20 Years...The Blink of an Eye

20 Years ago today I lost my dad. Seems like just yesterday. I was 23 years old and I can see the events of that morning and the days just after his death as if I am walking through them again.

He was sick, lung cancer, and the original diagnosis was 10 years and I thought that sucked...imagine that he only made it 7 months???

I was a daddy's girl for sure. The sun rose and set on my dad...at least in my mind it did.

I carry him with me every moment of my life. Things he taught me, the unconditional love he gave us, the generous giving heart he had, the fun loving - lets have a party and spend time together person that he was. You may think I am idolizing a man who is no longer with us...I am not, anyone that knew him would be saying the same things.

While I feel blessed to have had him for 23 years and that in those years he had the biggest influence on me and that influence molded me into the person, wife and mother I have become, I also feel cheated that Danielle and Joseph will never know him...they will only know of him. My dads legacy is so strong that if you talk to any of his grandchildren you will think they spent time with him...unfortunately none of them did. They hear about him not only from us but from our family and friends and our parents friends and their children too.

Joe and his family knew my dad and knew him well. Just a week ago my brother-in-law told me he was thinking about my dad playing a game with us at Bella's birthday party...20 years later and he came to Steve's mind in one of his favorite settings, a family party. It made my heart smile to hear him say that.

20 years and my mom hasn't even considered dating...she says once you have caviar, you just don't want regular fish!

We did not have a lot of money growing up but my dad showered us in love and time and family and values...these things are far more valuable than material things. 20 years from now I imagine my dad still influencing his family and younger generations because you see...he lives on in me, Danny, Patty and Colleen.

My daily prayer is I leave a legacy like the one he left me for my Danielle and Joseph.

Cousins That Share Everything

In our families there are lots of kids...7 on The Marsicano side ranging in age from 20yrs old to 9yrs old and 11 on The Corbett side (I am counting our kids on both sides) ranging in age from 17yrs old to 2yrs old.

We are a close family and I mean the entire group of Marsicano's and Corbett's collectively. There are times in life when our kids spend lots of time together and times where the may not see each other too much, but they are in contact and they are sharing all aspects of their life.

Our oldest niece on the Marsicano side and our oldest niece on the Corbett side have the same body type...so the younger of the two had a great selection of dresses to pick from for a special holiday event this past Christmas and the older of the two was thrilled to have someone to share clothes with.

Joseph has 3 cousins who are younger than him and everytime we see them they are 99.9% of the time wearing something of Joseph's...can you imagine the great feeling Joe and I have when we see how much use the clothes, footwear and jackets etc... are getting??? And the younger boys love, love, love wearing "Little Joe's" things because they look up to him.

3 of the girls go to the same Middle School and they go to school together every morning. I would have loved to go to school with my cousin and have that much time with her everyday. As a matter of fact as a kid my cousin Donna and I would try to find houses in my neighborhood for her family to move too. These 3 girls have each other, access to more clothes and shoes than are in their own closets and more importantly each one of them has two cousins with them for support. I think we all know that Middle School brings some of the toughest years growing up and having people who you are so close to in the same school brings comfort...I know it does for me, Danielle is the youngest of the three and when she started Middle School this year I worried less knowing that she would be with her two cousins.

The teens share things with each other that they might not share with an adult and with that they all look out for each other. We all know that if necessary any one of them would come to an adult if another one of them needed adult intervention.

Some of the kids have played sports together...Joe coached two & three of the girls in soccer and t-ball, last year 4 of the girls danced at the same dance studio...can you say HUGE cheering section at the recital!!!

Even if they are not in an activity together they make time to go to each others activites to cheer each other on. The support system these kids have just within each other is amazing, heart warming and frankly is bringing a tear to my eye as I type.

They are all blessed!!!

Anticipation

Anticipation, or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure, excitement, and sometimes anxiety in considering some expected or longed-for good event.

This is exactly how I am feeling right now...Danielle and her dance teammates are about to kick of the performance/competition/convention season of dance. My two nieces also dance at The Dance Company (TDC) so it really is a family affair for us.

All of the dancers have been working hard since August, taking Ballet, Technique and learning all new choreography. All in preparation for upcoming performances, competitions and dance conventions they will be participating in over the next 6-8 weeks. I have been extremely blessed this season in that I have been in the room helping (not with the dancing but with organization, helping the kids etc...) and I have been able to watch all of the dances come together.

Before this year while I was able to appreciate the finished product on stage I had never realized all of the work that goes into in. Miss Charyl, her staff and these girls work very hard so that what we all see on stage is polished and looking good. They make it look easy and effortless...I can assure you, it is not.

Watching the production number come together was an eye opening experience. 40 kids between the ages of 7 and 17 learning an 8 (or so) minute dance...in sections and then as an entire group. Older kids helping younger kids, teachers making sure everyone is keeping up and have the same opportunity to learn the dance. Just this week while at rehearsal the kids broke up into smaller groups and did the dance while their teammates watched, cheered and supported them! One of the most heartwarming experiences I have had at the studio.

This Sunday is the studios dress rehearsal, all solos, duos, trios, groups and this production number will be on a stage for the first time this season. To say I am excited to see the kids in their costumes doing what they love would be an understatement...been waiting for this rehearsal since we received the date.

Viva La Fiesta TDC Dancers!!!

