At church on Sunday, our pastor asked us to list the 5 things that impacted our lives in 2011. He then challenged us that they could propel us – either for the good or the bad – if we let them.

I reflected on the top 5 things that impacted my 2011. As I did, I realized that I had a pretty awesome year. The negative things that I did go through in 2011 (don’t we all?) were all but forgotten, and certainly worth the final outcome.

1) The Move. We tend to move a lot. I’d like for that trend to stop. This move has been AMAZING for us in so many ways – we love our church, our neighborhood, our friends, the kids schools, our jobs, the weather. There’s really nothing bad we can say about the move. Moves are never easy and almost always stressful – this is where much of the “negative” came in last year. However, the ultimate outcome was absolutely worth the price – even though we wish we didn’t have to pay it!


2) House Guests. Our brother-in-law took a 6 month job overseas. Because of where they lived, he’d basically only get to his family (Jon’s sister and their 3 kids) see them at Christmas. Their family consists of a 5 year old, 2 year old, and 7 month old. Having done the “work travel” gig, we know it’s no fun. Adding a new born to the mix makes it even more challenging. Because we live only a short plane ride from where he’s working, we offered for them to live with us during his 6 month stint. We have a “guest house” of sorts, but share laundry and kitchen facilities. They moved in the very same day we closed on our house. Needless to say, our life has been chaotic! It has also been a huge blessing – we’ve had a chance to get to know Jon’s sister better, get to know her family. The kids have always wanted to have family close. Not only that, but I’ve learned a lot about myself – two women in the kitchen can cause for a lot of introspection and growth! We’ve got about a month left of this living situation, and while there have certainly been challenges, we’re thankful we had the opportunity to host them.


3) New Church. In our last location, we spent 3 years church hunting. It was a miserable, empty, lonely feeling. We never found one where we felt we belonged. In the previous 3 moves, we found churches we really enjoyed, we loved Sunday mornings, loved the “family” we formed at our church, and really felt like we were growing in our walk with Christ and with each other. I won’t sugar coat it – the last 3 years have been some of the darkest in our walk with Christ and with each other. We feel now like that fog has lifted. After having gone without, we have a new appreciation for our church, love the people, love to serve, and can’t wait to continue that growth.


4) Small Groups / New Friends. Similar to missing church, we missed the Small Groups. We have been immensely blessed in our Small Groups in the past – they are very much as close as family to us. This is another thing that we have not had in the past 3 years and left a gaping hole in our lives. We have joined small groups and have met wonderful new friends through these groups. In fact, just this weekend, Jon texted a friend giving him the heads up that he was using his name as a reference. The return text invited us to dinner that very evening. Jon responded that dinner was already on the stove, but did they want to join us. It was a very impromptu, non-fancy dinner – and it meant the world to us. To fellowship over leftovers – not much is sweeter. I’m thankful to have friends like that again – that don’t require plans, but enjoy drop-ins.


5) Running. I’ve taken up running again. Something about living in a place that always hovers in the 70s-80s makes you want to eat and live healthier. For me, fitness and happiness are kind of a never-ending cycle – I need one to have the other. I discovered this past fall as I trained for a half marathon that when I run, everything works better – my attitude is better, which makes my relationships better, which makes my eating habits better, which makes me sleep better. I mentioned in a previous post that we are responsible for choosing happiness, choosing joy. In doing that, I think it’s important to understand the situations where it’s easiest to choose joy – and do what we can to plug in to those situations!


So what will I carry with me into 2012, and what will I cast off as lessons learned?


The move is behind me. I’ll cast off the negatives that were associated with it and dwell on everything that we love about our new home.


My sister-in-law’s 6 month stint is nearly complete. I’ll wish them Godspeed on their next endeavor, and apply the lessons I learned about myself in hopes of making me a more tolerable person. OK, maybe that’s a bit overstated – but unfortunately I did learn more about my negative qualities than my positive ones – things I definitely need to make strides to change in myself.


I absolutely plan to continue with our new church, and in doing so plan to become more involved in service.


Ditto small groups. When our travel schedule lets down, we’d also like to lead one. Maybe just host one for the short term? The friendships associated with them I’m holding onto like a lifeline (without suffocating the friends, that is). I’m better at acquaintances than friendships – and I need to keep working on that.


Running. My next big race is another half at the end of March. I figure if I keep paying the fee, I’ve got to keep running so as not to waste money! My head knows that it makes me happy… but my sleepy eyes don’t want to get out of bed! We’ll get there…


And I wonder what else? As he closed the sermon, he told us to stop asking God What If? And instead ask Why Not? With an Almighty God charting my course, Why Not? Anything is possible?

What great things will He lead me to and through in 2012 if I allow it? If I keep my mind and heart open to His call? I need to not doubt by asking “what if?” but instead look forward eagerly by asking, “Why not?!”

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13

As the New Year rolled around, Jon and I began talking about things we wanted to do more intentionally. One of them is read / Bible Study. To that end, we just purchased a book by Donald Miller called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story." He wrote the book, "Blue Like Jazz," which Jon really enjoyed and which I intend to read. As we read the book and discuss it together, I hope that we can uncover ways that we can "live a better story" as a individuals, a couple, and as a family.

For Christmas, I received a book from my sister-in-law. One afternoon the kids were out front swinging, so I brought my book out to read it on the front steps. Amara came up to me and said, "Mom, I didn't know that you liked to read books." She adores reading; a passion I want to encourage. Similar to my purpose in running -- to set a good example for the kids -- I need to follow that mantra with books as well. I do love to read -- I just haven't taken the time to do it in over a decade.

Boy... write it like that and it seems like an eternity!

In my journey to live a better story, there are a few things I hope to do...

1) Journal it. I've never been much of a journaler or a writer -- however, I do believe that there's power in the written word. If you write it, you do it. I hope/plan to write and/or blog as I do each of the items below.

2) Bible Study and Christian Reading - I want to read more books, but I want them to be books with a purpose. I want them to be encouraging, inspirational, and challenging of my status quo. I want to become a better person because of the books that I read. That said, I need to also focus on personal Bible Study, not using books, no matter how Christian, to take the place of the Bible.

3) Date Nights - I want to be more intentional about Date Nights both with Jon as well as with each child. I have some willing participants at church who would be willing to do a "child swap." I need to pursue that more intentionally so that we each can benefit from date nights at least once a month. For each child, we've begun a list of things we'd like to do together - some free, some cheap, some a bit more of a splurge. I did a couple "date days" with my daughter over Christmas, which were really more like errands, but they meant the world to her. I need to be intentional about spending one-on-one time with each of them.

