Year In Review (and what I plan to do better next year...)

What a title, huh??  I feel very cliche writing a post on the last day of the year about what happened over the past 12 months and what I plan on doing with the next 12.  I promise this will not be a month-by-month summary of what we did, kids' milestones, etc.  (No, that is reserved for the other website I haven't updated in forever.  Maybe that should fall under the "what I plan to do better next year" section...) 

I sit here now, on the last day of what has been an extremely crazy year.  Really good coffee with my favorite creamer next to me.  Brandon is at work.  All kids are still sleeping and hopefully stay that way for a while because they need it.  With the exception of the Today Show at super low volume in the background (as not to wake those precious sleeping angels) it is SO QUIET in my house and it is glorious.  So this has given me some time and a clear head to actually sit and reflect.

Over the past year I have watched all three of my children grow so much and become seemingly different people than they were at this time last year.  This was my first full year home with them and I have never regretted this decision for a second.  I love picking them up from school instead of putting them on a bus to daycare.  I love helping with homework and fixing after school snacks.  I love taking my little man to story hour at the library every Monday morning.  I think this decision has been so wonderful for all of us and I am so grateful that I have this opportunity.  I never thought I would want it and I never thought I would take it if it was offered, but man am I glad I did!  This is definitely one of those times I am perfectly OK with being proven wrong.

Over the past year I have witnessed the power of prayer like nothing I have ever seen.  We have had too many family members and close friends go through struggles of all kinds and every time there was a vast group of prayer warriors that stepped up and carried them through.  It is amazing what just one person praying can do, but put a whole group of us together and let it spread?  Unbelievable.  Miraculous.  Not only have I seen the wonderful things that result from prayer, but my faith and my relationship with God have grown as well.  And we all know that can bring nothing but good!

We, too, have weathered some storms this year.  I am very thankful that (in the grand scheme of things) they have been relatively minor.  But struggles nonetheless and they have taken some work to overcome.  It hasn't always been easy and it hasn't always been fast, but we have worked hard and continue to work hard.  Some battles have been won and the light at the end of the tunnel is very bright for others.  Determination will get us there and determination will keep us going toward our ultimate goal.

I feel like my goals for 2013 are the same generic goals everybody has - Be more organized.  Simplify life.  Exercise more.  Be a better mom and wife.  Maybe they are generic, but they are still worthwile resolutions and I plan on working hard on each of them.  And overall I plan on just enjoying life more.  Taking time to step away from the craziness to do things I want, whether it be reading a book or playing legos with my kids or just going to bed early. 

I am excited for what these next 12 months have in store.  To quote one of my favorite movie lines: "Life moves fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Christmas Is Cancelled

It is currently 1:26 AM.  I stayed awake to get some work done.  I have accomplished such a small amount I don't even think it qualifies as work.  I know I will regret it when the sun comes up and little people start calling my name, but I just can't get settled tonight and force myself to bed.  The fact that I am REALLY behind on work is weighing heavily on my mind, but every time I try to get some done all the other stuff that is weighing REALLY, REALLY heavily on my mind gets in the way.

This week I turned into the The Grinch.  I reached a point in the holiday season where I was just DONE.  Done with it all - the shopping, the planning, the errands, the organizing... all of it.  I feel like the season has lost its spirit and in the midst of the craziness my family has lost sight of what Christmas is really all about.  Certainly through no fault of their own, but it has just happened.  And I feel we are at a point of no return.  We just need to suck it up and grin and bare it through the end of the year and vow to do better next time.

And next time... WE WILL. 

Brandon and I always make a point to get the kids involved in buying gifts for those less fortunate than us.  We want them to know just how blessed we are and that everybody does not have what we have.  We also try to involve prayers and religious activities around the house.  Of course the kids are exposed to this everyday at school and church and Sunday School, but we want to extend beyond that so they remember what is most important about this time of year.  Of course the commercialism and materialism creep in - my kids have been making and revising Christmas lists for a month.  You just can't escape it.  But we try very hard not to over-indulge them.

But everybody else... This time next week my kids are going to be swimming in so much STUFF they won't even know what they have.  And I will have bought gifts for so many people, quite a few I am certain won't even realize I gave them anything.  I found myself looking over my list of people to buy for earlier this week and so extremely frustrated because I just didn't want to do it.  I don't want to buy Christmas gifts for people who barely know me.  I don't want to drive all over town, to 5 different stores, trying to find the perfect gift for somebody I barely know.  If I don't know you well enough to come up with a reasonable idea as to what you might enjoy, doesn't that say something?  I am tired of buying just for the sake of buying, on both ends of the equation.

As I re-read that paragraph I realize it sounds a bit selfish and that is not my intent.  Well, maybe it is a little... Is it selfish to want to spend my pre-Christmas evenings curled up on the couch with my children watching the Christmas shows we DVR'd?  (No time - too busy shopping.)  Is it selfish to want to finish getting my Christmas decorations and Christmas dishes out?  (No room - too much stuff everywhere.)  Is it selfish to want to do away with just about everything at this point and attempt to simplify this holiday?

Right now I will have to muster through and live for the hours on Christmas morning when the five of us are sitting in the middle of the living room floor in our PJs.  And I will live for that next year as well, along with the hours I will spend cuddled up with my little ones every evening before.  I vow not to waste precious time standing in line, driving around in bad weather, or stressing over doing things that I really don't want to do and things that don't need to be done.  And I have a feeling it will be the most beautiful, glorious Christmas this home has ever witnessed.

Keep Calm and...

Sooooo.... I failed at "You Capture" when the topic was Yellow.  And then again last week when it was "Lunch."  And now I am already 2 days behind on this week's challenge of "Shoes."  BUT I think I can handle this one, easily.  We have no less than 569 pairs of shoes in this house and at any given time there are at least 10 pair (or sometimes not a pair) in the middle of my living room floor.  So again I will say Challenge Accepted!  Let's just hope I can follow through this time.  Stay tuned!

These past couple of weeks have been busy.  And in times like this my former self would have been in pure panic mode by now and would have already collapsed in bed 3 hours ago.  (That's a lie.  I would have fallen asleep on the couch and then been left there by my husband who attempted, numerous times, to wake me up but finally gave up and went to bed.)  But as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I am feeling this sudden sense of calm.  And strangely and rarely enough it has actually stuck with me!  Usually this stuff goes away in a day, if it even sticks around that long.  But I think in my life I have finally come to realize that some things just are what they are and you can't control them. 

