We Made It

Dad has been gone a little more than a year now. It seems impossible, but it's true.

We've made it through the "first" of everything without him. Our first Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, family picnic, Father's Day, family vacation, birthdays, and the list goes on.

Now we've actually had two Thanksgivings without Dad. I think I was so numb the Thanksgiving right after Dad died that this year felt more like the first one without him. I imagine Christmas will be much the same.

It definitely hasn't been easy and some days were incredibly hard and long, but you know what? We made it!

We made it because we had each other, our faith, the love of family and friends, and the beautiful legacy Dad left us.

Dad taught us the importance of family not only by his words but by his actions. Dad always put his family first. Always.

Dad attended countless sporting events, plays, dance recitals, and school activities. Were there other places Dad could have been - maybe even wanted to be? I'm sure, but he never let on.

Were there hobbies or personal interests Dad wished he could have pursued? Probably. But he never mentioned them.

I believe Dad found true happiness not by having everything he wanted, but by wanting everything he had. It's a lesson I need to learn and then learn again!

Dad was never happier than when he was surrounded by his family and friends, drinking a cold beer, and laughing so hard at the stories he was telling that tears poured from his beautiful blue eyes.

On the anniversary of Dad's death the four of us got together to celebrate Dad's life. We told stories, shared memories, laughed til we cried, and then cried some more.

I think Dad would've approved.

Miriam and Gabriel (The Biblical Version of Q and U)

Last Friday was Christian Heroes Day at Lily's school. For the day the kids are asked to dress as someone they admire who displays Christian values. Most of the children dress as Biblical characters, but many of the kids dress as their parents or teachers.

To be honest, Lily's choice had nothing to do with Christian values. Girlfriend wanted to be an angel. Period. For Lily it was all about the wings and nothing else!

It was fun to see all of Lily's classmates dressed up as different characters. Lily's teacher interviewed each of her students for her K-LFT "radio show". Each child was asked them why they chose to dress up the way they did. I couldn't help but laugh when Lily said, "Because I wanted wings!"

Admit it. Lily is really workin' those paper plate wings!





Lily's best friend dressed as Miriam (Moses and Aaron's sister). It was so sweet to see Miriam and Gabriel together.



After Christian Heroes Day, Miriam and Gabriel headed home together and then went to see another angel perform.



Friday evening we went to see Christina perform the role of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid. Beanie was AMAZING!!



Christina has a beautiful singing voice. There really are angels on earth!

Angelina

This year for Halloween Lily decided she wanted to be Angelina Ballerina. Who, you ask? For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading every Angelina Ballerina book ever written, she is a white mouse that is a ballerina and the main character in a series of children's book. Our little ballerina positively loves her Angelina Ballerina books!





I was more than a little worried that noone would have any idea who Lily was dressed up as. Not only because Angelina Ballerina is far from a popular choice for Halloween costumes, but also because Mommy tried to make/morph an Angelina Ballerina costume out of a Hello Kitty costume I found at a thrift shop!





Then, when Lily decided she didn't want to wear the Angelina "mask" or white gloves, I was certain that noone would have any idea who/what she was. You know what??? It didn't matter one bit. Lily LOVED herself and her costume and that's all that really mattered!



Lily and her little girlfriends had a WONDERFUL time trick-or-treating at many of the houses in our neighborhood. Tony and a group of other parents went along for the fun. Me? I stayed at home, handed out candy, drank wine, and missed Dad.



I have to tell you, Dad has been on my heart so much lately. The 26th was Dad's birthday and I missed him so much that day I could barely breathe. To be honest, missing Dad on Halloween was kind of unexpected. It really didn't dawn on me until Halloween night that Dad has come to our house every Halloween for the last few years for dinner and to see Lily dressed up. What I wouldn't give to have that beautiful man in my house again. Now that would be a treat!

Q and U at the Pumpkin Patch

Lily was off school last Thursday so Daddy took the day off, too! Together with Lily's best friend we spent the day at the pumpkin patch.



I think it's safe to say these two sweet girls had a wonderful time...



They giggled and laughed the entire time...



They really are so sweet together...



Tony and I had so much fun watching them have so much fun!!

Parents' Days

This week was Parents' Days at Lily's school. Of course, parents are always welcomed at school...but this week is set aside especially with breakfast foods, coffee, and the chance to visit with other parents.

