Live for TODAY!

Looking at these pictures make me so happy!  I feel blessed to have an amazing husband who is supportive of my new adventure, of taking risks, of trying new things, and who loves the person I am becoming!  I am also thankful that God blessed me with such a beautiful child, one who makes me smile daily, who is excited to try and learn new things, and who loves spending her time with Chad and I.

Not sure many of you know, but a few years ago, I was diagnosed with an ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm.  If you are interested in learning more, click the link:  http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/aorta_marfan/aorticaneurysm.aspx

It took many hours of processing through the range of emotions that this diagnosis had brought me.  The one word that could describe nearly all of it: FEAR.

Fear of death, fear of surgery, fear of Caylee growing up without a mom, fear of leaving my family behind, many what-if's, a lot of crying, a lot of worrying.

Lucky for me, God led me to a wonderful therapist: Ruth Hostetler,  http://www.sspastoralcounseling.com/aboutus.html

who, with time, helped me appreciate life as it is now, with less fear of the future.  I began to stop worrying about what might happen and started living in each moment, enjoying the now, taking baby steps outside my comfort zone, and learning who I was and what I wanted out of life.

That is where my journey began, where Flowers on Footprints originally started.  It was a journal of my journey; my feelings, my thoughts, my fears, my hopes, my dreams.  

And once I started to enjoy more, worry less; hope more, fear less; accomplish more, be the victim less...life took on a whole new meaning.  I began to see the purpose of my journey and the lessons I had learned on it. That is where I am today.

I hope that my book and jewelry inspire others to put one foot in front of the other, and continue on the journey.  Sometimes, it won't be easy; the path may get rough, a storm may blow through, a road block may appear.  Through it all, just remember...this is YOUR story.  YOU get to decide what happens next, whether you stay down or get back up, whether you will enjoy THIS moment or worry about the one's that haven't happened yet.

I encourage you to find yourself; your hopes, your dreams, your passions...and start living them TODAY!