FDNY

We're going to pretend that I was organized enough to post this closer to September 11th ...

I got a phone call from Delta Airlines in March of 2000.  Apparently, I purchased their 3 millionth online airline ticket and had won a trip for four to the World Series that year.  I suddenly became a massive baseball fan as we watched the playoffs to see where we would be going.  Lucky for us .. it was the year of the Subway Series - Yankees vs. Mets.  It was our first time taking the girls to New York City!!

Statue of Liberty .. Central Park .. Broadway .. they loved everything.  You can tell by the photos, Rachel was in her "SUPERSTAR" phase of photo taking. 

This was pre 9/11 .. back when you could still hike it to the top of the Statue of Liberty and the twin towers appeared in photos. 

One afternoon, we were on our way back to the hotel when we saw a couple of FDNY firefighters outside trying to coax people into their new fire safety facility in Manhattan.  Jeremy and I were going to cross the street to avoid them ... when a really excited four year old took off running down the block and started to chat up the firefighters.  We ended up hanging out with them for over an hour .. playing dress up, learning about fires, coloring, etc.

 

We did not realize it at the time, but this company was one of the first responders after the planes hit the towers eleven months later.  These individuals displayed a level of courageousness that day that few people ever achieve and showed us all the true meaning of putting others welfare before your own. 

We will forever be grateful for a moment that was initiated by a smart little girl who recognized the fun of being a pretend fireman .. and we stopped rushing around long enough to appreciate these incredibly brave individuals.

Pinter WHO???

I have successfully avoided the Pinterest craze until this week!

Spending the past few days at home with Rach caused a moment of intense weakness and I decided to check it out.

This was the first thing I saw ...

... and now I am hooked!!!

Lessons Learned in a Hospital Waiting Room

I am a lessons learned kind of girl ... it has become a bit of a joke at my house because the phrase, "What can we learn from this?" follows almost every positive and negative event.

A couple of months ago, my 14-year old took a pretty serious spill on a 4-wheeler while visiting family in Idaho.  She was there with her older sister for a few days before heading to a church camp.  Generally, I'm not much of a "what if" or "crazy worrying" kind of parent.  Stuff happens with kids all the time .. falling and splitting a head open .. breaking an arm .. concussion .. crazy reaction to a bug bite.  All of which have happened at the homes of some of our favorite people.  I would rather have kids who jump in and are not afraid to try new things.

However, this one was a little different.  This one got under my skin a bit.  There were specific decisions made by adults that involved my Annie ... and she got really hurt.  Two months later, she is in surgery and the fun continues.  We have been required to tell the story to multiple medical professionals and each time they start with ...

How did this happen?

Was she wearing a helmet?

How fast was she going? 

Each time we answered the questions .. this little angry bug under my skin would bite a little bit harder.  I even got defensive and felt compelled to explain that we weren't there and would not have allowed her to ride without a helmet.

We had a "lessons learned" chat after this happened .. but it mainly focused on toys like jet skis, 4-wheelers, snowmobiles and how to safely enjoy them.  We talked about helmets, controlling your speed, how to properly take a corner, etc.

Her leg got infected and formed a large hematoma .. hence the surgery this week.  Living in Dallas comes with perks, like having two of the "Top 10 Children's Hospitals" in the country.  As we waited to check in, I started looking around the waiting room, which was full of children a lot younger than mine.  You could tell me looking at them .. this was not their first trip to a hospital.  I don't consider it a good sign when the nurse checking people in recognizes you and calls you by name.

After they took her back to the operating room, we moved to a larger waiting room.  I watched doctors come and take families back to conference rooms because the news they had to deliver was not appropriate in a fishbowl.  We watched families fall apart because something had gone wrong during the surgery.  The longer we sat there ... frankly, the dumber I felt.

We have never had a real health challenge with any of our girls.

I've never heard the words - leukemia or cancer or tumor.

They have never missed a year of school because of visits to specialists or hospitals.

I have never known that sheer panic that comes when a doctor walks into the room with that look.

We have known the pain that comes from losing a child.

We have been incredibly blessed.

Sometimes, the lesson learned comes a little while after the big event.

In a hospital waiting room, I learned perhaps the most valuable lesson of all ..

and I will be grateful.  I will be grateful that all it took was a surgeon and thirty minutes to put her back together.  I will be grateful for the health of my family.  I will be grateful for these little moments that remind me to let go of the things that bring negativity and focus on the beauty in my life.

