Making Some Changes

I know I’m behind in Mads monthly updates… she’s 14 months old and so completely adorable and BUSY!  This means mommy is busier too of course.  Part of me wants to keep this blog updated but part of me is ready to move on. 
I originally started Butterfly Lights to process my thoughts as I went through thyroid cancer.  This year marks 5 years cancer free.  It’s a significant point for any survivor to be sure. This place helped me process my emotions these 5 years and has always been a more personal, diary-type space for me.  But 5 years cancer free means the original motivation for this space isn’t on the forefront of my mind.  My focus and priorities have changed drastically over this time. There are still thoughts I could write but I feel like the focus of the blog has become muddled and so I’m taking a break from this space.
I am starting fresh with new focus and passions in a completely new place.  This new blog will be about our family journey to get out of debt, family life, frugal living, recipes, crafts and general mom life.  Introducing….
It’s new and small but I hope that Pecans & Magnolias will grow and evolve as our family does.  So come on over and follow the Wee family as we find our way!  You can also check us out on Facebook.  I would love to have you as a new reader over there and hope you will stick around for the occasional post here.
All my love…
C

{Belated} Birthday Update: 9 Months

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
6 month Deets: 16lbs 7oz, 26.5 inches
Height: 28 inches 
Weight: 17lbs 7 oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, babydoll, Little Baby Wee, Silly Wee, Mads, Knot Head

~~ Apologies for the picture heavy post – we had a busy month!~~

Exciting Events: Aside from her little stint in the hospital, Mid March to Mid April was pretty busy!  The weather was nicer and we’ve been spending more and more time outside.  She loves to ride in the wagon at Granny’s house and to get pushed in the swings.  Maddie made her second road trip to Michigan and we discovered she still really hates driving at night!  But even though the trip was long and stressful, it was worth being there for Great Grandpa’s 90th birthday (which also happened to be Maddie’s 9 month birthday!).  She also celebrated Mommy’s birthday and Auntie Katie’s birthday with her first trip to a Japanese steakhouse, Shang Hai Ichiban.  I’m sure it won’t be her last!  She loves sharing Mommy & Daddy’s meals and has tried a little bit of everything it seems!  Some of her new favorite foods include: Vietnamese pho, soba noodles, guacamole, black beans and the Southern breakfast standards of scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy!  While in Michigan we also visited a butterfly exhibit at Meijer Gardens, celebrated Easter and went on an Easter egg hunt, and went to a petting zoo called The Critter Barn.  Mads is really becoming an animal lover.  She still loves our cat but has also made friends with the neighbor’s horse as well as a few dogs in the area. She even loves the ants and bees in our yard which makes Mommy a nervous wreck! Ants seem to look like a yummy food source at the moment and bees.. .well I think their lazy buzzing just has her fascinated in general.  Possibly the most exciting news is that Maddie’s spasms have nearly completely vanished!  It is really an answer to prayers and our baby girl has been deemed completely healthy by her neurologist!
What She Does: Well it’s been an exciting month of developments in this area too!  In addition to pulling herself up to a standing position, Maddie decided that standing without help was no big deal at all!  She hasn’t tried to take any steps without holding on to something or someone though. She also started crawling backward a bit but mostly still rolls to her desired location. Her mouth is full of… NO TEETH!  Yup, she’s still just got pink little gums so I think she’s taking after Mommy and won’t get her teeth until closer to her first birthday!  She says “mom” and “dad” and “yeah”… she also shocked her pediatrician when she said “bye” and waved goodbye as our appointment ended!  She loves to wave at people as they leave but has become a bit more shy around strangers.  These days she’s more likely to bury her head in Mommy’s shoulder than to grace them with her toothy little grin.

Myonical Bionical

Sooo…. We had a bit of a scare here recently… 

Miss Maddie-Me has been hitting all her milestones just peachy but about a week and a half ago I noticed she would do something odd.  At random moments her arms would stiffen and shoot out into the air or her whole body would stiffen and jerk back.  It just wasn’t “normal” looking behavior and had us concerned enough to try to catch it on video to show to our doctor.  We had our doctor and another doctor look at it and while there was a range of possible diagnoses, the one that kept coming up was “infantile spasms.” 

If you aren’t familiar with the term “infantile spasms,” you might be shocked at just how serious this seemingly innocuous sounding problem really is.  We took to Google and were subsequently terrified at what we might possibly be facing.

