~LESSONS~

My neighbor lost her husband to cancer in January. He was eighty something and had been her constant companion for over 60 years. As I watch her try to live life without him I am determined to learn to be independent and strong. It's not that I think that I could out live my husband but, if I do, I want to KNOW that I can go on, that my world will not stand still and that I will be capable of a life on my own. I mean NO disrespect, I just don't want to cease to exist mentally and emotionally...That scares me more than death itself!

Joey's lessons for growing older: (in no particular order)

Never act your age

You can't help getting older but, maintain a sense of humor about it

Never quit doing what you love

Keep good friends, they will ALWAYS be there in the lonely times

Make sure your grandchildren adore you even if their parents don't

Eat cake, cookies and CHOCOLATE before the diabetes hits (sneak it after)

It never hurts to tell people you love them

Don't ever let your children get away with being mean...They may pass it on to your grandchildren

Smile :) People love to be around happy people

Don't tell

Don't whine...Know one cares

And the wisest words ever...GET OVER IT!

~MUDDY BUDDY~

Sometimes yard work and baby-sitting can be a little bit complicated however, the pictures are priceless. Charly was quite taken with her first mouthful of dirt. Mom, not so much...

~ROZZY TURNS 1~

It's hard to believe that this little girl is 1! It seems like just yesterday Cambria and Sky were bringing her home from the hospital. What a fun year it has been watching her grow and make all her fun changes. I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for her. Cambria worked so hard making a cake for her and putting together her first birthday party. Rozzy loved the ribbons most of all. The other kids opened the presents and Rozzy played with the ribbons... Gotta love a one year
old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROZZY!

~KINERGARTEN HERE I COME!!!~

Cole did it! He graduated from Pre-School. This fall he officially enters the life long process of becoming educated. I hope he stays this excited about learning all the way through a doctorate in fact, I hope that for all of my grandchildren! What are the chances of that? It was fun to be able to see him perform his songs and play his violin. He even got the award for being the "cool" guy in the class. I am not sure what he thought about that one but, everyone else thought it was adorable.

~TUBBY TIME-THEN AND NOW~

One of the best parts of my day is
when I come home to these two little ladies. Every now and then they are together at my house and what fun we have. They are all giggles and smiles. They love to play with each other and I think that they will always be the cutest little cousins always. They remind me of myself and Chris as we grew up. We were inseparable. Honestly, I think Chris could have got along just fine without me, but, I would not have survived without her! I still can't! We spent so much time together that often it was
difficult for our own mothers to
tell us apart. I remember a couple of tongue lashings and one or two spankings that were probably supposed to be Chris'...But then again, we were a team and if she was in trouble it was usually because I lead her in the wrong direction. I was older but, in my defense SHE was smarter!

I hope that Ra Ra and Cha Cha have the same kind of relationship that Chris and I have. They are hard to find and so very precious.

~ONE SORT OF SUNNY MAY DAY~

What a busy weekend. I don't think there was one hour when I wasn't doing something. I like it that way but holy cow, the darn thing goes by so fast!

May is a big birthday month for us. We start out with Lore on the 2nd, Bella on the 20th, John on the 22nd and Cambria on the 30th. With a numerous amount of friends between. Happy Birthday to all of you!

Our little Bella turned 2 this year. She is getting so big. It is hard to believe she was EVER as tiny as Whitney or Emma. Loreli made Bella's cake. It is always such a thrill to see what she invents for her little ones. Check this one out. Even the animals are made out of fondant. The best thing is, her cakes taste as good as they look! Bells loved every bite! So did the rest of us!

We had dinner on Sunday and the kids wanted me to go on a hike up the dirt trail with them. Cole was adamant about taking my picture with the girls. (He loves my camera). He now knows the frustrations of trying to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time and smile. I think that for a 5 year old he has talent...He even had to get a picture of Abbie's hurt finger. Abbie said that it wasn't blood it was just "red stuff". Ra Ra and Cha Cha had fun just being outside for a little while in the sun. We just haven't had enough of that "SUN" yet.



I almost forgot...our Royal visitor. (Those gals from across the pond have NOTHING on us).

Vivint is company that is giving away $1,250,000.00 to local charities. There are three stages. We need to make it in the top 25 first. This is a chance for HART to get in on some great funding and awareness. Go to the website, "like" the company on facebook and then nominate HART- if you scroll down on the list we are number 16 in the mountain region. If we could forward this out to everyone I think we would have a great chance. Let me know if you have questions.

PLEASE SEND THIS OUT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND VOTE DAILY!!!!!

It only takes a couple of minutes and it could change so many lives...Please, please vote everyday! THANK YOU!

www.vivint.com/givesbackproject