Happy 7th Birthday Ian!!

Seven years ago at this time, I held a newborn baby boy in my arms. That morning, we met Ian Cates for the first time. So much has changed from that day to now. It is truly amazing. I have loved seeing Ian learn how to do things, discover the fun of reading, and share his own thoughts and ideas.

He is a sweet soul who cares about others, enjoys playing and having fun, enjoys special time with Mom and Dad, and time with his grandparents and other family, and loves to play and tell stories. It is hard to believe our boy is 7 years old today. My how those years have flown.

This morning before school, we put candles on his biscuit for breakfast. He enjoyed blowing them out and loved hearing me sing Happy Birthday to him. Tonight we are having a birthday dinner with family. He is excited about that as well.

He enjoys his birthday and enjoys making a big deal about it. He was appreciative about the gift we gave him this morning as well. “Thanks, Mom and Dad,” he said with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

This picture was taken several months ago. It is amazing that now he looks more like a little man than a little boy. I am not exactly sure when that happened, but it certainly did.

Today I am thankful for:

• A boy with dimples and a wonderful smile
• Big blue eyes that are full of wonder and love
• October 2 for that is the day we met this amazing boy
• Hugs and hearing, “I love you Mom”
• Ian appreciating a special gift
• Making meals and sweet treats with a boy wearing an apron that is a little too big
• Reading a hand-written note that says, “Mommy, I will love you forever”
• Hearing Ian pray at meal time
• Watching him play, discover, and learn

I never thought I could love someone as much as I love my hubby and our son. They are two amazing blessings who I am very thankful for. Today I will enjoy looking back on all the phases of our sweet birthday boy.

I wonder if I can savor each moment of Ian’s birthday?!  I plan to do just that and look forward to him getting out of school today.

Happy Birthday Dear Karen!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Karen, Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy birthday to my friend Karen.  Hope you have been having a fantastic birthday!

Karen has been a friend for many, many years!  We met at work and have stayed friends long after leaving those jobs.

Here we are many years ago at the beach with her wonderful hubby.  These two have always been like my big brother and sister.  We always got along really well and for that I am truly thankful.

I knew them for several years before meeting Kirk.  When Kirk and I started dating, it was fun to have a great couple to do things with.  The four of us have always had a great time together.

Karen is a friend who I enjoy being with and spending many hours together talking, shopping, eating, or spending time at the beach.  We have always had a great time together!  We always like to smile and laugh.

When I think of a happy and cheerful person, Karen is who comes to mind.  She loves her family, her friends, is passionate about several hobbies, is a hard worker, and is quite smart.  I have learned many things from her over the years and continue to do so.

I decided to post these old photos of us. (hope you don’t mind)  At the end of the post, the photo on the left was taken at a luncheon with colleagues from work and the second one was taken at my old apartment.

May you have a wonderful day as special as you are my dear friend!  Hope to see you again soon.

Happy Birthday Cindy!!

Tomorrow, June 8, is my sister’s birthday!  Happy Birthday to you dear Cindy!  Here we are with our brother.  Cindy is the one on the right.

We are 2 1/2 years apart so we have always spent lots of time together.  We have always had fun and have been close. She is a true blessing.  I am glad to call her my sister.

We were each other’s maid/ matron of honor at our weddings. We have always been there for one another.  When we had children, we were there to see the new gifts of life and celebrate together.

I don’t know where I’d be without Cindy.  She has blessed me beyond measure!  I am truly thankful for all that she has taught me and shared with me.  Many stories I won’t share because they should stay between sisters.

However, I do want to share some of my favorite memories with Cindy:

• Camping with our family
• Playing pounce
• Singing songs at Camp Tiyani
• Sleep-overs at our grandparent’s house
• Listening to Grandpa’s stories
• Watching favorite movies and singing along with them — The Sound of Music, Grease, and White Christmas
• Family sing-alongs
• Her amazing ability to learn a part in a play in one week and perform it masterfully
• Fun times at the Playhouse and drama club
• Our family cross-country trip in the car
• Sharing a room for many years
• Learning the importance of laughter at a young age
• Sharing precious friendships for many, many years
• Standing up for each other at our weddings
• Seeing each other’s newborn children
• Fun times with cousins and friends at the beach
• Sharing our beach adventures with our spouses and children

Among all of the fun, there have been sad times too.  We have been there for each other through those.  She has always had my back and that means the world to me.