Our next step was to get an EEG for Little Miss so we waited for the call from scheduling.  Meanwhile, it was the weekend, and Maddie had an episode that lasted far longer than before and seemed to be having many more than her “usual.”  We made the decision to drive to our nearest children’s hospital ER that had pediatric neurology services.

We arrived to the busy ER about 2.5 hours away and were in a room and seeing the doctor within 30 minutes. Again, we were told we needed an EEG and they could perform one and have a neurologist see us the next morning… so that’s how Miss Maddie’s first hospital stay was written in the books.

Our EEG was in the morning – it was a traumatic experience for all involved - and we nervously awaited the results.  The neurologist came to see us and the first thing he said was “Her EEG was completely NORMAL.”  I think our first words were “Thank GOD!”  Or at least that’s what I said in my head… He went on to then say he wasn’t exactly sure what we are dealing with but that he is pretty sure it wasn’t in the epilepsy family.  Of course since Mads didn’t have any spasms during the procedure its hard to tell exactly what happens but the “hypsarrythmia” in “infantile spasms” would have shown up if she had that.  Our differential diagnoses currently are: Benign Myoclonus of Early Infancy or Sterotypies.  We think the myoclonus description sounds exactly like what she does. 

So what’s the plan of action?  We have to log any events she has and possibly capture more video and return to the neurologist in May.  Depending on how things are at that point, we might have a 24 hour video EEG ordered. If we notice any regression in her developmental milestones or progression in the severity of her episodes we have to call much sooner.

We would appreciate all your thoughts and prayers as we work to figure out exactly what is going on with our precious little girl!

{Belated} Birthday Update: Eight Months!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
6 month Deets: 16lbs 7oz, 26.5 inches
Height: no appt this month
Weight: no appt this month… was 17lb 3oz at a sick visit
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, babydoll, Little Baby Wee, Silly Wee, Mads
Exciting Events: Mid February to mid March wasn’t particularly exciting as winter raged on and we stayed in out of the cold.  Maddie also caught quite a bad cold and proceeded to share it with mommy, daddy and grandma and grandpa H!  Hey… at least we are teaching her to share from a young age?  We did celebrate our very first Saint Patrick’s Day… Miss Maddie is definitely our little pot of gold!  And we had visitors from Michigan!  We did a little sight seeing with them as things started to thaw out around here a bit.  Mads even did her first stint on the AT! This month she tried toast and a few other big people foods straight from the table.  She loves sharing mommy’s oatmeal in the mornings.  We’ve also started Maddie/Mommy time where we spend some time playing and watching a movie (mostly mommy watching a movie and playing with Maddie) but just spending time with “us girls” while daddy gets to watch sports or play a video game or two. One of Maddie’s favorite things in the world is the cat – Tills. She will pull on his tail or his ear or just handfuls of his fur and he just takes it all in stride. She sometimes will be so excited to see him that she will barely touch his fur before bursting into a huge grin and giggles.
What She Does: Maddie can pull herself up to a standing position like its no big deal. Yup, been doing this forever mom!  She doesn’t crawl but will roll or fall forward to get to what she wants.  I think she’s planning to just skip that whole crawling thing and will be walking soon enough! She is already getting good at walking from one place to another while holding on to someone’s hands. She still has no teeth but that doesn’t stop her from gnawing on her toast!  She says “Mom” all.the.time.  Like literally it’s the only thing she says 24-7. Except when she is baby rapping… still hoping to catch that on video because its hilarious. She’s recently picked up on waving and will sometimes display this new knowledge if you are lucky.  And mommy’s favorite new skill… the head hugs!  When Maddie gets super excited to be with you she will press her little noggin against yours really hard and rub it back and forth with a smile on her face. Sometimes she adds grabbing your ears to pull you closer or noshing on your nose for good measure.  Its quite possibly the cutest thing ever! <3

Birthday Update: Four Months!

Ok so this is a few days after Miss M’s birthday but I wanted to wait until after our doctor appointment today!  See? I didn’t forget you all!  So what has little miss been up to?