4) Eating and Exercise - During October and November last year, I was very intentional about eating and exercising as I prepared to run a Half Marathon. I felt great about my finish, my performance, and the impact it had on how my clothes fit. :) However, like in the past, once I was done, I stopped being intentional. I've signed up for another race in March, and I've got to recapture the efforts both in my eating and my exercising. This is not only a great example for the kids, but I know it pleases Jon, and I feel so much better about myself and life in general when I'm taking good care of myself! Not to mention, my vitals are improved -- when I took our company's health assessment, my bad cholesterol was so low it didn't register (I have had high cholesterol in the past), and the assessor said he'd never seen such strong numbers! (Of course... he may have just been telling me that to make me feel good!)

5) Relationships - At our New Year's Day church service, we were challenged to pray over one area of our life where we could stand some work, and ask God to help us improve. I wrote down the broad category of relationships. Starting with God; my relationship with Jesus Christ is sometimes pretty one-sided.... and I'm not talking about me putting forth the effort. I know He's always there, but I'm often lax and don't show up. This also will include my relationship with Jon. We did a small group called "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" last semester and really were surprised by some of the thing we learned about each other, and also were shown ways to be more intentional about the "little things" so that we could live life more smoothly. My relationship with my kids is probably the most "solid" on a day to day basis because they're still young - while I anticipate those relationships to become rocky through the teen years, I also know that the best way to minimize that is to invest the time now -- hence the date nights. And finally, relationships with friends -- I've always had a lot of acquaintences, but not a lot of friends. I'm good at keeping people at a distance, because I've convinced myself that if they knew the "true me" they wouldn't like me. Get behind me satan - that's not a lie worth believing. It's a lie that leads to loneliness. In our new home, new church, I've met some wonderful people who I believe will become great friends. I need to be intentional in those relationships to nurture the friendships.

So how does this all look on the blog?

Honestly... I have no idea.

I'm really not feeling the pull to blog right now, and in my mind, I kind of prefer the crude paper / pen approach. I'm not sure though, because typing is so much easier and faster. So it may be a bit of both.

At this point, I'm leaning on "If you write it, you do it" -- so here it is.

That... and my friend Reese told me to blog again. :)

We'll see where it goes from here!

Wow.

What an insane past 5-6 months. In February I received a promotion. In March the kids and I moved. In April, May, and June, Jon commuted. In July, we finally closed on both houses - one to sell, the other to buy.

I will say with complete honesty, it has been some of the most excruciating 5 months of our lives. Neither of us have faced a string of challenges such as we faced during the relocation. Truth be told, everything is not yet resolved, but it's getting there. I won't detail everything that went wrong... but suffice it to say that literally everything went wrong.

Yet.... without question, without hesitation... God absolutely showed up.

And that gave me peace.

And that's what I *will* share.

I hear so many people tell me that God had a hand in their move -- He answered prayers to sell their house, find a house, find a job -- just smoothed the way for everything. I don't doubt that -- not one bit.

But.... what about when the way isn't smooth? What about when every little thing goes wrong. What if there's a battle waiting to be fought at every corner? Does that mean God's NOT in the move? Does it mean we're not acting in accordance with His will? I will say it's easy to let your mind wander down that path. And it's probably a good thing to ask Him -- to be sure that you really are on the path He intends.

My short answer: Just because you're in God's will doesn't mean He promises a smooth path.

Look at Job. I'm quite sure that book of the Bible was written to remind me during the past few months that God's there even in challenging times.

But here's the beautiful thing: despite the ridiculous challenges, God showed up in ways that were unquestionably Him, and undeniably assuring us we're going the right way; doing the right thing.

With every single move we've made -- and that includes 7 states now -- it has taken us a minimum of 6 months to find a church. Our last place we never did find one. Here... the first week.

When we lived in NY, we had a pastor who I just loved. I didn't even know the guy; it was a huge church. But for the first time, I couldn't wait to go to church on Sundays. He was a teaching pastor, and He made the word absolutely come alive, gave it context, helped me see it in ways and more deeply than I ever had. As we scoured websites looking for churches in our new city (I literally googled "church city" with our city inserted), I randomly came upon a site for a church who interviewed its staff and asked them various questions. One of the questions was "Who is your mentor."

I about fell off my chair when the lead pastor listed as his mentor... our pastor from NY. No way... half a country away.

We woke up that next morning and visited the church, shared with the pastor how we found it.... and we've been back every Sunday since. That was in March.

Not 2 weeks later... they changed their website. That survey and the reference to our pastor in NY is gone. If that's not God saying, "Hey guys, I know you need a place to plug in. I know you want desperately to find a good church, and that's what I want for you, too -- come over here."

In late May or early June, we finally found a house that we felt we could call home in a neighborhood we felt would be a wonderful place to raise our kids. A couple weeks later, Jon's sister called sharing that her husband has an overseas opportunity -- and can they come for Thanksgiving so that during the 6 months he's gone, they can all get together once to see each other.

The house we chose has a guest suite and living room over the garage. The house was never on the market -- our realtor just knew about it. We suggested that his sister and her 3 kids just live there for 6 months -- it's closer and hopefully they can see their daddy at least once a month.

God is a God of relationships. I very much believe that He worked out those details so that we can nurture our relationship with our extended family, and so that their precious family can maintain their relationship during a long 6 months.

Life isn't promised to be easy or without hurdles. The saying "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" I believe to be a bunch of bunk. During the past 6 months, I have been given more than I can handle more than I'd like to admit. But it's when I'm weak that His strength is shown -- not just to me but to those who see me. At least I hope it is. His grace covers me, covers my family.

God showed up bit in the "Faith" and "Family" category, which gave me peace through the turmoil. I'll admit to losing it a few times at the end. I did hit my breaking point. But God didn't. God is always faithful. We made it through to the end.

As I said, there are still a few loose ends that are frustratingly not yet tied up. There are several hundred boxes yet to be unpacked.

But...

Church friends from our new church have volunteered to help out with the kids.
We've got 5 happy and healthy kiddos giggling together, excited to have cousins to play with, love, and get to know in a way most cousins never do.
More people have stopped to say "welcome to the neighborhood" than the number of neighbors we had in our last place.
And last night when the kids wanted to swing out in the front yard... it took only a few minutes before 10 kids were out there playing.

Thank you, God.

That's right... moved again.

Our last stop had us parked for 3 years, which is the longest we've lived anywhere in our nearly 13 year marriage. However, we've been called to state number 7 -- we've moved from Arkansas to Florida!

Or at least we're in the process of it.

The kids and I are here -- we're settled in a little apartment near my office. They're in school (and excelling and loving it!). Jon's still in Arkansas finishing things up at our house so we can get it on the market. There's a lot of loose ends that still need to be tied up. In the meantime, we're doing a lot of back and forth.

Last week I trained my backfill, so I'm officially wiping my hands clean of my last position and I'm on to my new one! YAY!

While I completely believe that God puts us in each place for a purpose and I believe we've followed His leading to each of those places, there are already things going on here that just make me say, "Thank you God!"

