How have you changed in the last year?

This time last year I was mourning the loss of my mother.

My favorite photo of my Mom is on her wedding day.

I still find myself thinking of things I'd like to ask or tell my Mom.  It could be anything simple as a curiosity over my childhood or sharing a part of my day. Then it hits me hard. I can never ask her questions again. My mom was the one who had knowledge of my upbringing, family traditions, the names of all those faces in old photos.  With her passing, all this is lost.   I started scrapbooking my children's lives many years ago and have completed a lot of albums.  But life got in the way and I have not scrapbooked in about 10 years.  The need to begin scrapbooking has become strong.  I want my children to know about their childhood, I want them to have the memories, I want them to look back on their lives with fondness.  I want all this because there will be a day I won't be there to answer their questions.

My cousin along with my Mom and my boys.

During Holidays and birthdays I have a part of me that grieves for what will never be.  My Mom won't be there when my boys graduate college, get married or have their own children.  My boys will no longer have their grandmother to share their lives with.

My grandparents and my Mom.

  Over this last year I have struggled with unresolved issues I had with my Mom.  We had many bumps in the road and they were not smoothed out by the end.  Losing my Mom suddenly has left unreconciled sense of unfinished business.  There are days I think I am moving on and have a sense of forgiveness.  Then there are other days resentment lingers.

At the one year anniversary of her death my thoughts of her were strong.  I wanted to do something special, so I took her favorite flowers and placed them on her grave.  This gesture has helped me have a small bit of closure and the beginning of peace.

My feelings for my Mom have changed over the last year.  

Slowly the struggles and differences we had are being replaced by good memories and love.

Haunted Hayride

Who is ready for a haunted hayride on a crisp, chilly day??

 Todd and I took our nieces and nephew to Colonial Gardens, which is a local garden center that puts on a huge fall / halloween event for the entire month of October.  One of the main events is the Haunted Hay ride.  The day time rides are for kids and adults (who are scared of monsters). The night time rides are so much fun!!!  Monsters jump out at you and even climb into the hay wagon.

 If you're in the area, you should go visit Colonial Gardens!

 A few of the events they have are: Pumpkinland, Children (day and night) Hay Rides, Haunted Gardens, Walk of Terror, Corn Stalk Maze, small petting zoo, play rooms and more.

 Happy Fall!

Renaissance Faire Costumes

The Renaissance Fair comes to our area every fall.  I remember taking Ahren to the faire when he was around 10 years old.  It's a neat place to see reenactments and people dressing up to portray times of the past.  Ahren has always been fascinated with many different time periods in history. 

Every year Ahren and his friends attend the Renaissance Faire at least two or three times.

This year they made their own costumes. 

 Even though I am not a fan of his beard... I have to admit it makes him the perfect viking!

The official site: Penn Renn Faire

Thank you for taking the time to view my part of the world.

Honorary Parents of the Groom

My oldest son, Ahren has a close friend who recently got married.  

Ahren was the best man in the wedding.  He took his duties seriously and helped make his friends wedding day a special one.

 His friend doesn't have parents and is not close to his family.  Ahren and his friend have been friends for a very long time.  Long enough that we consider him a part of our family.

Todd and I filled in as the parents of the groom.  We felt very strongly that the groom deserved to be represented and to have support from our family.   

Flowers for the (stand-in) mother of the groom.

The groom expressed over and over again how much it meant to him to have us be there for him, not only for the wedding but while he was growing up too. I know Ahren also appreciated us stepping up and being there for his friend.

Ahren's best man speech was perfect. A mixture of sentiment and humor.

He thanked family and friends, the wedding party, parents of the bride and

 "parents-ish" of the groom.

His description of Todd and I got quite a few chuckles.

It was an honor to represent the groom.  A memory I will treasure forever.

Congratulations to the beautiful couple!

Maggie got Fish Hooked

Trouble seems to follow Maggie where ever she goes.  

Yesterday she was chasing a squirrel. The squirrel hopped from the tree, ran across the yard and under the chain link fence headed for the woods.  Maggie tried to follow the squirrel under the fence.  Somehow - not sure how it is possible - Maggie's nose got caught on the bottom part of the fence that curls under.  This piece of wire pierced her nose like a fish hook does to a fishes mouth.

She was howling and crying so loudly is scared me.  At this point I didn't know she was stuck to the fence.  When I got to her and knelt down I was in disbelief.  I tried to push her towards the fence so I could slide the piece of wire back through her nose.  The more I pushed her, the more she pulled.  She was panicking and I couldn't calm her down.  She ended up ripping her nose right off the wire.  I couldn't determine the extent of damage because there was so much blood. It was awful!!

I had to take Maggie to an emergency vet.  They were awesome!!  They saw us right away, calmed Maggie (and me) down and took excellent care of her.  She had to stay the day to stitch up her wound.  She's wearing the 'cone of shame' until her stitches dissolve and has to take antibiotics to make sure the wound doesn't get infected.

I am hoping this will cure Maggie from trying to escape under the fence, but I am not holding my breath!

Zachary Graduates College

For the last two years Zachary has attended Full-Sail University in FL.  He pursued a degree in Recording Arts.  The accelerated program he completed earned him a Bachelors Degree.

Growing up Zachary preferred to be at home. His friends came over to our house.  He didn't like to go places, he even didn't like going on vacations.  You can imagine how big of a surprise it was to us when he decided to move from PA to attend college in Florida!!

When he first left I cried for days. I was sad to see him go, but I was also happy for him to be getting on with his life. I wanted to see him happy and productive even if it meant him being so far away from me.

His father and I are very proud of him for taking a chance and for succeeding!   We are excited to see where his new adventure begins!!