Simple Happiness

Simple happiness is...

instead of thinking about exercising, actually getting to exercise... watching Brynna's Preschool program and realizing she & I are one and the same, born 25 years apart... Maryn's happy, toothless grin... Lauryn being big enough to swing at the park and loving every minute of it... warm weather, white clouds, blue skies, and the occasional rescuing breeze... flip flops... strawberries fresh from the farmer's market... smelling fresh rosemary from a friend's garden... being welcomed with a liplock... watching Justin get weak watching 'Anchorman' clips... a clean kitchen... baby belly laughs... dance parties after dinner... swaying hips and bobbing heads while listening to my favorites and hulling strawberries... daydreaming...

eating something sweet... laughing with a friend... clean kids... the day winding down. Today was overflowing with my simple happinesses.

What are some of yours?

Sunday Series: Helping Hands

Yesterday Maryn, Brynna and I had the opportunity to go and participate in a Service Project coordinated by our Church throughout the entire Southeast. In different communities throughout the South, the goal was to get 30,000 volunteers out to perform service for our towns, communities and for people of other faiths. When the girls woke up and I told them what we were going to do, they felt grouchy about it and didn't want to go. But we got dressed and headed out the door anyways. We met up at our chapel with others before we split up to the different locations where the service projects were being held. Maryn and Brynna saw the other children that had come with their families to help in the work too. This helped them shed the grumpies and start to get excited. We headed to one of the locations in downtown Woodstock to help in the clean-up effort on Main Street. The girls and I signed in and donned our bright orange, reflective vests and went about collecting trash from the streets and gutters. The Square was teeming with members of our church, planting flowers, painting, and picking up trash. It felt so good to be working with like-minded people for the benefit of others. By the time we left the girls agreed that they had indeed had a good time.

I was thankful for the opportunity to show them that when we help others our happiness improves. I am grateful for Jesus Christ, who set the ultimate example of a life spent doing dedicated service. I know as we try to follow His example and take into our hearts the words He said in John 13:35, which are, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." we will find not only the lives of those whom we willingly serve blessed, but we will find our own lives and families are blessed as well.

Brynna's New 'Do

I came home from work today and was looking at Brynna. Her hair was looking kind of long, straggly and in her face. I decided then and there that it was time to return to the little bob she has sported in the past. It just frames her cute face so well and makes those beautiful, blue eyes of hers just jump out at you. So I grabbed the scissors and started watching her long, blonde locks fall to the floor. When we were done she looked in the mirror and said "Ooh, I look so stylish!" Nothing makes a girl feel better than a good ol' haircut!

Leavin' on a jet plane...

...in June, to this fine place. Without kids. Can you say hip-hip-hooray?! Can you say stoked?! Can you say I am SO there?! I am all of the above! Justin and I were going to skip taking a trip for our 10th Anniversary this year even though we've been wanting to for years. After Justin's lay-off, we decided to get Kung-Fu serious about not acquiring any new debt for any reason. Since January we have not charged a single thing and it's felt AWESOME. We decided while it would be really nice, we could just take a trip another year together.

After Adam & Amanda got engaged, they announced they would be getting married in Arizona on June 5th. In the Young Family, family is first. We support our peeps! So Justin and I made being there top priority. It is worth a little sacrifice to let our family know we love them. After talking about it, we decided it wouldn't be feasible to fly the whole family out without acquiring debt. So Lauryn was going to come with us and we were going to leave Maryn and Brynna in Georgia. Then my sweet, wonderful Mom agreed to fly out and watch all three girls for us!

Justin and I are actually going to get a real getaway together! Did I mention, without kids. Yes that's right, NO KIDS! We decided to seize the opportunity and stay out there an extra couple days after the wedding on Marriott points to celebrate our anniversary and go to the Grand Canyon together. I have always wanted to go and without the kids I can actually enjoy myself without the fear of someone running off a cliff! I am so excited! I can hardly wait! Want to know the even cooler part, Justin and I already bought our plane tickets and for both of them total it was less than $250 for a non-stop, Delta flight! Hot diggety dog! I love it when things come together!

My Epiphany

Toys are my nemesis bent on destroying me. Will they never go away? Will they ever actually be picked up and STAY picked up?! Sigh. If Erma Bombeck were still alive I'm sure she would tell me to savor and love each little mess because all too soon the day will come when there are no messes left to pick up. Sorry Erma, I just don't have it in me. I want the toys gone. Now.

