A day in the life...Or something like that!

Where the heck do I begin with this day. This is the way things go around here, THIS is what I mean when I say "finding our happy" we have to choose to be happy on days like this, days when it could so easily go the other way!!

So we were doing messy play today with shaving cream, it got a little out of hand and a couple of children had to clean up a very large mess. What that means is that the yard is then filled with large amounts of water, mud, and liquid form shaving cream. There is nothing clean or manageable about that mess but it is the price you pay for messy play. During that madness the oldest decided to "help out" by giving the gigantic dog a bath, the next thing I know the dog is outside running through the mud/water/shaving cream mess. I ask why she is outside after she was just given a bath and my son said "I let her out, she peed all over the house!" Upon inspection of said pee, I realized she went all over the stairs and entry rug, I put two more children on the task of cleaning that up and went and wrangled the wet muddy dog into her bed.

After that mess was cleaned up and the shaving cream mess was coming to a close the oldest decided it was time to completely cover his brother in shaving cream and then of course rub it in because obviously that is what needs to happen! Seeing a need, Ashley immediately stepped in to "clean up" yet another shaving cream mess by dousing her brother in hose water and spraying him as he ran all over the yard trying to get away.

This obviously meant it was time for the youngest to get the oldest back, because that is the nature of things around here. I told him very clearly that he could get him back but he was NOT to spray his car, inside or out. Shaving cream can cause damage and I am not interested in dealing with that. So of course, he went outside to get him back and sprayed the inside of his truck.

He is now grounded and cleaning his room because again, that is the nature of things around here.  All in all, we managed to find a few laughs in the madness. If I didn't force myself to find the funny, I would probably be trying to find the vodka.

I. Am. Tired.!!

Sometimes life isn't happy.

No matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we wish, sometimes life brings us unhappiness. Sometimes it is a depth of unhappiness that causes us to get out of bed a lot slower, if at all. The pain can be so deep that it doesn't seem like it is real, like it has to be a horrible dream and you just can't wait to wake up from it. Sadly, you don't wake up, you just keep moving forward because life forces you to. The craziest thing about pain and loss is that the world keeps spinning, you look around and want to scream JUST STOP FOR ONE MINUTE!!! It never works though, it just keeps going, people don't stop rushing when we think that they should, when we want so badly to force them to, so you can catch your breath.

This week we lost a very good friend. He ended his battle with cancer the best way he knew how and he found his way to Heaven peacefully at home with his wife's hand on his chest. It couldn't have been a more beautiful way for him to go and it couldn't have been more painful for those left behind. Jason was one of those people who left an impression on every person he came in contact with. Over these last few days I have talked to more people who, for all rights, really had no reason to know him or at least remember him and every single one of them said the same thing "Oh yes, I remember Jason, he was such a great guy" he left behind a wife and two children and the heartbreak they are going through is something we can never even attempt to understand. We are left with the impossible task of easing the pain as best we can, which we all know we can't.

Jason fought a fight that nobody should ever have to and one I will never understand the reason for. Over the last year we have watched this man give his every effort to fighting for his life and never once did he complain. Never one time did he have a frustrated word to say he just put his gloves on and went into the ring. He fought long and hard and as hard as it is to see him go I know that he is finally at peace, he isn't fighting anymore he is happy and riding dirt bikes all day with his contagious smile on his face. That knowledge is what will get us through our time here until we get to see him again one day. In so many respects, he is the lucky one!

In his last few days I was blessed beyond my wildest imagination to get to experience two things I will take with me forever. I saw Jason a few hours before he left us I was able to hold his hand and kiss his head and say goodbye one final time. I had no idea the depth of that blessing until I received the phone call that he was gone. When I left I gave him a kiss to say "until I see you again" and when I get to see him again he will be whole, he will be the man we all loved so much. The day after he passed I was with his wife and daughter when she was told Daddy had gone to Heaven, she looked at her mom with her innocent 5 year old eyes and said "I know mommy, Daddy came and told me today" it was the most beautiful thing I have ever been allowed to witness and I will remember that moment forever.

As we move forward from here I hope that we all take a piece of Jason with us, I hope we spread his kindness wherever we go. I pray that we can keep his memory alive in every action we take and that we don't just say those words but actually put them into action. I pray we "Find Our Happy" in honor of Jason and live a life he would be proud of.

We will miss you Jason. Every. Single. Day.

Good morning, this is my first attempt at a blog so I hope you bare with me while I learn how to make my way through this.

As a family we have decided to create a blog, not only to share with others but to also serve as a journal of sorts that we can look back on and laugh about all the crazy things that occur in this family and the choices we make each day to find some happy.

We are a blended family of 7, five children, two adults, one great dane, one ragdoll kitten, and endless amounts of daycare children coming in and out each and every day. Needless to say we are busy every day, every moment and we have learned that we need to make more time for the fun in life and less time for the obligations. 

I don't want the impression to be that we are generally unhappy, just that we believe there is more laughter to be found, more fun to be had, more memories to be made that will last us through the time we have in this short, precious life we all love.

So here is our journey, maybe it will make you laugh, or cry. Maybe it will help you stop and enjoy the noise and see the beauty in the dirty dishes. If you hate it, well, that is ok too.

Enjoy!