You may have plans that don't fit into God's Timeline for you...

The last time I was home to Helena, Montana was in April, 2007 to bury Grandfather Bill. I am now home again; we buried my Uncle Grafton this past Tuesday, October 14th, 2008. My Uncle Graf was an amazing man who went through life touching other people with his compassion and helpfulness. He was one of the greatest men I have known.

The last few days I have been reflecting on the memories I have of my Uncle, and I know they will always be preserved in my heart. I don’t have a single memory of him speaking unkind or out of anger. He never spoke ill of anyone. Now don’t get me wrong he never missed the opportunity for a quick witted comment, but it was always out of fun.

I have also spent the last few days reflecting on other members of my family and how important it is to spend time with them now, before it’s too late. How it’s so important to not miss an opportunity to let them know that they are loved and important to you. How you need to be careful… you may have plans but you never know when God’s going to call you home… always be kind and loving, to watch how you treat each other in actions and words. It’s too late once someone is gone to say you’re sorry, or to ask someone about their life.

I have also realize just how important my children and Danny are to me. I want to spend the rest of my life appreciating them and all the quirks that a family has to offer. I want to know when my time is done, that I have spent my life allowing my family know me and that I that I know them.

Guess what I got for my birthday!

What a wonder years so far! I have met the most amazing man, Danny! As I am sure most of you are aware. We have had a whirlwind romance for which neither of us expected. We met at a time were we both had pretty much given up on the concept of love but still longed for it and the companionship that comes with having someone that is completely on the same page and most times on the same line as you are.

When we met he lived 134 miles away right outside of DC. After a short time we decided that was just not going to work for us. He was going to move to this area (Hershey). After a few complications and changing of plans he ended up moving in with me a little over three and a half months ago. Which was not what we wanted or planned for, we wanted an old fashion relationship. However, neither of us would change our lives for the world and are happy to be apart of each others daily life's.

We have spent an amazing summer getting to know each other and one another's families. We were blessed with the opportunity for Danny to meet my mom's side of the family from Montana at my cousin Kelsey's wedding in NC in June. His family is in Pittsburgh so we have been able to spend time getting to know them as well. His family is very down to earth and has opened their arms to me and the kids.

We have created our own happy little family as well, the kids adore him and he loves them deeply. The last 6 and a half months have been absolutely amazing I am overwhelmed with love for this man!

So what does this ring mean??? It’s a promise, and outward symbol of our commitment to each other and to the children. Its is one more step toward the rest of our lives together.

School has begun

Life is wonderfully busy… and my babies are growing up faster then I would have ever imagined!
Makenzie a.k.a. Kenzie, a.k.a Kenz, a.k.a. Bean, is busy with second grade. She is the smartest little thing ever! She seems to understand Math and English very well. She is also keeping busy with dance. This year she is doing ballet and hip hop. She enjoys cuddling with Maddie (our min pin) and coloring beautiful pictures, but don’t expect her to be girly because it’s not going to happen. David is also doing very well; he is still in boy scouts and loves all the adventures that scout’s bring his way. He is also on the Middle school tackle football team. He is chatty as ever and still intrigued by everything and wants to know how it all works and why… this child thrives on information.

Dave and Buster's (written by David)

The first time I went to VA to meet Danny I had a lot of fun. Danny was and is very nice, fun, kind and cool! We went Air and Space Museum, which was totally awesome! We saw a SR7, Blackbird, the Enola Gay, the Concord, a Space Shuttle and the world’s largest Christmas ornament, which was really a satellite. It was almost as if he knew that I liked airplanes and history.

After that we went through Washington DC and saw the cherry blossoms and the White House. We went to Dave and Buster’s, which is a gianormous arcade. We played awesome games for like 4 hours! Danny beat me in some of the games after that we went into the restaurant part of Dave and Buster’s it was really neat all the fans on the ceiling ran off of one they were all connect with one big belt. The food was awesome too!

The next morning Danny made us breakfast and hung out for a little. Then we had to go home for real. By the way mom acted that weekend I knew she really like Danny!
~David

How we met

I was at my wits end with the dating scene. I had dated many types of men but nothing seemed to work. So one evening after seeing the success Kami was having with online dating I decided to give it a try again, I really didn’t expect to find anything, and not nearly as quickly as I did. So, I was surfing the options and came across Danny’s profile, he seemed pretty normal, he was very handsome, but he was 134 miles away. So, I continued on my search. Some time later I received a generic message saying, I noticed you noticing me… and it was from Danny. Shortly there after I received an email. And that was the beginning of many late nights of IM and eventually even longer nights of phone calls. We discussed everything, where we had been, goals, dreams, hurts everything even the children.

~Samantha