Memorial Day Weekend

Sighhh. Coming off the high of a fabulous weekend of celebration can be jolting, but in my case, it continues. I have been replaying moments of morning coffee talk, all-day tanning and swimming, St. Germain sipping in the evening, and late night hugs, cuddles, and conversations. Frog catching, milkshake- sipping, girl talk, margaritas, cannon balls and baby-holding. I have expressed my feelings before about family, but being with family on a holiday, or a vacation is always special. There is always a feeling in the air of happiness. I feel that people feel more "themselves" on holidays. There is a comfort in being with people you love and enjoying activities and food and conversation. It's how you want life to be all the time.
Chloe and I had a much needed balance of both relaxation and celebration. Chloe had just finished her last senior dance recital performance, and is coming down to her last week of school and I am getting ready to move up with my sister, and coming down to my last week of work. The past couple months has been a true whirlwind- so much to take in, so many lessons, lots of hurdles. It's all prep-work. We realize this (Chloe and I). We've been working through it with a smile on as much as possible, and gaining strength and wisdom. There is a feeling of accomplishment that I think we share, and that is also growing as summer is approaching. There is a shared awareness as we look forward "into the unknown"(The prep has to lead to something).
What I am thinking is- even if we are led to a challenge, even if we have to face harder tests- we have everything we need. We are building it up and fixing the cracks and holes in our fortress, and we are ready to step outside and fight if we have to. My eyes get narrower and my back straighter, as I contemplate. I'm not afraid.
Memorial Day is when we honor those who died fighting in our countries armed forces. I think that spirit of standing for something and fighting for what's right was stirring in us. I believe it has been for a while.
Of course, at the center of it all, is Love. How we started, how we prepare, and how we will end.

LOVE,
Cassie

Romance

"And what's romance? Usually, a nice little tale where you have everything as you like it, where rain never wets your jacket and gnats never bite your nose, and it's always daisy-time." -D. H. Lawrence

Breathe

In this life, people tend to think that there is nothing worth getting excited over, considering that wars are breaking out and sin is swelling over the world like one big blanket. In this life, people tend to swallow pills of negativity and manage to plunge themselves further and further into an abyss of depression, anger, and a type of numbness. These types of people are of the world. These types of worldy people are not fond of God. They do not truly believe. They do not understand half the things He teaches. They are lost.

Sometimes we can find ourselves to be a victim of this train of thought. We may have doubted God before, or we may have just been too scared to be who we want to be; do things we want to do. We all have dreams, everyone does. The people who choose to follow their dreams are the ones who become successful in life. It is the ones who are too afraid to take a chance that end up worrying what will become of them for the rest of their lives. In this life, it is important to trust. It is important to trust God and take chances that could very well benefit us in the near future. In this life, it is important to get excited and get happy over things. It's important to love, and hope, and wish, and dream! All of these things are important, but we can enjoy none of these things if we don't let go of our own selfish ways. We learn to love ourselves without vanity and pride, but with true acceptance of who we are and what we are supposed to be.

God will guide us and will help us with the things we endure and struggle with here on earth. He will show us our way and will always be there for us. Often times people panic and think they are totally alone in life, but they are not. Learning to realize that God is always present takes time and practice, but when it finally sinks in, you feel remarkable. You feel peaceful. You can see the beauty in everything good and pure in this life. It is important to breathe here on this earth, for even though this atmosphere contains plenty of oxygen, we don't always remember to just close our eyes and breathe.


Live, breathe, and be happy!
Cheers Ta Fun!

xoxo
Chloe

Mystery of Gifts

Life is crazy.  It can seem totally out of control. It can be pretty messy. We can get lost in life, and trail off into danger. It's a learning experience. I have been unbelievably blessed in my life (probably more than I know). I've had protection from bad, I've had good and sound guidance and raising, I have felt and shared love with family and friends. Instead of taking it all for granted, getting caught up in self- pity, or doubt, or confusion and ultimately getting STUCK (which I have felt before) I am making a sincere and honest effort to understand and appreciate all the gifts that God has given me. Instead of just believing that I have them, my goal is to use them. To attempt to understand the magnitude, and to honor and take care of these gifts. I think that is the way I can express my gratitude. It may seem like a big task "to understand the magnitude" but I believe that if I focus on the right things, and if I live simply with Love as the center, the meaning will unveil itself.

The mystery behind these gifts is exciting. It allows me to dream pretty big. I start contemplating and my eyes get big and I start thinking "Oh, my gosh." Having strong enough faith to place plans, situations, and daily life, in God's hands balances this "omg" feeling and allows peace of mind to set in. It allows me to let go and nod my head in acceptance and agreement. "Ok." I can freak myself out going "What if this.. what if that?" but when you know it's ultimately in Someone else's hands... it's a good feeling. This does not mean that I do not take responsibility for my choices and actions.. that is my free will.

