Happiness Is....

Happiness is having your husband go into work late, just so you can lay in bed, spooned and smiling, to welcome a new day.

Happiness is realizing being blessed is really being given times in your life that require you to summon faith and courage.

Happiness is a day on your calendar with nothing but blank space.

Happiness is having clean floors and baseboards.

Happiness is getting lost and taking the long way with a dear friend along for the ride.

Happiness is treating the kids to the dollar theater and sharing a big bucket of popcorn.

Happiness is closing the computer, turning off the phone and dog-piling on the couch with the little lives that fill your heart.

Happiness is sunshine streaming through windows.

Happiness is family art projects.

Happiness is eating chocolate pudding with cool whip on it, like a schoolkid, without a care in the world.

Happiness is sitting on the deck steps as the sunlight fades and booty shaking in the living room.

Happiness is texts that say you are loved and missed.

Happiness is dusting off your imagination and losing yourself in a daydream.

Happiness is today.

"Trouble With The Curve"

   When it comes to love languages and all that, mine is not being showered with gifts and expensive dinners out. In fact I kind of resent the commercialism that is shoved down people's throats when it comes to holidays and all these built up expectations people get. I just want face time or kind gestures. So last night Valentine's Day was perfect for me. Justin made the girls and I a delicious chicken pasta dinner. It had grilled asparagus, zucchini and a cream sauce...I had three bowls, so apparently it was delicious! ;) We ate as a family and then we sent the girls upstairs to have a "Girl Party" and watch a movie while chowing on popcorn and Twizzlers. Justin and I settled in on the couch and he rubbed my back. (So much better than putting on heels and braving the crowds!)

   I wasn't that excited about Justin's movie choice, "Trouble With The Curve" thinking it was going to be some boring, sports movie though. I was really wrong. In fact, I loved it. Probably because I felt like I could relate to aspects of the movie, like I was watching our life in some ways. It details a father-daughter relationship with a longtime baseball scout. Being married to a basketball scout, or "Recruiting Analyst" as they now call themselves, I kept looking at Justin and joking about how weird it was to see our life on screen. There was a scene where the scout is sitting in a diner booth alone going over game notes, when he overhears a mom with her small children sitting at the counter seats. One child says "Mom, I miss Daddy." I looked at Justin and it was like each of us was getting a glimpse at what the other person's life is like when we aren't together.

   Even Justin was laughing at how he thought his personality is a bit like Clint Eastwood's character. No nonsense, cursing, workaholic, perfectionist, not into feelings talks, etc... But by the end of the movie you see the softer, more loveable side of Eastwood and it made me smile. Because that's what I see in Justin. He puts up his walls for some people, but I know better. He doesn't necessarily care if you love him or hate him. But he cares that I love him and I love that.

   I was thinking as we sat there on the couch, nestled up under our blanket, about how far we've come and where we have been in our relationship over the years. Valentine's morning 15 years ago was when we announced our engagement to our families. It has been a wild ride since then and a lot has transpired. But I love where we are at in our love for each other and I love the possibilities of where we can be headed together.

   I love that Justin supports me in the things that are important to me, even if they aren't to him. I love that he puts up with my quirks and -ism's and sees the humor in it rather than judging me for it. I love that he appreciates me and makes sure he lets me know. I love that while he hates noise, chaos and interruptions, which is essentially life with kids, he loves his kids and cares if he is a good daddy to them. While it would be nice if he didn't work quite so much, I love and appreciate that he is a hard worker. There are a lot of things I love about him and a lot of things being married to him has taught me about myself. I am glad we are in it together and thankful to have him by my side in this journey of life.

Chattanooga, TN - August 2013

Our Little Valentines

A tradition that began years ago, when our family was half the size it is now, has been for Justin and I to wake up early to make our girls a special Valentine's breakfast. School was cancelled today because of snow and ice, so we didn't have to wake up quite so early this year, which was an extra special treat!

Things I love about these pictures...

1. Maryn has on her old lady shawl because the girls were having a proper tea party with their stuffed animals while Justin and I were cooking. I love that my 10 year old is still a little girl, in no rush to grow up. She also has her much loved 70's mug she bought  with hard-earned "music bucks" in music class back when we were living in Oregon. I swear she will pack that up and take it off to college with her someday, she loves it that much!

2. I love Lulu's expressive antics! She was pulling faces at me even behind her cocoa mug. Last night we got a bag of hand-me-downs from a friend. She was THRILLED and did a twirly fashion show, showing off all her new clothes! This morning she made sure to scour her new clothing options for the perfect Valentine's outfit! She wanted to make sure that she was feeling sufficiently fancy at our family breakfast!

