Bev's Bits

Winners!

2009-04-04T16:56:00.002-05:00

We're so proud of our girls! The Junior High Competition Majorette squad won 2nd place in a county competition last weekend, and the Senior High squad won 3rd! Look at those trophies!

One more week till the next competition! Let's go for first, girls!

FHS!

2009-03-09T12:46:00.002-05:00

Here she is... Jillian, all grown up, getting ready to go to the Freshman - Sophomore Hop at the high school with her boyfriend Casey. Okay, maybe not all grown up! But she sure doesn't look like my baby any more...

Time flies....

2009-02-27T12:44:00.003-05:00

It's been a busy winter. Becca finished her first semester of college and started her second. She's doing very well in college and enjoys it a lot. She's excited because her best friend, who was commuting, is now living in the same dorm she is, so they get to hang out a lot more.

Jillian is busy as a Freshman in high school and is very busy with the competition majorette squad. She loves it and always has a baton in her hand. I'm so proud of how much she has improved in this past year! She can't wait till the weather gets better so she can practice outside.

We're trying to make plans for summer vacations.... first is a trip to NYC with some of my girlfriends the same time that the Chorus and Band are going... except we are going by ourselves! It's going to be sooo much fun!!! Then we have the annual Ohiopyle camping/rafting trip with friends and relatives... then we're planning a 4-5 day vacation with Frank's brother's family. I am really, really looking forward to that trip! We get along so well with them, and so do all the kids, so I know that's going to be fun!

I'm going to post some pictures this weekend of Jill at her dance in January. She had a lot of fun with her boyfriend and looked soooo grown up!

Car inspection

2008-11-03T12:49:00.004-05:00

Yep, it's that time of year again. In PA, we have to have our cars inspected once a year to make sure they are safe to drive on the road. Mine is due in November each year, which I actually don't mind because then I know it's in good shape for winter.

Frank knew that the brakes were going to need replaced but doesn't have time this weekend to do them, so he checked out a couple of Auto repair shops that we knew about and they all seem to be busy till late next week. He did get some estimates though and Car repair prices sure are high!

Frank usually does our repairs himself, but wasn't sure he'd have the time... and he wasn't sure what else needed replaced. So he found an online Auto repair encyclopedia that gives you helpful hints on what is wrong with your car. He clicked on the brake system and it definitely gave him some pointers on what to look for. I'm sure glad he understands all of that, because I sure don't! lol!

One of the neighbors stopped over when Frank had the car up on jacks and his Honda Accord needs repaired. They swapped stories for a while and Frank suggested that he check out the Auto repair encyclopedia!

busy, busy, busy

2008-09-24T07:16:00.002-05:00

Ahhhh, the story of my life! lol! Things have been very busy with football season in full swing! Between practices and performances, there's not much time for anything else. Jillian seems to be extremely active this year, and while she's doing well so far, I need to make sure she doesn't over do it...

Here's a list of all that she is doing right now...

Majorette in marching band - practices once a week and football games every Friday night
Baton lessons - she's taking weekly private lessons at ATJ for baton so that she keeps up with all the other girls that have been in majorettes longer than she has
Dance lessons - she's taking a weekly Jazz class with her friend Ginny at ATJ to help with her rhythm ;)
Show Choir - Special group of students who sing year round at special events. They practice Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 6:45 a.m.
Girl Scouts - two meetings a month. She loves this and has been in scouts since kindergarten.
Youth Group - with our church, two meetings a month.
Church choir - She sings in our church choir and often has solos and plays the flute for a couple of songs.

Plus, on top of all of that, she is determined to make Distinguished Honor Roll every semester. In the past, she's always made High Honor Roll, but just missed the higher level... She wants to make National Honor Society her Senior Year and she knows that she's going to have to maintain very good grades all through high school in order to make it because she has a lot of very smart kids in her class.

So, the juggling can be a bit hectic each week! But so far, she is doing great with it. I'm very proud of her and she has grown so much in the past year. She's definitely a young lady now instead of a little girl... and I'm an extremely proud mom.

R.I.P. Scooter...

2008-09-09T20:27:00.005-05:00

Our pet guinea pig, Scooter, passed away last night... I know it seems silly to get so attached to a guinea pig, but I really did.

