You can't put a price on traditions.

        My brother, Doug, surprised me with a ticket to the TSO a few years ago for my 50th birthday, and I had no idea it would be the first of a new family tradition.  My mom, brother and I have continued to go year after year, and in spite of the freezing cold walk through downtown Toledo, it's a tradition I just can't pass up.

     My winter coat wouldn't be coming off for the entire performance, as we were sharing an arena that would be converted to an ice rink for a hockey game the next day.  But somehow I didn't really notice how cold it was; the show was breath taking, and I was there with my family.

     Before the concert, my mom and  just I had to get a selfy with good old Mr. Pink panther himself.

     By the looks on our faces, you can see we were happy to be carrying out this tradition yet another year.

        It was no surprise to me that this place was packed. Though, this was certainly no place for someone with sensitive ears.

     Every year they have a great story with a very moving message.  As hard  as I tried to follow the story, I found the music so therapeutic that my mind tended to drift off to a serene place and make up my own story.

  I can't begin to imagine how many countless hours they must have spent on the lighting alone.

     The name of this particular show was "the Ghost Of Christmas Eve".   As I mentioned, I wasn't totally focused on the story line, but I finally came to a conclusion that the message was "It's never too late to find your way home".  A great message; especially around the holidays. 

     When it comes down to it, I'm sure you could get thousands of different opinions of what the take away was from this show.  But all I know is, with three hours of time to reflect on my own life I realize in my own life, Regardless of all of the challenges I've had over the years, all it takes is one person to make me realize, I have certainly found my way home.

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

One more year on this earth, and I owe it all to my wonderful Mom!!

     I know it's not typical for women to admit their age; but I'm absolutely honored to be on this earth for 54 years.  And I thank God and my wonderful mom every single day.

     As I've mentioned before, I have two birthdays; August 29th, 2011, the day I gave breast cancer the boot, and November 18, 1962, the the day I was put on this earth.  I was blessed with two very special birthday gifts, and they didn't even have to be wrapped.

     I'll gladly accept every wrinkle and scar with pride, because I have a story to go with them all.  And I look forward to acquiring many more in the years to come.  My body is my trophy case:)

     Looking at this picture of my three year old self, I can't help but wonder what must have been going through my mind, so many years ago.  The only challenge I had at the time was keeping up with my three brothers, and to see this photo you would never guess I gave them a run for their money.

        But 51 years later I continue to dig my heels in and take the challenges as they hit me.  I was certainly blessed with a very strong will.

     After all this time, I wouldn't change one thing about my life if I had the chance, and I owe the last 54 years to God and my wonderful mom!! (and of course my guardian angel/Dad in heaven)

     Thank you for the best gift of all!!  Love you mom! :)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

When choosing a pumpkin, bigger isn't always better.

     If you've never been to Gust Brother's Pumpkin farms, it's one of my favorites, and the day my Daughter, Emily, and I took my little grand babies we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

     as soon as his feet hit the ground, William headed straight for the wagons, because he was on a mission and he knew he had every shape and size pumpkin to choose from.  If he had a wagon then he could shop like there's no tomorrow.

     Of course William was loured in to the miniature pumpkins right off the bat, and I'm guessing he planned to work his way up from there.

    But his eyes got as big as saucers when he spotted these ginormous pumpkins.  I would have loved to see him attempt to put these in his wagon; they were ten times his size.  

     You can see he was thinking about it for a minute...

     But these pie pumpkins seemed like a lot less work.  After all, he was in charge of the wagon, so what ever he decided to choose would be up to him to cart around the farm.

     William and his little brother, Conner, were anxious to check out all of the farm animals, but William had no intention of losing control of the wagon.   He hauled it from building to building like a man on a mission.

     As excited as Conner was to check out the animals, in the back of his mind he was trying to figure out how he could get his hands on his brother's wagon.

     I myself, was perfectly content to stare at all of these beautiful flowers, and there were a million pink ones everywhere.