And since I have let myself actually believe this I have been a different person.  My workload has not led to any late-night stressing.  I feel a bit more organized.  (I said a bit.  This house is still mostly chaos!)  I am checking things off my to-do list and the things that don't get checked off are not causing me to have a melt down. 

All of this is a tad unreal, especially in the midst of the holiday season.  I just hope I can stick with it and not lose my mind by Christmas like I do most years.  I'm actually further ahead on Christmas shopping than I have ever been in November.  (Be quiet all of you who are finished shopping!  I don't want to hear it!)  We are going to visit Santa this Saturday, the FIRST day of December.  We will also put up our tree and lights and all the other fun stuff of the season.  We will have FUN and not stress about other (mostly unimportant) stuff.

This morning I made a to-do list that was a page long.  (A small page, but still a page.)  I forgot that I would be gone this evening.  Absolutely nothing got checked off that list.  But you know what?  I'm OK with that.  I had a fantastic night celebrating my daughter's First Reconciliation, I watched my favorite, can't miss show on TV and did a little work.  Now I'm writing this.  Tomorrow I will pick up the list again and get to work.  But until then I will just enjoy what is.

(And in reference to the title of this post... I see that "Keep Calm..." stuff everywhere.  I have no idea what it means.  It just seemed appropriate.)

The Light

I scrolled through my previous posts because I was certain I had written something with this title before.  Apparently not.  (Apparently I am losing my mind.  Not breaking news.)

So as all my (very few) loyal readers may have noticed, I have been absent from blog-land lately.  I look back and I feel like I should have a really exciting story to tell you about why I just didn't have the time to sit down and write.  Sadly that is not the case.  But happily, it is because we were simply really super-busy living life.  A new school year, 2 soccer seasons, fundraisers, a traveling husband, holidays and birthdays... nothing stellar, nothing out of the ordinary, but just a lot of STUFF.  So much stuff, in fact, that I often felt like I was losing my mind.  Or at the very least, a very small piece of myself.  I have been so busy taking care of everybody else and all their needs that I haven't devoted much time to myself lately.  And I feel the time I HAVE devoted to me has revolved around work.

But now... well, now I am writing, so that's a start!  Twice this month!  And the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to get a little brighter.  I checked two books out of the library last week.  Grown-up books!  I watched my favorite Thursday night TV shows last night when they were actually on, not on DVR.  (In retrospect that may not have been the best decision because I did not plan well for my Friday and that made things a little hectic.)  But I am slowly getting back the things I have loved and missed.  It's not all there... I haven't linked up with You Capture in forever.  On several occassions I have actually taken pictures and never got around to uploading them.  (This week's challenge is Yellow.  Challenge accepted!)  I still want to read all the other blogs I used to and the stack of books I bought at the library used book sale this summer.  And I want to organize my house.  And I want to get crafty with some pictures I took over the summer.  And... well, you get the idea.  Baby steps, my friends!  Slowly but surely I will get there.

Not only do I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but I am starting to see light shed on certain situations.  Recently I have taken a step back from things and put a lot of time into evaluating where my life is going and where I want it to go.  I know where I WANT it to go, but most days I don't feel that is the direction I'm heading and I don't know how to redirect.  Some days I don't even know if I can.  I feel a constant pull between working towards what I want and working towards what I feel is best for others or what others want me to do.  But the past couple of days I spent a lot of time working on my personal goals and somewhat neglecting other things.  This led to panic.  And stress.  And worry.  And after a surprisingly short amount of time, it led to an amazing release.  The stress was suddenly lifted and I felt calm.  I don't know that I can adequately explain it, but I just knew I was doing the right thing.

So hopefully that little pinhead of a light at the far end of the very long tunnel continues to come closer.  And hopefully that light from above continues to not only shine down on me, but to open my eyes when it does.

Election Wrap-Up

AANNNNDDDD... I'm back!  I'm not even going to attempt to explain why this blog was abandoned for over 2 months, I'm just jumping right back in!

As expected, this year's presidential election was HUGE.  Monumental.  Historic.  And the cause of many arguments, much nastiness, and quite a bit of Facebook smack-talk and de-friending.  And to that I say... grow up and get over yourself.  As I have every year since I was legally able, I stood in line and voted like the proud American I am.  I voted for a presidential candidate, a congressional candidate and quite a few other races on my local ballot.  Some of my people won, some did not.  I accepted it and went on with life.  I did not post any status updates on Facebook gloating about "my wins" or bad-mouthing those who voted for "the other guys."  I did not threaten to relocate my family to another city, state or country because the outcome may not have been exactly what I wanted.  And I did not delete anybody from my friends list on Facebook, because I don't have any friendships that are built on political beliefs.  (Although I will admit I did remove a few from my newsfeed.  I still love ya, but I don't want to see all your negativity.  See people?!  That's how you do it!)

Now with that being said, I will admit that I am concerned about our future.  I have never gone into an election with such uncertainty about who I was going to vote for.  (I didn't decide on some of the races until I was driving to my polling place.)  It bothers me (a lot) that I did not feel 100% confident in voting for either major Presidential candidate.  I am more than a little frightened for my children's future and what will be awaiting them as they become adults.  I am concerned about how I will provide them with the childhood I have always dreamed for them when our country is in such a state of chaos.  And I am a tiny bit worried about how our family will manage on a day-to-day basis if this trend continues.

But more than any of those feelings, Election Day 2012 made me PROUD.  What's that, you say?  Do those two terms even go hand-in-hand after all this??  Yes, and let me tell you why.

For starters, voter turn-out was so high that several places ran out of ballots.  Northern Kentucky was predicting a 70% turnout and they still ran out!  Amazing!  Now I will say, I will never understand why we don't have 100% turn-out every November, but that is an argument for another time.  We'll take what we can get.  Baby steps.  It makes me proud that so many Americans feel so strongly about our current state and our future that they took the time to DO SOMETHING about it.  Don't just sit on your couch (or computer) and complain!