Break Out the Pumpkins

Despite the fact that it was a balmy 106 in Dallas today ...

I'm ready to move on to Fall.

This crazy weather has until next weekend to get with the program

because the tubs are coming out!!

    



Denial

We are iPhone junkies at my house! 

All our phones sync daily and we have a master calendar of all important things. 

It is a long standing joke that if it isn't on the calendar, it doesn't happen.

Today, I posted an event to the calendar ...

June 5, 2012

This is the day my Lex graduates from high school.

One could safely assume I had a moment.

I'm starting a petition ...

There are so many AP tests, it is impossible to take all the classes in one year.

We should TOTALLY extend the senior year of high school to two years and allow the kids to get more college credits.

Anyone want to sign?

PLEASE!!!



Flunking the Modesty Test

My little fashionista came home a little bent from church a couple of weeks ago.  Apparently, she flunked the modesty test and wasn't too happy about it.

What was on this modesty test you ask?  The list went something like this ...

Clothes that are tight fitting.

Her response -- Well, we all know how I feel about my skinny jeans!!

Clothes that are sloppy.

Her response -- The second I walk in the door at home, I change into soccer shorts and a tshirt.  Doesn't get any sloppier than that!!

Skirts and Dresses that hit the bottom of your knee.

Her response -- The whole time they are talking, I'm staring at my skirt that hits the top of my knee.

Nothing strapless or tank tops.

Her response -- I TOTALLY wear tank tops sometimes.

Nothing too flashy.

Her response -- HELLO!!  There is hardly anything in my closet that doesn't have sequins, glitter or sparkles.

She dejectedly stated that the only saving grace during the whole thing was that she doesn't own a bikini.

While we all laughed .. and she got more and more irritated at why we could not comprehend the tragedy of this day .. I actually thought about how far she had come.

When my older girls were little, we did a modesty lesson at home.  I pulled pictures from magazines and had them decide what was appropriate and what was not appropriate.

Like this ...

  

Never focusing on the person .. just the clothing options and choices.  They LOVED it and talked about that lesson for years.  They also used the word "inappropriate" at times when I wished they knew how to whisper!

We attempted to repeat the same lesson years later with the fashionista around age four.

Her continued response to the less desirable choices was ... "THAT'S HOT"!!  No matter how much we tried, none of us could convince her that these clothes were anything but SUPER HOT!!

It would appear that a corner has been turned!!

Girls Day Out

Lucky for me ... Jeremy was present and remembered to grab my camera, or I would have spaced taking pictures of the day!!

Special thanks to:

RACHEL ... the signs were AWESOME!!

 

JANICE AND MARYN ... the food area was FABULOUS!!

  

BETH AND JILL ... EXCELLENT welcomers and entry!!

MEGAN AND KIM ... LOVED the outfits on the walls!!

ALL MY YW FRIENDS ... the zebra stripes and polka dots were GREAT!!

ALEXIS AND NAT ... FANTASTIC shopping helpers!!

  

  

 

Flowers

Living in a house of girls, we have a lot of hair stuff ... headbands, flowers, clips, products, etc.

I have learned that there are times when the outfit is just not complete with the perfect hair accessory!!  Our "Girls Day Out" friends were going to need a few of these!!

We started with this tutorial from "Make It and Love It', but we used buttons instead of the beads.

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/blog-post.html

Here are some of our favorites:

  

  

 

  

Girls Day Out

Girls Day Out ... It is like raiding your best friend's closet!

We had such an amazing day!! 

There are so many hours that go into an event like this and a fair amount of anxiety and we could not have asked for more!!

One of the first few times I was giving the "introduction" of what was located in what area of the room and how the "shopping" would work, I started to say:  "The girls will help you find your size.  You just keep an eye out for those things that are going to ..." and I paused slightly ... when the quiet girl in front of me finished the sentence ..."going to help me feel happy."

STRAIGHT UP BABY GIRL!!!

You shop until there is a smile on your face!

I spent a few minutes talking with a single mom ...

She has spent the last few months relying on a battered women's shelter to help her provide for her daughter and get back on her feet.

Last Friday, someone ran a red light and struck their vehicle.

She had to take the money that she had been putting aside for school shopping towards her deductible to get the vehicle fixed.

