Spring Break 2013

I promised myself as spring break started that I was going to get back into blogging. I promised myself I'd sit down every day and "catch up." Today, day 6 of spring break, I am finally sitting down to blog! I mean well....

Day 1: I'm thankful that my mother had the day off work and that she desired to spend the day with me and my crazy kids. Our day included a trip to Metropolis to shop and eat yummy pizza, then a swing by Sonic to grab treats. We ended the trip with her sitting in the car with my kids while I made a return. That evening she attended our Good Friday service at church. I'm thankful that our children are old enough to share this experience with us and that they understand how and why we can call the day that our Savior was brutally killed a GOOD day for us.

Day 2: I'm thankful that my son loves to bowl! It is a joy to watch him grow and develop as a bowler. I am also thankful for extended family. We took a trip south to visit Matt's grandma and see Matt's uncle, aunt, and cousins. Matt's aunt cut Delaney's hair (looks SO cute) and we all were able to spend some time in the (cold) fresh air at the lake. The boys fished, the kids and I took a walk, and we all worked up an ice cream appetite for the way home. I'm thankful for safe travels and for fun family times.

Day 3: I'm thankful I could go to church at 8am to worship my Risen Savior! I'm thankful for this song which we sang during church:

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

We were able to spend the entire afternoon at my parent's house enjoying the company of family. The cousins all curled up on the couch to watch Wreck It Ralph and the adults all napped or visited after a yummy lunch. A lovely day indeed!!

Day 4:
I'm thankful for children who love traditions. We once again planned and executed an April Fool's Day meal for Matt complete with meatloaf cupcakes iced with mashed potatoes, Jell-o juice with straws in it, white chocolate deviled eggs with yellow icing filling, and sushi. My sister-in-law and adorable youngest niece spent some time with us in the afternoon when they brought our taxes by (by the way, this year, I'm thankful for tax refunds!!!).

Day 5:
I'm thankful that my sister has become one of my best friends and that we can take an entire day to go to Monkey Joe's and McDonald's and have a blast. Our kids were ALL so well behaved. I was amazed and impressed and didn't want to leave her for fear that the misbehaving would start! :) I'm thankful that our children enjoy each others company and that we live 10 minutes away from each other.
I'm thankful for doctor's who will look at little girl's hurt stinky feet and tell me she's almost positive it isn't broken (I'll keep you posted on that!) and for movie stores where we can rent older movies so the hurt foot can rest on the couch.

Day 6:
I'm thankful that my husband has an amazing job that he loves 90% of the time (come on, it wouldn't be a job if he always loved it). We were able to go have lunch with him today after visiting the license branch and the post office. I'm thankful that my children behave when it matters (someone once told me that's the true test of your parenting, can they behave when they NEED to....mine proved I must be doing something right as they were complimented by the lady helping me at the license branch).

That catches me up with my Spring Break 2013: 10 Days of Thankfulness posts that I was hoping to bring you! Let's see if you ever hear about days 7 through 10. HA!!!

Gus - a year in review

One year ago today our sweet Fluffy Gus woke up with his human mommy and daddy at home with him. They left to go to a funeral and never came home. If you didn't read my blog last year, you can read about their story here. We welcomed sweet Gus into our home in February. He has been a great addition to our family. He has a great personality (more like a dog), he tolerates a lot of love from little people, and he is very cuddly in the evenings. However, he likes to go outside....which means he occassionally brings us presents in the small furry dead animal form.
He also keeps us on our toes! I spent 2 hours at an emergency vet clinic with him on Christmas Eve, only to leave him there for Matt to pick up on his way home. You see, Gus thinks he's bigger than he is, so he tried to take on a larger furry animal outside, and this one wasn't dead! Unfortunately, it managed to leave his neck and ear a nasty mess. The vet spoke very calmly, she told me exactly what was going to be done, and then she whisked him away. I was left standing there feeling helpless with both of my children asking what was going on. I explained that she was going to have to shave some of his fur to get to the spots, she was going to drain them, clean them, then mend him up. However, as we left the clinic to go get lunch, the tears started to pour from my eyes (and my mother had to talk me down from a near panic attack). These tears were not all related to leaving Gus, they were more about leaving behind what Gus means to us and fearful that we'd lose him too. He is a constant reminder of some amazing neighbors we were blessed to live beside for 3 years. He is a way to hold on to everything they meant to us and a way to say thank you to the example they left even though we never verbalized a thank you to them. He is a way to show love and he is a lesson for our kids in helping others. And, a few hundred dollars later, he is home and he is almost perfect....except for those few bald spots and the fact that he whines because he can't go outside. The vet said 3 weeks, I say forever, Matt says at 2am when he's hitting him on the head to wake him up that it seems like the right time to let him go back out. HA! I think I'll keep my Gus inside safe and warm.

