Beautiful...

....Just love these pics!!!

A Tribute to My Mom

I want to keep most of this part of my life private as this is not the purpose of my blog, but since I mentioned that my mom had cancer I also want to let you know that she died last Monday, July 9. She died at home, peacefully, with her whole family at her side. I do just want to say a few things about my mom. Of course I think she was the best mom in the whole world! She gave me so many things. I have nothing but happy memories of her and my childhood. How many people can say that? My mom was so unselfish. She never cared about things for herself, her fulfillment came from being a great wife and mom and taking care of her 4 girls. She loved my dad so much and faithfully took care of him all their days together. They would have been married 50 years next month. She loved to make friends, she would talk to anyone who would listen at their senior apartment complex, a doctor's office, the grocery store. The comment I heard from people so many times at the funeral yesterday was "Your mom was such a sweet lady." I miss her so much already.

I could go on and on but I will just say "Thank you mom for everything. You're the best!!!!! I love you and will miss you incredibly."

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Thank you to all who prayed and sent cards and gave hugs and supported me through all of this. Many of you probably don't even read this blog but I'll thank you here anyway. Thank you Tamara for your "extra" prayers, the flowers, the talks on the phone. Thank you Mary Jo and Lorraine for watching my girls and taking such good care of them, I didn't have to worry about their wellbeing when I was busy with my mom and at the funeral. Thank you Sue for coming to the visitation, that meant so much to me. Thank you to my email friends - my blogger friends, Robin, the "Chatty Girls" and both of my travel groups for your prayers and words of comfort. Thank you to Traci my hairdresser who not only came in early one day last week so I could have a fresh haircut before the funeral, but didn't charge me for the cut and style. I know I'm missing a bunch of people, I'm sorry if that is you, but know that nothing said or done has gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

1st Haircut

Allison got her first haircut** today!!! She did so good, just sat nice while he cut her hair. I took her to the same place Lindsey went back in January.

Some before pics:

During:

And after:

Playing when she was done:

The back:

(See the DOG in the pic! Remember I told you he manages to get himself into so many pictures! Silly boy!)

Remember THIS look from Lindsey when she got her hair cut?

Well, Allison decided she could do that too! :-)

(Actually Lindsey's was a real scowl, Allison was just looking down and happened to make that face, she didn't mean anything by it.)

And how she's changed! Here are a few more pictures of her in China (this was 8 months ago):

**Unless you count this:

See how her hair looks blunt cut across the top - we wonder if her hair was in her eyes and her foster mother or nanny just cut it straight across the top. Or it wasn't cut, but just looked like it. So I will consider today's haircut her first.