Death by garage sale??

As one who likes to garage sale occasionally, I have come to realize I do not share the same feeling for having one myself. I have been working on my garage sale for a few weeks now and I tell you what, the dumb thing will have the death of me before it is all said and done!! I'm so sick of getting it ready! Grrrrrrr. I wanted to get so much more gone through too, but I have NO ROOM out there anymore! The only stuff I have out there is from Lincoln's room and Lincoln's storage from the garage. Oh, and Scott went through his clothes, lucky him. I have nothing of mine out there and that sucks. I will be glad when it's over, and I don't know how long it will take me, if ever, to muster up the energy to EVER have another one.

Memorial Day 2010

Lincoln, myself, my Nana, and my Mom visited our beloved and dearly missed Papa at the cemetary on Memorial Day.

Papa was a combat medic during WWII and earned both the "Purple Heart" after having been shot saving a fellow soilder, as well as the "Silver Star". Any time Papa was out and about, he always had his cherished WWII VET hat on. Below is a picture of Papa with Lincoln the day after he was born, wearing his beloved hat. :)

We love you and miss you Papa! Thank you for fighting for our freedom!

Blogger frustration...

I get irritated with blogger sometimes. The way I type and put pictures into my post doesn't always show up the same. It'll put extra spaces in between paragraphs, or no spaces at all, and pictures will be butted up against words. I go in and fix and repost and it still does it! It ticks me off!

1st Annual Shannon Smith Memorial Picnic

5/30/10 we celebrated Shannon's life at a memorial picnic at Saylorville Lake in Des Moines. His accident was 5/24/09, so it's been just over a year. Many people showed up to remember Shannon. The sun was shining and the food was plenty as we gathered to share memories of a wonderful person. I spoke with Steve, Shannon's dad for awhile. It breaks my heart talking to the parent of such a dearly missed friend. I can't imagine and don't want to imagine, the pain of losing a child.

One thing I didn't expect was the bike to be there. I wondered after the accident what had become of it, and figured it was gone. Shannon's sister-in-law Jill's uncle has been restoring it for several months. They didn't know if it would be done in time for the picnic or not, so it was sort of a surprise to them from my understanding. To see it there brought back a flood of memories. Lincoln thought the motorcycle was pretty cool. He kept saying it is "Shannon's motorcycle". :)

I don't know how many people actually know this, and I did share it with Steve on Sunday, that I took Shannon to pick up the bike when he bought it. He called me from work (P&G) and asked me if I'd take him to pick it up when he got home. He was beyond excited to pick up his new Harley. See, I've never liked motorcycles, ever, I've never been and never will be a fan. I have always thought the danger and rebellion factor with them was too high to risk your life. Even if driven 'sensibly' with a helmet, I don't trust other people driving. So when Shannon said he was going to get a bike, I like a 'mother hen' was so worried. Worried the worst thing would happen to him, little did I know, eventually my worst fear would come true...

When I took Shannon up to get his bike, we had a fun time socializing with the current owner Jim and his wife and even had a beer to toast Shannon's new toy. As I followed Shannon home (I drove his car), the whole time I'm thinking "Lord, please don't let him crash right in front of me, I couldn't handle it". Shannon eventually wanted to get a new wheel put on the front of the bike. So myself, Scott, and Shannon flipped through catalogs of cool wheels and when the bike was finished having the new wheel put on, I again drove Shannon to pick up the bike and followed him home. Neither time did he crash, and many days after that of riding he didn't crash.

I understand we choose whether or not to take risks in life and what not. Shannon's cousin said "there's a fine line between living, and living on the edge", and that is very true. I don't feel at all that I am at fault for what happened, so don't think I'm meaning that in any way, but it just hurts me that much more knowing that even thought he was an adult and could make his own decisions regarding his life, I was the one who took him to get the bike, something I was so against, something that ultimately took his life. I know I would hurt just as bad if someone else had taken him to get the bike, but someone else didn't, it was me, so it's just harder to chew.

I looked at that bike sitting there in the pavillion, and I had so much anger and resentment for that thing, that in that moment I would've like nothing more than to take the biggest axe, hammer, or whatever and destroy it like a pinata. I blame that bike for taking the life of someone so amazing, someone who will never be a husband or a father, or get to continue being the proud uncle he was.

