Little Pink Tents

This weekend I am going camping. Camping in a little pink tent that will be sitting in a sea of little pink tents. A sea of little pink tents in the middle of the city. Tents full of people nursing sore feet, aching bodies and blisters. Lots and lots of blisters. Blisters that come from walking, BY CHOICE - twenty miles a day for three days straight. And other little pink tents full of people who - BY CHOICE - will get up around 4AM (or earlier) each of those mornings, brave the chilly fall air and fix breakfast for a gajillion people, ride out into the streets to blaze a trail for the walkers, set up places for them to nourish their bodies, bandage their blisters and rest on that trail and set up fun spots to send off, encourage along the way and welcome the walkers back to their little pink tent homes.

Why, you may ask, would somebody - much less a few THOUSAND somebodies - subject themselves to that? Because we are desperate to put an end to Breast Cancer. DESPERATE!!!

Some of the people I will be camping with have had breast cancer. Some are fighting it now and have chosen to camp and walk and/or crew in between their chemo treatments! Some have some one they love fighting it now. Some have some one they love who have beaten it. And some, like me, have some one they love who have lost the fight.


I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that these two little girls (well, not so little anymore!!!), who are faced with growing up without their mommy, do NOT have to face growing up in fear.

I do it because Paula was my very bestest friend in the world. Because her children are two of the most delicious girls on the planet and I love them so very much. I do it because I have two little girls who's family medical histories are sketchy at best and I want them to be protected. And I do it so that NOBODY else has to feel the pain that comes from watching a loved one suffer this stinky disease.

I do it because "Everyone Deserves A Lifetime".

Please say a prayer for us this weekend. Those of us on the crew will be starting on Thursday and the walkers on Friday. Please pray for nice weather, safe conditions, good spirits and A CURE!!!!!!!!!!

***UPDATE*** SuperModel reminded me to have you pray for Hubby & the kids (DUH!!! Thanks SM!), as well as all of the other families at home!***

Thank you so very much! Don't know if I will be back before Monday....

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Picture Perfect Monday - Run Aways

Hattie has found a little freedom now that she rides a bike (these pics show her trike 'cause the bike was stuck behind big stuff and mommy couldn't get to it), so one day last week she decided to run away from home ...

... and OF COURSE Sophie decided to follow ...

... but then I mentioned I was gonna make cookies, so she came back ...

... and, LUCKILY, Sophie followed her home too!

Happy Birthday Farmboy!!!

My Love,

Happy Birthday! And, don't worry, I won't go telling everyone that it's your birthday. This is just between me and you. Promise!

Baby, you are the love of my life. You are my best friend, my partner, my hero and my champion. You are the one I would rather be with than anyone else in the world. You are my heart's desire.

This life with you is a prayer come true. When God brought us together, He Blessed me beyond my wildest imaginings. No one's love can compare to His, but your is a close second. He is the center of us and that is the way it should be, the way it will always be.

When we stood in front of our friends and family and said our vows, I could not have imagined how much more I would mean those words five years later. I promised to love, honor and cherish you. I also promised to OBEY you. My non-churchy friends thought I was nuts, and a few of my churchy friends questioned the choice as well. But I knew that it was a safe promise to make. I would never have married someone that I could not have made that commitment to. I know that your heart follows after God and you live that with your life, so I KNEW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that following your lead in life would only lead me closer to Him.


Remember in "Princess Bride" when it says that Wesley would always answer Buttercup's requests with "As you wish"? And then the narrator says "One day, Butter cup was amazed to realize that when Wesley was saying 'As you wish', what he was really saying was 'I love you'. Even more amazing was the day she realized that she loved him back." Well, that was us, you were always doing little things for me to tell me how you felt, and I was clueless. Until one day (with a little help from Paula), I realized that you loved me. And then one day (after the shock wore off and, again, with a little help from Paula), I realized that I loved you right back. And that love has not stopped growing since. So, when you asked for my heart, what else could I say but "as you wish"? You left my heart with no choice.

So, happy Birthday my Farmboy. Spending these years with you is my best gift in life. Watching you be Dad and hero to the boys and Daddy to the girls makes me love you even more than I already do. I love you more each passing day - more each moment. You are the only man in the world for me.

Forever and Ever.

Infinity and beyond.

No tag backs.

I WIN!!!!!!


Thank you for making ME feel like a Princess Bride on that day and every day since!

Happy Birthday my love!
XOXOXOXOX
Buttercup