Giving Thanks in 2008.

While millions are in time square watching the ball drop, one girl is stuck on her deck.
Let me back up:
I had a fabulous birthday. I can honestly say that. My mom and dad brought over omelets in the morning that we prepared in a Ziploc bag and Christy, Ken, Brecken, Kennedy, Laurie, Danika, Jagger, Kaia and TJ came over too. (the O's were in Florida)
After moms wonderful brownies and three cups of Louisiana coffee, the family left and my mom and I were on our way to purchase a sign for my house from Home & Company with gift certificates and birthday money. I have been eyeing this sign since the summer and knew it would make a great birthday celebration and a good reminder to bring in the new year as it reads, IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS.
Believe me, I needed this reminder shortly after I returned home from a dinner party tonight. I had left the gathering two hours before the end of 2007. On my drive home I was looking forward to soaking in my two man tub, getting in my PJ'S and falling asleep to the countdown of this past year in bed. It was while these thoughts stirring in my head, that I was in awe of the beauty of the freshly fallen snow and the way in which it engulfed the trees. As much as I complain about the winter and loathe being cold, I have to admit tonight was one of those nights that I feel bad for people who have never seen or heard winter. (yes, winter like tonight has a sound of peacefulness)
What better way to "freeze" the moment then to capture some photos...this is where it all began...an opportunity to choose 'thanks' over circumstances that would otherwise be extremely irritating.
I started snapping pictures in the front of my house as the thought occurred to me that it would be quite possible I could get stuck. No problem taking these photos from my snow covered driveway...my confidence grew. I entered the house and proceeded to the back door to let Delsie do her business one last time. I, again, was in awe of God's beauty and wanted a photo of D-dog in the white winter snow. It's at this time that it would be appropriate for me to tell you that the snow is wet and heavy- perfect for snowballs and snowman, not so good for girls in wheelchairs.
D took her spot on the corner of the deck and I put the chair in reverse, I heard the sound of tires spinning. I wasn't going anywhere. With the snow falling and temperatures dropping, Delsie gave up on me and retreated to her bed inside the house. (Did I mention the door to my house was wide open?) After what felt like hours but actually was 15 minutes, I realized this rocking business in high speed was getting me nowhere. I called friends that live nearby who came to my rescue...remember:IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS...

I'm off to take a bath and thank God for family, friends, wheelchairs and snow.
Happy 2008.

Christmas memories.

Approaching the New Year, which happens to be my birthday, produces a range of emotions. I have discovered that these emotions are highly dictated by the weather. (or should I say lack of sunshine.)

I am going through this day with a huge lump in my throat to be popped by some poor soul who innocently asks a question what I interpret as offensive or makes a statement that would be funny any other day but today would result in an outburst of tears. Maybe this is why I am not married. God wants to spare the poor guy of unfounded emotional abuse.

A day like today, I am a prime candidate for an episode of Dr. Phil and would embrace his advice and welcome his direct sarcasm.

Until then, I reflect on the year 2007 and play Josh Groban on high decibels on itunes. Tomorrow is a new day. The sun may come out. 2008 will be greeted with hopes and anticipation of Gods best.

IMAGINE.

Imagine the birth of our savior. A little tiny baby that changes the world.

"Genius. Pure genius."

This is my favorite line in this years production of Imagine Christmas.
(www.imaginechristmas.info) It is daunting, exhilarating, stressful, challenging yet extremely humbling to be a part in producing the single most powerful happening in ones life.

Working with the "worshippers" (20 children) has been my favorite experience so far. They are thrilled to be on stage and so teachable and wanting to please. They "act" out seeing Mary carrying baby Jesus for the first time. How in the world do you direct that?

"Genius. Pure genius."

Because we had no one to take over the role of costume designer this fell under my responsibility along with another director, Kim. I have had no prior education in costuming a show even though I minored in Theatre- one would think.

I have to admit it has been a blast. I am not sure it is because I am not spending my own money or the enjoyment of hunting for a bargain or discovering packages at my door for the past five days or shopping online...I love every minute.

Granted, I have yet to see the final product on stage as Wednesday is our first dress rehearsal but I can only imagine that God is going to be glorified...

that is my humble yet hopeful prayer.

Gramps.

I love these photos. It was the last time I saw my gramps alive. I made him smile and he let me take these photos- which he always held his hand over his face when the camera came out. I can't even count how many photos we have of gramps and his hand...