From one of our favorite movies, a great song, “Sisters, sisters, there never were such devoted sisters.  …Caring, sharing, every little thing that we are wearing…”

Here are a few quotes about sisters:

• “Help one another, is part of the religion of sisterhood.” ~Louisa May Alcott
• “Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship.” ~Margaret Mead
• “A sister smiles when one tells one’s stories — for she knows where the decoration has been added.” ~Chris Montaigne
• “More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you’ve been bad and good.” ~Linda Sunshine
• “In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.” ~Author Unknown
• “A sister is a forever friend.” ~Author Unknown

Cindy, I hope and pray that you have a wonderful birthday and can celebrate!  May you be pampered and have a great day.  Hope to see you soon.  Love you!!!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Happy Birthday to you dear Jennifer!!!  Today is my friend Jennifer’s birthday.  And, since it is also Throwback Thursday, I decided to include some photos of the two of us from many years ago.

Jennifer is a friend who I met in high school.  We were in chorus and show choir together and had a ball.  We went on a few trips with the chorus our senior year with many other friends.  I have such fond memories of this time in our lives.

This first picture was just after we graduated.  We were ready to take on the world and both went off to separate colleges.  We still stayed in touch and remained tight. For that I am truly thankful.

This next picture was taken at the back of Jen’s car while we were both home from school.  We loved riding around town in this Z28.  I love our big late-80s hair!

Through the years, we have remained dear friends and have been there for each other through good times and bad.  I love having Jen in my life and always have.

A few times, we were more distant than others but always found our way back to spending regular time together.   We still often see each other and always have a great time.  We still can talk about almost anything.

As Bette Midler said in the movie “Beaches,” my memory of Jen is very long.  And wonderful and full of happiness, some sadness and all of life’s experiences.  It is a true blessing to have Jen as my dear friend.

To Jen, I want to say thanks so much for being you and for being such a great friend to me over all of these years.  How many again?  Many wonderful years!  Thanks for inspiring me, teaching me about being a mother, and for being you.

For my dear friend, a few quotes about friendship:

• “Friendship isn’t a big thing — it’s a million little things.” ~Author Unknown
• “Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.” ~Sicilian Proverb
• “A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.” ~Arnold H. Glasgow
• “The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.” ~Elbert Hubbard
• “A good friend is cheaper than therapy.” ~Author Unknown
• “A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.”~Donna Roberts
• “Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.” ~Author Unknown

Jen, may you have a wonderful and truly blessed day!  Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Dawn!

Tomorrow is my friend Dawn’s birthday.  Happy Birthday to you dear Dawn!   She wrote a great blog today about it.  Please see the link at the bottom of the posting.  It is a fun read.

Here are some fun pictures from the era we met — when we were in college.  We met our freshman year and have been friends ever since.

The black and white photos were taken on a trip we took to Ocean City, MD.  We had a blast and were real hams for the camera as you can see. The color photo is from our college graduation!  YEAH, we made it.  We celebrated with our families and had a lot of fun.

Dawn is a forever friend, which is a rare gift!  I am so happy that I have known her for all of these years. Now we are in our mid-40s, which is truly amazing to think about.  Where did the time go?  It seems to have flown by.

I like that for many years, we lived near each other after college.  We stayed in touch and saw each other regularly.  Now, we no longer live close in distance, but do still keep in touch.

I just miss spending time in person with her over a glass of sweet iced tea, a tasty meal, and a shared memory.  I would love to go dancing with her, go to a chick flick movie, or on a long walk with my friend.  Another trip to the beach would also be fun.

We have always had differences but also quite a few similarities.  I like that about our friendship.  I continue to learn things from her and am inspired by her life, her career, her relationships, and those things that are important to her.  We clicked from the moment we met during freshman year and I am very thankful for her being in my life.

Dawn, may you have a wonderful birthday!  May your time with family and friends be blessed!  Hope to see you again soon.   Happy Birthday to you!  Welcome to the 46th year of life.  Can you believe we are that age?  I sure can’t!!!  Love ya!

You can read Dawn’s great birthday blog at http://gibsongirl247.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/a-rich-life/

March 7 – Time Flies / Happy Birthday Beckie

Hi and Happy Friday.  Hope you will have a great weekend.  I don’t know about you but I am so very ready for it.

Today’s photo challenge is Fly.  Rather than a photo of something flying in the air, I decided to go with a photo that represents time flying, as in “time flies when you are having fun.”

Here in the left picture are the three of us at the beach several years ago with our mouths open and having fun.  Then in the right, last Mother’s Day, here we are again.  It is amazing how much Ian has grown and changed in that short time.