Jillian got him 3 summers ago at our town's summer celebration. They had a petting zoo and they had baby guinea pigs. She begged and begged all weekend for one and we finally gave in and brought home Scooter on Sunday afternoon. We all fell in love with him immediately. He had such a personality! When he'd hear my voice in the hallway, he'd squeak like crazy so that I would go into the room and talk to him or feed him.

Jillian carried him all over the house and yard. She used to take him outside with her while she was reading a book and he'd sit beside her and take a nap. Or he'd sit on her chest while she was leaning back in a chair watching movies on our computer.

He started getting sick last week and didn't recover and passed last night. We had a sweet little service for him and then hubby buried him. There were a lot of tears in our house last evening...

We love you Scooter!

Picture that describes her...

2008-09-08T08:25:00.002-05:00

Jillian had to bring a picture to school today that "describes" her....

So, she had me go outside and take some shots of her.... I really think this one turned out the best. It's totally her... she LOVES to read and ALWAYS has a book in her hands while listening to her music.

Game Play...

2008-09-05T13:24:00.008-05:00

Okay, I have girls... now don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound sexist but I've noticed that boys seem to get into video games a lot more than girls do. We did not even own a video gaming system until last Christmas when I bought our very first PlayStation2!!!

Anyway, the system was used a lot when we first got it. We got Dance Dance Revolution and Sing Star and had a blast with it! Then it kind of got left alone for a while. For Easter, I got the girls Crash Bandicoot and they started using it again! And this was one that Frank enjoyed! So he started playing it more as well.

They use it a lot more often, but it's time to get a few more games. I checked at ShopWiki and found a search by category feature available and found quite a few that I think the girls would like; maybe even a new Dance Dance game! Frank prefers the Racing games, and they have many to choose from there too.

Decisions, decisions! lol! I'll post after I've given it some more thought ;)

Are you ready for some football!!!

2008-09-04T08:39:00.002-05:00

Yep, it's football season! And as you can see, we're all decked out in our orange and black to cheer the Bobcats on! We won the first home game, and it was a good one! Jill got to perform in her first ever half time show as a majorette and we were very proud of her! She dropped a few times, but no more than the other girls ;) She'll get better with practice. They only performed two songs because Mrs. Moore didn't feel the third song was ready, but they've practiced this week and it's ready to go!

School is going well for both girls. Becca is adjusting to life on a college campus. However, I haven't had too much time to miss her as she's been either calling, texting or IM'ing me pretty often... and, she came home for the football game Friday night and had to come home yesterday for a Chiropractors appointment. So yeah, it hasn't been too bad so far! lol! I can't imagine though how it would be if she was further away, or if she didn't have good friends going to her college with her. She seems to be having a great time.

Jill's classes are going well and she's enjoying her teachers. She's taking Spanish this year, finally! She has wanted to take Spanish since she was a little girl! I'll be shocked if she doesn't end up taking 4 full years of it.

Tomorrow's football game is another home game, so we'll be all decked out again this week. Go Bobcats!

Almost here...

2008-08-21T09:27:00.003-05:00

Yep, it's almost here. Tomorrow is move in day for Becca at college. Wow... how the heck did I get old enough to have a daughter going to college???

You should see our living room... there is "stuff" from one end to the other. She has most everything packed pretty well. We're going to load it all in the van tonight, then we leave around 9:30 a.m. to head to campus! Her move in time is 10:30. We'll stick around for a few hours, probably eat lunch on campus, then we head to Pittsburgh to see Jillian perform in the Kennywood parade...

Thank goodness, Saturday is a free day.... we had thought Becca's move in day was Saturday, so we kept it open. After the week I've had, I need a Saturday that has absolutely nothing planned on it!

So, be thinking of me on Friday as I move my baby into college!

Giving them wings...

2008-08-09T09:02:00.001-05:00

You know, it's really hard letting go of your kids....

Becca is 18 and legally considered an adult now ... and I know that.... but it doesn't make it any easier to let her go.

She and 3 girlfriends are going on a "road trip" this weekend... her very first one. They are going to Gettysburg, so it's not like it's some big party place! lol! And, the girls she's going with are all good girls... not into partying or anything like that. But I can't help but be nervous about her going!

I have never had any reason not to trust Becca and hubby and I are fine with her going, but boy it's hard to watch them move on....