The end of August Gramps was in a nursing home recovering AGAIN- honestly, I can't remember what prompted Gram to call 9-1-1. Which doesn't take much at all. We are convinced they knew her by name. Between their neighbor and gramps failing health, the numbers of 9-1-1 are faded on her rotary phone.

After many trips to the hospital, nursing homes and his disobedient body, Gramps died on Friday, December 7. He was 91.

Gram and Gramps met when she was 18 and he was 23. They married that year. Gram now is 86 and doesn't know life without him. It is for this reason I am sad. I hurt for her and feel an ounce of her ache as the man she knew as her husband for sixty eight years is no longer on this earth.

I am thrilled for Gramps. He's with Jesus now. I am confident of that and at times jealous of it. He doesn't have to be transferred anymore. He doesn't have the shakes and I am sure he doesn't smell of BO. His voice is strong and I am sure he and Miss Lynn (Grandma Le Blanc) have introduced themselves.

It has been a difficult six years as his body defied him yet his mind grew sharper by the day. With the exception of introducing me to a nurse as his handicapped daughter in law and referring to my hair do on this particular visit as "tou-tou pigtails", (that's what he's laughing about in this photo) Gramps was on top of it all.

We'll take good care of Gram, Gramps. Don't worry about that. If you can just prompt her to move to this side of the state we will surround her with company- there won't be any time for her to get lonely.

Thank you, Gramps for raising your daughter, allowing me to be blessed with an amazing mom. I know you are proud of her. Thanks for being a father my dad never had. I know the two of you never talked about it but I know my dad is forever grateful.

...and Gramps, thanks for loving me and my sisters, your only grandchildren. You left a legacy for us. You gifted us over and over. You blessed us with your prayers.
I took pride in making you laugh, Gramps. Your smile melted my heart.

I will never forget that.
I will never forget you.

...until we meet again.

weekend plans.

This may sound a bit odd to some who may loath a basket full of dirty clothes but I was thrilled to do laundry this weekend. I am not certain if this a good indication of my lack of social life or the independence this house is offering. Let's focus on the later- a little less depressing.

When I designed the remodel I knew I wanted a place for my washer and dryer. It has been over three years that this part of my life has not been do-able. Thanks to a mom who has been faithfully taking baskets back and forth, the time has come for me to will this task back in my life.

The blueprints of it all seemed to be a great idea. That was until I discovered that my sister gave me a bum dryer and it takes over four hours to dry a medium size load of wet clothes.

I have made my three bedroom home into a two bedroom home with an accessible bathroom. Because stairs are not a reality for me, my washer and dryer have their own closet in my bedroom.

I actually was looking forward to the chores of laundry on Saturday morning. If only it were just the morning. The morning became afternoon and afternoon became evening which turned into a 3:00 in the morning task of once again starting the dryer for another 70 minute session while the load in the washer were quickly loosing their mountain breeze Tide smell.

Not only is my social life lacking, it's not such a joy to do the laundry anymore.
I'm off to take a nap without the sound of the dryer buzzer going off...

making memories

D-dog wasn't thrilled to be the source of entertainment for Davy but when you have a toyless house and a 1 yr old, what do you expect?
When I speak of my years at Hope College I am quick to admit that only positive thing that came from it was my friendship with Tricia aka Chiquita aka Trixy (which I called her this name in front of her 11th grade Chemistry students-not a good idea, I got the look) Life has offered each of us entirely different experiences but it is great that we pick up where we leave off.
Thanks Trix, for introducing Davy to me. I can't wait to meet Kingston.

tommorow is monday

This is what "my boss" had on his feet the other day when he showed up for work. I know there is a logical explanation. The shoes are similar in nature. They are both loafers and they are both brown. It was probably dark when he grabbed the shoes in the morning. My question is this: couldn't he feel the difference in the ways they molded to his feet?

It's Sunday afternoon and I am already longing for this day to last forever. I know I had an extra hour of sleep. I know there is a logical explanation when I awake to my alarm clock blaring country tunes. I have a mortgage and utilities to pay. I work to live. My question is this: aren't I weary of feeling the monotony of work?