She talked about pouring her heart out to God for help.

Two days later someone handed her a flyer for the "Girls Day Out" and her prayers were answered.

We met a young woman and her little sister ...

Their family has fallen apart during the economic downturn.

Both parents lost their jobs and have since divorced.

She took three AP tests and received three perfect scores!!

I must have told her twenty times how crazy incredible that is!!

While we shopped, we talked about school and grades and college and the importance of an education to set the foundation for your life.

She talked about praying to God to help her family get back on their feet and maybe even back together.

She received a "Girls Day Out" flyer from a friend.

Two girls in foster care came in ...

Their foster mom has nine kids and according to them has the heart of an angel.

She was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been too sick to do much of anything with the kids.

She is terrified that she will die and the kids won't be taken care of.

The girls said she has prayed to God every day that they would find a way to get the kids ready for school.

Their social worker brought over a flyer for the "Girls Day Out" event and her prayers were answered.

So many people contributed to bring a little sunshine into the lives of these people and I am grateful for the opportunity to share a moment with each of them.

We watched them come in the front door ...

Shy and nervous

Feeling like they needed to show me a flyer so we would accept them in

Quiet and unsure

We watched them walk out that same front door

with a bag full of great finds

and a smile on their faces ...

and most importantly,

a light in their eyes and

a heart full of hope!

.

Bittersweet

So I made a LAME attempt at joining a book club that ended with me not attending a single meeting in nine months ... mainly due to traveling for work ... However, I did manage to read most of the assigned books.

Despite the appearance of nonparticipation, I'm going to consider this book club adventure a success!!

I read several books that I would not normally have picked up and really enjoyed myself.

This is the latest read ...

I read it straight in one day.

I teared up multiple times.

Such a beautiful story of friendship and loyalty and love.

The history of the Japanese camps during WWII is almost hard to believe.

Give it a try .. and let me know what you think!!

Girls Day Out

Okay my lovely cyber friends ...

This is our latest project.  We are hosting a free back to school shopping event for local teenage girls ... they live in shelters, halfway houses, or belong to organizations that try to keep young women engaged and off the street.

It is no secret that all the girls in my house enjoy a good shopping trip .. and we generally love clothes.

While clothes don't make you beautiful, it can be such a confidence booster when someone tells you how cute you look.

If anyone could use a boost of confidence and a smile, it is these girls!

We know that these girls will not have the opportunity to do a lot of back to school shopping, and so we are bringing the shopping to them.

Clothes

Shoes

Purses / Bags / Backpacks

Jewelry / Belts / Scarves / Hair Accessories

We are also working a few angles to get school supplies and personal hygiene items.

So if you haven't done any community service this year and are feeling generous ... this is a great opportunity!!

Thrift Stores

Not going to sleep anytime soon .. so I started thinking about lessons I learned this week.

FACT:  I have a love-hate relationship with thrift stores.

I love ...

the idea of repurposing

the allure of finding that one amazing item

a great bargain

making wise choices with money

This week an opportunity arose to do some intense bargain shopping.

We are helping to organize a back to school free shopping event for local teenage girls.

Plato's Closet was having a clearance sale .. $10 for everything you can fit in the bag.

Lex and I got up early and headed out to find these girls some sweet clothes.

Two hours later, after watching several "Escalade" moms push their way through the store and the people there, we're in line to pay.

On both sides of us are two grandmas who don't speak much English.

They each have one bag of clothes for a grandchild that is living with them.

They count out the $1 bills to cover the cost of the one bag.

I am attacked by a giant guilt monster.

You see, there are people who truly need to get jeans for $2 a pair.

This is the only option for them to buy new clothes.

I am not one of those people.

While I will never spend $120 on a pair of jeans, I will go as high as $40 ...

and we will still eat that night.

The same thing happened the first time I tried to have a garage sale.

People came who have children sleeping on the floor, and I'm trying to get $100 out of a set of bunkbeds.

Let's just say .. they got them for a lot less .. and I helped them load it into the truck.

We took full advantage of the clearance sale at Plato's.

I'm comfortable knowing that the clothes will make into the hands of the people who truly

need an amazing thrift store find ... but my love-hate relationship with the concept of thrifting continues.

Infomercial Pain

Sleeping has been a little bit optional lately ... not working so well during nighttime hours.

This slight problem can lead to late night boredom and TV watching.