Secondly, I am so very, very proud of my children.  Growing up I'm certain I had no idea who was running for any elected office until I was in my teens.  Nor did I really care.  Now in many parts of the country, our county included, the polling places set up a "Kids Voting USA" booth.  Kids can stop by and cast their private ballots, this year voting on the Presidential Race, the local Congressional race and 3 "issues" that were exclusive to the kids' ballots: Does your school do enough to prevent bullying?  Do you think e-books should replace traditional text books in the classroom?  Do you think the government should ban super-sized soft drinks? 

(I will stop here to say that Brandon and I have talked to the kids about the election and who is running and a little about what the candidates stand for.  But we have not pushed our opinions on them in the least and we didn't even tell them who we were voting for until Monday night.) 

So we arrive at the local elementary school to vote.  My 2 older kids were SO excited to vote!  So excited that they voted before I did.  Lucas (4 years) made his Presidential and Congressional selections based on the photos of the candidates.  While he didn't really understand a lot of the issues, he recognized each candidate by picture and was able to put an X in the box of those he had told me he was going to vote for.  I read the 3 issues to him and he firmly told me his answer and marked his X's.  Ella (7 years) came in with her mind made up on all items on the ballot and voted as such.  She had told me the reasons she was selecting the people she did and she had a thought process behind each of her selections on the Issues.  What a proud Momma I was!!

So while the Election madness may not have brought out the best in everybody, it wasn't all bad.  My kids were shown once again how important it is stand up for what you believe and take advantage of the wonderful priveledge we have to vote.  Witnessing their little minds work through the selection process has made me hopeful for their future.  One little baby step at a time, this world will become a better place.

You Capture - Photo A Day

I must admit, as I start this post, that I cheated a bit this week.  I didn't get around to viewing last week's You Capture posts until Tuesday, which means I got this week's challenge a day late.  So with the topic being "A Photo A Day" my week ran Tuesday - Monday.  And while I'm at it, I will also admit that this challenge stressed me out a bit.  (OK, more than a bit.)  I thought I would NEVER remember to get a decent shot each day.  BUT I surprised myself and had fun in the meantime!

On Tuesday morning the kids and I went to the park near our house.  Their favorite thing to do there is walk the Nature Trail and my favorite thing to do there is take their picture on this bridge.

On Wednesday we played in our back yard.  This year we planted pumpkins for the first time ever, just to see what they would do.  I love to see them early in the morning, as the sun rises and their blooms open wide toward the East.

Thursday was the start of soccer season in our house.  Both Ella and Lucas will be playing this season and Ella had her first practice Thursday evening.

Friday morning I took the kids downtown so they could play in the new park on the river and we could meet Brandon for lunch.  This was our first visit to this particular park and I can't wait to go back.  They have an exhibit on The Black Brigade and I loved this statue that was perched on top of the wall surrounding the exhibit.  I believe the title was "A Mother Waits With Her Children" (but that probably is not 100% accurate).  The piece alone was moving, but add to it the fact that you can see the Ohio River in the background and the bridge coming from Kentucky and the American Flag (just barely) at the top... it is just unbelievable.  So much to take in.

With a very active, athletic 4-year-old boy in our house a lot of things get stuck on our roof.  Saturday it was a boomerang so Brandon went up to retrieve it.  The whole thing made me giggle - him up there in his Superman shirt with the blue skies in the background.  Too much!  (And so photo-worthy!)

A Sunday afternoon nap - who doesn't love one?!  Casey loved one so much that she didn't care if Joseph's shoes were in her way.  In fact, she seemed rather comfortable snoozing with her nose in there.



And finally Monday morning... I received a single pink rose on Sunday afternoon and it was just too beautiful not to photograph.

So that is my week in photos!  See what everybody else has been up to this week at The Home of You Capture.

You Capture - Things That Start With B

Wow, it's already Wednesday and I still haven't posted my You Capture shots for the week (which should be done on Monday, for those not aware).  Of course I don't think I have ever posted on Monday... I am always at least a day behind.  But so goes life!

So for "Things That Start With B"... here is my Baby Boy playing Basketball in our Backyard.  Is that enough for you?  :)  This is his favorite past time when we play out back.  I keep trying to raise the hoop on him to see what he can do, but somebody always winds up lowering it again.  His big brother and sister have taught him to say "He shoots!  He scores!" which is adorable, especially because it comes out sounding more like "Eee Ssshhhh!  Eee Sssss!"

Here he is going in for a shot...

...So close!  Reach just a little more...

Slam dunk!

For more "B" shots, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

You Capture - Get Down Low

I almost didn't make the You Capture post this week.  Quite honestly, I should be long asleep right now - it is late and I have another long day ahead tomorrow.  But sometimes things just weigh on your mind and you can't go to sleep, even though you really are exhausted.  You know?

Anyway, this week's You Capture challenge was Get Down Low.  Yea!!  So easy around here because all little people in this house are constantly getting up high.  I think I live with a bunch of monkeys.

This summer Lucas learned how to get himself started on the swing set, keep himself going by pumping his legs and make himself go higher and higher.  He is so proud!  I may have slightly risked my life by laying under him to take this picture but he thought that was funny and that was enough to put a smile on my face.

Joseph also learned something new this summer.  He learned to climb the ladder to our clubhouse/slide.  I am not so excited about this one because he is going to give me a heart attack.  No fear for that boy!  At least he's cute.



Ella, our ever cautious and careful child when it comes to dare-devil-ism, is the only one who loves being in the tree.  The branches aren't quite low enough for her to get up there herself, so Daddy has to provide a little assistance.  But once she's there you can forget about her because I think she is setting up camp and staying for a while.

And finally an indoor shot of my guard dog.  I actually have two, almost identical.  They love to lay at the top of our steps and look out the front window so they can keep an eye on people who have the nerve to walk on our sidewalk, UPS men who have the nerve to bring us packages and dogs who have the nerve to sniff our mailbox.  What would we do without them?  (Apparently I caught this guard dog at nap time.)

Check out some more low shots at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Unfair

I kind of pride myself on being a positive person.  Even in bad situations, I will always try to find something positive - the silver lining, if you will - to take away from it.  I do this because that is how I want to live my life.  I don't like to dwell on the negative and stay down in the dumps.  Don't get me wrong - it's not that I am oblivious to the bad things that happen.  But rather, I prefer to find a way to attack them and turn the situation around.  How can I make it better?  How can I make it go away?  Think positive for a positive outcome.