She leaves for college in two weeks.... that's not going to be easy either....

She called last night to say they arrived safely and were checking into the hotel, then going to get something to eat. I know that I'll hear from her often, because she loves to text me. She took her good camera and my digital camera and plans to take tons of pictures. I'll be anxious to see them when she gets back.

It's hard watching them grow up...

What a busy week...

2008-07-28T12:59:00.002-05:00

Wow, last week was just plain crazy! I'm glad it's over! lol! However, this week doesn't look like it's going to be much better...

Last week was majorette camp for Jillian. She left on Sunday and finished Wednesday night. She ended up hurting her ankle on Monday during one of the morning practices but didn't want to miss anything, so she continued to perform on it the rest of the time she was there. By the time we picked her up Wednesday night, she was hurting pretty bad. After a trip to the doctors for an xray, they finally determined (but not until late Friday!) that it was not broken, thank you God! It is severely sprained and she pulled and tore a couple ligaments. So she'll be on crutches for a few more days until the swelling finally goes down and it doesn't hurt to walk so much...

So, that meant she didn't get to go to church camp with Becca on Saturday! Her dorm is on the second floor and they do a LOT of walking at church camp. She decided that it just was going to be too much. So instead, she headed to Corry with me. Frank and Ray had gone to Clearfield to our camp to put a new roof on the camp and I was heading to Corry to preach Sunday morning. We had a nice visit with the inlaws and even got to see my nephew Denton perform in Fiddler on the Roof for the community theatre! He did a great job!

After church Sunday, we went to lunch with "the Grands" as Jilli calls them, then headed for Clearfield. We spent the afternoon with Ray and Frank... Jilli lounged with her ankle in the air while I actually helped the guys with the roof! I started a fire and we made pie iron pizzas, then Jilli and I headed home.

Becca will be home for a short while on Tuesday to work... she couldn't get anyone to cover for her. She'll head back to church camp Wednesday morning and be home on Sunday. Frank will be home Tuesday in time for me to wash his clothes and get the rest of the stuff packed up for us to head out Wednesday morning too. We'll be dropping Jilli off at The Grands for a couple days, while he and I head to Kelleys Island for our anniversary! We'll be staying till Friday morning, then will go to the inlaws to spend the weekend.

I'm looking forward to a few days away... I should have pictures when I get back!

Bath Note

2008-07-25T07:51:00.002-05:00

Dear Kids,

Don't be alarmed, the world isn't coming to an end. I am simply taking a bath. It will take about thirty minutes and will involve soap and water. Yes, I know how to swim. Even if I didn't, forcing myself to drown in a half-inch of lukewarm water is more work than I've got energy for. (Which reminds me, I'm all for science projects, but the next time you want to see if Play-Doh floats, use cold water.)

Don't panic if I'm not out right on time. I've heard that people
don't dissolve in water and I'd like to test the theory. While I'm in
the tub, I'd like you to remember a few things. The large slab of
wood between us is called a door. Do not bang to hear my voice. I
promise that even though you can't see me, I *am* on the other side.
I'm not digging an escape tunnel and running for the border,no matter
what I said a while ago. I didn't mean it. Honest. There will be
plenty of time later to tell me about your day.

"Later" means at a time when I am no longer naked, wet, and
contemplating bubble gum in the blow dryer. I know you have important
things to tell me. Please let one of them be that you have invented a
new way to blow bubbles, not a new way to add gum to your hair.

Believe it or not, shouting, "TELEPHONE!" through the closed bathroom
door will *not* make the phone stop ringing. Answer it and take a
message. Since Amazing Mind-Reading Mom has the day off, you'll need
to write that message down. Use paper and a pencil. Do not use your
brother and the laundry marker. We can't send him to school with
telephone number tattoos.

Water makes me wet, not deaf. I can still tell the difference between
the sound of "nothing" and the sound of a child playing the piano
with a basketball. I can also hear you tattling at the top of your
lungs. I'm *choosing* NOT to answer you.

Don't call your dad at work and tell him I am unconscious in the
bathroom. He didn't appreciate it last time. He won't appreciate it
more this time. Trust me.