2012 is ending....

2012 is coming to a close, so is my Journey. I managed to log 501.52 miles, do 2 half marathons, a 10K, and a 5K, have a foot injury that prevented me from doing anything productive for 4 weeks, and get so stressed out during the month of December that I probably should have been institutionalized and never once turned on the treadmill! Let's see what kind of vacation that earns me....HA.

2013 begins tomorrow. It will be a year of Change. I refuse to be complacent any longer. My spiritual life is going to change, my work outs will change, my attention to those around me will change, my eating will change, and my dedication to being the best me (wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend) God created me to be will change. Look out 2013!

My best motivators!!!

Spring Break, the beginning

 We started out mini vacation with an unusually warm Sunday afternoon. We bought dirt and let the kids go mining. Sounds so funny to say we "bought dirt" but that is what you do to allow your kids to experience mining. We were staying at the Hotel Nashville and this mining location was very near our hotel. We then went to one of our favorite pizza places for dinner. Yummy!!

 In the morning, we started off with a yummy breakfast at the hotel....waffles, cinnamon rolls, fruit, cereal,  juice, milk, coffee.....yes, we were energized and ready!! We started on this 1.25 moderate trail. Before that day, the kids had only been on easy trails or easy/moderate trails....little did we know what we were getting ourselves into!!!

 Some fun science lessons from daddy along the way....

 And then....this appeared before us.

Option 1: turn around, hike back 1 plus miles

Option 2: pick up the kids, run for it, and know that I'm an adult and I shouldn't whine because my feet are wet

We went with Option 2.....only to find out......

 that we had just crossed over onto a .75 mile rugged trail. Did I mention we were at the bottom of the downhill rugged trail? Do you understand what that means? We have to hike UP a .75 RUGGED trail with 2 kids that are getting tired.....

 We made it out alive with our drama king and queen!! Notice we ended at the beginning. Lesson learned. Next time, we start here going DOWNHILL on the rugged trail and end on the 1.25 moderate trail. Sounds like a much better option.

We rewarded the kids with candy from a candy/fudge shop. They opted for some CrAzY sour powdery stuff. I opted for red velvet fudge....from the look on his face, I made a better choice!!!

Spring Break 2012, part 2

The Middle

We went to hang out at Grandma Teri's house. Actually, we sent the kids over on Wednesday night after gymnastics and we went to join them on Thursday night for this super fun campfire. While the kids were gone, Matt and I repainted our bedroom. And, shockingly, 2 weeks later, it still isn't a finished product. I'd post pictures, but I'm not happy with it yet. It is getting there.....slooooowly! I digress, back to the campfire. S'mores are a favorite of mine, so after a dinner out, we roasted marshmallows and had a delicious dessert. I was in charge of the roasting to begin with and they had me using a real stick. I was SO scared that it was going to catch on fire, so they all had a great time making fun of me for a while. Oh well, the yummy dessert was worth it....obviously, look at the smile below! 

 On our way back from our "mini vacation" (I really should have gone in order, I haven't even told you about our first stop) we stopped in Columbus to play at the indoor play area we'd heard so much about and to eat at Scotty's Burger Joint. This is Delaney cutting the "nasty" skin off of her apples. As long as she is going to eat the fruit, I'm all for her "playing" with her food.

 The kids and I did some cute posing. I'm never in the pictures....it was kind of fun!

That body in the middle is Delaney. The kids had a lot of fun in this contraption.