But this week I was thrown for a loop.  I learned that someone very near and dear to me is in for the fight of her life.  My first thoughts when I heard this news?  It is so unbelievably unfair.  And it sucks.

I have always believed God doesn't give you more than you can handle, and I'm certain she thinks this way, too.  But isn't there a breaking point somewhere?  She and her husband and children have endured so much and it seems they are always fighting some battle.  There isn't time to recover and regroup from battle #1 before battle #2 starts raging.  And yet in the midst of her own personal battles, she will be the first person to rally for you if you need anything.  She will give you the shirt off her back, even if that means she doesn't have another one to replace it. 

So one would think with all the fighting and good-deed-doing, she would finally be dealt a good hand.  Right?  Not so.  This time the bad cards are in her hand and the latest battle is one she must fight for herself.

So many questions swirled through my head this week, but mostly "How?" and "Why?"  And I have prayed like I haven't prayed in a really long time.  Prayed for her and prayed for answers and understanding.  Hasn't she been through enough already?  Doesn't she deserve a break?  Even a little one?  My heart is breaking for her and I feel so helpless because I can't make her better.

I went to visit her on Wednesday and as I ran all the details through my mind the next day and reflected on exactly what was going on (and prayed some more - I really don't think I have stopped since the news broke)... something became very clear.  I have always known her to be an amazingly strong woman and such a fighter.  And here she is again, fighting.  Not a mad, angry, crying fight.  But a strong, determined, positive fight.  The kind that says "You just try to mess with me.  I will take you down."  When faced with the biggest struggle of her life, she is not backing down.  Not one little bit.  She is poised and filled with faith and is even maintaining her sense of humor through it all.  Wow.

It is very difficult to rationalize something terrible happening just so something good can result.  But here she is, facing something so very terrible, and showing us all how to deal.  She is the strong one.  She is the role model.  Yes it's true - God knew who he was dealing with when he handed out this fate.  He knew she could fight it.  Does that mean I think it is fair?  Does that mean I understand?  No and no.  And I probably never will.  But oh my, has my admiration for her grown.  This woman has always been one of my role models for several reasons and now I can add her fighting spirit as another.

I know she will come through this and walk out the other side even stronger than she was before.  I know it won't be easy for her, but I'm certain she will make it easier for the rest of us.

Lost

I am feeling lost of late.  In some ways very grounded and exactly where I should be and rolling right along.  But in other ways... just lost.  What bothers me even more is that the things that make me feel this way are somewhat elementary and immature and silly, but you can't always help the way you feel.

I told Brandon tonight something that has been on my mind for several weeks now.  (And let's face it, something that is never, ever far from my mind.)  I need some alone time for ME.  Absolute, 100% me time.  It's not that he is preventing me from having this or that he doesn't encourage it - it's just life.  We are busy with jobs and kids and being grown-ups.  But these days, the only time I have to myself is when I am running errands.  The grocery, the bank, the like.  I tell myself that if I have some time to hide out in a back corner of the library and read one of the many books on my night stand that I will come out refreshed and ready to start anew.  Or that if I can have a day at the spa (which hopefully accepts Monopoly money) I will be so relaxed that I can't help but resurface ready to conquer the world.

I've heard so many people say you have to schedule time for yourself. Actually pencil it in somewhere. (Or type it I suppose. Who actually has a paper calendar anymore? Me, that's who.) For the longest time I thought that was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. You can't schedule "me" time and plan on sticking with it - stuff happens! Life happens. Sometimes you have to just bypass and take care of business. But now I am realizing this is exactly what I must do for the sake of my sanity.

Just tonight I also told Brandon (during a different discussion) that sometimes you just have to find a way, and if the old way isn't working then you have to find a new one.  So perhaps I should follow my own advice.  Find direction in those moments when I am lost.  Take charge and seek the path I am looking for.  And if the path I think I'm looking for can't be found, then forget about it and find another. 

So perhaps in the midst of all this path-seeking and me-time-scheduling I will come to some resolutions about where I am going and what my next steps will be (and should be).  It just feel like there are so many loose ends right now and I don't know which ones to grab first.  But it is becoming more apparent that I cannot grab them all at once and tie them into one nice, neat, big bow.  So I will start tying knots, one at a time, to keep them from fraying.  And once that is done I might be able to gather them up into one tight bunch.  And maybe I won't.  But that certainly won't stop me from trying, and maybe even tying some new knots if I need to.

Hidden Gems

Perhaps the title of this post should be "Obvious Gems."  But when the gems aren't so obvious to me, they fall into the hidden category.

I am always trying to find fun, new things to do with my kids, especially during the summer.  As much as they love to swim and play in the backyard and go to the park, it does get old after a while and let's face it - nobody wants to play outside when we are under an Excessive Heat Advisory.  So trying to find something that A - appeals to all ages and genders and B - doesn't cost a small fortune can be a bit challenging.

And that's what best friends are for!  Mine suggested taking the kids to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum.  Why on earth haven't we thought of this before?!  It is an easy 45-minute drive from our house and best of all, it is FREE!  (Of course with the cost of gas these days I guess it's not 100% free, but its about as good as it gets folks.)  So off we set on Wednesday morning with 6 kids, not really sure what to expect other than a bunch of airplanes. 

Saying this was a "pleasant surprise" does not even do it justice.  The whole thing was an awesome experience.  For starters, the kids had a great time - not an easy task when you are dealing with boys AND girls, ranging in age from 1-9.  They loved seeing the planes, reading about them and checking out some other small artifacts throughout the museum.  And of course they wanted their picture taken in front of just about every aircraft we walked past.

The museum is set up in 3 hangars - we made it through about one and a half, from "The Early Years" through the Vietnam War.  There were planes on the ground and planes in the sky - so much to see everywhere and so many different things I wanted to photograph.  Unforunately it was not so easy when trying to keep up with a bunch of kids, but I did get some neat shots:

One day I would love to back sans-children and actually read and learn about some of the things I saw, like these:

And while there were planes, planes and more planes, there were also plenty of other things - TONS of other things - throughout that I would love to check out.  





