Gracie's Recital "A Step In Time" - June 2013

It's hard to believe that Gracie just finished her 3rd year of dance.  It's always amazing to see how far Gracie and her friends have come and to see all their hardwork come to life during their recital performance(s).  This year Gracie's class had three performances (ballet, tap and jazz).  All I can say is...MY DAUGHTER WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!

It's all about the hair and makeup!

Jake, daddy, mommy and Gracie!

Gracie & her big brother Georgie!

My two redheads....

Tap Costume

Ballet Costume

Jazz Costume

Gracie's Dance Class in Tap Costume



My Niece (Larissa) and Nephew (Blane)

Wilmington, NC 2013

Me, Jake and Gracie took a roadtrip down to Wilmington, NC over the 4th of July holiday to see my dad and Aunt Linda. Below are some pics from our trip.

Pop Pop, Grace & Jake

Me and my babies

USS North Carolina (battleship) Pops, Aunt Linda, Grace & Jake

Aquarium - Pops & Kidos

Me!

Me!

Kids onboard the USS North Carolina

Carlina Beach!

Carlolina Beach

Aunt Linda & Gracie aboard the USS North Carolina

My Two Little Clowns

Jacob & Gracie...taking a break from fighting and arguing
to smile for a pic for mom!

Hard to Believe..

George and Lil' George - 1992

It's hard to believe my baby boy is 21 years old!

Memorial Day Weekend Trip to Altoona

Below are a few from our visit home to Altoona over Memorial Day weekend.  It was great to see and spend time with the family!

Grace & Blane

Jake & James

Grace & Larissa

Annie

Adam & Dad

George, Patrick, Colette & Mom

Wondeful ME!

My Three Favorite Men!

I finally got a pic of the George and the boys!

Me and My Boy!

Dodgers Win The Minor League Championship!

Dodgers win Minor League Championship 13-2! Wahooo....

My Little Slugger - Jacob Matthew Clapper - Dodgers (11 Years Old)

Jacob Matthew Clapper

Slugger, 1st and 2nd baseman this year!

Celebration of My Mother's Life

We have three days we celebrate in honor of my mom during the month of May.  May 3rd (day she went to be with our Lord), May 12th (Mother's Day) and May 17th (my mom's birthday).  My mom passed in 2010, she would have turned 64 this year. Since my mom passed I wanted to do something special for her each year so I decided that in May I would set balloons free along the Susquehanna River in her memory.  I normally do this by myself, but this year Gracie joined me.  A little story about the balloons...Grace and I went to the store and I let her pick out three balloons (one for mom's birthday, one for Mother's Day and one for the anniversary of her passing).  Gracie picked one that said Happy Birthday and had a big cupcake on it (for her bday), the other balloon was of a bouquet of flowers (for Mother's Day) and the last ballon Gracie picked out in honor of my mom's passing was of "Elmo" - yes...you heard me right...Elmo from Sesame Street. I looked and stared at the balloon for a minute and thought "no" and thein it dawned on me...OMG my mother LOVED ELMO - she even had a tickle me Elmo doll (you had to know my mom to understand LOL). I took that as a sign that my mom was with us.  I told the story of Elmo to Gracie and how Grandma would love to have the balloon set free in her memory.  Below are some pics of our trip to the Harvey Taylor Bridge where we said a few prayers in honor of my mother and we set the balloons free along the river.  I love and miss my mom tremendously, but it saddens me even more that my children will never know her.  Georgie will, but Jake and Gracie have little, if any, memory of my mother because they were so young.  Last night I was sad and missing my mom and Gracie goes "mommy...your mother is always with you" - That little girl just knows how to make everything all better sometimes!

Brownie to Junior Girl Scout

Last night Gracie had her Girl Scout bridging ceremony and is no longer a Brownie...she is now a Junior Girl Scout. Girl Scouts is and has been nothing but a positive experience for Gracie.  It's helped with her social skills, she's made great friends, she's learning about our community and is developing great leadership skills. I personally feel that being part of the Girl Scouts is going to aid in Gracie becoming a well-rounded young lady.  Below are some pics prior to and after the ceremony. I will try and upload two small video clips I took too.

Brownie

Brownie

Junior Girl Scout

My Dad & Mom - Back in the Day

It's an old, faded picture, but I love it.  My dad & mom....

Family Portrait

I don't have any family portraits from back when I was a kid, but I do have one of me, my sister, my pops and my mom which I attached (see below).  It's from back in the 90s and it sits right here on my desk at work where I can look at it every day.  Brings back so many memorys....

Happy Birthday Mom!

~ Happy Birthday In Heaven Mom ~

You may not be with us any longer, but I know you are in good hands.

May 17, 1949 - May 03, 2010

Princess - Spring School Picture - 3rd Grade - 8 Years Old

Gracie - 3rd Grade Spring School Picture

Mother's Day and Missing My Mom

Red Roses

My Mother's Favorite Flower

It's hard to believe that May 3rd was three years since my mom's passing.  Mother's Day will never be the same, but fortunately I have three great kids that make the day very special for me.  May 17th would have been my mom's 64th birthday.  I'm so afraid of not remembering things such as her voice...I can still remember the sound of her voice so clearly and I never want that to fade. I believe about six months ago I had an emotional meltdown and it finally dawned on me that the next time I will see or be with my mom is when God calls me home. I talk to her and I know she's there, but it's just not the same as picking up the phone and calling her, seeing her, being with her, holding her, hugging her...the list goes on and on and oh how many things I wish I could have said to her before she passed!  To those of you who are lucky enough to still have your mom in your life be sure to tell her just how much she means to you and how much you love her. Life is short and before you know it...you've run out of time! 

~ LINDA JEAN ~

May 17, 1949 - May 3, 2010

In Loving Memory of My Mother...Linda Jean

May 17, 1949 ~ May 3, 2010

In Loving Memory...

in loving memory pictures

My Tat....

The past few years I've been wanting to have my tattoo recolored and I made a spur of the moment decision and just went and finally did it this past Saturday.  I mean I literally was washing dishes one minute and out the door the next...that's how spur of the moment it was. It's something I've been wanting to do the past five years and just kept putting it off.  I already had the three clovers (lower part of my back)  but the color was very faded so it was time to have them recolored and I decided to have my kids names added and had the blue added to make the names stand out a bit. I was very satisfied when all was said and done (yes..it hurt like hell - I can honestly say I won't be getting anymore tattoos - at least not in this life time). 

Baseball Season Has Begun!

Jacob playing for the Dodgers and the number his chose for his uniform is #1 (of course)!

My power hitter!