I'm back...I think...Definitley not the same.

Wow, hello...Yes, it has been forever and I really do miss you! I have undoubtedly been on a very long unexpected journey feeling for a good portion of it like I was stuck in middle earth and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape. I lost a lot of "friends" in this time, which I have come to painfully realize on this journey they were never my friends in the 1st place. This is truly agonizing to an overt extrovert who had suddenly found herself house & bed bound for a LOOOOOONG time (forever in my mind), trapped really and falling hard & fast leaving nail scrapings along anything I could grab for to stop falling into what seemed a never ending, darker by the moment abyss. Yes, a few people stopped to bring meals (6 meals)...Drop them at the door (or hand them to my kids) and off they went. No offers of taking my kids for any short periods of time to relieve them from having to watch their mother cry, not really be present, just watch their mom rapidly disappear into someone who wished she no longer lived, they lost some friends during this dark time too (this, now that I can look back on it...I deeply regret that so very much). Even though I gratefully appreciated those meals and I know the sacrifice they made to do so, I still felt forgotten. Six months or so out from the accident, I had some nourishment for my soul... I had a couple ladies bring me lunch once and eat with me, I relished those two occasions, I prayed they wouldn't end...But it did and I am thankful for the time they spent with me. I also had a couple ladies come twice to pray with me and pamper me, bring me a couple delicious meals and I adored them for the sacrifice I know they made for me. Those ladies helped me more than they know even though it was brief, they reminded me that I was not forgotten. At this time I had a very close friend, I considered her a sister we were so close. She was there for me quite a bit and helped me as much as she could. She would take my kiddos every once in awhile so they could remember what fun was during this time. She would come hang out in my room while I laid in bed and talk to me about what was going on in her life or just listen to me. She was a lifesaver for me and my family. She helped me through one of the toughest years of my life. Sixteen months or so out from the accident, more changes rolled my way... As I got better, she started to come around less and less. I eventually realized I had been replaced with someone else and their baby. Okay...(I am getting stronger and then BAM, another jagged wrench thrown in). You see, she wanted a baby so badly and as of yet still does not have her own. I know she has things going on in her life that affect this (I don't know in current detail), but she latched on to this other lady with a new little one and hasn't let go so far. I thought it was just a phase. Twenty-two months out from the accident, I had been hobbled... I had to learn to grasp something that I kind of denied when it came to this very close friend of mine. I was having an event for my studio at a park to help drum up business, I had sent a text to her a couple weeks prior along with a handful of other people to join us. It was a hooping jam (hula hoops & family fun), something free for the community. I needed a small group of friends & family to help out & create a buzz to attract other people (you know how that generally works). Anyway, I knew this would be something she would enjoy and she is my bestie, so I invited her. The day before I sent reminder texts out because I know how busy people are these days, and I received a less than friendly text back, at least not one you send to your bestie, a stranger yeah...But not your bestie. That was the day I realized I had been totally and completely replaced and we apparently are not even close friends anymore. A shocking, bitter pill for me to swallow, I had been cut to the quick...Hobbled. I have had to take a long time to heal from that blow and I still haven't completely, my heart still hurts. Yet, I cannot bring myself to talk to her about it, because it is so painful. So... I have kept very busy with my ever growing studio, re-connecting with my husband (who has been amazing through all of this) and my children (they have grown so much in the past 2 years), immersing myself in the presence of The Lord and His word and enjoying my ever faithful childhood friend who spent a good portion of this summer with me nourishing my soul. I have also been busy with my therapies that I still go to as a result of the car accident (I don't need as much medication with the therapies). I still spend a ton of time in bed and I still require a lot of sleep. I have enjoyed the sun as much as I could this summer and my family as I am getting stronger everyday. I practice Pilates 6 days a week and stretch 7 days a week, this is a must (I love the side effects too, I have totally re-shaped my body). I also have formed a therapeutic, results oriented Boot Camp for my studio as well, it is growing like rapid fire...My clients love their results too. I am also getting more immersed in the studio in general and I have stayed true to my free-lancing roots. I teach Ballet & Worship dance to homeschoolers once a week at their co-op. I love pouring into others' lives with my talents and it makes my heart happy the more I get too. I am making an even more conscious effort & plan to show compassion to those who need it. I just recently spent a few months helping my cousin & her husband (he recently just passed away from an aggressive rare cancer, I am glad I got to know him and really connect before he passed away & he definitely made me more thankful for my life), I will continue to check on my cousin and spend time with her. I have also settled with the girl's insurance company, finally. I have also had a healing medical miracle in my neck I will expand upon in the future. I am busy finding myself again because I am definitely not the same. I know this posting started out dark ( I had to get it off my chest before I could move on with this blog), but I am not in that dark place anymore as you can see. I hope my transparency will help someone...If not, at least I got it off my chest. Please accept my apologies for disappearing for such an extended time.