We convinced the kids to stop and look at a few but you know as well as I do that a large airplane right in front of you is much more appealing to a child than a piece of paper in a display case.

I think I could easily spend the entire day there, reading and learning and soaking it all in.  Walking through there makes me realize how much I DON'T know and for that I feel guilty.  My grandfathers fought in World War II, my father-in-law fought in Vietnam and while I know what I was taught in history class in school, there is so much more I am completely unaware of. 

So in addition to the history lesson, I learned a few other things... 1) How to plan better for my next trip there with the kids because they really want to go back and see the things they missed.  2) I will need to find a babysitter so I can back sometime and see what I want to see.  3) Going forward I will do a much better job of seeking out the wonderful opportunities around me.  What's that line from The Wizard of Oz?  "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard..."

You Capture - Drinks

What a fun challenge this week!  The story of my weekend can actually be told through drinks...

Last week the kids and I spent every morning at Vacation Bible School.  While it was amazing, it did throw off our normal routine and I think it is safe to say it wore us all out.  So by the time Friday evening rolled around, I was DONE.  Once we got the kids in bed, Brandon and I planted ourselves on our family room couch and caught up on our DVR while enjoying a few much-needed adult beverages.  Nothing fancy, but simple is exactly what we needed!

Saturday our friends threw a Luau-themed party, roasted pig and all.  True to their style, the house was decorated in bright colors, everyone received a lei as they walked in the door and there was a variety of frozen drinks to choose from.  They even took care of the non-frozen-drinkers with some good old fashioned beer, but they still couldn't escape the festive cups!

Of course the best part of this evening was getting to share a few drinks with my old friend. 

My absolute favorite parts of every weekend are Saturday mornings (and sometimes Sundays) when we have nothing to do except sit around, drink coffee, watch cartoons with the kids and read the paper.  It doesn't happen often around here, but when it does... oh, it is glorious!  (A side note on my mug of choice: We have 3 photo mugs, one for each child.  And you better believe they pay attention to which one you are using and ensure they get proper rotation so everybody gets a turn!)

Sunday afternoon my best friend and I took all 6 of our "little" kids to the zoo.  It was supposed to be a nice day - warm and sunny.  At least that's what the weather man said.  The reality: it was HOT!  Luckily I still need to bring a stroller on such outings so we could load up the basket with refeshments.

Sunday night as Brandon and I sat down after the kids were in bed, we both agreed it was the best weekend we've had in a very long time.  Time spent together, time spent with good friends and fun for everybody.  Doesn't get much better than that.

See what other people are drinking this week at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Things I Learned at VBS

The subtitle of the majority of this post should be "A Few Reasons I Am Not A Teacher." 

So this year I volunteered at Vacation Bible School.  Honestly, the only reason I signed up is that Lucas was too young to participate in the regular VBS and I knew he would be really bummed.  But if I volunteered for at least 3 days he could participate in the Preschool version.  Plus they offered the baby nursery for those not quite old enough for the preschool class.  I don't think it could have worked out any more perfectly.  The weird part is that we did not attend VBS at our church.  We missed out on that one - it was the same week we were on vacation.  But I had heard great things about the program the Methodist church down the street offered so we signed up for that.  And I have to admit - it was fantastic!  It was very well organized and the way it was all presented was perfect and the directors were wonderful and my kids had an absolute blast. 

So why, you must be asking by now, would this make me want to avoid teaching?

Because I don't think... no, I'm certain... I could not handle the majority of these children or children like them on a daily basis.  I know that must sound so terrible and I will say for the most part, it is not the fault of the kids.  So here is a list of what I learned:

1.  There are parents out there who use VBS as a dumping ground or free babysitting service when they don't know what else to do with their children.  If your child does not wish to attend VBS please do not send them.  It ruins the experience for all the other children in the group because it is very apparent they do not wish to be there.

2.  Peer pressure to "look cool" starts at a very young age.  Much younger than I had realized.  Within my small group were three 6-year-old boys - 2 cousins and their friend.  Two of them did not really care to participate in the majority of our activities and they set out to get attention by being rowdy.  Extremely frustrating, from a "teacher" standpoint, because there was only so much I could do and they didn't really care who I was.  But also frustrating, and very sad, because that third little boy wanted to participate so bad but it was obvious he was too worried about what the other two were doing and what they might think.

3.  Kids will tell you some weird things.  Most of it can be funny and amusing, but sometimes... not so much.  Like the child who was a huge Harry Potter fan.  I told him I didn't know anything about Harry Potter (never read the books, never seen the movies, don't really care to).  He made it his personal mission to get me call caught up.  And I mean in great detail.  Every spare minute he found.  Over the course of several days.  God love him, because he was so excited about it and I certainly didn't want to be mean, but he would pick up right where he left off each time and I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I really care to be a Harry Potter expert.  That, coupled with the fact that I had other children to tend to, left me trying to find a nice way to cut him off.  I'm not sure I was very successful.

4.  Adolescent girls will make you deaf.  I have a 7-year-old daughter.  I know they scream a lot for no good reason and I know it gets loud.  But holy cow - put 40 of them in a small room and have them compete for which group can cheer the loudest... Whew!!!  God truly was at work last week because it is nothing short of a miracle that I can still hear.

5.  Even if you have the most well-behaved group, the crazies in the group next to you will get them all riled up.  Just when I would think "My group is fantastic!  Look how well behaved they are!  They are actually paying attention!" that group next to us would start yelling during prayer and wrestling on the floor during Bible Story time.  And my little angels just could not resist the temptation.  Back to square one.

But despite all the insanity, my kids and I had a great week.  I got to meet some wonderful people, both young and old.  I got to see kids come out of their shells and be there to witness them "getting it."  Ella and Lucas had so much fun and absorbed so much, plus made some new friends of their own.

So is this enough to make me change my view?  Maybe... but just for one week each year.  :)

You Capture - Black & White

When I saw the challenge for this week's You Capture, I have to admit I was a little disappointed.  When I first started joining in these challenges, that was one of the first topics.  And it really wasn't that long ago.  And like Beth stated in her post this week, I am usually hesitant to turn my shots into black and white because I feel I always lose something. 

