Just put on a little lipstick...

In June of 2017 Josh accepted a job in Kona Hawaii with Big Island Electric. They had a couple of big contracts that they needed someone with Josh's abilities to get completed. Josh and Chassi thought this over and decided this would be a good adventure for their family. One of Josh's favorite movies (and tattoos) is " Joe vs the Volcano ", so this seemed so appropriate. They sold most of their possessions and flew across the ocean to settle in the little community of Waimea . Waimea is on the big island of Hawaii, just up the mountain from Kona. Hawaii is the largest and least populated of the islands and also has the least number of "mainlanders" - that's what Hawaiians call us. They have mountains, ranches and active volcano and of course many beaches. When Josh and Chassi are not at school, and the girls are not in school, they are out visiting ranches, hiking, swimming and exploring.  Josh and Chassi have both expressed that this has been a b...

Has it really been over a year since I blogged? 2017 brought precious time with family and friends full of laughs, a few tears and of course change. Change seems to be the only constant in the world these days. I took a position in March of 2016 with a company that has a very important and noble mission to help and support patients through their last year of life. I had the privilege of working alongside some of the best palliative physicians, practitioners and support staff in the nation. It was a whirlwind year and along with my fabulous professional development team we on-boarded over 300 new employees, installed, activated and trained a new phone and documentation system, instituted monthly lunch and learns, and set up and offered continuing education for all employees. I have worked in very supportive high growth companies before and instituted these and additional programs, but this one brought with it some complicated challenges in culture. After a year I paused and evaluated...

If you know me, you know how much I love Google! This video shows 2017 in google search. This gives me hope that people in this world are still curious, they want to help others and they are ready to move forward to make this world a better place. #makeadifference 

How many of us grew up in the car in this episode?! Ours came from "Downtown Motor Company", otherwise known in my family as Granddaddy's car lot . If the sun hit the door just right you could see where it once said "Sisters of the...", because it used to belong to a convent. Many wonderful memories were made on trips in that car! Take a coffee break and watch:  http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/sarah-jessica-parker-a-little-hyper-aware

My lifetime friend Joyce is married to Tim, a brilliant cardiologist. Tim also happens to be a very talented photographer and he snapped this photo of Amber and me at Lisa's wedding a few years ago. A week or so before Christmas I received a framed copy in the mail and it now has a special spot in my living room. Thank you Tim and Joyce for capturing this special moment/memory on film!

I was having a rough day, and then I found this in my purse. Morgan, my middlest grand-girl has the sweetest heart! Last week we nailed down the date for our annual family vacation, and as you can tell they are a little excited.

One of the charity events that we always love attending each year is the Holiday Howler . This event is put on by the Brown Dog Foundation, and they use the funds raised to help families with their furbabies medical expenses.  I had some money to donate in Amber's memory and gave part of it to this great charity, and a couple of weeks later I received an email titled this:  For those of you who grew up in Henderson you'll remember Leo was the name one of Amber's favorite pets. Her beloved Weimaraner!  In December Leo was also a sweet dog in California who has diabetes and he and his owners needed some help with his medical expenses. The donations from this year's Holiday Howler helped Leo get the lifesaving medications he needed.  Brown Dog Foundation