A Special Bond

Did I tell you my mom owned 5 kittens before she died? I had recently visited her and fell in love with one of them. My husband was not excited about the idea of us taking one (we are still grieving the loss of our dog who passed away January 31, 2012). In fact, he said “No,” when I asked if we could take one.

One kitty in particular had already stolen my heart. I spent the weekend of March 16-18 taking pictures of her and playing with her.

After my mom passed away, I told my husband, “You know, you have to let me have this kitten now.” His simple reply was, “Yes.” So, that’s that! I now have a sweet kitten! Not just any kitten though. This kitten is special. This kitten was loved and brought into this world with the help of my mom. She was there the entire time mama kitty was giving birth to all these kittens. We were looking at her calendar after she passed and she was documenting important moments in their lives, just like a mother would do with her baby. We share a special bond. We were both loved by my mom. Enjoy the pictures – isn’t she cute?

P.S. I named her Debbie in honor of my mom.

Did I Really Say Good Bye Only A Week Ago?

This is the handkerchief that I used to cry tears on when my mom died. Jesus was and is still with us in our grief. John 11:35

This whole last week has been a blur. Exactly 1 week ago today at this very moment (12:24am on March 20, 2012), I said good bye for now. Why do I say for now? That’s because I know with certainty that I’ll see my mom again one day when I, too, pass from this life. I am joyful she is with the Lord.

However, I am also sad because I don’t have her here anymore. She was much too young to be taken from us. Of course, who is to say the time and the day when our loved ones be taken from us? God, the Author and perfecter of our faith. He knew her before she was born. He knit my beloved mother together inside her mother’s womb.
I want to share with you what those precious last moments with my mom on this earth were like.

At 11:53am on March 19, 2012, we noticed a significant drop in her heart rate and blood pressure. There were 4 of us gathered around her hospital bed. Margie, my older sister, Martin, my older brother, Tony, my uncle (my mom was like a 2nd mom to him since she is 18 years older than him), and me. We knew what was going to happen at that point. We told her it was okay, that we would all be okay, that it was time to be with Jesus and not to fight to live anymore. We played music for her (my mom loved music), ran our fingers through her silky hair, assured her that we were still with her and not to be afraid, and we wept.

This picture was taken March 17, 2012, only 2 days before she left us.

This went on until 12:22am when her levels kept lowering and then finally at 12:24am, her heart stopped beating altogether. There was no struggle. It was peaceful. At 12:24am, she left this world and stepped into the next world.
The world where there is no more pain or tears or sadness. The world where she worships her Jesus not in a church house, but at His feet. Do I wish she was still here? The selfish part of me says, “YES!” But I would never take her away from the paradise she now calls home.

How do I know my mom is in heaven? Because she is the one who introduced me to a man named Jesus Who lived and breathed and died and rose again for me, for us, for her.

I encourage you to read my previous post called, “A Life Remembered” to get a window view of who my mom was. I don’t ask you to read this so that I might get more “likes” or comments or followers. I ask you to read so that your life will be blessed by this woman who was “…a Christian, a wife, a mother and grandmother and friend by the grace of God” (my mom’s own words about herself). Here is an excerpt from that post:

“The last time I saw her well, she was standing on her porch in her purple robe waving good-bye to me. Before we could even get out of the driveway, she sent me a text that said, ‘I miss you.’ About a minute after that, she sent me the very last text she would ever send me. It said, ‘I love you now more than the day you were born.’ ”

One of the last things I said to her was, “Don’t worry about us, Mom. We’ll be okay.” And we will. Life will go on and we will be and ARE better people for having her to call “Mom.”

Sister, Sister, Italian Greyhound

My sister and I just returned from a relaxing weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia. It was so relaxing and so beautiful and so…yummy.

We gave up any hopes of eating healthy on Friday afternoon. My favorite yummy treat? A French Toast with Maple Syrup and BACON cupcake! Weirdest dessert I’ve ever eaten but sooo yummy!

There was a jacuzzi that we utilized both nights we were there. My sister, Margie’s little Italian Greyhound, Nike, also joined us at the cabin. He’s the cutest thing that has ever lived but a HUGE pain in the ass. The first night while we were soaking in the jacuzzi, he sat outside and cried. So we put him in the jacuzzi with us. That’s right – 2 girls and an Italian Greyhound in a Jacuzzi. It must have been a funny sight to behold.

We went on a hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains and found a waterfall! We kept going and going and finally made it to the top of the mountain…that probably worked off that french toast bacon cupcake, right?

We also had fun just looking for things to photograph. We both have a passion for photography so this was the perfect weekend with the perfect weather with the perfect scenery.

Funniest moment? I invented a new word. If you’ve ever seen an Italian Greyhound, you know that they are tiny little things…and they have…tiny little things. We were driving somewhere and I mentioned Nike’s little “shlong” and my sister said, “I don’t think you can call it a shlong.” Thus, our new word. Shlort. See picture for definition. We get a lot of joy out of making fun of this cute little animal.

Also, thanks to a little tip from my wordpress friend, Malia’s blog (Self Professed Product Obsessed), we both tried out our new skin regimen, Monistat 7. You heard me right.

Margie (left) & me (right)

Well, too bad it’s over. Sucks to have to go back to reality after such a nice, relaxing, word-inventing, picture taking, hiking in the mountains, dog-walking perfect weekend. The weekend may be over but “shlort” will stay with us forever. 🙂

Bathroom Pictures

I despise it. Stop it, ladies (and yes, some gentlemen)! There is nothing flattering about your pretty face with a toilet in the background. I’ve even seen photos of girls in public restrooms and you can actually see the stall in the background with someone’s pants around her ankles! Do us all a favor and crop that shit out! Better yet, just stop altogether. There are so many other places to take a photo!
Let’s also not forget the lovely close ups of a girl on the toilet with the hand towel in the background. This should be embarrassing to you. Why subject the world to one of the most vulgar parts of what we, as human beings all do? However, you still don’t seem to have gotten the message.
Well, here it is. I will lay it out for you. Pictures at parties, in you car (hopefully not while driving), in front of the Eiffel Tower, dancing, performing, sleeping…I think you get the picture – these are OK. Pictures of you in the bathroom, on the toilet, 2 or more of you in front of the bathroom sink with the toilet in the background, etc., NOT OK. Got it? Good.