BUT... it quickly dawned on me I would have the perfect opportunity to get some great shots to convert.  My nephew's birthday party was last week and his party was held in a firetruck-themed room.  There were 2 actual firetrucks in there, with all their nozzles and gears and guages and knobs and whatever else comes on there.  Perfect!  So many neat shots and angles I could capture.

And then what happened?  You guessed it - I completely forgot!  In all fairness, I did get some really great shots of the party, but none that were really worth making black and white.  So I had to find some hidden gems in what I had and do some major cropping.  Here's what I came up with:

And a cute shot of my adorable little fireman.  :)

On the way out, Ella "won" this black and white ring in a quarter machine.

And finally, a little black and white that has always made me giggle.  We have had this book since Ella was a toddler; it came with a box set of ABC books.  This picture is in no way edited - hopefully you get the same laugh I did.  :)

Head on over to I Should Be Folding Laundry for more of this week's black and white offerings.

You Capture - Summer

When I saw the topic for this week's You Capture post, I wasn't quite sure where to start.  What's not to love about summer?!  There are so, so many things that come to mind when I think of my favorite season.  I finally decided to capture my two favorite things of this hot and steamy time of year.

My mom and step-dad have a pool at their house and many weekends are spent there, with a lot of other family members and friends.  We have a very large family and a lot of very close family friends (extended family, if you will) - if you didn't know any better you would think they are having a party every weekend.  But no - it's just the family! 

Of course they love nothing more than when their little angels (my 3 kids and my nephew) come to visit.  Being the doting grandparents they are, the kids pretty much have the run of the place and can do and have what they want.  So here they are - Joseph, Lucas, Ella and Nathan - taking a much-needed snack break.  They had drinks in their personalized water bottles (purchased by Mawmaw) and Oreo cookies (provided by Pawpaw).  Pool, sun, cousins, chocolatey snacks - what more could a kid ask for?

The thing I look forward to most every summer - our annual Haungs Memorial Golf Outing. 

This is the eighth year for our outing.  It involves all of my mom's siblings (that's them in the picture above, plus my Grandma), along with their families, converging on Northern Kentucky for a mini-reunion and 9-hole golf outing.  Now that everybody is scattered across the country, we don't see each other as often.  But every year, in early July, we come together for a golf outing and party in honor and memory of my grandfather and my uncle who have passed away.

It is fun for so many reasons.  Most of us (myself included) are NOT golfers, so we just get out there to have a good time.  And there are a lot of us - my mom is one of nine kids, there are 14 grandkids and now we are starting to have our own children so there is a whole new generation.  There is a trophy, so there are some bragging rights that go along with a win.  There are pictures from years past, all compiled into an album, so there are stories shared and rehashed.  There is food and drink, and swimming and card-playing and time spent together that we don't get any other time of the year.  It is an all-day and all-night event and it has been one of my favorite things every year since we began.

I could have posted half a million pictures from the day.  I am the unofficial "staff photographer" of the day - I take all pictures and add them to the album each year.  My mom has dubbed me the paparazzi - on the course I am much more concerned about getting pictures of everybody than I am about golfing!  (Oh!  My turn again?  What hole are we on??)  So here are a few more shots from the course...

My paparazzi-ish work, taking pictures through the trees

An action shot from the ninth green

Intimidation!  As each team finishes, they line up their carts along the ninth green and watch as the other teams come in.  You do NOT want to be the last team to finish!

I should have spent a little more time on my editing this week, but I am later than I had planned on linking up and I didn't want to miss the challenge all together!  For some other great photos, be sure to visit You Capture over at Beth's place.

Best Laid Plans

It is finally happening.  I finally feel as if I have a handle on the things going on in my home and in my life and in my career.  Shhh... don't talk about it too loudly or it is bound to all fall to pieces again!  Last week I wrote about the craziness that consumed June and how terrible I felt about the way everything was going.  I vowed to make July better.  And guess what?  It is working!  This week I have felt an inner peace and happiness I have not felt in quite some time.  And friends, it is amazing. 

I must admit, when I first quit my full-time office job I had a very false picture of how things would go.  I did not expect everything to be calm and clean and perfect all the time, but I envisioned happy mornings spent playing with my kids and quiet afternoons where they napped and I took care of household chores, followed by happy family dinners in the evening, then more family time spent playing games or playing outside or going on outings.  How very fairy-tale-ish.  I don't think I need to tell you that it did not go like that at all.  Not even one day.

But this week... oh, this week the tides are turning.  I have been to the gym and plan on going back this afternoon.  I have taken the kids to the pool and will be taking them again tonight.  We are going to the zoo tomorrow.  I have run some errands.  I have cleaned the house (well... the top half!).  I have had ample time to do my work while Joseph slept and the big kids enjoyed some "quiet time" of their own playing downstairs.  Today, for the very first time, I have actually completed all of my work for the day - it's already done!  That means I can spend this evening editing my pictures for this week's You Capture post.  (Finally!) 

All of this has left me feeling satisfied and happy and somewhat giddy, like I want to skip around my house for the rest of the day.  I look ahead in my planner and it is nearly empty.  Unheard of!  (I confess, I wrote a couple somewhat-meaningless tasks in there earlier in the week because the look of an empty weekly agenda was so foreign to me I didn't know how to deal with it.)

Yes indeed, my plan is finally falling into place.  Don't get me wrong - I still have quite a bit of catching up to do in all areas.  But I feel like I finally have a chance to actually do it and to start my Home Project To-Do list again.  Maybe one day soon I can even cross one off that list!

No, it is still not perfect and yesterday there were several near-meltdowns, from mom and kids alike.  But we got through it.  And we will continue to get through it.

Just this morning Ella told me "You are the best mom ever.  You always have been and you always will be."  If that's not enough motivation I don't know what is.

You Capture - Feet

It has been so, so long (way too long) since I have been able to link up with You Capture.  Twice over the past month and a half I have actually taken pictures for You Capture and then, before I even got a chance to post them, the week was over and it was on to a new topic.  So with my vow to find balance and get back to what I love, I read all the You Capture posts I missed over the past 6 weeks or so.  I figured I would read the most recent post from this Monday, get the scoop on next week's topic and get to work.

But Divine Intervention - or maybe not something quite so wonderful or miraculous ;) - stepped in!  Turns out the topic for last week was "Feet."  I immediately thought of at least 3 pictures I had taken of feet last week.  I have to admit, I was so excited I almost clapped my hands and squealed!  (OK, maybe I did... a little.)  I can link up after all!