Sunday Dinner...Italian Style

Growing up Sunday Dinners were often the highlight of the week for our family. Big dinners with immediate family and lots of times extended family were the norm. We ate early (between 2 and 3) and then if you were hungry later you had a "snack." 99.9% of our Sunday dinners were Italian Food. I guess you would say it was a tradition to eat pasta on Sunday's (Thurday's too) at our house...and most of our family did the same. The smells were delicious, the conversation crossing over as many as 4 generations and you always hated to see the day come to an end. I learned to cook just watching my mom, grandparents and my Great Aunt's prepare the meals. Joe's family had the same tradition and when we married we stuck with it. I can't say we do it 99.9% of the time anymore, mostly because life is busier and here in the South the summers are hotter and we do grill a lot in the summer. However for sure 99.9% of the time when we are home and it is not excessively hot we do Sunday Dinner, Italian Style.

Here are a few shots from yesterday's dinner.




Penne Pasta, Chicken Parm, Baked Ziti, Meatballs (with or without sauce) and garlic bread

Small version of our extended family. Nana, Amber, Joe, Alex, Danielle, Joseph & Colleen

Bella was so very hungry that she had to have a small snack waiting for dinner - that's why she is not in the group shot.

MANGIA (Monja) - Let's Eat!!!

Extremely thoughtful gifts

I love, love, love to give meaningful and thoughtful gifts...I always have...I often wish I had more opportunities to bless people in my life. With that said, I would also rather give than receive. Silly right? But I really do get as much of a gift by giving as my recipient does in receiving.

With all of that said...this past December I received some of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received for my birthday.

I received a "collaborative" scrap book. This scrap book stays right next to my bed...the pages are filled with letters from my family and friends...many of them contain writings from the children in my life. Mine, nieces, nephews, friends kids, etc. My amazing sister-in-law had this brilliant idea and she then contacted all the very special people in my life and asked them to write. The book was compiled and given to me right on my birthday. I have never, ever, ever received a gift that meant more to me, EVER! When I look at the book I tear up, I cannot believe the words on the pages...what I mean to the writer, what they see as my positive attributes, how I have affected their life. Could there possibly be a better gift? I think not. The youngest person who wrote is 8 and the oldest is my mom, 68. I met the authors at all different points in my life and we are now all intertwined. I will treasure this book for the rest of my life...along with the people who brought it to life.






December was a particularly rough month in my life and on my birthday my friend Nicole gave my 2 crystal+ogy bracelets...they are onyx and the card they were attached to says:

"Channel strength and determination with this alluring stone that also increases resilience and tenacity." Would you think I was crazy if I told you I feel better when I am wearing them? A big part of feeling better is me knowing I have friends that care that much about me.


I love to entertain...love my house to be full of people, families, children. My friend Charyl knows this about me and got me these adorable "food identifier cards." You set them up like little easels and write on them...the best part - they are like dry erase boards and I will be able to use them continuously! I will think of her and her thoughtfulness every time I take them out.



Gram (Charyl's mom) gave me a gift that was strictly for me...brand new comfy pajamas and a book, "The Help" - I love to read and I have not read or seen the movie The Help. And call my old fashioned but I love to have an actual book in my hand - I have no interest in an e-reader just yet.


To go along with the fact that I love to entertain...my friend Lisa gave me two gourmet dips and napkins that actually match the theme of my kitchen!!!

My friend Tina is an amazing "accessorizer" when she gets dressed...she always picks out really pretty or cute & fun pieces...she took the time to pick me out a "hot pink" watch - hopefully Danielle will actually give me the opportunity to wear it sometimes!!!


On top of all of these amazingly thoughtful gifts every card I received just about moved me to tears...none were jokey or funny - they were all filled with beautiful and thoughtful expressions.

As I mentioned earlier I am really dealing with a lot right now in my personal life and the lives of the people I love the most in this world...these gifts put the love and concern my friends have for me right in my face at the perfect time.

Blessed Girl!!!

There is no I in Team....

The definition of "Team" is - a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or a contest.

We are trying to teach our children that when you are on a team it is not only about you...but rather it is about every member on your team, equally.

With that said we are instilling in our children the commitment that comes along with being on a team. You practice, you cheer your teammates on, you respect your "coach" and any assistants they have and win, lose or draw you are a good sport and always speak positively to your coach, teammates and your competitors.

We also expect this from the members of our children's teams. There is nothing more frustrating than arranging your schedule around practices and events and then having your teammates not show up. I do not mean for illness or death...I am talking about just not coming - think along the lines of an unexcused absence. The parents and kids that are there are being cheated and so are the kids who aren't coming because they are missing out on not only learning the team skills but life skills about commitment. When you commit to a team you have to take that seriously.

It is fine to not want to live by a schedule or to want a variety in life...I am just suggesting you find a "solo" activity to enjoy instead of a "team" activity.

Baby Jesus

No disrespect or mocking intended with my title. My post is about Tim Tebow and my friend Josh always says "that's baby jesus right there."

Before the Denver/Pittsburgh game starts today I wanted to go record saying that win or lose and regardless of what anyone thinks of his football skills, in my opinion, Tim Tebow has used his platform in an amazing way. I believe there are better quarterbacks in the NFL, but I believe more strongly that God is using Tebow to spread His word to people who may not other wise hear it.

I cannot be the only person who while watching him play for the Gators would look up the Bible verse that was on his face that day if I didn't know it already.

Stats aside, Tebow has people talking about God at the watercoolers on their jobs. And while some of these conversations are argumentative, someone, somewhere is hearing something from a believer that may change their entire way of thinking.

Tebow never claims to be the best, he is not boastful, conceited or a showboater. He is humble, he gives thanks and most importantly for me (a mother of two and Aunt of 14) he sets a great example of following God, listening to Him and giving him the glory.

Regardless of the outcome today - Tim Tebow you are a WINNER in my book.