wisdomcrew

A lot has changed

2011-03-09T16:07:00.003-06:00

So, in case you haven't heard. Our world was turned upside-down on September 8th, 2010.
My biological father Rob contacted me on August 28th. He was from Clearwater, Florida. My parents had separated when I was 6 months old. After the divorce was final, My mother re-married her 1st husband (my older brother's father) Ronald, and they had my sister Calyn. Sounds completely normal, Right???
I am a middle child with a different father than my older brother and younger sister. This is something that I have spent the majority of my life feeling horrible about. My mom and Big Ronnie (the father that raised me) were absolutely wonderful to me. I didn't find out that Rob was my father until I was 15 yrs old and Rob's son, Bryan (age 25 at the time, my half brother) paid me a visit to a public pool to inform me he was my brother. Obviously, as a teenager I was mortified! I chose to not meet Rob at this time. I had a mother and a father and I didn't feel any need to meet a stranger at that time in my life. Over the years, we had minimal contact. Age 18 he came into my work to give me my birth certificate, Age 25 I called him on the phone (after being persuaded by my husband Shane). The phone conversation was very ackward. He explained to me that he had a heart condition, and "didn't think he could handle talking to me". That was the last I heard from him until this August, 10 years later.
I chose to meet him Sunday August 29th. The lunch again, was very ackward. I was able to tell him how I feel and he was able to open up to me about his life. We parted with a hug and an "I'm Sorry". I texted him when I got home saying, "I am sorry lunch didn't go well, I feel it is only right to forgive you, but it is going to take time, maybe next time you are in town you can meet the girls". We agreed to email and text, he gave me his niece's and best friend's phone numbers to get to know about him a little better. The next 10 days, I had conversations with both, learned of his life. Rob offered to "co-invest in you and your daughters' future" by paying off my student loans. For this I was very appreciative and was able to thank him over the phone. I said, "you don't know how much this means to us, and how much this is going to help us".
The next night, I recieved a phone call from his best friend stating that Rob had passed away. He was surrounded by friends showing them some pictures of my family and me and the girls that I had emailed him. He had layed down between two cars, palms up and appeared very peaceful. My contact information was written on a tiny piece of paper in his shirt pocket.
I have not been myself since this happened. I was able to find the peace and forgiveness that I never thought I would. But I have so many un-answered questions. I wish he was able to leave me some guidance, or instruction. He was a very hard-worker almost to a fault. He was not good a relationships. His family has been very helpful and understanding of our relationship, for them I am grateful!
I will write more, I just felt I needed to get this off of my chest. I have been so afraid of writing or saying something I shouldn't. I am not ashamed of my past, my life or my parents. I feel very blessed!

Flip Cam

2011-03-09T15:44:00.002-06:00

I have wanted a flip cam ever since we borrowed a friend's to take to Disney.

I am gonna try to upload a video.

Mexico 2010

2010-09-26T23:33:00.004-05:00

My Mom and Sis at Moon Palace Golf Resort and Spa!!!My cousin Michelle, posing with an iguana!Aunt Crissy and Uncle Jerry, Parents of the BrideThe crew in the miles of pool surrounding the resort!The boys chillin'I say the best meal yet, authentic mexican and peach margaritas!"Swingers Bar"My Lovely MotherMom, Michelle, Calyn, Carli and MeSo I am guessing the red flag means no swimmy in the oceanThe Bride chillin in the shade!My Lovely Sister, it was really fun to get her out of the country!Dusty's sister Nicki, my fellow photography buffWe really don't wanna go home!

Here we are all in Riviera Maya Mexico for Carli and Dusty's Wedding. These are the shots from the beach and vacation, the next post will be from the ceremony. We had a great time and such a huge turnout for a delightful couple!

Summertime Fun

2010-09-26T23:20:00.003-05:00

"Shake Weight"

Thank Goodness Payton is no longer afraid of the water

and it looks like Paigey has no fear either!

Doesn't Everyone get their har cut outside???

