Halloween Awards of 2008

Ok, so I do not "celebrate" halloween or "believe" in halloween...but I WILL dress up in a costume and go to a party on the same night as it...I decided to pass out awards for the most interesting costumes for each category. I have taken my husband and myself out of the running since that would seem a little unfair...since I am the only judge. Nate's costume was a little creapy though...

but I love him anyways...

(kiss)

First category: Funniest!!
Bride and Groom: Laura x 2

Second Category: Cutest
This award must go to ...
Super Mario and Luigi: Shaun and Ashley


Third Category: Most Disturbing
The Babies/Old Men: Matt x 2 + Ed (not pictured)
I agree, there should be some degree of shame...but I didn't detect any...

And...

One more picture of the girls...
Hil, Tara, Me, Jilly and Ashley

Today I Saw a Rainbow!

Today, I saw a full half rainbow! It went from one side of the highway to the other...Here are my thoughts in they order they entered my mind...

First, I instantly thought of the story of Noah's Ark and how God used the rainbow as a symbol of the covenant between Himself and Noah...Then, that started me thinking about God's promises to His children...then, that got me thinking of my Zachary because his name means "The Lord remembers His promises" and I learned A LOT about God's promises from Zachary...then, I started thinking about my Rainbow Bright doll and wondered what ever happened to it...

Tonight, I bought Zachary's Christmas ornament...It's really plain and simple...just silver writing "HOPE"...I love it and will have to break our tradition of NOT having a Christmas tree in order to use it!

You may now be wondering why we have a tradition of NOT having a Christmas tree...Well...we didn't really start it on purpose...we had a tree the first year we were married, but moved a couple days before Christmas. Our Christmas tree was in our empty apartment and we were already living in our new apartment by Christmas...The second year, we decided not to have one because our apartment was ridiculously crowded! The third year, we didn't want to deal with our dog eating the ornaments and destroying the tree. Fourth year, I think we just thought "Hey, that just seems like a lot of work" and last year...we just didn't want one! For those of you who really didn't care about any of the above...thanks for continuing on...

I have finally quit my flip-flops...the weather no longer permits...I have drastically changed from flip-flops to boots and I must say...I love boots...so far it is my favorite part of the weather! Here is my fashion side note: Why are all the sweaters short-sleeved? I know it is cute, but do these designers know what winter is like in New England?! I need as many layers as I can get...and when I'm freezing, I care less about what is cute and more about what is going to keep me toasty!
This past Sunday was Zachary's birthday! I thought it would be hard, but it really wasn't harder than any other day...my memories of Zachary are wonderful...even my memories at the hospital, as terrifying as they were, are happy memories because they remind me of the events that brought Zachary into our lives. We celebrate his life...his 18 days were filled with so much love and I will NEVER forget him!! I wish all of you could have met him, but you will someday...

Ok, well...stay warm...stay safe...heard there might be snow!

P.S. That was my first picture ever posted on my blog...I could never figure it out! That picture is titled "Zachary's Scrunched Up Nose"...isn't it cute?

Shooting Stars

Nate always sees shooting stars...like weekly! I don't think I've ever seen one. Either he is making them up, confused by a space shuttle...or he is, in fact, seeing a shooting star! Tonight he tried to slow me down to wait for another one...I was like, "Come on, babe...I'm cold...you have the keys!"

Spread above us is one of the most amazing displays of God's creativity and design...and I'm too busy to notice...

I hear shooting stars are quite common...you just have to look up...so, I'm starting to wonder...what other beautiful things am I missing out on?

Hello? You still there?

So, I haven't written on here in so long...I wasn't sure if I even remembered my password to even write a new blog. I've been away for a while...not on vacation....just away from "blog world". I kept thinking, "Could I blog about that?!" I was constantly looking for different angles and then decided that it would come to me eventually...not everything I write has to be inspired.....sorta like this blog entry, I guess. See, I still have nothing to say...I'm just posting so you know that I'm still alive and that I'm getting back into the swing of writing....

While I'm here I might as well talk about all the stuff I did this summer...

Well, for starters, We went to the beach practically every weekend. We didn't go at all last summer because N had so many side jobs. He kinda put side jobs to the side....and enjoyed this summer. There are innumerable benefits of enjoying nature and fresh air....but the huge one for me is getting rid of my pasty white skin (although, it is already coming back).

We went to King Richard's Faire for the first time. That was really cool except I kept finding myself wanting to curtsy and dress up Renaissance...when I got home I looked through my closet to see if there was anything I could re-style so that I could wear it next year if we go...turns out GAP doesn't make anything that remotely looks like Renaissance! It was nice to be in a different century for a day...

We went to what feels like a million Red Sox games...actually, as I write N is at one now...(I gave up my ticket). JH gave us awesome seats several times...we were able to witness John Lester's No-Hitter and to top it off, we were seated in the Home Plate Pavillion...seats couldn't be more perfect. The last game we went to JH sent Wally the Green Monster up to visit...makes a cute picture!

We went to Kentucky to visit N's Mom and Dad and to meet their new puppy Honey. We shot a lot of guns and had a lot of time to relax...My favorite restaurant when we visit there is Carter Caves. They have a buffet for lunch on Sundays....Mmmmm....turkey and gravy is so good!

