TIME FOR AN UPDATE

I began this blog in 2008. For those of you who have followed it all this time, I thank you. I was thinking recently that I needed to get back into blogging. It is something I truly enjoy but as they say, life has gotten in the way more times than I can count. That's really no excuse though. I enjoy it & should have made time to keep it updated on a regular basis. 

When I signed into my blog earlier this afternoon, my first thought was, "you really need to give it a new look". There are so many whimsical and cute templates to choose from nowadays. It's no doubt, blogging has come such a long way from 2008 when I got into it. 

In thinking about the look of my blog being so outdated, I thought about how much my life has changed in the 5 years since entering my 1st blog post. Much has happened over that span of time. I found the love of my life and lost him unexpectedly and tragically to death. Two of my wonderful three children are now high school graduates. (Praise God for that!) My youngest will be a Sophomore this coming school year. I'm now a "Granna" to one very special little boy who is now almost 15 months old, just started walking and a 'ham' in training to be. I now have not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 radio shows hosted on Blogtalk Radio and have just added a 2nd radio station that features all-holiday music year-round, hosted over on Live365.com. (You can find links to each on the right side of blog.) I just finished my 3rd year of college thru Liberty University. I'm a Dean's list student and have become an inductee of the Alpha Lambda Delta, Sigma Beta Delta, and Psychology Honor Societies during my time there thus far. I'll be a rising Senior in just a few short weeks. My son, Cameron, will be entering college there in the Fall as a Freshman (boy, does that sound weird to say that....my son will be in college). About the only thing that has stayed the same, is I am still working in the same full-time job but hope to be transitioning out of it one of these days in the near future. 

So, with all the many changes my life has seen over these last 5 years, it's time for an update to the ole blog. I'll be giving it a much-needed face-lift  Don't be surprised if you see a different look for a bit each time you stop by to visit. So, please bear with me as my blog goes through a brief period of transformation. 

Life is really all about change....some good, some bad. We have to take the good with the bad and how we accept and adapt to the many changes is truly what builds our character and molds and shapes us along the way of life's journey. I'd say my character has been molded and shaped every possible way one can imagine; especially over these last 5 years, but I'm definitely not worse for the wear, I'm definitely stronger, and better for it...(or I'd at least like to think so). 

Until next time...

THE WORLD LOSES ANOTHER CELEB...

The world awakened this morning to learn that overnight news broke of the unexpected and untimely passing of actor Cory Monteith, star of the Fox mega-hit series, Glee, who was found dead in his hotel room in Vancouver, Canada, of an apparent overdose. 

While it has not yet been determined what caused Monteith’s death, speculation has been mounting that the twice-rehabbed star may have succumbed to yet another bout with his addiction woes.

He had just completed a recent stint in rehab in April of this year. He was spotted in June, at LAX, with long-time love, Lea Michelle, looking happy and healthier than he had in a very long time, as the pair were off on a romantic getaway.

The looming question in the minds of most, is how does this keep happening? Monteith joins a growing list of celebrities who have died far too soon. Drug addiction seems to be the common denominator that has taken the lives of many in Hollywood. I saw random Tweets to this effect when the news broke. One tweet even asked the proverbial question, “when will they ever learn?” It isn’t so much a matter of when they will ever learn, but more one of they have an addiction that preys upon them in their darkest hour or when they least expect it. Try as they might, many of them seek help and know they need help, but find themselves yo-yoing between being clean and sober to falling back into that downward spiral that becomes an inevitable means to an end.

I recently saw an article about Lindsey Lohan’s most current stint in rehab. She has professed that now that she is clean she has acknowledged that Hollywood is her worst enemy. She wants to retreat into seclusion when she is released from rehab as she fears if she returns to Hollywood, she will fall back into old familiar patterns of behavior and addiction. I hope she does retreat. With the bad rap she’s received for her drug-induced antics over the last few years, it is evident in being clean how much she loathes herself when she’s battling addiction. The picture above is an old file photo of the innocent, wholesome Lindsay Lohan that we all came to know and love before she fell victim to the rigors of Hollywood. It’s a picture far removed from most of our minds. Perhaps I’m the only one cheering for her full recovery and future success. I’m a sucker for a good success story and would love to see her recover. It beats the odds of the belief I’ve held for some time that one morning we would wake up to headlines that she had met a similar fate as Cory Monteith.

