I love unplanned fun with my kids! The other day my husband was mowing the lawn and found WILD STRAWBERRIES in patches all over the yard. So we postponed nap time and ran outside. The looks on the girls' faces when they found strawberries in the yard! Priceless!
I found out wild strawberries in tall grass are very hard to see at first. Some could be just inches from your hand and if you weren't looking closely could be missed all together. We found a few dozen tiny strawberries in about 15 minutes. Lots of fun and completely unplanned!
​Thank God for husbands with keen eye sight! 

As I sit here being intentional about writing this, I am reminded about how much of our lives flies by without being intentional about our time. It's amazing how fast a day or week seemingly comes and goes without much/ if anything notable to report. I recently spoke to a friend of mine and realized that we haven't done anything except talk on the phone a few times a year and meet up twice in 4 years!
How did 4 years go by, without me spending any significant time with my best friend? I know 5 hours separate us, now that I moved away, but I still come home a few times a year. Unfortunately, most of the time I visit we can't meet up. So many people to visit, in so little time. But we have been able to stay in touch by the miracle of technology. A few texts here and the occasional call.
But staying in touch with people  is not a one way street. I've lost touch with a lot of people over the years. Some I've been able to pick up right where we left off after months or years without talking. With others it is extremely difficult to reconnect and stay connected. It can be hard.
But one of my friends and I have been able to push past the distance and the differences in our life journeys and stay friends for 14 years. Not just friends but good friends. Amazing friends! But it isn't just one of us that continues to reach out, we both do. Sometimes she is the one initiating contact for a few months and then roles will reverse for awhile. It is a friendship where we both give a little and take a little throughout the year. 
Unless we are intentional, things go haywire. If you want to make Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people you need to be intentional about planning the meal and the event. If you want to run a 5K race, being intentional about training and preparing is critical. Our everyday lives are the same way.
Being intentional about how we use our time now is so important because it changes our future. Our days quickly turn to weeks and then years and soon friends are just in old photographs and memories. But if we stay intentional about our time now, we will look back on years and think "Wow, my life has been amazing! I'm so thankful."
A little challenge for each of us: reach out to someone you haven't spoken to or seen in awhile. Whether it be a few weeks or a few years, sometimes all it takes is a simple email stating "how are you?" to get the conversation started and the friendship rekindled! 
​God bless!

I grew up with my Mom behind a camera! She always seemed to be on the outskirts of the party or everyday fun, clicking away amazing pictures. To be fair, the harmonic clicking of her camera wasn't always welcomed by everyone but now when her albums are brought out, no one complains! As we flip through pictures taken 15 to 25 years ago we enjoy remembering the styles of the 80s and 90s, seeing old vacations and birthday parties and laughing together.

So when I became a Mom 3 years ago I vowed to be that annoying picture taking person who people hated, at the time, but thanked profusely decades later. However, as I called my husband to announce my water had broken and to come home post haste!... I stood in the midst of boxes! I didn't know where my toothbrush was, let alone the diaper bag or CAMERA! Yes, we rushed to the hospital with nothing! No cute baby outfit to focus on while pushing, no soft music and no change for the vending machine!  All the pictures from my daughter's first few days of life were taken with my husband's phone, which was better than the alternative of nothing but was not the picturesque, perfect Mom behind-the-camera-getting-the-perfect-shot-every-time-with-perfect-lighting-and-amazing-skill... that I vowed to be. 

I've grown sine then and I've let go of my idea of the perfect picture! My new motto: at least I have a picture! And after accidentally deleting my 2nd daughters 1st birthday party and 1 year photo shoot before it was properly backed up... my standards have become even more realistic.

That being said, I just want to encourage you to simply take pictures! Bad ones, good ones, silly ones, staged ones and every picture in between! Because in 20 years when your kids and grand-kids turn on your computer and click through all of the picture you took of them ( I'll blog about that injustice another time), they are not going to care whether the lighting was perfect or that every moment of their life was forever etched into a 4x6 picture. They are going to be happy to look back and share memories. 

And just to encourage you to take more pictures I grabbed each of my kids for a quick picture today! 10 minutes total! You can too! 

I recently told you that my oldest daughter "graduated" to making her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Well she asked if she could show her 3 year old cousin how she makes her lunch. So I thought a video would be the best way!
For time sake I did pour a bit of jelly and rush her during the peanut butter spreading part, but she did a great job. Usually it takes her 7 minutes per sandwich, so a 2 and a half minute video was an accomplishment. 

Cheers!

