say cheese...

Ok, my little ones.....say cheese..! Ava and Beck have this down pat. I just had to share this cute picture (wish it was a little clearer). Yes, Ava's favorite color is pink and she does own a pink jeep (thanks to grandmom). Beck loves this jeep and insists she take him for a ride whenever she has it out of the garage.

These two are keeping me busy!

Ava is now five and making me laugh with some of the things she says. Lately it has been, "for real" and "right". If she thinks her dad or I do not believe what she is saying she says, "for real" with a matter of fact look. I do laugh at this, although sometimes it can be a tad bit on the sassy side and I have to get "real" with her.

In the van she has been using the word, "right?" after every observation or statement she makes. Whew...sometimes answering can be exhausting, but I am glad she likes to hold conversations.

The scents in our yard...

I love this time of year. I really love the scents experienced outdoors this time of year. Right now the smell of the honeysuckle that is growing on our fence makes me smile. We have chocolate mint (yes, there is such a thing) in a container by our hammock that smells like thin mints...mmm! We also have a giant rosemary bush, basil, thyme, and oregano in our herb garden. It is so fun to teach Ava about the herbs and let her smell them. ((now getting her the eat them is a different story, although she did try the chocolate mint :)
And of course what could be better than the aroma of yummy food on the grill. I think grilling all the time is wonderful...but nothing is better than a late cool evening after a hot day with good food on the grill and a bucket of cold beer/wine with friends.

I am so ready for the summer time, I love it!

Mom's List

my mom

I am hoping everyone had a great mother's day!
Sometimes it is so hard for me to believe that I am actually a mother...a mom to two beautiful, amazing children. Who knew how much a "mother's love" really is? I had absolutely no idea that I had the ability to feel the way I feel, the love, for my children. It is the most important job in my life....the raising of my children and everything that encompasses. Wow...I always think...Am I able to do this? But as fellow moms know...we can and we do what we have to do. This mother's day I am grateful....very grateful to be a mom! I also am grateful for having the time I did with my mom, but also sad that she is not here to see me as a "mom". Sixteen years ago, my mom left this lifetime.....but has never lost that special place in my heart!

This Sunday, at church, the pastor's wife, Marilynn Chadwich delivered the message... "Mom's List"...Seven Secrets to Reaching Your Dreams

((I loved the message and wanted to share the notes, everything below is from the notecards given at the service))

1. Learn to see the beauty - ...they saw that he was a beautiful child...-Hebrews 11:23

2. Grow with the grain- Train up a child in the way he should go and in keeping with his gift or bent... -Proverbs 22:6a
3. Dream big and know the race you're running - ...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. --Hebrews 12:1b

4. Lighten your load- Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles..- Hebrews 12:1a

5. Every dreamer needs a team- ..spur on another on toward love and good works. -Hebrews 10:24

6. Help others reach their dreams- ...if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed...then your night will become noonday. -Isaiah 58:10

7. Train yourself to sustain yourself- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. - 2 Timothy 4:7

There are always mountains to climb as we reach for our dreams. How we climb matters... Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith...-Hebrews 12:2a

Hope you liked...if you want to see Marilynn deliver this message, 30 mins long...go to foresthill.org and click on message.

A bed bug tale...

It is 9:oo at night and I am comfortable in my bed thinking of going to sleep when a little visitor comes into my room. Ava, my recently turned 5, little girl comes in telling me, "I can't sleep."

The rest goes a little something like this:
mom-why can't you sleep honey?

ava-there are little things biting me in my bed

mom-what kind of little things?

ava-there are bed bugs in my bed

mom-bed bugs? hmm..one bed bug or more?

ava-there are ten bed bugs in my bed

mom-are they big or little?

ava-they are so little, like smaller than the tippy part of your pinky nail, only I can see them

mom- so i can't see these bed bugs in your bed?

ava-nope, only I can

mom- does it hurt when they "bite" you?

ava-yes...like this (ava pinches me :)

mom- hmmm, I would not like that...maybe those bed bugs are asleep now.

ava-nope mom...they do not sleep, they don't even take naps, they stay awake

mom-well maybe I can go change your sheets and wash them

ava-they won't work mom..they will just hop up and be on the new sheets, they have very strong legs

mom-what if we turn the ceiling fan on and blow them off?
ava-mom...i told you they have really strong legs and they will just stay on the sheets

~~~by now ava is in my bed thinking she is going to snuggle and sleep with me. I know daddy will be coming up soon and hopefully he can get her to bed (ha!) ~~~

mom- ava, you know you can't sleep in my bed until you are grown up
ava- i know mom, i will be too big and there isn't enough room for you, me, and daddy when i am big like you
mom-so how long will these bed bugs stay in your bed?
ava-until I am about 6 years old, they like 4..hmm 5 year old girls like me.
mom- well i am not sure what to do..we will just have to wait till daddy comes upstairs.

Daddy caves in and lets Ava sleep with me and he goes to the guest room :)
(he really can't sleep with a little one who ends up with her legs and arms all over you, facing the wrong way in the bed)

thought i would share.

feeling good!

I think this warmer weather has got me feeling so much better! I feel more energized and happy. I probably suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) in the cold, gray months of winter. I just love the longer days! Who knows, perhaps my vitamin/supplement regimen is helping too. All I know is a feel good! yippee!

The picture is from the planter on my front steps. It had just rained and I walked outside right before 8pm....and the air had that crisp after rain smell and the temperature was perfect (after a hot day). I snapped this photo b/c the color stood out when I looked on my porch and made me smile :)