Chloe and I share this excitement and genuine interest in trying to understand our gifts, and use them in the way they were meant. It is like being a detective, much like Mr. Holmes. There are twists and turns. There are clues and there is evidence. It is honestly a thrill. And the greatness of it is-it is real. I think we do a lot of good detective work together. Spending more time together will be very beneficial for mystery solving. I know the mystery may not be solved 'til the very end but searching, and exploring has ignited something. And the spirit of the search is quite fun. Cheers.

Love,
Cassie

Growing Wiser, Growing Fonder

To be loved is one thing, but to love is another;
A skill so powerful, stronger than any other.
A Worker may work,
A Dreamer may dream
A Wisher may wish,
A Light may beam.
But without any love,
What is there to see?
For without LOVE,
Nothing is complete.

Growing Wiser, Growing Fonder,
Things the young adapt in years yonder.
They cannot be forced, nor
Can they be delayed, for
Growth and wisdom come from within.

Loving is more than just loving another
Loving is more than just loving your mother.
Love is strong, more powerful than any other,
Love is independent, it can last forever.
Love is not just a game to play,
Love is more than just knowing what to say,
Love is more than pretending to feel,
Love is more than wanting to stay
Love is more than learning to deal
with not always having it exactly your way.
Love is work,
Love is a dream,
Love is a wish,
Like a light, Love can beam.
When you learn to love,
You learn to fly,
Learn that love is more than just loving a guy
Real Love is loving Love itself
Learn to love love, and not yourself
Selfless love overpowers selfish love
Learn the difference with the grace from above

Learn to love love as love
Learn to grow wise, learn to grow fond
learn to know about love all around.

Growing Wiser, Growing Fonder,
Learning to love, learning to live
It's all the same to the common doubter,
Who calls himself a common lover.
A Selfish Lover, the common doubter!
Someone who does not know of
The truest of true Love,
Will never appreciate the happiness
Love brings, nor can he see
How love can last for all eternity,
Because he doubted
Love as love in all its glory!

Cassie has helped me see love. The type of love a dear friend can give. A type of love that is so rare today. I type of love I will treasure forever. A type of love that could never die.

Love, love, love, love!

Chloe

Quicker Post

I love Chloe.... C.H.L.O.E. This is true.

She means the world to me.
Nothing will change that.

The bond between us is blessed. This is true.
Truth is love. This is true.



Love always and always,
Cassie

Quick Post

Going through tests, trials, and difficult situations that cause you to re-evaluate yourself can be tough. Today I was brought back to a time of similar difficulty. You don't always get a clear answer from God  during these times, or maybe you just can't understand it yet, but in this particular past situation.. I got one.  Driving in my car I often have my music on shuffle (meaning I don't click through and select every song that I want to hear.) Years ago, this song popped on at a time when I was questioning and struggling and I took it to heart and made a real effort to move forward and away from the bad in my life. When this song came to me today, I was reminded of how far I have come and how God never left me, and always loved me. Here is the song. It is simple and straight forward and the message is quite clear. The Big Guy is not looking for lip-service, it's what's you do- your actions- and the choices you make that count. That is your part. So here is the link, it's a good one :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4da3OR2UPfw


Love,
Cassie

Relief

I have been going through a whirlwind of chaos for a good while now. Ups and downs of life interfering with my happiness, trying to ruin it. Bad Guy from H E double hockey sticks has been trying to corrupt a beautiful thing in the making: a beautiful friendship. He has been trying to make me doubt, make me consider backing off, consider thinking that perhaps I'm just not meant to have friends in this life...at least, not the ones I've always wished for. I have been struggling to keep him off my back. I have been telling him to leave me alone, because through all of these confused feelings I know what's true is true. I know what's not, I know what to ignore, but I also know what to believe in. I know what to fight for, I know what to support. This friendship with Cassie,..words cannot express the happiness she brings...I would easily lay down my life in an instant if it mean protecting what we have. She has given me the friendship I never thought I could have on this earth. She has given me hope. It was in the stars that we met. It was God's plan for us to become such close friends. It is evident to me now more than ever that it was necessary for us to go through our times of struggle so that when we finally met, our friendship would take off and form such a strong foundation that nothing in this world or the next could ever ruin or break it. This very thing, this friendship we share, is unbreakable. It is a guaranteed eternal friendship, and such relief it brings us! To know that no matter what, we will never be alone again. We will always have each other, forever and ever. It's a big deal. It leaves me feeling shaky. It's incredible, it's beautiful, and it's basically a dream come true. To be able to know that it will last forever is such a weight lifted off our shoulders. To know that we will always be there for one another. To always have someone to talk to, to go to for advice, to rely on. Everything. AH! I FEEL AS THOUGH I COULD DANCE AROUND LIKE A WILD WOMAN. I FEEL WHIMSY! I WANT TO RUN AROUND IN THE SAND, JUMP INTO THE OCEAN IN MY CLOTHES! I WANT TO SCREAM TO THE WORLD HOW HAPPY I AM.

I feel so good, I just ate a huge glob of almond butter off a spoon.

What a relief it is to know that things are working out exactly how they are supposed to.