I Miss...(Desperately!)

Hey there, I know it has been awhile.  Life has been rough for my family and me since the afternoon of August 4, 2011 when two cars pulled left out in front of me while I was going through a green light.  I missed the first person only to slam into the 2nd person.  It was really bad...ambulance, ER, x-rays, MRIs, EMGs, lots & lots of doc appointments.  Tons of work on my vehicle (still has to go in for more work, they didn't do it right the first 3 times!!!).  I am still going to lots of doc appointments and therapies.  My 2nd & 3rd cervical vertebrae slipped so far forward, I nearly broke my neck, I have a bulge in my C5-6 that compresses the blood supply to my spinal cord, I have a bulge in my L4-5, the left side of my pelvis dropped so low it nearly fractured, I have frayed ligaments in my left shoulder and a sprained AC, my left arm was a mess from the impact and airbag.  I have severe headaches and pains everyday.  I spend about 16-18 hours a day in bed, just depends on the day.  Anyways, I was a very lucky lady I didn't end up paralyzed or dead.  So I have been struggling to keep my studio up and running with the help of some wonderful teachers and instead of me dancing and teaching, I am more of an overseer, director, and administrator.  Anyway, so that is what has been keeping me away.  I also wanted to share a little something I wrote the other day (I need to remember what I have been feeling throughout this major disruption and very painful trial filled with suffering), so here it is;
What else do I miss due to my car accident? Hanging out with my friends (or friends I thought I had) whenever I felt like it, or riding my bike for hours with my kids and taking them on a great adventurous hike (something we would've done on a day like today), I miss the freedom to move my body in any way I wish to, I miss having headache free days, I miss enjoying life and not just going through the motions with a smile on my face to pacify others, I miss my true dear friends that live so far away and I can't get to them because I am limited from the car accident, I miss being genuinely happy, I miss feeling accomplished, I miss being the helpful friend, I miss cuddling with my family, I miss doing my hair, I miss doing my make-up, I miss not taking pain medication on a daily basis, I miss the energy I had, I miss my old life before the car accident, I miss being able to dance myself (especially Sunday nights), I miss so much...It could literally go on forever! I hate that girl so much, I hate her for her foolishness! Lord help me please....help me to forgive her for taking so much away from me. (3/15/12)

Where's The Teeth?

My daughter has become very much so on the toothless side of things. She has pulled 3 of them out in the past 2 weeks, 2 of them just a day apart! The Tooth Fairy has had a VERY expensive month so far at our house. You see our kiddos made a deal with The Tooth Fairy (WARNING: you might not want your kiddos to read this part!) that for each tooth they pull out, the Tooth Fairy will leave them $5 for the tooth and their extra courage. Now, if the tooth falls out The Tooth Fairy leaves them coins in exchange for their tooth.
We also learned The Tooth Fairy does not fly out on tooth exchanges during 4th of July...too much danger with all the fireworks. :o

Hula Hoops

Hula Hoops
Originally uploaded by Joie

Just a old picture I found of the kiddos practicing hula hooping. It is a fun picture and I am amazed that I actually got it with how sloooow the shutter is on my camera.

Imagination Tribe At The Beach

It was a blissful afternoon for 10 moms & 23 kids! Need I say more?




"Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."-Albert Einstein Visit our Fan Page on Facebook, Imagination Tribe (SE Michigan)!

Happy Father's Day!