**A special thanks to Matt for his awesome photography skills....2 pictures in one blog post!!!**

Spring Break 2012, part 1

I have realized this post is going to take a few days to complete, but I'll start with the end of the break and work my way backwards. Carson is in a bowling league and the Saturday of spring break he received his shirt. It's a big deal and he was SO proud!! He has become more consistent in his bowling and has made all of us get involved. We went bowling once as a family over spring break and I take them on their days off from school. I think we will spend a lot of our rainy summer days at the bowling alley.
We colored eggs together. Matt is the artistic one in our house, so he was more helpful. I just manned the camera. :)

Delaney and I went to get pedicures for Easter. I mean, come on, you have cute new clothes, you need cute toes too!! The lady was so good with her, put the little flowers on her toe nails and finger nails....spoiled child!!

And, the two most adorable children on Easter morning. They really do love each other, it's not an act. They are usually best friends, but when they aren't, watch out!!!

The longest week on record...

Let me recap my week for those who haven't been here to witness it.

Monday, 9pm, Delaney emerges from her room with a tummyache. I walk in the door at 10:30 after a workout to hear, "It's everywhere." After a lengthy clean up and little sleep, it's Tuesday and I'm at school with Carson doing my lesson plans. I spend a day home with my princess, who pukes again in the car on the way to pick up Carson. So the 24 hours until she can go back to school starts over again. Matt is preparing to go out of town for a conference, so staying home isn't an option for him. Lesson plans done again, this time in the evening so I don't have to go in when I drop Car off and Matt can get to work on time.

Wednesday morning, Delaney sits up in bed, pukes, lays back down. By this point, I'm weary, I won't lie. I know Matt is leaving after work and my throat hurts so bad I can barely swallow. I decide while I'm home, I should take Carson to get the green snot and yucky chest congestion checked out. I don't need her to look at the rash that has taken over his body, I know it is Fifths disease. Everyone at school has had it, he's one of the last in his class to get it. Delaney manages to stay vomit free all day, we go grab Carson from school early and take him to the doctor to find out he has bronchitis. My throat feels a little better, or I seriously would have asked their pediatrician to look at it, she's a friend too. :)

Matt leaves after dinner, we get ready for bed, I announce everyone is going to school tomorrow, puke or not!

Thursday goes without an issue, but my throat is aching again. My parents offer to have dinner with us, I think it's lovely to have adult conversation and I'm thankful they love us enough to not be scared of whatever we all have going on!!

I don't sleep well Thursday night because my throat hurts so bad. I have to leave school early Friday to take Delaney to the eye doctor because her headaches have come back, so there is no time for me to go to the doctor for myself. After the eye doctor, we come home, take care of all the cats, and then go to rent videos, swing through a drive thru for dinner, and come home to eat in front of the tv.

After the movie, Carson informs me he wants to make a leprechaun trap. I wind up in tears in the kitchen floor because I need my husband. He would have been able to figure out how to make this all work, and I just couldn't do it. As I've said before, Carson is the sensitive one, so he realized I was a mess and encouraged me lots. We made an awesome trap....where he caught all of the green candy the leprechaun could find on such short notice. :)

By Saturday morning I just want relief from this aching. However, Carson has bowling. We head to bowling, where he did a great job, then to immediate care where no one acknowledges that I'm standing there. We leave, I'm frustrated. After some whining to my parents, we decide to come home, take care of the cats for the day, and then head to Brown County with them for some fun and distraction. Matt should be home around bed time and I can't do all day alone. I don't feel good and I'm exhausted! I decide to run by the minute clinic at cvs on the way to my parents, full house there too, we leave again.

We have an awesome day at Nashville.....eating, shopping, walking, talking, and getting a surprise call from Matt that he was on his way home 6 hours early! He met us in Nashville. Upon our return home, he sent me, childless, to immediate care to see what was going on....strep. :( Bonus is, I walked away with a prescription and feel tons better today.

What I learned this week: I am so thankful to have the family I have....my parents chipped in anyway they could, my children were SO well behaved, and my husband is my better half!

These are my days....

Okay, I realize the above picture shows that I don't always parent, but isn't that fun?!? His clothes don't match.....or fit.....but look at that face. The kid is having blast enjoying a springlike day in early March. He is all boy (so active and rough and tough), but he is the first one in the house to notice when mom needs a hug (and to deliver it!).

