On the way into work this morning, the radio station I was listening to posed the question, "What would you say to your 8th Grade self?"

I thought it was an interesting question. Many callers called in offering advice, encouragement, suggestions for stock purchases....

It's a question I've kind of been mulling over all day, and I find my own responses to be a bit of a study in extremes. On one hand, I'd tell myself not to take things so seriously. On the other hand, I'd tell myself to work harder and not allow myself to be lazy. Perhaps I've still not figured things out (OK, so I know that's true...)

So here I am... my 8th grade self. This picture was taken in 1989.

Dear 8th Grade Self, here are some things you really should know....

- The friends you have right now will still be among your best friends in 30 years. Value them. Cherish them. Nurture those relationships. You're blessed to be growing up in a small town with people who will be important to you for life -- this is unusual and very special.

- The things you deem as crises right now will seem so trivial to you as an adult. They are weighty, they will shape your life -- but in ways much more positive and strengthening than you'd ever imagine.

- You may think your parents are too strict and feel like "everyone else gets to do this" -- but be thankful for that. They're leading you down a path that is not always straight, not always clear, and they're buffering the pitfalls for you. You will absolutely thank them for that one day, and you will also raise your children just as strictly.

- Forget your idea about never marrying and living with a houseful of dogs. Married life and children are amazing blessings.... and dogs shed and aren't welcome in restaurants and hotels. Kidding... dogs are still great... but not nearly as much as a husband and children.

- Don't allow yourself to get lazy and settle for "good enough" -- you're better than that. And the rest of the working world will eat you for dinner if "good enough" is all the work you're willing to put forth.

- Remove your mask. People will like you even if you let them see the "real" you. You don't have to put on a false strong front.

- Don't be afraid to fail. Try new things. Don't limit yourself only to that which you know you can do well. Branch out! Perfection will never happen even in things you're good at -- so give some other things a shot!

- Believe in yourself. Stay strong. Stick to your principles and ideals. You were brought up with good ones. You were brought up to be strong and independent. But... don't be afraid to rely on other people too, and ask them for help.

- Being raised in a Christian home is not something to be taken for granted. Being raised in a solid family isn't either. You are blessed beyond measure.

- Don't be afraid of confrontation or think that people will "hate" you for "arguing" with them. If you have an opinion, voice it respectfully; most people appreciate and respect directness more than avoidance.

- Quit spending all your extra money on candy -- your metabolism will not always be what you're enjoying now!

- As much as you THINK exercise and outdoors will always be an integral part of your life -- your work life and family life will make it nearly impossible. Figure out now how to be disciplined in all things (including cleaning), so they require less effort in 30 years.

- Make your bed and clean your room.

- Fish is good. So is seafood. Coffee is still not.

- You WILL use math. Every day. Every. Single. Day. Pay attention! (And don't KLEP out of it in college.)

- The lessons learned in childhood will be as important as an adult as they were as a child: "Always remember who you are and Whose you are." and "Always leave a place better than you found it."

- Your childhood will forever be "enshrined in gold" in your memories -- cherish the moments as you live them.

I know I shared this photo in my last, but really, it held a lot of significance for me.

As I mentioned, we were racing in honor of my Grandma, who has beat breast cancer twice in the last 10 years. We feel it very important to teach our kids to give back, and this race is important for the family reason.

Meet my Grandma (and my Grandpa):


Growing up, they lived 6 miles from me. They never missed a game or a concert. Grandpa was a farmer. Grandma worked in the Title office. She was a revolutionary of sorts -- a working woman in a generation where that was a bit unusual. She retired, I believe, at age 72 (I might be off a bit on that). I know that her influence, as well as that of my Mom, is what led me to be a working woman. (And I'm in no way putting out there an argument to be a stay at home mom or a working mom -- I support both choices and feel it important to make the decision as a family for your family.)

I come from a family of strong women... on both sides. And I'm proud of the confidence, independence, and determination that they've given to me.

On this Momentous Monday, I look back and cherish every moment I've spent with my Grandmother. And I'm thankful that I have a lot of them to reflect back upon.

I also share with you this photo, taken 4 years ago, of a moment shared between my daughter and my grandmother. There is such a depth of experience, meaning, and love that can be seen in that one simple photo. The experiences, hard work, hand-holding, hugs, letters written, flowers planted -- that are seen in my Grandmother's hand. The hope, promise, new life, future -- that are seen in my daughter's chubby little one-year-old hand.



This is one of my favorite photos. I shared it with my Grandma, and her first words were, "Oh look at my ugly old hand." She sees the wrinkles of age. She sees the painful bends of arthritis.

I see a beautiful life of a beautiful woman.

Grandma has had a rough couple of years with strokes, broken hip, broken shoulder, lots of physical therapy. She's pushing through therapy right now trying to regain strength from her last accident. I'm heading home to celebrate my Mom's birthday in May, and look forward to seeing my Grandma again, too. This photo and the series of recent events really have me clinging to the words, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future."

I thank God for the wonderful females He's placed in my life. And I thank Him for the precious moments I've been blessed to spend with all of them.

