Day 17

Happy Birthday to my Dad! He would be 66 today! I sure do miss him.

Day 16

Today I am thankful for the program my kids attend on tuesday nights called AWANAS. The boys are both growing tremendously in their knowledge of the bible. Of course one day I would hope and love to see them as complete followers of Jesus in every aspect of their live's but alas I know they will need to make that decision for themselves. For now I will do my job as their parent to give them experiences that foster what our family values most. For more information about what AWANS is,

go here
http://awana.org/on/demandware.store/Sites-Awana-Site/default/Default-Start

Day 15

I am so thankful for my family. Jeff and I have been married over 8 years now and have been together for 9. We have three beautiful, and healthy children. We live in a beautiful town surrounded by many friends and family. We live a simple life really. We rarely travel or vacation, we don't have expensive things, we live in a small (sometimes it feels too small) but comfortable apt in a great area of town, our children go to decent schools. Neither one of us are working which has it's pros and cons. We will only discuss the pro's here today. The fact is my husband has been unemployed since May 2009 thats quite awhile. During this time our family has grown very close together. We are constantly together and supporting each other in each of our own adventures. Not many dads can say they get to take their children to and from school and after school activities on a daily basis. Of course jeff could have gotten a job anytime over the last year and a half but his job of being a dad in this season of our life was way more important. Don't get me wrong he was still working very hard going to school full time during this time. His schedule allowed him the time to be with his family more often then not. After working in ministry for a certain amount of time things can tend to slip with the nature of ministry outside the home. We are very grateful for this time our family has had together and as it is coming to a close we are mourning the loss of this season. Yes I did say close...details on changes coming soon. Today we are just thankful to be together.

Day 14

Lady and Lady's man Derby Prom 2010

I am thankful for my Derby Widow! Again I am guessing you are wondering what a Derby Widow is right?

I borrowed this for your reading enjoyment :)

A Roller Derby Widow’s Guide to the Grief Process

So, fellas, and some lucky ladies, your partner has joined the derby. You thought it would be fun for your woman to pick up a new sport, and now you sit in a house full of sexy hosiery wondering when you will see your partner again. This is a challenging time fraught with confusion and loneliness. Know that you are not alone. The mourning process is real. Every widow’s experience is unique, but you may recognise the following:

Denial – Many of us are ashamed to admit that early in the derby widow experience, it is actually exciting. Suddenly, it’s ok to watch a mass of women in short skirts plow into each other without turning off the internet browser filter. Your home is often filled with your wife’s hot, hilarious teammates. Your lover’s fitness is advancing at an astonishing rate, she’s taken over changing tyres, and she seems to have found an inexplicable comfort with firearms. When she drags you to the local all-night roller disco, you beam with pride at her skating skills.

Anger- It’s 9:30 p.m. and you haven’t seen Madamoiselle de Derby since yesterday. The house is littered with skates or wristguards that smell like week-old roadkill that previously subsisted on a diet of limburger. She’s spending all her time doing ‘tracking stats’, writing ‘line-ups’ or glued to some message board discussing the merits of taping make-up sponges to her blisters. Then, when you slump off to the pub to drown your sorrows with your mates, she rolls in two hours after you, red-faced and laughing about the ‘after party’.

Bargaining – You are a product of the modern age, no? You can handle this if she’ll just give in a bit. But your attempts to keep Wednesdays for ‘us’ time and coax her to take the summer hols somewhere where she can’t visit a local league just aren’t making it go away.

Sadness - You miss her. It’s common to experience ‘What if’ questions at this stage, like ‘What if I had just encouraged her to join something more delicate, like street fighting or kendo instead?’

Acceptance – Hard as it may be to understand this, you will eventually learn to embrace your roller derby girl. You may start to realise that your mates crowd around with anticipation to hear about the latest pile-up at practice, that when you finally watch a bout it feels like your first rock concert, or that you’ve tried on the referee stripes and have developed a taste of your own for the track. The women of the roller derby are a rare breed who will find the derby with or without you. All you can do is thank the derby goddesses above, and start on that sign for the next bout.

Day 13

Lady Dodga + Emma S. Enforcer = Lady Enforcers? you never know...

I am so thankful for my new "derby wife" don't freak out it's not totally legal. I knew from almost the very beginning that we were meant to be. We have very similar lives. She rocks my socks! For those that want to really get an under standing what a Derby wife is read below, I borrowed this from another blog, very well written.

A derby wife is quite simply this -

She is the one person in this whole sport of roller derby that the very instant you looked at her, you felt like you'd known her since you were a fetus. She looked just like your best friend from fifth grade, or something she did reminded you of all the things you ever liked in anyone else.
She is the first person you'd call if you ever need to get bailed out of jail. (Or in my case, ever need to have an entire legal crusade started in your name.)
She's the one who will be holding back your hair when you puke after drinking too much, and she won't let anyone take your picture while doing it.
She'll ride in the ambulance with you when you lose a tooth, break your wrist, or tear your ACL.She'll make you laugh the whole way to the hospital, try to steal your pain medication (lovingly), and sneak your favorite food and a beer into recovery.
She'll make her actual husband understand that if he loves her, he's gonna have to put up with you, too, no matter how many times you come over forcing him to revisit all the derby-related shows on his Tivo that you missed.
She may not even be your best friend in the league or the sport, but she'd be the one you know will be the first one to back you up, even if you're dead wrong. She'll just tell you you've lost your f#$king mind later in private, possibly kick your ass a little bit, and then be the only one who could ever talk your hotheaded ass into some reason.
If you can find more than one derby wife who can meet those needs, then you are lucky indeed, but myself? I'm a one derby wife gal.

Day 12

We took the kids the Air 1 Freedom concert tonight at Santa Cruz Bible Church, in which I forgot to bring my camera to. Four bands played for almost three hours while all three of our kids danced around with such joy and delight. It wasn't just the music that was sweet it was the message behind the music that could not help but reach one's heart.

Human Trafficking is an epidemic not just in other countries but our very own...San Francisco is well known for it's sex slave underground industry. Even Santa Cruz is on the map when it comes to human trafficking.



Check out this website to see how you to can get involved to end modern day slavery.

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

Day 11

Thank you to all who have given their lives and those who are still fighting for our freedom today. We are forever grateful.