Getting the Holidays Started

The girls Daisy and Brownie Troop got the Holiday Season started early December by doing come caroling at one of the local retirement homes. The girls went and sang and after we headed to Avanti's to get something to eat and do an ornament exchange. What a great way to kick off our holiday fun!!

Here are some highlights of the day:

A little practice first.

Singing some carols.

Ainsley and her friend Lyla. They may have done more talking then singing:)

Ordering our food.

Kaylee and Avery. Avery got Kaylee's ornament.

Ainsley got Tatums ornament.

Lyla got Ainsley's ornament.

Of course Kaylee and Grace. This is as serious a picture as these two will take:)

It was a fun day and a fun way to kick off December!

Duffy Wedding 2012

In November my youngest brother, Brandon, got married to Nichole. This was our third November wedding  in a row. Apparently my siblings all enjoy November weddings. We had Brian and Sarah in 2010, Katie and Jason in 2011 and Brandon and Nichole in 2012. It definitely makes it easier to remember:).

I picked some of the photos to recap the day.

                       Nichole getting her make-up done. It's hard to see the back of her sweatshirt well but it says       Mrs. Duffy with the year on it. Super cute!!

The photographer took this photo of Ainsley at the hotel while she was there getting some pre-ceremony shots. I absolutely love this photo!!

Ainsley, the flower girl, with the beautiful bride! I think Nichole was one of the prettiest brides I've seen!

 My little brother, Brandon, and Brad. It's funny to think that when Brad and I first started dating Brandon was 8:) Almost the same age as Kaylee is now:)

My newest Sister-n-law and I.

Skyeler and Kaylee with their Aunt Nichole.

Kaylee and Skyeler ready to hand out the programs.

The Ring Bearer and Flower Girl getting ready to walk down the aisle.

Jr. wanted to stop and pick-up all of the pedals that Ainsley was dropping:) Ainsley quickly took control of the situation:)

Cousins:)

The nice thing about being in weddings together is another chance to walk down the aisle together:)

Having a little fun!

I love this photo! The expressions on everyone are amazing!

Groom, Groomsmen and Ushers

Bridal Party

Bride and Bridesmaids

The happy couple.

 The Duffy Family (my Dad's side).

My immediate family on my Dad's side. Parents, siblings and their spouses and kids.

Dad, Sallie, Brandon, Nichole, Katie and me.

My Ainsley Isabella. Beautiful.

The Schelle side of the family.

Siblings

 Dancing with my little brother:) Love him!

Getting down on the dance floor. Uncle Brandon showing Ainsley some moves.

Sisters

I love to dance! I don't discriminate, adults or kids, I will dance!

Break it down Ainsley!

Love

My family!

Such a fun weekend! Maybe not Sunday so much:) Haha! We loved, and were honored, to be part of Brandon and Nichole's special day!

Calling all the Monsters

In October Kaylee and a couple of her friends participated in a dance clinic put on by the Kingsley Jr. High School Dance Team. 

Kaylee and her friends Ava and Grace.

Dancing at half-time.

This was the dance team member, Gena, who was Kaylee's group coach. Ironically I work with Gena's Mom and went to Jr. High and High School with her.

The girls did a great job and it was really fun to watch!

Little Green Bowl

Every morning, during the work week, I hug my family good-bye, wish them a great day, tell them I love them and to my girls I tell them I will see them when they get off the bus in the afternoon. I leave them to get dressed, brush teeth and eat breakfast with their Daddy; then I go into the garage to get in the van and leave to go to work. Every morning that I do this I see a little green bowl on some shelves. How that little green bowl got there or what it is currently being used for, I don't know. I do know, however, what it was used for once upon a time.

That bowl was once used to mix the first rice cereal my girls would eat. The bowl graduated to holding such precious items as sweet potatoes, pears, peas, plums and eventually cheerios and puffs. It's a bowl that brings these memories back to my mind and to my heart every morning that I get into my van. It's something that reminds me of where we once were, where we are now, and think of where we are going.

The little green bowl has strangely become part of my morning routine. It's become a comfort to me and makes me smile. Although some days I would like to hit a rewind button and have that bowl back in my cupboard I enjoy it on the shelf. As I said before I don't know what it's current use is, but I know the warmth it brings to my heart. While it was once used to help me nourish my children, it now helps to nourish my soul.