Last week we went on vacation with the entire Tabor family to Perdido Key, FL.  This is the first time we have been to the beach in 3 years - it will be the first trip Lucas remembers and it was the first trip ever for Joseph.  We have a sand box in our backyard, so he has certainly touched and played in sand before.  But he has never actually been IN the sand.  His first visit - he was not so sure!

He did NOT like the feel of it on his feet!  He wanted so bad to get it off, but he was very hesitant to touch his feet with his own hands.

But once he saw everybody else running and having a good time, he pulled himself up and didn't seem to mind his feet in the sand after all.

And by the end of the week, he was setting off on his own adventures.

I know this shot isn't nearly as cute as the previous shots of Joe's chunky little toes, but I think it's still worth posting!  These are my feet - pedicured and all, which is a real rarity - standing in the gulf water.  The bright sun, the soft white sand, the clear cool ocean.  I could have stood in this spot all day, watching all the activity around me and feeling the waves crash over my feet.  Makes me feel dreamy just looking at it!



Ah, it feels good to be back!  Be sure to check out this week's other You Capture posts.  Happy reading (and posting)!

Welcome Back

Holy cow, what happened to June?!  I had the very best of intentions to write numerous posts - the ideas were just swimming in my head, tons of things to write about.  But sadly, there were too many things swimming around and absolutely no time to sit and write about them.  Same goes for blog reading - I am behind on all my favorite blogs and it makes me sad, like I am missing out on visits with good friends.  (Maybe not that extreme - some of these people I have never even met.)

I thought for sure June would be the beginning of our "relaxing" summer.  The kids were out of school, meaning lack of schedule and homework.  Lazy days in the backyard and at the pool.  But there was tee-ball.  And gymnastics.  And swim lessons.  And preparing for vacation.  And of course the everyday stuff around the house and, oh yeah... work!  So in the midst of all that everything else got lost and it felt like the most frantic month in my entire life.  I look back and it is all a blur.  I felt (and still feel) very unbalanced.

My primary goal when I quit my full-time office job was to be happier and more relaxed at home.  To find a true balance between work and home life and everything that goes along with it.  In June, I failed miserably.  We were all at our wit's end, Brandon was beyond stressed, the kids seemed to fight constantly, and I felt like I spent all my time dealing with other people and things and absolutely no time dealing with myself.

So I vow that July is a new beginning!  All classes and lessons and games and practices have ended for the summer.  Vacation has come and gone.  I am writing what I hope to be the first of many posts for the month (and beyond).  I have books (yes, plural) on my nightstand just waiting to be read.  Thanks to some reading I did on vacation last week, I feel motivated and inspired - more than ever - to find the balance I am so desperately seeking and make everything come together.  Things are looking up and I refuse to look down.

So bring it on, July - I am packed and ready to go!

The Next Thing On My List

So all of my (one of my?) loyal followers may have noticed that I have been absent from blog world of late.  That's not the only thing I have been missing!  Things have been insanely crazy around here and I am trying desperately to reign it all back in.  I feel like I have 20 half-started projects laying around here and a list of 20 more that I need to start, not the mention the things I just WANT to do - no idea if or when I will find time for those.

I remember when I was a full-time working mom, outside the home, in an office downtown 40 hours a week plus bringing work home.  I would hear stay at home moms talk about how busy and crazy they were and I thought "Are you kidding me?!"  Now don't get me wrong, never for a second have I thought SAHM's had it easy - I just never thought it was harder than what I was doing.

Enter culture shock here.  I willingly chose to become a SAHM, even though I swore for years I would never want to do it.  But we simply reached a point in our lives where it seemed to be easier and just make sense - we had an additional child, we now had 2 children involved in activities, plus Brandon was traveling more for work.  And I will say, I absolutely cannot imagine being where we are today with me still working full time outside the home.  No way.  I would have already lost my mind and been sent off to the loony bin.  But that certainly doesn't mean this is easy! 

In addition to the regular, every-day stuff like school and homework and cooking dinner and keeping up with the house and extracurricular activities...  Brandon has been traveling even more.  Like, A LOT.  In the past 2 months he went on 5 separate trips.  Plus it has been birthday season around here - all 3 of our kids' birthdays fall within a 2 month span.  And then there are those little extra things you never think about or account for when you are making plans for the week... invitations to parties/events, school projects, extra work that you have to get done...  So needless to say, I'M BUSY!  It has been all about survival mode for the past few weeks.  As long as I managed to keep up with 3 kids going in 3 directions and get everybody fed, that was enough for me.  Forget a clean house and clean laundry and reading and all those other things I wanted/needed to do.

BUT... Brandon is home this weekend and should be for a while.  And the weather is gorgeous.  And we have absolutely no plans today that will take us away from our house.  So we are spending the day planting our garden and pulling weeds and mulching and while we are doing all that our kids can play in the backyard.  We are cooking a whole chicken on the smoker and will eat that tonight with a big, fresh salad and maybe a few adult beverages.  After that we will throw our sure-to-be filthy kids in the bath and get them to bed where they will hopefully drift off quickly and peacefully because they are so exhausted from playing outside all day.  And then I will sit with my long-absent husband on the deck and enjoy the evening air (and a few more adult beverages).

And so things will finally come back together and the chaos will subside for a while.  We will accomplish some big things on our to-do list and our yard should look pretty darn good at the end of the day. 

But the inside of our house... well, don't look in there!  That's on the to-do list for another day.

(P.S. - For those not familiar, the title of this post is the title of a Toby Keith song that has been on my mind and in my head a lot lately.  For those who know it I'm sure you can see why!  For those who haven't heard it, take a listen - it's a good one!)

The Past Week

As if this household needed more craziness... I think this past week about did me in!  Last week we had the electrocution fiasco with Ella - a trip to the ER followed by a trip to Shriner's Burn Clinic.  I am happy to report that she is healing quite nicely and all is going well with her. 

