Happy Father's Day Honey!

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful patient sexy husband.  Every day he loves and guides his two kids, Tom and Yaz as they grow and become responsible adults. They are both parents now and I find it comforting that they have a perfect example to look up to.  This is Diego, the newest member of the Phillips family.  He's getting big fast and so far, Grandad is the only one who can put him to sleep every time.  He does something called the "Diego dance". I can't wait to see that one.  I also love to see Grandad playing with sweet Saffron.  She's old enough to miss him when she hasn't seen him in a while. 

As I've said before, not only is Vernon a great dad to his two kids, he has been the attentive, supportive loving dad that my daughter deserves and never got.  She loves him and wants him to be happy.  She knows that he will always be there for her no matter what.  

Happy Father's Day Honey, I wish I could be there to spend the day with you and all the kids.  Would be an amazing day! I love you.

Seven Posts of Past

Thank you Sarah @ The Ex-Pat Bride for nominating me to participate in this. I don't usually go back to my old posts and it was fun and enlightening for me to read past posts. I can't believe I have had this blog for over a year and I'm amazed at how much I've learned. I value the friendships I have made and the camaraderie amongst other bloggers. Most of all it has helped keep Vernon and I close over the 3,500+ miles that we have to face every day. Vernon enjoys my posts, and so do my family and freinds. I also hope I have given encouragement and hope to others in long distance relationships. Well, enough babbling, on with the meme.
The rules of this meme are as follows:

To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

Rules:

1) Blogger is nominated to take part

2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog - 1 link for each category.

- Your most beautiful post

-Your most popular post

-Your most controversial post

-Your most helpful post

-A post whose success surprised you

-A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved

-The post that you are most proud of

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part.

4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers

5) And so it goes on!

6) The site Trip Base will be sharing the best posts from participating bloggers on their blog and everyday on Facebook and Twitter at #My7Links

1. Most Beautiful Post:  A Castle, Shopping and a Baby! 
During my most recent trip across the pond I got to see my first castle, go shopping with one of my dearest friends and a baby was born. I couldn't have asked for a better trip.

 2. Most Popular Post:  Happy Father's Day!
I was actually surprised at how well this one is doing. It is my most popular post and still going strong. I guess this is the day of the dad. I find Vernon's dedication to his children very endearing and very sexy. He's a wonderful father.

3. Most Controversial Post:  Are You Crazy?!?!?!
I don't really write about controversial topics, but this one was full of venting. I guess I can't expect everyone to understand or accept our relationship, but I don't like being made to feel like there is something wrong with it.

4. Most Helpful Post:  Dear Kimberly:
Someone from the Loving From a Distance site reached out to me asking advice about her long distance relationship. I replied and then turned it into a blog post. She and I are now friends and she is still in her LDR. It's a bit wordy, it's not a popular post, but if someone is looking for advice on LDR's this is the post to read.


5. A Post Whose Success Surprised Me: Monthly Milestones - June
This is another meme that I participate in and is sponsored by Sarah @ The Ex-Pat Bride. I'm surprised it has done so well because it is really short and basically consists of a to-do list for the month. Nothing exciting or earth shattering.

6. A Post That Didn't Get the Attention it Deserved: Three Very Special Children
Nobody likes to read about sick kids, but I was hoping this post would have done better than it did. Two of the three children have long journeys ahead of them and they come from such amazing families. The third had had his journey and has thankfully started kindergarten. I felt like I didn't do enough for these kids, like I didn't write the article well enough to catch the interest of readers or other bloggers. But then I thought if I got them at least one donation or caused a reader to donate their money or time to a charity of their choice, then I guess I succeeded.





7. The Post I am Most Proud of:  I Have Been Featured on "The Ex-Pat Bride"!
I was really excited when Sarah @ The Ex-Pat Bride contacted me asking if I would guest post on her blog. At first I was like, "why?" I don't have many readers, I'm not special. I don't even know what I'm doing half the time as I'm trying to post these blog entries. She is one of the sweetest people that I know and was really flattering and excited to see what I came up with. I decided to write about how technology has changed in the last 11+ years and how it has affected our long distance relationship. I figured Sarah's readers are pretty young and would find this article interesting. It was more of a structured researched article as I wanted to provide Sarah with a quality post. My posts are usually random and unorganized but I want my blog to be somewhat candid.

