best day yet...

July 3, 2010

I will always remember it.

This is my favorite picture from the day, and I feel that it totally captures every feeling I

have had about this day...

I just love it!

My day started off the way every 4th of July weekend should (since technically all these festivities were on July 3rd, I have to say weekend). Lily got to go to her first parade with her cousins. We had the best time. I get so emotional so quickly, and I teared up every few minutes. While sitting in the grass, I look up and there's my little girl. She' got her American flag in one hand and she's sitting on the curb anticipating the parade to start. All day today she looked reminded me of a picture I'd see in someone's house representing the American spirit that is in us all. It was beautiful.

I tried so many times to talk to her about freedom. About the men who rode in the truck at the end of the parade. The old men who could barely wave. I tried so hard to explain to her that those men fought to protect us. But every time I tried, I couldn't get the words out. It's too emotional to explain. Those men put their lives on the line so that we could have days like today.

Perfect days.

We spent the afternoon preparing for the evening....the 'big' party at Aunt Janet's house :-) Here are the highlights...and WOW was it an AMAZING night!!

Enjoy some pics, and my thought to go along.

I love when there's enough people at an event to have a kids table :-)

Eating as much as you want and not caring if you don't finish all that's on your plate...cause you'll be back in 20 minutes after you've played for a while to finish it up :-)

Having the FIRST ANNUAL water gun/water balloon fight at the Hubbells/Simms cookout :-) It was the first of many to come!!

Running around all day, playing with as many toys as you can, and using the water hose for as long as mom (or your aunt in this case!) will leave it on!!

Wearing 'regular' clothes, but being soaked all over!! (Toothless and all! ha!)

Drinkin' so much juice that you have a juice mustache!!

Before watching fireworks (the most perfect view from my sisters driveway of the New Albany fireworks) everyone's got to get sprayed down so that the mosquitos leave you alone :-)

I love tuckering little kids out so that they sleep in the next morning! Khloe was up way past her bedtime and she was so wiped out her eyes were all red :-(

What better ending to the day could you ask for than for the 10 minute ride home at nearly midnight...riding in "Haven" (the new van) and watching a few minutes of ARIEL!! Oh yes...headphones and all...she sang 'I wanna be where the people are. I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancing' and she sang the whole song! It was HILARIOUS!! Yay for the tv in the van, headphones and Ariel...oh the fun it has already provided our family!!

Exhausted and refreshed all in the same day. No worries.

Parades.

Family.

Fun.

Fireworks.

Honoring.

Thank God for the men who fought so hard so that we could be free.

I love freedom.

booty kicks

This is the moment I've looked forward to all day.

Sitting here. 3rd floor. Kids asleep. Total peacefulness.

Today has been one of those days where I worked REALLY hard to be thankful for every moment I have been blessed with and not anticipate the start of tomorrow just to get today over with.

You know those days? Where you either want to sleep or watch a movie or do something just to make the time pass by faster just so it will be the next day.

But I refuse to allow myself to want to get today done with. I refuse to throw away a perfectly wonderful and beautiful day that the Lord has made and blessed me with.

When I was pregnant with Lily, I remember thinking EVERY single day 'enjoy it now. it's the last time in your whole life that you won't have a piece of you out there somewhere'. So I did. I enjoyed every minute of being pregnant. When Lily was born I enjoyed every moment of her being a baby, even though the toddler phase is my favorite.

When pregnant with Khloe I made myself enjoy it (even though there was puking 10, 15, sometimes 20 times a day). It was the only time in my life where I would only have one piece of me out there somewhere in the world.

Before having kids, I would be the person who if I was having one of 'those' days I would do anything to rush it along just to start tomorrow fresh. But now I find myself completely unable to do it. Someday I will look back at this time in my life when my girls were young and spent every day with me...I do not want to look back and think about what more I could have done to enjoy life more. I want to look back and think 'I did the best I could every day'.

My girlies are tucked into their beds. It's now my time to sit back and breathe. And breathe deep breaths I will. I will pray for much rejuvenation and blessings to come with a long nights rest.

The best part of days like this? I have a Heavenly Father who can deal with this emotional girl :-) When I lay in bed tonight and am praying..and my emotions get the best of me, He'll hold me while I cry.

Don't feel too bad for me though...I cry at anything. I cry during Ariel when she finally gets her voice back and says 'Eric!' and Eric realizes Ariel is who he loves. I cry at Lily's preschool station when the 2 'hosts' of the show (moose & zee) learn how to share and decide to help out another animal who doesn't have a toy to play with. I cry 4-5 times during Finding Nemo.....every time. I could continue the list, but you get it. I cry...a lot. Happy tears though.

So..tonight I will have a tear or two drop while I lay in bed praying to Him who holds me close at all times. And I won't cry because I'm sad, I'll cry because I feel blessed to know Him and know all He does for me.