Enter Cindy Crawford and Meaningful Beauty.

She is full of words that enter the subconscious and motive to take action ..

Discover my POWERFUL anti-aging secret!

Youthful and Vibrant

Smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Glow and Radiance

I am mesmerized by the promise ...

Gone will be the ever deepening crease between my eyes.

I am awake enough to not get suckered into the automatic renewing deal.

However, I am convinced enough to search Amazon the next day.

I have now used it a few times.

It is silky smooth going on and feels AMAZING.

Then, I wake up to a breakout.

Not the "I'm 14" kind of breakout, just enough to be slightly BLAH!!

Guess it is just time to accept the truth --- I have Target skin.

Noxzema

Sea Breeze
Olay

I really need to stop watching TV at 2am
before I have to admit to buying a Wizzit!!



The Girl Next Door

My friend Ashley at the Shine Project put out a challenge ... blog about how you personally define beauty.

I think that messages surrounding beauty and worth start being sent at an early age ...

You would look so pretty without your glasses.

Braces make you ugly.

She is so much smarter than you.

You have to be a cheerleader to be cool.

All your friends are a size 2.

I'm too short.

I'm the only one who didn't make the team.

Pretty girls are always more popular.

You don't have any talents.

I have terrible skin.

My ears stick out.

I don't have any friends.

Unfortunately, these messages tend to add or take away from our general self-esteem.

They also tend to foster a habit of comparing ourselves to others in order to define and quantify our beauty.

Why is this bad?

Well, everyone is not going to land the cover of People's Most Beautiful issue

or marry a guy that looks like Ryan Reynolds.

Drinking all the Smart Water in the world won't give you Jennifer Aniston's body.

Everyone is not going to go to Harvard

or land a job that allows you to drive an Escalade.

Everyone is not going to be a cheerleader

or a Homecoming Queen.

These same messages continue into our adult life, with some additional twists:

Her kids are so well behaved

She has five kids .. and still has the body of a 12 year old.

You must be the only person in the room who works outside the home.

She is so much more talented than you.

You don't really fit in here .. all of these women are so much better people than you.

Her house is always clean and perfect.

Don't sing with her .. her voice is way better than yours.

She has so many more followers on her blog than you.

People are talking about your son got in a fight at scouts last week.

Don't volunteer to take a meal to that family .. you're just an average cook.

I bet SHE never cusses.

My family never gets invited to do anything.

Not going to lie ... I have fallen into these traps at different points in my life. 

I think it one of the biggest tools that can be used against us. 

Listening to that voice forces us to focus on all the things wrong with us and our lives.

It severely limits our interaction with others. 

We retreat inside our own heads and become miserable.  

We place value only on the things that can be seen.

We fixate on the opinions of others.

We give up our power to control our thoughts and actions.

The truth is that the world is full of average people doing amazing things.

Average cooks who take meals to people in need.

Average piano players who teach children to love music.

Average high school girls who become a friend to someone who is struggling.

It is my life's goal to help young people recognize the beauty in being average.

Find your voice and identify your personal super powers.

Don't compare yourself to others because you don't have to be better than everyone else ...

You just need to be the most amazing version of YOU!

There is nothing more beautiful than a girl or woman who is ...

Confident - in her ability to make the world a better place

Happy - quick to smile and laugh

Anxiously engaged - brings positive energy everywhere she goes

Empowered - takes action every day to make a difference in the lives of others

She is comfortable in her own skin.

She knows her superpowers .. and uses them for good not evil.

She is just an average girl next door

And she is beautiful!! 

Sunspots and Cysts

Hung out with my dermatologist today

Still unclear why we rarely wore sunscreen as kids

Now I get to have spots and moles removed

Found this weird cyst right over my heart

Went in today thinking it would be no big thing

Eight stitches later .. I'm a little sore

Just what my 42 year old ta-tas needed

After nursing four kids and becoming BFFs with gravity

Let's cut through some muscle and see if we can get them to drop further.

Moral of the story ...

Don't let weird bumps continue to grow

and

Sunscreen is not optional

EVER 

The Journey

Recently celebrated 19 years of wedded bliss

Through all the moments .. both good and bad

There is no one else I would rather go on this journey with.

How do you capture this feeling?

Check it out .. the "Rawe Family Travels" map.

A perfect anniversary gift and a perfect way to capture all our adventures on this journey!!