This is what I Know:

Christine will graduate from high school in May. We moved back to the United States 7 years ago in June 03 when Christine was 11 and Sofi was 6. In the past years we renovated a 100 year old house, I attended and graduated from nursing school. My speaking career has been reborn, I’ve written a book.I’ve quit smoking, gained and lost numerous pounds, and had a variety of haircolors. We’ve had about 104 sleepovers, overall serving about 156 giggling girls, 93 pizzas and 162 bags of doritos. I’ve survived one set of teenage years and will soon begin my second and last set with Sofi.

Here’s some stuff I know:

My favorite tool was once my eyelash curler but it is now my tweezer. Financial debt, like weight, will seldom be just right and more often be up than down…so don’t lose sleep over either of them. Forgiveness is difficult but necessary and even babysteps are important. More often than not, it will be the small, everyday choices that contribute to or delete from your success. People all want two things 1. to know their life mattered 2. to know that at least one person has seen their uniqueness loved them completely. Seeing the tiny everyday miracles and developing an ongoing gratitude for them will make your life happier. Friends are really important. The Universe is abundant. You have to start someplace and at sometime in order to get anywhere. I learn more when I listen. God loves everyone. Don’t limit the limitless God.

Other things I know: your car’s rearview mirror in natural sunlight is the best place to tweeze, wrinkles can be really sexy if you wear them with confidence, and a camera pointed at a middle aged women will add 32 pounds and 7.6 years in a photograph.