Okay, okay. Just read my favorite Erma quote... and I've been put in my place. I have to say I'll take the messes if it means I get to be a mother. To see my children play, imagine and develop their minds. I wouldn't give back hearing them talk in British accents to each other like proper ladies over a tea party. Or searching for a hair tie or bow, which are supposed to be properly stowed in color coordinated containers in the hairbucket, but instead have become a collar for one of the five million stuffed animals in this house (each of which has a name and is seriously loved). I wouldn't give up every sash, ribbon, shoelace or rope tied up and leashed on or around stuffed animals necks or hooked to baskets in a crude pulley system to get stuff from the downstairs to the upstairs, if it meant I couldn't have my children. I wouldn't give up the explosion of dress up clothes or the books or the stickers stuck to walls and tables or the drawings or trinkets. No, I'll keep them all and feel so lucky to be a mom...but I think I still would like a housekeeper!

Sunday Series

I'm not gonna lie, it's been one of those days! Not a bad day, just tiring. The kids have been kind of squirrelly and mentally exhausting. So since they are now ready for bed, I'm going to try to convince them to sleep and then just sit down and chill with Justin. I mean, after all Sunday is a day of rest. So I'm gonna take a minute and do just that! Hope all of you had a wonderful Sunday though!

The Chicks Have Hatched!

I've launched a new blog with the help of my friends! It was just conceived last night and launched this morning! But here's to hoping it's a success at getting up and going! Let the saving begin!

PB&J...The Better Way!

Most people I know would agree with me on the fact that there is something very comforting about a good, ol' PB&J sandwich with a big glass of milk. When I married Justin, the PB&J I grew up on was taken to another level. He introduced me to his Mom's Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam and after that I was ruined. I could never ever go back to store bought jam. It just didn't come anywhere near the homemade stuff on the deliciousness scale. Honestly, I don't think I've bought store bought jam in the last nine years. Tonight, I think I've been ruined even further! I was feeding Lauryn her dinner, when I heard a soft knock on the door. It was my sweet friend Melysa and she had come bearing gifts! She had brought some of her yummy, homemade, strawberry jam and home-ground, honey-roasted peanut butter! I wanted to tackle her in a hug I was so excited, but restrained myself to an enthusiastic high five! I was SOOOO excited! It was even still a little warm from the grinder... I just had to wipe my face, the very memory of it is causing me to drool! I don't even think she was out of the driveway before I had a slice of my friend Laura's freshly-ground, whole-wheat bread sliced off and slathered in the good stuff. People, if you've never eaten freshly ground HONEY-ROASTED peanut butter, you haven't lived! I now can officially die a very happy girl! Thank you so much Melysa!!!

Easter 2009

We had such a fun Easter this year! Justin had to be in Virginia on Easter Sunday, so the Easter Bunny came to fill baskets and hide eggs on Thursday. He started bringing Rice Krispie bunnies when Maryn was just a baby and it seems the tradition has stuck! He also surprised Maryn and Brynna with matching Webkinz frogs in their Easter baskets! They were so excited and promptly named them Peppy and Hopper! Sunday morning the girls woke up with fingernails and toes painted and got their hair all curled and pretty and put on the new Easter dresses that Nana and Papa sent for them! They looked so beautiful! Unfortunately though, Justin had the camera with him, so no pics of them all dolled up yet! (Mom, I promise I will get some though! Thank you SO much!) After church, we headed over to Grammy and Gramps for a delicious Easter feast that Grammy made in her gorgeous new kitchen and a fun egg hunt out in the yard! I was reminded again and again this Easter season of what a blessing our families are in our lives. I am so grateful for each and every one of them!

This is a video of Maryn reading the book Lauryn got in her Easter basket. I do of course realize that only grandparents think this kind of thing is adorable. But since the grandparents read this blog too, I had to put it up for them!

Sunday Series: My Savior

The very thought of my Savior, humbles me beyond words. I have nothing to add, but my simple testimony that I know He lives. I know that He paid the price for my sins. I know that He has felt every hurt and disappointment and loneliness that we will ever experience. Both in the Garden of Gethsemane and as He hung at Golgotha. He bore them all willingly... because He loves us. I am thankful for His life's example that laid the path that I should follow. I am filled with unspeakable gratitude for that empty tomb and the miracle of the Resurrection. For the knowledge that because of that, I will be able to see Him again one day. To look into His face. To feel the nailprints in His hands. And to fall at His feet and through my tears let him know all the feelings of my heart, that words never could express.

"He Is Not Here"

by Walter Rane

So Stinkin' True!

"Life is hard;

it's harder if you're stupid."
-John Wayne

(THANKS CHARLYCE FOR A GOOD LAUGH ON THAT ONE!)