Then I thought about Shannon. How he would be so upset with me thinking that of his 'pride and joy'!!! He'd say "C'mon Andrea, seriously?" That bike brought so much joy to him, that I realized I have a 'love-hate' relationship with it. Shannon loved riding that bike, and I know he was happy and doing what he loved doing when he died. As much as I hate that bike, I love it for bringing him happiness.

Jill's uncle John did a beautiful and amazing job restoring the Harley. A few changes were made I'm told. One was the "Riding Partner" prayer with Shannon's picture was added to the back. Another is a small attached tube containing dirt, grass, and sticks from the accident. Lastly, Steve (Shannon's dad) told me that the rear wheel was ruined in the accident. Shannon had been wanting to add the matching wheel from the front to the back. Steve told me he told Shannon "don't do that, you won't even see it because the saddle bags will cover it", but they ended up putting the matching wheel on that Shannon had wanted to do since it needed a new wheel.

As I heard the bike start up and the roar of the engine, I sobbed. Sobbed because the last time I heard it, Shannon was on it, and when it was summer and he was living with us, I could hear the motorcycle from several blocks away and knew he was almost home. I would laugh because I could imagine our neighbors being irritated with the noise of it on our quiet little street! But no one complained, atleast not that I know of. :) That bike was seriously the LOUDEST MOTORCYCLE I've ever heard!!

After the picnic we went to the cemetary. It would be the first time we've been there since the headstone was placed. We told Lincoln we were going to visit Shannon. It was actually Lincoln's second time there (the first time was last summer with Scott). Anyway, when we were walking away toward the car, Lincoln said "bye-bye Shannon". Talk about tugging of the heartstrings. :( It was absolutely precious.

In conclusion, it was a wonderful time remembering Shannon and honoring him. I know he was looking down on everyone, humble as ever that people thought that much of him. I don't know if he knew how much people thought of him when he was here on Earth with us, but I know now that he knows that he impacted so many lives and left imprints on so many hearts.

Remembering Shannon...one year later.

(Jill, Spencer, Scott, a pregnant me, and Shannon being a goof in the background. He was always so much fun to be around. :) This was after a ISU vs. Nebraska game.)

Yesterday was a difficult day. We remembered that day one year ago, having received a call from Spencer who'd just received a call that his brother and our beloved friend and former 'roomate' Shannon had been in a motorcycle accident and they didn't know what the status was yet. Immediately I had the questions going through my mind. Was he critical? Was he just skinned up but ok? Was he...gone? Those few hours of waiting to hear back from Spencer felt so long, and I thought about the family, what they were going through was a thousand times worse.

I remember when Scott received the phone call back from Spencer, he was sitting on one of the

couches watching TV. Scott's parents were also here, his dad Jerry, had fallen asleep on the other couch. His mom Linda, had gone downstairs to do something. Lincoln was napping soundly in his room. I was sitting at the kitchen table, but I don't remember why. I remember when the phone rang, looking at Scott because I knew it had to be Spencer. Scott was staring at me, he knew I wanted to know right then how Shannon was. Then I saw him do what I didn't want to see him do, he shook his head from side to side with his eyes filling with tears. I said, "no. no. no. don't tell me that." Scott hung up the phone and was walking toward me. I said, "Scott, no, don't tell me that," and I just started sobbing and he started sobbing as he leaned down and held me. I remember I was saying "no, Shannon, no". Then Linda walked up stairs and saw us and didn't register exactly what we would be crying about. She leaned down and asked me what was the matter and I said "Shannon". I asked Scott then what Spencer had said exactly and he said Spencer's words were "we lost him".

(Scott and Shannon golfing, one of the summers he lived with us)

I just sobbed, sobbed for the loss of Shannon, sobbed for the family, especially his parents Steve & Jody, and his brothers Steven & Spencer, sobbed for Spencer having to hear those words as they were in the car headed to the Illinois hospital, sobbed for the fact that they turned around and were headed home to figure out what to do next. My sobbing that day didn't stop, until I fell asleep. Although we know Shannon was in Heaven and not suffering and was looking down on all who loved and just lost him, the fact remained, the world had lost an amazing friend, son, brother, uncle, and so on...

A year has passed and the pain from the loss of Shannon remains, but the memories of him make us cherish and be thankful for the fact that we were priveledged enough to have him as a friend, as a roomate, as part of our lives for the time he was here. We love you and miss you so much Shannon.

(Shannon holding a then 6 day old Lincoln, he was living with us when we brought Lincoln home.)

