My cup runneth over...

with pictures! This post is going to be FULL of pictures and some video, mostly from Christmas! We had a wonderful, though busy, holiday. The three of us drove to Knoxville, TN where my Dad (AKA Papa T) and his wife, Terrie live. Ashley met us there and we spent time with Terrie's daughters, Rebecca and Jennifer. We had a lot of fun catching up and working on a scrapbook of old pictures we are making for Dad. I have to say that Ashley and I decided our hairstyles through the years bring to light some serious neglect on the part of our caregivers. The pictures of us through the 80s had us rolling! Here are some highlights of our time there:

Daddy tells Santa what he wants for Christmas

Playing in the backyard at Papa and Nana T's house


Dad and Terrie

"Ring of Fire" performed by Tyson and Aiden (Rebecca's kiddos), with the aid of Elias' Christmas present


Scrapbooking

Santa at the Festival of Lights at a park in Knoxville

Dad showing off his piano skills

Elias takes a turn

Papa T

We left TN on Christmas Eve and headed to Charlotte to be with Mom (aka Nana) at her house for Christmas. After enjoying a delicious homemade meal (green bean casserole included!), we shared pumpkin pie with Mimi, Papa and Aunt Ann and Uncle Jimmy, who stopped over. It was really nice to see them and nice to see Mimi feeling better despite the last few months of chemotherapy. Click HERE to see our Christmas Eve pictures. We woke up Christmas morning with Mom and Ash, but unfortunately Elias was quite the disappointment as far as Christmas excitement is concerned. He was pretty indifferent, actually, and had the most fun with Mom's cat, Oreo. He likes to follow Oreo around and then pet him while saying something that sounds like "Awwww." It's quite cute. Hopefully, next year he will be more into opening presents...at least for the sake of the grandparents! This year, the wrapping paper was definitely wasted. I'll post pictures of our time with Mom soon, as our camera battery had died and she took all of the pictures...thanks, Mom! She always does a great job of capturing our memories! Click HERE for Christmas morning pictures from Nana's house.

We spent the 26th with Grandma Carol at her house and enjoyed more homecooking and lots of presents! The book she had made for Elias with pictures of words he knows, like "mama" and "dada," "elmo," and "car" was a huge hit. Elias has spent more time with the book than any other present so far. 2nd place is the keyboard Papa T got him. He plays the keys so gingerly: one at a time instead of banging. Maybe he'll play the piano just like Papa T! Here are some highlights of our time with Carol (click HERE for the complete slideshow):

The rest of our December pictures (click on each to see the Kodak Gallery slideshow):

Daddy and Buddy day

Christmas Party

North Pole Party

Random December

Whew! And now for some video archives....

Elias and Taylor Grace at Thanksgiving

Music to our ears: Elias talking!

We wish everyone a peaceful start to 2008. We'll start our year in Florida with Christopher's Grandma and Mickey Mouse! Using our timeshare points, we will be staying at Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando and spending a day in the Magic Kingdom.

Much love and warmth to all and wishes for health in the new year. Our thoughts are with families who have lost little ones and pray for peace and healing in their hearts.

Hopefully we can see you all soon and share all the good in our lives!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!
Tonight we rode the Santa Train at the Museum of Life and Science. A Durham tradition that includes a lighted train ride through the woods and a chance to meet Santa. A family sitting in front of us told it was their 11th year riding the Santa train. Elias was a little wild waiting for the train, but clapped and smiled during the ride. He was not a fan of the stop at "the North Pole" because this meant the train had stopped. Fortunately, Mommy had brought along a snack to occupy such an occasion!

Elias and Daddy waiting for the train

It was a little windy on the train, which is why my big fo-head is fully exposed!

Not so sure about Santa...

but loved the train!

We went out to dinner afterwards at Bullocks BBQ, another Durham favorite and after surviving dinner with an overtired toddler, returned home to get our buddy to bed. Then it was time to finish decorating the house!

We are hosting our annual Ammon Holiday Open House tomorrow night and needed to put the finishing touches on our decorations. I have been spending quite some time in the kitchen and are planning on serving the following at our party:

Pretzel Yummies (a big hit last year so I'm bringin' 'em back!)

Oreo balls (which I think I am going to call reindeer poo because that's what they look like, although quite tasty!)

my infamous Spinach and Artichoke dip

Cheese Ball

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Sparkling Citrus Punch (to be spiked with a little bubbly!)