And, for those of you who haven't met this guy on facebook yet, this is our newest addition to the family, Fluffy Gus. He came to join us after his owners (our next door neighbors) were (wife) killed in a car accident and (husband) died from a broken heart. He has adjusted marvelously to our family and is WELL loved by certain members!! He handles that with grace and flops over her arm like a ragdoll and takes it all in. He has a great personality. Unfortunately, we are also still caring for the other 3 cats that they left behind. So, if you live in the area and know of anyone looking for a cat, we have 3 with very different personalities that we'd love to have you meet. We, however, won't be taking in anymore of them....much to Mrs. Gray's disliking as she frequently tries to sneak in the house with Gus!!

Today, I am home with a sick girl, just tiptoeing (is that a word, because it doesn't look right?!?) around the house trying not to wake her up. She is not perking up as fast as I'd like her to, but she has managed to keep liquids down for 5 hours now....big improvement! And, because this is an unexpected day off and the laundry is actually caught up, I am managing to be productive with some fun things.....sewing, blogging, making a menu of dinner for the next 2 weeks (yes, that IS fun!!!).

And, finally, for those of you keeping track at home, I am 25% of the way through Kentucky in my run to Florida. Last night my sister and I went from my house to my parents house. It was a nice journey of almost 4 miles. I will say that next time, maybe we should do it when the sun is out, there were a few dark stretches along the way and we've decided we're kinda getting wimpy in our "old" age.

I suppose I should go put on some clothes that don't look so much like pajamas and start waking sleeping beauty so we can go grab her brother in the car line. That is a HUGE deal for him because they always just go to my classroom after school. He's SO excited to get picked up with his friends and without his sister.

Until next time, if you live near me, enjoy this weather. I've opened up all the windows and am enjoying the breeze and the birds.

Not a Stay-cation!

For those of you following my journey, I made it out of Indiana yesterday morning! I am approximately 3 miles into Kentucky.

I was also paid a huge compliment by my husband when he informed me that he was proud of me. He said he knew how much I love my sleep, so for me to get out of bed while everyone else was snoozing to go run took a lot of dedication. I love that he noticed and said something. I love him!

We had a SUPER week!

You can't let an event like the Superbowl come and go in your city without getting in on the action. We chose to go downtown on Monday evening. We knew we wanted to avoid weekends and decided that we would probably miss a lot of "out of towners" by going early in the week. From reports I've heard from friends, that was an excellent choice. We waited in line to get into the convention center for about 10 minutes, but that is the longest we waited for anything.

Carson kicked this ball 30 times during the course of the night. He enjoyed the NFL Experience a lot!! As he was getting ready to go through the obstacle course/training camp for the 3rd time, Delaney heard an announcement that sounded something like this, "At this time the Colts cheerleaders will be signing autographs on the event stage." Her eyes lit up and she gave me the "please can we go?" look. As you can imagine, we high tailed it over to the event stage, where we were the 9th people in a line that grew to probably 50 by the time it was moving. She was able to get 4 cheerleaders signatures on a poster. She was thrilled!!

And, one more picture of my little kicker. Selfishly, I hope he plays a position where he gets to tackle people....kickers and quarterbacks seem so "pretty boy"-ish. I want my boy to be TOUGH.

My life on the hamster wheel

Ever feel like you do the same think day after day, somehow expecting different results? I'm going to guess every mom is answering a loud "Yes!" I feel like that's the kind of week I've had, same thing every day, same results. Delaney hates to get ready for school, so it's the same fight every morning. I love to sleep, but hate to go to bed, so I'm grumpy every morning. Carson is tired after school, and thus whiny. I won't complain for Matt. :)

However, I managed to have a different result after a few workouts. I felt refreshed instead of ready to fall over. I think I broke through the "I'm working out because I have to" and moved into "I'm working out because I want to." I'd love to see some of those results physically instead of just mentally. I'll get there, I know!!

Update after week 3 is: I've almost made it to Seymour, Indiana.

Death gets in the way....