No matter how much I would like it, water does not make me forgetful.
I remember who you are and why you are grounded. No, you can't go to
Shelby's house to play. No, you can't go to Shelby's house to use the
bathroom. If someone is in our other bathroom, you will just have to
think dry thoughts and wait. Unless you have four feet and a tail, do
not think of going outside to "water" the lawn. I know the dog does
it. The neighbors don't feel the need to call me when the dog does it.

Unless the house catches on fire, stay inside and keep the doors
locked. Do not go outside and throw rocks at the bathroom window to
get my attention. I know it works in the movies. This is reality, the
place where people don't like to sit in a tub while rocks and broken
glass rain in on them. Do not set the house on fire. Call me if there
is an emergency.

Emergencies ARE:
1. Dad has fallen off the roof.
2. Your brother and/or sister is bleeding.
3. There's a red fire truck in front of our house.
Emergencies are NOT:
1. Dad has fallen asleep.
2. Someone on TV is bleeding.
3. There's a red pickup truck in front of our house.

One other thing: Being forced to use the last roll of toilet paper
for a towel does not make me happy. In the future, when the tub
overflows, use a mop to clean up the water instead of every towel in
the house. For my sanity's sake, let's pretend it was the tub, Okay?
No, I don't want to hear the real story. Ever. Especially not while
I'm standing in the pool of water you missed.

By the way, all Play-Doh experiments are hereby canceled.

Be good. Entertain yourselves. Yes, you can do both at the same time.
Try coloring, playing a game, or paying that stack of bills on the
coffee table.

I'll be out soon. Maybe.

Love,
Your Mom

Getting ready for camp...

2008-07-24T21:53:00.003-05:00

Yep, it's that time of year again... The girls are getting ready to head to Church camp on Saturday. What does that mean? That means that my washing machine gets a workout, big time! I have washed every piece of laundry that the girls own, and everything Frank and I own too! I'm almost done, I only have one more load to do so that the girls can pack everything Friday. They leave Saturday afternoon and I don't want them waiting until Saturday morning to pack everything.

One of the biggest drawbacks with washing machines is that they only take half the time that a dryer does! Okay so the problem is more that the dryer can't dry as fast as the washing machines do, but I've sometimes thought that I'd love to have a second dryer so that I could always have one ready with a new load of laundry to dry! lol! It would be great to have them both done at the same time so that you can always put in a new load!

One of my good friends has two dryers, but she also has two boys who seem to dirty more than their share of clothes every day.... Once again, I thank God for giving me girls! lol!

Massage Therapist and Chiropractors...

2008-07-16T17:47:00.003-05:00

Well... Becca has been going to a massage therapist for some back pain for about a year now. Unfortunately, the therapist is very busy, so it's hard to get in to see her. It's been a while since Becca has been there, and she's been having a lot of pain lately, so I called to try to get her in... Two weeks at the earliest :(

So, we got a flier in the mail last week for a new place in town, and the guy and his wife who run it went to high school with me. I figured that a massage is a massage, so I might at well give them a call. I called yesterday and they got her in today.

It's actually a Chiropractors office, but they also offer massages. They were running a special for $27 for an hour massage. Pretty darn good price! So she's supposed to go in at 3:00 today. She comes to my office and we are swamped... my boss is out of the office, finishing up a funeral, the computer at work is on the blink so the computer guy is there working on it, and it's time for her appointment.... Becca is 18 now, so she doesn't really need me to go with her... so I call them and tell them she'll be there by herself and I'll come when I can. I had already given them a bit of Becca's history with the migraines and the cancer, so they suggested that she have an alignment too. That's fine with me.

When I get there, she's already had xrays and a scan and been adjusted and is in the back having her massage. This isn't the first time we've tried chiropractic for Becca's headaches and pains. She went consistently for quite some time at another place, but it didn't help so that's why we went with the massage, which has been helping her back pain, but not the headaches.

I truly do believe that chiropractors can help you. Don't get me wrong. But I hate it when they go on and on about "knowing that they can cure all your problems!" They start telling me that they've had many, many clients who have been helped with adjustments for their migraines. I know that! That's why we went in the first place! And I tried to explain to them that it's not as simple as that. Becca has had a headache every single day for the past 3 1/2 years! YEARS!!! We've tried everything!!! We've been to every doctor imaginable, including the top neurologist in Pittsburgh who runs a headache clinic!