Rather than a cute baby face, he has stretched out, grown a lot, and turned into a young man, a boy.  My baby no longer looks like a baby.  He looks like a boy who is in school. That seemed to happen really fast too.  And, I was looking at his feet recently.  They have grown so much over the years.  Such tiny baby feet and now his foot is the size of my hand.

Where did the time go? This fall he will turn 7 years old and start 1st grade.  Wow!!!  That is just amazing as I can still remember the day we brought him home from the hospital.  We have had so many fun times ever since.

We do our best to savor our time together and I plan to continue to do just that.

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Happy Birthday to Beckie! Happy Birthday to you!!!

I also want to wish my wonderful sis-in-law Beckie a very Happy Birthday.  She is celebrating her birthday today.  I hope she has a great one and a wonderful weekend!

Last March I wrote a blog about her and her birthday.  I realized that I wanted to say almost the same things to her and about her again as in this link.  So I decided to repost that link.  Hope you don’t mind Beckie!   https://patticates247.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/happy-birthday-beckie/

This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.  We were enjoying a lobster lunch together for her birthday celebration while at the beach.  We’d just had a family portrait taken so we were in similar outfits.  What a fun day.

I hope we can do that again sometime!  It would be such fun.  Love you Beck and hope to see you again very soon.

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Have a great Friday and weekend!  And don’t forget to spring your clock forward on Saturday night before bed, if you live in an area starting Daylight Saving Time this weekend.

Happy Birthday Dear Richmond!

Today, December 28, is my brother’s Birthday! Happy Birthday to you dear Richmond. This picture was taken in 1990 at the beach and is one of my favorites.  It cracks me up how similar our hairdos are.

I am 5 years older than my bro and we are very close.  It wasn’t always that way – at least not when we were growing up.  But, we overcame that and put aside our sibling rivalry junk. Now we are adults who love to spend time together and have our families get together.

It is a blessing to have shared all that we did with our sister Cindy and be able to come out the other side as friends who enjoy being together.  The three of us are pictured below.  And, I must admit it is amazing that we are now in our 40s.  Where did the time go?  How did I fly by so quickly?

It did and we have made a point to keep in regular contact since we no longer live in the same towns.  We get together when we can and our kids enjoy being together too.

Richmond has a great job, a wonderful family, is a lot of fun, and makes me laugh.  He is a fan of U2, dress clothes, and loves to quote movies.  I just wish we could spend more time together.

Tonight is his birthday party and I unfortunately won’t be able to be there, but will be in spirit.  With my son having been sick this week, Kirk and I decided to rest and stay closer to home.  I am, however, looking forward to photos and hearing about the evening.

Richmond, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday and can have fun and do what you like!   May you have a blessed birthday and another amazing trip around the sun!  I love you bro!!!

Happy Birthday Tammy!

Hi and Happy Thursday.  Today is the birthday of my best friend from elementary school — Tammy.   Happy Birthday to you dear Tammy.

It is amazing to think how long we have known each other — for many, many years.  We have been through a lot and I love that we still stay in regular touch with each other.  That is so rare and I am so blessed to have her as my dear friend.

This photo is from the summer of 2012 when we were together with our families at the beach.  Our sons had fun playing together, which is so cool.

She recently reminded me of an incident when we got trouble in school – in Mr. Toler’s class.  We were giggling as we often did and he sent us to the coat closet.  His idea is that we were supposed to be quiet.  Needless to say, we weren’t.  Instead we just kept talking and laughing.

I remember when we were in junior high, she and her family moved away.  I was so upset and truly missed her for a long time.  The fact that we have kept in touch and still have a great time when we see each other is amazingly special to me.

When Kirk and I got married, she surprised me and showed up for the weekend.  I was totally blown away and touched. If I’d known she was coming, I would have asked her to be in the wedding as one of my bridesmaids.  But the surprise was such fun.

Tammy is an amazing woman, a strong Christian with a cool hubby and four great kids, and one of the best math teachers I know. She loves her family and friends and loves to laugh — something we loved to do together and still do.

I wish I could see her in person and give her a birthday hug.  But, that is not possible this year.  So instead I will wish her a very Happy Birthday!  Love you Tammy!  From one giggle gal pal to another, AGADKTGA!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday Blessings

Hi and Happy 1st day of December.

