A day month of thanks...come and gone

 

This month seemed to fly by as we filled it with camping,
performances, birthday for peanut, family gathering,
a mustached man in our midst, jumping, Bri coming home
and all around exploring as we grow in enjoyment
of our new home and community.

What a gift this life is!

Hoping to share some photos from our month soon.

A little Saturday fun

 

Hope your weekend is blessed!

xoxo

her new home

Two weeks ago

we moved our precious daughter

into her new home...a dorm room.

It was a gift to see her navigating

her new surroundings with grace

and gave us such peace to know

her life will not just be a number there.

The month leading up to this day

had been emotional and painful

for so many reasons making this

transition especially difficult.

Hard as it was to say good-bye,

my joy is overflowing for

this new chapter in her life.

One last hug for dad

Bri's new roomie

dorm room digs 

 

 

Off and running towards her future

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.
"They are plans for good and not for disaster,
 to give you a future and a hope.
In those days when you pray, I will listen.
If you look for me wholeheartedly,
you will find me."

Jeremiah 29:11

May your future be blessed
and filled with hope sweet one.

For Bri...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love you.
Yesterday.
Today.
Always.

Loving the view

 We're in our new home and
finally getting to a place where
we may be able to unpack soon.
But before we do,
we're just enjoying the moments.

First thing in the morning,
the girls come into our room
to greet the new day.

The lovebug thinks we've got
a riding mower,
and I hate to dissapoint.

Our "other girls" seem pretty content here too,
especially when I give them free reign.

The little chicken chaser.

We've been enjoying lots of family visits
since we moved in.

Lots of room for the big kids to slip and slide.

I think we're going to get some pretty sunsets.

 

This is one of my favorite views ever.

We haven't had time to travel
anywhere this summer,
but we're really enjoying
our blessings
right where we are.

Hope you're enjoying all of your
blessings this summer, too.

xoxo

The Graduate

 

 

I am so proud of you Bri and am excited as
you pursue new dreams in life.
Above all else, remember this ~
You are loved.

Here are a few words to remember and
take with you through life. Not my own,
but words I aspire to live by.

"People are often unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered: Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of
selfish, ulterior motives: Be kind anyway.
If you are successful you will win some false
friends and true enemies: Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank people will try
to cheat you: Be honest anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could
destroy overnight: Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may
be jealous of you: Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten
by tomorrow: Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may
never be enough: Give your best anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway."
~Mother Theresa

pignics and pinktails

I've been wanting to write down
all of the wonderfully creative things
my littles say, but have missed the
opportunity so many times
so thought I'd share
a couple of my favorites.

The little miss always loved
pignics(picnics) and pinktails(pigtails).
And just today she was playing with
her lil' sis & her baby doll
 speaking in what sounded
a bit like an indignant british royal.
So I asked her about her new speech
to which she explained it was
her accent from Los Angeles.

Also, I cannot leave out a fairly recent
conversation I had with my eldest daughter
at the sweet age of seventeen.
She was convinced....CONVINCED
that you could contract pink-eye
from someone poppering (farting)
 on your pillow,
because she had heard it from several
other highly educated young minds.
It was pretty hysterical and her dad
and I kept the pink-eye ball
rolling for days....
we just couldn't let that one go.

Hopefully, I'll get better at
recording these fun little bits
of childhood before they escape me.

Enjoy all the laughter in your life today...
it may not be there tomorrow.

xoxo

dancing queen

2011 prom (junior year)

2012 winter formal

2012 prom (last month)

I just recently realized that

I hadn't posted any photos from

the many dances my

sweet bri has been to.

It's hard to believe this was the last one

before she graduates high school

and moves on to college life.

I know it sounds cliche,

but time has really flown by.

 I'm not quite prepared

for her to spread her wings

and fly away,

nor have I taken the time to

really wrap my head around it.

My fear is that it will hit me

LIKE. A. TON. OF. BRICKS.

In fact it is at this very moment

filling me with emotions

beyond which I can contain.

Whoa!  I took a little detour

and the tears are flowing.....

already.

I know one thing about this girl for sure.

She will bring many smiles

to those she encounters

and she'll never stop dancin.

I love you to the moon

my sweet baby girl!

xoxo

Garden giddiness

 

 

 

 

 

Ohhhhhh how I love to grow my garden!
Whether it be flowers or food
it's all such a feast for the senses.

Our garden is growing gangbusters right now
with strawberries, lots of herbs,
tomatoes, chard, kale, zucchini and lettuce.
I gave baby J a leaf of chard to play with
and she had a ball, whipping it
back and forth until it was shredded.
She is also obsessed with the strawberry patch.
I can't keep her out of them, nor do I want to.

In the flower garden we've got gladiolas,
sunflowers, foxgloves, and dahlia's
that are just starting to poke
there sleepy little stalks and leaves
out of the earth (hope they bloom before we leave).

Maya has created her own little garden
which is dedicated to a friend
that passed away earlier this year
and fittingly named it "Jolea's Heven".
The loss has been tremendous to her
tender little heart and difficult to
explain or understand,
but each time we acknowledge
and pay tribute to her memory
and to the little miss's feelings
we are taking steps toward healing.

The photo at the top is, of course, baby J
with her goofy self...
running all over the house
with a nesting box on her head
in her usual Josie style.
She is such a nut ~
a girl after my own heart.

Hope you are enjoying all of
the blessings that June brings.

xoxo

This old house

 

Is our new home!

 

Moving day isn't until July (God willing)
but we are crazy busy just trying to prepare.
We are really excited to start making memories
together in our new place.

Even more though...
I'm just grateful to have a home, freedom, food
on the table and a wonderful family
 to share it all with.

 xoxo

eight years

married.

to the best guy on earth.

and here's why

1. no matter where i go with you,
it's always a great adventure

2. you love to play with your girls

3. you walk humbly in your greatest accomplishments
(plus you're still sexy when you're bald)

4. nothing will stop you from putting
forth your best effort (even the
supervision of a five year old)

5. you're always happy to watch the kids

6. your family is your greatest joy in life

7. you make beautiful things with your own two hands

8. you're not afraid to dream big

You inspire me to be a better person.

I love you to the moon and beyond.

"If you live to be a hundred,

I want to live to be a hundred

minus one day so I would never

have to live a day without you."

~Winnie the Pooh~

birthday love

 

It's been eighteen years since I first met you.
It was at that very moment I first felt true love.
It was the day that my world was completely changed ~
I was given a purpose beyond myself.
Only eighteen myself when you were born,
I had no idea what it meant to be fully
 responsible for another life. 
But I purposed in my heart from that very day
that I would give you all that I had.
You would be my first priority.

And now here we are.
Your childhood has come and gone
in what feels like the blink of an eye.
I look at you as you prepare for graduation,
college, life on your own and my head swirls
with visions of:

sit & spin on the kitchen floor
beeth-oven
hairbrushing tears
dance parties
pedicures
movie nights
lonnnggggg talks
sunrise walks on the beach
popcorn & milkduds
thriller dance
young life
heartache
doritos
france
& so much more

I look at you now and am amazed
at the young woman you have become.
You have a heart of tenderness,
and a beauty that runs deeper than
any photo could portray.
There is a spirit of giving in you
that is felt by those around you.
You are gifted with the ability
to draw others to you,
and to love on them in the
way they most need it.
You bring joy to the hearts of
those that know you best,
those that call you family
and those who call you a friend.

Today I celebrate who you are
and who you are yet to be.
May you always know the love
I have for you
wherever you go,
whatever you do,
even when we disagree.

You will always be my first true love.

mom