You've heard people say, "Oh, life just got in the way this week." Unfortunately, death got in the way of our normal life. We received a phone call last Saturday evening informing us that our 72 year old next door neighbor had been tragically killed in a car accident on her way home from a funeral in Seymour. That same accident sent her 74 year old husband (of 51 years) to the ICU at Methodist Hospital in critical condition. Try explaining that to an over-analyzing 7 year old. Our life was turned upside down. We told the kids, cried, and then put them in bed. Carson (typical boy style) fell right to sleep and we didn't hear from him again till morning. Delaney, on the other hand, was still awake at 11p. Shortly after that, we set up a bed on our floor for her where she camped out the rest of the night. We all slept in about 45 minutes stretches, then I'd hear us all moving around, restlessly trying to find a comfortable spot. Occassionally unable to find that comfortable spot and thus huffing and puffing around for a while not wanting to ask if anyone was awake, but hoping someone else would notice and speak. I talked to Delaney a few times during the night, but mostly just, "Are you okay?" "Yes."
The next morning we headed to church, where I finally let the flood gates down and ugly cried for a while. I was stuck in the middle of the row and couldn't figure out how to escape without causing a huge scene, so I tried to hold it in, but that only made it worse. Then, I looked over to see that Matt's eyes weren't exactly dry...then I really lost it!
The next few days were very scary for our neighbor in ICU. He was unresponsive, they ran more tests, couldn't find anything wrong, and decided to do some exploratory surgery to find the issue. Turns out there were internal injuries that weren't showing up on their scans. After those were fixed, his health really started to turn around. Our last update was that he was sitting on the edge of the bed doing exercises and being moved to a normal room soon. Then, he is headed to a rehabilitation center, and finally, to his son's house.
That leaves a dark, empty house next to us. I have a hard time looking out the window. It makes me sad for so many reasons. All the things we never said to them or did for them that we can never change. I guess I'm sad for missed opportunities. I'm sad for him, that after 51 years of marriage he must go this route alone. I'm sad that Delaney still isn't dealing with death well. She hasn't slept an entire night since we told her. Friday night was probably the worst because we took her to the calling. We both felt like it was the right choice. We explained beforehand that her body would be there, but that everything we loved about her was in Heaven. She was such a God honoring Proverbs 31 woman! Phenomenal example for me to follow (and I never told her that). Carson hid behind me the entire time and Delaney just looked like she could burst into tears. She withdrew a lot afterwards, but set up camp in our room again for the night.
Finally, on Saturday she went with me to take care of the cats. We are honored (seriously) to be taking care of their cats for the time being. Those cats were her babies, so I hug them tight!! I never knew cleaning a litterbox could be therapeutic, but it is!! (sorry, I digress, as I'm sure I have a lot, but I'm just trying to get my thoughts out of my head) Delaney went with me to check on the cats. That means we walk all through the house, feed them, love on them, clean the litterbox, accidentally let one out and chase it through the snowy yard in boots with heels to catch him and put him back in so he doesn't freeze. Delaney looked around the house a lot, and that is when she started to open up. The questions came free flowing, some I could answer, and some I couldn't. No one can. I gave her opinions, backed up by facts, and cried some with her. I think it was really a healing process. Who knew cats could heal a heart.
I know that I can't go back and do all the things I never did, but somehow, bringing in the mail and snuggling with a cat makes me feel like I'm doing something. I know that their family may never know how much I needed this opportunity, but it has really helped me to grieve.
Pray for our neighbor, that his emotional wounds can heal as quickly as his physical wounds. He knows that one day he will spend eternity with his love, but he is questioning why he didn't get to go with her this time. I think, after 51 years of marriage, I'd question that too.

I'm on my way....

Well folks (I write as if someone other than my sister is reading this....HA), I have made it past mile marker 84 on this endeavor. That is well past Franklin, but not quite to the outlet mall. I feel as if I should include some photos of myself with the nasty hair band half pony tail, sweaty face, and workout clothes. Instead, I'll save you all the visual and just let you read about my progress.

Journey....

In 2011, my sister had a word for the year. I decided to borrow this idea for 2012.

My word is: JOURNEY.

"A journey may be long or short, but it must start at the very spot one finds oneself." Jim Stovall

My first journey began tonight.

