Remembering

Today, February 11th, marks the 1 year anniversary of my contracting Guillain-Barre Syndrome. I can remember that morning fairly well...waking up as usual around 7:30am to the sounds of giggles and whispers from the bedroom next to ours. Something didn't feel right though...my right hand was kinda numb and tingly but I just figured I'd slept on it funny and the feeling would eventually go away.

As I started to go about my day, I realized that I was having a very difficult time doing ordinary things, such as getting the girls dressed or brushing my hair or standing up. I thought I was coming down with a serious case of the flu for sure! It got so disturbing that I actually had to call Mike and ask him to come home from work-something I never do, even when I am sick. We made an appointment to see the Dr. the following morning, hoping to figure out what was going on as quickly as possible before I felt any worse.

As many of you know, I did not get better, instead starting down the road to total body paralysis (with the exception of much of my face) and the need to be ventilated so that I could breathe.

I try to not remember those days, because when I do, the emotions are still too raw and close to the surface for me not to cry. I was scared. I was lonely. I was confused. I had never been in the hospital, with the exception of giving birth to the girls, never broken a bone or needed stitches, perfect attendance for over 5 years at my past job and in school. "I" didn't get sick...why was this happening to me? What did I do wrong?

Of course I know that I didn't do anything wrong and there is no answer to the "why" part of it. But I still asked myself those questions over and over-and ultimately it came back to my realization that everything happens for a reason, and although I am not always meant to understand it, it had a purpose.

I am here today, I am happy and fairly healthy, surrounded by loving friends and family and enjoying all the things that this life offers. And....I guess that's the whole point. So, today I am remembering, and also moving one step further down the road. Not the road of forgetting, but of living and loving and being happy...AMEN!

Winter Caching

Geocaching in Garfield Park, Grand Rapids MI

A frozen lake just North of Kalamazoo, MI

View of Downtown Grand Rapids while grabbing the cache

Winter sunset over Grandville, MI

Although some folks shy away from geocaching in the Winter, I still like to get out when I can. Some days I need a little more motivation/persuasion than others, but the ever changing landscape of Michigan never fails to amaze me. One day we'll have 10 ft of snow, the next day temps in the 50's, and the next day, more snow. We don't get much sunshine in GR in the Winter, but when we do, never are the skies more brilliantly blue and sunsets more stunning.

Happy Winter Geocaching Everyone!

*these are all pictures I've taken in the last month caching here in Michigan

Trashing the Camp

As Mike and I continue to look at houses that are up for sale, we realize that there are a lot of foreclosure properties among the lot and also know that this is where we can really make our money. However, going through many of these homes is still somewhat shocking to me....and sad. I actually feel bad for the house, having been neglected, abused and literally trashed. We went through a home yesterday that once must have been beautiful and stately. It is only 8 years old, 2300 sq ft 2-story with an unfinished basement. From the exterior, you're thinking, this home is lovely and they're only asking how much? What could be wrong with it?

Then, you step into someone else's world. The carpets have been destroyed, the floors covered with so much trash you HAVE to walk on it to get from room to room. Old clothes and sheets used for window coverings, moldy food still rotting on the floor, piles of garbage and everything of value gone. Why? This home belonged to somebody. A family. And the state of this home was not something new, not just retaliation for the bank seizing it back for lack of payment. They lived this way...in a home valued at one time for over $350,000.

I consider our home to be an extension of myself and my family. It reflects our tastes, our mood, our way of living. Sometimes I am ashamed that its floors are dusty or the sink full of dirty dishes or closets long over-due for a good organizing, but I would never purposely make it into something unhealthy, rancid and filthy. Then, it wouldn't be my home...it would just be walls and a roof and space. That's sad....and I find myself getting upset with these unknown owners who have allowed themselves to sink to such a level of disinterest and neglect, with the saddest part being the example that they have set for their children.

Let us all strive to be more than that, to care more than that, and to love ourselves and our children more than that....

Trip to the Museum

Last Monday, I was lucky enough to get to spend a few hours with my friends, Karena and Andrea, along with their adorable daughters, at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Did you know that the Museum is FREE to Grand Rapids residents on Mondays? Andrea let us in on this little secret and it was a great way to spend a cold, January Monday morning!

While we were there, I really wanted to get over to the furniture section of the museum to see if I could finally find a reference to the MACEY Furniture Co. Fred Macey sold furniture in Grand Rapids, beginning in 1892. He started with a mail-order business, selling office desks made by other furniture makers. His advertising and the offer of a $25 roll-top desk succeeded, and he expanded the line to include office and library furniture. Retail stores then started to complain that his mail-order sales hurt their businesses, so many manufacturers stopped selling him their furniture. Macey decided to open his own factory and make his own furniture around 1900, and he continued to sell by mail. In 1905, the company merged with the Wernicke Furniture Co., and Macey Wernicke Co. started. In 1908, the name was simplified to the Macey Co. Fred Macey died in 1909, and Otto Wernicke became president.

The reason this is important to me is that Mike's Grandmother (paternal) is the niece of Fred Macey. We have 2 beautiful Macey Sectional Bookcases that were manufactured around 1902. One is in oak and the other mahogany, and they were given to us by his Grandparents before they passed. I was happy to find a reference to the company as we were strolling through the displays, spotting a similar bookcase straight away. How neat is it to have a piece of your family history mentioned at the Museum...

Of course, the real fun for the kids was riding the beautiful carousel, looking out over the Grand River, as the sun was peeking through the clouds and glistening on the fresh snow. It was a great way to end our morning-they're already asking when we can go back and do it again!

Andrea and her daughter, Vivian are featured in the top photo.

Karena and her daughter, Chloe are in the middle and we of course, are the last one.

All the girls had fun, young and old, and we'll have to schedule another "Play" date again soon!