Today people everywhere are busy celebrating their fathers and we are no different. Yesterday was our big day for it actually because my husband was home yesterday. Today he is at work, working very hard to provide for us. He has been a very faithful husband and father in this aspect and the kids and I appreciate him.
Yesterday was a treat for us as a family because Jeff had the day off and we got to spend the day together. After spending some time with friends at a going away party for some dear friends, my hubby then changed my back brakes (while I cleaned house) and then we joined our kiddos in the pool to cool off. The kids were just in heaven to have mom and dad in the pool with them. Jeff stayed in longer than I did and gave the kids rides around the pool while they squealed in delight. I wish I got a picture of this but I was to busy enjoying watching and listening to them have such a great time with their daddy and listening to all the laughter. Not much later my hubby came in and said, "I need more days like this. I miss this time with my family." We miss this time with him too. Hopefully, we will be able to make some small changes to allow for him to be able to spend more time with us and to relax a bit. I really do wish we could repeat yesterday everyday for the next 1,000 years or so. Yesterday was such a blessing and my husband is such a blessing to us. Thanks baby for all you do, you are such a blessing to us and so faithful to us. I love you more everyday in every way. ♥ Thank-you for the great life you provide us!



Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there!

Look Ma!

So Froggy decided to try attempting a underwater somersault and was successful and surprised he did it. Oh the joy!

AND....

Sweet Victory was met at our home the other day, Wednesday July 29th actually.
Froggy had been asking to take his training wheels off his bike for the week previous, but dad put him off. So, that brings us to the victorious Wednesday afternoon when Froggy, Tiger Lili and I tackled the project. I removed one training wheel and Froggy removed the other.
He no sooner removed that wheel, handed me the wrench and he was off! He coasted right down the driveway and stayed up right! He even did some pedaling along the way.
VICTORY!
We had tried this in the early spring once and he decided he wasn't ready, so we put his training wheels back on but raised them. I believe that was the trick because it forced him to learn how to balance. He knew he was balancing on the bike wheels when he didn't hear his noisy training wheels. Before long we rarely heard the noisy training wheels, and he knew he was ready.

We have been....

So I haven't been on in quite awhile because....
I have been playing a game on Facebook called Farmtown and have been temporarily addicted.

We have been enjoying the weather outside, riding our bikes, hanging out at the beach, going for walks into town and getting our milk shakes.

We have been out in the yard tending to it and weeding the garden and flower beds. Unfortunately, we still have plenty more to do.
We've had my lovely sister in law in for a bit of a visit. Meanwhile we celebrated my mother in law's birthday. We also went the Memorial Day Parade while she was here.

We've gone to a baby shower and a birthday party.
I gone to my coffee nights with the girls...that is always a trip. Gotta love it!
We went to the zoo yesterday and bought a membership. We also went to the dino exhibit in the zoo, the kids loved it!


We can't wait to go back to the zoo in a few days. We will be spending much of our time there, as my son wants to be a zoologist, with a specialty in frogs and toads.

We met some zoologists in training yesterday, and that was a big treat for Froggy. We also visited my favorite part of the zoo. The Arctic Ring. The Polar bears were just so active and funny! It was great weather for the trip to the zoo. All the animals were busy playing.


Tiger Lili got to see the butterfilies twice in the beginning of the visit and at the end. Both times a butterfly landed on her. The first time on her nose (yeah, didn't get a picture of that), the second time...I got lots of pictures.

We enjoyed our day because we did not have to rush...thinking when will we have the time and money to do this again (more so the money, we always have time). So we saw what we saw, and decided next week we will come back to see more.
During our visit we did encounter a lot of children of various ages, because the schools deemed that to be the day to go to the zoo. I knew one of the reasons I didn't want to send my kids to school was because of the lack of character developed while in school, but boy was I shocked by the complete lack of character and communication skills demonstrated by the majority of the children there. It was very eye opening, and yet very reassuring to me that I have decided to go down the right path. Oh my and the "teachers" or "parents" or "chaperones" whatever they were (might as well have not been there)....let me just say, "WOW!" Those poor children, they do not even stand a chance. I mean, why did I have to pull one of the children over and let them know they are not setting good examples for the younger children around and they are not giving any respect or consideration for the others around. Meanwhile the adult with them just looked off into space the whole time this event was going on....so why was he there? Some one help me to figure that out. Then, why aren't the adults making sure they have everyone in their group before moving on? So frustrating. Just some things I noticed. Enough of that rant, onto better things.
All in all, it was a great visit and we can't wait to go back.

