Happy Birthday To Me

Just a random photo of Leah and I in Florida this spring.

I'm 45 today.

I've gotten so many lovely birthday wishes on facebook. :) It seems that the era of electronic messages is upon us with a new but fun way to send greetings to friends many miles away. In this busy day and age how very nice to be remembered by so many thoughtful people!

I confess I am partial to traditional greetings and I did receive lovely cards from my husband and children and a few very thoughtful gifts as well. One dear friend stopped by with her beautiful floral arrangements that she is known for. One has Lilies of the Valley and white lilacs and pink bleeding hearts. All favorites of mine. Their perfume is wafting about and my nose is in heaven!

Ever since my cancer diagnosis I have counted my birthdays as bonuses. This is my tenth bonus birthday. Ten years of loving, laughing, living! I'm so grateful for each and every year that I will never be sad about growing older. Never! I vividly remember begging God for these years and I am grateful for each and every one. Lest you think my life is all goodness and sweetness, I can assure you, it is not. Even on the bad days I remind myself that God granted the desire of my heart and His gift of life comes with both good and bad days. It gives me a different perspective and I'm thankful for it.

You don't need to have a cancer diagnosis to embrace the gift of life. Make each day count, they're all "bonuses" if you really think about it!

Around The Corner

Around The Corner

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And the distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir, Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end:
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

Josh Levi Labar


I remember reading this poem in an Ann Landers column a long time ago and being moved by its simple message: Make time for loved ones, family and friends. Carve out and appreciate time spent together.

So go ahead, call that friend you've neglected. Send a note to a family member or friend who lives many miles away. Take a moment and reach out. You'll be blessed in the process!

Drawing Finished!

The completed work before framing

If you've ever put something off you may understand the satisfaction I feel in completing a drawing I promised years and years ago.

After many years of putting it on the back burner and promising myself to get started "soon", I finally actually took the first step and began working on it in January of this year. I had a few false starts but the third time was the charm and after working on it for about 30 hours, I finally finished the drawing today.

I purchased two frames, one for each drawing that I did of my friend's two daughters. I had plans to meet this friend for dinner this evening and it was my goal to finish the drawing in time to give it to her tonight.

I wrapped it and gave it to her before dinner because I was so anxious that my stomach was tied in knots. I couldn't eat until I saw her reaction. Would she love it?

She was so surprised when she opened the box and saw what was inside! The tears flowed and I was gratified to see that my efforts were not in vain. What a blessing to be able to use a God-given gift to bless others. Thank you Lord for using me and help me to remain open to being used by You in the future!

Allllmost There!

The drawing I'm working on and the "hostage" drawing I did many years ago.

Isn't she adorable?

Have you ever procrastinated on a project?

I have, in a big way.

I promised a drawing to very dear friends of mine many, many years ago. Umm, how many you ask? Well, it pains me to admit that it's a baby photo and this "baby" just turned...

Do I have to tell?

All right, she just turned sixteen.

Yes, sixteen.

In my defense I was not given the photo until about ten years ago and soon after receiving the photo I gave birth to my third child and soon after that I went on the wild ride of an ovarian cancer diagnosis, hysterectomy and chemo treatments. Still, that's been ten years ago. In all reality, a cancer diagnosis only gets you a free pass for so long and I figure that ten years has got to be the limit, don't you?

I don't know why I was so paralyzed about creating this drawing. Have you ever hit a dry spell? I certainly did and I lived there for ten years! My friends were so gracious but it really bothered me that I was not fulfilling my promise to them.

Soooo, a few months ago I sat down at my drawing table and began drawing this beautiful baby. It took me a few tries, three to be exact but I think I've finally gotten it and I'm so close, so close that I can almost taste it.

I hope to finish up tomorrow, buy a beautiful frame to put the drawing in and give it to my very patient friend at dinner tomorrow night. Not only will she get this new drawing but I've held another drawing of another daughter hostage for many years while I waited to complete this project. I can't wait to see her face when I give her both drawings! Tomorrow's the big day, I just need to finish the final touches...

I can't wait!

Bullseye - Part 2!

Close up of the target. The upper left hole just barely ripped into the outer

bullseye circle which is why he got 58 points and not 57.

One more shot of his target, which he wants to frame!

His prize trophy. If you look closely, you can see 1st Place on the bottom left.

The boy and his trophy AND his brand new BB/Pellet gun that

he bought from me. It was to be mine but really, this boy needs

his own gun. I let him pay cash for half and the other half he has

to sweat off by working for his dad and I.

Like mother, like son they say. What?! They don't? Well they should!

Daniel and I went to the annual Kids' Day at our local Rod and Gun Club this morning. It was a chilly morning and the rain was pouring down so turnout was not as large as usual (we were told). However, those that showed up had a great time. This was our first attendance and we didn't know what to expect but it was a fun (if wet) morning.

They split everyone into three groups: 9 & 10 year olds, 11 & 12 year olds and 13 & 14 year olds. Daniel was in the youngest age group. We started with archery where he received a very respectable score of 23 out of 30. Not bad, considering his lack of practice but it wasn't good enough to get in the top three.

