Category Archives: Family

Family, Favorites, Memories

Things I Miss About My BFF Wendy

  1. Her laugh – the way she would throw her head back and clap her hands together and laugh with her whole soul
  2. Her ability to get things done.  Now.
  3. Her willingness to stop whatever she was doing to do something more important for her friends.
  4. Her enthusiasm for life.
  5. Her refusal to let the cancer define her as a person.
  6. Her stubborness.  It’s a trait we share.
  7. Her slightly naughty sense of humor, which probably most of you didn’t get to see.
  8. Her all encompassing love for her children, all 5 of them.
  9. Lunch at Chi-chis.  Or Bishops.  Or Hardees.
  10. Girls time in DesMoines with all 3 of us BFFs
  11. The way she never ever ever complained about anything.  Not the cancer, not her divorce, not the chemo, not even at the end.
  12. Her drive and ambition.
  13. Her cream cheese mints.
  14. Planning events with her.
  15. When she would load up all the 8 million kids and take them to her house to make cookies.
  16. How she always told me the truth.  Always.  No matter whether I wanted to hear it or not.
The 3 of us - www.wendysbutterflygarden.com
Family, Humor, Survivor

Most Interesting Texts in my Inbox

  1. “You text like a 2nd grader” – from my son Caleb
  2. “I’m behind the trees”- from KM
  3. Picture text, bicep tendon surgery – from RL
  4. Picture text, baby quilt, “R just finished Grace’s quilt!! It’s AWESOME!” – from SP
  5. “PS  Is this picture of pi make you want to come here sooner?” – from my 10 year old nephew AR
  6. “I had yeetg pilled aboug 30 monitrs ago. I cznt” – from another employee I’d texted about working
  7. “Teeth. Pulled. So many drugs.” – the next text from the same employee
  8. “Which part of the story? The resolution. If you meant store, I’m headed toward the front.” – from honorary son AD
  9. Picture text of handwriting, “What does the word ‘hearing’ say about me? I feel like I’ve been doing crazy stuff to my g’s lately which has to mean I’m secretly a lunatic.” – from KB
  10. “I just watched Survivor. Those women are STUPID!!” – from RD
  11. Picture text, aluminum cooking pot, “At IKEA buying pot” – from JD
  12. “We gage all the babies.”   followed up with  “I mean, we are on the way” – from Caleb
  13. 3 texts in a row:  “What?”  “Really?”  “This could be the stupidest move ever” – texting with my sister while watching Survivor
  14. 2 texts in a row: “What the f…?  They need to get rid of Colton.”  “Stupid!!!” – texting with JK during Survivor
The "pi" referred to in #5

Family, Humor, Travel

What I Would Do With a Million Dollars

  1. Give half of it to the government for taxes, whether I like it or not
  2. Fund friends and family members who are around the world serving God
  3. Pay off student loans
  4. Pay for my son’s college education
  5. Buy beachfront property, preferably in Maui
  6. Fix all the dents and dings with my 02 Trailblazer and give it to my son
  7. Buy a new hybrid SUV or crossover
  8. Travel – go back to Hawaii and Alaska, road trip the continental U.S.
  9. Travel – visit the aforementioned friends and family around the world, plus some other places
  10. Take care of family and friends
  11. Hire a housekeeper
  12. Invest in my son’s future music career
  13. Invest a very sizeable portion of the money in my long-term retirement funds
  14. Get the expensive work done that my dentist seems to think is necessary
  15. Buy a DVR in order to record Survivor
  16. Take the extended family on a fabulous vacation
  17. Set up a fund to consistently finance Team Wendy and Wendy’s Butterfly Garden
  18. Annonymously pay off friends’ mortgages

 

Family, Favorites, Holidays, Inspirational

Reasons to Love Today BECAUSE I’m Single

  1. No disappointment
  2. No pressure
  3. No fights over what someone didn’t do for someone else
  4. I have amazing family and friends who love me every day of the year
  5. Freedom is intoxicating