Thankful

The turkey has been carved and the cranberries passed. Another great Thanksgiving is over. I love this time of year, not just because the extra days off of work but because of the reflection that happens as we stop and reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful to God for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon me. I am thankful for a kind and supportive husband who protects us, provides for us and always puts us first. Two beautiful and healthy girls who challenge me and have taught me more about love and being selfless then I ever thought possible. I'm thankful for  a warm home, cars to take us where we need to be and food to keep us energized.

I am thankful for wonderful parents who support us and help us with our girls. Thankful for a Mom who loves to shop as much as I do, who knows my girls as well as I do and who has always stood by my side and never left me. I am thankful for a Dad who connects with my girls through humor and comes to tumbling almost every Monday to get some time with them. I am thankful for siblings and their spouses that we have so much fun with whether it be traveling or game nights. I am thankful that we have turned from siblings to friends and that they love our kids dearly.

I am thankful for cousins who are friends and who have blessed me with an adorable Godson.

I am thankful for friends, friends that have been with me for over 1/2 my life and friends who have come into my life as an adult.

I am thankful for a dog who keeps my feet warm while I watch TV or read the paper.

I am thankful for memories and wisdom of those who came before me and are now watching from above.

The list could go on and on. My heart runneth over!!

I hope that as you gathered with your loved ones you took a moment, or two, to reflect on what you are thankful for and that some of what you were thankful for was with you.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Halloween!!

Hard to believe Halloween has come and gone and we are well on our way to Thanksgiving! This year for Halloween Kaylee chose to be a sock-hop girl and Ainsley chose Blueberry Muffin. Our Halloween festivities started with the traditional Towanda Elementary School parade.

All of the classes and teachers parade around the block. When they get back to the school they do a big school photo.

This year I am Ainsley's class co-room parent. After the parade the classes have their room parties. We did a craft, a game and had a snack.

Ainsley's kindergarten class. Her teacher dressed as Pinkalicious. A favorite of ours!

After school we went up to my Dad and Sallie's and had dinner. All the grandkids posed for the traditional photo by the big jack-o-lantern. I think this was the best I got of all 7 mostly looking at the camera:).

My girls! 

We did some trick-or-treating and headed home. I wish that they would just make Halloween the last Saturday in October so that it didn't have to be on a school night. Although it was a little chilly they still got a pretty good loot!

Unfair!

I haven't posted in awhile, huh? I have a few in progress with fun fall photos and all but haven't quite got them completed. I don't know that I like that this next post of mine, especially since it's been awhile since my last post, but I'm in a "LIFE'S UNFAIR" funk right now.

I realize that we all suffer from things that make us feel life isn't fair sometimes. It could be an illness, a situation, a disorder or just those everyday hurdles that can make us feel like we are drowning in the sea of unfairness. Being involved in St. Jude I get weekly updates that remind me that life isn't always fair.

Lately on Facebook there have been pages for children battling diseases when they should be out riding bikes, or sitting and playing with toys. Another reminder that life isn't fair.

Tonight after work I went to a visitation for a man who was barely 48 years old. A man whom has 3 children and a wife whom he married in 1985. A man who farmed and was loved by many. A man who was a kid at heart and do anything for anyone. I babysat his children and he and his wife have been good friends with my parents for many years. He came home from harvesting on Sunday, took a nap and never woke up.

Unfair!

These situations make me so grateful for healthy kids and cherish our family times together. They are screaming at me saying "Hey! It doesn't matter if you are 3, 7, 22, 54, 98 or 48 time is not something you are guaranteed! Health is not something you are guaranteed!" And we aren't. I don't know if we are guaranteed anything?

I do know that we have choices. We can choose to feel the pain and deal with the pain in these unfair moments. We can choose to remember the good and take peace in the joy. We can choose to cherish the moments we have with our loved ones and not take them for granted. When we are running late and feel like we are hitting every light and getting stuck behind every slow driver we can choose to slow down and enjoy the ride.

We have the ability to make the choice to live life to the fullest. We have the ability to choose what is important to us. While I think even all of that ability to choose we will still feel and see those unfair moments in life we can choose to recognize that sometimes life is unfair. Although I believe that God has a plan for all of us and I try my best to always have faith in that plan, sometimes I just feel life isn't fair.