Then we moved on to the shotgun. They used a 20 gauge shotgun and the children were able to shoot at three clay pigeons shot in the air. Unfortunately, Daniel missed all three. One boy right next to us hit all three! We were impressed!

After our turn with the shotguns we moved into the clubhouse for lunch. It was nice and warm in there and we enjoyed the break. Then it was on to the final shooting competition, the 22 rifle.

Daniel waited in line and shot five rounds when it was his turn. He was instructed how to hold the gun, use the scope and fire. He looked very serious and I could tell he was really concentrating before each shot. His target was too far away to tell how he'd done so I was just hoping that he managed to hit the paper five times.

Imagine my surprise when he went to get his target after his group was done shooting and he returned with a very tight cluster of shots in and around the bullseye! :) He was SO excited. Out of a possible of 50 points he received 48. Wow! That's some shooting! He ended up winning the rifle competition and received a very nice trophy for his efforts.

Not only did he win a trophy but his name was pulled for a $10.00 door prize to a pizza place and they had generous gift bags for all who attended as well. I'm really impressed with this shooting range. We are considering becoming members there which I think would be a great idea. We'd have a good place to practice and we'd support the sport all at the same time.

I've got a new nickname for my boy now: Dead-Eye Dan!

Boys, Go-Karts and Mud!

My excited boy giving me two thumbs up!

Uh oh - better to stop before you get in too deep...

Big "J" saves the day!

Rescue mission almost complete!

Look out - you have entered the MUD zone!

We've got a go-kart and a ten year old son who's finally big enough to reach the gas pedal. Heh heh heh... Sounds like fun to me!


At long last permission was granted to get behind the driver's wheel and boy, did he have fun! I took a few photos of him riding by my mom's pond "next door" which is drying up for lack of rain. I guess it's a sad day for the geese and ducks but a great day for ripping it up in the mud with a go-kart. Daniel had a few difficulties negotiating the mud by the edge of the pond and got stuck until his cousin, big J, rescued him. Thanks Jared!


I consider the go-kart a win/win. It's got a seat belt and roll bars but yet goes fast enough to be a blast for young and old alike. Here's to many days of fun in the mud and (hopefully) a mom who doesn't get worked up over muddy boots/shoes/clothes/helmets and a boy who is growing up right in front of her eyes...

Bullseye!

My target from the 22 rifle.

Target from the pistol doing speed drills and shooting one handed

Target from the pistol shooting using both hands.
Note hole right in the middle of the black dot!

All three targets. I may have to frame them - ha ha!

Check it out. Take a look at those targets!

I'm sorry I didn't post sooner but as fellow blogger, Auntie Cake noted, it's hard to keep up with blogging in the spring. There's just too many other things to do.

The Women on Target class was a blast. I loved the rifles and I loved the pistols. I just plain loved the shooting! We split our class up into two groups with one group on the rifle range and the other on the pistol range. We worked closely with instructors who helped us learn how to load and shoot our firearms. After we had had time to work with and shoot a variety of firearms, we switched. I shot four different rifles (using 22 mag ammo) three with scopes and one without. I stayed inside my black bullseye rings until I used the gun without the scope, then I strayed above it a little bit. I have to confess that with the rifle barrel resting on a stack of sandbags and using a scope it made hitting the bullseye easy. Of course it didn't hurt that the targets were only about 15-20 yards away.

As much fun as it was to shoot the rifle, I liked firing the pistol even more. I was using a Ruger 2245 and it's a great handgun. I did have a few jamming issues where the cartridge was not fully ejected from the gun. Then I would have to remove the ammunition source, called a magazine, flip the gun upside down without pointing it at anyone, including myself, and remove the empty cartridge. Not the most fun thing to do (I'd rather shoot) but an important skill to learn. The instructors thought the pistol might have needed to be cleaned but it might have been my shooting technique. If you don't hold a pistol properly it can cause it to do that sort of thing.

Even so, my shots were pretty accurate. In fact, my instructors asked me if I'd done much shooting. When I told them no they said I had a great eye! Aw, shucks...


During our classtime it was mentioned that a husband and wife team in our area have an intense home defense training weekend about once a month. The waiting list to get into this class was supposed to be a year long so I decided to call them right away to get on the list. Guess what? They just added an additional training session the first weekend in June and they had room for me. It's an 18 hour course and very intense but they claim that when you're done, you will be very confident with your firearm and self defense in your home which is just what I want.


My dear husband and I drove down to meet the man in charge (a retired police officer) of the training and we liked him and were confident of his abilities. He let me handle his wife's guns so I could try out the different grips. It is mandatory to bring your own firearm to learn with and so that will be my next purchase. Actually, my next purchase will be a 22 pistol to practice with because the ammunition is so much cheaper but before June 5th I will have to find a 9mm pistol that I feel comfortable with.


I'm looking forward to getting a target set up on our hillside and practicing my shooting skills. Bullseye!