Homemade Chocolate Covered Toffee

Can't wait! We pretty much invite everyone we know, so it's a big group of people and a chance for us to introduce different corners of our lives!

Here's a few pics of what the house looks like...

I love our house when it is decorated for Christmas. So warm and cozy! Better head to bed now as there is still much to do tomorrow! Vaccuum, dust, set up the food, spike the punch and get pretty! Wish those far away reading this could join us...we'll certainly miss you. In the meantime, enjoy the season and time celebrating with family and friends.

Weekend Update

I am happy to announce that I am officially done with my first semester of grad school! So far, I know I made an A...yes, an A!!! in one class. I turn in a paper Monday morning for my other class and hopefully will do just as well.

So far, grad school has been enjoyable and not as hard as I thought it would be. It takes a team effort to time manage (three cheers for Christopher who has picked up MAJOR slack along the way) and not get behind on readings and assigments. And it definitely takes an established time each week to work on school, as I have gotten with Elias being in a parents-morning-out program two mornings a week. My philosophy (passed down to me from more experienced working mom friends who are also going back to school...love you Athena!) has been to take one week, one assignment at a time...to do the best I can with the time I have. I didn't set out to make an A, but sure am proud I did! And again, I must credit Christopher for being so supportive...could not have done it without his help. And while I am thanking people, I should send an online shout-out = ) to Grandma, who babysat quite a few times to give me some school time. They say it takes a village to raise a child and I think the same applies to getting through grad school!

Work has been tough this Fall...we lost children that were very dear to my heart and it's been harder than usual to move on. Somehow, I still love it. I love the people I work with, which helps a lot. I have never worked with a more amazing group of women. I feel like they are a part of my extended family.

Elias is talking a lot more, although currently in a language we do not understand. It's beautiful to listen to! I'll try and post soon some video we took today of him talking. Speech therapy continues to go well and we love seeing our speech therapist twice a week. Stacy has become part of "Team Elias" and we are grateful for her. Elias still loves his school and brings home the greatest artwork. We have made a "gallery" for him in our kitchen and he loves to point out what he has made. He knows his shapes and colors and when asked, can point out all kinds of animals...including the bald eagle and and spider monkey (from Panda Bear, Panda Bear by Eric Carle).

We had a great Thanksgiving at Grandma's with Brian, Katie and Taylor Grace and even enjoyed some day-after shopping. Click on Thanksgiving for a link to our pictures. Elias seems to know Taylor Grace (4 1/2 months older) is his cousin and constantly gives her "pat-pat's," which is his version of hugs. Very sweet.

Grandpa stopped in for dinner while in town for business trip and had fun seeing Elias in action. Christopher's high school pal, Leslie, was also in town and we had a blast with her and dog, Lou. We even took them to our favorite park, where Lou was a big hit. Click on the picture below to see other random pictures from November.

And finally, we were happy to visit with Kimary, who has moved to the west coast to pursue a career in nurse-midwifery, while she was home for Thanksgiving. Click on the picture below to see all the pictures!

Two new angels

Two sweet girls became angels this week: Alexia on Wednesday night and Ashleigh on Thursday night. Please pray for these families as they say goodbye and celebrate their daughters' lives through services this weekend and on Monday. Click on their names to see their websites. I couldn't find a picture of me with Ashleigh, but found one of me with Alexia and thought I'd post it. This picture is from when she was leaving to return to Argentina after her first transplant at Duke.

Prayers for Alexia

Please pray for one of my patients, Alexia, who is fighting for her life in the PICU right now. Her Daddy had just gone home to Argentina because she was doing so much better. He is desperately trying to get back to Duke and Mommy, Ursula, is having to be strong for her little princess warrior. Pray that they will be re-united soon and that Alexia can hang on.

November Road

Thought I would post a few pictures of some November happenings. Christopher and I were saying last night how fast this month seems to be going. Reminds me of the line from my new favorite song "So Small" by Carrie Underwood:

While you're sittin' 'round thinking 'bout what you can't change

and worrying about all the wrong things

Time's flyin by

Movin' so fast

You better make it count

'cause you can't get it back...

When you figure out love is all that matters after all

It sure makes everything else seems so small.

Quintessential Fall picture taken by Grandma

Elias with Stacy, our speech therapist

Elias: 21 months

Christopher at a Duke Men's BBall game in a UK shirt = )

Happy 28th birthday!

Thanksgiving Feast at Elias' school

We hope everyone has a peaceful thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for...our friends and family included!

