Friendships are a Blessing

I could sit here and type all of my frustrations to get it out of my system. OR I could lie and act like my life is perfect and nothing bothers me. I am choosing to do neither. Instead, I am going to blog about how amazing my friends are. This will get my mind off the 'crap' that I am dealing with on a day to day basis with my son, even if it is only for a short time.

I look at the lives of others and see how lonely they are. Even if they have one good friend, it isn't enough. Not many people are as blessed as I am to have the friendships I have. Everyone should be so lucky.

Jamie, my soul sister, calls me every once in a while to touch base with me. She out of all of my friends knows what makes my heart soar and break. We are so in-tune with each other that it is hard for others to understand. We may hardly ever see each other or spend much time on the phone but I do know that she is always and forever there, hoping the best for me, praying for me.....just as I do for her.

Rachel is my butch....just kidding. Actually Rachel is my 'tell it like it is' friend. She has always been that way. Never does she tip toe around anything nor does she put up with much drama. I love her ability to stand her ground and hold fast to what she believes in. Her humor is hysterical.

Melinda and I hardly ever see each other or get to talk anymore. But she is there if I need to call her just as I am for her. She helped me have a voice and stand up for myself. She helped me with my self confidence and with the knowledge that I do not have to put up with things if I do not want too.

Diane is my peeping Tom neighbor....and I wouldn't want it any other way. I adore her. We have so much in common that it freaks me out sometimes! LOL! I have learned a lot from her these past few years and I appreciate all she does and all she is.

Heather makes a great boss as well as friend. And it isn't often that work/friend relationships work out for very long. But I know that with Heather and I being friends now for over 22 years that we can get along through every situation and our friendship is worth too much to let anything get in our way. We have over come many obstacles and always come out on top.

Erika has become my right hand girl. We are pretty good at keeping each other from falling too far. And, we also have a lot in common. We make great friends/business partners and I know we have a great future in store for us. She is an inspiration to me and I love that she is so positive and understanding.

Jennifer G. is just the best. Her humor....her understanding....she always brings me back to the positive when I am feeling the outweighing negativity. I love Zumba with her and spending time with Jessi. Although our Wednesday therapy days do not happen every week, that is ok. When they do happen we have a great time.

I have such a good time when I get to hang with Sally. It isn't often that we get to spend time together but when we do, we laugh hard and LOUD. I love her creativity and her silliness. She is very loyal and understanding.

I have other friends that I love to death like; Kathy F, Yvonne, Linda, Wendi, Heather (Shawn's sister), Shani, Angel, Christine, Missy, Nicole and many more. Friends that live far away, friends that are just so busy. Don't get me wrong, I do not consider all those facebook people my friends. If anything the ones I do not see or really know on a personal level are just there for business related reasons, otherwise I would delete them.

I know after all these years that you do not need to talk to or see your friends every day, once a week, or once a month for that matter. As long as you have both have trust, honesty, and love there is no selfishness, no envy, no worries, no insecurities and no possessiveness at all. I love my friends, I love that they have friendships outside of me. But most of all, I love when they succeed, when they are happy and full of joy and when they decide to share it with me. My friends and I are solid. And I am so blessed to know each and every one of them and to be a part of their lives as they are a part of mine.

What I am thankful for today:
my friends
laughter
girls night to The Melting Pot (which is coming soon)
my store
my family
my kids
my pets
the gym
compliments
confidence
security
fun
time
my blogs
customers
scrapbooking
God
peace
patience
love
Shawn
my health
the health of my loved ones
angels
signs from above
Linda and The Healing Place
strength
my brother allowing me to use his SUV
my dad fixing my Jeep
Jim Carrey
energy
a free spirit
the power to choose your mood
positive thinking
money
music
my parents
my bed
hot showers
coffee
a walk/talk with Heather today
every lasting friendships

Emotional Rollercoaster

This week has been an emotional rollercoaster for me. I know God only gives us what we can handle and all I can say to that is, he has a lot more faith in me than I do. Today I cried and actually didn't want to get out of bed. I feel like I am hanging on by a thread and all I want to do is let go. But, I can't let go nor would I. Trying to cope with the stresses of a majorly depressed 11 year old son is so trying. All I want to do is make it better and I can't, especially when I am starting to fall apart.

