
Noah Bryant, Jane, Brittney Ashley Rose...
Read and relearn about history - possibly the book my friend told me about history from the losers perspective
Take part in a polar plunge
Run a 5k+ (whenever my foot gets better)
Learn to swim and dive better, flip turns
Institute family game nights
Watch all the Joe Pichler movies
visit Mt Rushmore
Statue of Liberty
Time Square
Empire State Building
Magical Christmas in New York - big tree, iceskating, window shopping, Central Park
THE LIST KEEPS GETTING LONGER - THIS WILL BE PART ONE :)

Last Moments

1-7-14  I was just thinking there are some lasts that I can't recall....like the last time I watched a movie with my Mother.  And I definintely have the worst memory to think of FIRST times with her, esp since a lot of them were very early childhood.
Here are some of my favorite lasts I can recall:
The last day I was hanging out with her going through her TONS and tons of rings and asking for the stories of some and sorting them into piles with her.
The last hug I remember was a couple of days before Christmas and my Mom was talking about how she was ready and I just burst into tears and hugged her and she said I will always be with you, you are my heart and soul...or something close to that.
I can't remember the last phone call to just chat with her, I know there were many.  And I cry sometimes thinking that some of them I was rolling my eyes and impatient to get off the phone with her babbling on about this or that.
Her last moments on earth were the most precious and I will cherish them always.  We were in an upstairs private hospital room with my Aunt and my Dad and My sis and Jeff and Jenny.  Just hanging out and chatting with each other and holding Mom's hands and including her in the conversations.  This lasted a few hours.  A nurse popped in and asked, is she waiting for someone?  And then  a short time later ,something popped in my head; an old song that when I was practicing it my Mom told me, "you are going to sing that at my funeral."  It was odd and random back then, actually kind of morbid but when I remembered it in that room that morning, I knew it was what my Mom was waiting for.  So I asked if anyone minded if I sang to Mom.  Everyone was fine with it and I wasn't emotional at the moment, so I sang what I could remember of it.  One verse and two choruses.  We could all just feel God's peace and presence.  About 2 minutes later my Mother passed away.  We all hugged and cried.  The nurses were amazing and we all knew that I was able to sing Mom into heaven.  My friend told me she pictured my Mom leaving as I finished and then the angels continued the song as she arrived.  So beautiful.
 
The last few moments were so precious...
who was there
where were we
the nurses
the crowded room
the song
the departure
hugging and crying