With this latest news of the death of Cory Monteith, it does give one pause to perhaps examine why certain celebrities are more susceptible to falling into addiction than others. Regardless of how talented these folks are, perhaps it needs to become the responsibility of directors, producers, writers, and all the powers that be in Hollywood to look beyond these celebrities for underlying issues for potential red flags or prior addiction issues BEFORE putting them to work & making them the next household name. Granted every adult human being bears the bulk of responsibility of their own actions, but as we've seen time and again, those with addiction issues are not equipped nor able to handle the pressures of what it means to live up to the demands of being a sought-after name in Hollywood. Perhaps that’s first where it must start and the question we should be asking instead is, "Are they ready?"

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO...

It's the 1st day of school for my kids today and I can't help but ask the question, "where has the time gone?" Just a few short years ago, they were babies in elementary school. 

1st day 2009-2010 school year -Cam a Freshman , Hannah a 6th grader

How does it happen? One moment you are gearing up for their transition from elementary to middle and then to high school and the next you turn around and before you know it you realize that you have no more babies in elementary or middle school. 

Fast forward 3 yrs. 

Today my Hannah begins her high school journey as a Freshman and Cam begins his first day as a Senior and his last year of high school. 

It was a hard realization this morn, as I suddenly became aware that the pic you see above would be the last one I would take of both of them on the first day of school. This has been a tradition in our household since they started school. It has been fun watching them grow into the awesome young adults they have become. As a mother I couldn't be more proud of my kids. They love the Lord and live their lives by example; loving their neighbors as themselves and they take that radiance and love for God with them wherever they go. My hope is this year lives will be changed at school because of what my kids have to offer their peers who are lost. I'm so blessed! Of all the children God could have blessed me with, I'm so thankful He saw fit to give me two daughters and a son and now a grandson. So here's to a great school year for my younger two. I hope it's everything they hope it will be and then some. 

And this post wouldn't be complete without talking about my oldest daughter, Megan. When my son graduates next Spring she will have already been out of high school 4 years!! After high school she set off on her college journey. Her journey was briefly interrupted however, because earlier this year she gave birth to my beautiful grandson & made me a Granna. I can't even begin to express how proud I am of her and how far she has come these last few years She is an excellent mother and has the patience of Job with her son. (She didn't get that from me!!)  She just recently got back into school and is now working towards finishing her degree, all while working and being a full-time mom.  

Today is also a day for celebrating Trey's 4 mo birthday. Can't believe how fast he's grown in such a short amount of time. 

He is without a doubt the happiest little guy I've ever seen. He brings so much joy to my life. He is quite the ham and is so full of personality already to be so young. I will barely blink and he will one day soon be starting Kindergarten and the process will start all over again in my family. My daughter will be calling me for advice and consoling when that day arrives I'm all too sure.  

I can't help but be a little nostalgic today for it wasn't too many years ago when I was right where they were. I always got so excited each year at the start of school. I loved school and the grand irony is I find myself in school again today as a 3rd yr college student double majoring in Education and Special Ed and going on for my Masters in Teaching beyond that. It seems fitting in a way. I've always loved school and have always loved this time of year. This year my Freshman daughter has Earth Science. Ironically I happen to be taking an Earth Science course this semester myself. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be able to go back to school & get my degree, but beyond that to think that I would be able to share in some of the same curriculum alongside my children as they go through their schooling. Funny how life works out! 

So this year me and my children will all be students; two college, two high schoolers & we're gonna have the best year ever! 

Until next time....