Beautiful ending

I should be going to bed now that I have just completed another assignment for school, but instead I am checking up on my favorite patients through their websites and came across something I had to share. I have mentioned Kate before (see "Kate the Great" on the right hand side of our blog page), but not sure if I said that Kate had a sister named Caroline. Caroline was born with the same disease as Kate, but developed symptoms of the disease too quickly to attempt treatment. Caroline recently passed away at the age of 9 and her mom Allison wrote the most beautiful description of Caroline's passing. We hear about our patients dying, but often do not know the specific circumstances surrounding their deaths or what it was like for the parents to say goodbye. I just had to share from Kate's webpage the description of the Kirk's experience. It truly was a beautiful ending.

This option is not feasible or desirable for everyone, but we also found it a great comfort to keep Caroline at home after her death. We had cared for her so constantly through her life that it was hard for us to think about other people caring for her after she died. We found a compassionate and knowledgeable funeral director, Jim Brewer at Marshall-Donnelly-Combs, who basically said that he would help us attend to Caroline after her death in whatever manner we desired. He and his co-workers Katherine and Billy were in our house frequently over the next couple of days, at any hour of the day or night we needed them. After Caroline died my sisters, Doug, and I washed her body and her hair. We dressed her and placed her on the bed in her room. My sister’s friend Betty sent a gorgeous white dress, actually a first communion dress, for Caroline to wear. I told Caroline that if she knew what a froufrou outfit I had her in she’d be giving me the business. We compromised in that I let her stay barefoot under her big skirt. The girl never liked shoes. We put two small ice packs wrapped in towels on either side of her torso, and changed these maybe every twelve hours. There were a few changes in Caroline’s body over the next two days, not many, and they served to remind us that this was only her body, that her spirit had been released. Everyone had time to sit with her, read to her, talk to her over the next couple of days. I frequently found myself running into her room to tell her what I was doing, and it felt so natural. On the morning of her burial Doug carried her down the stairs and we placed her in her casket in our foyer. She was to be covered with a quilt which my sisters and I made with our mother as she was dying of cancer. My sisters tucked this around Caroline as if they were tucking her in for the night. We placed a few mementos in her casket and then closed it. Doug and I and other family members carried the casket from our porch to the hearse, and then from the hearse to the gravesite for the burial. At the burial Dahl read one of Caroline’s favorite books, The Circle of Days, Aunt Julie spoke, and Doug sang to Caroline one more time.

Hallow-Eno

We have had a great month...fun activities and finally Fall-like weather! I am posting some of my favorite October pictures (in addition to the Halloween slideshow above) and you can click HERE if you want to see the entire October collection of photos on Kodak Gallery. Happy November everybody!

Elias relaxing at Grandma's house

an afternoon at Hill Ridge Farms

5 year anniversary date

Love is something that we do

Today marks 1,825 days since Christopher and I started our lives together. What a beautiful day it was...a big white barn, the colors of fall all around and love in the air. We cried (everyone did!), said vows and danced and celebrated until dark. It was the best day of my life, second only to the birth of our little buddy.

We had our good friend, Nick Cheek, sing a song whose words mean even more to me today than they did then. I have always loved the song because I feel like it describes love as an action, rather than a warm fuzzy feeling. Warm, fuzzy feelings are wonderful and we still feel them (going on cruises, just the two of us REALLY helps!), but day to day, love is something that we DO. Here are the words to the song by Clint Black.

I remember well the day we wed

I can see that picture in my head

I still believe the words we said

Forever will ring true

Love is certain, love is kind

Love is yours and love is mine

But it isn't something that we find

It's something that we do

It's holding tight, lettin' go

It's flying high and laying low

Let your strongest feelings show

And your weakness, too

It's a little and a lot to ask

An endless and a welcome task

Love isn't something that we have

It's something that we do

We help to make each other all that we can be

Though we can find our strength and inspiration independentlyT

he way we work together is what sets our love apart

So closely that you can't tell where I end and where you start

It gives me heart remembering how

We started with a simple vow

There's so much to look back on now

Still it feels brand-new

We're on a road that has no end

And each day we begin again

Love's not just something that we're in

It's something that we do

We help to make each other all that we can be

Though we can find our strength and inspiration independently

The way we work together is what sets our love apart

So closely that you can't tell where I end and where you start

Love is wide, love is long

Love is deep and love is strong

Love is why I love this song

And I hope you love it too

I remember well the day we wed

I can see that picture in my head

Love isn't just those words we said

It's something that we do

There's no request too big or small

We give ourselves, we give our all

Love isn't someplace that we fall

It's something that we do

Happy five years to my best friend, my lover, my rock. I love you more with every passing year and also look forward to our 5-0 party! Everyone mark your calendars for October 26, 2052!