Lily absolutely LOVED having Daddy in her classroom. She was positively beaming! I like to believe that Lily enjoyed having me in her classroom, too...it's just that she sees me in her classroom and volunteering in the office frequently.

Lily wanted to show Daddy her "office", the computer, the friendship bench, her mailbox, her cubby, her...you get the idea. Lily didn't get a chance to show Tony everything she wanted because there was one little problem...Parents' Days aren't a day off from learning. The kids follow their regular schedule - we're just there to observe.







It is really fun to see Lily in her element. Lily absolutely LOVES school! She adores her teacher (so do I) and has great friends. There are 14 children in Lily's class and they all...boys and girls...seem to get along beautifully.



I probably shouldn't admit this, but it is still hard for me to send Lily to school. The fact that she loves every second that she's there makes it a lot easier!

Apple Picking

Lily had a day off in the middle of the week so we went apple picking and brought along the other half of Q and U.



These two have the sweetest little friendship. Who knows how long that will last, but for now they love spending as much time together as possible...and I enjoy their giggling, sweet, happy faces, too!





Look! Q and U found Q and U apples. You can only imagine what a giggle fest that started.



Now I just need to figure out what to do with all these apples!!!

Where A Family Becomes A Team

"Outdoorsy" is not a word I would ever use to describe our family. My idea of camping is staying at a hotel that doesn't offer Room Service and I'm the most outdoorsy of the three of us. Seriously!

That being said, Park Quest once again provided us with fun opportunities to explore the great outdoors. Together we visited parks throughout Maryland. We hiked, canoed, went letter boxing, orienteering, geocaching, and more. The most important thing we did was create wonderful family memories. Park Quest's tag line, "Where a Family Becomes a Team", is so true!

Last weekend we participated in Park Quest Rendezvous. It was the perfect end to a fun-filled Park Quest summer!

The Rendezvous did not disappoint. The day was filled with lots of fun quests...



Friends...





more than a few mascots...



and wildlife.





Speaking of wildlife, I don't think I ever shared this picture I took during one of our quests. Suffice it to say we weren't the only ones having a picnic lunch at the park that day!!



This was our third year participating in Park Quest. It definitely won't be our last!

Playing Catch Up

I've really done an awful job keeping up with this family journal of mine. My plan is to convert this blog into a series of books by year. That is close as I'll ever come to having scrapbooks for our sweet girl - so I'd better get on the stick!

So, what have we been up to??



Several weekends ago we headed up to The Sweetest Place on Earth with two of the sweetest girls on Earth!



Lily is not a big fan of rides. The carousel, the tram, and the sky lift are about as wild as she gets. It's a darn shame Mom Mom and Lily never met. They truly are amusement park kindered spirits!



Lily's favorite part of Hershey Park is actually not in the park. It's Hershey's Chocolate World. Lily loves the little ride through the chocolate "factory".



Lily was so excited to have Daddy with us this time to make his own chocolate bar.



As you can see Tony is THRILLED to be wearing a hair net!



I think it's safe to say everyone had a sweet time!

Full Days And A Full Week...

...make for a VERY sleepy girl!!

Lily's first week of school they had 3 half days and Lily was wiped out by Friday afternoon. This week Lily had 5 full days and the poor thing was beyond exhausted by Friday afternoon. Seriously.

On Friday nights we normally alternate between Family Game Night and Family Movie Night. Last Friday during dinner Lily said, "I don't want to do game night or movie night...I just want to sleep!"

Unfortunately for Lily, Friday was also Back-to-School Night. I seriously considered not going, but since I'm president of the PTA...and I was giving a presentation...I thought I'd better show up!

Thankfully, Lily really likes the babysitter that watched her and together they hunkered down and watched Charlotte's Web and all was well with the world.

Lily absolutely LOVES school and I know she will get used to the full day schedule...but until then I will have one sleepy girl on my hands!

Admittedly, these pictures have nothing to do with this post...but here are some recent pictures of sweet little Q and U at the zoo!

First, Tenth, and Sixteenth

Today was Lily's first day of First Grade. Oh! My! Word! How did that happen??

