Peace.....

I received this from our dear friend, Ann Mullen, back in April 2011.  Ann has had a tough last couple of years, and when I came across this today when I was cleaning up some old emails (in preparation for leaving Schneider this week), the words were so comforting to me, that I want to remember them today and always.....

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where

you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are
born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have
received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be
content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into
your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us."

thank-you, Ann.

May 8, 2003

I have been cleaning out my old emails from my work email address.  Here is a favorite one that I have saved for the past (nearly) 9 years....it's from May 8, 2003.....the day before my 30th birthday.

From: "Dennis Barga"

05/08/2003 10:01 AM

To: BargaJ@schneider.com

Subject: Birthday

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jennifer, happy birthday to you.

( I'm singing).


It is hard to believe how fast the years since your birth have gone.

Your have gone from being a sweet little baby to a wonderful young woman

in what seems to be no time. I hope you know how special you are to mom & I.

I hope your trip home goes well, and a first class seat to go with it!

We have presents for you !!!!!!

We didn't talk about the trip to Columbus the other night, but I guess

it is still on and then on to Dresden with mom. See you then.

Love, Dad

This was my response:
From: Jennifer Harpole On Behalf Of Jennifer Barga

Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 11:40 AM

To: "Dennis Barga"

Subject: Re: Birthday

Dad,

Thanks for the message! I could hear you singing to me! At least you left out the "30th" part from Happy birthday. I can't believe I am 30! You probably can't either. I am excited to see you guys next week. I haven't talked to mom about it either, but I will call her today. I haven't booked my plane ticket yet and I need to do that today. I heard it is supposed to rain all weekend in Green Bay - we were going to try to take the boat out with Maria, but it sounds like we may have to hit the mall instead....that will be okay, too.

Have a good weekend & thanks for the sweet message!

Love you,

Jennifer

Little did I know at the time, but my dad, mom, brothers, SIL Tami, and nephews, Alec & Jarrett drove to Green Bay on my birthday (the day after these messages were sent) to attend a surprise 30th birthday party that Jeff had for me!  I had NO idea until I answered the knock on the door at the party!!

Dwive?

"Mommy, when am I gonna gwow bigga to dwive?"     - Kirsten Harpole, age 3

This was Kirsten's question while we were packing the van to drive back to TN after visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Ohio for Easter.  Where does she get this stuff?  :)

Our Little Goalie

Dominick started playing inline hockey in Hendersonville a few weeks ago. Last week, his coach sent out an email to all of the parents letting us know that he now had 2 sets of goalie equipment, and wanted to see if any of the players would be interested in being a goalie for one of the games. Since being Pekka Rinne (the Nashville Predators goalie) Dominick's current career aspiration, I replied to his coach and let him know that Dominick would love to be goalie! The coach replied and said that he had already received 3 replies, but that he would add Dominick's name to the list. So, today, Dominick had a make-up game that had been previously rained out, and he was one of the lucky ones - he got to be the goalie! We didn't tell him until we got to the game, just to avoid a huge disappointment if he ended up not doing it today. Once I confirmed it with the coach, I told him the fun news, and he broke out in a giant grin, which just got bigger once he saw what he got to wear.....pint sized goalie pads, goalie gloves, and he got to use a goalie hockey stick. He was in pure heaven. He did a really excellent job, too, and had many Pekka-like move making lots of saves against the yellow team. All of the parents of the red team players were rooting for him by cheering "good job goalie", "nice save, goalie", "go red goalie!". Each time he heard these things, he looked over at me with a giant grin on his face. I was so happy for him (that he was so happy)!

Wuggle Pets

Dominick:   (while watching a tv commercial) "mommy, can we get a wuggle pet?"
Mommy:      "What is a wuggle pet?"
Dominick:    "It clips to backpacks, purses, and jackets.  It's an adorable pet that you bring to life         yourself". 
Mommy:       "wow.  That sounds really fun.  I will check it out, okay?"  And then, moments later, while checking them out online, I found this on their website: "A Wuggle is an adorable baby pet that you bring to life yourself!"

hmmm.....I guess that proves just why there are so many commercials on during kiddie shows :)

Basements

"mommy, I fink we should haf a basement" -Kirsten, age 3

This was Kirsten's observation that she shared after we spent the afternoon and evening watching (obsessing) about the tornadoes that were forecasted for Middle Tennessee.  We ended up going to our neighbor's house (Buzz & Carol) for awhile since they have a basement.  We definitely need a basement of our own!

"I love you, Pekka"

I surprised Dominick today and picked him up from school right after lunch & took him to a Nashville Predators practice. We have been to one practice (back in October), and he really liked it, so I thought we would go again. He was still awake when I arrived to pick him up, and he got a gigantic smile on his face when he saw me.....mommy doesn't normally show up at the beginning of nap time! As we walked hand-in-hand out to the van, I told him where we were heading.....and he burst into another gigantic smile. We met mommy's hockey-loving-Canadian-friend, Kristin (and her daughters, Selina & Kiera) at Centennial Sportsplex, and then headed into the rink that the Preds practice on. Alth0ugh the Preds website said that practice was at 2pm, it was well underway when we arrived a few minutes before 2. We watched for about 45 minutes, were completely awed by their skating skills.....you are so close to them at practice, it's really a completely different experience than a game. Then practice was over and the players began to clear the ice. I saw a small group of people congregating near the entrance of the locker room, so Dominick and I headed down there to see if we could catch a glimpse of any players. We got much more than a glimpse! I put Dominick on my shoulders so that he could see over all of the people in front of us, and a very nice girl standing next to us held up Dominick's canvas sign that we brought along for autographs (just in case), and asked a few players if they would sign it "for that little boy" (pointing up to Dominick). Before we knew it, he had autographs from Brian McGrattan (#23), Brandon Yip (#18), and Dominick's VERY favorite player, Pekka Rinne (#35). While Pekka was signing Dominick's sign, Dominick belted out, "Pekka, I love you! You're my favorite player and I have your jersey on!". Pekka was so nice to Dominick....he thanked him, asked him what his name was, and then told him what a nice name he has. To say the least, Dominick was thrilled! And then Dominick immediately yelled down from atop my shoulders and declared, "mommy, Pekka is really sweaty". ha!

Our new friend also asked Matt Halischuk "to sign", but when Matt stopped and looked at the sign, he saw that his autograph was already on it, and said as much. Dominick replied with, "I met you at Dollar General! And you already signed it!". Matt smiled at him. On the way out to the van, we saw our new friend again, and she told us that sometimes the players sign autographs on their way out to their cars "back by the green fence". So, of course we headed back to the green fence, and after a quick trip back inside for a potty break, the players started to emerge. Our new friend called out to the players by first name as they exited the building and asked them if they "would sign for this kid" (again pointing to Dominick), and they did! He quickly collected 8 more autographs (Mike Fisher #12, Patric Hornqvist #27, Jordin Tootoo #22, Colin Wilson #33, Frankie Bouillon #51, Jack Hillen #38, Roman Josi #59, Kevin Klein #8). Dominick also informed Kevin Klein that he met him at the zoo, and told each of the players that came over "thank-you" and "good luck". It was all so very sweet, and all of the players were so very kind to him.....I think this little boy fell a little deeper in love with hockey and the Preds today (and so did his mommy).