Miss Lila is working on overcoming  her fear of water and is loving summertime.

So far we've only mastered the baby pool but we are moving in the right direction!!!!  (Especially since we've had the same tiny pool for 3 summers and this is the first year it's actually been used.)  Woo Hoo!

She eased into it at first.......

 
 Then she got a little bit more comfortable.........

 Then all of a sudden she stood up and said, "Mom!  I got idea!" with a twinkle in her eye.

 She wanted the slide in the pool.   At first I told her that I didn't think it was such a good idea.  I told her that the pool wasn't big enough and it might hurt her to go down the slide into a pool that small.   She said, "No hurt.  FUN!"   So, of course, the slide ended up in the itty bitty pool.

 

As of today the redneck riviera is on its way out.   

We went to Target 

and bought Miss Lila a new pool.

She picked it out herself.  

Quite a bit bigger,

it has a little water spray area 

and a little 

built-in 

slide.  

I just love this little girl and her zest for life.  

So blessed to be her mama.

Look who can write her name!

We have been working hard on writing around here, and look what Lila can do completely unassisted!

Thankfully her name is relatively easy to write.    We will keep working on this but we are so proud of how well she is doing!!!!

The weekend.....

Thursday night we packed our stuff and got ready to leave on Friday for Pennsylvania to attend Justin's commissioning ceremony for his Masters program.  Tiffani had flown in from Texas on Thursday night- a complete surprise to Justin- orchestrated by his wife and sister.  Justin was completely surprised, and thrilled to have Tiffani  there for the weekend.

Our plan for Friday:

Pick Lila up from school and head out of town

Dinner with Justin, Maggie, Tiffani and Maggie's family

Commissioning Ceremony

Italian Ice- "The best ever"

Hang out at hotel

 Spend the day in Philadelphia on Saturday

Unfortunately, some time after Lila went to bed on Thursday night, she vomited all over herself and her bed.    Poor little thing, she was so sick.    She made it all night without getting sick again but in the  morning she had no energy and did not look good.  We went back and forth- should we bring her or should we keep her at home?  Agonizing over the decision.   In the end the decision was made for us.  Lila was going through diapers like nobody's business.  Whatever it was, it had moved to the other end of her body.  I was hoping for some sort of miracle but that didn't happen.  

Nick told me to hurry up and get in the car or we would all end up missing everything.  The decision was made and I had to leave for Pennsylvania by myself.   I hated leaving Nick and Lila at home but we really had no choice.   (It would have been a nightmare if we had decided to take her but I will spare you the details of what was going on at home while I was driving to PA.   Let's just say it involved lots of diapers, wipes, the bathtub and a couple changes of clothes.)

After a brief stop by Justin and Maggie's apartment (loved it by the way!) we headed out for appetizers before the ceremony.  While I missed Nick and Lila so much, it was good to be with my big kids.

Justin, Maggie and their good friend Jared

 Tif and me- I miss this girl so much.

The commissioning ceremony was very moving.  

They actually prayed for each of the students individually 

which gave it such a personal touch.

There was so much passion in that auditorium!  

You could hear it in their voices and see it on their faces. 

I was so happy to be there.

Mags, Justin, Tif & a proud Mama!

 

Justin & Mags

  

 My awesome big kids

 After the ceremony we went out to dinner with Maggie's family and a couple of friends.  Buca di Beppo- I had forgotten how much I love that place!   

After some great food and a  lot of laughter, Tiffani and I headed back to Virginia so that she could see Lila and Nick before she flew back to Texas on Sunday morning.   We arrived home around 3:00 A.M.    When I woke up around  9:00,  Tiffani was already up hanging out with Nick and Lila.

 

I'm pretty sure Lila ended up kicking Tif's butt in Zingo, by the way.   Tif and I got back in the car around 4:00 P.M. and headed back to Pennsylvania.   Thankfully, Justin met us half-way and we were able to grab dinner, just the three of us. 

After dinner I hugged my precious big kids goodbye.   

Knowing that I will be seeing Justin and Maggie again this weekend.

Not knowing when I will see Tiffani again.  

Isn't it great to have e-mail, text messaging and cell phones?  

Even though she is across the country from us she never feels that far away! 

I drove away with country music blaring and the sunset in my rearview mirror, 

tears streaming down my face.

It wasn't  the weekend we had planned, 

not at all.   

It would have been amazing to have all of my kids 

in the same place at the same time, 

but that wasn't possible this weekend.

So thankful for the relationship I have with my family.

I hear other people's stories and I know 

we have it good.

Hugs~

Linda

  . 

Living by God's grace

God's Plan

Some things are beyond planning.

And life doesn't always turn out as planned.

You don't plan for a broken heart.

You don't plan for a failed business venture.

You don't plan for an adulterous husband

or a wife who wants you out of her life.

You don't plan for a child with a disability.

You don't plan for a lump in your breast.

You plan to be young forever.

You plan to climb the corporate ladder.

You plan to be rich and powerful.

You plan to be acclaimed and successful.

You plan to conquer the universe.

You plan to fall in love - and be loved forever.

You don't plan to be sad.

You don't plan to be hurt.

You don't plan to be broke.

You don't plan to be betrayed.

You don't plan to be alone in this world.

You plan to be happy. You don't plan to be shattered.

Sometimes if you work hard enough, you can get what you want.

But MOST times, what you want and what you get are two different things.

We, mortals, plan. But so does God in the heavens.

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand God's plans especially when His plans are not in consonance with ours.

Often, when God sends us crisis, we turn to Him in anger. 
True, we cannot choose the cross that is given to us to carry, 
but we can carry that cross with courage 
knowing that God will never abandon us nor send something we cannot cope with.

Sometimes,  our spirit is broken to save our soul.

Sometimes, our hearts are broken to make us whole.

Sometimes, there is pain so we can be stronger.

Sometimes, there is  failure so we can be humble.

Sometimes, there is  illness and we learn to  take better care of ourselves. 
Sometimes,  we feel as if we are left with nothing
so we can learn the value of everything He gave us.

Make plans, but understand that we live by God's grace. 
Author Unknown

 Sometimes it seems like there are way more questions than there are answers. 

 Some days you can feel the dark clouds rolling in and it's hard to find the light.

 I never lose faith, and I know everything will be okay.  I know that God is right there in the middle of everything.  And He's never let me down.   Still, some days are just rough.

 On those days I can always follow my girl's lead.   

She's finding the good. 

And it shows.

   

    

 

 This picture is a little blurry but I had to add it anyway~

check out that smile!

I'm off to pack.  We are  leaving in the morning for Pennsylvania  to attend the commissioning ceremony for  Justin's Masters program.  So proud of him.  He has worked hard, maintaining a good GPA while working full time and finding time to spend with his new bride.  (Speaking of which, I am very, very late on the wedding post!  Sorry, Mags.  It is coming soon.)   

Have a great weekend.  I hope you are able to see the good.   The light through the dark clouds.   Keep looking, it's there.

Hugs~

Linda