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
2month Deets: 11lbs 13oz, 23.5 inches
Height: 24.8 inches
Weight: 14lbs 2oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, Bay, babydoll
Exciting Events: Miss M had her very first Halloween!  She went dressed as a zebra one day and a ballerina the next and came home with a very impressive haul for mommy and daddy! Lots of suckers in that haul but hey, we aren’t complaining!  She also went on a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN and ate at Joe’s Crab Shack… well mommy and daddy did.  And probably the biggest thing that happened is… mommy went back to work and little miss is playing with her Grandparents 3 days a week.  More on that…
What She Does: She’s still no longer sleeping through the night and mommy is sleep deprived some nights are a bit rough. Ok, we’ve had it easy up until now and have stocked up on solid 6+ hour stretches of sleep since she was about 6 weeks old but they aren’t kidding when they talk about the Four Month Wakeful Period! She is back to waking up 2-3 times a night for the past couple weeks.  She still prefers standing over sitting, however, she is now able to sit up unassisted for perhaps 5-10 seconds before her noggin topples her over.  We shall soon have a sitter on our hands folks! She always has her hands in her mouth and the drooling is positively disgusting.  Yes, we think she’s working on those little teefers in there!  She will still talk your ear off and this month we have had the joy of hearing her laughing.  It is perhaps the best of her sounds so far.  We hear it most often when she is being tickled or when we are dancing and singing the “no pants dance” or “all the single babies”… songs mommy made up for Maddie’s silly pleasure. She also now cries for me by name… “mama…waaaaahhh….mama…waaaahhhh…mama….” oh joy! 

Birthday Update: Three Months!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
Prior Month Deets: 11lbs 13oz, 23.5 inches
Height: ? No doctor’s appointment this month!
Weight: ? No doctor’s appointment this month!
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, kiddo widdo, babydoll
Exciting Events: Let’s see… Miss M met her great grandpa S!  He came down with Grammy and Grampy K specifically to meet Miss Madeline.  If you remember a while back he was quite sick and had been in the hospital most of this year.  It was so great to see him looking so well!  

Also?  Mommy and daddy celebrated their FIRST wedding anniversary! To celebrate we took a trip to Maddie’s very first zoo – in Knoxville - and she spent the night in her very first hotel room! She also saw a bit of Knoxville and ate some PF Changs!
What She Does: She’s still sleeping through the night and we couldn’t be happier with that!  She still prefers standing over sitting and is getting less wobbly at it every day. She holds her upper body up when you carry her but can only sit up by herself for about a second before tipping under the weight of her noggin.  She’s also starting to notice her hands and feet and just the other day tried grabbing her toes with a puzzled look on her face. She’s been talking (cooing) up a storm and has recently started shrieking like a velociraptor.  I swear I’ve heard her say “mama” a few times but never with a witness… until TODAY!  Today she said “MOM” very clearly while I was on the phone with the hubs! He even paused and said “Did she just say mom?!” Yup! My daughter is clearly an intelligence of genius proportions as well as a dollface. 

Happy birthday baby girl… Mommy and Daddy feel so blessed to have you with us!

Birthday Update: Two Months!

Happy birthday to our little princess! I can’t believe you have been here for 2 months already – time has gone so fast and yet I almost can’t remember a time when you weren’t here with us.  It seems you have always been a part of us.  We can’t wait to see what adventures await you!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
Prior Month Deets: 9lbs 15oz, 22 inches
Height: 23.5 inches
Weight: 11lbs 13oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss M, Hungry Mungry Kiddo, Wobble Head Doll
Exciting Events: This month has been much more laidback than last month!  We are still working on unpacking the house after the move and finding the items we need can be a bit of a challenge. The nursery essentials are all set up but we have some decorating items to do in there yet!  Miss M will be in our room for a while yet so there is no rush on those finishing touches!  Other than that Maddie enjoys visiting with her grandparents and watching the tractors pass back and forth on our road! 
What She Does: Sleeps through the night!! Wow this is a big one for mommy and daddy!  Miss M has been consistently sleeping 7-8hrs at night (which is a HUGE deal) for a couple weeks now. She has good head control and likes to look all around but does still wobble a bit.  She tries to sit on her own but because of the wobble she tends to lurch forward or to the side pretty quickly. She also enjoys standing up while mommy or daddy hold her under her arms – she actually prefers this more often than not! She likes tummy time (most of the time) and has fun on her play mat.  Miss M is a bit of a chatterbox – especially when she first wakes up!  She gets her “morning person” personality from her daddy so her morning chats are a bit exhausting for mommy!  Most of all she smiles and smiles and smiles at us which melts our hearts every time.  But then you see her smiling, laughing and talking to the living room ceiling fan or the bedroom “nipple light”… guess she is just making it clear we aren’t as special as we think!

