Wordless Wednesday 3/31/10

Wordless Wednesday 3/24/10

Spring Break 2010

The Aquarium at the Mall of America...FUN!!

Teagan, Chloe, Aftyn and Piper

Aftyn and Piper in front of a REAL Beaver lodge...

The tunnel...the stingray is SMILING as Aftyn scratches his belly ; )

Aftyn and Piper on the brass turtle...

Chloe trying on a Crab hat...

Piper and her half yard of water...

Aftyn is Cheesin' it up!!

Teagan rode this ride several times...a mini space shot. I rode it once with her and it was kind of SCARY!! She LOVED it!!

Shane and I watching the kids swim...the water was COLD so they stayed closer to the hot tub...

Shane and I took the kids to Minneapolis for a couple of days over Spring Break. We spent most of our time at the Mall of America and some time at the hotel pool too. It was a GREAT time!! We went to the Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the mall and we also did the indoor amusement park. The kids LOVED it!! Even Aftyn had a BLAST riding on the rides!! Shane and I very easily get motion sick so we both took Dramamine with breakfast and it worked very well!! Neither one of us got sick--AMAZING!! = ) Enough for now...-AS

Wordless Wednesday 3/17/10

Wordless Wednesday 3/10/10

Out of the Mouth of...PIPER!!

Piper Shalea..

Last night, Piper gave me my English Lesson...she was teaching me what letters were vowels. She couldn't decide if "O" was a vowel or not and she wouldn't take my word for it that it was. When I recited ALL 5 vowels, she looked at my with an astonished look on her face and said, "How do you know?" I told her I learned that in Kindergarten too. ; )

Today when Piper got home from school, she said, "Mom, you know why I'm so fast everyday? Because Chocolate milk has 100 calories and I drink it everyday." Really?? Where does she get all this information?? CrAzY Kid!! Gotta LOVE her!! Enough for now...-AS

Wordless Wednesday 3/3/10

ps...sorry these are ALL of Taffy but I've been sick since last Friday and I try to post recent pictures and she and I went to the mall today to get out of the house and then we spent some time outside when we got home so here she is!! March 3 and look at ALL THAT SNOW!! (it is melting though!! = ) -AS

I Wish You Enough...

A friend of mine forwarded this on to me and it really struck me. I don't know who wrote it but I REALLY like it...Enjoy!! -AS

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.