Archive for Renee Spindle

Madness, Miracles, Millions Review

book review_1_edited-002The opportunity to read and review a book  about Type I diabetes came along and I knew I had to sign up right away.  My family is no stranger to the in’s and out’s of diabetes and I could not pass up this chance.  I am so glad I did not.

Madness, Miracles, Millions is the story of a family and their never-ending journey of obstacles, circumstances, and the adversity that they overcame in their every day lives. When their young son is handed a diagnosis of diabetes the Semprevivo’s do not back down. They face the deadly fear of diabetes head on.  This is a story so poignantly told by the father and son team of Larry and Joseph  Semprevivo.  Their family’s road has been filled with peaks and valleys, road blocks, and smooth sailing.  The never give up attitude of this entire family and their ability to hit a home run from every curve-ball thrown their way is inspiring.

We have lots of experience with Type I diabetes as our youngest son was diagnosed at age 6 in 1997.  It is always intriguing to read about how another family has handled a diagnosis of this magnitude.  It lets us know that we are not the only ones who have gone through all of this “stuff”.  The Semprevivo’s are a unique family, and their love and compassion for one another shines through in each chapter of the story.

If you are looking or need  to read a feel good story this is a book you will not want to pass up.  Madness, Miracles, Millions is a well-edited, easy read.  It will leave you with a sense of positivity from beginning to end.

Our 2015 Calendar Project Success

The Family Calendar for 2015 has been polished, published and placed in the hands of all of the family members near and far.  This project turned out to be way more stressful for me than I realized it would be.  Setting deadlines for submissions and my Mom helping with getting the month’s assigned to each particular submitter.  Then the calendar pages with all the family members birthdays had to be edited and updated.  This was quite an adventure to say the least!  This is one of those projects that my Mom (or my parents) just always made happen every year, and it never seemed like a big deal, but it most certainly is.

One of my goals for each picture page of the calendar was to peruse the months and check to see that there were no duplicate pictures.  I looked intently at all of the picture months 10 or 50 times.  In the end and after all was said and done there was only one duplicate.  In my editorial opinion I consider that a great feat, and would take on the task again in a heartbeat.

This calendar brings back such great memories.  When all of the kids were younger, and my Mom was doing the calendar all on her own, they would each count how many times their picture appeared in the calendar.  Then they would make a contest out of who was in the calendar the most.  That in turn put extra pressure on Grandma to try and get a good balance of pictures for each grandchild.  Our Family Calendar is almost a 20 year family tradition, and I love traditions.  You can read all about the history of our family calendar here.

Nowadays, quite a few of the kids are contributors to the calendar, and it has made the project quite an annual event.  Not to mention the fact that  when we are taking pictures at family gatherings during the year someone will inevitably exclaim, “That’s a calendar shot!” This is one of those timeless family traditions that I hope will be passed from one generation to the next for many years to come.

Without further ado, these are the pictures pages gracing the 12 months of 2015.  Enjoy!

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I’ve Been Away Far Too Long

Here is it the second, no wait third week of February (already!) and I have been away from my writing for far too long.

Life’s just been a bundle of ups and downs recently, a little stormy with not a lot of sunshine on the horizon.  But sometimes that’s what happens, and that’s what life is.

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So today I proclaim I must have more sunshine in my life. For me that means I need to be writing and sharing my stories.  I’ll be letting you know what’s been going on in the Revelings world over the next few weeks.

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I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day weekend.  Stay tuned for my post on the final pages of our Family Calendar.  It’s really a spectacular sight.  I’m looking forward to getting back in the saddle, and getting some writing done.

See you soon!

ps- Images courtesy of Graphic Stock.

It’s the First Monday of 2015

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Today marks the  first Monday of the New Year and I just wanted to let all of you know that if anyone needs me today I will be sitting right here at my computer putting the final touches on our 2015 Family Calendar.  It seems that I have volunteered for a task/project that has a much larger scope/involvement than I ever realized.  This project is normally headed up by my Mom.  This has been a much more emotional task than I ever fathomed it would be.  Just perusing through all of the pictures to find the right one for my pages has been a journey all of its own.  However, this is one of those family traditions that I for one do not want to let go by the wayside.  So when my Mom asked me if I could help with the calendar for this year of course I said yes.

The Family Calendar is a time-honored tradition started by my parents many moons ago. I wrote about the legacy of our Family Calendar a few years ago, and today the tradition continues.

Now mind you our calendar is a tad late this year, but this tradition will go forward and the calendars will be delivered to all of our family members by the end of this week.  Whew!

Honestly the one thing that I am most excited about for our 2015 calendar is that my Mom has not seen one page of it.  The entire calendar will be a surprise for her as well as the rest of the family.  I am the only one who has been viewing the pages in their entirety. That is the honor of taking on this tradition.

For now I bid you all adieu.  I cannot wait to share some of our family pages with all of you once the calendar is completed.  I already have a favorite month, but I cannot tell you which one it is. That is top-secret, classified information.

I hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful day today.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours…



A very Merry Christmas wish is going out to all of you from all of us here at The Party House in Southern California.  We hope your day is filled with laughter and lots of love.

Here’s a little Christmas memory from 2008.  Just a little family silliness, and a great picture with my Dad who is always missed just a little bit more at this time of year.

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Travel Man and I are sending out Christmas love to all of our family and friends, near and far.  May each of you have a blessed Christmas, and the best New Year possible.

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. – Charles M. Schulz

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