Birthday Update: One Month!

Wow… how time has flown since Miss M made her debut in this world!  I can’t believe she’s already a month old.  My little peanut has definitely put on weight (official Peds weigh in on Monday!) and is sleeping and eating her way through most days.  She is our joy and… our frustration in those times when she just cries for no reason we can discern at 2am. Mostly she just fills the days with joy and love and a feeling of complete wonder at the awesome miraculous creation that she is!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz (7lbs 14oz when leaving hospital, 8lb 2oz at Peds 3 days later)
Height: 22 inches
Weight: 9lbs 15 oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Princess Peepants, Grunty McGrunterson, Miss Me, Hungry Mungry Kiddo
Exciting Events: Aside from the very exciting event of her birthday, Maddie had many visitors from Michigan! The very first weekend she was home, Grammy & Grampy K made an impromptu trip to see their granddaughter.  About a week later, Great Aunt Pat & Great Uncle Jim arrived with cousins Jessa, Eli & Erin.  One day later, Grammy and Grampy K showed up with Aunt Katie and cousin Collin! While they were visiting, Maddie had a Skype date with Great Grandpa Slagter and a few other Great Uncles back in Michigan. She also made the move with mommy & daddy into their very first house!  It made for a very exciting and exhausting month!
What She Does: cries, sleeps, eats, pees/poops… that’s pretty much the run of things these days. Tummy time includes her being able to move her head from side to side and push herself up (head/chest) with her arms. She smiles mostly just randomly but I think I’ve caught her smiling back at me or daddy a time or two. And recently she’s taken to standing up when you hold her, supporting her whole body weight on those tiny little feet!  She has a pretty set internal schedule and let’s us get to bed sometime around 10/11pm gets up around 1:30/2am and then sleeps until around 5/6am – those 3-4hr stretches of sleep can work wonders for mommy & daddy!

Mommy update: I’m healing well and have lost most of the pregnancy weight – thank you breastfeeding! My pregnancy carpal tunnel is mostly gone with just slight numbness in 2-3 fingers on each hand instead of complete numbness in 4!  My wedding and engagement rings fit once again – yay!  It’s a good thing too because the fake bling started turning my finger green immediately after I gave birth! (totally weird!)  We moved to the new house 3 weeks after Maddie was born which was totally crazy (note to self: never repeat that) and we are still living mostly out of boxes because there is barely enough time in the day for me to eat let alone clean and unpack.  (Needless to say picture updates of the new house will be delayed for a bit!)

Grandpa

I had an entirely different post in the works for today but I have some urgent prayer requests instead.If you follow me on Facebook, you have probably seen my posts over the last couple weeks regarding my grandpa.  Shortly after our trip to Michigan for Memorial Day, Grandpa fell and broke his femur.  He’s needed a hip replacement on that side for some time now but he’s 89 years old and stubborn so it was something he was going to do only in his own time.  So he ended up in the hospital for a few days and got the hip replacement and an internal fixation device in his femur to boot.  He went to a rehab and then home and was doing really well with his recovery.

Then one day last week his physical therapist came to the house and noticed something didn’t look quite right with his wound. His orthopedist’s office directed him to the hospital and they did emergency surgery to clean out his wound which was obviously infected.  They also found that had an infection in his blood, otherwise known as sepsis.  They pinpointed the bacteria as MRSA and have been loading him up with appropriate antibiotics. He was getting better.  Then his arm started to swell… he had a blood clot in the arm they were using to administer the antibiotics through the PICC line.  They had to redo the PICC line and in the meantime decided that his wound needed to be cleaned out again.  He continued on antibiotics and a wound vac and started getting better again although his spirits were going down with every setback and delay in getting back home.  This morning we found out the results of the last wound cleaning.  He now also has a gram negative bacteria growing and his antibiotics need to be changed again.  They will also be taking him back to surgery today to clean out the wound more.  We are praying that the infections have not reached his hip prosthesis at this point.