Specifically...
Church hunting is always a real challenge for us. In some cases, it has been more challenging than others. We were nervous and even a bit hesitant to begin. It seemed our options may be a bit challenging here. And then I accidentally stumbled upon a church website. I had surfed many different church searches and it hadn't come up -- but there it was. On the "Staff" link, it listed the staff (duh!). Each staff was asked a series of questions, one of which was "Who is your inspiration."

Each staff listed people who have inspired them. However... among those listed by the lead pastor.... was the pastor of the church we attended 10 years ago in Buffalo! This man was (is) an incredible teaching pastor, and he's the pastor who first made the history of scripture come alive. I couldn't wait to go to church each Sunday, I took copious notes, I learned, I grew.

We were SO pumped!

We visited there this Sunday. Turns out the pastor there was a youth pastor under his "inspiration" pastor... We will be returning, and hopefully have found our Florida church home in our first visit! If not, that's fine, too. But we sat in thankful awe at how the Lord speaks to us.

Thanks be to God!

We've lived in Hog country for almost 3 years, and this is only the 2nd game we've attended. The kids were excited - they were taught to call the hogs in preschool when we first moved - they learned it probably their first week (and taught it to their cousins - hilarious!).

So we got them all dressed in their hogs gear (ignore the Arizona A on Amara's cheek - she says it's for Amara) - and we headed to the game. It's a good crowd tonight for their homecoming - a sea of red.

I am praying that the guy behind me loses his voice. He's yelling so loudly that my hair is moving with his shouts. It's so obnoxious and loud. At least he's not using foul language, but still - my ears are ringing!

It's a beautiful night for a game. Go hogs!

Oh... and I do have to add comments on attire. I will never understand why guys wear suits and girls get all dressed up for games. The guys in the stands with their chests painted to spell out RAZORHOGS make complete sense to me. But the fancy pants.... I'm sorry, but I just don't think I'll ever get used to it. I will also add that I fell into neither category -- I was in jeans and a long-sleeved Razorback shirt. No heels. No pearls. Just in case you were wondering. :)

M.I.A.

Yep, that’s me.

I unintentionally spent a little time away, which led to a longer time away, which has made it REALLY hard to return. It’s not like anything crazy has happened – life has happened. That’s all. And life is great! But life is busy, and my blog (and all my other hobbies) get sorely neglected when life gets busy.

At the end of the day, I blog for myself – to preserve my memories and the things our family does. So I’m really only hurting myself. I use this cool “slurp” function on blurb.com at the end of each year to pull all my blog entries into a book. Then I add photos or scrapbook pages from the year to complete the book. And that’s all fine and good – except when I go M.I.A. And now I’ve got a 2 month “gap” in my memories. And we all know my memory alone isn’t enough to fill in that gap!

So… my last entry was July 30. What has happened since then? Let me catch you up quickly….

In July we had Jon’s whole family come to visit – which was a blast! We had 17 people and 2 dogs under our roof. It was such a blast that I spent a bunch of time pulling together the photos, but no time putting it on the blog. Probably should’ve done that! We also had our neighbors and wonderful friends from Baltimore come visit us for a long weekend. What a breath of “home” their visit was to us! Again… should’ve put pictures up and shared about the time…. But didn’t. And we went to Kansas City for the weekend – met my parents halfway and let the kids have a fun time with them. Again – no pictures on the blog. Not a good track record going here! And then we had Amara starting Kindergarten, Amara starting piano lessons, Amara turning 6, both kids starting soccer again, a family trip to Denver, and Dominic starting a new preschool. And there you have it – 2 months in one paragraph. Now you’re caught up on our life!

During the past 2 months, I have been adding goofy things the kids have said to Facebook. They really need to have a “slurp” feature on FB, too, so I can pull from there for my annual book…. Hmm….

So I’ll troll through my old FB status updates simply to be able to add these to the book. If you’re my “friend” on FB, these will be old. But still funny. So feel free to read or skip. They’re most recent first.

9/26: Amara’s talking to Grandma W on the phone. Grandma W lives in Wyoming. We live in Arkansas. She says, “Grandma, it’s FREEZING in Arkansas.” Somehow I suspect they’d consider it balmy here.

9/26: I do believe the kids got their fashion sense from me. And that’s NOT a good thing. We sent them to get dressed so we could head to Sam’s. They both had full dressers, as laundry was just completed. So they essentially had their entire wardrobe from which to choose an outfit. Dominic entered our room wearing a red Lightning McQueen t-shirt with turquoise, green, and yellow plaid shorts, navy blue socks with basketballs on them, and I think black shoes (not sure if his shoes were on yet). As I was laughing at him and telling him to go put on jean shorts, Jon said, “Just wait, another one is coming.” Amara walked around the corner in a bright purple butterfly t-shirt paired with a teal, yellow, and green skirt (inside out no-less – which doesn’t work when the skirt has built-in shorts), black and pink socks with ear-muffed monkeys on them, and black slip on dress shoes. She said she matched her colors in groups. I confess I was laughing so hard at their choices that she actually started crying – and I felt terrible about that. But I did let her keep on everything but the skirt – and just helped her select a skirt that matched. I think Jon needs to give lessons in fashion to them.

The kids were talking about ankles and bones. I wasn’t quite sure exactly what they were talking about within that context, but my ears perked up when Dominic said, “Mom, sometimes my bones bite my ankles and I scream like a girl.” I laughed at the “scream like a girl” part – which for whatever reason really amused him, but I think also embarrassed him, so he had to backtrack on himself and remove the “scream like a girl” from his statement.

9/23: You know it has been a long week when the kids wake up with the following comments. Amara: I wish it was Saturday. Dominic. I wish it was a day where everyone had to go to school except us.

9/20: Dominic: I saw a car without a bottle cap! Me: You mean a hub cap? Dominic: Yeah.

9/10: (Dominic’s last day at LSP) Dominic just informed me that Miss Clara and Miss Trista are his girlfriends. (They’re his teachers.)

9/5: Conversation in the backseat. Dominic: Amara, what do you want to do? Amara: Let’s dance! Dominic: I don’t want to dance. I want to fight coyotes!

9/5: Dominic: Sometimes I eat jellyfish for breakfast.

9/4: Dominic at 7:30am: Mommy, it’s morning. Me: I know, but we’re still sleeping. So is Amara. Dominic through a tear cracking voice: Why do you always do that? You always sleep too long. I don’t like people who sleep long.

9/3: For Amara’s birthday, we went to the Japanese Hibachi grill. They turned down all the lights and turned on strobe lights. Amara said, “I think they’re going to come sing Happy Birthday to me in Spanish.”

8/31: Dominic: Mommy, when I can ride my bike without training wheels…. I can have a motorcycle.

8/25: Dominic: I know why King Kong is mean. He’s really, really hungry. (Must be a Wxxxxxxx!)

