And this time next year she will be a teen!

Yesterday, my sister's boyfriend told me that he thought Lucy was like 16. His jaw literally dropped when I told him that she just turned 12 in March. Stood there bug eyed after I showed him this picture of Lucy trying on her dress for the Miami County Duchess pageant.
She is strong willed, independent, and not afraid to speak her mind. Sounds like someone I know.
At 12, the eye rolling has begun in earnest, but I think I am being spared a good portion of it since she uses up a lot of it on her Granny. She can hardly stand to be seen in public with my mother in law these days and refuses to kiss her when we leave. I explained to Polly that Lucy feels that a hug is sufficient. It cracks Polly up that Lucy is embarrassed. Thus, Lucy works off her teenage mortification on her instead of me :)

2010 flying by

This year is definitely going by fast! it has been chaotic and difficult, but (say it with me now!) "None of this is eternal!" Thinking I will start a new blog determined to only focus on the positive side. Ranting has it's place, but when the world seems so dark, one must hyper focus on the light. Still awake at 2:25am head full of ideas so I can't sleep. must write and make lists. I felt a song coming on, but stayed in bed too long to get it out on paper. I have made one definite decision. It is time to stop living in "deal with the latest crisis" mode. My goal is LIVING ON PURPOSE. My new motto? Plan, pray, perform. oh wait. that is how I get in trouble all the time. PRAY, plan, perform! I bet it works better that way :)

Wow. I have been awfully quiet for me!

I can't believe it has been a year since I posted! Well, let's see where we stand.
Lucy is becoming quite the young lady. She is 5'2" now, cleared Polly's head last year. I think she will be taller than Brandon by her 12th birthday in March. She will find her place, but she is so much like me, I think it will take awhile.
Jake is my helper tried and true. 10 years old last November and with more heart for service than almost any adult I have ever known. He is learning to stop and pray, calm down and focus before handling a frustrating situation.
James is quite a challenge at this point. Coming up on his 5th birthday in March and he is strong-willed and independent, especially after visits with Granny since she caters to his every whim. On the other hand, he also is affectionate and loves to tells stories and create new songs.
Jeff is a snuggle baby. We are fast approaching his 3rd birthday and he definitely is his own child. He has his own agenda and doesn't easily change his plans to pander to others.
Brandon has made it to management and is at 11 years on the job. Talking about taking business classes this fall, a degree could open up new possibilities for job security and/or options.
Me? Oh, well, hmm... I have decided to look at the coming year as a time to get my house in order, literally and figuratively. I think harnessing my creativity will play a major role, including writing more.
I have great hopes for this year. I can't wait to see where it takes me.