beauty.

Meet C. She is my first niece and she will always hold a special place in my heart. She is so caring, thoughtful and intelligent. She has always blown me away with her wonderful disposition. She is a ball full of fun, loving energy and she has a adorable smile that truly captivates any audience. I love that she is much like I was as a child. I love when we are out in public I constantly hear "You have such a beautiful daughter!" (even though that would mean I would have been 15 years old when I had her, although its possible, it's totally NOT TRUE!) I love that she loves to do the things I do and most of all I love that I am her one and only "Auntie."


C.G you have captured my heart, you are a true beauty. 

Tantrum.

I uploaded all of my pictures off of my Nikon today and as I was going through them I found these gems that I snapped when we were visiting in January...

1. perfectly content.
2. frustration sets in.
3. full blown tantrum.

Poor little, adorable H. They were just too cute not to post, someday she'll thank me for reminding her of her, ahem, dramatic childhood.

Wordless Wednesday.

Love.Love.Love

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love.

It's the only thing that there's just too little of.."

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

PS. don't forget to...

spread the L.O.V.E  

Sunshine.

February 8^th 2009.

That day was the end of life as I knew it. For 19 tender years I always had a mom and a dad to fall back on. They truly were there for me no matter what. Supported me and all my crazy ideas. They held me when I cried and celebrated every accomplishment, big and small.  My parents truly built me a wonderful foundation to grow on, it is something I will always cherish. They gave me every opportunity a child could ever dream of.

On February 8^th 2009,  my foundation was really shaken. down. to. the. core.

I had to say good-bye to part of that wonderful foundation, my Dad. I can honestly say that watching my Dad take his final breath of life was the hardest thing that I have ever had to endure, thus far.  But, far harder yet is moving on without him.

Sure, I am thankful he is pain-free. Basking in the glory of heaven. Up there chattin’ it up with Mimi, Wowo and Gar and all those that have gone before. No matter the comfort that brings, my heart still aches.

I still miss him.

One profound thing that I remember from an otherwise blurry day was when my grandpa “Poppy” gave me a hug right as he saw me standing in the hallway crying. It was a strong, manly hug. The type my Dad was famous for and the ones I truly long for. He told me something that sounds so simple, but yet is so deep, “The sun will still shine tomorrow, don’t ever forget that.”

And you know what? It’s so, so, so true.

Just as the sun sets every night it will always raise the next.

Just because my dad is gone, life still goes on. At first, that was a difficult idea to swallow. As the days turned into weeks, months and now a year the grief has reduced in intensity. The sadness ebbs and flows and as it does I always remember that. No matter what, the sun will shine tomorrow. It doesn’t matter how sad I am, no matter how angry I may be that he was taken before “my time”…

The sun will always shine…

My dad was a constant in my life. Just as the sun is. I could always count on his presence. He was always there. Always cheering me on and cheering me up. I couldn’t  have imagined my life without him. But now that I have been forced to move on without him I am ever more thankful for the memories we had made.

Memories that will always be here, just like the sun; no matter what, they’ll still shine tomorrow.