Sisterly love at the Botanical Gardens.

We didn't make it there as often as we would have liked too.

It was pretty hot this summer!

Our Big Recital

2010-09-26T23:12:00.002-05:00

Here we are at dress rehearsal, watching all of the other classes perform!

This years recital is fantastic!

Here we are on the big night. The girls didn't feel well. I was a bad mommy and gave them motrin, apologized to the other parents... the show must go on. They were troupers and did awesome. I was so excited to see them on stage together! The recital was at the same auditorium I had all of my recitals as a kid, talk about bringing back old memories!!! Steppin Up Dance Studio Rocks and we love it!

DogWisdom News

2010-08-20T18:43:00.002-05:00

Calling all dog lovers!
DogWisdom has great news! While I am continuing to do in home lessons, I have also branched out into a new location!!! Happy Tails!!! Located at 2920 N Lindbergh Blvd, Happy Tails offers fantastic daycare, boarding, grooming services and now DogWisdom Dog Training Services.
Whether you are a completely satisfied customer wanting a re-fresher, one-on-one dog training, or group classes we can help.
Courses Now Featured at Happy Tails Inc.
· DogWisdom 101 (pay by the week, daily drop off and pick up program)
· Board and Train (pay by the week, dog stays overnights for the week)
· Leadership Seminars (Learn about the importance of Leadership in dog training, Seminars offered twice/month, People only)
· Kindergarten Classes (puppy classes, one night/week, 4 week course, open enrollment)
· G.E.D. Classes (Basic obedience class, one night/week, 8 week course, open enrollment)
Please do not hesitate to call me anytime about in-home private dog training lessons and forward this email to any dog-loving friends. It would be greatly appreciated if you pass our name along to anyone getting or thinking about a new addition to their family. We truly appreciate your support. Thank you for supporting DogWisdom, I couldn’t have done it without you!!!
Call Shane at 314.494.980 or Happy Tails Inc. 314.291.3647Print this email and receive 10% OFF any training service!

Easter

2010-05-28T15:13:00.004-05:00

Easter was beautiful weather this year.

We hosted at our house, had great food and a fun easter egg hunt for the kids.

We also got to sit outside and enjoy the new patio set.

Yo Gabba Gabba

2010-05-28T15:04:00.005-05:00

One of our favorite shows on TV is

Yo Gabba Gabba and we won tickets to see them LIVE!!!

It was by far the coolest kid show we have seen to date. The girls were jumping out of their seats. It was pretty cool for Shane and I too,

we got to see Biz Markie live too for Biz's Beats!

Swim Lessons

2010-05-28T14:58:00.001-05:00

Finally Payton is no longer terribly frightened of the water.

Even though she is with the little kids, we thought it would be good for her to be the big brave sister and show Paige what swim lessons were all about.

Trying to conquer her fear of water has been a 3 year process.

Paigey on the other hand, has no fear and when asked to touch her chin to the water on the first day, went completely underwater.

We have our hands full with that child!!!

Dance Costume Preview

2010-04-27T22:02:00.001-05:00

2010-04-27T21:45:00.004-05:00

Here we are at the dogtown parade on st. patrick's day.
Our first time down there on the actual St. Pats day. It was fun!
Then we went to our friends house for reuben sandwiches and cabbage.
It was delightful, they had a bonfire and
Dave's dad drove all the kids around in a golf cart.

It was nice to spend the day as a family.

Our friends live next door to the cemetary that my dad is buried in,
We always stop there when we visit them.

Payton wanted to give him some beads.

Happy St. Patricks Day

2010-03-14T12:18:00.001-05:00

2010-02-21T16:59:00.002-06:00

The best thing about being a nurse, is not to have to work mon-fri. I get to try to schedule around the girls school parties. Luckily this year they were on separate days too.

Ali Fiona Fudge

2010-02-21T16:19:00.002-06:00

Champion French Bulldog Ali has been here two weeks.

Looks like the pup is here to stay.

She is really good with the girls, super cute but has her own little quirks

that hopefully dogwisdom can fix pronto!