I am a "list maker" that desperately needs to mark off items that are finished. Matt says I write "make a list" at the top of the list just so I can cross something off right away. Maybe so, but nonetheless, that's how I function and feel success.

My first, and probably hardest (at least physically speaking), journey for 2012 is to walk to Florida. WHAT?!? Has she lost her mind?!? No, my goal for 2012 is to keep track of my miles walked/ran (so far I am at 2.20). My goal is to walk my family to Florida for 2013. Matt has agreed that we can go to whatever beach I walk to. If I make it 686.4 miles, then we will find ourselves in Jacksonsville, Florida next year. However, I'd rather go farther south....let's say St Petersburg. It's only 840.5 miles (measured as the crow flies, as that is definitely how I run!!).

I promise to update you on my JOURNEY and share more journeys with you.

It's Independence Day

Wow, what a weekend! We arrived in Madison on Friday afternoon (with our 8 month old niece traveling with us....that was FUN, seriously!!). Our first goal was to set up our sleeping quarters knowing that we wouldn't get back there till well after bedtime. Matt blew up 3 air mattresses and put sheets on all the beds while I gave Ainsley a bottle. Then we headed off to a cookout and to watch the parade. Matt's cousin Chelsea was in the parade, so the highlight of the evening was to yell at her until she looked like she'd like the pavement to open up and swallow her (secretly, I'm sure she was thrilled with the attention though). As planned, we arrived "home" dirty and tired. After a quick shower for the kids, they were in bed and Shannon and I were off to the store.

Saturday daytime was lovely.....super hot, sticky, and full of whiny kids. But, we did manage to find some fun even with the heat. I made pancakes for everyone for breakfast, then the 4 of us walked downtown to find some coffee. We found a yummy coffeehouse and then decided to walk to the fountain to enjoy it, little did we know that there was a wonderful farmer's market set up around the fountain. So, after purchasing some cinnamon rolls from the Amish for breakfast Sunday and a cute little water bottle holder for me and Delaney, we roamed downtown for a while dodging in and out of the heat in some cute little antique/crafty shops. After a sweaty walk to the river we decided to have a nice quiet lunch at the house and then lay down for a while and read while Matt ran to the store to buy some flipflops (he'd already broke 2 pairs in the 24 hours we'd been there!). After a short rest, Matt came home and we walked downtown again (luckily it's only a few blocks!!) to see Shrek Forever After and enjoy some ice cream. After a lovely dinner of anything we could make after raiding my father-in-law's garden (fried potatoes and onions, coleslaw, and hot dogs....those weren't growing, don't worry), we headed down to the river for the fireworks.

Carson went equipped with an "ipod" and huge earphones and he did a great job. He was being contrary about having his picture taken, he really wasn't trying to block out that much noise. The fireworks weren't as loud as I remembered them being, so he even ventured out from under the protection of the tent to watch some of them.

Sunday morning found us with one TIRED girl. She slept through all of us getting up, Matt tearing down everyone else's bed and packing most of it up, and me packing up bags. She finally moved around 10 o'clock. We loaded up the van and headed down to the river for the day, well, after enjoying some yummy cinnamon rolls!

It was a super steamy day, but we had a blast. We watched the airshow, notice the plane coming out from under the bridge that was right in front of us. Both of the kids (and the adults) enjoyed that trick. Then we went to find some "fair food" for lunch. Yum ~ fried veggies!!

Did I mention it was hot out???

The day ended perfect with boat racing and rock skipping/throwing. Matt throws a rock up on the same ledge every summer, so we watch while he takes his few warm up shots and then nails it. This year, Carson was trying to join in the fun....some day, it will happen.

Thanks to Grandpa opening up his home to us again, we had an awesome 4th of July weekend. Wonderful memories were made and the kids are already planning for next year.

I blinked....

.....and somewhere, in the middle of my eyes being closed, my baby boy turned into this handsome little prince charming. I feel so blessed that God gave me a boy. I had NO idea what I would do with a son, coming from a house of girls, but there is a very special bond between a momma and her son. Don't get me wrong, there are still some boyish things I don't understand, but I firmly believe I never will!! I do love that there are hot wheels in my house, that I can find nerf gun "bullets" everywhere I look, and that sweet sweaty boy smell (yes, I'm aware that it won't be sweet in a few years!!) that he has when he comes in from playing outside.