What about you? What moments do you cherish on this Momentous Monday. Hop on over to Tiffany's blog to share your heart.

Happy Race for the Cure day!

Today our family raced in celebration of my Grandma, who beat breast cancer twice. The pink signs on the back of our shirts say just that.

The rain definitely made the crowd sparse today, and the booths afterwards shut down quickly. Everyone was willing to stay, but the participants took off as soon as the race ended. It was really soggy and cold. My pants were wet up to my knees. There was a brief break in the weather just as the race was to start, but it poured both before and after the race.



The kids and I were ready to go! Amara was planning to run it with me. I knew she wouldn't be able to run the whole thing, but was really excited she wanted to run it with me. We did the 1 mile Family Fun Run.



Amara and I went up ahead while Amara was running. Dominic ran a little bit, but his little legs got tired and opted for the prime seat in the house - atop Dad's shoulders. Look at how wet his hair was! Thankfully we brought along a change of clothes.



Last year's race couldn't have been a more beautiful day, so we were of course disappointed by the weather. However, it is still a wonderful cause! Last night during dinner, I told Amara about the race, why Komen is important, and that the race is a fundraiser, which will help do research to help people be cured of cancer.

This morning as I was getting ready, Amara was in the bathroom with me mulling over the race of the day and the words from last night. She said to me, "Mommy, it's not just the money that makes people better. God is the one who makes people better."

I'm so glad she gets it!

I just have to pause at the end of this crazy week to reflect on the whirlwind that defined it.

Wow.

I survived!

Rewind about 2 weeks. We selected granite for our house, committed to it, had it measured and cut, and we were told that it would be delivered and installed in 4-6 weeks. We told them that we would do the demolition (you can see where this is going), and also that we could be flexible to fill the void of any cancellations (now you can really see where this is going).

I have travelled for work for each of the last 3 weeks. This was my first week that I've been home, and we were looking forward to some relaxing. We also started the kitchen demolition last weekend. We were able to remove the center island countertop as well as all the tile on the back splash. That was Saturday, and we were quite proud of the effort we had made, knowing we'd continue working the following weekend.

Then Monday hit.

Jon got a call on Monday from the granite installers saying they had a cancellation on Friday morning and would be at our house at 7:30.

Gulp!

I'm SO thankful I didn't have to travel this week. There would have just been no way, as it's a two person job.

Here's a list of what needed to happen before it could be installed:
1) Kitchen countertop (not island) removed (including sink / disposal removed)
2) Laundry sink countertop removed (including sink removed)
3) Basement bar and countertop removed (including sink / disposal removed)
4) Install oven / stove
5) Remove old dishwasher and install new
6) Remove backsplash from basement
7) Remove old dry wall and replace with new
8) Pick out faucets for 3 sinks

I think that's it. I could be wrong.

So I took off work on Tuesday and bought the faucets, then set to work prepping as much of the other stuff as I could. After Jon's work audit was finished (i.e. around noon), he joined me at home. We were able to get items 2, 3, and 6 complete in the basement. We were feeling pretty good about things on Tuesday night -- felt very accomplished for our day's efforts.

Then Wednesday night came. We were intending to get the sink removed in the kitchen, as well as the dishwasher. So I crawled under the sink to turn off the water -- but no matter how hard or which direction I turned it, the water wouldn't stop flowing. Great. We tried everything. We couldn't very well shut off the main water supply to the house, because we still had to live there and wouldn't be able to turn it back on. Wednesday night ended with us both very frustrated, as we made absolutely NO progress on our very lengthy task list.

Thursday I frantically called for a plumber to fix what we assumed was a broken valve. At the end of the day, we were very thankful that we discovered a broken valve this way and not as a result of a leak. That would have been horrible! Anyway, plumber came out, fixed the valve easily, looked at all our new fixtures and agreed to come back on Saturday to install everything. Jon and I agreed that while we're capable of doing the plumbing -- water and the potential hazzards of it are something we'll leave to the experts!

So by Thursday at 5pm, we were where we had hoped to be on Wednesday night. And we had basically 14 hours until our granite was arriving.

We worked until 1am. Good grief what a long day!

We started with removing the countertop. This countertop was ridiculous. It's L shaped and probably 8 feet by 4 feet. It's made out of particle board with a 1/2 inch layer of cement over it, followed by a layer of chicken wire (it's probably not chicken wire, but that's what it looks like), and then followed by white ceramic tile and brown grout. That beast was over 300 pounds and as ackward to carry as it possibly could be. Not to mention it was wedged into place, trapped behind the island and the refrigerator. So to maneuver it without damaging the appliances or the cabinet faces was crazy challenging. We think we made it out with only 1 "oops" which will be largely hidden under the new countertops. We're actually lucky to have made it through uninjured!

Then we installed the oven. We had spent probably 8 hours on the oven alone just before Christmas, only to discover it didn't fit properly in the hole. The ease with which we installed it last night was (a) a blessing, but also (b) maddening that we spent so much time on it the first time around! Thankfully the hole which holds the oven was plenty big, it was the old cabinet tops that were slightly too narrow for it. So it slid in easily this time around.

