It's lunch time at work. I love my job. A weird thing just happened: I received an order from a company, "URGENT! Must fill order by this weekend to make consolidated shipment!" I bustled and got the order entered. I then notice, at the very bottom it reads, "Shipment to leave on the 26th." Since today is is the following week, that is not possible. I ask Cindy,"Do we have a time machine...

Sunday morning started out like most other Sundays: up, pups, coffee, get ready, bagels, Taylor comes out and we head to church together. We should have grabbed our box of Kleenex... . Taylor and I talked about what service we were going to last night. I was sharing that I was really excited to go. "Why?" was her response. This week in my time with my Heavenly Dad He talked about face to face...

Do you remember the proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime?" (Lao Tzu) When I was a child we had an awesome riding lawn mower. The name on it was "Coast to Coast." Why do I remember that? We were not allowed to ride or mow with it but every once in a great while we were given a ride. Mowing always looked like fun. When I was in...

I blog often about what my current journey is like, but did you ever wonder about Archie's side? When Archie and I first started his cancer journey, it was January of 1999, Taylor was 5 years old. He was 30 and we had our house on the market as we were teaching parents at a boys home for boys placed there by the court system. We were going to make this a career...until cancer came knocking. They...

Do you remember me saying that I was to focus, ultimately pray, for Taylor and the people surrounding me? Today the tables were turned. I admitted I am struggling right now. Negative "tapes" are playing through my head. I have to do the "next right thing," get up and go to work. I love my job, it's just getting there is the challenge. Today there was a tour, like many other days of the week. This...

The end of the trip to Schaumburg. I hope it went well. I enjoyed teaching, two hours of cleanup, inventory, and packing, then to the show floor to help tear down the show booth for another 1.5 hours. Just when we finished and were waiting for them to grab our pallets, "Beat It" by Michael Jackson echoed over the intercom. Anyone that truly knew Arch knew Michael Jackson was his favorite artist...

When I was in Chicago and I had down time alone, I couldn't help but have a bit of a pity party. Since I left the streamers and poppers at home, I grabbed the generic fruit loop cereal, made coffee and turned to the only other One in the room. I honestly didn't know where to start, I just knew I felt empty. Here I was in this amazing city, had no one close to share it with, the exciting part of...

What are your mornings like? I go to bed late, hopefully late enough to fall a sleep within about 20 minutes, but it's extremely rare when/if I don't wake up before the alarm clock, 5.5-6 hrs later. I get myself ready, make coffee (of course :) ) and the first thing on my agenda is to shut up and listen to what my Heavenly Dad has to say. The "shut up" is because, like any child, I have a...

Today when I was out and about, one of God's little boy's came up, flopped himself across the table next to me, looking at me with crystal blue eyes and asked with sincerity,"Do you still miss Archie?" Without missing a beat, I smile and said,"Everyday...everyday." Then there was a long pause................"Really?" I explained,"Taylor and I see things each day and say,'Dad(or Archie) would...

Green frog tape: advertised for keeping paint from bleeding onto unwanted surfaces. I see it used everyday to help bind the wounds of a broken heart. I haven't seen that advertisement, have you? Heartfelt Creations was the first company to come up with a stamp that matched a die in the crafting industry, or at least in great volume. Until around two years ago, I had no idea what any of what I...