And on an end note...God puts such great people in my path during days like today. Today's 'messanger'? A very dear friend to me who God is using to teach me many lessons :-) A very dear friend who had the gumption to send me a gutsy message to kick my booty into gear. A very dear friend who expects more out of me. A very dear friend who desires the best out of me.

Thank you friend. I felt you kick my booty today.

Tomorrow

Putting things off until tomorrow is just no fun. Because after a while, tomorrow ends up being an incredibly packed day.

I have done the inevitable and delayed many many tasks until tomorrow.

Tomorrow...it is the day that the Lord WILL make :-) and I will be glad about it...however I am not looking forward to my to do list!!

However tomorrow we become minivan owners. yikes. It might be a minivan but it's the crazy awesomest blessing (along with our car) because the van is giving me...FREEDOM!! AH!!

Biggest item I put off until tomorrow...beginning the half-marathon training. We had an opportunity tonight for a very rare and much needed family night and we took it.

I will not be defeated by tomorrow! And...

I will run

I will run

I will run

I will run

I will run

I will run

I will run

I hear saying things 7 times helps. We'll see.

on/off button

My mind is constantly going and sometimes I think 'i wish God would've given me an on/off button for my mind'. Is it a girl/guy thing? or a personality thing? My mind is a whirlwind nearly all the time.

Maybe it's because I'm a multitasker.

You know, it takes skill to be cooking lunch for 4 different people who are all eating different foods, while preparing a bottle and cereal for Khloe, while consoling a crying baby, while listening to a 3 year old constantly speaking her mind, and Ariel singing in the background and my phone ringing/beeping.

Ah.

I got a little stressed out just reliving the moment.

If my mind did have an on/off button, I'd turn it off in about 10 minutes from now when I lay my head on my pillow. But instead, that's when my mind insists on kicking into high gear.

So I will pray. I will pray for a long time tonight. Because there are so many needs and wants worth praying for.

I have a few particular people tonight I'll be praying for. More and more every day I realize that even the smallest decisions we make and habits we form greatly impact our life.

On an end note, I must say I am one very blessed lady :-) I am married to an amazing man, who when God calls in big ways, Kory steps up and allows God to work through him. I love it. When I was a little girl I had a list in my mind of exactly what I wanted my future husband to be like. God far exceeded my highest expectations and gave me a warrior of a man to stand by me and lead me (who knew that was possible!). I prayed for Kory before I knew he existed. Now I thank God for him every day.

Remember when you were a kid and at the end of a really hot summer day you looked like this?

This pictures describes my life right now.

Exhausted.

The problem: there's really no good reason to be exhausted. We've done nothing big. It's just with the heat and how hard kids play outside and how tiring 2 precious kiddos can be...the girls and I are wiped out!

Our life is small. It's simple. But very significant.

Every decision we've made has brought us to this moment. All the good decisions and the bad ones. The older I get the more I realize the importance of small daily decisions.

Today I made one really good small decisions. I closed the cabinet door where I normally get my afternoon snack. I saw skittles, and after having a long staredown with the skittles...I won.

I resisted.

No need to applause, I already patted myself on the back.

To congratulate myself for no afternoon unhealthy snack, I'm going to rest for a little bit while my girlies rest.

I also realize the older I get....naps rock.

i LoVe new beginnings.

It's the start of something new. Whether it's a new day, a new chapter, a new goal...i enjoy the start of new journeys.

I love new beginnings.

I have lots of new beginnings in my life right now. New...

blog

goals

ideas

job

baby

car

home office

summer

van

beginnings.

Makes me think of when God made everything. I mean all of it. Clear back when it was the real beginning. I imagine that when God finished making things...you know, things like the earth, sky, sun, moon, animals, people, the ocean...He took one big deep breath and sunk back into a cloud. I imagine He took one big deep breath to smell the freshness of the breeze and exhale in the amazing accomplishment before Him. I mean, He is God and can do anything but in my mind He probably even surprised himself with how great of a job He did :-)

One new beginning that I am really excited about is the excitement of having my hubby working from home instead of getting up every morning and driving into a parking lot and walking into a ginormous office building. I'm sitting in his home office right now and I've gotta say, I am pretty confident I'll be spending more time here! I'm in the loft of our bedroom and I am in total control of my surroundings. When having 2 little kiddos constantly requiring my attention, being in control of my surroundings is a big deal. So here I sit, listening to my "Norah Jones" station on Pandora and I am in total bliss. I love my hubby and my girls and I love being with them above all else!! However a very valuable lesson my husband has taught me is that in order for me to be best for them, I must take this time for myself.

This is a new beginning. I'm setting aside some time for me. Not to be selfish, but to be better for those I love most.

Expect more.

This is just the beginning to a lot of new journeys in MY life. i love it.