Share my burden

This past year has been a sad one for my fellow staff where I work. The last month especially has been very tearful with the passing of sweet Noelle in September, and today, Mason. We have so many kids right now who are fighting for their lives and to be honest, it's getting to me. I have said before that parenthood makes you vulnerable: much like a sponge. It's difficult these days to remain emotionally distant, especially as I think about the precious moments I shared with both Noelle and Mason and their families. I can't describe the bonds formed with people that you hardly know, yet you become a part of the worst time in their lives. I myself have experienced the pain of miscarriage, but nothing compares to the death or even near-death of your child.

I share this with you, my friends and family, because I feel compelled. Hoping that somehow by sharing, I lessen the burden of sadness a little and spread in its place some gratefulness. Please be grateful for your health today and the health of the ones you love. Please pray for peace for Noelle and Mason's families and ALL the families at Duke. And if you have an extra minute, pray that somehow I can be an instrument of that peace and still be whole enough to continue, even when it's hard. Like today.

Below is my new favorite picture of something for which I am most grateful.

AAAHHHH-----CHOO!

Thought I would provide a public service of sorts and post some warnings that the FDA has just published regarding cough and cold medications for children under 2. They are specifically warning against over-the-counter medications UNLESS a doctor has prescribed them. As cough and cold season quickly approaches, us moms must remember that colds are caused primarily by viruses and must run their course...as miserable as that may be! With kids under 2, the best medicine is usually none at all, especially when it comes to this over-the-counter stuff. When in doubt, check with your kiddo's pediatrician! Click HERE for the complete WebMD article.

The FDA's public health advisory includes the following advice for parents about using cough and cold products in children:

• Do not use cough and cold products in children under 2 years of age UNLESS given specific directions to do so by a health care provider.
• Do not give children medicine that is packaged and made for adults. Use only products marked for use in babies, infants or children (sometimes called "pediatric" use).
• Cough and cold medicines come in many different strengths. If you are unsure about the right product for your child, ask a health care provider.
• If other medicines (over-the-counter or prescription) are being given to a child, the child’s health care provider should review and approve their combined use.
• Read all of the information in the "Drug Facts" box on the package label so that you know the active ingredients and the warnings.
• Follow the directions in the "Drug Facts" box. Do not give a child medicine more often or in greater amounts than is stated on the package.
• Too much medicine may lead to serious and life-threatening side effects, particularly in children aged 2 years and younger.
• For liquid products, parents should use the measuring device (dropper, dosing cup, or dosing spoon) that is packaged with each different medicine formulation and that is marked to deliver the recommended dose. A kitchen teaspoon or tablespoon is not an appropriate measuring device for giving medicines to children.
• If a measuring device is not included with the product, parents should purchase one at the pharmacy. Make sure that the dropper, dosing cup, or dosing spoon has markings on it that match the dosing that is in the directions in the "Drug Facts" box on the package label or is recommended by the child's health care provider.
• If you DO NOT UNDERSTAND the instructions on the product or how to use the dosing device (dropper, dosing cup, or dosing spoon), DO NOT USE the medicine. Consult your health care provider if you have questions or are confused.
• Cough and cold medicines only treat the symptoms of the common cold such as runny nose, congestion, fever, aches, and irritability. They do not cure the common cold. Children get better with time.
• If a child’s condition worsens or does not improve, stop using the product and immediately take the child to a health care provider for evaluation.
  

Long time, no blogging

As you might have inferred from my lack of posting since August 30, we have been quite busy this last month! Not sure where to start, but I will try and sum up all that has kept the Ammon family plate full.

1. SCHOOL: Grad school, to put it nicely, has been kicking my butt. I definitely underestimated the time it would take to read and comprehend texts on health policy and organizational behavior and overestimated my recall of how to research and write a well-thought-out paper. It has certainly been a TEAM effort, with Christopher taking on pretty much all of the domestic duties! He has been awesome with taking Elias out of the house when I needed to read quietly and letting me sleep in when I stayed up late finishing assignments. He may have to walk across the stage WITH me if I ever get this degree! Elias is doing his part by attending his parents morning out program two days/week and taking GOOD naps so that Mommy can have time to devote to schoolwork. The last few times we dropped him off were tear-free!
2. CRUISE!!!!! Christopher and I went on an 8 day western caribbean cruise from Sept 16-23. It was amazing and we had a blast celebrating my 27th birthday and our upcoming 5 year anniversary (Oct 26). We missed Elias terribly, but he was well cared for by Nana and Grandma, who split the week taking care of him at our house. I am posting a few of my favorite pictures but click HERE if you want to see the slideshow in its entirety on Kodak Gallery.

