February 10, 2013: Having Fun...

Julian in his first Bounce House...  DUG IT!

Heaveno!

Life is good, you know?

Life is... (you fill in the blank, you know)

Life is also ever-changing, you know?

Life is also... (you fill in the blank, you know)

Life simply is.

We say how it is.

We make it up.

There is tragedy and sorrow, success and triumph all around, every day.

So which is it?

It is all those things.

Life is a plurality.

Never did I learn this more so than during our journey through the grief of losing Bella and the joy of being given Julian.  Joy and pain walked hand in hand.

They walked hand in hand yesterday.  We were all in the family minivan driving down the freeway to one of Ali's best friend's birthday party, and Katy Perry's "Firework" came on.  I love that song, and I love that video even more.  When I see the girl who looks like she's battling cancer, I think of Bella.  I think of the words of the song, and I think of the inspirational impact Bella had/has on the world, and I think of how lucky and blessed I was to be there to be a supporting actor.  I was crying in the minivan driving down the road on a sunny day in SoCal, with the family all in a good mood... me too, mind you.  I was in a good mood, too.  The beauty of Bella's life danced with the sadness of how much I miss that girl.  The fun of the present day mixed together with the sorrow of days past where the horror of Epidermolysis Bullosa stung our very core.  Days that we've shared about, and days we'll never tell anyone about... all dancing together down the 5 freeway on our way to a young girl's 7th birthday party, full of unicorns and balloons.

Life, you are so rich, so robust.  So complex.  Cheers to you.



Ali's aunt Dina gave us these great frames where you put in your own art... PERFECT for Ali's weekly art that just pumps out of her!

The week was spent busy developing new business.  That coffee shop meeting went GREAT!  I booked a wellness session with 35 hospice volunteers to implement the training I got over the weekend.  BAM.   This is the year of implementation! LOL.  That was Monday.  Tuesday was spent in the hospital bedside with cancer patients.  Wednesday and Thursday were spent in orientation at a behavioral health hospital where on Monday (omg that's tomorrow already) I return as a Per diem therapist to lead groups to teach healthy ways to cope with depression, addiction, and a whole host of other psychiatric diagnoses with music... and rhythm.  It's so rewarding to watch someone who can't find the words to label their emotions, clearly 'play' their emotions on a drum, THEN have a fellow peer hear the emotion and label it, and watch the original person light up and say, "Yeah!  That's EXACTLY it."  Anyhow, Friday I booked another speaking gig after being invited to speak at a Peace Conference here in Orange County, and had an amazing brainstorm session with Ang and Christie Zink, PUCK's Relationship Coordinator on this summer's Time To Fly Race in Minnesota on June 22 in St. Paul.  Our team page is already up!  CLICK HERE to join our team!  It's gonna be a PARTY this summer!  That's our plan.



Ali's "100th day of school" project... 100 sea creatures stuck on an aquarium...

It was a good week, but perhaps the weekend was even better.  We discovered an ADORABLE little brand new retro diner in Old Towne Orange where we live.  It is so cute!  Anyone living out here, you GOTTA check 'em out.  They are on Glassell in the circle tucked away in the same alley as Zito's.  We then headed over to Cafe Lucca for a little gelato.  Fun times.

Saturday was a fun-filled birthday party for 6 and 7 year old girls (and a few unlucky boys... I mean, the party was unicorn themed after all).  Then we headed to grandma's where the kids hung out while mommy and daddy went to a grown up birthday party!  Our friends the Kellys throw really fun cocktail parties where we get to all be grown up because no kids are allowed.  I really appreciate this because we get to have grown up conversations that are uninterrupted!  Need the balance... although by a certain point in the evening we were all just talking about our kids anyway. LOL.  Still, an occasion to dress up is always nice, and Ang looked STUNNING.  Who, me biased? :-)



Today, my soccer team started the day with a win, and I got some decent playing time and played well. Then we went to lunch and did some shopping before Ali went to afternoon church choir rehearsal and study.  It was our turn to feed the kids, so 7 large cheese pizzas later, we all headed home giggling and singing away.  Mommy and Ali worked on Valentine's cards for class, and the kids sacked out a couple of minutes early even!  It's like having FOUND TIME! LOL.



Ali's shopping and church ensemble today.  How cool is this kid?

Anyhow, the family unit had a lot of fun this weekend, and I am just so grateful to have such an adorable family to cruise through this journey with.  The kids just continue to make Ang and me laugh out loud, and we continue to make each other laugh out loud as well.

Like I said, Life is good.

God night.