When you become a parent it seems that your kids graduate at least once a week... from something. Okay maybe not once a week but as they grow up and learn more things they graduate! It starts off relatively innocent- they hold their own heads up, instead of bobbing to and fro. They smile and seem to say, "I've got this Mom, I don't need your help." Graduation 1, check. And then you clap and smile when they roll over and discover their toes... Graduation 2 and 3, check. Again they say to you, in their own way, "I've got this Mom, look at me! I'm growing up before your eyes." 
By the time they are walking and saying a few words you have probably lost track of the many graduations you have attended and happily clapped during and bragged about to all of your friends, bank tellers and innocent bystanders. Yes, we cheer our kids on every time they succeed in mastering a new skill or wave goodbye to another milestone. (Waving goodbye, was that graduation 16 or 28?) But inside we know we are slowly loosing our babies, with every graduation they become more independent and less in need of our constant presence and help in every aspect of their lives.
​I bring this up not to be super sentimental or to ruin your day but to announce two new graduations in my home! Annabelle just graduated from her "baby bucket" to a big girl booster seat! As she sat FORWARD in the truck for the first time holding her dolly tight, she looked to me, like she grew from my little baby girl to a toddler, instantly! This new graduation (#105?) caught me off guard. Yes, I saw the signs: her feet hanging over the edge of the car-seat, her weight check at the doctor getting ever closer to her car-seat limit,  and her frustration when she could only look backwards on our trips. But I wasn't prepared to have my second "baby" in a booster seat, but are we really ever ready for our kids to graduate? 
Then there is Caroline who surprised me as she made her first peanut butter and jam sandwich today! As she spread the peanut butter and spooned on homemade jam I just stood speechless. Then she folded her bread into a sandwich and announced with a big smile "all my by-self lunch!" and as she walked over to her lunch spot I realized SHE GRADUATED! She can now make her own PBJs without my help. She can open the refrigerator and get jam, she can climb on the counter and get peanut butter and bread, and now she can make it "all my by- self." 
As parents we want these moments. It means that our children are developing and growing into independent self reliant people! It means that someday they will read us the same bedtime story 3 times and make their own beds. It also means we are guaranteed a front row seat to their next 100 graduations! But today it means I get to give my 3 year old the responsibility of making lunch
​for my 1 year old! <3 I love MOTHERHOOD! <3

Cheers!

When I started blogging a few years ago. I thought it would be a fun way to share my journey into motherhood with others and keep my family close at hand. I couldn't have been more naive. I had a picturesque view of what blogging would be like, how everyone would love seeing pictures of my children, how I would share some of our favorite memories and traditions as they were made, and how nice it would be to write about my thoughts and to encourage other young Moms who may find the time, somehow, to read something I wrote.  

However less than a year into blogging I became very discouraged after I received a few emails questioning what I chose to share on my blog. I was surprised by how much I had offended people by posting about my children and my experiences as a mother. My innocent attempt at sharing my life, had caused others to question me as a Mother, my world view and my faith. WOW! I really struck a cord.

With those emails fresh in my mind I told my husband I was done! Yet another thing, I told myself, that I would quit. Have you ever quit something and regretted it years later or even the next day? I've quit many things over the years, some by choice, others by circumstance; but I quit none the less. From basketball to violin to learning German (it was a phase), I left them behind in search of something, easier?- maybe, less time consuming?- probably, not so much money?- definitely. There always seemed to be more of a reason to stop something than to continue. I even switched majors in college- another regret on my litany of failures. And while some of those moments brought great joy, I did enjoy my new major and leaving behind sports led me to my first job and some amazing life lessons- sometimes I wonder what if?

Let me just say, I love my life. I love my husband and my kids! I wouldn't trade where we are in life together for a gold ball or the ability to converse in 10 languages! So as I sit here surrounded by everything that is my life, I wonder how much of my life I have allowed to be dictated by others. How many times have I allowed someone else's ideas and negativity to impact my life? And while I could name names, places and times of such negativity and unwelcome encouragement that would also cause me to allow my next move to be dictated by those experiences. 

So while I can't guarantee I will become a professional blogger or even a well known one, I might as well give it another try. Because I shouldn't let my life be dictated by the negativity of others or focus on pressures outside of my control. Because honestly I can only control my own moves, what I choose as my focus on is my choice, what I choose to change is up to me.

So I choose to call my glass FULL, with a cautious splash zone.
Cheers!

Today is the Epiphany of the Lord and officially the last day of 
Christmas. Our first 12 days of Christmas with Baby C was such an 
amazing blessing. She loved every tear of the paper, the colors, the lights, 
and family! We took the Christmas tree down and you could tell how 
sad she was that the twinkling lights were gone! 

I learned a lot this Christmas too, from my young daughter. Seeing the 
wonder of Christmas through her eyes made me slow down and try to 
see what she saw. I spent a few long nights sitting under the Christmas 
tree looking at the lights. Seeing the wonder of it all. While making 
cookies I tried to slow down and enjoy the process not just the result. 
I even had all of the present wrapped way in advance.... Except for the 
last minute few (never avoidable). 

I decorated a lot too! I made my kitchen cabinets in to presents with red and green ribbon and bows and with a little construction paper the refrigerator became a snowman! 

Christmas is a wonderful time of year. It is so important to take the time 
to slow down and enjoy the season. Remembering the wonder I felt as a 
kid as cookies and presents started piling up as Christmas got closer. 

Here are some pictures from our 12 days:

 

Look who is 9 months old!

A few new tricks Baby C has learned since our last update:
Standing- taking a few steps
Wave and saying "Hi"
2 teeth!

Baby C. is such a happy wonderful little girl that I can't imagine my life without. I can't believe she is 9 months old. Her first Christmas is just around the bend! I love seeing her discover the lights, ribbon and baby Jesus. 

Baby C turned 8 months old this week! She impresses me more and more everyday! She sits all by herself, pulls herself to stand, does the furniture shuffle, says "Mama" and "PaPa", and so much more! I am so proud of her! 
Some beautiful pictures from her 8 month photo shoot! 

You've got to love kids!!! Baby C saw her first snow today! She crawled over to the porch doors and started banging on the glass and screaming. When I went over she looked a me all concerned saying "ahhhh ahhh ahhh!"

The white stuff must have concerned her quite a lot! She stared outside half the day! Too funny!