Happy Birthday Michael J.!

29 years ago this amazing man was born. I was not married, though I loved his father so deeply. It was not a good relationship and I knew he and I would never create a good place for a child so I placed him with people who I thought would provide him with the things we couldn't.
In April of this year, he called me and wanted to know our story, his story. There is nothing he can't know but what I wanted him to know more than anything else was that he was loved on 11/23/91 and every single day after that. When we met, I gave him a box I kept for him with our bracelets from the hospital, a baby bottle, and one Christmas ornament that was part of a set of 3. The other two hang on my tree every Christmas. Additional items in this box were letters from his adoptive mom to me while I was pregnant, photos and a stack of birthday cards that I wrote to him each year we were not together. 

Today I get to write him a birthday card with all new meaning. We've spent time together over the last 6 months, we talk on the phone frequently, and Dave, Mason and I got to attend his wedding. It's been the most wonderful reunion and I am validated every day, but especially today that I knew having him was the right thing to do. Happy Birthday Michael J, you are an amazing human being and I could not be more proud to call you my son!!

In other news, Sunday was a Partak sweep at the Mountain Mandarin Festival. Mason won Best sauce (Mandarin Pepper Sauce) and Best Breakfast (Mandarin Parfait). I won Best appetizer, which was the Mandarin Pepper taco, oh and the taco won the Snow's Citrus Court award. My cookie won best cookie and also won the Grand Prize, can you even believe it? Where were you Rachel Griffith?

This One's From Dave -

I just wanted to give a public shout out to my wife, Kathy Partak She is always saying complimentary things about me and rarely am I on Facebook so I wanted to return the gesture.

She has always been there for Mason and I and done good wifely and motherly things for the two of us, but I really noticed the other day that she is really busting her derriere helping others selling and buying their homes. Kathy doesn't want to be a top producer but wants to have her clients feel good about their transactions. She goes way beyond what usual realtors do. She tells her clients that they get "her." Getting "her" means that they deal with Kathy from start to finish and they are not fawned off to other processors that most realtors in big firms will do. She is also always available no matter the time of day or where she is. Many a time, dinner or vacations go on a temporary hold while she helps her clients and her laptop is with her whenever we travel. The great thing is that she gets a lot of her business from referrals which means she did a good enough job that her past clients are willing to recommend her.

I know this may sound like an endorsement or ad for Kathy, and it is not meant to be, but hey, as they always told us in business, "ask for the sale." She helped me get through to retirement when at times I wanted to just quit. I am glad she got me to the finish line. Now it's my turn to support her and her passion. To her, it's a passion and not just a job and that makes all the difference.

Thank you Kathy for all you are doing for us, we love you!

Happy 18th Wedding Anniversary Flower Dave

Saturday was our 18th Wedding Anniversary. I love this man and the life we have created together more than words could ever express.

I grew up in a home where my mom and dad never showed affection for each other, I wasn’t even sure they liked each other. The idea that I could have a storybook romance and live a life full of so much laughter and love with a man who shows me every day how much he loves me was inconceivable. I thought those relationships were only stories told on television or in the movies. In my 30s I met Lisa & David Anderson and Marsha Mercant & John Howard John Howard Swain and saw that truly happily married couples exist!

I Fell in love with my friend Flower Dave because he was kind, he considered how I felt and what I wanted in every decision he made pertaining to us and the things we would do. We were platonic friends for six years before we got married and I wouldn’t change a thing. In fact, Dave proposed to me on 12/14/01 and we were married on 12/17/01. Some might think, wow! That was fast. And for a marriage, it was but I will tell you it was the easiest decision I’ve ever made, the best decision I’ve ever made, and to this day, marriage has not been hard. Have there been a few bumps in the road? Yep, but as a whole being married is not work. Checking in with each other before making plans isn’t something we have to do, it’s something we want to do, it’s called being considerate. Respect plays a big role because when you respect somebody your decision making reflects that. I’ve always been called lucky because I win things, and winning the heart of my guy and living this life with him is the best prize ever. Happy anniversary Flower Dave, thank you for loving me!

I Love My People!

You know what? I want to see you succeed. Not just reach the goal, reach far beyond what you can even imagine is possible. You see, it's not you OR me, it's you AND me, there is more than enough for all of us.

Enough of what you ask? Enough jobs, enough opportunities, enough open doors, enough leading roles, enough first places, enough abundance, enough prosperity, enough money, enough friends, enough party invites, enough love.

It is not necessary to tear down those around you who are seeing success, stand up and cheer for them! Maybe if you stand up for them, you can stay on your feet and take the action you need to see what you want come to fruition. If you do, I'm already standing, and taking action, but I will cheer for you, I will cheer as loud as I can and say, "I'm so glad you are making this happen for yourself."

It's not only my close friends, but I have the most amazing clients as well, all of them! It's hard to believe that in a group of amazing humans some can manage to rise above such an already high bar. The last few weeks, Michael and Brieanne Weaver have gone above and beyond as sellers and today, Mike showed up with class and kindness in a way that just made me so proud and honored to be his friend. Thank you Shane and Jen for introducing me to your tribe and allowing me to do business, laugh, and play with all of you. I don't have a photo of all of us, so guess what needs to happen very soon?! GROUP PHOTO!!