the gift

Christmas was a holiday I never looked forward to until this past year.  The rushing around, always stressing over finding the perfect gift.  To me, surprising someone with that perfect present made my holiday.  Especially my girls.  But this year, I learned a lot about the gift part.  A family I know and love suddenly lost a father, husband and friend.  I spend more time reading Caring Bridge posts of families I know with sick children and spouses and I think to myself, why am I so blessed?  And then I finally took that second look at the friends who never give up on me, the husband who sees past all my faults and the beautiful girls I helped raise who give me hope every day that the world will be better because of them.  I give and receive gifts every day.  I woke up today in a warm home, with a loving family, a good job and more food than I could need.  I welcomed phone calls from friends far away and visits with friends just down the block.  Yes, I'm blessed and I don't know why.  But I know one thing, this year, I didn't stress about the gift. 

dreamin of Anna Maria . . .

I look forward to time away with my family, especially time with my  girls when the cell  phones get left behind and they look around them and see the world they're missing while they're texting!  We just visited Anna Maria Island on Florida's Gulf Coast.  We tracked sea turtle nesting, wondered at the size of manatee, searched endlessly for sand dollars and miracle - swam and kissed a dolphin!  With the oil spill so imminently  approaching, it was a great learning experience for the girls to learn about our precious coastline and the  importance of protecting our world.  so I'm still dreamin of Anna Maria . . .

everyone matters or no one matters

a quote from one of several  books  by Michael Connelly that I've adopted as my 2010 resolution.  I'm an avid  reader. Okay, I confess, I rely on audio books to keep up, but listening to an audio book helps me  decompress on the stressful drive home in traffic.  I discovered Michael's book, The Scarecrow, when I found that I had finally caught up on most of my favorite authors.  But this quote really hits home when you think about all the tragedy in Haiti.  I adopted it as my 2010 mantra -  everyone matters or no one - we really don't live for ourselves at all.  So in 2010, I'm hoping to get involved in some way each month in a charity.  Whether that be through donating, participating or just spreading awareness, 2010 is my wake up call.  

January is Easter Seals -  Volleyball Challenge.  I'm participating and donating and very proud that I've already made my goal thanks to my friends.  Get involved, make everyone count this year . . .

Donate Now and Help Donna Make a Difference 

mommy dot's . . .

that was my grandmother's nickname, mommy dot, and I loved her so very much. the older I get, the more I think back on what I've accomplished and what dreams I've yet to make come true. mommy dot's is one of those dreams. I love everything about scrapbooking and mommy dot's is my future busines, store, getaway . . . well I haven't worked out the details just yet! So, my first blog is mommy dot's - the marks we make on this world as moms