Remembering A Friend, Flowers, Family time and Food

Sadly we attended a friends funeral this past week. Sid Hekman was the kinds of guy who gave. He also loved life and found the humor in it. The way he loved his family was contagious and the way he loved his wife made you envy the longevity of their marriage and that kind of commitment. Made you want to be a better spouse, teacher, better at giving beyond the minimum. Funerals are tricky because nobody wants to attend one and yet you have this desire to see your friends and loved ones honored. The beauty in death as believers is we never say good bye to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we say,"See you later." This time here, our bodies we're in....it's all temporary. That is where we find hope.

I woke up to this the other day. Raising Ryanne is a wild adventure full of massive band-aid purchases, fixing broken things in the house, constantly trying to get her to bathe and brush her hair.....clean clothes are a perk. Rescuing her from the tree in the yard and untangling her from a wrecked bike or scooter are all in a days work...

But oh my sweet Ryanne knows one things for sure...she is constantly putting herself before others. She is a prayer warrior and a giver. I wrote a quote on my chalkboard that reminds me of her. It says; She is delightfully chaotic, a beautiful mess. Loving her is a splendid adventure. -Steve Maraboli-

The weather has been so amazing that we have taken to art on the patio in the afternoons. Ryanne is a lover of all things art. She loves photography, painting, drawing etc.

She will sit for hours doing water colors....

Meet Bailey AKA Mr. Bailey. This is my moms little man who LOVES to stand at our wall like a mere cat and contemplate life.

I mentioned to my mom that I found a recipe for an AMAZING gluten free corn dog but alas I did not own a mini deep fryer. I was in no way shape or form going to get in my car and drive to buy one because I knew I would make them and eat them and then have to work out an extra day next week. Listen people; 40 is coming like a freight train for me in exactly 3 months from this very day! My waist line got the memo as have my boobs. They heard that was roughly middle age and they have decided to rest.

My mom shows up with a deep fryer she bought me and though I think she had some selfish motives (she wanted home made corn dogs) I could not let her down and we made corn dogs. I ate two. I did the "happy corn dog dance" around my kitchen island (surely that burned calories right?) I sang, I laughed, I waved my corn dog in the air like I just didn't care. Ha! Get it? Call me..I will be at Zumba all week if you're interested.

Listen, before you judge me, I have not had a corn dog in 6 years! 6 years people! A girl can only take so much. This gluten free life gets to you and you start to see corn dogs walking down the side walk. You dream about them. You think they are calling your name...I needed a corn dog. My little gluten free monkey approved of them as well. :)