2010-02-21T15:59:00.001-06:00

Commercials get you everytime. Pdog saw a build a bear commercial for a valentine puppy. We of course they were sold out, but we made a bear and a bunny. It was so much fun for the girls for valentines day. Now that they have the animals maybe we can just add outfits for them.

Matt and the Princess

2010-02-21T15:53:00.004-06:00

This child is so demanding she will make you ride her around like a horse and she is the princess, and make you carry her wand in your mouth. Geez, it is hard to be a princess

100th day of school

2010-02-21T15:46:00.002-06:00

P-dog celebrated 100 days of school. The parents got to come to the celebration. We did projects, got to hear them recite a cute 100 days of school poem, slideshow of pictures and cake! All of the parentals also noticed how the poor kids art boxes were sad. Half stub crayons, non-sharp pencils etc. Then looking above there were boxes and boxes of pencils and crayons in a huge clear box up on the shelf. At the beginning of the year when we had to bring school supplies they were all dumped in together. Do I dare ask if the kids can have refreshed supplies or do I just sneak her some new in her backpack?

Let it snow!

2010-01-28T11:13:00.002-06:00

At first Lil Paigey didn't want to go out in the snow. After donning all of the garb, she threw a fit and spent some time inside while we sledded and shoveled the driveway. Later she decided to go out with the neighbor girl and had a blast. The pond was frozen too and we got to walk on it (it had been frozen for 2 weeks and teenage boys were playing hockey on it, i figured if they hadn't fallen through yet we were a little lighter). P-dog has always loved the snow. She is a gem!

2010-01-01T13:28:00.005-06:00

Here is the girls telling Elfie their desires for Christmas.

Our cousin Rachael is a pastry chef in Chicago,

she brought gingerbread cookies of the twelve days of christmas

with icing for us all to decorate.

The Hayes Family Men

and Women

Christmas Eve, Madison and Wyatt

and Dancing with MawMaw's Santa

Santa Came

Grandma Linnsie and Grandma Great

Merry Christmas Love, The Wisdom Crew!

One Horse Open Sleigh

2010-01-01T11:40:00.004-06:00

Our friends invited us to their neighborhood annual Sleigh Ride. They had cookies, hot cocoa, apple cider and a bonfire with free sleigh rides. Then we went back to their house for a kids gift exchange and Roast for dinner. Love my best friend, she is just Perfect!

Pre-school

2009-12-22T17:55:00.004-06:00

We decided to let her go to pre-pre-school. Since she didn't make the cutoff for the 3 year olds, they offer a program called Minds In Motion. It is a very cute program and she was ready. Paigey told Daddy "I want to go where the other kids are" one day home with him.

So far so good, only one fit but adapting to the routine well.

Now they are both in Ballet

2009-11-30T22:44:00.003-06:00

I am so excited she finally decided to go in after all of this time being so scared in the waiting room. She is so small but with big sister nearby, Paigey drew up some fantastic strength and now loves it. She had to come out for a potty break and told me. "I am a real ballerina now Mom". Super cute. And P-Dog is being such a great role model for her. She watches out for her and is paying attention more in class too. Although our tuition just doubled and costumes too, it is well worth it.

Beautiful Princesses

2009-11-03T21:28:00.002-06:00

Here is a link to the most beautiful photos of the girls by the most amazing and delightful photographer! Hope you enjoy.

the password is wisdom

http://www.lnpslideshowgallery.com/darkroom/share/

Here is her website to see others

http://www.laurienowlingphotography.com/

It's Halloween!!!

2009-11-02T18:05:00.003-06:00

This year the week before halloween it would not quit raining.

We were so bummed thinking it was going to be rainy and freezing.

The night was beautiful and ended chilly with a nice firepit in the drive.

Life Is Good

2009-10-26T16:51:00.007-05:00

The life is good festival is by far our favorite festival of the year.

It was pretty chilly but great turn out and the kids had a blast!

