It's been a year of changes

It was a year ago today that I walked into my boss's office and he told me that they'd have to let me go. I can distinctly remember the feelings I had a year ago. I'm sure you can take a few guesses at some of the emotions I expressed that day. Here it is, a year later. Last August, I promoted to Director, received a ton of amazing gifts for accomplishing that task! We have over 100 people on our BC team now and growing. My life has changed drastically in the past year and absolutely every bit of it was for the better. I couldn't be happier. I have a feeling this year will be even better! Watch out world!

Yikes!

It is January 19th and I am just now getting around to my first blog post of the year. Let me tell you, I've been a busy girl. So many wonderful things are going on right now. As you know, I recently became an aunt again. My dearest neice Ruby is doing great. She's still in the NICU and most likely will remain there until her original due date which was February 7th. But she's getting bigger each day and when her oxygen levels begin to gain some consistency, we should be able to welcome her home. Donald and I went to visit Ruby last Friday. Here's a picture of me holding her (sorry, I was also the photographer).Isn't she adorable? I know I'm a little biased, but she is a cutie! So business is strong. I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas on the 29th. Donald and I are taking our trip to Hawaii in May. Caleb is doing great and is fabulous! Here's a picture of him from when we saw him at Christmas:

In the picture is my sister Amanda (top left), my father's sister Lucie sitting next to her and then in front is my little man Caleb and me! We had a great Christmas with my Aunt Lucie and cousin Clark visiting from Milwaukee.





I hope all of you had a fabulous holiday. Please look for more updates coming soon. I'll write much more when it's not so late and I have something inspiring to say!

Love, hugs and kisses.

Elizabeth

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ahhhh, the season is upon us. Even old Scrooge here is getting a little excited about the holidays. For the past few weeks Christmas cards have arrived from various friends and family. I love getting them, checking out how big the kids are getting and reading all the stories that are included with the cards. Makes me think - I should do that! Not everyone reads my blogs as you do. And my neighbor reminded me that when I don't update it frequently - no one will read it! :)

The festivities will begin this weekend with Donald's father's side of the family. Then next week will continue with my side and then end with my father's side of the family coming to town the day after Christmas. So our house will be filled with lots of noise and activities. I'm sure Hattie and Oliver will survive. They'll be freaked out momentarily by all the noise and then relish in all the attention they'll receive. I took a picture of them recently. My Aunt Lucie gave us a cushioned bench over the summer and the dogs have taken quite a liking to it. Especially when I have the fire going.... I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. This was taken with my phone and of course, first and foremost, it is a phone.

Donald just returned from The Bahamas. He turned 30 this past August and I (and many others) gave him scuba lessons for his birthday. Needless to say, he's enjoyed it thoroughly! They did their certification dive in The Bahamas and here's the link for some pics from that. He went on a shark dive!

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday and a prosperous New Year!

Elizabeth

Ruby Tuesday

Last week at 9:21am, Donald and I became an aunt and uncle again. Ruby Langston Brown was delivered on December 2nd to Donald's youngest brother Matt and his wife Rene. Ruby wasn't supposed to make her grand arrival until February 7, 2009 and she decided 2008 was a better year for her! She weighed 2lbs 5.8oz at birth and as of this afternoon when I went to visit her, she had gained a little over 3oz and was at 2lbs 9 oz. She has been on a ventilator this past week but today they took her off the vent and she simply has a nasal cannula. They are monitoring her lungs and gut a the moment. It will still be a few weeks before she'll be able to drink from a bottle (she's being fed breast milk from a feeding tube). Here are some pictures that I took with my phone today:

Rene put a bow in her hair!Here she is holding Rene's hand:

This is a little heater thing they put her on. They had to put some sunglasses on her eyes to protect her and I told Rene that Ruby was attending a rave!


Ruby needs our love and prayers. I will do my best to update everyone but Rene and Matt have established a page on Caringbridge. As soon as I have that web address, I'll post it on this site.