If she can be helped, wonderful... but I'm not holding my breath. Becca has learned to live with the pain and still carries on like a normal teenager. But, she said the massage was wonderful and she definitely wants to go back to him. Her back feels much better.

So she'll go back... and for $27, I think I'll schedule a massage for me as well ;)

More trip ideas...

2008-07-15T14:05:00.003-05:00

Well, we finally decided where we going for our trip in a couple weeks. Looks like we're going to end up going to Kelleys Island which is an island in Lake Erie that is just north of Sandusky Ohio... where Cedar Point is!

We're really getting excited about it... It's not too far away from home, yet it will be a nice drive for us to take. We have to take a ferry to the island, which should be fun! I'm anxious to do some more looking to see what activities there are for us to do while we're there...

It's funny, but when I was talking with Becca about where we should go, she suggested that we go to New York City! While that would be a lot of fun, neither of us have ever been there... and I'd be scared to death to actually drive into the city! lol!

I actually did little searching and found a hotel called the Hotel 373 Fifth Avenue that is just steps from the Empire State Building! Wow, I can't even imagine that! I'd love to take in a show on Broadway... maybe someday!

Frank is talking about going to a conference for work in Chicago in the fall and he'd like me to go with him. I could do quite a bit of sightseeing while he's in meetings! But I'd rather not go once it starts getting cold though... I want to go when it's still nice out!

Oh well, for now, we'll settle for a little island off of Ohio.

Went to the Ag Fair last night!

2008-07-12T10:45:00.002-05:00

I love fairs! I really do. There's just something about it that draws me in. So when a friend asked if I wanted to go to the little Ag Fair in a neighboring town, I was in!

I watched a tractor pull, which I had never seen before, and got to see one of the boys from Jillian's class compete. He did pretty well! All the other participants were much older so it was nice to see a 14-15 year old boy do as well as some men!

I had a pulled pork sandwich and then an apple dumpling with ice cream and caramel... oh yummm, was it good! We walked all around the booths and then saw all the animals. They had adorable rabbits, pigs, horses, cows, goats, and all your typical farm animals.

We had a very nice time. It's nice to just get out with friends once in a while.

Tonight is my Girls Night Out bonfire at my house! I have about 8 friends coming over to spend the evening and sit around and gab. I'm looking forward to it!

More pictures...

2008-07-10T22:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, this scrapbook site is getting very addicting! And it's so easy!

Here's a card I made for my mom with all the grandchildren. She is going to love it!

Then I made a Thank You card for my cousin Deb who helped us out so much in Ft. Lauderdale when we were on our cruise. I sent this card and a box of cookies through Send Out Cards. I can't wait to hear that she got them!

Anniversary Trip!

2008-07-10T12:14:00.004-05:00

Our 22nd Anniversary is coming up August 2nd. Frank and I have been trying to get away for a couple of days every year on our Anniversary and luckily, it always seems to fall the week that the girls are at church camp! Yeah!

So, we've been trying to come up with ideas on where to go. Because of the high price of gas, we weren't sure we wanted to go very far this year. Two years ago, for our 20th, we went to Gatlinburg, TN. We rented a cabin for the whole week and did a lot of sightseeing in the area. We loved it! It was a great trip. Last year, we just went up to our camp in Titusville for a few extra days. But this year, I'd like to go someplace special...

I found a great site called hotelscombined.com that allows you to type in the dates of your trip and where you'd like to go and they will come up with a huge list of hotels with pictures and prices! I typed in Orlando, just to see what would come up, and they had 42 pages of hotels!

Since we want to be closer to home, I thought I'd check out Pittsburgh. I was able to refine my search to our price range and it still came up with 4 pages of choices!

We're also thinking of staying in a Bed and Breakfast instead of a hotel. I found a great site, called BedandBreakfast.com that offers the exact same service! This sure makes things a lot easier! They offered about 20 options for Bed and Breakfasts in Pittsburgh.

I also went to 10best.com to look up the best sightseeing spots in Pittsburgh. They suggested the Carnegie Science Center, Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh Zoo and the Aviary as well as others. We travel into Pittsburgh frequently for Becca's doctor appointments, and Frank goes in for work, but we very rarely actually just spend time sightseeing! This is a definite possibility.

I still have more searching to do. I'll post when I'm sure where we're going!

Happy Birthday Ang!