My Grandpa has been there for me my entire life.  Supporting me, encouraging me, advising me.  He has shown us all through his quiet strength and wisdom what a man and more importantly a father and grandfather should be.  He has demonstrated unconditional love and an unfailing faith in God.  As a WWII veteran he’s seen and been through more than we could ever imagine.  He is the glue that holds our extended family together and we aren’t ready to give up on him yet.

I am asking for prayers for him.  Prayers for wisdom for the doctors treating him. Prayers of healing of his body.  And prayers for uplifting of his spirit because sometimes that can make a world of difference.
{photo credit}

Hump Day Bump Day: Week 29

Health Stats: blood pressure 116/68, 1hr glucose test results: 94,
baby’s heartbeat 156, total weight gain ~19lbs

How far along? 29 Weeks, 3 Days
Outfit? Maternity leggings, tank and shirt
Stretch marks/Belly Button? No stretch marks, still have an innie!
Sleep: Sleeping decent as long as I make sure not to eat too late!
Best moment this week: Having 3 days off in a row… course the trade off is I’m working the next 8 days straight, 10hrs a day.  That used to be my normal schedule but the pregnancy fatigue made me rethink that schedule and switch to a more normal 8hrs/5days schedule for the past 4.5months.
Miss Anything? Coffee ice cream
Movement: Lots of strong kicks on the bladder these days… making frequent bathroom stops!
Food cravings: Strawberries… hubs even suggested this must be my pregnancy craving because can’t get enough of them!  Thankfully, we are in berry season around these parts.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope not really!
Labor Signs? Not that I’ve noticed.. and I hope I notice something like that
Mood? Been exhausted consistently but other than that mostly in a good mood
Looking forward to: heading to MI next week to see my family and have 2 baby showers!
Worries & Fears: That the baby will come early and we won’t be ready for her!
Weekly Thoughts/Questions: My tummy is feeling hard and stretched and I don’t know where this baby is gonna go if she gets much bigger.  Also?  I think this is the first time in my life I’ve had ever had rock hard abs!

The House

If you have been following along with the Hump Day Bump Day posts, you may have caught on to the fact that we are also currently in the middle of a remodel of our home to be!  A little background… my hubs inherited this 1940’s mountain home when his ‘granny’ passed away.  When he moved to TN from TX about the same time I moved to TN from MI, he moved into her home with his stuff and basically left everything the way she had it when she was living there.  We have been working on paring down (both at the house and in our townhouse), clearing out, refinishing and making the space work for us and baby.  I thought I would post a few before and during the process pics.. after pics will be coming much later because we aren’t moving in until after Miss Madeline makes her appearance.

We aren’t planning to do much to the outside this year as most of our cash flow is tied up on the inside and with buying the necessary baby gear. This was taken a few months ago when the trees were still in full on winter mode and we have a bag of bathroom remodel trash on the porch!

Bathroom before, demo, during remodel. There was no existing shower so we had that added and had the tub surround tile done. Not pictured are the new vanity and toilet and we still need to paint and add the light fixtures but we are *almost* done in here!

The last pics I will post are of the living area/front entry.  We have the dreaded wood paneling in the living room, dining room, kitchen and part of the hallway currently.  I scoured Pinterest and found that it is possible to paint the darn stuff and update the look of the house without having to rip it all out and re-drywall the whole thing.  The results so far have been worth the effort for sure!

The above pic still has the painters tape but you can get the idea.  It went from crazy paneling color to a khaki color with white trim.  Still to do in here: touch up the trim, change out the ceiling fan, clean the blinds (& figure out window coverings), and replace the carpeting.

Still to do: paint the bathroom, paint the 3 bedrooms, paint the kitchen, replace the linoleum in the kitchen, replace light fixtures/ceiling fans throughout, and get the carpet replaced throughout. I know it sounds like a lot – and it is!  But this will be our first family home together not just my townhouse that he moved into after we got married.  More importantly, it will be the first home for Madeline.  A place for her firsts and a place for us to grow together as a family.  The work is more than worth it!

Leap of Faith

In October 2010 I posted the lyrics to the song ”Here Goes” by Bebo Norman.  At the time I was debating taking a leap of faith by leaving my home, family, and job behind to start something new in Tennessee. The song always seemed to be playing when I was praying or thinking about the decision.  And I listened. 