Lily is SO incredibly excited for First Grade and, honestly, so am I. I love, Love, LOVE Lily's First Grade teacher. Mrs. Hancock is a patient, kind, and loving woman and I know Lily will thrive in her classroom.

If today is any indication, Lily will have another GREAT year!







Is it me or is Lily's backpack almost bigger than she is?? And what about all that hair??? Lily chose not to wear a "hair pretty" (bow, pony tail, clip, etc.) today because she wanted, "all my friends to see how long my hair grew this summer."

That would not have been my first choice and I mentioned that I thought her hair might get in her way...but...since it's not my hair I let Lily decide. When I picked Lily up today one of the first things she said to me was that tomorrow she needs something to keep her hair out of her face.

Who knew? Don't worry, I didn't say, "I told you so." Aren't you proud of me?

Q and U were so happy to be together again. They have seen each other numerous times during the summer, but when they saw each other this morning you would've thought they hadn't seen each other in years! Such sweetness!



As hard as it is for me to believe, today is also the tenth anniversary of Mom's death. Some days I miss Mom so much you would think she just died yesterday and then there are days when I struggle to remember the sound of her voice.

Losing Dad late last year and Aunt Paula just two weeks ago has made the loss of Mom feel more recent. I have thought about, dreamt about, talked about, and cried about Mom more in the last 10 months than I have in years. I guess it makes sense that the death of two people that Mom loved so dearly has stirred in me a renewed sense of loss, but I have to admit I have been a bit taken aback by it.

What I have come to realize more everyday is that no matter how much time passes I still miss and need my mother. It truly is as simple and as complicated as that.



On a much, much happier note, today is also Charlie's 16th birthday! Happy birthday, Charlie!! We love you!

Lovey

On Monday I attended the funeral of my sweet Aunt Paula. Her death was sudden, unexpected, and positively heartbreaking.

Somehow, I just can't wrap my brain around the fact I will never hear Aunt Paula say, "Hello, Lovey." to me again.

Speaking to Aunt Paula was always easy - no matter the topic.

Aunt Paula and I did not speak on the phone often. We normally saved our catching up for family gatherings. However, I do remember one exception vividly.

Many years ago I was undecorating my Christmas Tree alone. For the first time, I was dividing up the Christmas ornaments into "His" and "Hers" boxes. I remember not wanting to answer the telephone when it rang, but I did.  It was my Aunt Paula.

Aunt Paula had just spoken to Mom and learned that my marriage to Robert was ending. Aunt Paula called just to tell me that she loved me and that even though it didn't feel like it at the moment, eventually I would be okay.

Aunt Paula knew first hand how it felt to have your love story not end with "...and they lived happily ever after." She also knew first hand that my mother could be less than understanding in this type of scenario. Of course Aunt Paula was far too gracious to ever actually say that...but she didn't need to. In her own sweet way Aunt Paula was letting me know she was there for me and would fill the role my mother couldn't.

Aunt Paula and I talked for what seemed like hours. By the time we hung up the phone the tree was undecorated and I had even laughed a few times!

Aunt Paula's death has brought back so many memories. Many of which include my mom...and dad.

There have been very few times since Mom died that I have actually been thankful that she's gone. However, this is definitely one of those times.

Years ago my Aunt Paula had the unimaginable task of speaking at her daughter Cecelia's funeral. Aunt Paula ended her eulogy by quoting these lyrics from Garth Brooks' song, "The Dance":

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Being part of a large, close-knit, loving family brings with it many, many joys. Unfortunately, it also opens you to more heartache. Be that as it may, I can honestly say I wouldn't want it any other way.

We Shore Had Fun

Tony, Lily, and I spent a long weekend on the Eastern Shore completing several Park Quests. As I've mentioned before, we really LOVE the Park Quest program and I will post about the actual quests another time. What I want to share now is how travelling to these parks to complete Quests has given us the opportunity to visit parts of Maryland we've never seen and also the opportunity to spend quality family time.



I mean, when's the last time you travelled on a dirt road? In Maryland???



Or visited a beach that seemed like it was frozen in time?



When was the last time you spent the afternoon hunting for sea glass?



Or ate dinner while watching a beautiful sunset over a "boat parking lot"?





Visiting different parts of Maryland is certainly one of the best things about Park Quest, but the absolute best part is spending quality time with our little fashionista and her father!