Where did June go?

Summer is just flying by.  I'm entering the stage of my life when my kids, at lease most of them are never home...the pool hardly get's used anymore, there are more chores for me to do, and well,, I just don't like not having them around.  I miss hearing them all out in the yard, on the trampoline, or in the pool playing Marco Polo.  When the Lord said that our lives are but a blink of an eye...he sure meant it.   I was just a new mommy a few months ago, at least that's what it feels like.   How can I be almost 47 years old?  Like, when did that happen?  When I look at the back of my hubby's head in the bed, it's more gray then dirty blond.   I'm glad he has hair, but when did the gray start?   I'm trying to enjoy the next stage of life, but I wasn't necessarily ready....I guess I don't really get a choice.   Lord, thanks for the abundance of life I've already experienced, please know that I appreciate it, I just wish this stage didn't have to go so fast.   My baby is going to be 10 in July....we worked on her invitations yesterday.   I'm holding on tight~

It's a beautiful day for a June wedding~

Today I will be coordinating a wedding that I designed the bridal flowers for.  The bride and her mom worked so hard on the reception place, which happens to be a really cool barn venue, called Wind in the Willows.   They did a fabulous job!  Ball jars for drinking glasses, and jars of all shapes, colors and sizes fill the center of the tables with silk flowers along with raffia, tea lights and star graffiti. Their theme is Starry Nights, and the colors are silver and navy blue. It looks great!  I love weddings !  I love that they are so individual... no two alike!   I love my job!

She sells sea shells in the emergency room?

What a week!  Headed to Myrtle Beach last week to visit some dear old friends, The Johnson's, who now live in Florida. It was a great half way point, and their relatives own a cottage, and allowed us to stay for free, so minus the gas to get there, it was a cheap vacation!  We brought food and ate in, and just vegged out for four days, on the beach and around the cottage.  The kids had all sorts of adventures especially when we went back to the beach at night with flashlights, they searched for sharks teeth, sea shells, and hermit crabs.  Here and there they would come across a bonus find, like a squid, and a baby shark.  We had a lot of fun!  My youngest came back with a tub of sea shells.   We arrived home after our looong trip (around Washington) around 6 pm on Monday the 6th.  We were not home an hour and we got the call that a dear aunt died, one whom I was planning on visiting next week.  I headed to bed mourning the loss and regretting not getting up there sooner to visit.  I was exhausted from not getting any sleep the night before we left Myrtle Beach.   Little did I know I was in for a very long 72 hours ahead.  At around 3:30 am on the 7th, my youngest started with severe right flank back pain.  I sent her back to bed with some Tylenol and suggested it was due to all the stooping down hunting for sea shells, or perhaps the waves from the ocean.  Unfortunately, the pain did not go away, and before I knew it I was calling the doctors office to try to get her an appointment.  By this time it was already 8 am and the appointment was not until 10:30, it only took a few minutes after I hung up with them, to realize that she was not going to make it that long.  I called back and suggested that I go to the ER and they asked me to bring her right in.  That was were I made my first mistake, we headed over and waited, soon we were in the room and she was being examined, it did not take them long either to realize this was some serious pain.  They sent us right over to the ER....duh, I should have just taken her straight there.   It turned into a long morning and until they were able to get a CAT scan they were not sure if it was appendicitis or a kidney stone.  A KIDNEY STONE!  WHAT?!  She is only nine years old! What are you thinking?  Plus, her dad was just here a little over two weeks ago with a kidney stone, that would be too weird.   Much to our surprise, within the next hour after them suggesting that, it was confirmed.  My nine year old daughter had a kidney stone.  Crazy!!  They decided to admit her and try to pump lots of fluids in her to see if they could flush it out, however, that did not work.  They took another CAT scan the next day and discovered that it was lodged in a very difficult spot and did not feel that it would pass on its own.  They suggested that we consider having it removed.  What in the world!  We were just at the beach!  Is this really happening?   It was, and we were faced with a big decision.  Let it alone and hope it never bothers her again, or have it removed, which meant that she go under.  It was so hard to know what to do.  Our final decision came down to the fact that if we left it, and she in fact started with pain again, we would have to start this whole process over again.  Meaning the ER visit, the IV port, the CAT scan, the explaining it over and over....that seemed equally scary.   So we decided to  trust the Lord with this and allow them to take the stone out, and hope for no major complications.   Again, it was all too hard to believe that just a couple of days ago she was shelling for sea shells.   She came through well, however, they had to put a stint in to keep the tube running from the kidney to the bladder open, as there was a lot of swelling from the irritation of the stone. That stint will need to come out in a week, but in order to prevent her from being put under they attached a string to it and will literately just use that to pull out the stint.  Amazing!  She was a good sport and even though she found it hard to deal with the pain, and the fact that this string is taped up onto her belly, she understood it was the best thing for her.  This was her first hospital stay besides at birth, and she rather liked the whole idea of having a room to herself.  She said it was like her own apartment and we both joked that the nurses and doctors were like her servants.  She got lots of attention. So she felt a bit sad as she was wheeled down to the lobby in her chariot,  she would miss her servants, they were so kind to her and took time to ask her about her recent trip to Myrtle Beach and how she got so many stick-on tattoos (story for another time) and they learned all about her adventures on the beach and of the great many sea shells she found.  I'm thinking she could have sold them some...they loved on her that much!