I hope St. Charles will again be on the list of festivals for years to come.

Our Favorite Month

2009-10-11T21:12:00.002-05:00

This is at the pumpkin patch.

I love this picture, it captures excitement, joy, fear,

anticipation, love and protection.

If only they could act like this more often.

More to come!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2009-09-05T15:26:00.004-05:00

The girls actually love rainy days and I do too!

You can do it, Paigey Poo

2009-09-05T13:19:00.003-05:00

Back to School and 3rd Birthday

2009-08-19T21:56:00.004-05:00

Paigey turned 3, We had a great day! Out to lunch @ Joe's Crab Shack, for the playground and to Toys Rus for her new bike! After dinner we went out for ice cream. Oh did I forget to mention the whole potty training thing. Well we are trying, she really doesn't want to and yells at me when I make her sit on the potty. So far today 4 hits and 2 misses.

Not too shabby for day One.

P-Dog is back to school. 1st grade. I knew I would miss her, and today was really odd not having her here to entertain, feed, clean up after, and break up all of the sibling rivalry. It was nice and I plan to get a lot of cleaning, organizing and focusing on Paigey poo while she is at school, that is on my days off.

Skyzone

2009-08-05T23:03:00.004-05:00

P-Dog wanted her birthday party this year at Skyzone. Since their birthdays are so close, we did a combo party. I am thinking this was the last year they are going to want that! Wall to wall trampolines are too much fun! Since Shane and I are also big fans of jumping, we let her have it there. It was a blast. The kids had fun and we acted like big kids!

The Girls!

Jumping with Daddy!

Another Fabulous Cake from Susie G's!

Baby Ryan

2009-07-28T16:40:00.002-05:00

Not many have experienced the loss of a child. You have such an extreme sense of joy, excitement, wonder, anxiety from the moment of conception. What are they going to be? What will they look like? How will they be? Hoping that everything is perfect, but accepting anything that may be thrown your way if it is not.
My heart is aching today as a sweet friend had to say goodbye to her 6 month old baby boy. This is the pain that no one ever wants to have to endure. How do you go on, you have to go on, but nothing will ever be the same. There is the guilt of ever smiling again or being happy. The life he was not able to live. She and her husband are an awesome couple with a profound faith in God.
I wish there was no such thing as SMA. Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
I would love for you to pray for her family as they search to keep their strength up in these next coming days, weeks, months and years. Love you girl.

thehawnfamilyweekly.blogspot.com
caringbridge.org keyword: babyhawn

The Hawn Family

2009-07-16T22:11:00.003-05:00

My Co-worker Jen Hawn and I were pregnant at the same time. She is also a Labor and Delivery, now perinatal nurse. We all knew when her water broke extremely pre-mature that life can be uncertain. She was on bed-rest in the hospital for many weeks. The testing and ultrasounds unfortunately painted a very grim picture for this family. Jen and her husband Chris are a very religious couple and the prayed that this baby would make it into this world safely and healthy. They welcomed a baby girl, Charlotte. She is a now about to turn 3 in September. They have had lots of struggles with Charlotte, sensory issues, feeding issues, several surgeries including open-heart. But with all this on board, they still had a longing for another baby. Following a very healthy pregnancy and delivery they welcomed a healthy baby boy, Ryan. He is now 5 months old. Their world unfortunately was turned upside down when they discovered he has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, SMA Type 1. He is currently at home with the help of a pediatric hospice company. Jen is a great writer, when you read her blog she puts it all our there. You can go with her in the ups and downs of this journey. She has said that her goal isn't to fill up your keyboards with tears, but to just get out her feelings. She is so positive and always looks to the sunnier side of things. I long for her sweetness and patience. My goal in posting this is to maybe help others look around them and be thankful for what they have, to empathize with those struggling to get through each day and night.

Click Here to Read Jen's Story featured on my friend Danielle's Website http://extraordinarymommy.com/
or to follow her blog go to Jen's Family Website

Bringing Back Old Memories

2009-07-12T22:15:00.005-05:00

P-Dog had her 1st recital at the same auditorium I performed all of my recitals from age 5 on.