     Conner is a very smart little guy; he found his opening and the wagon was soon his.

     Of course, chickens were a lot more interesting than carting around a wagon filled with pumpkins, so Conner made a B line to the coup.

     This cow was more than anxious to pose for the camera.

     It wasn't long before the boys forgot all about the pumpkins and were obsessed with the farm animals.

     What ever happened to that wagon William was guarding with his life??

     He eventually went back to stake his claim...

        Of course we couldn't leave with out getting doughnuts and cider, but we also knew the reason we were there was to bring back a wagon full of pumpkins.

     With a farm filled with millions of pumpkins you would think we would need a trailer to get them home.

     But William was perfectly happy to walk out with the pumpkins he chose, because he knew he picked them out himself; proving the theory, in the end of the day, size really doesn't matter!

Have  great day!!

Christine:)

My grand babies are all the wild life I need:)

                    

     If you remember, last week I blogged about all of the wild life I saw at Wildwood park while I was on my bike ride.  But I discovered that my favorite wild life can't be found on a bike ride;  It's my cute little grand babies:)

     Play grounds sure have come a long way from those metal framed swing sets from my childhood, a million years ago.  William had no idea what those days were like, but he was definitely having a good time on  this modern day wonderland at Wildwood park.

     Of course, then there's Conner, who seems to be quite content to kick back while his mom runs in a circle in the attempt to make this manual merry-go-round put a smile on his face.

          The picture below will tell you William was in no way anxious to leave.

     Remember the old tire swing??

     I'm sure someone got paid a hefty fee for designing this contraption, while there are perfectly good tires sitting in some land fill, somewhere:)

     And that chill time, however relaxing, was short lived, when Conner realized there was a lot more area to explore, and it certainly wasn't coming to him.

     As happy as William is to hang out at home in his underpants, going to the park is one time he'll actually make the effort to suit up:)

     I'm not sure if Conner was posing for the photo, or trying to figure out what to do now that he finally made his way to the top of this jungle gym.

     And tell me there isn't some brilliant person sitting somewhere saying "I can't believe I got rich off of inventing a mom and baby swing"; but I sure wish they came up with it when my kids were little.

        I won't lie, I love riding my bike through this park, but then again, I'll take these little cuties over a bike ride any day!!

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

How do I make sense of life and death?? FAITH

     I know blogging has always been my way of sharing with you how I get through life with all the challenges put in front of me.  But today I have to take a different vein.

    This weekend we say our final good-byes to my big brother Kevin, and at 56 years young, it was way too soon.  This wasn't supposed to happen to us.  Other people lose siblings at an early age, but it never happens in real life.  Not to me...

Kevin: back row, center

   Kevin was the kindest man you'll ever meet, and his laugh was infectious.  In fact, all of my siblings have always had each other's back.  Though we all appear to be cut from a different cloth, we never let that break our bond.  It was assumed that we would grow old together, driving each other crazy, but we all loved each other and would go the distance to prove it. 

     After many tears and feelings of anger, I've learned that making sense of why he left so soon, turning our "perfect" family of five siblings into four, in the blink of an eye, is a heck of a lot harder than learning how to adjust to a life filled with challenges.  Now I needed to figure out why someone so special can be put on this earth, only to leave before we're ready.  

    But that's where my faith comes in.  I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most religious person there is.  However, I'm extremely passionate when it comes to spirituality.  We all have a purpose for being here, even if we aren't certain what it is.  Everything happens for a reason.  Though, Kevin made a huge mark, having many friends, and a very big heart, so it's obvious why he was put here.  And now that his mission on earth is over, his Father has called him home.  And I'm certain he's our guardian angel up in heaven, looking over all of us.

     I come from a family who is big on hugs, and we're never afraid to say "I love you". 