(Shannon and Ozzy. Our dogs, Ozzy & Jack, loved have 'their Shannon' live with us! He spoiled them with lots of lovey snuggles and attention.)

(Our mailboxes when Shannon lived with us. They went in order of height, which as you can see, I'm on the bottom being the shortest, so I could reach. :) This mailbox will never be changed.)

(An 'oldie but a goodie'. Shannon at our wedding reception. 8-30-03.)


THIS BLOG POST IS DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY TO:

SHANNON JACOB SMITH
12/16/82-5/24/09

*Please note, some of these pictures were taken from Shannon's facebook memorial page, "Shannon Smith, Never Forgotten". I didn't take all of these, I hope their photographers don't mind my using them.

(Shannon's grave marker, before the headstone was placed.)

(The balloon we released on 12/16/09, the first birthday, his 26th, that Shannon wasn't 'here' for.)

(The front of the gorgeous headstone.)

(The back. Notice the initials at the bottom. UMC-United Methodist Church; BSA-Boy Scouts of America; ISU-Iowa State University; FH-Farmhouse Fraternity; P&G-Procter & Gamble; HD-Harley Davidson.)

(The beautiful memorial bench at Shannon's church in Woodward, IA)

(The beautiful bench at the cemetary, an identical one to this has since been placed at P&G.)

(This is the bench at P&G yesterday. I bought some balloons, one being an ISU one. :) I also bought some orange flowers, with orange and black ribbon for Shannon's love of Harley Davidson. Scott came out of work for a few minutes and we just sat and thought about our dearly missed friend.)

I love this prayer, shown below, that Spencer had found and had printed on Shannon's funeral program. It is beautiful and really gives a sense of peace because Shannon loved riding his Harley, he was so proud when he got it...

Lastly, I end with a picture from Jill and Spencer's blog. A wooden cross made by Spencer in memory of his brother that stands at the accident site in Illinois. Scott and I have yet to make it out there to see it, but we will...

From "Sweet Pea" to "Under the Sea"

Lincoln has been in his toddler bed for quite some time, so obviously he hasn't been using his "Sweet Pea" crib bedding for awhile. I've just had a blanket on his bed. For his birthday, he's getting his room re-decorated (somewhat). I've said this many times before as I'm sure you've heard at some point that when I was pregnant, painting that nursery was a 'labor of love'. My mom (known as "NONIE" by her grandchildren) designed her own stencils for the dots on the wall, you'd laugh and what she used for the little dots, which I can't seem to find a picture of, but what she came up with was awesome! So, here's a recap, from "Sweet Pea" to "Under the Sea"...

Working on the big dot stencil...

Big dots in progress...

Big dots finished...

A then pregnant me, taking a rest...

My mom, myself, my Nana, and my sister Amy all had a hand in painting Lincoln's nursery and it turned out beautiful!!!

The "Sweet Pea" collection didn't have a crib mobile to match, so we got a Cyclone mobile that plays the fight song. :)



So, this brings me to the fact I still haven't mustered up the desire, or courage, to paint over it. :) I really wanted to find a bedding set that matched the color scheme, or atleast came close to it. The original toddler collection I had picked out was discontinued and I was yes, devastated, because I LOVED it. But, after searching and searching on the internet, I wasn't coming up with any bedding to buy from anywhere. So I had thought "damn you whoever discontinued the line or Target for not carrying it", until I spotted the "Under the Sea" collection at Target (which redeemed itself then). I love it just as much. :) It has the orange, green, and blue in it! Although darker and brighter than the shades on the wall, it blends really well.




So, for his birthday Aunt Mindy, Uncle Steve, and cousins Annabelle and Caleb bought the adorable lamp for the room and Nonie (my mom) got the awesome fishie beanbag!


These were a proud find of mine. The rug and trash can I actually found in the bathroom collections and they match the bedding stuff perfect!!

Ya know, that I think about it, Target had actually discontinued the "Sweet Pea" bedding before I had a chance to get all the pieces for it!!! I researched bedding for MANY months when I found out I was pregnant. I'm the type of person who has to see EVERY option available because if I come across something I didn't see and I love it, it eats and eats at me! So I have to see EVERYTHING before I choose one thing. In my defense, I'm not that way about everything, just some things that I consider 'major'. :) So I actually ended up finding the bedding at a boutique on EBAY. Really, in all honesty, I have a knack for picking things that end up discontinued and/or defective/damaged. Scott thinks I'm crazy for thinking that, but I could start a huge list of instances it's proved to be true! But I'll just give you one, it happened with the jewlery for my bridesmaids. I went back to the bridal shop to buy all of it and they discontinued the collection (I'd just found it the month before!), so we went through their old catalogs, called the manufacturer and found out they still had some in their warehouse! I was so happy I was able to order it!