Here goes nothing, here goes everything. Gotta reach for something or you'll fall for anything. Take a breath, take a step, what comes next God only knows but here goes…

And I moved… 700 miles away from everything and everyone I knew.  A leap of faith that what was waiting for me was something bigger and better than I could have imagined.  It started with a job had seemed promising at the time, but I struggled with once I was in it.  I was on a fast track to climb further up the corporate ladder and it was nothing I wanted.  I reevaluated where I was and who I was and decided to take focus off work and back to what I felt was really important – family.  It seems slightly counterintuitive to focus on family when all of mine was 700 miles away, yet I felt my time in Tennessee wasn’t over. About that same time I found another job option that gave me flexibility of location and… I met my husband.  He was the reason I was supposed to stay.

And What good is chance not taken? What good is life not living?
What good is love not given?

I heard the song again last week for the first time since making the move and it seemed appropriate for our current situation.  I had just given notice to my work of my maternity leave and was informed they have no written policy. We are on our own to determine what length of leave will be appropriate for our family, knowing the whole time I have no job security or protections.  While we would love for me to be a stay at home mom full-time, it is just not financially reasonable at this point.  We will be taking a leap of faith that things will work out when I return from leave, or a door to something better will open up. 

I needed this reminder.  And as always… His timing is perfect.

The Bump

Half a year has come and gone since I last updated here. Oh. My. Goodness.. Half a year?!  Major blogging fail on my part.  I do have lots of exciting things to share in upcoming days so I am going to attempt to be a better blogger once again!

So.. let’s get to the good stuff!

First came love… engaged {12.10.11}

Then came marriage… married {10.12.12}

{photo credit}

Then in mid November came a surprise… baby!

And here we are 14 weeks 3 days later…The Bump!

So if you have wondered what I’ve been up to… I hope this answers the question! More updates to come as the bump progresses and I use this as a way to keep family and friends back in Michigan {and elsewhere} informed of the progress!

Happy Day!

Welcome to the world Collin Alan!  Your aunt is so very excited to meet you on Friday!  Oh yeah… and congrats to my sister & brother-in-law!

Forgiveness

Forgive (intransitive verb): 1) a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital for b: to grant relief from payment of 2) to cease to feel resentment against (an offender): pardon. [Webster's]

Sorry may be the hardest word to say but I think forgiving someone is the hardest thing to do.  Not to just say you forgive someone for something but really, truly forgive them.

You see, to truly forgive someone you have to give up on that anger and resentment you have built up.  Those emotions are much easier to hold on to than to make yourself vulnerable to be possibly hurt again.  It’s especially difficult when the person you are forgiving hasn’t apologized or asked to be forgiven at all.  You almost have to make yourself forget the offending act ever happened.

An article I came across by the Mayo Clinic has an interesting perspective on the effects of holding on to that resentment and anger:

What are the effects of holding a grudge? 
If you're unforgiving, you might pay the price repeatedly by bringing anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience. Your life might become so wrapped up in the wrong that you can't enjoy the present. You might become depressed or anxious. You might feel that your life lacks meaning or purpose, or that you're at odds with your spiritual beliefs. You might lose valuable and enriching connectedness with others.

I don’t want to allow these wrongs to take root and control my life so I’m working on forgiveness right now for a few people in my life. 

I know that if I can just get there, and I mean really get there, I will be free of it and have the peace I want.

Think What You Will

I blocked some people from my Facebook page. 

{You would think the world had ended because of that one simple click of the mouse!} 

I even drew ridicule from some additional people in their status… so I blocked them too. 

I even toyed with just deleting my account altogether but there are people on there I don’t have emails or phone numbers handy for, and pictures of people far away that I want to see from time to time.  There are people on there who aren’t involved in this mess.

I chose to remove certain people from my little online space because of a series of events that have caused nothing but hurt and heartache.  I don’t want to be surrounded with negativity or jealousy or petty drama.  I certainly don’t want to be reminded of it every day. 

Perhaps I should say I chose to remove myself from their spaces.  Hopefully it will give them less fuel for their fires and they will find someone else to focus their negativity on.

If not, well then to them I say:  Think what you will… you are entitled to your opinions just as I am entitled to leave them all behind.

Michigan Monday

A picture tribute to my recent trip back to the Mitten over 4th of July…

4th of July Oooohs and Ahhhhs!

	Grand Haven, MI

“The longest road out is the shortest road home”
Irish Proverb