8/22: Amara has a baby doll who is lacking in the clothing department (she’s got 2 outfits). So I took one of Dominic’s old sweaters and made it into a dress. Amara ended up with legwarmers out of the deal – the sleeves worked nicely for such a purpose. The funny thing: She wouldn’t take them off!

8/14: One of the sweetest things… Both kids are supposed to be napping. They’re both in their own beds. But they’re not napping. They’re singing. And they’re not just singing, they’re essentially singing a duet with each other – each with their own words and melodies, but definitely together. This is the good stuff.

8/7: Upon picking Dominic up from his Sunday School class tonight, Jon was told by his new teacher, “He’s a blast!” Why thank you. Yes… he is.

8/5: Amara mastered the art of tying her shoes!

8/3: I find it ironic (or poetic justice) that Dominic obeys the shoes in the closet rule at bedtime – by gathering up ALL his shoes from the house instead of getting jammies on and teeth brushed like he was told to do.

We had family company at the house for 2 solid weeks, and the kids were definitely not looking forward to the return to school (aka day care). Who am I kidding -- we weren't looking forward to going back to work either!

However, the kids' school had a book fair during the week of their return. In celebration of the book fair, they also had spirit week. Each day held a different theme, a different reason to dress up. In short: the kids were EXCITED every morning!

On normal mornings, they shuffle into our room, murmer something that sounds like hello, then crawl into bed and snuggle with me for a little bit. It's really a wonderful way for me to wake up. However, it also usually results in rushing out the door, because I laze around in bed snuggling my kiddos for longer than I should!

During spirit week, on the other hand, the kids bound into our room already dressed. They were SO jazzed to be all dressed up, and couldn't wait to put on their gear. I told their teachers they need to do spirit week every week. OK...maybe not...that would get too expensive. In other words, I had as much fun with it as they did!

So here's a run down of the week.

Monday was Sunglasses Day. I didn't take a picture of the kids, but they both rocked out in their shades.

Tuesday was Sock Hop Day. This is the day I was most excited about. I went to Hobby Lobby over the weekend and found some cute black and pink fabric, a poodle iron-on, and went to town. I essentially made a tree skirt with elastic at the waist. The whole thing, including the top applique, took a whopping 2 hours. I was SO excited about how it turned out. Dominic I struggled with, because I couldn't find any Roy Orbison-esqe glasses that were in youth size. At the last minute, I found this cool fedora that he totally rocked! Apparently the other classes' teachers all kept coming into his room to ask him to model his hat. After school we went to a fundraiser at a local pizza joint -- and they were a hit there, too. Sock Hop Day definitely got two thumbs up!



Wednesday was Rock and Roll Day. I struggled a bit with this one, because Rock and Roll isn't really all that much different than Sock Hop, unless I want to get all Poison, Kiss, etc. on the kids. And I wasn't sure I wanted to go that direction. Had we not been pressed for time the night before, I'd have cut D's hair into another mohawk. Instead, he got to wear his Small Paul rock band shirt and I drew an "I Heart Mom" tattoo on his arm. He thought that was pretty cool. He plays a mean air guitar, doesn't he? For Amara, I found some cool hair extensions that were hooked to a ponytail, so I kept her side pony from the day before and just added the black / pink / silver hair to it. I found a cheap "rocker" shirt that came with a leather bracelet and a cheap pair of sparkly leggings the day before, and then she also wore here hot pink metal bracelets. For a last minute pull together, this actually turned out pretty good!



Thursday was Dress as Your Favorite Book Character Day. We looked through all their books for ideas, of course I was steering them towards "easy to costume" books. Dominic originally wanted to be Curious George. I quickly got him off that idea! Then he wanted to be Lightning McQueen and wear his Car's t-shirt. Then Amara found "Michael's Golden Rules," a book by the Jordan family about the importance of playing hard, practicing, being a good teammate, and being a good sport. Dominic's eyes lit up as he said, "I want to be a baseball player!" Sold!



Amara was a little bit more difficult. I originally had her convinced to be Pinkalicious. This would be super easy, because Pinkalicious simply wears all pink. On Wednesday night, Amara changed her mind. When I picked her up at school, she said she wanted to be Mary. I asked who Mary is. She said, "Jesus' Mommy." I wracked my brain thinking of what we had at home to accommodate that, but really we had nothing that would quickly and easily transform her into Mary. Then she said Mary Had a Little Lamb. Again...nada. OK, so how about the teapot from "I'm a Little Teapot." Good grief!

I asked her where she thought we would get things for these ideas. It was already their bedtime. She said, "From the store." Oh my...no! So there became a lesson in planning ahead, sticking with decisions, etc. It was clear, however, that she didn't want to be Pinkalicious. So I thought about the costumes and outfits we DO have at home. Lightbulb! How about "Angelina Ballerina." All smiles and she's happy again! So Amara went as the little mouse named Angelina from the series of books featuring Angelina Ballerina. And she wore her tutu to Jon's baseball game as well. tee hee



Friday was Pajama Day. The kids excitedly wore their pjs to bed the night before, got up, and were ready for school. I didn't take pictures of them again that day, because it was really pretty run of the mill. All in all though, a really fun week was had by all -- including Mom!

Have you met my son? If you haven't, I'd like to introduce you to Dominic.



If you have met Dominic, I'm pretty sure you love him. As the saying goes, "To know him is to love him -- and that is very true of Dominic.
Dominic entered the world at 8am on the button on June 24, 2006. I believe we were given June 23 as his due date, which is the day I went into labor. We drove the 45 minutes into the hospital, and I really believed I was going to deliver on the way there. In fact, when we arrived, they were worried that they wouldn't even get me checked in before he arrived. Thankfully (or maybe not), he was turned sideways, which didn't put the right pressure on the right places, so he stalled out. This allowed me to sort of sleep through the night. Lucky Jon got to sleep in those ever-so-comfortable hospital chair-beds, while Amara was tucked safely into bed at our wonderful babysitter's house.

By morning, the doctor said, "Let's get this little guy outta there!" So essentially, she reached in and pulled.

The next several hours and days were a whirlwind. I'm glad that I documented them then, because now it's a blur. I remember them being some of the worst hours and days of my life. There were some scares about his health, he spent a couple hours in the NICU, a coupld days under bili-lights, and I had literally some of the worst nurses I've ever experienced. But thankfully, I don't really remember all of that. His name means, "Belonging to God" -- and I'm so thankful that we gave him back to God before he was even born, because God certainly took care of him that day.

In hindsight, none of the issues were as extreme as they felt that day -- something about hormone surges, lack of sleep, and far away family make everythign more extreme. As I sat in the NICU with my 8lb 2oz baby, looking at the tiny ones surrounding me, I was so grateful to know that it would be a short stint.

