Prayers answered.

Great news on the home front. Power in Pink is working for Paula. She went in for her blood work results and two month check up, today. Tests all came back good. Much reason to celebrate life and most of all celebrate MOM. She will go back in come April, every two months for awhile to make sure those nasty cancer cells stay dormant. In the meantime we will let out a sigh of relief and continue to say our prayers that she will conquer on in this fight and remain a survivor, with hopes she gains more energy everday. Her hair is growing and maybe soon she will shred the hats, wraps and scarves and embrace her new look. Like me, her hair came back a little different, instead of the red - I hear she's supporting the silver do. I am sure she's just as beautiful if not more. Congrats to the woman who defines true grace and strength. We love you more than you will ever know. Looking forward to seeing you soon!!! When we can celebrate your thus far victory on the slopes of the Fish with the views of Glacier. Can't wait!

Quotes to Pounder

"Sometimes the only way to move forward is to stand still, to do nothing and realize no matter how much it hurts or doesn't seem to be right - you are right where your suppose to be."


"Trust the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind." -Mark 12:30


"Do nothing. Sit with it. Learn from it. Struggle with it. Do this until time takes it away."


"One may not reach the dawn, save by the path of night." -Khalil Gibran



"Its hard to imagine all the things we survived, its amazing the things the human spirit is capable of over coming."


"We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it in full." -Marcel Proust.

Living and Learning

"He who learns must suffer. Even in our sleep pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair and against our will comes wisdom by the awful grace of God." - Aeschylus

Isn't that the truth!?! Living is about learning and chances are the learning and the growing involves struggling, pain, changes and challenges. No getting around it.

"Every experience adds a new thread a new color - a new stage to this tapestry of my life. As I work the threads I gain new perspective. The tug and pull; the challenges shape the fabric what was once unraveled is now being rewoven. The past and the present flow together into the design. The loom never stops the process continues."

We learn from each moment this life grants us. Lessons we sometimes accept with open arms and invite them to stay awhile while others we find ourselves saying why do I keep learning lesson I have no desire to learn or know. Yet at other times we refuse with every single part of us to learn and grow from. But the truth is this - this world - this life its bigger than us... and its your job to keep living as fully as you can no matter what is thrown at you - no matter what challenges lie ahead - no matter what your loss is - no matter how much you think you can't do something it is your duty to keep going. Because you were blessed with this one life and its gift is not to be wasted on self-pity, self doubt, or simply doing nothing when the going gets tough. Sometimes you find yourself at ends because you don't know where to go - what to do you find yourself wanting a cheat sheet wishing for some Lewis and Clark figure to come guide you out of the forest and onto a paved path. I will provide you with a little Lewis and Clark 101 info... They didn't have a map!! They wrote it as they went along. And the same applies to you - don't have a map write it yourself. Take your life in your hands. Don't know the way well who does - only the ones that play it safe. And what kind of life would that be if you were always walking where everyone else was walking. The good views are found in unexpected places and trust me never found on the safe paved path.

So in the end its this simple. Stop seeing the mountain. Stop piling on the excuses whatever they might be. Stop seeing the mountain and start climbing. One step and then another - climb the mountain. Do something. Life and Time wait for no one no matter what has happened - it doesn't matter who you are. So learn the lessons - grow - become and getting moving forward. The future in front of you is where your headed to now not the past that lies behind you.

Karma

"You give a little love and it all comes back to you. Your gonna be remembered for all the things you say and do."

I am a big believer in what goes around comes back around. If you are putting negatively in the world its going to come back to you. It may not be right away but it will. Karma... its real and its out there. Which is why I choose to let that teach people a lesson when they do something that results in betrayal, hurt, humiliation. I let that speak the words for me. Yes it would be easier to shove things right back in their face, to say hurtful words and act in a way to put those feelings back onto that person who did such things to you. But that results in putting negative energy out there and trust me it will come to haunt you. When you find yourself in such a position take the high road. Don't become less of the person that you are just to drop to their level. It only proves one thing that you are capable to act in such a matter as well. Let Karma do the speaking for you.