3. SPEECH: We haven't gone into detail with many people, simply because we are busy living it, but Elias started speech therapy this month for a mild speech delay. Basically, our little man understands everything we say (receptive communication) but for whatever reason does not try to imitate or say any words to respond (expressive communication). We sought out an evaluation for him in July through our county's Developmental Services Agency, and because he has enough of a speech delay at 20 months, he qualifies for FREE speech therapy services. Elias is very smart and has no problems socially. He uses sign language to communicate his needs and makes more verbal sounds every day. We look forward to hearing more of his little voice and in the meantime, make the most of the resources available to us. Right now, Stacey, the speech therapist, comes to play Mondays and Wednesday afternoons for 30 minutes.

Elias at the beginning of September (19 mos)

4. THIS WEEK: We have been particularly worn out this week as Elias came down with Coxsachie virus, also known as Hand-foot-mouth disease. Click HERE for more information, but basically Elias has had the most trouble at night with discomfort from the mouth sores and continued fever. One or both of us has had to sleep with him during the night, which was not exactly quality sleep for any party involved. He ate and drank well this week, so we avoided the very common problem of dehydration. Hooray for small blessings!

So that's our news! I hope to get the hang of grad school soon and would like to be able to balance my other activities...like blogging. Here's to a quieter month...

"They call me the Fireman"

Last weekend, Christopher headed east to Lumberton, NC area. The reason? To help with the containment and clean-up of wildfires there. Apparently, wildfires are more common with periods of drought and because NC has been so dry, the wildfires were pretty bad. Here is an email he sent out to immediate family with some pictures from his experience. Click HERE to see some media coverage of the fires.

I made it back safely and earlier than expected from the wildfires in Robeson County, NC. It was quite an adventure, although it didn't last as long as expected. Myself and another ranger from the park headed down to Lumberton on Friday and were checked in and briefed about the fact that since July 24 there have been 151 fires, burning a total of 2,915 acres, causing 148 firefighters to be called out and costing $854,297.

Our strike team of 5 engines and 11 personnel got started the next day. We worked two 14 hr. days over the weekend, mopping up a 175+ acre wildfire. Basically, we wet and raked hot spots 50 ft. in from the perimeter fire breaks. We only had one close call...myself and 2 other parks people were 10 feet away from being crushed by a falling tree! The area we were in burned 12-24 inches into the peat, which means some of the trees roots were left exposed, and when the wind picked up, a tree toppled over (see the pic below).
It seems that we made history. It was the first time NC State Parks helped out NC Forestry with a wildfire...usually it's the other way around. In summary, it was long hrs., hot & dirty business but all-in-all a valuable experience.

Picture of tree that fell...barely missing Christopher!

School Days

The latest and greatest news around here is that Elias completed his first day of preschool and I, AKA MOMMY, start school Monday! Elias attends Aldersgate Weekday School and is there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-12pm. His first day was Thursday and because I was working, Daddy was on duty for the main event. Elias got pictures taken on the "bus" (see pictures below) and only cried for a few minutes after Christopher left him. His teachers, Miss Ellen and Miss Ellie (confusing, right?!) said he had a great day and enjoyed playing in the gym with balls and cars and really liked...big surprise...music! I will be the one taking him on Tuesday, so hopefully he does as well for me and that I do as well as Daddy did!
More than likely I will be distracted by my schoolwork that will be hanging over my head. I need to make the most of the time Elias is at school! I already have an assignment posted on "Blackboard," which is the online program Duke School of Nursing uses to host these online classes I will be taking (all my classes are online). I am enrolled in two classes this semester, and in case you are curious about what a student in a Nursing and Healthcare Leadership Program studies, the names of my classes are: Population-Based Approaches to Healthcare and Organizational Theory for Integrated Health. Hopefully the knowledge that I gain from reading $247.80 worth of textbooks will help me in my current nursing role. = ) So far, my first assignment due September 3 for the Organizational Theory class is to read the first chapter and post online an introduction of myself and what I hope to learn about organizations. I can handle that! Sounds a lot like blogging...