Funny Girl

No one has the ability to get a good chuckle out of me quite like Brynna. Even when she is being serious, she is completely hilarious to me! I came across a couple of old videos going through my camera that just made me laugh again at my funny, little monkey!

I love how she is using her Pez dispenser to season her dish. She does love to watch Food Network! Now she is even more specific about what she will be when she grows up. Instead of a chef she is going to be a cooking teacher! Don't confuse the two or she'll set you straight!

I just love some of the facial expressions this child comes up with. She was learning about this scripture at school, but was completely annoyed that I was asking about it!

SUPER SCORE!!

I could do a jig of joy right now! Justin went into the T-Mobile store this afternoon to adjust our plan. While he was there the customer service guy said that they were running a deal that only 5% of their customers were eligible for. Because we've been good customers for so long he said that we were eligible to get it! So we are getting unlimited, nationwide minutes for $35 a month LESS than what we were paying before! Now is that a super score or what?! So since our home phone is now pointless, I cancelled that as well and will save another $35 there. So basically we get $70 more in our pocket each month and get to gab MORE! I love it when things like this happen!

Brynn n' Quinn

Best buddies Brynn and Quinn! They were hugging and loving on each other and wouldn't hold still for a good picture, but were still so stinkin' cute! The last time we were with the Adamson's, Brynna and Quinn (who are only 3 months apart) were still a little too young to be concerned with each other. But this time, dang they were best buddies! It was so stinkin' cute! Quinn cried when we had to say goodbye! She said "I just want to go with my fwend!" I hope these two are like their mommas and stay 'fwends' for a very long time!

Teethers

I just liked this picture because it shows off Lauryn's cute, little teethers! Man, I just want to squeeze that kid!

Sunday Series: Baptism

I am catching this Sunday's post a little late in the day. It's 9:00 pm and we just got home a short while ago. We decided to make an impromptu trip up to North Carolina to be with our friends, the Adamson's, for their son Jake's baptism. My religion differs from others in the fact that in my faith, you are not baptized as a baby. Rather you wait until you are eight years old or older. Why? It's because we believe that babies and young children are born into this world without sin. Therefore, they have no need to be cleansed of any sins, since they are unable to intentionally commit any. We believe it was revealed by our Father in Heaven, that the age of eight is when a person is old enough to be accountable for their actions and decisions. Jake recently turned eight and made the choice to be baptized by immersion after Jesus Christ's example.

The Adamson's were the first friends we made when Justin and I moved back to Georgia together. Amber was pregnant with Jake at that time. We have grown to love them like family. (In fact, Maryn insists that they are her cousins!) It is so wild to me to think how quickly these past eight years have flown by. Jake has gone from a tiny baby to being the full grown boy he is now. I am so proud of him and the good kid that he is. We gave him a little journal as a baptism gift. On the front page I told him about how I remember the day I was baptized twenty years ago. And how that choice I made as a young, eight year old girl to follow Christ's example and be baptized a member of His true church, has been one that has blessed my life every day since then. I know that as Jake continues to try to pattern his life after our Savior's, he to will find his life richly blessed.

Another Home Remedy!

I don't know if you recall my excitement about the effectiveness of the homemade cleaner I discovered on the internet awhile back. It worked great and saved money. In fact, I'm never going back to store-bought! Well I discovered another easy-peasy, at-home wonder on the internet. Lauryn has had some pretty unsightly cradle cap lately and it's been showing even more now that she's sporting a cute, little pig-tail on top of her head. Maryn had it too as a baby and I remember using a stinky, ineffective and expensive 'natural' store-bought remedy. So I figured I'd poke around a bit before I went and wasted $10 on special, stinky, baby shampoo. The resolution... simple olive oil! Who doesn't have a bottle of that hanging around?! I just massaged a bit into her scalp and worked her head over with a toothbrush in little circular motions. Shampooed it with regular baby shampoo and worked it over with the toothbrush again. Then just threw the toothbrush away. It worked great! No more scaly head and no wasted money.

I find myself being thankful for this opportunity in my life to take being resourceful to a new level. Even if it's as silly as a few dollars saved. I told Justin that I was grateful, now going on four and a half months into his lay-off, for the push it's given me to make being a good steward of our family finances fun. I am certainly not perfect with it, but being prepared and being resourceful has taken a undesirable situation and made it okay. We are continually finding ways we have been blessed to make it work. Our focus has shifted from things that don't matter to being constantly reminded of what really does. I would sign up for this particular speed bump in the road of life all over again, if in the long run, I can count that as a lesson learned.