I spent more time at the range with N...I'm getting pretty competitive with the rifles although I can't shoot anything but the ground 20 ft in front of me with a pistol. Watch out! If you break into my house, I won't reach for the pistol... :)

Hmm...I can't remember anything else...just good times with family and friends...I don't want this summer to end at all! I like Fall, but right after Fall....WINTER!!! Ugh! The only thing I like about winter is cuddly sweaters, boots...and that's it! I hate the uncontrollable shaking when you get in and out of the car...I really don't like shoveling our four car driveway...and I don't like worrying about N getting stuck on the highway for 9 hours with no heat (that actually happend last winter...)

But back to the positive side...

I had an awesome summer and I hope you did too!

Memory...I can smile at the old days...

Lately, I've been reminiscing a little of the "good ole' days"... the younger days when my biggest problem was that I got a detention for chewing gum (ok, well to be fair they did give me three tries, but I never really learned my lesson). I was looking through my high school yearbooks this week and as I read through the summer wishes from classmates and inside jokes from close friends, I realized that I don't really remember very much at all. Certain references to things that back then were so funny (obviously they would have had to be funny to a certain degree to make it into the yearbook as a summary of the year) and to be honest, I couldn't even remember what some things meant! This made me sad! I loved high school and wish I could remember more of the fun times...however, I also loved moving on from that stage in my life too. I feel like I need a reunion just so I can ask people, "What does this mean?" I will be the nerd walking around making notes in my old yearbooks. I bumped into someone from high school about two years ago and they couldn't even remember who I was! (I was hoping that I was a little more memorable than that! Especially since we had the same circle of friends) At that point, I had only been out of school for six years! Will we eventually forget everything?

Today, I found a scar on the bottom of my foot and I can't remember where it came from. Wouldn't you think I would remember something like that? It's not like it's everyday that you get an injury on the bottom of your foot...plus, it would have caused an inconvenience of some type as far as walking. To me, this should have stuck out in my memory...but it didn't.

Private side bar: That didn't make me as sad as forgetting the inside jokes from high school.

To be honest, I don't really know where this post is heading. Although, as I was reading last night, I found a little passage that somehow connected with me. Here it is....

"I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done."

This was a Psalm from David found in chapter 143 verse 5.

I realize that there is a lot of things that I will want to remember and may, without knowing, forget...and there are a lot of things I will want to forget and even if I tried wouldn't be able to. All of us have scars and most of them we probably can't remember where they came from...and then there are those that bring back a memory....a story.

My hope is that in twenty plus years from now, if I don't remember this post...I will at least "remember the days of long ago". That I will meditate and consider what God had done in my life during this time in my life. That I will be able to think back and recall the times that He was so presently and actively working in my life. That the "scars" of my life will trigger a memory or testimony of God's faithfulness to me. That through the high peak times, I will see Him carrying me just as much as the low valley times. God has done great things!

Read Psalm 136 and you will see how He truly is mighty, faithful and all-powerful and through it all "His love endures forever.

June 30th

There are 365 days in a year....sometimes 366....and every single day marks an icon for either a positive or negative memory for someone out there. June 30th marks a positive day for Amanda and Chris who celebrate their first anniversary together and also for Josh who celebrates his birthday....Celebrations shared on the same day that is also filled with sadness and grief. Today marks the second anniversary of the death of Aaron Kyle Cooper and although we celebrate that we know he his in Heaven, there is still such a loss. I just wanted to publically say how grateful I am for the Cooper's profound message of hope that they proclaim even when I'm sure it is so very difficult to bare at times. They have distantly given me strength and encouragement through my own grief giving me a godly example of perseverance, courage and strength. Memories of Aaron stay fresh and will never be forgotten.

So, CONGRATULATIONS to Amanda and Chris!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Josh!
And SEE YOU AGAIN to Aaron! Take care of my Zachary and see you soon!

What is that stuff anyways?

I often play these little games like "If you were an animal, you would be a...", "If you were a color....", "If you were a car..."....They pass the time and are very entertaining. I've decided that if I could choose the material of which I was made that I would like to be made from the stuff that ear plugs are made of. Is that weird? Well, think about it....you can smush them down and twist it and it doesn't appear to be affected. I made it as small as I could and eventually it just popped right back to original form. I'm fascinated by this. Even when they accidentally make their way to the washing machine and dryer....they just get bigger....I think they might still be usable! This made me think of that verse that talks about being "troubled on every side..." Essentially, it is the same thing that happens to the ear plug....but being smushed and temporarily distorted doesn't keep it from doing it's job. In fact, the temporary "discomfort" equips it to better do its job....And, I don't think we should use exterior circumstances as an excuse to keep us from doing our job either because God often uses these times in our lives to grow us up and enable and equip us better to serve Him. Here's the verse: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and NOT to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Corinthians 4:7-11. Maybe today you feel defeated. Let me encourage you to follow example of the ear plug (that sounds silly) and don't forget to "pop" back up! Take advice from the verses that follow in that same chapter: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory BEYOND all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." Sometimes, this life offers some "uncomfortable" circumstances...but I guess what I am trying to say can be summed up with a quote by one of my favorite authors, "But on that day when you and I have the finish line in view, ready to cross that tape and complete the race, we'll understand that our CHARACTER was infinitely more important than our comfort."