Today is the first day of Advent — our season before Christmas.  They will light a candle at church and we will hear part of the Christmas story. And each Wednesday between now and Christmas, we will have a dinner and short service.  The time of year helps us remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

It is also the day after the birthday of five of my friends — Laura, Karla, Phyllis, Becky, and Donna.  Hope all of you had wonderful birthdays!  I got to see two of these ladies last week during a fun girls night out.  The others I keep in touch with mainly through Facebook and do see around town some.

This is the day that some of my friends have to move out of their homes.  I am going to do my best not to cry today when I think of these changes.  Instead I want to smile and focus on knowing them and being excited for a new chapter in their lives. You can read more about these changes in “An Ode to SRP.”

Today is the first day that I am truly going to work on my weight loss journey again.  I saw a recent photo of myself and didn’t like how I looked at all.  My face has gotten much heavier than I realized — as has all of me.  I know what to do, I just have to do it.

December 1st is the first day of the last month of the year.  It is hard to believe that it has gone as quickly as it has.  It seems like we just started 2013 and now are nearly into 2014.

It is also my birthday.  Normally I don’t write about my own birthday but today I wanted to share my blessings with you and some of my thoughts over this last year.  Here is a picture of me from 2010 with my birthday cake.

It has been quite a year.  There have been losses but also several new people have come into my life.  It is so hard to say goodbye to people who mean so much to you but unfortunately this is a hard and sad part of life.  New friendships are fabulous, as is seeing your son make a new friend who he has a ball with.

We didn’t have a real vacation anywhere this year so Ian’s Christmas break from school will be our time off.  There are a few museums in our town that I hope to visit, we’ll be sure to go to the library, the park if it isn’t too cold, as well as other fun things that we will be doing.  Perhaps a road trip or two but mainly time at home and with friends and family.

Ian started kindergarten this year.  At the beginning, I had a very hard time and missed him like crazy.  But, over the weeks, I have come to like going to the store by myself, being able to run out quickly and do something, read a book without interruption, and go to the bathroom by myself.  The fact he loves school makes this so much easier.

Last night at my birthday party with family and friends, my grandmother was there.  I feel so fortunate at my age to still have a living grandparent.  For most of my life I knew three of them and always felt very fortunate for that fact.  This year is something that was another treasure for me.

Some of my blessings and things I am thankful for:

• A man who loves me no matter my size or mood.
• A son who comes to me when he is hurt and asks questions and who wants me to put him to bed each night.
• Parents who taught me about love and family.
• My brother and sister and their spouses for showing love and kindness to me.
• My nieces and nephews for being the fun and amazing kids they are.
• In-laws who have welcomed me and all my quirks.
• Friends who I have known for many, many years and still can talk so easily to and have such fun with.
• A feisty grandmother who enjoys being with her family.
• Aunts and Uncles and Cousins who are so fun and special and important to who I am.
• New friends who I am still developing a relationship with.
• Ian’s teachers who watch over him and teach him so much.
• Ian’s friends that he is making and having fun with.
• Our house and neighborhood where we love to be.
• Our church where we met and got married and continue to enjoy services.
• Our city’s library where we check out so many great books and go on great adventures.
• A computer where I can write and keep in touch with others.
• A journal where I take sermon notes and write down inspirational ideas and quotes.
• A piano where I am re-learning music and trying to practice more.
• Our neighborhood where I can walk and Ian can ride his bike.
• The ability to sing and the fun of singing with family and friends.

I am so thrilled to have made another journey around the sun.  Hope you have a wonderful 1st day of December!

Happy Birthday to Pam!

Happy Birthday to my dear cousin Pam!

Hugs and love to you Pam!  Here is a photo of us at the beach.  I thought it was cute since it shows a hug.

Pam is one of my favorite people.  She is someone who I always enjoy spending time with and never seem to have enough.

Any time we are together, we pick up right where we left off.  That is a rare thing to have with a friend.  And, a real blessing. We can  and do talk for hours and laugh, and enjoy a glass of White Zin together.

Since we were teenagers, we have been close and have kept in touch.  Each summer when I was growing up, I looked forward to seeing her and we always had a blast when we did.  Then, when I couldn’t, I enjoyed the Christmas cards and cool pictures.  She was always the coolest and still is.

I have enjoyed also seeing her family grow and her girls grow up and start families of their own.  All of them are a blessing to me and such fun.  And, I like that Ian has also gotten to know Pam.  Here is a photo from a while ago when he first met her.  Fun times!

Pam, I hope you have a day full of blessings, love, and fun.  Have another wonderful trip around the sun!!  I hope to see you sometime very soon.

Hugs and love to you!