I am the one sporting the look of being a misfit. Sometimes I wish it was as simple as changing my shoes...until then, I keep looking for the pennies to put in the slits.

dreaming big

Ever since Delsie and I became a team, I made a mental note that we were going to always educate people when the opportunity presented itself. Today I was asked to perform in a womans conference that carried the title, "in The Spirit of Truth". For some reason, this has prompted me to acknowledge the lies that I listen to when I am dreaming big. Delsie and I have appeared on TV, the radio and numerous classrooms of elementary and middle schools. I don't know the impact, if any, we have made but I do know I need to stop listening to the lies and listen to my dreams...it's never too late.

This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago as Miss Kempf asked me and D to visit her 3rd grade classroom. It was the first class to hear my book. As Miss Kempf began to read it, I saw a 3rd grader eyes as big as saucers while he nudged a classmate seated next to him asking, "she's an author?!!".

After today I know I'm more than author...I am a child of God.

Hail, no!

Weather is a universal language. We all resort to it as a "pick-me-up" in a conversation that seems to be going nowhere. After tonight's weather people are going to have A LOT to talk about tomorrow around the water cooler. (and yes, my office has a water cooler)

These photos were taken about ten minutes ago. If you can't make it out, these are piles of hail accumulated on my deck. The weather is BIZARRE.

After work I took D for a walk while it was in the high 70's. I spray painted a lamp in my back yard and it was sunny yet windy. A half hour later the TV stations are saturated with warnings. Another half an hour and the rain is coming down in sheets. It is during this time that my dear friend, Chris, calls to say he is coming over to move my outdoor furniture to the garage. Thank goodness he did because I think the table with the umbrella would have smashed through my kitchen window tonight. It's now lightening and thundering...with intermittent down pours...

this is meteorologist Holly, signing off...

obsession.

Meet Brad Womack. The 11th bachelor for the TV show, The Bachelor. It is about this time that I become infatuated with the guy who ABC has chosen to find that one true love. Call me a hopeless or hopeful? (I never really understand why it is called hopeless) romantic but it is typically this time in the season that I grow to love the guy. It is usually with every dramatic rose ceremony that I have convinced myself that I would be offered the rose, take him to my home town and share all his one on one dates with him if he only would have met me. I certainly wouldn't cry on camera about how I want to be married and pregnant. I wouldn't boast about being a Christian girl while he is doing a body shot off of me. I would pride myself on not calling the other girls names as I understood that going into it my chances were one out of twenty-five.

Let's face it. I would thrive on being the therapist in the limo, talking with the girl who thought they would spend the rest of their life with him but instead, just got kicked to the curb. I realize this addiction that I have to the whole process is wrong. I get that.

What I don't get this season is Brad. I am just not into him. Don't get me wrong, his body is to die for but his inflections would drive this girl to drink. I feel no substance to him.

Andy Baldwin(season 10 bachelor), will you accept this rose because you still have my heart. I heard you and Tessa broke off the engagement...

Thanks to my TiVo and a lame social life, I will be watching every episode until Brad chooses his love in what is seen as the most dramatic season of The Bachelor.

pumpkinfest

The first week of October marks a "festival" titled Pumkinfest in Zeeland.

Thursday was "Dinner On Us". The "us" part referred to the city council of Zeeland.

I think I've had three corn dogs my entire life. And I know why. The council certainly gets an "A" for effort. (or is that an "E"?)
The line for the free food went about as fast as my consumption of the corn dog. (I think the grease made it slide quick)

This year's theme was "stars of hollywood". Various "pumpkin statues" adorned the corners and you had to guess the actor. Although I wanted to be the winner of the free trip to Hollywood, it was next to impossible to see the resemblance in most of them.

I am so glad I am part of a family who can find amusement in anything we do. Pumpkinfest just happened to be the backdrop.

They tried.

I love her.

Seriously, I love her.
(I love my sister too but I am referring to Danika, my youngest niece)
Who in their right mind wouldn't?

My sister?I am in awe of Lo and her "skills" at motherhood.
I would have never wrote her book to include being a stay-at-home
mom to four kids under the age of seven but she is doing it with
such grace and style.