The bloggers that I am nominating are:

Sarah @ Crafting with Sarah
Christy @ Castles, Crumpets and Craig oh my!
Betsy @ Betsy Transatlantically
Yvonne @ Welcome to my World of Poetry
Brittany @ Tales From a Sailor's Soul Mate

Three Very Special Children

I have had the fortune to follow the journey of a very special 5yr old boy who was diagnosed with a Wilms' tumor on his kidney. He had his kidney removed and went through months of chemo. I know this boy's dad professionally. It was tough reading through every Caring Bridge update knowing he and his family were facing this tragedy. Well, I was given the opportunity to meet this amazing little "warrior" (as his parents called him) at his "cancer free" celebration and I was amazed. This kid did NOT have an ounce of brat in him. I watched him play. He included the other kids and shared with them. When adults spoke to him he smiled and gave them his attention. He was still a 5yr old that would rather be playing than talking to a boring grown up, but he stood there smiling while I introduced myself and he nodded yes or no to questions I had asked him. The coolest thing about this sweet kid is that he is probably the biggest Star Wars fan EVER! I wanted to hug him. I wanted to hug his dad and his mom who I briefly met once about 3 years ago. I was really impressed with this skinny little bald kid (who actually did have some peach fuzz growing on his head). As I followed his journey I would be filled with sadness, amazement and shame. Shame? During the same time I was going through recovery of both a knee and back injury. I often cried and hated everyone and everything and felt like this was all going to last forever. Then my thoughts would go to this little warrior who had to endure being poked and prodded and drugged to the point of being sick and losing his motor skills. I felt so ashamed for whining about having to use crutches and not being able to leave the house due to the pain I was in. What my colleague was going through with his son is the sort of thing that puts life into perspective and makes you realize how very strong we can be.


Next I want to mention a special little 14mo. old baby. She is the niece of one of my best friends who I have known since high school. In the same week that I celebrated with the little jedi warrior, I received the terrible news of this little peanut. She’s got Neuroblastoma and her journey is just beginning. Her family is holding a benefit to raise funds for her care. There is a facebook event for those who would like to attend the benefit or learn how to help.  There is also information on how to donate by checking out Julia's Journey.  This hard working farming family is one of the kindest families I have the honor of knowing and it breaks my heart to know their sweet little daughter/niece/granddaughter is going to have to endure these surgeries and cancer treatments. My thoughts and prayers go out to Julia and her family.

Finally, I came across an amazing story because I follow Vernon’s local news on facebook,This Is Somerset. I read about a sweet little boy who is 1 of 500 in the world with a very rare disease called Lymphangiomatosis. I guess from reading up 

on it, it is very fatal and very painful. Why does it have to reach such a beautiful little boy? To raise funds for his care and raise awareness of this terrible disease, his dad is walking around the UK. YES! He’s walking around the UK! What an amazing task. You can follow the walk on their facebook page,Walk-For Lymphangiomatosis and they also have a website which includes detailed information about the walk and how to donate. He started his walk on Sunday, July 24 and is doing well. If you are in the UK, check out the map, he may end up walking through a town near you. I have never met this family, but I now think of them every day and have been keeping them in my prayers. 


I have really been touched by these three Sweethearts and their families. Please keep these children in your thoughts and prayers. If you can donate or send them encouraging words I'm sure it would be appreciated. I like to be optimistic and hopeful and feel that this is just temporary for all three of these kids and they will grow up to be incredible amazing adults who will make a difference in this world, mainly because they come from such loving parents and incredible families who live in supportive communities.

I Need a Saffron Fix!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Father's Day!

I would like to say Happy Father's Day to three of the most important fathers in my life.

My English dad: "He is a very tall man". That was my first thought when I met him several years ago.

He is loved and highly respected by all in his family. He is often surrounded by his grandkids and as of April 2011 he is now a great grandad. He likes to play and have fun and I have never witnessed him grumpy or impatient.  He is a perfect example to his grandsons on how to have a good work ethic, how to treat the women in your life and simply how to be a good man. He is one of those dads who will come to your rescue if you are having car trouble or need a hand with moving and home repairs. He doesn't expect anything in return. When I am there I don't feel like a foreign visitor. I feel like part of the family, I feel loved and accepted and missed when I am gone. He is a wonderful man and I am thankful that he is a part of my life. I can see why Vernon is the man he is today.