Busy Season~

My busy season is in full swing...and I've been so blessed.  I just made it through an extremely busy weekend with two weddings, one on Saturday the other on Sunday. Both different, and so much fun!

Saturday's Bride loved the soft colors lavender and light blue, so I used lavender roses, scabiosa, hydrangea and white spray roses which I sprayed with a light periwinkle color.  The combination was fabulous and complimented the bridal party in a fun way!  Everyone LOVED them!  Wedding was in Mt. Joy and reception was at the Susquahanna at E-Town College.  Very nice.



Sunday's wedding was a "classy modern" look.  The Bride requested a monochromatic look.  The colors were black and white with a deep dark "Purple Blue" look.   It wasn't easy finding just the right color and flowers that blended well in a bouquet, so I had to come up with a unique style.   I used Delphinium -Volken Blue, Agapanthus, Hydrangea, a dark blue/purple Veronica, with a dash of lavender spikes, and Clematis!  So fun!   Everyone loved them and complemented on how different they were!  That's what she wanted!  Wedding took place in Hershey and reception was at the Folklore in Elizabethtown.


*Will add pictures later~

Standing in this strange chasm in time~

Life is passing by so quickly, and my children are disappearing before my eyes...they're turning into adults.  In one way, I wish I could freeze them right where they are, in another I wish I could take them back to an earlier age.  I am enjoying their growth and who they are becoming, I'm just not liking the change that is coming so quickly.   My oldest is 21, I was married by her age. I'm glad she is not.  Having her home from college is wonderful...at times.  I rarely see her, but I love it when I do...its just that there is always some sort of conflict over how I run the house and how she thinks it could work better.  I hope I get to see the day, she runs into the same issues with her children.  The next oldest is in Marine boot camp right now,  I received his first letter home this week!  I miss him. He's not a man of many words, so reading his letter was like getting a shot of him for a year, all at once, I liked that.   Then there is my 17 year old, whom I love, but can grate on my nerves with his attitude most days.  He is now employed and working 30 hours a week, this is good for all of us.  My 13 year old and 9 year old are the last of my babies...that's hard for me to believe.  I was pregnant for what felt like forever, and now I'm here looking back. I'm not sure I like it here.  I've worked hard to get them to the edge of the nest, so I can nudge them out, and watch them soar.  Two are flying.....the other is just ready to jump.  How did I get here?   When did I get here?  Its all so hard to believe, yet I've been preparing for this a long time.   I have few regrets and even those have, I've given over to the Lord.   I am a proud momma, who is standing in this strange chasm in time.