February's 10 on 10

I fully intended to do 10 on 10 again this month, even wrote it on my calendar, and still I forgot.  BUT...in an effort to turn over a new leaf, I decided to not completely scrap it, but just do it when I remembered.  So....this is our Tuesday, February 14...10 on the 14th:

5 AM - Some days I hop out of bed and skip off to the gym, happy to be out in the dark, freezing cold. This day was not one of those days.

 7 AM - Another "must" start to my day

 8 AM - Aiden's favorite meal of the day...sometimes its at 8, sometimes its at 10...whenever he gets up

 11 AM - sipping on tea, trying to warm up while working

 2 PM - a sleeping baby

 except I had him pose for that last one because I wasn't about to sneak into his room while he was actually sleeping and risk waking him up....he got into it, so here he is posing again :)

 3 PM - the school girl is home and changed, showing us all her Valentine's.

 4 PM - Voice lessons

 5 PM - third potty stop along the road in 25 minutes...finally figured out Aiden had been sipping a water bottle the whole trip

 6 PM - much anticipated trip to the library to see Dolphin Tale

 8 PM - Daddy's home from work!

 9 PM - all ready for bed in the "outfit" he and daddy figured out...upon request, the shoes stayed on all night.

Wednesday's Walk

Today's walk goes back to Christmas 2006.  Baby Amanda received a bear from her cousin and it quickly became a favorite among the stuffed-animal kingdom.

Since Avery already had Teddy, this friend quickly became Bear.  Amanda slept with him, talked to him, had tea with him, confided in him, laughed with him, cried with him.  She loved to suck on his satin ribbon and stick it up her nose as she drifted off to sleep.

Bear became so necessary to a good night's sleep that we ruled he must not leave her bed.  Over the years we got lax with that rule and so he started to become more a part of everyday life.

 In December, he met with a very sad fate....he mistakenly got locked in the dog's cage...with the dog!  In true Bear fashion, he just turned the other cheek, taking the abuse without fighting back.

 When we found him, we were devastated.  Amanda, bless her heart still wanted to sleep with him, but it was clear something needed to be done.

I began to scour the Internet for a teddy bear hospital, not even knowing if fixing him would be possible.  I sent before and after pictures to several places (five? six?).  I heard back from two and they were accepting new patients beginning in May and July.

After getting discouraged about not hearing back from the other places, I finally thought of Etsy.  I came across a lady who said she'd been doing it for 30 years and had made over 20,000 animals!  After making an inquiry, I got an almost immediate response from her saying "I can help you!"

I was a little afraid to send him off, but Sally reassured me and I also didn't have much to lose.  Amanda was NOT happy about sending him away, but the post office lady was very helpful in assuring her Bear would be fine.

She stamped him "fragile", put a get well soon sticker on the package and also a sticker of a polar bear so he'd have some company on his journey.

 After a couple weeks, a box (not an envelope!!) came in the mail!  Our entire family was so very happy to see Bear's face again.

Turns out Sally (totally recommend her!!) has worked for Ty and was able to find a new bear, even before she saw his face...she knows her bears!!  There wasn't much that was salvageable, so she ended up taking the belly, or the "heart" as I've been telling Amanda, and sewing it on the new one.

I have confidence that in no time he will be mangy and smelly and well loved on like the old Bear.

2006

 2012

Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.

Proverbs 17:17

Happy Valentine's Day

It matters not to me that Valentine's Day is not a "real" holiday and that it is heavily commercialized...I love that much of the world stops for a brief moment to appreciate those they love.  And hey...why not add some red and pink goodness to an otherwise dreary February.


If I can speak beautifully and sing like an angel, but don't love others, I sound like a child banging on a piano or a screeching radio.  If I'm very smart--almost a genius--but don't love others, I am nothing.

LOVE will stand in line and wait its turn.
LOVE looks for the good in others.
LOVE doesn't always want what others have, and it doesn't brag about what it does have.
LOVE is polite, even when the other person is rude.
LOVE doesn't have to be first.
LOVE doesn't get angry over small things, and it doesn't remember one reason after another to be hurt.
LOVE isn't happy when someone else fails but is happy with the truth.
LOVE will always protect others, especially those who are often picked on or teased.
LOVE always believes the best about others and is steady and true.

Love never gives up.

Project 365, Week 6

What a week!  I don't always realize it while we are in the thick of it, but then I look back at seven days and realize all that went on.  

We are still at the height of tax season....most days are fine, but then it will hit me that I really miss Shaun.  Most days the kids get 10 minutes with him in the morning and that's it.  Aiden espeically misses him...he's not getting nearly enough man time.

February 5

Sunday was Shaun's first time off in several weeks...he only had to work 12-5.  We took advantage of it, heading down the street to breakfast.

Later, we went to church with Shaun while he worked on sound "stuff"...we were just anxious to be in the same air space with him and the kids can find fun just about anywhere they go!

 The girls were thrilled to help with the mic checks.

 February 6
I hadn't seen my sister since Christmas, so we met at the park for a little while....  The kids sold us ice cream while we sipped on coffee.

Amanda faithfully makes her bed everyday before she stumbles downstairs for the day...no small chore with all those friends.  :)

February 7
Tap class!  Amanda gets especially distracted when I watch her class, so I only sneak in once in a while.  She will continually peek over at me, wave, smile, mouth words to me...so sweet but not helpful to the class.

February 8
My mom came to watch the kids, giving me an afternoon break from single-parenthood.

February 9

Shaun got out of work early and we all headed to church for a night of dress rehearsal.  Shaun worked on all the sound projects and I took pictures.  The kids were perfect...and up until 12:30!

February 10

After school, the girls got packed up and ready to go to Pop & Kiki's house for the weekend while Shaun worked and I headed out to a photographer's workshop.

I met and had dinner with 17 other photographers.

 February 11
The workshop was called "Walk Through a Wedding", so we had many elements of a wedding to photograph.

 February 12
The workshop was just 20 minutes from Shaun's sister's house, so I got to stay with them.  It was a very brief visit between the two nights, but still nice to see them for a bit and enjoy a warm breakfast.

Shaun was at church from 8 am to 12 am, getting ready for the Lost in Vegas show.  It was so good to see him when I stopped by at 10:30 pm on the way home from the workshop.  I stayed and helped tear down for a little bit until just before I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do the 30 minute drive home.

Any chance we can have another Saturday and Sunday before we get too much further into Monday?  No?  Alright...guess I'll just dive in then!

Have a great week!