Hello World

 

 

In the midst of the battle raging around me, when I feel like I can’t face another day, I listen to the words of this song and remember what matters most in my life…a little girl named Emma.  One smile from her sweet face and the light and hope surrounds me once again … hello world!
 

    

Traffic crawls, cell phone calls
Talk radio screams at me through my tinted window I see
A little girl, rust red minivan, shes got chocolate on her face
Got little hands and she waves at me
Yeah, she smiles at me

Well, hello world
How you been
Good to see you, my old friend
Sometimes I feel cold as steel
Broken like Im never gonna heal
And I see a light, a little hope in a little girl
Hello world

Every day I drive by a little white church
Its got these little white crosses
Like angels in the yard
Maybe I should stop on in, say a prayer
Maybe talk to God like he is there
Oh, I know hes there
Yeah, I know hes there

Well hello world
How you been
Good to see you, my old friend
Sometimes I feel as cold as steel
And broken like Im never gonna heal
And I see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurls
Well hello world

Sometimes I forget what livings for
And I hear my life through my front door
And I breathe it in
Oh, Im home again
And I see my life
 and a little girl
Hello world
Hello world

Well the empty disappears
I remember why Im here
Just surrender and believe
I fall down on my knees
Well hello world
Hello world
Hello world

Dedicated to my little Emma Bean…may I never lose sight of the beatiful gift I’ve been given! 

Trying to Find the Balance

Hello my dear friends!

I haven’t had time to blog anything significant lately so I thought I would take a little time today to try to catch up.  Life has been keeping me a little too busy these days and I miss my time on spaces and my visits to all of you.  My job is much busier than I thought it would be and more times than not, I’m working full time instead of part time.  I do love it, however and Emma is doing well and adjusting to her new surroundings.  I am so thankful that I can just walk down the hall and peek in on her when I’m missing her, which is all the time of course.

Emma and I are leaving next Saturday to go home to Virginia Beach for a week and am getting very excited.  I originally wanted to go for two weeks but that was before I went back to work and didn’t want to push it by asking for two weeks off after only being there a month.  I have a wonderful boss and everyone gets along so well with each other making it a very pleasurable work environment.  The time flies by so fast now that I find myself wondering where the week went.

Earl and I are still trying to make things work.  We don’t see much of each other, however as he is working in Oswego which is almost 2 hours away so he is only home on the weekends but I think the time apart has helped us gain a better perspective on things.  We have a long way to go but things are definitely better than they were.

On Labor Day, Emma and I went for a drive to Sackets Harbor which is a historical battlefield and the harbor is fed by Lake Ontario.  It is very beautiful and peaceful there and we had a great day.  I will leave you with some photos of our adventure and I hope everyone is enjoying a safe and happy weekend.  I love and miss you all!

Following the outbreak of war between the United States and Great Britain in June 1812, Sackets Harbor became the center of American naval and military activity for the upper St. Lawrence Valley and Lake Ontario.In an attempt to destroy the American shipyard, a British-Canadian force launched an attack on May 29, 1813, while the majority of the American forces were attacking Fort George. In December 1814, the Treaty of Ghent officially ended the War of 1812, and the fleet was placed in storage. After the war the earthen fortifications were graded off and the battlefield reverted to farmland.

     

     

     

        

Be good to yourself and enjoy the last bit of Summer!

Happy Birthday Dad

 

 

My father passed away 4 and half years ago and not a day has passed that I have not thought of him.

Today is his birthday and I just wanted him to know it was not forgotten.

 

Happy Birthday Dad!

 

You are loved and missed today and every day.

 

 

 

This and That

 

Family  Matters 

 

As many of you know, there has been alot going on in my life these past 7 months that has caused much heartache and stress.  As all of you have been so very supportive during this time, I wanted to bring everyone up to date on what has been decided.

 

Yesterday was the date of the pre-trial that would have involved the introduciton of the divorce papers and a temporary custody decision for Emma.  However, after a long and difficult discussion, Earl and I both informed our attorneys to withdraw our petitions.  So instead of attending court yesterday, we attended our first counseling session to try to rebuild our lives.

 

It is obvious that we have a long road ahead of us, but I feel that we owed each other and, most of all, Emma the opportunity to try one last time to see if we can make it work.  We have been getting along much better the past few weeks and the counseling session was difficult but encouraging.  It will take much patience and "baby steps" but I am hopeful that we can do this.  Please keep us in your prayers and I appreciate all the continued support I receive from so many of you.

 

Birthday Fun

 

Yesterday was also Earl’s Birthday.  After the counseling session, we went to dinner together and enjoyed each other’s company for the first time in a very long time.  Then we went to Grandma’s to pick up Emma and have birthday cake.  She makes a German choclate cake from scratch that was her mother’s recipi. All day long, Emma looked forward to blowing out the candles on his birthday cake as she now associates a birthday with birthday candles so she was delighted when at long last the moment arrived.

 

 

We bought Daddy an American flag and mounting kit that he has been wanting for the front porch, so Emma had to have a flag too.

 

 

Going Home

 

Emma and I will be flying home to Virignia Beach the last two weeks in September.  Her Nana and brothers will be so surprised to see how much she has grown as we haven’t been home since last May.

I am so excited…I miss my kids, my Mom and sister so much.  I have a grandaughter that was born in January and my great niece that was born in May to see for the first time as well as my grandaughter Chloe who was born two months before Emma…it will be wonderful!

Here some updated photos of my great neice who was born in May; little Chelse Elizabeth is a doll and I can’t wait to meet her.  I haven’t received any new photos of my new grandaughter so I’ll be taking lots of pictures when I go home as well as giving my son a big lecture…LOL!