Then we removed all the sheetrock from where we took down the backsplash. I have a LOT of dishes to wash as a result of all that drywall falling into the counterless cabinets. Lovely. But hey, it's down! Then I went out and measured / cut the new sheetrock while Jon installed each piece I cut out. We had quite the assembly going!

The finishing touch, at 12:45am, was to install the new dishwasher. It will be SO nice to not have to wash dishes AFTER the cycle completes.

As we fell into bed, our bed fell to the floor... literally. We've GOT to put those stabilizers on the legs! HAHA!

We aren't compeletely done. We still need to tear out and replace the drywall in the basement. However, compared to what's behind us, that task seems very doable!

Sorry there are no pictures attached. While trying to push through a weekend's worth of work in an evening, I had no desire to stop to photograph the efforts. However... after today, I'll have new granite photos to share! Whoot whoot!

I decided to share a "throw-back" picture for you for today's Momentous Monday.

This picture was taken 2 years ago -- the kids were 1 and 2, and we decided to take in a Cubs game. We'd like, as a family, to take in a game at every Major League park. We decided that we'd wait til they were a bit older, however, as this became a long game.

I share this picture, because it sets up the week that was this past week...

I had to travel for work last week from Wednesday til Friday. I got home Friday evening, then Jon flew out for Chicago on Saturday morning. I had given him tickets for Chicago's home opener on Monday morning -- a dream for a life-long Cubs fan. He spent the weekend with his college roommate, who was our best man at our wedding. It was (hopefully) a fun, relaxing, rejuvenating weekend.

However, he flew back to town on Tuesday. I flew OUT for work on Tuesday through Thursday. We actually met in the airport to say hi, download on the status at home, and say bye (literally 5 minutes). I spent the week away for work and the family picked me up on Thursday night.

I say all this to make the following point (which is actually quite obvious): Our family works better when it's complete.

The kids have had a rough 3 weeks -- because I've had 3 solid weeks of travel. And thankfully, that's unusual. We were nervous going into it, because the kids had been doing SO well. Happy, comfortable, sleeping well, top behavior, helpful...you name it.

However, when we're not a complete family unit, all of those kind of go out the window.

It was evident on Friday afternoon. Amara did something that was not acceptable (I don't even remember what - it was minor). I scolded her - and instantly, she was a quivering puddle of tears. On "normal" days, she feels bad, but doesn't melt like that. When chaos has been the norm, she's ultra-sensitive. The result for me was a learning experience -- I was able to dedicate lots of time and attention to my sweet girl this weekend to get her "back on track."

She had lots of scary stuff during the night -- her code for, "Mommy, I miss you, please come snuggle me."

She was ultra helpful -- her code for, "Mommy, I missed you, please let me spend more time with you."

She was concerned this morning that BOTH Jon and I should pick her up from school for her soccer game tonight -- her code for, "Mommy, our family is best when we're all together -- and I want you BOTH there cheering me on."

Dominic was similarly affected by the separation during the past 3 weeks. He's not as emotionally affected, however, he's more attention focused. He turns into a little cuddle-buddy after I've been gone. He'll sit at the top of the stairs after his nap and wait for me to come carry him down. He begs for his "fishy medicine" -- because he knows I'll often hold him in my lap while he takes it (and of course because his allergies are so bad he can't breathe).

I also had opportunities this weekend to re-establish myself in his little world. I took pleasure in carrying him all over the house, in smelling the sweet smell of him as he squeezes me tight, in sending him back to bed for the 5th time as he masters the art of stalling...

We've been renovating our house. Dominic has become quite adept at removing nails. He heard us banging in the kitchen as we removed the tile backsplash and countertop. He came walking into the kitchen holding his toy hammer ready to help. Jon gave him his real tools and set him to work pulling up tile from the ground. He made some strong headway -- removed the backerboard, some cement, and two nails that were deeply set into the ground using a hammer, a chisel, and a monkey paw. As we continued hammering away at the backsplash, Dominic started wailing.

You can guess what happened.

He missed his target and hit his finger. It wasn't bad at all, but did remove a little bit of skin from the knuckle of his thumb. Both thumbs actually. All he wanted was a little TLC, some cold water, and a bandaid. He milked it for all it was worth, especially relishing in the TLC.

When he was comfortably situated in front of a movie with a bag of fruit snacks and bandaids on both thumbs, Jon said to me, "I guess that's a good reminder that he IS only 3." He's capable of so much more than many 3 year olds, so we let him do those things of which he's capable. And sometimes he gets hurt (of course, we're tempering what he does so his injuries could only be classified as minor). And when he gets hurt, lessons are learned and TLC is profusely doled out.

Jon's right. He's only 3. And she's only 5. And as the picture indicates... only a short time ago they were 1 and 2. And boy does the time slip by quickly.

To both my kiddos: No matter the travel, no matter the chaos -- YOU are our priority. We will be there for your always.

Hop on over to A Moment Cherished to share your momentous moments -- and read about how others are cherishing life in the every day.