Checking facebook today my sister-in-law posted a quote that I really needed to see. Here is what she wrote: "Life`s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. They are supposed to help you discover who you are." -Bernice Johnson-Reagon

Maybe I will discover that I am stronger than I thought. I already know that this experience has taught me the patience and the understanding that Shawn has with me and my situation. Instead of being angry because of the lack of time we get to spend together, he is empathetic to my situation. And my friends are the best friends anyone could ever ask for. My family feels my pain and tries so hard to help where they can. I am so blessed. 


Now to just keep my head up and keep praying. I pray for Gavin that he starts to heal. I pray that all of those affected by his emotions have the patience we need to get through all of this. I pray for only positive people to surround me and my family. I pray for sleep and for energy. May my health stay strong and my spirit feel enlightened again. 


What I am thankful for today:
my health
my friends
my family
my pets
Makenna's successful party today
a great store meeting this morning
the block option on facebook
laughter
love
Shawn
prayers
kindness
smiles
rainbows
therapists
chocolate
sunshine
my store
my pets
The Center
the rain
scrapbooking
awesome neighbors
seeing a light at the end of the tunnel...hopefully soon

April 10th

Lately things have been looking up for Gavin, Craig and I. Gavin actually went school with no issues on Friday. Although he has only been to therapy once, already he is starting to apply the tips and tools that the therapist gave him. Now we just have to hope it stays that way.

I had a great week. Working at the gym was fun, my workouts have been really good, and I am feeling good about getting stuff done around my house. Never did we get mulch for the yard last year so it is nice to see the front of the house all nicely mulched with the Easter/Spring flowers in bloom. I love the black. It really shows the colors of the flowers well.

I am working on the Happy Inspirational Scrappin Blog again. My sister-in-law has some great ideas that she is sharing with us soon. The blog's background is now a rainbow and everything on the blog revolves around that theme. I am excited to start it up in May. We already have a new follower!

Church this morning was awesome. And, another person came up to me and thanked me for my 'sermon' a few months back. They said it inspired them. WOW! That is two people that I didn't know that have thanked me for that. I was hoping to touch just one person...but two! How exciting.

My life is changing and it is because I am filtering out the negativity.....in situations, in people, in my life. The quote I picked for the HIS Challenge that starts in May is:    
People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light from within.

~ Elizabeth Kübler-Ross ~

The reason I chose it was because I used to be the stained glass that only looked nice in the sun. But now because I have God's light within, I can shine even in the dark. People do notice.....and my Pastor even mentioned this during her message this morning. People do notice when one is living with God as their light. I am hoping that I can shine on everyone who is around me and show them what God can do for them.

What I am thankful for today:
taxes being done
my children
my friends
my family
quality time
laughter
my jobs
money
my pets
laughter
Ghost Hunters
my health and the health of my loved ones
love
music
a girls night being scheduled soon!
scrapbooking
challenges
life lessons
Stampin Up!
the funny things kids say
clean laundry
sunset
new customers
coffee
Shawn
jewelry
God
the power of prayer
my future

Fundraiser for Lincoln Elementary School

Today was such a blast. I got to scrapbook all day with a bunch of amazing ladies. Believe it or not, I have never gone anywhere for an all day crop. I have attended the ones at my store, but never anywhere else. The food was amazing, they had great prizes and the people were so nice. I cannot believe I lasted 10 hours! We are hoping that this fundraiser was a success for Lincoln Elementary. Anything our store can do to help, we will.

Here is what I got done:

What I am thankful for today:
time to enjoy scrappin with my friends
fundraisers
my pets
my children
my friends
my family
creativity
inspiration
the sunshine
quality time
a fun day tomorrow
my store
my customers
being surrounded by confident, positive people
the gym
scrapbook challenges
The Secret
the gift certificate I won to Melt (totally making that a girls night out!)
love
laughter
Shawn
flowers
rainbows
signs from above
confidence
peace