It was perfect. Love of My Life, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and Bad for ballet, jazz and tap.

She did awesome, and I was a little worried since she likes to goof off during practice.

2009 Komen Race

2009-07-09T22:49:00.004-05:00

I am sure if you know me, you have heard me talk about my lovely friend Deb. She has been battling breast cancer for over 2 years now. She is the ultimate fighter. I have loved her "tell it like it is" attitude since the first day I worked with her. Whenever I feel like life is rough, I just kick my own ass and think of her. All she wants to do is live and be here for her daughter. You can read her story on her caringbridge website, I have her link on the left.

Pray for her everyday. I know I do.

I will always love me some MJ

2009-07-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

I wanted to post the lyrics to my favority Michael song.
Is it called Childhood and is on the HIStory CD. It really explains alot of how he felt.

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for the world that I come from
'Cause I've been looking around In the lost and found of my heart...
No one understands me
They view it as such strange eccentricities...
'Cause I keep kidding around Like a child, but pardon me...
People say I'm not okay 'Cause I love such elementary things...
It's been my fate to compensate, for the Childhood I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates in adventurous dreams, Of conquest and kings on the throne...
Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
Look within your heart then ask,
Have you seen my Childhood?
People say I'm strange that way
'Cause I love such elementary things,
It's been my fate to compensate, for the Childhood I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like fantastical stories to share
But the dreams I would dare, watch me fly...
Before you judge me, try hard to love me.
The painful youth I've had
Have you seen my Childhood....
(Music and Lyrics by Michael Jackson)

Why is it???

2009-07-08T10:25:00.004-05:00

Why is it when I get the ready ready to take a picture.

They instantly turn into hyper goof balls.

I know they do it on purpose.

I'm sure it is just their way of letting me know who is in control here.

Isn't it supposed to be me? This is what I am talking about...

Goodbye Impala

2009-07-06T22:27:00.003-05:00

Well Shane's car is shot. So my mom graciously watched the girls for us to car shop tonight. I have a major aversion to car dealerships and the car salesmen. Sorry. I just always feel like I am being stalked. I have never really had a pleasant experience buying any of our cars. Shane picked out a new car and hopefully if all goes well with the trade-in situation we will be back in business as a two vehicle family by tomorrow.

JB Blast

2009-07-05T10:43:00.005-05:00

We had a blast at Jefferson Barracks on Friday Night. Too Bad it rained on the 4th.

We drove by and watched the fireworks from our car then.

It was fun seeing the smiley face and star shaped fireworks this year.

Here is Payton before we left with the fruit and stars kabobs we spent all morning making.

The Whole Fam before we left.

The Girls

Hope Everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!

Haven't Blogged in a while

2009-07-01T22:18:00.002-05:00

This is a pic of Paige in Destin. One of my favorites. She has a sassy face on but is just being herself.

Here is Payton being herself too. We truly did have a blast. I want to go back. The bad thing about having your vacation at the beginning of the summer.

So I read everyone else's blogs and everytime I try to write or put a pic on, it takes too long. So here I try again. I may get good at this some day. hopefully

The 4th of July is on it's way. Can't wait for JB Fireworks Friday Night!

Balloon Glow

2008-09-22T15:02:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone.

We had a blast at the balloon glow on friday night in forest park. Here are some pictures.

2008-05-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

Please visit our website @ dogwisdom.com

we are currently working on a dogwisdom blog that will allow us to post pictures and testamonials from happy clients.

We are also thinking about expanding our services to include a pet adoption free posting on our website. Keep us in mind whenever you hear of anyone with a pet.

Wisdom Blogger

2008-05-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hello All!
The wisdom crew is attempting a new way to keep in touch with all of our loved ones.
Bloggging is pretty cool because you can post pictures, words, vidoes and songs. Please bear with me as I learn how to do this. I hope everyone enjoys this too and may start their own blog.
Love, Chaney