So anyway back to the bedding, when I found the "Under the Sea" collection, I wasn't going to let it happen again and I snagged it up! :) Many may disagree, but I've learned my lesson that if I'm on a mission to find something and am narrowing the selection down, if there is a sufficient amount of time I'm able to return it, I will now get it at the time because I'd rather return it if I find something else rather than go back to get it and it be gone or no longer available. Seriously, it's happened MANY MANY times to me and crazy as it sounds, it then eats at me. Grrrrr.

Now, the biggest part, switching beds yet again. The new set is a twin bed, so Lincoln will soon be moving out of his toddler bed!!

Lincoln turns 3!

It's official, our sweet boy Lincoln John turned 3 on May 1st! It is still so weird to say that...

Our first celebration was on May 2nd (my 29th Birthday, ick) with Scott's family at a brunch the morning after the wonderful reception celebrating the marriage of Scott's sister Melissa and her husband Adam. :) Aunt Missy even had a big cookie made that said "Happy Birthday Lincoln and Andrea". It was very sweet. Lincoln loves spending time with all of them, as we all do. :)

Our second celebration was on May 9th (Mother's Day) at a park with my family and a few friends, which was nice, because we got to celebrate mom's too. The weather in our area had been less than desirable that week to say the least! It had been really chilly and super windy, so we were a little apprehensive of what the weather was going to do the day of the party, despite the forecast of 60's and sun. But it was beautiful! There was a slight chill in the air, but the winds had died and the day was absolutely lovely. The next day however, was awful, so thankfully, we couldn't have planned it better or asked for anything more. Of course, the celebration wouldn't have been complete without showcasing Lincoln's current favorite pal, Mickey Mouse! I even borrowed a Mickey shirt to wear from Katie just for my Lincoln and Lincoln wore a Mickey shirt from his Aunt Mindy. :)

He loved all the Mickey stuff everywhere! (I actually borrowed a few of the Mickey items from Katie's son Grant, for visual effect.) :) Thanks!

My favorite thing at the party besides the birthday boy, was the cake. I was so happy with how it turned out. I selected a cake from one of the display books they had, and had them add the element of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse from a few of the pictures of cakes I'd researched.

THE ORIGINAL DESIGN (SHOWN IN THE BOOK):

THE FINISHED PRODUCT (WITH THE CLUBHOUSE ADDED), sorry it's fuzzy:

Lincoln evidently loved his cake too, he ended up sobbing when I started to cut it!! He didn't want me cutting his Mickey cake!! Poor guy, he was so upset. It was rather darling though, I had to pick him up and comfort him. :(

Eventually, I was able to cut the cake and like I said before, it was a wonderful time celebrating birthday's and mom's. So I'll end with this, a picture of one tired Birthday boy, who was asleep before we pulled out of the park's parking lot. :)

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY LINCOLN JOHN!

Disney Trip

Due to the amount of photos I took, I'm not going to post them on here because it would take forever! For those of you who have facebook, I have a bunch on there and I uploaded to snapfish for others..

Updates to come...

I have yet to post some pictures from the wedding and Disney, but don't worry, I'll try to do it soon! Keep checking!

Congratulations & California...

Well we head out to Chicago today for our trip in the morning to San Diego to celebrate the marriage of Scott's sister Melissa and her fiance' Adam. On Saturday they take their vows on the beach and become Mr. and Mrs. Adam & Melissa Lynd!!
We're really looking forward to the nice getaway, taking Lincoln to the beach, and to see everyone. We hope Lincoln handles the plane ride well. We've been telling him over the last few days about going to ride on a plane because he loves watching planes fly in the air. He says everyday, 'going to ride on the airplane and "eat" (meet) Mickey!" It's soooooo cute. Oh and yes, after the wedding we're going to Disneyland to "eat" Mickey. But first, Lincoln has a big job in the wedding, he's the ringbearer! ;) Let's hope he performs. :) I really think he'll be ok though, his 4 girl cousins are flower girls and I know they'll be a big help with the little guy. :) Well, this will probably be my last blog before we get back on Wednesday. Stay tuned for pictures to follow!

