Simply Blessed » friends

Do You Know How It Feels?

Michelle — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:14:28 +0000

Do you know how it feels to not be invited to your oldest daughter’s high school graduation even though you are the reason she is graduating, and you bought the dress and shoes she had to wear under the cap and gown?

Do you know how it feels to be told that you can come, but you will have to sit in the “crappy” seats behind the stage way far back because her non existent Dad will be getting the “good” seats since he is funding her current bad behavior?

Do you know how it feels to receive a text on graduation day telling you that even the “crappy” seats aren’t yours now- they’ve been given away and you aren’t welcome to come?

Do you know how it feels to see graduation pics of your daughter’s friends on Facebook and stare at them for hours hoping to just get a glimpse of what your firstborn looked like in her cap and gown?

Do you know how it feels to have to lie to your In-Laws and tell them that graduation went fine because you just didn’t know how the hell to explain to them that your child hadn’t invited her own Mother?

Do you know how it feels to show up at court to modify child support and see your oldest two children there ready to testify against you?

Do you know how it feels to ride around in a van all day in 90 degree heat and no a/c – even after you paid over $1000 to have it fixed?

Do you know what it’s like to clean up vomit from the same van because your two year old riding in the non a/c threw up from heat poisoning?

Do you know how it feels to to find out that the place where you got the a/c worked on doesn’t work on the weekends and therefore you have to continue to ride your little kids in the extremely hot van until Monday?

Do you know how it feels when your kids fight ALL DAY LONG?

Well if you don’t know how any of that feels, I’m here to tell you- it sucks.

May you never have to know how any of that feels. May you never be judged by anyone when you are doing the absolute best you can as a Mother considering the situation your kids have created for themselves. May your kids never spit in your face, even though you’ve given them everything and been there for them unconditionally since birth. May your friends truly be friends and not just say they are. May you actually get your money’s worth when you pay someone to fix something. May your kids not grate on your last nerve when you are really having a crappy day.

The Best of Friends

Michelle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:44:27 +0000

This past weekend I had the greatest time catching up with a few friends from my younger days. Friday night I met up with Becky, her husband, John and her beautiful daughter, Madison. We had a great time hanging out and eating dinner together. Becky and I took a similar path in life and while we were friends in high school, we’ve become close friends now – thanks to facebook and sharing our love of writing and birthing kids (she has 4 and I have 5)! Becky is the editor of the paper in our hometown called the Towns Tribune. She also blogs HERE.

Here is a pic of us with our girls :)

On Saturday, I was so blessed to be able to catch up with another friend from school (and my ex sister in law) Tonya and her beautiful daughter, Alexis. Tonya and I were like sisters so many years ago (she was even there when I gave birth to Madison), but when my ex and I split- we didn’t see each other anymore. It had been over 10 years since I saw her and her kids. We spent the day at a place called Funworld (kinda like a Dave and Busters). The kids all had a great time playing and Tonya and I had a wonderful time chatting and catching up on the last ten years. Tonya was recently diagnosed with MS and is courageously fighting it with grace. As she says, “I have MS but MS does NOT have me!” What a great attitude is that!

Here we are:

and Madison and Alexis- this was the first time these cousins actually have played together EVER!

I feel so blessed to have reconnected with such great friends. I know that nothing will ever keep us from being close again. Life is too short!

Thanks for a great weekend Becky, Madison, Tonya and Alexis!! You girls are awesome :)

Simply Blessed Sundays!

Michelle — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:07:16 +0000

Every Sunday I’m committing my blog to be “Simply Blessed Sunday”! That means I will be posting about the blessings that God has bestowed upon me and my family. I’d love for you to do the same as we all need a reminder from time to time of just how blessed we really are. If you’d like to join me in doing this, just copy the code under my Simply Blessed Sundays button and place it in the widget section on your blog, and then post your blessings every Sunday as well!

I never had a sister growing up. I always wanted one. Not that there was anything wrong with my brother… so don’t take it personally Richard ;) But there is just something that sisters share that I always longed for, but never had. Until now…

Last year when Devin started preschool, I met Tamera and Jenifer. They are sisters and have children who are in Devin’s class. Both of them are the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Seriously. I think Tamera oozes sweetness from every pore. If the girl ever has a bad day (and I know she does because she was just diagnosed with some health issues I won’t disclose here) you would never know it. Jenifer is the same way. They both have gone out of their way to befriend me and make me feel welcome to hang out with them.

If you’ve read my blog very long, then you know that I believe in God but am probably not the best “witness” for Him at times. Lord knows if someone hears me while I’m flipping out over a bag of broken pretzel rods, it certainly doesn’t point them to Him. Jenifer and Tamera are not like that. They portray what I try to be… a real life, living, breathing version of Christ. I know they are human like the rest of us and are certainly not perfect, but they both do a great job at showing Gods love to others. Over the past few months, they have included me and my family in (or tried to- sometimes I just couldn’t go when they invited) a lot of their family/friend socials.

So after all these years, God finally gave me some sisters. They may not be genetically my sisters, but through the blood of Christ they are my blood sisters.

Tamera, Rhonda (their Mom), and Jenifer

So Tamera and Jenifer… this Simply Blessed Sunday post is for you girls :) Thank you so much for being my friend, including my family in your family gatherings and treating me like I’m the third sister. I am Simply Blessed for having you girls in my life. I love you both more than you know!!

Where’s Waldo Michelle?

Michelle — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:37:27 +0000

I know you have all been wondering where I’ve been the past few days since I haven’t posted here or on facebook (well, at least a few of you anyway!) I’m fine!! I’ve just been busy and I’ll tell you why. My friend Kim (who lives in the same town as me and had her TR by the same doctor as me) is expecting a sweet baby girl next month. So her family and friends got together and gave her a baby shower :) I was the unofficial photographer for the day and had a blast getting to see her open up all these cute little baby girl things. Oh, but no worries. I was not and will not EVER be bitten by the baby bug again. LOL Here are some pics of the day~
Her opening MY gift :) I couldn’t resist making little Miss Abigail a tutu!
Kim and her husband- this will be his first biological baby
This is a pic of the three TR sisters! Kim (from TN- in the blue shirt) also had her tubes untied by the same doctor. We three have been friends for over three years and were brought together by our tubal reversal journeys :)

Makenzie, Devin and Chase (Kim from TN’s youngest TR baby!)

Kim (from TN’s) husband and oldest TR baby- Brayden

We had a great time. I had never met Kim (from TN) face to face- we’d talked on the phone and on the internet, but never in person. It’s quite an experience to finally meet someone you have known for years but never met in real life. I am so blessed to have those girls as friends :)

The rest of the weekend, Kim’s (from my town) older daughter spent the night with Madison. David and I ended up taking them and the little kids to the Zoo on Sunday. They had a great time!

Then today, our old neighbors Julie and Adam came by to see us. Adam is in the military and is leaving tomorrow for Kuwait. We hadn’t seen them in several years, so it was awesome to get to see them and their children. The last time we saw their little boy he was 2 years old and their daughter wasn’t even a thought yet… It was so good to visit with them. We feel honored they made time before Adam left to come and see us :) They were the best neighbors we’ve ever had- we have missed them so bad!

So that’s where I’ve been. Just busy and enjoying the wonderful friends life has blessed me with :) Oh and don’t worry… I don’t have plans for the next couple of days, so I’m sure I’ll be raping your ears with a bunch of useless information soon!