    My faith and up bringing has helped me process all of this immensely, because I have no regrets, or thoughts of "if I only had one more day, I would have let him know."  We very seldom get a warning, and I consider myself very fortunate to have been raised in a family who has learned that today is the day.  Tomorrow may be too late.  In this case, I'm certain Kevin knew it:)  Til we meet again big Bro!! "I love you":)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

A promise is a promise

     So as you remember, last February I took a trip down to Fort Myers Beach to visit my cousin, Keith. 
 When My plane landed in the Punta Gorda airport Keith was standing there waiting for me wearing one of the pink Team Leapfrog shirts I sold him to raise money for our team before last year's Bike To The Bay.  

     I thought it was very brave of him to wear that pink frog shirt, especially way down south where no one had a clue what it represented. Then again, I thought I was brave to be seen with him wearing it as well,ha,ha.  But I was careful not to mention we were related...  Of course, way back when I first started my team and suggested pink shirts I was pleasantly surprised when my first male team Leapfrog  rider said if it's pink then that's what we'll wear:)

     The trip started out as a test to see if I could hop on a plane and travel by myself.  

     But I was pushed into doing some things that were never on my bucket list. 

 Then again, if things didn't go well I might have been scraped up and put in that bucket in the end...

     Whether it was hang-gliding fifteen hundred feet above dry land...

     Or being flown like a kite behind a boat and dangling five hundred feet above the Gulf of Mexico; It was totally out of my comfort zone; but I did it:)

     So this became the first year of my new tradition to take a trip to Fort Myers in February, and as we speak I have officially booked my flight for this coming winter, YAY!

                     
    Ironically, that pink Leapfrog shirt Keith wore while I was down there wasn't just a symbol of his support, because just as I stepped out side the box and became a female "Evel  Knievel", Keith officially signed up to ride on team Leapfrog next June.  So next spring he'll be the one hopping a plane.

     Like the saying "if you build it they will come", I am totally amazed and honored by all of the people who travel from across the country to ride with me on Team Leapfrog.  And to think that all it took was me building it:)

Have a great weekend!!

Christine:)

My birthday: The day the world changed forever.

                                          

      So today is my birthday, and I know I said everyday is special; not just birthdays. Though I have to say, just like the all time classic "It's a Wonderful Life"  I have to imagine the world has changed ever so slightly since the day I came into it; over a half a decade ago.

        My world has never been black and white; but in the beginning every photo of me was...

      

     My two older brothers learned very early on that that I might be high maintenance, but they still stood by me just the same.

     However, it didn't take long before I decided I wanted to do things for myself because I was just that strong willed; all I needed was my baby doll and I was ready to conquer the world.

     Sometimes pictures say so much with out a single word.  You'll see below it's quite clear that my big brother, Kevin did not want to rock the boat and he knew if he just stood still and smiled he could escape the mischief the rest of us were about to get into.  Of course my other big brother, Al spent many countless hours trying to figure out how he could drive me crazy.  You'll notice by the look on my face I was thinking "What did I do to deserve three brothers?"  Then my younger brother Doug was obviously thinking "Is it just me, or are my siblings totally nuts? I must be adopted..." That or "what's for lunch?"

     As you are well aware of by now, I am totally obsessed with frogs, and in this picture below you will see me with with my very first prince charming:)  My friend Lisa on numerous occasions even accused me of kissing them... hmm...

     Call it stubborn or strong willed; for as long as I can remember, I've always known I can do anything I put my mind to.  And if it's that important to me I will never give up.  

     This was my Kindergarten diploma; my first real proof of the pride in my accomplishments.  

     In time my life did become more colorful; sure, I had my  share of ups and downs; and I made many mistakes along the way, but every lesson I learned made me all that much stronger.

 And when I finally got that baby sister I had always dreamed of, I knew years later the two of us could handle anything our brothers threw our way.  By this time I could begin to see the world become more colorful every day.

     I have to admit that the world was probably less complicated in black and white.  And if I was never born I'm sure the world would be just fine; but I have believe it's because of all of the great people that have passed through my life that my world is now in full color:)

     Of course, in the box of 64 crayolas... all I really need is pink:)


Have a great day!!

Christine:)