Is there such a thing as an 'Italian Temper'?

WE NEED HELP/SUGGESTIONS!! Everyone in our household is suffering the 'rath of Lincoln'. Yes, Lincoln has an AWFUL temper and I am really at my wits end! There's the saying 'he has the awful Italian temper', which, being part Italian myself, I believe it because I have it! Hahaha. But I don't physically abuse! I don't know where Lincoln thinks it's ok to be as aggressive as he is. The only place I can guess he sees this behavior is at school, because when he's not there, he's with one or both of us, and we don't smack, hit, and kick. I really don't think however that he does this at school, because I know they would tell me if he was because they have 'incident reports' for about any confrontation, especially if it is physical. I think this is just something he does at home with Scott, me, and the dogs. It is really becoming a major concern.

He torments the dogs. Bad. He yells at them and he throws things at them like cars, trains, and even big stuff! He smacks them right off the couch or chases them around smacking them. He knows it's not ok to do this, as he often tells us 'don't kick Ozzy' or 'don't squeeze Ozzy'. Ozzy puts up with a lot. He for the most part takes it. Jack however frankly can't stand Lincoln, and because Lincoln knows this, Jack is the one that is often the brunt of the abuse. Lincoln laughs his head off when Jack growls at him! Then Jack will snip at him and Lincoln bawls like he just lost a limb. Then he continues to try and hit Jack for snipping at him! It's a vicious cycle! In fact, as I type this, he is at it!

He smacks both Scott and myself when he's angry whether it be smack across the face or somewhere else. He gets right in our faces and screams at us. If we're holding him it can get really bad. Last night he smacked Scott twice in the side of the face with a car. He'll pick up a car or something else and I know he's going to throw it despite my telling him not to, and I end up in trying to cover my head to avoid getting hit. Lincoln is our only child, so I don't know how 3 year olds are supposed to act and what's a 'normal' amount of aggression. I really don't think these are normal temper tantrums however. The fact that at many times I fear my 3 year old, tells me it's not normal or ok.

Kickboxing...kicking my butt!

I just completed my first week of my kickboxing class! I must say, it is kicking my a**!!! It is a cardio aerobic/kickboxing combo that I signed up for at the rec center. Monday and Wednesday it is extensive aerobics combined with weight lifting and on Tuesday and Thursday it is kickboxing which is made up of punches and kicks. Both classes combine stretching excercises as well. Day 1 I didn't know if I'd be able to go back, it was awful!! But I kept pressing on and went day after day. I am sore during the day but surprising to me after I go to my class, I don't feel the pain as much. I guess that's what they always talk about, having to work past the pain. 3 more weeks of this session and then I decide if I sign up for the next session, wish me luck!!

"Hoppy" Easter 2010

"Hoppy" Easter everyone!! We hope you all have a blessed and enjoyable day today and that the Easter bunny was good to everyone. :) Today is Lincoln's 3rd Easter. :) I posted some pictures to enjoy of Lincoln at Eastertime over the last 3 years. Enjoy!

This is Lincoln's 1st Easter (2008) and the only 'professional bunny' shot we have of him. It was so cute to see him laughing at the bunnies. :)

Here's the loot from the Easter bunny on Lincoln's 2nd Easter (2009). :)

Here's Lincoln checking out the loot, the Easter bunny brought him lots of cool books that year!

We went to Nana, Papa, and Nonie's house that day for an Easter egg hunt, and it was soooooo cold outside!!
Here is a picture from last year with our beloved and very missed Papa. :( Lincoln had a very special connection with his Papa, and we are sad to not have him here anymore. However, we know Papa is among Angels now in Heaven and gets to celebrate this year with the risen Christ.

Happy Easter 2010! Here's the loot left this morning from the Easter bunny. This year, lots of treats were left because Lincoln LOVES treats. :)

Here he is, 6:30am checking out his cool stuff. His favorite were the cars that he got. Lincoln hasn't been feeling good the last few days. He's had a bad cold and had a fever off and on yesterday. So in the picture you can see his "BE KOOL" jel strip on his head. It helps draw the heat from his head onto the strip and is good for 8 hours. They are really nice and he leaves them on.

More pictures to come later! Have a great day! We love you all!