And look at the little guy now:


The labor was fast. The delivery and following hours / days were chaotic. And his life has, in many ways, continued on that "whirlwind' path. Dominic is, by definition, a whirlwind! He's a little bundle of energy that can just as quickly as he flashes by, flash back, jump in your lap, and give you a hug that melts you to the core. He's my "snuggle buggle" and he's very proud of that fact. He's quick to tell you he's not a baby, but conceeds that he will always be MY baby, and he's OK with that, too.

Last night he promised to take care of me when he grows up to be 41, which he declared to be very old. He then added that 27 is very old, too. Guess I'm old. But that's OK.

Dominic is the child who my mom promises will make my hair turn gray before hers does. I don't doubt her. He has a gift that I attribute to his father, and I do believe it's a bit of his Great Grandfather (on Jon's side of course) reincarnate -- he can walk that line and maybe even toe over it -- but charm his way out of it. He has a mischevious twinkle in his eye that tells you he's up to no good, but also assures you that he'll win you over anyway.

We joke with his teachers that we really have to keep him in line, because if we don't he will be a delinquent. He's got them all fooled, and they assure me that he's always so well behaved, polite, etc -- a charmer, I tell you! But that's just it -- he IS all those things -- well behaved, polite, kind, loved by everyone. That's why it's so hard to believe he could ever be a deviant. We'll have to keep him in line so he doesn't expose that side of himself (a side I'm quite sure we all have).

Seriously though, this little boy is a light. He is loved by everyone. He loves to make people smile and laugh. He's got a humor, a vocabulary, and a sense of other people that are well beyond his years. He's almost never in a bad mood. He's tender hearted but still tough as nails.

As wonderful as all that other stuff is though, my favorite part of him is his love for God. Several months ago we picked him up from Sunday School and his teacher was gushing over the prayer that he said. She said it was the sweetest most sincere prayer -- but more than that, she was impressed as he was the only one who would offer one. He evangelizes to his classmates. At Christmas he told them it's OK to love Santa as long as you love Jesus more. When they asked who Jesus is, he said, "He died on the cross to save me from my sins." This week he came crying into our room at 3am and said, "Mommy, I need you to pray for me." I asked him what was wrong. He said, "I need you to ask Jesus to keep all the scary thoughts out of my head." So last night we started with that prayer. And this morning I over heard him telling Amara, "Well God gave me lots of good dreams last night." Late last year, Amara gave her heart to Jesus. Dominic said that he did too. He repeated to me all the truths that are essential -- that Jesus is God's son, he lived as a man, died on the cross, rose again to save us all for our sins, and now lives in heaven. But I was kind of hesitant, thinking perhaps he memorized it but didn't really internalize it. But I'm not so sure... I know that God hold's this child in the palm of His hand. And I'm pretty confident now that Dominic has given his life and his heart to Jesus, too. Man, I really pray that the relationship my kids have with Jesus right now continues to be as close, as real, as tangible as adults as it is right now.

I do believe I could go on and on. So I'll cut myself off. In closing though, I offer immense thanks to God for the amazing gift He has given me in both of my children. I'm not deserving of such incredible blessings.

Happy Birthday, little man! Here's a special Dominic kiss, just for you!

On June 24, 2010, at 8:00 AM on the button, we were blessed with this most precious gift and our little family was complete.



Dominic means "child of God" -- and that, he most certainly is.

We love you, little D-man

This weekend I had the opportunity to go home to visit my home town, my home state -- in the NORTH.

You see, about 2 years I officially moved "south." I guess technically I did that several years ago when I moved to Baltimore, which is south of the Mason Dixon line. But Baltimore just didn't feel "south" to me. Nor did Cincinnati. Arkansas, on the other hand, feels "south." And to be honest, I've had a bit of a hard time adjusting to southern living.

Don't get me wrong -- the people are wonderful. It's never about the people. It's customs and traditions that I just can't quite wrap my head around - nor do they really fit my personality.

Here are a couple of examples:

- Many southern women will choose to dress up for sporting events. I'm more likely to paint my face! I wouldn't be caught dead in a dress at a game -- and definitely no pearls!

- While we're on the subject of dresses, many southern women love to dress up, and always look perfect when they leave their house - not a hair out of place. I'm envious of those women because they do make it look effortless, and they do always look good. But while being slightly envious of their seemingly effortless perfection - I have no desire to attain that! I'd MUCH rather go out in a pair of sweats and flip flops than heels and a skirt. If I hadn't chopped off my hair, I'd be most happy in an unshowered ponytail. :)

- China patterns and monogrammed everything is big down here. Admittedly, a wee bit of monogramming has wooed me in. But China, ugh, no way. We didn't register for China simply because I knew I'd break it!

- My latest -- the kids didn't go outside to play yesterday for long because it was too hot. It was 90. And in the winter, they don't go outside because it's too cold. It was 30. When I was a kid (aside from walking up hill both to and from school), 30 degrees was a balmy winter day that didn't require a face mask and snow pants! Seriously though - let the kids go outside. Fresh air and running around is GOOD for them!

While I was home last weekend, here are a few things I realized I miss about the north. Or at least my little corner of the north.



The daylight hours last forever! I always thought that summer seemed to last an eternity. Summer holds some of my fondest memories, and I think I entered a brief depression each year as it ended. I was excited for school to start, but summer was magical. I do think the number of daylight hours have a lot to do with it. It's still light at 10pm!



Look any direction and you have an unobstructed view of the world. The rib on SD is that there are no trees. And I do love trees. But the glory of being able to see forever is amazing there. You see the lush fields (OK, this picture shows cattails in a slough), the green prairie, God's beautiful blue sky. You realize just how big the world is. There is no feeling of claustrophobia when you have this much wide open space.



Rhubarb! Seriously, I didn't realize how much I loved this fruit until I left it. I tried unsuccessfully to grow it in both Baltimore and Cincinnati. Not going to waste my time in Arkansas. Each time my parents visit I request that they bring a bunch. My mom made this incredible dessert (not hers pictured above - but similar). She made a cheesecake and topped it with rhubarb sauce. More than one of us helped ourselves to 3rds of dessert that night. It was DIVINE. It's tart goodness cannot be matched. My Dad's cousin who joined us that evening for dinner (and who also now lives in the south) suggested that northerners really should bottle and sell rhubarb sauce, jam, desserts -- all sorts of delicacies -- and open stores in the south. It would catch on like wildfire.

I had a most wonderful visit "home" and am now back in my southern home. I will say that from an annual perspective I definitely prefer the southern temperature. And I'm not real eager to permanently return north to move out of it. However, despite where I live, I will always be a northern girl at heart.

On the way into work this morning, the radio station I was listening to posed the question, "What would you say to your 8th Grade self?"

I thought it was an interesting question. Many callers called in offering advice, encouragement, suggestions for stock purchases....

It's a question I've kind of been mulling over all day, and I find my own responses to be a bit of a study in extremes. On one hand, I'd tell myself not to take things so seriously. On the other hand, I'd tell myself to work harder and not allow myself to be lazy. Perhaps I've still not figured things out (OK, so I know that's true...)