Delaney was named after a sweet song that states, "She's growing up too fast for me, asking lots of questions, some I know the answers too and some I'm looking for suggestions." I never thought I'd say that, but she is growing up too fast. She reads very well, she writes in her journal daily, and she is becoming very artistic. She still loves to be tucked in at night and have her back tickled. She is wonderful at entertaining herself (and actually prefers to be alone). She is absolutely gorgeous (okay, maybe I'm biased on that one). She is wise far beyond her years and I love her more each day. I am SO lucky to be the mother of this amazing little girl!

Why I Love the Beginning of Summer Break

The end of an exciting school year and really noticing the growth that has occured

Successful finishes of a very hard year (on both mom and child)

Cosmos and birdbaths that I can see from my kitchen windows

Free snapdragons from greenhouse workers that know a sparkle in a 4 year old boy's eyes is far more important than a profit

Window boxes filling up with color

Dirty, sweaty little boys at campfires

The excitement on this little girl's face when she's talking to and swimming with her grandpa

Lazy Sunday afternoons in a hammock

A gorgeous garden growing

Having time to create because there is no homework, no concrete bedtime, and no stressed out momma stifling it because of the mess it's making

A Week to Remember (Part 1)

I'll be honest, I dreaded this week for days before it happened. What were we going to do? All 4 of us at home, little resources to go do anything fun, and it would be this way for a whole week? I was sure someone wouldn't make it through the week alive....and, to be honest, I feared it might be me! So, I started off the week by getting a pedicure. I had been given a gift card to an nice salon nearby and decided that I would use it to get "pretty feet."

We decided after picking Delaney up from school on Friday that a trip to the Y for some open swim time was in order. We had a blast for over an hour in the pool. That was a fun way to kick off our week!

The kids have wanted to sleep in Carson's bunk beds since the day they went up, but we won't let them on school nights and the one time Delaney tried before she gave up b/c Matt told her she had to follow Carson's rules in Carson's room and he wouldn't let her stay up and read b/c he wanted the light turned off. But, this time, they stayed put and they both slept. Luckily Car sleeps up in the top bunk b/c Delaney usually is hanging out of her normal twin bed.

Saturday was a birthday bash for my nephews....great family time, good Mexican food, and the yummiest homemade cupcakes and ice cream!!! Go Cara!!

Sunday we went to church and then cleaned out Delaney's closet. That might not sound like fun to most people, but I had a blast. I love clothes and shoes and having a daughter that also loves clothes and shoes makes my heart smile! She tried on all the clothes I layed out without whining, she even made silly remarks about what didn't fit or what she didn't like. It was a wonderful mommy-daughter afternoon.

Monday was supposed to be my jammie day, but Matt had a great idea to go work out before lunch.....grrr him and his great ideas. We had a great workout though and I felt better all day b/c of it! Then, we watched Ainsley for the afternoon. Seeing Carson with her desperately made me want to have another baby...then I started to remember the sleepless nights and how far we've come....never mind, we'll just borrow our neice and nephews instead!

Tuesday's agenda included Incredible Pizza Company with Grandma Teri and a sleepover for the kids at Grandma's house (yeah Mommy and Daddy!!!). Matt and I had a great time spending a gift card I'd been given for Christmas on a yummy dinner. The kids also had a great time staying up late at Grandma's house and watching Uncle Darrell on TV.

Breakfast with Barbie

A friend of mine emailed a few weeks ago to give me some very important information.....there was a breakfast with Barbie scheduled at a local beauty college. For a very reasonable price Delaney could have waffles, get a manicure, a make up application, and an "up-do." What mother of a princess wouldn't jump at that opportunity?!? Matt went to buy her a ticket while we were all at school and then I waited to tell her till the night before so we didn't have to be questioned about it for an entire week. She had a GREAT time, even though she played the "shy" girl role all morning. Manicure ~ pink and purple

Barbie applying her make up
And the gorgeous up do!