Grandma Ida (or Edith, as she brazenly called herself)

This past week, on 3/22, my grandmother passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's. I used to take my Poppy to visit her before he passed away almost three years ago. We would watch the old time variety shows with her, as she loved her music so very much.

Both Poppy and Grandma Edith taught me to be proud of my Italian heritage. She made the very best Italian cookies, and I leaned how to make the Christmas soup from him. I will always remember the times I had with them.

Yesterday, my cousin Courtney gave the most amazing, beautiful eulogy of Grandma Edith's life. It was a very special way to honor her memory.

This was her obituary:
http://www.chaseparkwaymemorial.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1430213&fh_id=12319


On the way home from the funeral I heard this song and it made me feel a little better...

Praise You In This Storm lyrics, by Casting Crowns
Songwriters: Hall, Mark; Herms, Bernie;

I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say, Amen and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands
And praise the God who gives and takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry, You raised me up again
But my strength is almost gone
How can I carry on if I can't find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"
And as You mercy falls I raise my hands
And praise the God who gives and takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

Books!

I've always been a book worm...and I'll pretty much read anything. Tim has gotten frustrated with me more than once for ignoring him to read a cereal box. That being said, I haven't read any new books lately and have been interested in reading a few. I need some recommendations from you all! Here are a few books that have caught my eye lately...

1) The Hunger Games triology - I have heard they are awesome and would love to read them all!

2) Bloom by Kelly Hampton - it is a book about this woman's life after she has a daughter born with Downs Syndrome. I read her blog, and you should too, she is amazing! It is called Enjoying the Small Things.

3) Wednesdays were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God by Michael Kelley - looks like a good book about faith.

What do you all think?

After this weekend I should have a few fun catch up posts - we are celebrating Miss Emma and her upcoming wedding! Can't wait to see all the ladies and celebrate on St. Patty's Day!

Just a thought...

So, according to the Gallup survey,Boulder is the least obese metro area in the country (and as you know we lived there for a year and a half), and Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk metro area is the second least obese (which is where we now live). I thought that was pretty darn cool and remarked to Tim that we apparently like to live in the healthiest places in the US. He pointed out to me that in Boulder, people are not obese because they are really active and eat healthy...and here, people are not obese because they are crazy stressed from working too much and not eating enough.

I'm just going to pretend it is because this area is also really healthy and active. And then maybe I will continue to be really healthy and active haha :)

Here is the article if you have an interest in reading!
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/07/skinniest-and-fattest-us-cities-revealed/

February Vacation

Last week, I had a week off from working at the elementary school...let me tell you, there is nothing like the excitement and craziness that happens right before a break at a school. It completely exhausts you but at the same time makes you giddy happy, or at least that is how it works for me :)

The first weekend of break was a long weekend, so Tim and I hightailed it up to Vermont for three lovely days of relaxation. We stopped at Pepes Pizza on the way and it was just as delicious as it always is. Other rest of the weekend was spent sleeping in as much as possible, going on long icy hikes, having the best hot chocolate ever, watching (3) movies in a row, going to our fav New England brewery (Long Trail), trying out a new Irish breakfast joint, and taking a tour and having lunch at Harpoon Brewery. It was the best weekend, w e both desperately needed sleep and relaxation, and we were able to do just that :)

After that, unfortunately Tim had to return to work, but I had off still so I spent the week catching up on chores, having dinner with my best friend, having coffee with a friend I haven't seen in awhile, lunch with my Dad, and hanging out with Momma Hine.

This past weekend, we went back to Vermont to hang out with my parents and cousins. After a very scary ride (lots of snow/ice/cars off the road), we had Birthday cake for my cousin Jim and a few drinks to relax haha. On Saturday, we went skiing at the Quechee ski hill, it was so fun to relive memories of our wedding, and try out our new skis :) although it wasn't quite CO skiing, it actually wasn't bad! We had fun trying to catch up to G, and the. We went back to Long Trail for some après ski brews. We met my parents at a hibachi place for dinner, and it was super fun to just hang out all together. I love fam!

This week it is back to the grind, and with CMTs coming up, school is pretty crazy!
On another note, please pray for our car situation,

Two years :)

Two years ago today, I married the most wonderful man. I'm a lucky girl :)

This second year of marriage we...
Lived in CO
Tim did Tough Mudder two times
I went to Italy with M and dam
We moved back to CT
Tim and I both got new jobs
We started looking for houses

And we love each other more and more all the time. So thankful that God gave me you babe!

Be strong in the Lord...

We found out yesterday that the house we put in an offer on last week was given to a higher offer...and while we are sad, you know what? The world didn't come crashing down. We are doing just fine. We are fine, because we know that it just wasn't the exact perfect place for us. We even found a few more options on zillow last night to check out. All I have to say, is prayer is powerful, and to made a huge difference in my reaction to this news :)

That being said, I heard a song yesterday, and I loooove the chorus...thought I'd post it for you all. It is taken from the song "The Words That I Would Say" by The Sidewalk Prophets.

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

Loooove it!

Have a wonderful weekend all!

Exhausted.

For some reason, I can't seem to catch up on sleep no matter what we do. I'm just so darn tired all the time. Maybe it is because we have been super busy lately, maybe it is because I spend all day with elementary school kids calling my name a million times, or maybe it is because I am finally trying to workout at least five times a week.

Whatever it is, I don't like it. Grrrrrrrr.


That being said, we have been doing fun things....like going to New Hampshire with a big group of people last weekend, and heading to Vermont this weekend. Tim picked my new skis up yesterday after getting my new AT bindings put on them....and they are Beautiful :) Im excited to try them out this weekend!

Can't believe our two year anniversary is right around the corner, where does the time go?