3. Devy said the prayer over breakfast and Justin and I couldn't help but crack our eyes at each other and silently chuckle! Our littlest is just getting so big! It still is so weird to hear her doing and saying big-kid things! We were joking at breakfast though that the way you spell Devyn is D-R-A-M-A! She was cracking me up with her Popeye grin, complete with a scuffed up face that was the result of taking a tumble out of a moving Power Wheels yesterday. That child is a force of nature!

4. Brynnie loves a good dose of silly! There was no shortage of her signature laugh as we all took turns speaking in British accents, having tongue curling contests (Brynna is my tongue-twin!) and doing bird calls to each other. (Sometimes table manners have to take a back seat....) Justin especially gets her in stitches, whether he is acting like an Australian or a Brit....but our favorite is his Michelle Duggar impersonation! ;)

I feel so very blessed to have such an awesome, little family to love! They truly have my heart!

Project 365 {2013} - Day 185

 

Today was a very soggy 4th of July. But we made the most of it by having an indoor picnic, going for a drive through the rain (just to get out of the house) and finished out the day with some sparklers under the cover of the porch. While it was very low-key, I loved just having all of us under one roof, at the same time, with no distractions.

Project 365 {2013} - Day 182

I love this view! Everyone piled on one couch together, snuggling. My feet kicked up after a long day and Justin opening a love note filled with more love notes that each of the girls had piled into it and couldn't wait for us to tear into. I tell you what, despite peripheral crap, my life is just dang good!

Fall Is In The Air

     The air that has hung over Georgia as a result of Hurricane Isaac has been warm and thick. Clouds loomed from horizon to horizon like a playground bully loving to see it's victims squirm and sweat under their oppression. But this morning some force of nature pushed Isaac and his unwelcome presence out and we were greeted with a crisp 58 degree morning with an endless view of blue sky. I cooked up a big pot of oatmeal with apples I picked myself from a North Georgia orchard this week, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and butter.

     The girls cozied up to their warm bowls of goodness as they exclaimed "Mom! This tastes just like Fall!" They then started in, going back and forth, about their favorite things that were inspired by cooler weather. Pumpkin patches, Halloween, warm wassail laced with cinnamon, orange and cloves. They drooled at the thought of chocolate chip pumpkin bread and eating breakfast wrapped in a blanket. The turning of leaves and the hope that winter would bring snow. All things I love so much myself.

     I've often wondered what it is about Fall that captures my heart. Spring has blooms and new life. Summer, warmth and carefree days. Winter, the anticipation of the holidays and all the wonder that goes with it. But Fall....there is something about it that I love so much. Maybe it's that with the turning of the seasons, as leaves change from who they were, we see that there is beauty in that transformation. And maybe I like the idea that that change can be reflected in our own lives. That time may change us and challenge us, but it doesn't have to diminish us. That our beauty, inside and out, can become more vibrant than ever with each turning season of our life.

Growing up...

When Maryn and Brynna were little we used to watch "America's Funniest Videos" almost every night together as a family. We loved it, but then the routine got dropped for some reason. A few nights ago we re-discovered it on Netflix. This time though with two more kids who are now the same ages Maryn and Brynna were when we were last regulars to the show. It was so cute seeing my Little Women lined up on the couch; snuggling, laughing, yelling at the screen and when it was all done re-enacting their favorite clips.

Devyn has officially become one of the big girls. Which really blows my mind because it seems like even in the last week she has grown leaps and bounds. It makes me wonder what one more week might bring! She got the jokes, jumped in on the wrestling match and huskily marched around the room yelling, laughing at everything and pulling crazy, cute grins. Tonight we asked Brynna to call Maryn and Lauryn down for dinner. Instead Devyn marched to the bottom of the stairs and hollered "Maaaaayn, Yahhhh, iiiinnnn!!" ("Maryn, Lauryn dinner!") with perfect inflection. Justin and I traded glances as if to say "When the heck did she start talking?!"

It's so weird how our family is growing up. When you are in the thick of your labor-intensive years of raising small children you think it is never going to end. You think it will last forever. But lately I have seen small glimpses of new phases on the horizon. It's exciting and sad at the same time. Maryn told me the other day "Mom, I don't really want to grow up....but I do feel like I am becoming a young lady." I had to stifle a chuckle at her choice of words because she was so serious. But hey, if they have to grow up I'll accept their goal of becoming young ladies!

I know I can't stop the steady hand of time, ever progressing forward. Some days it makes me a little sad to know that our time as parents of young children won't be around forever. But seeing how the girls have grown already, and seeing how proud they make me to be their mom, I find peace in knowing that whatever phase of life we are in, it will be fulfilling as long as we are all together.