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My Dad: He is my Superman

I don't even know where to begin. He's the guy who taught me how to play baseball and basketball and ride a bike. Most importantly he taught me that the only way to get the rebound was to "sacrifice my body!" He rescued me from my runaway tricycle as it was taking me down the hill way too fast. He picked me up after I went face first into a tree on a sledding hill. He took me trick-or-treating on the John Deere Tractor. He took me to lots of Brewer games, a Bucks game and I even got to see the Harlem Globetrotters. He taught me how to fish and how to do my taxes. He taught me how to balance a checkbook and look for a job. He coached me on interviews and helped me do my homework. He also made sure I had change when I went out so I could call home if I needed a safe ride, and I always knew I'd be much better off by calling him no matter what situation I was in.  He even didn't accuse me of lying when I wrecked the car on the way to my ACT's and I told him it was a hit and run while parked. He knew better... but never called me on it.  I have often felt like I have disappointed him because I did not follow the path he laid out for me. But then we have moments where I do feel that he is proud of me, and the woman and mother I have become. If it wasn't for the Christian upbringing and the work ethic, I don't think I would be very happy with who I have become or where I am in life.

My dad is also a wonderful grandpa. He has had to pick up a lot of slack left by Heidi's absent inattentive father. He has made sure Heidi had experiences and opportunities that I normally wouldn't have been able to give her.  Heidi and grandpa are best buddies, and that means more to me than anything he's ever done for me.
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My Sweetheart, Vernon, what a wonderful loving dad he is.

His number one priority has always been his kids. Making sure he made time for them and gave them the attention that they needed. If we were chatting, he would tell me one was needing attention and we would say goodbye. If I didn't see him online at all he was spending time with them. I love that about him.  We have had this long distance relationship because of the kids. All three of them. Although I have not been in England, I have watched his two kids grow up through pictures. He has told me of the awards and accomplishments of school, activities and sports. I hear about the friendships, girlfriends, illnesses, sad times and difficult times. I have cried with him and rejoiced with him and even given him advice on the tough stuff.  Most recently, I was able to share his joy of the birth of his granddaughter. He's going to be a super 'granddad'. Bottom line, he's a great dad, and grandpa who is dedicated, loving and loyal to the ones that depend on him so much.

He has also been a wonderful loving father figure to Heidi. As you know her dad is absent emotionally and financially and Vernon has been there to support her and encourage her and make her feel important and loved.

Vernon has dedicated his life to his kids and has made an impact on mine, showing them by example how to have a good work ethic, how to treat others and how to conduct yourself with class. He also made it very clear to them that they are loved. It's these traits that make him very attractive to me, well, it's part of the reason he's very attractive to me.

A Castle, Shopping, and a Baby!

I have recently been to England to see Vernon. It was only for 2 weeks and I wanted lots of family time. Well, I got what I asked for as his sweet little granddaughter arrived in this world during my visit there. She is so very beautiful! I think he's going to love being a grandpa.

I told Vernon that I wanted to see a castle. He took me to Corfe Castle and it was breathtaking! It was extremely windy, but it was sunny and clear. There was lots of walking and hiking and now that I'm 35lbs lighter, I was able to enjoy all of that walking and hiking.  It was also my birthday the day we came out here. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my 40th birthday!

I am not only blessed to have Vernon in my life; I have a wonderful girlfriend named Victoria. She didn't have to be my friend, but from the first moment we met I think we hit it off. She is loving, caring, generous, supportive and understanding. She is a very good friend to me and it is so wonderful having a girlfriend to hang out with during my trips to England. Yes, I love spending every waking and non-waking moment with my Sweetheart, but a girl needs her girlfriends and I really love and appreciate her. I also have to mention our shopping trips. She knows where all the great stores are, especially the ones that carry clothes in my size. I've picked things up from Peacocks, Bonmarche, and Marks & Spencer. 

Yeovil, Somerset is my favorite place in the world, obviously because of Vernon, his family, and everyone else there that I love. Secondly, I love it for all the SHOPPING!

Vernon and I had such a wonderful time sight seeing, spending quiet time together as a family, welcoming a precious new life into the world, and spending quality time with good friends. I love the way I feel when I am with him, and I love knowing that he will be there for me forever. I really miss him.