A lecture full of heart-changing thoughts...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Last night I was relaxing and and enjoying some quiet, flipping through channels after the kids, and my husband, had all gone to bed. I was not expecting to stay up so late, but when I began seeing previews of what they kept calling, "The Last Lecture," I was intrigued. I ended up watching the whole show, which was about a professor named Randy Pausch. A few months ago, he was diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer, only giving him a few months to live. He teaches at Cargenie Mellon, and was given a chance to give his last lecture. Other professors had done this in the past, but when it was his turn to share with hundreds, did he know his story would reach millions? That it could change the hearts of all who heard and watched him? Well, he may not have realized the impact he had, but through his words and life, he stirs up thoughts and feelings, leading you to go LIVE, you only have one life, why not do your absolute best and be happy with all that you have done. His story and the interview brought tears to my eyes, something that does not happen often. I did not imagine how much of an impact this all would have on me. It makes me think of how when I am standing at the gates of Heaven, I want God to tell me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." The Last Lecture, given by Randy Pausch, only emphasizes all that we are given in this life, all that we have the chance to do. I just keep thinking about how much I want to do, how much more I want to grow and become. When you are at the gates of Heaven, will your life be deserving of a "pat on the back" from God? I often think I am very far from that, but I feel like after watching that interview and the Last Lecture, I have so much more ability that I can be using. I want that "pat on the back!"

Click on the link at the top of this post to watch the full lecture. The video is over an hour long, but I encourage you to watch it when you get some spare time. Please note that once you are done, you may not be the same person you were when you sat down to watch "The Last Lecture."

A few pictures from our weekend

Don't you just love the rainboots? They look so clean now, by the end of the day, all our boots were up to our calves in red, clay mud! My boys- Hudson's ready to race! Randy is ready for the mud!
Lily, Randy, Hudson, and Dustin (one of our racing buddies)
Trent, me, Becky- three crazy racing mommas! Lily took this picture, too bad she cut off our feet- we all had some pretty cute black rain boots on!

Spring Cleaning!

Doesn't spring make you just want to clean and organize your house from top to bottom? Well, that is just what I did last weekend! I spent hours in the kids rooms cleaning and organizing, and throwing out all those things they don't need or want anymore! I also destroyed the evidence before they got home! I was feeling quite ambitious, and I am so proud of myself for getting everything on my list accomplished! I cleaned bathrooms, stairs, carpets, did laundry, made dinner and banana pudding for my hubby, swept and mopped floors, dusted, I could go on and on...Since I work everday, and we are gone racing on most weekends, sometimes things get pushed to the back burner. Well, since the kids were with their mom last weekend, I had the choice to either sit and relax, which I did some, or clean! And I chose cleaning, and I am so glad that I did. Now I can enjoy time with my husband, and the kids! I think we are all going to the track this afternoon, and I am so excited. I have not seen the kids since Sunday, and that was only for an hour, in between picking them up from their mom's and letting them go spend a few days with Randy's parents. The weather is gorgeous, sunny and mid-70s. It will be wonderful to get outside and have family-time!

I found this "meez" on another person's blog, I thought the knitting was so cute! I almost put her, well it's supposed to be me, on the beach knitting! But I'll save that one for my mom!

The highlight of my day!

My mom and my sister are spending some time together in Ohio, they called me yesterday saying they were shopping, and found shoes for $11, then 50% off of that! They called me about 5 different times, to get my shoe size, find out what I like and need, and then they proceeded to shoe shop for me! So all these shoes were only $5.50 each! How fun! It was great to have personal shoppers for a day! My sister even tried them on for me to make sure they would work! Now that is the easiest shoe shopping I have ever done! I cannot wait to get them in the mail! The weather is already warming up and I will be anxious to try out each new pair!

Word Cloud

I stole this idea off of someone else's blog- it was just too cute! You can create your own word cloud at SnapShirts.com.

A visit to the chiropractor

Today, I went to my first visit at the chiropractor. This was all a new experience to me, I have never been before. Well, after two hours of x-rays, a few adjustments, and electronic therapy, I found out my back and shoulders are VERY out of line, and my hips are also very uneven, my left hip is sitting much lower than my right. Who knew a silly hip could be the cause for all my pain, which goes all the way up thru my neck! The chiropractor wants to me go again tomorrow, and then we will set up a schedule for the next month until my vertebrae and hip are back in place. I am beginning to feel soreness in the spots he worked on, this is normal he said. So, as of yet, I'm not sure if this whole ordeal will be worth it, but he assured me that in a few weeks, I should be feeling much better! And for that glimpse of hope, I will continue to go!