I am so proud to be an aunt of nine incredible nephews and nieces not to mention how grateful I am to be their moms' sister!

sleeping.

we all do it. some more than others. there are those who last through the night. others don't move a muscle. i've heard incoherent babble or even complete conversations. majority choose to be on their side and then others on their back. no one will admit to snoring while partners point the finger of blame.

getting ready for bed is my favorite time of the day. some mornings i wake up knowing i can do it all over again later that night. i have defined myself as a light sleeper and only lay on my back with my arms at my side. when i lived with my friend tiffany she told me she had to place a mirror under my nose to make certain i was still breathing. (which is hard to believe since i know i am a light sleeper) i can honestly say i have never had a nightmare and hardly every remember my dreams. i tend to zone out when people tell me their dreams in detail. that's something for you to keep to yourself.
my dog, delsie, runs in her sleep. people say she is chasing rabbits- how do they know?! sometimes she snores or even yelps.

from the conversation that i had with tiffany today, her mom was chasing rabbits too. but instead of yelping, she was repeating at the top of her lungs...OOOOOooooooOOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO...high then low. i can't wait to watch it on YouTube!

anxious to climb in bed. my favorite time of the day.

it only takes a spark, to get a fire going...

Passions. God gives them to us, we have the responsibility of figuring out how we are to use them to glorify Him.

On Friday, I felt like I witnessed first hand my friend Mary Jo doing just that. In return, I came away with some very cool items to decorate my home.

Jo opened up her store (seedlings) for an evening and 100% of the sales went to friends who feel lead to the mission field.

If you stop and think about it something incredible happened...Jo's passion of altered art fueled our friends passion for missions which sparked my passion of making my house a home!

Um, mine sounds the most selfish!







Here's some of the great finds....








I love to be around people who encourage me to find my passions...I'm getting closer.

the good, the bad, the ugly of Friedrich's Ataxia.

the good: I always get the good parking spaces.

the bad: Falling on my bathroom tile while trying to do the simple task of standing.

the ugly: My forehead after it caught my fall on Saturday.

once again, I am soooooooooooooooo blessed with all the people in my life and the love and encouragement they show me.

this photo doesn't do it justice. i look like a character from startrek and can't move my neck.
but other than that, I am fine.
it could have been so much worse.

dog days

It was the first night in my new bedroom. Along with the move came a white shabby chic comforter. I stress the word WHITE. With a black dog that sheds like there is no tomorrow and her habit to sleep on the majority of my bed, I bit the bullet. The vanity of a new comforter has won out. I was searching high and low for the perfect bed for Delsie- mainly to help with my guilt.
The search ended when I was at my sisters garage sale this weekend. I spotted her toddler bed that she used in raising her three boys. Although I haven't given birth to her, the bed is now being put to good use as Delsie aka Princess, is breaking it in.
The poor dog on the floor (at least I found a cute blanket for her) is Jasper- my parents dog. She is great. Although she lifts her leg when she goes #1...can't figure that out.

the end of an era

I have no idea what would define an era but this remodeling thing is in the home stretch. I hope I don't enter a time of depression as the outlet to make decisions and decorate is coming to an end. It has been a blast. Even the drywalling at 7 in the morning...(okay, that's a lie but I made it to the other side) Poor Jeremy came to visit on the WORST weekend of this project. He has got to come back and see the completed version.
Today the floor was installed-the last of the big projects!
...I moved in February 6 and 7 months later the only thing that remains is the back splash in the kitchen!
I'll be doing laundry again soon and quite frankly, am excited about that!

...in the genes.

Before you think I am the cruelest person for posting this photo of my mom, allow me to explain.
We were on our way from Detroit- we picked my grandma up to get some R & R in Holland for a few days. Gram was sitting in the front of the Le Blano van, gabbing away with my dad while I fell asleep next to my mom. I knew that during my cat nap I was catching flies as when I woke my mouth did not have one ounce of saliva. Not only did I awake with cotton mouth but the sounds of snickering from my mom as she told me that my mouth was wide open when I was sleeping. I knew she wasn't exaggerating as I found it nearly impossible to swallow until I took a few sips of my water.
It was only a few minutes after I wiped the sleepers from my eyes that I noticed my mom reclining her chair, closing her eyes and you guessed it...catching the flies that I missed.
Not only could my mom hear me snickering but she could feel the flash of my camera.
Th acorn doesn't fall far from the tree. What goes around, comes around.

It's the life?

The evening involved seven people crammed in a booth at Applebee's. After I lowered the handle on Delsie's harness, I watched my friends squirm as D-dog found just the right spot between the huge supporting metal bar in the middle of the table and the 14 hot, smelly feet packed underneath the booth.

Heaven forbid she is an inconvenience to someone and their space while she digs her harness into their shin bone or shakes while her 85 lb. paw steps on the middle of your bare foot...I've gotten the dirty looks for Delsie over the years. And their dirty cuz they are from friends.
People can glare at me all they want...I got your back, D, don't worry.