In utterly sad news, Donald and I lost two of our great friends to the battle with Muscular Dystrophy. My dear friend Harry Roberson passed away last Tuesday, the evening that Ruby made her grand entrance. Then today, we learned that another friend, Gary Hill passed away late last night. Within one week, we lost two friends. Sadly, both boys were only 19 years of age. They both attend camp this past year as their last time since MDA recently changed the age limits to 17 years of age. I know those two are up in heaven having a field day together. They're probably laughing and running - racing each other to see who is fastest.

Life and death - it's the circle of life. Needless to say, it's been quite a ride this past week. Donald left early this morning for the Bahamas to complete his scuba certification. So I am home alone tonight. Part of me was grateful for the quiet time, and another part felt so alone. We all must grieve and I prefer to do mine alone. Tonight was a night of reflection - reflection on the lives that were lost this week. The years I've spent with them at camp - the funny things they would say to make me laugh and how my heart filled with joy when they told me they loved me. I will miss Harry and Gary greatly. And I appreciate the joy they both brought to my life. And I thank God everyday that people like those boys touched my life. And I thank God for the blessing that is my niece Ruby.

Let the traveling begin!

Tomorrow morning I have a 7am flight to Dallas. I'll be in Dallas participating in our New Director's Training program. I'm extremely excited about this opportunity and look forward to learning new ideas and bringing home some excitement and momentum to my team! I'll be back late afternoon on Tuesday and then on Thursday will begin a retreat that Blair is hosting. So it'll be a busy week for me but I'll keep you all abreast of the developments. I'll take lots of pictures to share with you all!

Love, hugs and kisses,

Elizabeth

Brief Update

So I thought I'd take a moment to grant my loyal readers their wish - for me to update my blog. This past week has been a busy and productive week for me. In the month of November I will be doing quite a bit of traveling so I've spent a great deal of my time preparing to be away. I recently purchased an adorably cute new laptop computer so I hope to stay connected to Memphis even while I'm away.

The only saving grace of living in this city is the fact that I get to travel quite a bit. Memphis will always be home for me and as more nieces and nephews are brought into this world, it makes it harder and harder for me to move away. Plus, I adore my house so I know I'd really miss it.

So hopefully my trips next month will provide for some stories that are more interesting than just "the day in the life of Elizabeth." Until then, be well, live well and be happy.

Love to all!

Feeling nostalgic

I haven't a clue why but Facebook has seemed to really take off for my generation of web users. I'd always heard about Facebook but never really used it much. It seemed to be pretty hip with the High School and College kids but considering that was my "age group" 15 years ago, I wasn't in it. But this past summer I was reintroduced to Facebook from the counselors at MDA camp. (duh, most of them are high school and college age) And just in the past 2 months, I've been reintroduced to people I hadn't thought of in years! I'm loving it. Everyone pretty much looks the same, they're kids are beautiful and I've really enjoyed reconnecting with them. It all seems so surreal! I find myself digging through my boxes of old pictures and reliving memories from 20 years ago. It's pretty powerful.

Recently I was reconnected with the guy who I went to my Senior Prom with! I saw his stepmother in Dallas at our BeautiControl conference. She lives in New Jersey now and she's in our BC family. What a small world. My prom date, Matt, is still in the Air Force and currently stationed in Afghanistan. We've emailed each other a few times this week and it's been fun catching up with the past 15 years of our lives. Now, in 1993 when I last saw Matt, I never dreamed I'd be reconnected with him. It seemed odd to me that I probably would never hear from him again but I just accepted that. It was a chance meeting with his stepmom that reconnected us. But with the internet now, people will have friends for lifetimes and now have the means to stay in touch with people. It simply overwhelms me to think of this. What an amazing world of technology we live in.

So now I'm connecting with all my old friends, sharing in their joys and griefs. I hope that for those of you who read my blog every so often will feel as if you are still connected with me in that aspect. It's been a crazy few months and I've made some sacrifices to continue growing my business. Those sacrifices are small compared to the rewards I'll receive. Know that I think of all of you often and hope you are all doing well!

Love, hugs and kisses,

Elizabeth