"LAUGH"

~Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

~What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. ~Yiddish Proverb


Hands down, or in the air, or holding my sides...laughing is my favorite thing to do! Laughter is a universal language; no one needs Rosetta Stone to understand it. I'll take it anyway I can get it, watching giggling girls chicken fight in the pool, listening to my son crack up in the darkness of a movie theater, the perfect delivery of sarcasm...I'm not picky. Sometimes just hearing a person laugh makes me chuckle! One of my BFF's owns a laugh that can be heard from a distance, a long distance. Once, while on vacation, I was off on one side of the resort when all of a sudden I heard a burst of familiar laughter...from the pool. I could not stop cracking up! She did not believe me at first but it's now become our own little joke...I'm like a dolphin with echolocation, I can find that girl anywhere! This past week I was supposed to get together with "the girls" for a Sex and the City birthday celebration. I'd spent the whole day preparing for it and then had to cancel because the weather was so bad...I was so mad! I wasn't mad about missing the movie, I've never even seen SATC...I was mad because I was going to miss all of the laughing and these girls never disappoint!!! Whenever we get together waterproof mascara is a must. I was looking forward to having well-defined abdominals the next day...at least until my first meal. I am a lucky girl to be blessed with so many friends whom have a gift of "the giggles." Laughter can make an awkward moment bearable, it can turn tears of sorrow into tears of joy, it can lighten a heavy load. It truly is the best medicine. Really, it gives you an endorphin rush! So if you're feeling down, call a friend for a good laugh, pop in a funny, senseless movie like Dumb & Dumber or look in the mirror and laugh with yourself...it's probably what gave you all those little lines to begin with!

~Seven days without laughter makes one weak. ~Mort Walker

~“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” Mark Twain

"LOVE"

I love many things...the sun, which I miss dearly, "Oh, Mr. Sun I am anxiously awaiting your warmth & splendor and you have seriously let me down this year."

I love my friends...their passions inspire me and their ability to make me laugh is my sanity!

I love my family...I could write a book and people would think it was fiction, but it wouldn't be!

I love my husband...for having a dream and never giving up on it and now watching it become reality.

I love that God has a plan for me...and the fact that all of the ups & downs are, in the end, blessings to make me stronger.

But my greatest love lies within the hearts of three...my children. I love so many things about them, and they each have their own little quirkiness I adore. I have seen them grow so much in the past six months and the thing I love the most is their confidence! My kids have always been confident, but the security I see within them now is different. It is a confidence that comes from facing challenges and conquering them on your own, by making your own choices, applying learned knowledge and witnessing answered prayer.

Amazing love is...watching your 6th grader be true to herself and not falling to the pressures of a world pushing her to grow up so fast. Seeing my 10 year old embrace a sport and feeling the power her body possesses. And my baby...too tall to cradle in my lap, but a hand that fits within my hands as he sleeps...no longer crying when daddy travels but becoming the "man of the house" in charge of taking care of mommy and his sisters. I am a proud momma.

"LIVE"

When you think about "living" what comes to mind? Health? Your lifestyle? Worship? I immediately think of all three. When we are connected in mind, body & soul we truly feel what it means to LIVE!!! Sometimes we tend to become so comfortable with our lives that we forget what it is to live. If our hearts are not feeling joy it's probably because we're blocking one of its three lifelines.

A year ago I was on life support...in need of a triple bypass! I stopped going to the gym...but continued my quest to find pizza just like I had experienced in Italy! My lifestyle came to a screeching halt and I felt overwhelmed having to make so many changes so quickly. I was also not being fed spiritually in some areas...I wanted the Rock-n-Roll worship with the deeper message, but could never seem to get them simultaneously. It was time for a change. Thankfully I am not afraid of change; I believe in the Nike theory...Just Do It!!! Change is liberating, freeing...an adventure! When one door closes another one opens, we just have to muster the courage to walk through it, not only glance in as we pass it by.

In the year since I began that uphill climb I have finally reached the top...I am LIVING again!!! I'm back in the gym 5 days a week...a harsh reality that after 40 you don't just whip right back into shape anymore...but I plug away with the mindset that my heart and sanity are more important than a bikini (well, I'm still convincing myself of this)! I now see my lifestyle change as a blessing and the things that are truly important have come back into focus. Most importantly, I'm experiencing the rockin' worship and thought provoking message together again...and I am on fire!!!

I am certainly nowhere near perfect, I still have my good and bad days. Maybe the most important lesson I've learned is there is no such thing as perfect...you'll just kill yourself trying to achieve it! Balance is the ultimate goal. Live with an open mind, Love with all your heart & Laugh daily, deep down in your soul!