Surprise!!!

Kurt arranged for a surprise party for my birthday, all the way from Iraq! :) He got ahold of John and Emily, who in turn got ahold of all our other friends. John grilled some burgers, there was cake and they even skyped Kurt in for the event (even though it was the middle of the night for him). These guys are amazing! Above, is Barbara, Katy and little Reese, enjoying the view of the Bay from John and Emily's balcony. Below, is John, our grill master and host :)

I can't believe they were able to plan all this and for me not to have any idea! There were so many people involved and no one spilled the beans!

Did I mention how AMAZING our friends are here?! They really did make my birthday a special one. The view from John and Emily's.

Pretty little Zorianna...

David and Kelley...

The birthday girl with Barbara and Emily...Thank you Kurt, John, Emily and everyone who came to celebrate! You guys are such a blessing. Thank you for making my day such a special one!!!

James J. Mines' Celebration of Life

My grandpa, James Joseph Mines, passed away last week at the age of 92. While we are sad to lose such a loved and prominent member of our family, we find joy in knowing he is at rest with our Lord, with Grandma and all our other loved ones who have moved on before us. He was a farmer, rancher, outfitter, inventor, teacher and a friend to all. Grandpa was also an army officer in World War II and was taken as a Prisoner of War, twice. We have all learned so much from him about what the true treasures in life are.

After the funeral, we got together as a family to celebrate Grandpa's memory. We enjoyed some food and fellowship - some of the Mines' favorite things! Jim and Kristine: Doug with our cousin, Patrick. These two think so much alike, it's scary :) My sister, Kris, and her daughter, Samantha:

Thank you to all our friends and family who came to celebrate Grandpa's life with us. To those who were unable to make it, thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, flowers, cards and phone calls.

My aunt and cousins outside enjoying the break from a Wyoming/Montana winter; Kelly, Bobbie, Jamie, Sarah and Tiffany: The Mathern Crew; Waylon, Alex, Uncle Ken, Aunt Marilyn, Patrick, Marty and Jerry: My dad with my brothers and I at Cave Creek Cemetery:

The family of James and Florence Mines:

My dad's cousin, Shirley, picking oranges and lemons at Grandpa's house: Dad and I: You've heard of "Find Waldo"... but can you find Jim and Doug?? Picking oranges in Grandpa's tree... one more time.

We love you Grandpa and we look forward to the day when we see you again!

Decisions

Life is a series of lessons. Each day, we are faced with decisions and each decision leads us down a path, connecting us yet to another decison to make. This would seem like an entertaining way to spend life, except for the fact that one decision made will inevitably drastically alter the course of our life. Some look back at relationships, others consider career choices or decisions made about their health and the it never fails, the ugly "what if" sticks its head out bringing us questions that will be of no benefit to anyone, simply because there are no answers to go with them.

The only way to ensure you are making the right decisions is to align your heart with God's. If every decision you make is done with God's Word on your heart, then you know that you are doing what is right. God gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us. Sometimes we have spend time in quiet solitude and prayer to recognize what the Holy Spirit is leading us towards. Othertimes, it may be a sudden tugging on your heart that you don't understand but feel you need to follow. Each time I glimpse into the past, the decisions I regret are ones I made when I was focused on things apart from God.

I have heard it said that "The most important decision you make in this life, is what you decide about Jesus Christ". How can we make the right choices in life about anything, if we are walking aimlessly on our own? Can a ship find it's way to safety in a dark storm without a beacon to guide it? You can't go halfway. You can't decide that lighthouse is a nice 'guide'... and keep heading in your set direction, away from it. You are either set on its course or you aren't.

Doug and Ali at the Beach

I've really been wanting to get into digital photography for a while. I got a beautiful new camera from Kurt for Christmas and some cool software from his parents so I decided to play around with it when I was on the beach with Doug and Ali in Largo.

Christmas LaBianca Style

Mom and Dave took Doug, Geoff and I to Bush Gardens over Christmas break. Mom and Dave went on EVERY roller coaster with us - very impressive. It was pretty cold that day and we each had 2-3 cups of hot chocolate throughout the day just to keep warm. Mom and Geoff: We had our big LaBianca Christmas dinner on Dec. 27. Guy's back was hurting him so he had to take a break... but was still all smiles...

Mom and Dave preparing dinner which included a turkey, ham and pork tenderloin... along with all the fixins'. As usual, there was plenty of food! Here is Grammy, Poppy, Geoff and Jacki: Doug, Jacki and Geoff, visiting and relaxing after the big dinner :)

Kiki and Grammy, organizing presents:

Kiki, Grammy, Mom and I. Apparently, I missed the memo about the pink and white :)

There is a picture of everyone together by the pool but it's on Mom's camera. If I get a copy I'll add it to the post :)

The Farewell

No matter how hard I tried to keep it from advancing, the moment arrived. I tried to be resilient but I felt feeble. I tried to smile but felt tears trickle down instead. Goodbyes are never easy... but focusing on love makes it possible.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength. Loving someone deeply gives you courage" (Leo-Tzu)

Christmas with the Heplers

Here is the beautiful quilt that Grammy made for us. Each state flower is hand embroidered onto the quilt, onto a shield, with the state name and the patches were then sewn into one King size quilt. It is absolutely beautiful!

Kurt must have been good this year! Our little family :)

We decided to add one more tradition to the list this year. We decided it would be a nice treat to cook some fresh lobster with crab cakes and crab stuffed mushrooms for Christmas Eve dinner. Kurt getting ready to cook the lobster: Con making the crab cakes and stuffed mushrooms:

Our Christmas Eve feast! Kurt isn't so big on some of our "traditions" but this is one he was particularly enthusiastic about! :)

Life is so "ruff"...

Easter in November?

Since Kurt is deploying and will be missing many holidays, I decided to celebrate them with him a little early. I recruited a little help from Heidi, Brandon, Michaela and my Mom. Thank you for all your help you guys! Here is Kurt on his Easter egg hunt (looking in his Christmas stocking)...He was a good sport and even let me take a photo or two...Opening his "Valentine's Day" gifts in his Easter basket:Even though we had a big turkey dinner just days before, we still celebrated Easter dinner with a ham and all the fixin's. So now that he's gone again for more training, I am left with about 4-5 lbs of meat in my fridge.. anyone hungry? When he comes back, we'll celebrate Christmas, New Year's and St. Patty's Day... all before Dec. 26. :) But maybe I'll scale back a little on the cooking this time!

Thanksgiving 2009

Mom and Dave came out last weekend for an early Thanksgiving and to see Kurt before he left. On Saturday, Mom and I went to a craft fair in town, while Kurt and Dave watched some college football at home. After lunch, we all drove down to Pier Park, shopped and ate at Margaritaville. We found a "throw-back" store of sorts that sold all these games, toys and candy from years past. Mom and Dave found a few of their childhood games! :)Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, sausage stuffing balls, coconut/pecan sweet potatoes, shrimp/mushroom and crab dip, garlic bread, cranberry sauce, salad, chocolate pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake....We loved having you visit and appreciate you making the 7 hr drive to see us!