Checking back in on Derby Day 2010

Well, it has been almost 6 months since I posted anything on here. Today is Derby Day and last year I spent Derby Day with Carol in her house in Louisville. We decided that if she still lived there this year we were going to go to the Derby but that isn't the way it turned out...thankfully. She is living down the road from me. It has been raining in Louisville all day and beautiful here. I am sure that all the people having Derby Parties in there homes are having a good time reguardless of the weather. Those were fun time but last year Carol got all my money and this year I got to keep it :)

This was the only horse photo I had in my pictures so it will have to do...

NOVEMBER 2009

It has been 2 years since Robin died and it will be 2 years since Mom died later this month.

I have not had one moment since then that I felt bad for either of them. I am convinced that they are both in Heaven and happy to be there. There have been many times that I have wanted to call each of them, to tell them something or to ask a question but am quick to realize I can't and what I had to say wasn't all that important anyway.

Many people morn the loss of there love ones because they were so close and the person that died was such a big part of their everyday life. Other people morn because they didn't spend time with that person when they were alive and are regreting that choice.

Next week I will be going to Kentucky to help Carol close the sale of our childhood home. This was my parents "dream house", the address I lived at for the first 19 years of my life, the grandparents home that I brought my babies to visit and much, much more. We will miss being able to go back there but I realize that what we will miss is not the location but the experience we shared there. We will always have those memories. We will always remember the love. We are who we are today, living in the present and very greatful for being so blessed, as a result of the past.

HALLOWEEN CUTIES

Chloe was a Ladybug.

Troy was a Member of a Gym.

Bryce was 1/2 Angle and 1/2 Devil.

Hunter was an Indian.

Maison, Anna and Sarah haven't sent photos yet but if they do I will be sure to post them.

I always loved seeing the kids all dressed up and having fun on Halloween! Good job guys.

31 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE

We will be staying in this condo in Bavaria for a week in September. I am not even taking a bathing suit because I am sure I would freeze to death in that water.

I will try to post photos of the hotels we will be in while we are in Frankfurt and the other condo in Berlin later.

MAY YOU ALL BE COFFEE!

A good friend sent this story to me today. I haven't heard it before but liked it and thought you might like it too.

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling... It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.... Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.''Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY

Todd and Christa are celebrating their 9th Anniversay today.

Congratulations!!!

ROBIN (aka The Princess)

On May 31, 2009 Robin would have turned 60. Robin and 60 just don't seem to fit together. Even when she was sick and couldn't think things through she always seemed young at heart. She was the "fun" kid. She was the teenager that had confidence in herself. She was the young mother that loved her girls totally. In business, she proved over and over that she could get the job and get it done even when they tried to tell her she didn't have the education or qualifications they needed. She always loved having people around and appreciated those who came to visit. Being on time was not her style. About 10days before she died she told me that Jesus was coming soon. I told her that I thought some of us might get to see him sooner than others. This once, I think she was more than on time she was ready early and she is with him now.