 

 

 

Weather and Emma

 

The weather here has been so nice.  The past four days haven’t gotten out of the 60’s and the rest of the week is calling for the low 70’s.

We have only seen temps above 80 four times…I love it!

Emma and I get out and enjoy the beautiful weather as often as we can and she enjoyed going shoe shopping ove the weekend.

Shoes and hats…I hear the fashion runway calling already!

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and that life is treating you kindly!

 

Me and my girl!

 

Hugs to all from me and Emma!

 

In Memory of my Father

 

FATHERS ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE

Helen Steiner Rice

Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should…

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills…

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "HIS IMAGE"
As protector and provider
And "hero or the scrimmage"…

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad’s heart,
Where no one else can see
You’ll find he’s sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be…

But he’s so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife…

But Fathers are just WONDERFUL
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolade of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness…

And like OUR HEAVENLY FATHER,
He’s a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on
To be ALWAYS ON OUR SIDE.

 

Happy Fathers Day with Love!

Spring has Sprung

 

I believe Spring has finally began to stick around for a while here in the North Country.  Temps have been in the 60’s for almost a week now so it looks like we are on our way.  I spent some time out in the yard on Wednesday while Earl was assembling Emma’s new swing set and took some photos of my flowers, plants, birds and other things that brightened my day.

So I thought I would share my day with my beautiful friends here…hope it brightens your day too!

 

  

Emma’s Surprise…whee!

    

My daisies

   

My Hosta

    

Another few days and lilacs should be in full bloom…the shasta daisies are one of my favorites.

It was a beautiful Spring day with warm sunshine and a cool breeze that swayed through the pines; the birds were singing and all was right with the world.

   

Pine trees and our faithful Gold Finches

     

My flower beds and rhubarb

That completes the tour of a beautiful Spring day in my little corner of the world…thanks for visiting. 

I will leave you with my favorite picture of all…my happy go lucky little girl…love you Emma!

 

A smile is worth a thousand words!

 

An Expected Arrival and an Unexpected Visitor

 

On May 5, 2009, I became the proud Great Aunt to Chelsea Elizabeth.

My only niece, Haylie Elizabeth, gave birth to a healthy baby girl of 7 lbs. and 4 oz.

I received these on my cell phone so they are not very clear

but will post more as I get them.  I did a little editing on the 2nd one. 

The hospital photos look great but the site won’t let me copy and paste.

 

 

 

 

A few days ago, we received an unexpected visitor.  A baby red squirell must have fallen out of the nest.

While my husband was outside, the little fellow came running out form under his truck and attempted to climb up his boot as if to say, "help me please".

He spent the night in a shoebox on our dining room table and the next morning we sat the box under a tree where we could see the Mama Squirell scampering around.  After an hour she had seemed to cover the whole yard except where the baby was waiting.  We ended up taking the little guy to a rehab center that specializes in caring for these types of animals and then release them back into their natural habitat.

When he is ready to be released, they are going to call so we can let him go back on the property; with a little luck he just might find his way back to his family.  It was a real treat to hold this little one as I have never seen a baby squirell up close and personal; he is about 3-4 weeks old.

 

 

  

I’ll keep you updated on his progress.

Both arrival and visitor were welcome additions to our family!

Postponed Again

 

 

I am discouraged beyond words floating in a well of decisions still to be made.

Once again, the trial was postponed due to a lack of paperwork being submitted that was required in order for the judge to render a decision. 

 

For me, this means living with the uncertainty of my future until June 17th, which will again be considered a pre-trial measure for resolution before moving on to the actual trial process.  I prayed very hard that God would give the Judge wisdom and provide me with the courage and strength to handle whatever the outcome would be so I have to have faith and believe that it was postponed fora reason yet unknown to me.

 

So, I continue to wait, to love my little girl with all of my heart and to pray.

Thank you all for your prayers and for always being here when I need encourage and support.  God has blessed me with each and every one of you!

 

 

 

Say a Little Prayer

 

Many of you know that I have been to court three times now in regards to the custody suit over little Emma…each one has been postponed for one reason or another.  Tomorrow morning we are due in court again and I am praying that this time there will be resolve of some type.  These past three months of waiting and not knowing have been the hardest three months of my life…Emma is my life!

 

Once again I call upon my dear friends to say a little prayer tonight and keep us in your thoughts.  My heart is heavy and my stomach is in knots and I can think of nothing else right now.  Thank you for all the words of encouragement and yoursupport and prayers over these past few months…it has meant more to me than you will ever know.

 

 

Update

 

I’m sorry that I’ve waited so long to post an update and I appreciate all of you who have visited and emailed asking how things turned out.

 

For the 3rd time, this has been postponed which just means more waiting and that has been the hardest part about all of this and I have been too frustrated and upset to blog before now.

 

Earl’s attorney served my attorney with "discovery and demands" late yesterday afternoon which means a ton of paperwork that I have to complete before the case can go before the judge.  I can’t understand why all of this wasn’t submitted earlier, but the same thing happened last month; she didn’t get the documents that my attorney requested done in time for that hearing.

 

I’m trying to take a deep breath and brace myself for another month of worrying and waiting…I have no words to explain just how hard that part is for me.  The next trial date has been scheduled for May 4th.

I was really hoping to be able to go home and see my family this month, but again, that will be put on hold.  I haven’t even been able to see my new grandaughter that was born in January yet.

 

Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers and it looks like I’ll continue to need those prayers for a while longer.

 

It snowed ALL DAY and is still snowing…I think Spring has deserted us here this year.  The high temperature barely reached 20 degrees and the strong winds made it feel like the middle of January.  I’ll try to take another photo in the morning; just wasn’t up to it today.

 

I hope you all are doing well and hopefully it is warmer on your part of the map…LOL!

 

Big hugs to one and all!