What a relief it is to know who your true best friend is.

I love you Cassie.

Much love, forever and ever,

Chloe

I Can Feel It In The Air

This week, the weather has finally shifted. These days you just never know what the temperature will be like or if the sun will be out, but May has arrived and I can feel things changing and moving toward, what I feel, will be the best summer ever. Chloe and I have a lot on our list, as you can see on the right side column. Many plans, lots of dreams, and some work to be done.
Now, I love to dream, I like to plan for fun adventures, and I like to romanticize the idea of "summer" quite a lot. It's always been a time for adventure and freedom. The spirit of summer, to me, is free. It's nature- walking, sun- worshipping, ice cream-licking. It is the ocean, it is laughter, it is star-gazing. There is something about this time that reaches deep, and happy parts of me.  It has also been a time of dreaming. Thinking about what I have learned, and what is to come.
Summer also reminds me of family. My family, for me, comes only second to God. My family has grown over time, and changed. I truly believe that now things are starting to become the way they were meant to be.
My psychic friend predicted a few things about this summer that I can see and feel starting to actually happen. There was a general prediction that this would be the best summer ever, and that would be because we would be spending so much time together. We would be having a lot of adventures. We would begin a meaningful journey together. Our family would be together a lot. We would spend a lot time near and around water. Bonds would become stronger and things would become clearer. At the time I smiled and was happy to hear that my hopes were shared. What I am realizing is that my hopes were shared not just with my friend, but with God. That is the only explanation for how things have grown and changed and for this feeling that is now in the air.
Life isn't perfect, but we can feel and have so much here. And to know that The Big Guy wants this for us, well, honestly, that is the most exciting part.
Love,
Cassie

To Rely On Is To Trust

Having the ability to rely on someone is quite a spectacular ability indeed. Most of the time, people rely on the unreliable types of people, therefor the situations result in much hurt, feelings of guilt, and often times...disappointment. It can be hard to rely on someone. Specifically because when you 'rely' on them, you are trusting them. You wouldn't think so at first, but trusting someone and relying on someone go hand in hand. You need to trust that person before you can consider them reliable. Throughout life, we all go through various series of events consisting of making the wrong choices, saying the wrong things, and wishing we hadn't heard the things we heard. We encounter all types of people; those we can consider friends, and those whom we cannot. Our 'real' friendships are tested in numerous ways, often times resulting in anything from shockingly incredible to utterly disappointing. For the longest time, it would appear that I had consistently run into that "utterly disappointing" result. All the ups and downs of someone else's personal life became my own; all their troubles were told to me so long as I swore secrecy, despite the fact that their troubles made my conscience wrench and twist, but because I was considered their "one and only friend" I made the promise. And it's a funny thing, too, that even when you have done absolutely nothing wrong to the person, their anger and frustration and jealousy is taken out on you. You are the cause of all their problems. It was your fault that this situation happened. Why didn't you do anything about this?

You
You
You
You
You
You
You. 


Let's all point fingers and tell all our friends that it was all your fault. Ok. Cool. After this happened, I decided to take the time to officially 'thank' them. Thank you for truly revealing yourself. Thank you for allowing me to see how worthless I actually was to you. Thank you for opening my eyes to reality, so that I now hold the ability to see all of the lies that you told me, the reason why you hurt me, blah blah blah. Thank you for everything, 'friend', and don't trip on your way out. *sigh* doesn't that feel good?

I must be completely honest when I say that after saying this to the person in my head, I felt as if I had went on vacation. All the frustrations, hurt feelings, confusion, and other persons' troubles had completely been lifted from me. I knew my prayers were answered. God allowed this person to lash out so that I would finally be able to see their true identity. No one is perfect, that is true; but making stupid or irrational decisions just because you tell yourself that "you're not perfect" doesn't give you the green light to go ahead and ruin your life. That doesn't mean you should behave nastily towards others, hurt people, say mean things to/about them, etc. God watches everything we do every second of the day. Do you really want to watch yourself hurt someone at Judgment on God's big plasma screen t.v. when the "Everything I Did In My Life" movie (that is currently being filmed right now) is rolling for all in Heaven to see? We make choices in our lives. We make choices on what we are going to say, how we say them, and so forth. We also make choices on how we are going to respond to such actions. We decide whether or not to take what is being said or done personally, and we decided whether or not that friendship should continue. We make the choice to remove someone from our life if we know that their involvement isn't for our benefit, but for harm. We make the choice to better ourselves, strengthen ourselves, and become the best versions of ourselves we possibly can in this temporary life. We make the choice to trust and rely on someone.

Choice is a huge deal in this world. What's yours?


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I mean every word I say here when I say that in all of my life, through all the friendships I have gone through in my past, and after all the people I have met in my past, I have never met anyone like Cassie. Honest, trustworthy, loving, compassionate, reliable, understanding, selfless, warm, welcoming, hilarious, and incredibly kind. I am blessed to have her precious friendship. I am blessed to be able to trust and rely on her completely.