RIGHT ON COURSE

Think what life would be like if everything went according to OUR plan. Life is kind of like a stream that keeps on flowing. Situations crop up that might dam its path, but eventually it will spill over no matter how much you try. All we can do is steer through it and hope that at each bend, we take the correct path. However, if we do take the wrong path, we need to stop and head another direction. Never should we go back to that place where we were led astray. We just need to create a new path. Don’t ever look back or beat yourself up over mistakes of the past, just move forward and learn from them, because life is not all about what we obtain but rather about the journey, the lessons and the experiences along the way.

Life for Scott seems to be getting better. He has been working like a maniac all the while trying to maintain his grade point average (which as a proud Mom, I’m happy to report he did). He had a few employees quit (one on maternity leave) which left him the only employee to man the store. But now he has his schedule back under control and doesn’t feel so stressed. He did have a minor set back! His friend, Levi, left for Iraq on Monday so Scott took Levi’s fish and frogs. Well, Scott doesn’t know much about maintaining an aquarium so let’s just say the little fishies didn’t make it! SMILES!

We only have 15 more days until Closing and we are extremely busy running errands and getting things packed for the move. We will be taking from March 16 through March 25 off from work to get settled into our new house. Mom and Dad Coutu will be here to assist with that. I’m sure we will share many laughs as well! CAN’T WAIT!!!!

THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS

Sometimes life can deal us some heavy blows. We don't know how to react to them and we lose focus on what really matters. Sometimes we just need to step back and breathe. I believe the solution is to get our mind off our problems and give ourselves time to re-energize. The single leading finding I've made about staying optimistic is that you have to take action at your worst moments. When you feel so dismal that all you want to do is crawl under a rock, watch TV, eat everything in sight, or sleep, that is the precise moment you need to either read or listen to something motivational, exercise, or spend time with your family or friends. I know, I once was in this state before. Shortly after making this discovery about myself, I attended church and as part of the pastor’s sermon, our pastor said "you may be having issues in your life, like financial, marital or physical problems, that are overwhelming you, but when you are feeling your worst, that is time you need to pray and read your bible." At that moment, I knew I was on the right track. There have been times when I had to force myself to exercise or read, and no matter how badly I felt when I started, it made me feel so much better afterwards. Did doing these things solve all my problems immediately? Of course not, but they helped me to maintain the positive attitude I needed to keep trying. So when you are feeling down and think you can't go on, above all else, remember that "this, too, shall pass."

On Valentine’s Day evening, some of my family members were in a terrible fatality accident that claimed the life of a precious 19-year old girl named Amanda Bixby. It was a three car accident that could of have been avoided if the driver of the car would have made better decisions in his own life. He decided the drugs he took were more important than the lives he put at risk when he got behind the wheel that fateful night. My Sister-in-Law is finally home from the hospital. She sustained head trauma and my nephew had a wound on his forehead that required stitches. Another passenger in my brother’s car suffered severe injuries to her left foot. She (15 year old girl) remains in the hospital and the doctors are not sure whether they will be able to save the her foot. I ask all of you who read this blog to say a prayer for Amanda’s parents and family and ask that you give my family strength. My brother Bill was at Amanda’s side when she took her last breath and he is having a really hard time coming to grips with all of this.

As for our house, we only have a very few short weeks until Closing Day and we are beyond excited. They were finally able to pour the concrete because the weather has been absolutely beautiful here (up in the high 50s/low 60s) and things are right on schedule.

Also wanted to wish the following a Happy Birthday (in the month of February): Bryan O. , Bob H. (Woo, hoo 70 years old, you don't look it or act like it! SMILES), Bailey (We can’t believe you are a Decade Old now! WOW!), Mom (Happy 61st Birthday), and Shelley (Happy Birthday Sis!)! We love you all!

Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad Nichols. Haven’t you two been married like FOREVER!?! and to Paul and Pauline!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR...

Aaah, love is in the air! Its almost Valentine’s Day! It makes me cringe seeing people buy bland, overpriced merchandise just because commercialism says "you have to". Think beyond the humdrum of the season, the flowers and chocolates, especially when you let someone know how you really feel. Treat the ones you love wonderful every day and be spontaneous just for the heck of it, not because society tells you to! And love yourself as well. I hear people all around me saying they are so busy taking care of others that there never seems to be any time left for themselves. No time for the gym, to prepare healthy meals or even to stop and think about their journey and their goals. If I have the opportunity to talk to them, I would tell them if they DON’T take the time to care for themselves then they aren't loving themselves to the fullest! Take the time to take care of yourself. Its amazing how well you will start feeling about other things in your life.

I think all married couples have little peculiar rituals that only the two of them know about. Usually if someone else hears about these rituals, they either turn their nose up with disgust, laugh or they share one of these traits. Well, Kevin and I have tons of these traits which are absolutely hilarious to us but not to others. I won’t tell you about all of them here on the blog but a few I will share because they make us laugh. Kevin can finish my sentences and knows when I don't REALLY know the words to the song I'm trying to sing and I can tell Kevin where ANYTHING is (without looking myself) even if he ALREADY looked there twice. :-) It is funny how he turns into his father suddenly when he can’t find something! At times, I call him SJ (Sheldon Jr. :-)

This weekend we made a trip to the house and things are coming along just fine. Cabinets have been installed, the trim is almost complete, the crown molding looks amazing! We are pretty happy with the quality of work and can’t believe we are only a few more weeks away from SHOWTIME! The excitement is definitely mounting! We are just hoping for some warmer temperatures in order for them to pour the concrete for the walks, driveway and patio. Hopefully by the end of the week. We are keeping our fingers crossed and saying our prayers!

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL

This weekend was great...... hectic.....but great. We set out to find mirrors for our upper level bathrooms and what we didn't realize is how hard it was going to be to find what we were looking for. Every store we went to had gold mirrors, which is not what our preference is, so you guessed it! We looked some more. We probably went to about 9 or 10 different home stores before we finally found exactly what we were looking for.

Sunday we enjoyed watching the Super Bowl. Even though it wasn't the best played game, it was quite entertaining with all the fumbles and the rain. We were thrilled for Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and the rest of the Colts for winning the Super Bowl. I think the Colts had a storybook ending to a long season full of ups and downs... it was their time. Hopefully it stopped all of the critics from ripping on the Colts and Peyton, once and for all.

We also wanted to take a moment to say a prayer for the victims of the tornadoes in Florida. The damage has been estimated at $68 million dollars. It really makes us stop and appreciate what we have. We know we ARE truly blessed. We are thankful and take comfort in many of the simple things that many take for granted, things that millions of people can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower. We make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility. With courage in our heart and God by our side, we take a stand, we take a deep breath, and we begin to design the life we want and to live it as best as we can because we never know what tomorrow might bring.