Saying Goodbye to Mike

I'm posting this one , on behalf of mom and dad...we have had quite a rough,past 4 or 5 days....Mike was mom and dads neighbor, directly across the street..You always knew who he and his wife Kathy were, because they would think of any excuse to get out in their front yard and BBQ, place horseshoes, fellowship w/the neighbors, play music, let their dogs run free....They were the ideal "fun" couple , Mike ALWAYS,ALWAYS,ALWAYS had a beer in his hand,,(I stress ALWAYS, ha ha)..He just seemed to always be glad to be alive , take everyday and REALLY enjoy it to the fullest extent....Whenever me and the kids would come over, the 1st thing I'd set my eyes on getting out of the car, was Mike, in his "beach bum" shorts and t-shirt..He would start waving at us, even before my feet hit the ground, he was that kind of friendly neighbor and spirit..he'd ask, "hows the baby?", and of course i'd say, "shes great"...It wasnt anything for him to walk on over to moms and come in and talk to everyone, he'd ALWAYS give me and mom a hug and kiss on the cheek,,and we'd walk over to his house and let the kids play w/his 2 dogs, Mickey and Tony...........and his wife Kathy...he loved her, after us, he would always save the best love and kiss for last, for her, almost like they were in high school again,thats the kind of love that was evident in them....but something changed all that....................Early Thursday morning (1am), Mike took his own life...The life he loved, the life God gave him to cherish, the life he and his wife were sharing together, the life we thought he wanted....Sometimes LIFE is too hard, and too tiring, and too messy, and just too much..............BUT, we have hope...to CLING to.........and THAT hope is JESUS CHRIST....I dont know for sure if Mike was able to realize that wonderful hope, or not, I pray w/all my heart, he did...but I did learn something from him, when he was here on this earth...Live EACH day to the fullest, THANK GOD for each day that we have, and CHERISH the ones in our lives, he has blessed us with....We love you too Mike and we miss you........RIP.......

THE CHEETAHS PREVAILED !!!

AUDREY'S BALLTEAM DID SO GOOD LAST NIGHT!! IT WAS ONE OF THOSE GAMES THAT LEAVE YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT, AND YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE HANGING IN THE BALANCE...(I THOUGHT RUSS WAS GOING TO HAVE A CORONARY LAST NIGHT,,HA HA)
IT WAS THE TOP OF THE 4TH INNING ,SCORE WAS 13-15, THE ANGELS WERE WINNING(AT THIS AGE, THEY ONLY PLAY TIL ABOUT 5 INNINGS, DEPENDING ON HOW BAD THE OTHER TEAM IS KILLING YOU) AND THAT WAS THE BALLGAME, BUT MY HUBBY, SEEING THE GLASS HALF-FULL, TOLD THE UMPIRE WE HAD EXACTLY 3.5 MINUTES LEFT, WE COULD PLAY ANOTHER INNING..THE UMP AGREED, AND WE HAD ANOTHER CHANCE (ANGELS HAD LAST BAT)..WE DID WELL, SCORING 3 RUNS MAKING IT 16-15,,BUT IT WAS CLOSE, THEY HIT GOOD TOO...TOP OF THE 5TH, ANGELS UP TO BAT......WE GOT 2 PRETTY EASY OUTS,,NO RUNS YET....AND EXACTLY 39 SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME,,,LITERALLY, WE WERE SUPPOSE TO BE DONE ALREADY.....BALL WAS HIT, 3 FT IN FRONT OF HOMEPLATE, OUR GIRL THREW IT TO 1ST, TAGGED THE RUNNER , GOT HER OUT, AND WE WON THE GAME BY ONE POINT !!!!!!! IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT............

Happy Mother's Day

I Love all the women in my life, my mom, my mother in law, my sisters -in law,my daughters, my grandmothers,etc.....I love that all us women, having different backgrounds, interests and lives really, can all proudly say we get to celebrate the same day together....Only God could orchestrate that, dont you think? Well, we had a wonderful day today at the Lonas house, well my morning started off very well, my kids all got ready for church, w/o too much grief, and we spent the afternoon w/The Lonas' and grilled hamburgers and all the fixins...My Audrey and Jake disappeared to her room for 2 hours to make my mothers day gift, I must say, I was a little scared, but was happily blessed when they came out with the sweetest pictures, homeade braclets and cards for me, they worked so hard, Im getting emotional just talking about this, because the rest of the day , they kept saying how much they loved me and how they wanted me to have the best mothers day...Kleenex, anyone?? Later in the day NaNa and GaGa came out w/Maddie, and we all went to Audrey's "GPS" (Gods plan of salvation) musical @ church...(My baby sang a solo, she did soooo good !!), when I figure out youtube, I'll have to put it on there...ha ha....anyway, I hope all you mothers out there, and mothers in training,,,SARAH,,,had as blessed and wonderful a day, as I had...God Bless all the ladies in my life............

A DAY IN THE LIFE.........

Russ - Well, my dear hubby this week had the pleasure of winning his 1st ballgame by a landslide (head coach of Audreys team), 22-7....He is such a good coach w/those girls, so its hard to see him get frustrated when they throw it to the 3rd basemen, when its suppose to go to home plate...ha ha....He also had an overwhelmingly PROUD moment as a father, when his youngest baby, EG, decided it was funny to, after mommy said, "say MAMA, Emma Grace", she actually said DADA, with a BIG smile on her face....Priceless to him,,,very unfair to mommy....Melissa - Well, my garage sale went off w/o a hitch,,,EXCEPT FOR THE TORENTIAL DOWNPOUR OF RAIN !! No, it really went good, I actually made $100, and its so funny to see these avid garage sale people come out in, literally, the POURING rain...nontheless, it was fun...... not cleaning up, though.I also sang special music at church Sunday...I prayed about what to sing, and it wasnt til Friday (cutting it short, I know) that God answered me..With my recent new found FREEDOM from the Esther Exp.,,I felt him nudging me to sing, "Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone"....and.....................................................Acapella, at that........God showed up that morning, as he usually does, and many came up to me after saying how much it meant to them, they were teary-eyed and at peace...thats what its all about...Audrey - My big girl,,,,she had 3 ballgames this past week, and shes pretty good !!....She has also been practicing for her 2 solos coming up (I know, a Diva already)....one for the school talent show (HSM) and one for the church childrens choir, which is on Mothers day, if anyone want to attend)...but my baby still has time to make me mothers day pics, like the one at school, which says, "my mommy is special to me because....................(audreys response) "She takes me everywhere....SOMETIMES".....I love that, to be taken ALL OVER, EVERYWHERE,,,only sometimes...ha ha...priceless....Jake - Oh, my Jakie-boy......never a dull moment....Just this morning, he managed to fill the sink up w/water about 1/4 in from the rim, just enough to splash some water all over, to which he said,, "it was an asscident, mama"....an ASSCIDENT, I love it...but my baby boy has those hidden moments, when noone else is around, with his mommy, like the other day I was doing the dishes, and he asked, "mommy, can I help you rinse the dishes for mothers day?"...and he stood there and rinsed the dishes just so proud to do it,,,(well, until he discovered the sprayer)...........Emma Grace - my sweet baby girl, who right at this moment is pitching a big one (a hissy fit, that is)....her ear infec is getting better, and she is getting so smart, she already knows a few words, "baby,dada,bubba(brother),and mama" occasionally, as in the previous post....and she has this thing, NaNa calls her "manerisms" where she presses down w/her hands on her belly, when someone is holding her...confusing, I know....well, thats it for this Lonas Clan for now...have a good week