2008-07-10T07:14:00.001-05:00

It's my friend Angela's birthday today!!! A bunch of us met at the coffee shop this morning and when she walked in the door, we sang Happy Birthday to her! I hate that I have to be at work at 8... they all get to stay and gossip, while I have to head off to work :(

So, another friend turns 45... wow! How the heck did we get to be THAT old? lol! I don't really feel that old. I still can't believe I have an 18 year old daughter who is going off to college in 6 short weeks. It seems like just yesterday she was getting ready for Kindergarten, and now she's a beautiful young lady, ready to head off on her own. I keep teasing her that I'm turning her bedroom into a sewing room as soon as she leaves! Little does she know, but I'm serious! lol! Well, at least a small corner of it anyway. She can spare that much! I'm tired of moving my sewing machine to the dining room table every time I want to work on something! If I had it set up all the time, I know I'd do more.

This weekend should be nice. Looks like the weather is going to cooperate and give us a good one. I'm having a Girls Night Out at my house Saturday night... We're going to have a bonfire and eat! What more could you ask for? lol! I don't have anything planned for the day on Saturday, so hopefully I can get some work done around the house and maybe even get in a little sewing. I'm still working on Jillian's quilt... I'll have to post pictures later. And Becca wants me to make her one before she leaves for college! *gulp* Don't think I'll get it done in time! lol!

Busy day at work today. Gotta run!

Ohiopyle Camping Trip!

2008-07-08T21:27:00.006-05:00

Ray, Lisa and Hunter

The Gavitts

The Manchesters

Summer...

2008-06-19T12:25:00.000-05:00

Well, it officially feels like summer now... it's the first full week that the girls have been home by themselves since school got out. Hubby was on vacation last week and they all were busy getting ready for Becca's graduation party while I was at work, so this is the first week of "doing nothing!" lol!

Jilli started private baton lessons with Sandy, the majorette assistant director, today. She really enjoyed it. She's been taking lessons for about 4 months with the dance studio in town, but the studio and the actual majorettes do things a little bit differently! lol! Since she made majorettes, I told her that she needs to listen to Sandy more than the studio because she'll be performing every single weekend once parades and football season starts! I still can't believe that my daughter is a majorette in the high school marching band! I'm so proud of her!

Her baton recital is on Saturday night. The dance studio has a lot of different classes going on so it should be a nice night. I'm anxious to see her routine!

Becca and I had lunch today after she got her hair cut. It was so nice just to sit down with her and have some girl time. Things have been so crazy with her graduation and her party that we haven't had that a lot lately... so that was nice. I'm still having a hard time believing she's 18 and will be going off to college in 2 short months.... wow. How did that happen???

Welcome to Holland. . .

2008-06-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

I want to warn you right now that this is a tear jerker story. If you have, or know, a disabled child, this will most definitely make you cry.

Our preacher shared this story with us this morning. His youngest son, the 4th child, is 7 and is Down's Syndrome. A friend gave him this the day after he was born.

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I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

My girls!!!!

2008-06-02T19:53:00.004-05:00

The last few weeks have been hectic and they aren't going to get any better any time soon....

Friday night was majorette tryouts for Jillian, and she made it!!! She is sooo excited!

Friday and Saturday was Relay for Life.... everything went great until at 4:30 a.m. they came around to tell us that we were under a tornado watch! Shocked We moved into the ice skating rink to walk inside. It stormed a while, but all blew over by 11:00 a.m.

Saturday night was a graduation party for Becca's best friend. Sunday was church, then last night was Baccalaureate at the church. It was beautiful...

Today was 8th grade promotion for Jillian. She was awarded the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence which means she has maintained a 3.5 grade average or higher all three years in middle school.

Tonight was the Girl Scout awards ceremony where the girls are awarded all the badges they've earned through the year. Jillian has been in scouts since kindergarten and loves it! She earned quite a few badges this year.

Tomorrow is actually a free day..... then Wednesday is Graduation for Becca.... Oh my gosh, I still can't believe she's graduating!!! I hope I don't cry too much and embarrass her!

Anyway, here's a picture of my girls from today! Jilli just got her braces a couple weeks ago. I'm shocked she even smiled!

Our cruise!!!

2008-05-26T12:10:00.001-05:00

Hi all!