Elias and "blankie" (who went with Elias to school) riding the Mickey Mouse bus!





"All Done!" (one of the signs Elias knows and uses to communicate his needs/wishes)

Big Boy E

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"Momfidence"

In the August 2007 issue of Carolina Parent, a free family resource newspaper here in Durham, there is an interesting article on an author and her blog/book/monthly column titled "Momfidence." I really connected with a couple of definitions of Momfidence quoted by the article.

MOMFIDENCE is raising your child freehand, rather than a paint by numbers kit. To paraphrase Lucy van Pelt of Peanuts: The expert is within.

This reminded me not only of our daily life with Elias, but specifically of our troubles breastfeeding when he was about 6 weeks old. Elias and I (and in effect, Christopher) were miserable as we fought to continue breastfeeding when it just wasn't working. Our pediatrician's office had seen us daily and each doctor had a different solution. All the joy was gone from the experience. I felt like I just wanted to start formula, but felt extreme guilt at the same time. It wasn't until Elias started losing weight that we made the decision to supplement and eventually, convert to formula exclusively. I know we have shared with many of you, especially our new mom friends, what a dramatic difference it made in our lives. I felt like a mom reborn. And I had known all along what to do, but was too consumed with what the books and doctors said.

MOMFIDENCE is venting about how "doing it all" is one of the dopier cliche goals leftover from the 1980s. Doing the best you can while trying to do as much as you really truly need to is the best anybody can hope for.

I definitely need to apply this truth as I start school and learn to balance household responsibilites with schoolwork and with quality family time. If ever there was a time to prioritize, that time is now.

Hopefully our friends who have new babies can connect with these things and for those with babies on the way, start developing your MOMFIDENCE now. Forget the diaper bag, it's the most important thing you'll need!

Speaking of moms-to-be, click on the picture below to link to a slideshow from Katie DeCicco's baby shower this past weekend. Elias and I went down to Charlotte a few days before and spent some time with my Mom and sister. There are some pictures of Elias towards the end...professional haircut #3!

"Our Deepest Fear"

As I have many times in the past, I feel summer fading before my eyes and feel a sense of dread as Fall approaches and school begins...this time, GRAD school. Please don't get the wrong idea--I am thrilled about getting an advanced degree, but worried about the impact this change will have on our family. I find myself thinking about it a LOT. I wonder if I will be able to have time to study. I wonder if I will FEEL like studying! Will I always feel like I could be doing something, reading another chapter, researching another paper, instead of just relaxing? What if I am not smart enough to handle these graduate level classes? What if I am not ready to be a nursing leader? I am trying to prepare my mind to take one assignment, one class, one semester at a time, instead of just feeling overwhelmed by the whole experience.
This is what I do, see? I spend my last precious weeks of freedom (classes start at the end of August) worrying about the weeks of the future. One coping mechanism I am attempting is to PREPARE. Preparation is something I am striving to get better at in life...a skill mastered by supermoms everywhere! So, in the theme of preparation I decided to reorganize our office papers and filing system to make room for school! A little thing, but one that will make a BIG difference for me, I know. If I feel organized and I have places to put papers and such, I won't feel as stressed.
ALL this blabbing (or should I say, blogging!) to say that in my reorganization efforts tonight, I came across a little "poem" about stepping up to the plate, that I decided would be my new mantra for the upcoming school year and in my career pursuit.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are we not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is in us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

I love the part about being "powerful beyond measure." What IF we all lived that way? How many more dreams would be confident to pursue, feeling that way about our skills and abilities? Here's to tapping into our God-given strengths and living our lives to the fullest!

News from the Eno

Eno River made the news last night and this morning with a tragic story of a drowining victim in the quarry. Click here for the story as reported on one of the local papers (FEATURING CHRISTOPHER). Christopher, along with the other rangers, had to guard the quarry all night until they found the boy's body this morning. Since the quarry is 60 ft deep, dive teams were called in for the search.

Since we swim the quarry a lot, this tragedy struck very close to home. My heart aches for this boy's family, and especially his mom, who I am sure worried every time he swam there. Elias always wears a coast guard approved PFD life jacket and OF COURSE is always with us, but I still think we will keep our distance for awhile.

On a happier note, my friend Katie brought her sweet baby Sofia home on Sunday and below are a few more pictures of her. I couldn't be more relieved that Sofia is ok and that she is finally home with her Mommy and Daddy! Welcome home, Sofia!