Did I mention that Froggy lost another tooth during this time too? Yep, he did...the top front and the other is quickly on it's way out too.
The kids have also built some houses (out of my wrapping paper).


And Tiger Lili has taken to writing. She loves to tell me what she wants to write, I write it down for her and she then copies it onto whatever she has it planned for.

We also went to Old Navy for their $1.00 flip flop sale (you heard that right). They could not resist being models with the models.


We also mangaed to go to a carnival, and see the movie UP. It is a great flick, we saw it in 3D, and now I am perplexed as to why they just don't make all movies in 3D. All the trailers preceeding the movie were in 3D and they all looked awesome, especially Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. Oh, I can't wait to see that one. We have field day tomorrow with our homeschool co-op, can't wait for the fun to begin!

UPDATE:
Someone helped me....thanks Education Revolution

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_increasing_number_of?utm_source=a-section

and this

http://www.trutv.com/shows/principals_office/index.html

Hello September....(sigh)

Well September is here, and that means my summer is coming to an end! The weather will be turning cold, and then down right bitter. I will be soon holing myself up in my warm house not leave until again until mid spring arrives (just kidding...not really). I wish I could stay in my house until mid-spring, but alas...that will never work. Too many things to do and accomplish. I have dance classes to teach, and the kids have homeschool group, and we have rainbows, royal rangers and church. I can't wait for summer to come around again. My Michigan summers are just too short! This has been a great summer, I can't complain about the weather we have had...well, maybe a couple days. :-)

Treasured Times

These are some of things we did while Lili was away. Marco missed her very much as she was gone for 4 days! She finally decided to come home last night. After not seeing her for that many days she seemed so grown-up! A little bossy too, we will have to adjust that. ;p boy did we miss her though.

Marco played with his newest cousin Brady, built a castle and surrounding lands with an army, got his animal cards out and decided on about a dozen to copy the names of into his own little notebook, he made us a fantastic lunch with rootbeer floats, and much more. Did I mention we raced too. He actually beat me on the last one, our 4th race (I was so tired, these were full out sprints up the hill) he was so proud!!!

A mystery unfolded in our backyard (go to bottom of post then up)

8. The old self is added to the collection

7. Hello world (just gotta dry out a bit)

6. The new version (an adult cicada)

5. The tail is free

4. Time right itself and get the tail out

3. Taking a break (this is very hard work)

2. Half way there

1. Cicada nymph (not for long)

Marco: "Mom, there are 100 of me!"

Me: "100 of you?"

Marco: "Compound eyes..."

Me: "Oh, that's right."

We are not sure which cicada this is, I believe it may be a periodical b/c of the overabundance of nymph shells we seem to be finding everywhere. We are going to upload a pic to http://www.bugguide.net/

and see what they have to say. The colors are gorgeous on him, and I am sure he will change color as he was darkening up as he dried. My son's vigilant eye has definitely rewarded him on this morning. He is always out there checking on what is happening in the world of bugs and amphibians. He just loves them. He is an entymologist in the making everyday, and I will be by his side everyday for encouragement, and guidance.

ps. sorry the pics are all in crazy order...I haven't figured out how to place the pics in the order I wish for them to appear. There is always next time, so you'll have to bear with me. ;p

Holding My Breath

We have a small Intex pool in our backyard, it is about 2.5 feet deep and 10 feet in diameter. It suits us just fine, and it is a favorite spot during the beautiful hot days of summer. This is our second summer with it, and something big has been accompolished because of it. Our little guy, Marco has learned how to swim underwater! He has been practicing going underwater for just over a week and voila! He can now swim under water. He can hold his breath for about 10 seconds and with his goggles on, swoops under the water and swims away. He is so thrilled he has learned how to do this all by himself with our encouragment. He is also attempting the doggy paddle with a noodle under his arms. Whoo Hoo!!!