Well, we made it back, safe and sound! We had a fabulous time! This wasn't just a regular cruise... it was a Music Boat cruise with the top Christian artists and bands! Both my favorites and the girls' favorites were on board!

Here is a link to a slideshow that I put together with just a few of the highlights of the trip. Music Boat Cruise 2008.

We arrived in Miami Sunday evening and stayed at a hotel that night so that we'd be ready to head to the ship bright and early Monday morning. We were a bit awestruck by the size of the ship! It was so easy to get lost on board! lol! We set sail around 5:00 p.m. and enjoyed a relaxing concert with Dallas Holm and Todd Agnew before dinner. After our delicious meal, I headed out on the Lido Deck to see the Katinas under the stars while the girls headed to see their favorite band, Hawk Nelson. Becca had her new camera with her and was right up front so she got tons of great pictures of the guys! They posed for her while they were singing and she got some great shots.

We had to be up bright and early Tuesday morning to head out to Key West . It was extremely hot, but we walked about a mile down Duval Street to the Butterfly Conservatory. The Butterflies were beautiful! They flew all around us and landed right in front of you. Got some great pictures there, and other great shots of the town. We walked back, stopping and shopping at various stores. We even saw Hemingway's House! We didn't tour it, but took some pictures outside.

Back on the ship that afternoon, I headed off to see Leeland, and my absolute favorite group, Casting Crowns! They put on a fabulous show! Becca and Jillian went to see the Indie Jam ShowCase where unknown bands got to perform and try out to win as the top new band of the cruise. They also saw The Afters. Our formal dinner was that evening, so we headed back to the cabin to shower and change into our fancy clothes. We watched Joy Williams after dinner, then headed off to bed as we were exhausted by then! lol!

Wednesday we slept in a bit. We didn't arrive in Calica/Playa del Carmen, Mexico until 1:00 p.m., so we just took it easy in the morning. Mexico was fabulous! Our personal tour guide, Eddie with Edventures, met us at the dock. He took us to the Tulum Mayan Ruins first, which were beautiful, but it was very, very hot! We only lasted there about an hour, then headed off to snorkel in the Dos Ojos Cenotes in the Riviera Maya. Those are underwater caves and caverns where we got to snorkel all around. The water was so cool and felt great after being so hot in the ruins! We left there and got on a boat with another family from our ship and headed out to the ocean. The water was very, very rough and the guides decided that it was too rough to explore the coral reef, so they took us to a calmer area and we jumped out of the boat to swim and snorkel with the huge turtles! We slowly made our way back to shore, then got back in the van and headed to their private lagoon to do some snorkeling there with the many colorful fish. What a peaceful and beautiful place! By then, we were all pretty much exhausted, so we headed over to a small little Mexican restaurant on the beach and ate our dinner, watching the waves and the sun set...

We made it back on the ship shortly before 10:00 p.m. and the girls headed off to see Hawk Nelson again, but this time on the Lido Deck under the stars! More great photos for Becca! By this time, the guys in the band were used to her snapping picture after picture! lol!

Thursday was our day at sea... we all slept in! We spent the late morning and early afternoon sunbathing on deck while listening to The Afters, Rush of Fools and Echoing Angels perform. Jillian enjoyed Dance Praise in one of the lounges… it’s like Dance Dance Revolution only with Christian music. Becca and I went to listen to a few comedy headliners and laughed quite a bit. Our last dinner that evening was again delicious, and the wait staff sang a farewell song to us! We headed back up to the Lido Deck to again hear Leeland under the stars. There is nothing like watching a ship full of people with their arms raised in praise to God!!!

We had to have our suitcases packed and ready to go before going to bed as the ship was scheduled to dock at 7:00 a.m. We got up Friday morning, dressed, ate some breakfast and were off the ship by 8:00 a.m. Our cousins from Ft. Lauderdale , Deb and Al, picked us up and took us to their house to change into our swimsuits and head to Danai Beach for a bit of swimming. After changing clothes, we stopped at his biker club to check it out. They took us to dinner at a BBQ restaurant then took us to our hotel. Our flight left bright and early Saturday morning and we arrived back in Pittsburgh later afternoon.

It was a wonderful trip that we will never forget! Becca and I took hundreds of pictures! We won’t bore you with them all, but take a moment to watch the slideshow to see some of the highlights of the trip.

Music Boat Cruise 2008