Ironic

isn't it that today we celebrate the Flood of 1937 and it is raining today! Seeing those pictures from so long ago it is just amazing. I remember the last time the river flooded downtown, I was still working down there and it was amazing to see the waters up so high and flowing into downtown. Mother Nature - is the one Mother you don't want to mess with :)

How is your week going? Everyone doing good? Mine has been crazy busy. I was reminded though on Tuesday morning how beautiful our state really is. I had to go to a seminar in Lousiville and although it wasn't far, it is such a pretty drive anytime you go down south. The farm lands, the mountains, the horse farms - we are very blessed to have such a beautiful state. And it is funny, there is so much to do in our little ole' state but yet we always want to go further and somewhere more exciting when really it could be right under our noses - who knows. Driving on Tuesday I thought of dad and life a lot - that is what you can do when it is just you in a car - you can just think - with no interruptions. I was just having some more of my "smiling memories" of him and my heart was aching because I miss him so much. - Ugh!!!

But I know we were so blessed and so lucky to be able to spend time with him in those last months. We were able to say good bye. Not many people get to do that, get to say goodbye. Although it is bitter sweet and it is so hard to witness, it is easier at least on the family to be able to say goodbye. It would be so hard to just loose someone especially if your last words were angry words or weren't enough words. You know. There is a benefit for either being able to say goodbye and not being able to say goodbye and as painful and as hard as it was, I am so glad and grateful that we were able to say goodbye.

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Okay - enough of that - it is making me sad :(.... Can you believe January is almost over and we have had no snow, well, not enough snow to really speak of. Crazy huh! Now if we can just get through February the same way we will be good to go - although March is one of those months where even though you may think it is spring, it can sneak winter into it.

I hope everyone is having a great week - time is just flying by - make sure you tell your loved ones you love them and cherish your time with them, you never know about tomorrow!

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love and happiness to all,

Happy, Happy Birthday

many birthdays this month in our family. It seems starting in October is when we get hit hard with birthdays - even though we have one in every month except for March. But I just wanted to wish my beautiful sister Amy, a Happy Birthday - I know she had a great weekend because she wasn't feeling too hot :)...

Happy Birthday to Bill, Jen's husband, you have been through it all with us and I love you and am blessed to have you as a brother-in-law!

Happy Birthday to Tonya - you are great friend and we have been through a lot together. I consider you one of my sisters even though you have plenty of them - I hope you have a great birthday week also.

I know there are other birthdays this month but I am not sure exactly whose is when so I will just say if it is your birthday here is wishing you the best day and I hope all of your dreams come true.

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It was so great to see all of the Timmerding women yesterday at the baby shower - everyone looks great and I always have so much fun hanging out with you! Can't wait for the next one!

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend especially with this crazy weather. Only in KY will there be an ice storm one night and the next night there will be a thunderstorm - go figure!

Here is to another week, hopefully it goes by fast.....

Happy Monday..

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love and happiness to all,

Blessed

today - this is how I feel. What a beautiful song!

Blessed by Martina McBride

I get kissed by the sun
Each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the
Bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my
Front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones
That love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

Across a crowded room
I know you know what I'm thinking
By the way I look at you
And when we're lying in the quiet
And no words have to be said
I think to myself, I think to myself
This love is a beautiful gift

When I'm singing my kids to sleep
When I feel you holding me
I know

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Be blessed with what you have and no need to want for more. Nothing is more important in life than the love of your spouse and your children and your family. No money, no big houses, or fancy cars can buy you that.

Be blessed this weekend! And be safe :)

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love to all,

Another

crazy week and weekend ahead of us. Steve and I have both started the new year with new job positions at work. So we are both so busy in trying to learn, impress and staying a float. We both in the situation of a do or die type thing. Neither one of us asked for promotions but we got them and now we have to work our A** off to prove ourselves so we can keep a job :)... I hate it! I liked being the peon in the company. I was in charge at one time, been there done that and I hated it. I just like to do my daily non important work and have no one report to me and have no stress. But I guess my boss didn't see it that way - dang it for having such a good work ethic - Ugh!

With both of us working so much we haven't seen much of each other, just a pass in the hallway here and there. The boys are both busy with soccer and school and Brayden is preparing for the pinewood derby car race which is Saturday - woo hoo! At least this year Steve will be here with us to go. Last year at this time he was on a cruise for work and it was just me and the boys, which was fine. But I know Brayden was missing his daddy for his big race day. His car is looking sweet and hopefully it does a lot better this year than it did last year - last year I think we finished last in every race :)

Here is a picture of Logan from his birthday celebration at mom's. Uncle Sean being the cool uncle thought it would be funny to smash his face in the cake, we have more pictures but here is one for now.
You can't really see all of the cake, I left that picture at home but you can tell by his face that he was surprised Uncle Sean did that.

Yes, the cake looks crooked doesn't it. It really wasn't. Logan really enjoys helping me make the cake and decorating it - y not, it saves us $20...

I hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying this mild winter we are having. I can live with this if it stayed like this and the next thing we have is spring. Just think January is almost over - so watch out February!

Happy Thursday!!!

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love and happiness to all,

Another weekend

down - crazy how fast two days go by when you are off, but when you have to work the two days, they crawl... Busy weekend of soccer games and watching football - sad that New Orleans isn't in it anymore, I am a Drew Brees fan and they are such a good team. It was definitely the best game this weekend.