It took her a minute to find her spot underneath the table at Applebee's and a few glares while she positioned herself just right. As we ate our meal, I forgot about her. Upon conclusion of my mozzarella sticks, I glanced down to see my cute service dog doin' her thing...enjoying her life.

Man, I love this dog.
Yes, my shins are bruised and I am not thinking the nicest things when she steps on my foot, but it is so worth it.

LOOK AT THE MOON!

One night I went to the movies with my sister and brother-in-law and when we were driving home, my brother said in a really odd, low, drawn out voice, "LOOK AT THE MOON!" It scared the pants off my sister and I. And became a common quote among the three of us.

The other night I was sitting out on my deck and repeated the phrase, "LOOK AT THE MOON!" Delsie looked at me as oddly as my sister and I must have looked at my brother-in-law when he saw the moon as crisp and bright as I did the other evening.

I snapped these photos and realized they don't do justice with the moment I had with nature that night. And the revelation that the photography class with Tiff can't come soon enough. The check mark IS the moon but taken with the "night" setting. Nice, huh?

living on the edge

It was a risk. Better Homes and Garden magazine has spurred me on with ideas. As I envisioned my bedroom- I wanted it to be "girly". It's ironic because I pride myself on NOT being "girly". Hhhhmmm, there's something deeper there- maybe a later post.
Picking out color has been a blast. After one failed attempt on a brown for my bathroom and hallway book shelf, I landed on something a bit more bold and LOVE it.
My bedroom evokes guys to roll their eyes and girls say with perky eyes, it is great!
I feared failure with my ideas of stripes. Should the stripe be 11 inches? 13? No bigger than 15- I had no clue what I was talking about! Thanks to my mom and some friends, 15 inch blue sash stripes adorn a wall in my girly bedroom.
And fear has no walls. (that makes no sense but I thought it sounded cool)
I'm taking risks.

WEENIES FOR ALL

On any given day if you open my fridge, you'll find an old 2 liter of soda (I don't drink pop) and paint brushes and rollers and a ketchup bottle turned upside down.

If you were to open my fridge this weekend, you would find this. Weenies for all. The paint brushes had to be moved to accomodate the 600 hot dogs.

I am not going to have a contest to see how many dogs I can eat over a weekend. I can only eat a dog about once a year at a BBQ- that's my quota.

The reason for the over abundance of Hot Dogs? A near-by church is hosting a picnic for the apartment next to them and they needed an empty fridge.

Call Holly, her fridge is always empty.
The truth hurts.

go with the fro.

I am the youngest of four girls. They all have pin straight hair. They all have a colon. They all can walk.
Three out of three are a direct result of genetics. But two of them are the outcome of being the one out of four.
Whenever I feel sorry for myself they glare me down and say, "at least you got the good hair."

As you can see this is not "good" air. It certainly has potential.
Especially after I got my hands on this book.
I am a curly girl waiting for the potential.

These photos of my afro were taken on the first day of the rest of my life of healthy care-free curls. I can't wait until I can say with confidence, "at least I have the good hair" and proud to be a Curly Girl.

cross over the anger bridge

come over to the shore of friendship...

if you can name that quote, you win.

i do netflix. i love movies even though i forget them a couple of weeks later. the dilemma i face is finding enough "good" flicks to put on my queue. the other day i overheard my mom tell someone that she and dad had rented OPRAH'S 20th Anniversary DVD series. thanks to TiVo, i hardly miss and episode of OPRAH but the combination of my short term memory loss, my love for movies and my subscription to netflix, i added OPRAH'S 20th Anniversary DVD series to my queue.


i cried, i laughed, i was changed...I LOVE OPRAH!

one of her episodes she talked about ending the day by journaling five things that you are grateful for-
she said it will change your day.

and it has.
one of the things in my life that i am grateful for are friends. (why do i sound like a fifth grader at thanksgiving)
yesterday, amy brought these sunflowers and totally brightened up my home. (OPRAH says you should not have fake flowers. i'm not rich like OPRaH)
but she's right. the flowers add so much.

the shirt was a gift from barb (a friend from my drama team) who surprised me today in my office.

when i grabbed the shirt, the watch that was a gift from dear friend lynne, fell off my wrist as it broke. i loved this watch.

but more important than real flowers, fun t-shirts and cool watches are my beloved friends.

I am so grateful.

now back to the movie...
"SHAKE AND BAKE"!