So here I am... my 8th grade self. This picture was taken in 1989.

Dear 8th Grade Self, here are some things you really should know....

- The friends you have right now will still be among your best friends in 30 years. Value them. Cherish them. Nurture those relationships. You're blessed to be growing up in a small town with people who will be important to you for life -- this is unusual and very special.

- The things you deem as crises right now will seem so trivial to you as an adult. They are weighty, they will shape your life -- but in ways much more positive and strengthening than you'd ever imagine.

- You may think your parents are too strict and feel like "everyone else gets to do this" -- but be thankful for that. They're leading you down a path that is not always straight, not always clear, and they're buffering the pitfalls for you. You will absolutely thank them for that one day, and you will also raise your children just as strictly.

- Forget your idea about never marrying and living with a houseful of dogs. Married life and children are amazing blessings.... and dogs shed and aren't welcome in restaurants and hotels. Kidding... dogs are still great... but not nearly as much as a husband and children.

- Don't allow yourself to get lazy and settle for "good enough" -- you're better than that. And the rest of the working world will eat you for dinner if "good enough" is all the work you're willing to put forth.

- Remove your mask. People will like you even if you let them see the "real" you. You don't have to put on a false strong front.

- Don't be afraid to fail. Try new things. Don't limit yourself only to that which you know you can do well. Branch out! Perfection will never happen even in things you're good at -- so give some other things a shot!

- Believe in yourself. Stay strong. Stick to your principles and ideals. You were brought up with good ones. You were brought up to be strong and independent. But... don't be afraid to rely on other people too, and ask them for help.

- Being raised in a Christian home is not something to be taken for granted. Being raised in a solid family isn't either. You are blessed beyond measure.

- Don't be afraid of confrontation or think that people will "hate" you for "arguing" with them. If you have an opinion, voice it respectfully; most people appreciate and respect directness more than avoidance.

- Quit spending all your extra money on candy -- your metabolism will not always be what you're enjoying now!

- As much as you THINK exercise and outdoors will always be an integral part of your life -- your work life and family life will make it nearly impossible. Figure out now how to be disciplined in all things (including cleaning), so they require less effort in 30 years.

- Make your bed and clean your room.

- Fish is good. So is seafood. Coffee is still not.

- You WILL use math. Every day. Every. Single. Day. Pay attention! (And don't KLEP out of it in college.)

- The lessons learned in childhood will be as important as an adult as they were as a child: "Always remember who you are and Whose you are." and "Always leave a place better than you found it."

- Your childhood will forever be "enshrined in gold" in your memories -- cherish the moments as you live them.

I just have to pause at the end of this crazy week to reflect on the whirlwind that defined it.

Wow.

I survived!

Rewind about 2 weeks. We selected granite for our house, committed to it, had it measured and cut, and we were told that it would be delivered and installed in 4-6 weeks. We told them that we would do the demolition (you can see where this is going), and also that we could be flexible to fill the void of any cancellations (now you can really see where this is going).

I have travelled for work for each of the last 3 weeks. This was my first week that I've been home, and we were looking forward to some relaxing. We also started the kitchen demolition last weekend. We were able to remove the center island countertop as well as all the tile on the back splash. That was Saturday, and we were quite proud of the effort we had made, knowing we'd continue working the following weekend.

Then Monday hit.

Jon got a call on Monday from the granite installers saying they had a cancellation on Friday morning and would be at our house at 7:30.

Gulp!

I'm SO thankful I didn't have to travel this week. There would have just been no way, as it's a two person job.

Here's a list of what needed to happen before it could be installed:
1) Kitchen countertop (not island) removed (including sink / disposal removed)
2) Laundry sink countertop removed (including sink removed)
3) Basement bar and countertop removed (including sink / disposal removed)
4) Install oven / stove
5) Remove old dishwasher and install new
6) Remove backsplash from basement
7) Remove old dry wall and replace with new
8) Pick out faucets for 3 sinks

I think that's it. I could be wrong.

So I took off work on Tuesday and bought the faucets, then set to work prepping as much of the other stuff as I could. After Jon's work audit was finished (i.e. around noon), he joined me at home. We were able to get items 2, 3, and 6 complete in the basement. We were feeling pretty good about things on Tuesday night -- felt very accomplished for our day's efforts.

Then Wednesday night came. We were intending to get the sink removed in the kitchen, as well as the dishwasher. So I crawled under the sink to turn off the water -- but no matter how hard or which direction I turned it, the water wouldn't stop flowing. Great. We tried everything. We couldn't very well shut off the main water supply to the house, because we still had to live there and wouldn't be able to turn it back on. Wednesday night ended with us both very frustrated, as we made absolutely NO progress on our very lengthy task list.

Thursday I frantically called for a plumber to fix what we assumed was a broken valve. At the end of the day, we were very thankful that we discovered a broken valve this way and not as a result of a leak. That would have been horrible! Anyway, plumber came out, fixed the valve easily, looked at all our new fixtures and agreed to come back on Saturday to install everything. Jon and I agreed that while we're capable of doing the plumbing -- water and the potential hazzards of it are something we'll leave to the experts!

So by Thursday at 5pm, we were where we had hoped to be on Wednesday night. And we had basically 14 hours until our granite was arriving.

We worked until 1am. Good grief what a long day!

We started with removing the countertop. This countertop was ridiculous. It's L shaped and probably 8 feet by 4 feet. It's made out of particle board with a 1/2 inch layer of cement over it, followed by a layer of chicken wire (it's probably not chicken wire, but that's what it looks like), and then followed by white ceramic tile and brown grout. That beast was over 300 pounds and as ackward to carry as it possibly could be. Not to mention it was wedged into place, trapped behind the island and the refrigerator. So to maneuver it without damaging the appliances or the cabinet faces was crazy challenging. We think we made it out with only 1 "oops" which will be largely hidden under the new countertops. We're actually lucky to have made it through uninjured!

Then we installed the oven. We had spent probably 8 hours on the oven alone just before Christmas, only to discover it didn't fit properly in the hole. The ease with which we installed it last night was (a) a blessing, but also (b) maddening that we spent so much time on it the first time around! Thankfully the hole which holds the oven was plenty big, it was the old cabinet tops that were slightly too narrow for it. So it slid in easily this time around.

Then we removed all the sheetrock from where we took down the backsplash. I have a LOT of dishes to wash as a result of all that drywall falling into the counterless cabinets. Lovely. But hey, it's down! Then I went out and measured / cut the new sheetrock while Jon installed each piece I cut out. We had quite the assembly going!

The finishing touch, at 12:45am, was to install the new dishwasher. It will be SO nice to not have to wash dishes AFTER the cycle completes.

As we fell into bed, our bed fell to the floor... literally. We've GOT to put those stabilizers on the legs! HAHA!