Besides soccer games, we worked on Brayden's pinewood derby car - well, not me,  but Steve and Brayden and it is so cute to see how Logan wants to be so much like his big brother. Brayden would sand his car and then Logan wanted to sand something, Brayden would paint and then Logan would paint - he tries so hard to be like Brayden and his favorite line is "that's not fair" that Brayden gets to do something and he doesn't. Well, Logan, that is life, it just isnt' fair sometimes :)

Logan's 3rd and final birthday celebration was yesterday at Steve's mom's. With his birthday being two days after Christmas, it is hard for everyone to get together and to even get him a gift. I think next year I am going to postpone his birthday until March/April when there isn't so much going on. It is just so overwhelming for everyone but especially for Logan. Ah December birthdays... January isn't any better LOL.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and was able to spend some time with family and friends and maybe watch a little football.

Happy Monday and may this week go fast for you.

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love to all,

Poor Little Man...

so this morning poor little Logan had to go for his 4 year check up. Everything was fine and he was super good for the doctor, until they told him he had to get shots. Then it all broke out. Little tears were coming down his face and he kept saying he didn't want shots, he didn't want any. He wound up getting 3 and he wasn't happy in the least bit. He kept saying Brayden lied to him because Brayden had told him that he wasn't going to get shots, I know Brayden was just trying to keep him calm, but Brayden know has a little brother made at him :)... Poor little guy, I felt so bad for him. I hugged and kissed him and then it was Grandma's turn, I know he was going to get plenty of loving today.

Big happy hour tonight at mom's. Bill always has a happy hour on a Friday the 13th and this time is double fun because Case leaves tomorrow :(... He heads back to school and back to work. He will not be home until summer and only then it will be like 2 weeks. But we all know it is something he can not pass up by any means - so proud of him.

And then a regular weekend of soccer games, cleaning, laundry, football games, working out, homework, library, etc.... It is what life is and I love it!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and is staying warm. I think we are suppose to have a warm up soon, hopefully!

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love and happiness to all,

Smiling Memory

first off, I can't believe it has been about seven days since I last posted. Life is just whirling by, on a fast train and just need to slow down and take a breather. Ever since New Year's been busy with birthday parties, regular parties, indoor soccer for both boys, new job at work for me which entails a lot more stress and classes, which I'll talk about later :), Steve busy at work, homework, and every day living. I will say one thing though, with the exception of today, I have been loving this weather. This is the kind of winter I have been talking about. Warm enough for the kids to go outside and play and release some of their built up energy. That is the problem with winter when it is really cold, being cooped up in the house for so long. Our basement isn't finished and it is nice because it allows the boys to ride their bikes and run around like mad men that they are. Someday though, when that money tree grows bigger it will be finished LOL...

So this morning on my way to work, I heard the song "Michelle" by the Beetles. It brought up a wonderful memory of dad's dear old friend, Ed (Ratzi). Everytime I would see him he would sing this song to me. I can picture him at the bar stool at the Turf Club or the Hut, and he would just sign away. At first the memory made me sad, but then I just started smiling and started remembering those good ole'days. Where dad played softball, where there was such a crowd of great people gathered at the softball field or at Turf Club or the Hut and all of us kids just running around like kids do. It was a time before people were judged about having a child in a bar, before seat belts were enforced, and a time where Latonia Bakery was da'bomb!

It made me laugh and just miss all of the old times. What great family friends we have made over the years and it is just a tribute to mom and dad that I am able to have such fond memories of my childhood. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

So the white death is upon us. People are getting crazy, asking if we are closing early when there isn't even a snowflake fallen yet! Oh, the joy of SNOW!

I hope everyone is doing well. I hope you are enjoying time with your family and friends and I hope there are days where you have a smiling memory of a loved one that has gone too soon. Don't get me wrong, I still have a lot of sad days, and my heart aches every day for dad, but it is so nice every once in a while to have that Smiling Memory!!

Be Careful out there today! - Watch out for the crazies!!

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love and happiness to all,

New Year!

first off HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. As much as I love Christmas and being with family and friends and being able to spend the days with the boys I was looking forward by the 3rd to some type of normalcy. We had a GREAT holiday - couldn't ask for it to be better, well except to have dad here and Casey home!

We had our 1st Neighborhood party since we have lived where we are at. We have gone to others before but we have never hosted one before. I owe my wonderful husband a big great THANK YOU for allowing me to have it and for doing most of the cleaning. Before a party I do the lowest cleaning possible, I make sure the bathrooms are clean, the house is straightened and it doesn't smell from the boys, not Steve, he went into full force cleaning mode, he cleaned everything from top to bottom. He did such a great job that I need to have parties more often :) He isn't one into having people over to our home because he feels like they would get bored. I explain to him everytime we don't have to entertain people, don't have to do things, some of the best times are just sitting around drinking and talking - and that is exactly what we did - it was a great time!!!

New Year's Eve was pretty mellow- We went over to mom's and Sean and Jeremy were both there with their families but since Steve and I drank so much the night before at the Neighbors party, Saturday was just blah. As Lisa said, Well I am glad that we get the dud Sannings :)... I also had a horrible tooth ache that just wouldn't subside, but the kids were there and we had fun. It was nice to be with family and I was where I wanted to be. And now it is back to the ole'grind. Woo Hoo!

I am glad to get back to some type of normalcy though. I hated taking down the Christmas tree and lights because now it makes the house look blah. January and February were always blah months anyway!

Saturday is the big football game - Go Bengals!!!! We are all going to mom's to watch it and to celebrate Logan's and Olivia's birthday and we will get to see Casey - yeah, so excited!

I hope everyone is having a great first week back. For a short week, it sure has been a long week!

Happy Thursday!

Miss and love you dad ~ so much.

Much love and happiness to all....