Work has been quite stressful lately, we have a number of jobs going on, which means the stacks of paperwork on my desk seem to just keep growing overnight, as do the bills! Maybe this is a cause for my neck and back pains! Anyways, this past weekend we let another couple take Hudson and their son to a race in Myrtle Beach. This was the first time we have let someone else take him to a race. Randy was very bummed, had the sweetest pout on his face after they pulled away. But I reminded him that by him working over the weekend is what allows our kids to have such a great life. Motocross can be very expensive and time-consuming, but we love it all the same! Hudson did well at the race, and Lily and I had a great girl-bonding time! We went shopping, out to lunch, got our nails done, and visited Randy on the job-site. Lily even got to ride in the excavator and the dozer with her daddy for awhile! It is so cute to see her try to work those big pieces of equipment with her daddy! I hate that I did not have my camera, so no pictures were taken to keep this memory, only in my heart!

Yet with all the pain I have been in lately, physically, it has definetly been taking a toll on my mental state and my emotions. As I have not been sleeping good the past few weeks, I just can't seem to get comfortable, my emotions seem very drained. I keep finding myself snapping at Randy and the kids. I try to remember Proverbs 31, about the woman called has called us to be, but with a lack of sleep and constant pain and discomfort, I am just plain worn out. I am praying that my visits to the chiropractor improve my physical health, so that I can go back to being the wife, mother, and hard-worker that I normally am! I am also having trouble encouraging myself to work out, I do not want to be in any more pain than necessary! Haha! But as the days go on, I am growing discouraged, that I have not been the person God is calling me to be. I cannot wait until my body is back in shape, so I have the strength and energy to do all the things I love and need to do! I will continue to pray that the Lord sees me through this physical discomfort I am in. It does bring peace to know that I have begun going to the chiropractor, in hopes of finding some much needed comfort and rest, if all goes well! I will keep looking towards Heaven, for it is only from there that answers will come.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

So I just finished reading this book last night, calledThe Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs. A very good book, with over 300 pages, I couldn't put it down, it only took me week or so to read. Of course, with my busy schedule, finishing a book that quickly is almost unheard of. And of course, since I was so engrossed in my book, I have not even pickd up my knitting in over 2 weeks. Now that I am done with the book, of course, I will get back in the swing of things, unless I pick up another book! The book takes place in NYC, about a story of a single mom who opened up a knitting shop in the heart of NYC. There are about 5 or so other women in the book, all who join the knitting club that starts up one Friday night. Had I paid more attention to the cover, reading the tidbit saying "Like Steel Magnolias, in Manhattan," I would not have been so surprised and heartbroken when I put the book down. It was a great read however, more to the story of course than simply just a group of women who knit. The book also makes you want to join a knitting club, to share that bond with other women who enjoy the same craft. There is only one knitting store in my area, and I have trouble thinking that any younger women would be in attendance. Not that I have anything wrong with meeting with older ladies, I am almost positive I would enjoy it. I'm not quite sure the whole point of my blog today, but these are the matters of the heart for today I guess.
Lily has been struggling in school lately, she tends to not pay attention, being a girl, I can understand this. Floating off into la-la land when we should be paying attention. Can I say much, I should be working right now, but my thoughts are elsewhere. I struggle with finding ways to help Lily, she often plays "dumb," and craves attention, not concerned with the attention being negative or positive. I assume flashcards will help out significantly, those worked when we helping her read back in kindergarten. She just has trouble staying focused and keeping her thoughts from drifting or becoming negative. It is also frustrating as a parent to spend so much time on helping her learn and remember, and then to have her not remember, or not want to remember. So for now, my blue-eyed beauty has no tv or playtime priviliges, until we see improvement. Hudson, on the other hand, is doing exceptionally well, and after struggles with him on neat handwriting, he finally got a much awaited compliment from his teacher on how great his handwriting was becoming. So I guess this is proof that after hard work for both parents and child, improvements will come. Randy and I are still waiting to see the much needed growth of the company. Today has been another whirlwind, changes in the company again. Just another day in the life....