One Life

"You, get what everyone else gets. One Life. Its not about how long or short it is... Its about what you do with it."

I have been thinking about this life and the life that I get to live. I often find myself restless with this feeling of needing to do something - to challenge myself outside my comfort zone to do something to shack up my life. I often wonder if these same ideas or voices in my head telling me to do it is craziness -OR - a sign that is telling me to follow the voice - the idea - the sign. How do you know the difference? What I do know is that I want to do something meaningful with the one life that I get. I don't want to wast it by doing well nothing. I want to give to learn to experience to share to feel to capture to discover but above all to be.

Remember its not about the length. What are you going to do with your one life.??

Back in the Swing of things.

I am alive... After spending a week trapped in doors due to what was first thought as whooping cough but ended up being a server ear infection and a respiratory bacterial infection - I am now among the living. I couldn't be happier, thou I still don't feel 100% at best I am sitting at 60% yet anything is better than being stuck at home. One can only watch so many episodes of House and what I call trash tv, besides I was getting sick of eating chicken broth and walking around in like it was 110 outside. I bet everyone will agree being sick blows. So happy to be back in the swing of things. Now I can't wait to hit the slopes after all the snow we have gotten in the past week. Hope everyone else is drinking OJ, eating chicken noodle soup, staying warm and staying healthy.

Back to Life.

Life is now getting back into the swing of things. The guests are all gone, the house is clean, the laundry is done and the fridge is slowly getting back to the level of food storeage I can handle. Its been a busy few weeks with people coming and going. Lots of food prepared and eaten. Many photos of this and that. Heaps of smiles and laughter. Memories made and great times had. But now life gets back to life. A pleasant and yet kind of a sad fact. It always takes me a day or two to get use to the solitude but in no time I am back in my routine. I have found I love to just be here, to just live simple. No drama, no make-up, no gossip, no fashion, no questions, no non-sense, space filled with quiet and peace, time to reflect and think, dressing for comfort and warmth, and days that allow you to just be. Thats life in the Fish. Oh how I have loved the company but I welcome my back to life ways with open arms.

Adjusting our sails

"Its not the load that breaks you down. It's the way you carry it." -Lena Horne.

Life is about balancing. Because let's be honest here bad things happen - things don't go our way or the way you planned out - we fail we struggle we fall... Its the endless story of life. But we MUST carry on, it doesn't matter who we are or what is done to us or what happens to us. We MUST continue on the journey of life. For this life waits for no one. But you do always have a choice, that choice is what kind of attitude you will have. How will you be when you are hit by dark times. How will you carry the load? Will you carry it in a way that sparks growth and learning. Or will you let the negatively set in and let that rule your life. I prefer to carry my life lessons in a way that I can grow and become. I have my sights on growing and becoming more with each loss, each failure, each struggle. We can't stop things from happening. Life can be a nasty storm with as the boat caught out in the middle of sea. All we can do is adjust our masts and hang on for the ride, because we know this is to be true the tide does turn its just a matter of when.

Its Robert-oo's day of birth

Its my big brother's birthday today. So of course I need to give him a big birthday shout out from the mountain tops of Montana. HAPPPY BIRTHDAYY PAUL!!!! The up coming year will be a big one for this guy, Shonna and Paul will be welcoming their first child in May. Life will be changing, so Robert-ooo enjoy your last birthday not being a Dad. Sending my love and happiness to you always.

Guests from Minnesota

I have been counting down the days, and tomorrow the Niezwaags arrive. I can not wait to see them both and have a relaxing weekend on the mountain with them. For I know our time will be filled with the simple life... Life just the way I like it. Good food, coffee, great company, trashy tv, reflecting on remember whens, laughing, skiing and riding, smiling and chats. Man oh man have I missed their faces. I am honored they are taking their winter paradise vacation in Montana with me, thou they aren't escaping the snow from Minnesota they are escaping the wind and the extreme cold...Looking forward to seeing you my friends, Casey and Bridgette.