We aren't compeletely done. We still need to tear out and replace the drywall in the basement. However, compared to what's behind us, that task seems very doable!

Sorry there are no pictures attached. While trying to push through a weekend's worth of work in an evening, I had no desire to stop to photograph the efforts. However... after today, I'll have new granite photos to share! Whoot whoot!

I decided to share a "throw-back" picture for you for today's Momentous Monday.

This picture was taken 2 years ago -- the kids were 1 and 2, and we decided to take in a Cubs game. We'd like, as a family, to take in a game at every Major League park. We decided that we'd wait til they were a bit older, however, as this became a long game.

I share this picture, because it sets up the week that was this past week...

I had to travel for work last week from Wednesday til Friday. I got home Friday evening, then Jon flew out for Chicago on Saturday morning. I had given him tickets for Chicago's home opener on Monday morning -- a dream for a life-long Cubs fan. He spent the weekend with his college roommate, who was our best man at our wedding. It was (hopefully) a fun, relaxing, rejuvenating weekend.

However, he flew back to town on Tuesday. I flew OUT for work on Tuesday through Thursday. We actually met in the airport to say hi, download on the status at home, and say bye (literally 5 minutes). I spent the week away for work and the family picked me up on Thursday night.

I say all this to make the following point (which is actually quite obvious): Our family works better when it's complete.

The kids have had a rough 3 weeks -- because I've had 3 solid weeks of travel. And thankfully, that's unusual. We were nervous going into it, because the kids had been doing SO well. Happy, comfortable, sleeping well, top behavior, helpful...you name it.

However, when we're not a complete family unit, all of those kind of go out the window.

It was evident on Friday afternoon. Amara did something that was not acceptable (I don't even remember what - it was minor). I scolded her - and instantly, she was a quivering puddle of tears. On "normal" days, she feels bad, but doesn't melt like that. When chaos has been the norm, she's ultra-sensitive. The result for me was a learning experience -- I was able to dedicate lots of time and attention to my sweet girl this weekend to get her "back on track."

She had lots of scary stuff during the night -- her code for, "Mommy, I miss you, please come snuggle me."

She was ultra helpful -- her code for, "Mommy, I missed you, please let me spend more time with you."

She was concerned this morning that BOTH Jon and I should pick her up from school for her soccer game tonight -- her code for, "Mommy, our family is best when we're all together -- and I want you BOTH there cheering me on."

Dominic was similarly affected by the separation during the past 3 weeks. He's not as emotionally affected, however, he's more attention focused. He turns into a little cuddle-buddy after I've been gone. He'll sit at the top of the stairs after his nap and wait for me to come carry him down. He begs for his "fishy medicine" -- because he knows I'll often hold him in my lap while he takes it (and of course because his allergies are so bad he can't breathe).

I also had opportunities this weekend to re-establish myself in his little world. I took pleasure in carrying him all over the house, in smelling the sweet smell of him as he squeezes me tight, in sending him back to bed for the 5th time as he masters the art of stalling...

We've been renovating our house. Dominic has become quite adept at removing nails. He heard us banging in the kitchen as we removed the tile backsplash and countertop. He came walking into the kitchen holding his toy hammer ready to help. Jon gave him his real tools and set him to work pulling up tile from the ground. He made some strong headway -- removed the backerboard, some cement, and two nails that were deeply set into the ground using a hammer, a chisel, and a monkey paw. As we continued hammering away at the backsplash, Dominic started wailing.

You can guess what happened.

He missed his target and hit his finger. It wasn't bad at all, but did remove a little bit of skin from the knuckle of his thumb. Both thumbs actually. All he wanted was a little TLC, some cold water, and a bandaid. He milked it for all it was worth, especially relishing in the TLC.

When he was comfortably situated in front of a movie with a bag of fruit snacks and bandaids on both thumbs, Jon said to me, "I guess that's a good reminder that he IS only 3." He's capable of so much more than many 3 year olds, so we let him do those things of which he's capable. And sometimes he gets hurt (of course, we're tempering what he does so his injuries could only be classified as minor). And when he gets hurt, lessons are learned and TLC is profusely doled out.

Jon's right. He's only 3. And she's only 5. And as the picture indicates... only a short time ago they were 1 and 2. And boy does the time slip by quickly.

To both my kiddos: No matter the travel, no matter the chaos -- YOU are our priority. We will be there for your always.

Hop on over to A Moment Cherished to share your momentous moments -- and read about how others are cherishing life in the every day.

I'm joining Tiffany again at Moments Cherished for Momentous Monday. Take a moment and reflect on your past week -- I know there were "normal" moments that will be forever imprinted on your heart.

At Tuesday this past week, Amara had a rash at day care. As her teacher described it to me, I knew (suspected) it was a heat rash. It was the first hot day of spring, and she's susceptible to rash and overheating. It has been a lifelong issue for her. Couple that with "alert level" pollens in the air, and I just had a feeling that's what was going on. However, there was a case of Fifth's Disease at school, so all rashes were being required to be cleared by the doctor. I was in the midst of week 2 of 3 straight travel weeks, and it was my ONE full day in the office. Needless to say, I was very frustrated to be called out of work to take her to the doctor for a heat rash.

But I did.

The doctor actually laughed at me, confirmed it was allergy, and was nice enough to not charge me for what she deemed a silly visit.

And I made the most of that moment -- Amara and I went to Chick-fil-a for a Mommy Daughter lunch. We don't get much one-on-one time together. To have that extra few minutes together with my first born, to share an order of chicken fingers and sing along to Veggie Tales... well... let's just say we'll have to do more of that!



While we're on the subject of Amara...

I love to just sit back and consider the character of my kids; their tendencies that are inborn. Amara has always had a nurturing and tender spirit. It was evident in her from a very early age. One of our old neighbors used to describe her as "an old soul." And it's so true. As we played with the kittens the other day, that sweet spirit was so clear. She spent hours in their little cage, lovingly taking each one up by turn, rocking them, cuddling them, kissing them... and letting them do the same to her. In my experience, kittens have the sharpest little claws... but I don't think they once clawed her. They felt safe in her arms. It's my daily prayer that her sweet spirit is nurtured and protected.



Dominic's charecter has also been very evident as well. He's cautiously fearless, if that makes sense. If he gets the nod that it's OK from one of us, he'll go forward into anything. Such was the case with this snake. Not once did he show an ounce of fear. He walked right up to not only a huge yellow constrictor (that probably out weighed him by double), but also marched right up to the handler and asked to hold it. The handler knew that there was no way Dominic could lift the yellow snake, but found him another that was perfect size for him. Dominic held it, but wanted it around his neck, so quickly figured out how to do that -- then held the snake's head. Doesn't he know that's where the teeth are? If he does, he doesn't care. I pray that his fearlessness continues to be somewhat tempered... for his own safety. But he's also fearless in sharing about Jesus, and I pray that his confidence only grows in that arena.



Dominic's also got a feisty side (imagine that). He's got the attitude of "if you fall off, get right back on." This little kitty didn't particularly like how Dominic was holding her (can't say I blamed her). She got upset, squawked, and scratched his cheek pretty good. Dominic quickly let her go, but just as quickly picked her back up. I helped him to hold the kitties more gently and in a position that provided safety. He then proceeded to tell everyone just how tough he was that he sustained a cat scratch. I love the determination and feisty "can do" spirit about him. I love how his nurturing, soft side comes out, even behind the tough facade he loves to put forth.

It's in these everyday "momentous" moments that we're given priceless peeks into the spirits of our kids. I'm glad for the encouragement to stop and reflect on them!

We had heard that the drive thru safari had baby animals, so we drove over for the afternoon to check them out. The last time we went was 1.5 years ago -- the kids loved it then and remembered parts of it. However, they REALLY loved it this time. Their ages were so much better for it. And the weather couldn't have been nicer.

Here are many of the pictures from the day.

The hits of the day were:

- Chloe the Capuchian monkey. This monkey was crazy! She didn't sit still for more than a couple seconds. She would hop from person to person, picking in their hair, untwisting bottle tops, swiping cameras and sunglasses, digging in pockets. She was very mischevious, and very fun. Their little paws are SO soft. The kids loved how she would jump all over them. They wanted so badly to actually hold her, but she wouldn't sit still for that long.

- Bella the Baby Baboon. Bella was 4 months old, wore a diaper, a little pink onesie, and her nails were painted fuschia. She also wouldn't allow you to hold her, but she would let you pet her. She would sit in her cage sucking her thumb. She had a couple stuffed animals that she would snuggle with. She loved to interact with the crowd, but when she got too stimulated and scared, she'd grab her stuffed animals, jump into her cage, and suck her thumb. She was precious.

- The 4 baby kitties. The kids played in their cage for hours snuggling them, rocking them, getting scratched by them. Dominic got a good clawing to the cheek and he instantly dropped it to the ground. I said, "That's why we like dogs better than cats." He agreed. These kitties were seriously cute, especially the black one with piercing blue eyes. I might be tempted if kittens grew up to be dogs... but since they grow up to be cats, not a chance!

We also drove through the safari and saw many animals I have no clue what they are. I have a list that was provided, but I couldn't tell you what kind of a yak, what kind of a deer, what kind of a buffalo, etc, each of them are. Some are quite endangered, others very common. But most are not native to the area, nor do most of them come up and lick your windows in normal life! One crazy person had their car windows down for a BUFFALO! Who in their right mind feeds a buffalo out of their car window?! Insanity I tell you!

Anyway, a beautiful 77 degree day, my two wonderful kiddos, not a cloud in the sky -- just a little bit of heaven!

This situation just came back to me -- and every time I think about it, I laugh again.

Last week I had to fly for work. I sat down next to a young couple with their adorable 14 month old daughter. I have no problem with traveling next to young children - in fact, this little girl reminded me a bit of both of my kids. She was a good little traveler.

Her dad, however, was not.

Not that he was a bad traveler; he was fine.

But he was sick.as.a.dog!

Seriously, this guy had the worst allergies / cold / sinus issues that I've seen in public. If I weren't so grossed out, I'd have felt bad for the guy. Truth be told, I did feel bad for the guy -- he sounded miserable. I just wished he wasn't sitting right next to me!

I'm totally NOT a germophobe (in fact, I usually get quite a kick out of grossing out my germophobe friends)... but this guy seriously had me wishing I habitually carried hand sanitizer (which I don't). Every time he sneezed, he ever so politely turned, put sneezed into his elbow -- but I'm sure covered his wife and daughter in the process. And I'm sure of this, because on a couple of extra-powerful blasts, I was nearly certain I felt a bit of collateral moisture hit my arm.

But that may have been simply in my mind...

OK... so all that gross stuff to get to the funny part. Sorry if I have you crawling in your skin!

Aside from the sneezing, he was also incessantly blowing his nose and sniffling. That sniffer was just dripping and there was no stopping it. It was a bit of a later flight, and he and his family took turns napping. When it was his turn, I happened to glance over at him...

He was laying with his head on his wife's shoulder / headrest.... and he had a kleenex wadded up and hanging out of each nostril!

Oh my goodness... I nearly died laughing!

Admittedly, I've done that myself before... but it was in the dark of my own bedroom and in the comfort of my own home. On an airplane.... in public!?!?!?

Bwahahahahahahahaha!

Oh my.... once again I was left wishing that my phone had a camera.

I "met" Tiffany through the Bloom Book Club. I've really enjoy reading her blog - she has the sweetest spirit. Hop on over to "A Moment Cherished" and meet Tiffany as well as join in this blog hop!

In Tiffany's words, "The concept is simple - share with us an everyday moment that you were able to cherish from the week before. It can be as simple as a photograph that you captured or as elaborate as a lengthy post - the option is yours."

It's a delight to slow down and recall the everyday moments that make life so special... yet I certainly don't do it often enough.

- Last Saturday Jon let me sleep in and he and the kids hung out in the living room. I love those mornings where the kids are content to read and play; there's no thought of turning on a video. As I woke up, I could hear their conversations, and I realized that they were browsing through the scrapbooks I have been making for them. I think their favorite is their respective albums from their first year of life. I heard a lot of "tell me about" and "who is that" -- makes me want to get caught up on the scrapping!

- I had to travel this week for work, so missed out on a lot of the every day. When I got home, I had Good Friday off, so took advantage of the time to catch up with the kids. We got lots of snuggle time in reading books, hugging, sitting in my lap. These are the golden moments that I know won't last long enough.

- Also on Friday afternoon, I decided that I was as tired as the kids were, so I laid down for a nap as well. But the beauty of this nap was that we all snuggled into the big bed together and took a 2 hour nap. Nothing like falling asleep with both kidlets snuggling close.

- Sunday afternoon, I was outside digging dirt out of our driveway (the silt washes down the hill with rain / snow, and it all lands in our driveway - I hauled 3 wheelbarrow loads full to the ditch). When Amara woke up, she came right outside and stole my broom -- she was determined to help me with whatever chore I had to do. I love the helpful spirit of my kids.

- Sunday evening as we were hanging out in the basement after the kids had gone to bed, we heard the pitter patter of little feet. Jon said to me, "I know it's annoying now, but I'm sure going to miss that sound when it's gone." I assured him it's only annoying when they're supposed to be sleeping.

The moments are gone too soon! So count these: Moments Cherished.

Now go link up to yours: A Moment Cherished / Momentous Mondays

We wore ourselves out today, so I'll have to write more later.

For now, here are some pics of the day.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed. Thank you Jesus for your incredible sacrifice and promise.