So Tuesday I took the dogs to the vet for routine check-ups and shots.  I was pretty certain Casey had an ear infection in her right ear so I made sure to tip them off on that when I dropped them off.  By myself.  Carrying a very heavy 14-month-old and attempting to control two 80+ pound dogs.  I cannot believe we successfully made it in the door.  The nurse even said as much.  Turns out that Casey's right ear was indeed infected, as was her left and both of Rugby's as well (although not as bad).  Awesome.

The week goes on and Joseph gets fussy.  I finally realize on Thursday that he had 4 molars pop through last week, quite possibly on the same day.  Poor boy!!  That definitely explained the crabbiness and the yucky nose... or so I thought.  By Thursday night he was not himself, very clingy and fussy and running a temp of 102.  Gave him some Tylenol and hoped for the best in the morning.  No such luck, so a call was made to the doctor and a visit scheduled.  They diagnosed him with a sinus infection (the second in his short little life) and gave a prescription for Amoxicillin.

The weekend went on and he just did not seem to improve.  His fever was gone and his nose wasn't so yucky, but he still was not himself.  Sunday afternoon he had a slight rash on his face, we chalked it up to heat.  But this morning he woke up with his face and neck covered.  Ugh!!!  At least it didn't seem to be bothering him.  I already had Lucas' 4-year check up scheduled for today so I called the doctor (again!) to see if Joseph could tag along.

Lucas wakes up around 9:00 (super late for him) and walks out looking confused, telling me something is making his ear itchy.  After further inspection, it looks as if his ear drum has ruptured.  At least that was my diagnosis based on my vast medical knowledge.  I've never actually seen a ruptured ear drum, but I couldn't imagine what else it would be.  So tack that on to the already-scheduled-visit, too.

I fix lunch, put Joseph down for a nap and settle Lucas in for an afternoon viewing of Cars 2.  While cleaning up I notice some water trickling down the kitchen faucet and think this might require some looking into.  Open the cabinet under the sink and sure enough, water everywhere. 

Have I mentioned yet that Brandon left for another business trip today?  That's right, he is GONE all week!  So what do I do?  Pick up the phone... "Dad!!!"  :)  Yes, I called my Daddy and yelled help!  I do not know the least little thing about plumbing and I wasn't going to pretend I did.  Luckily my dad does not live far and has a fairly flexible schedule, so he was able to stop by and perform a quick fix for me. 

Upon arriving at the pediatrician's office, they check Lucas and report his ears look perfectly fine.  I am baffled.  They really have no explanation as to what happened earlier.  They examine Joseph and declare he is allergic to penicillin and his ears (which were perfectly fine when we sat in this office 4 days ago) have fluid behind them and look worse than Lucas'.  So pitch the amoxicillin, buy another antibiotic and start Benadryl.

It's official - I am DONE for the week!  Unfortunately it is only Monday, so that is not an option.  So who has a bottle of wine for me???

Lessons

The past few days have given everyone in our house a chance to learn some new lessons and reflect on those learned in the past.

Sunday night Ella was in the bathroom as she had just gotten out of the shower.  I was cleaning up dinner and Brandon was playing with the boys.  All of the sudden a scream from the bathroom.  We didn't respond because Ella is a girl and a screamer - she is always screaming "just because."  But then another scream, just as intense, so I dropped everything and ran.  She was holding her hand out; two fingers and her thumb had streaks of something brown, I assumed dirt or some other (more disgusting) substance.  After what seemed like minutes, but in reality about 30 seconds, I realized she had shocked and burned herself.  The wall around the electrical outlet was black.  She led us to believe that she had simply touched it while she was still wet and that did the job.  After some prying (and finding a mangled bobby pin near the sink) she confessed to sticking the pin in one of the holes.  This left 3 burns on her left thumb and first 2 fingers.  Our neighbor the firefighter was gracious enough to come check things out and advised us to have her checked at the ER.  So off we went, at 8:00 PM on Sunday.  They diagnosed her with second degree burns, cleaned and dressed the wounds and gave us a referral to visit Shriner's Burn Clinic the next day.  (In this process they also gave her Tyelonol with Codeine, which was the only funny part of the entire experience because she became so loopy and jabbered endlessly about the craziest things that I could not stop laughing.)  On Monday afternoon we set off to Shriner's Hospital in Cincinnati for a follow up.  Luckily the burns had already started healing on their own and the doctors at Shriners gave Ella the all clear.  We are to apply Aquaphor several times a day and put bandaids on the burns and follow up in 2 weeks.  If all looks well by then we can even cancel the appointment.  Although we have asked several times, I don't believe we will every know why she did this.  She still somewhat traumatized about the whole thing and after telling her story to all the medical professionals and all of her friends who keep asking I have just let it go.

So several obvious, painful lessons learned by Ella and a quite expensive lesson learned by Mom and Dad - don't just assume your children know not to stick things in the outlets; get in their face and tell them point-blank!

Two sad events led me to reflect on lessons learned this week as well.  On Monday the world lost two great educators, one from my high school days and one from my college days.  It wasn't until I heard of their passings and started thinking back that I realized how very similar they were.  Mr. Bill Westerman was a religion teacher when I was in high school although I was never fortunate enough to be in his class.  But I have to admit, in high school I was A-OK with that because that man scared me half to death!  He came across as very gruff and I don't recall ever seeing him smile.  But then as an adult I had the opportunity to serve on several retreat teams with him and really got to know him and the absolutely wonderful, amazing man he was.  There are not enough good words in the English language to describe Mr. Westerman and I feel very fortunate for having crossed paths with him and for the small amount of time he spent in my life.  The life lessons I learned from him on those long weekends at St. Anne's Convent will forever remain with me.  Professor Art Chesler was an Economics instructor at KWC.  He was as round as he was tall and only taught those dreaded early-morning classes.  As a business major, those classes were on my list of requirements so off I went, sometimes (most times) half asleep.  I'm not going to pretend I absorbed every single word he said and I'm an econ expert now.  But it's funny now, how often I am able to think back and have that "ah-ha" moment where I realize that wonderful knowledge I'm applying is something I learned in his class.  He too came across as very gruff, a professor who was just there to talk to whoever cared to listen and didn't care what else was going on with you or anybody else.  But then there were the times I actually engaged him in conversation, or our encounters outside the classroom, or the concern he expressed when he learned something had happened.  I remember being shocked once when he asked how a classmate was doing with sincere concern!  Chesler is certainly a man I will never forget.

The obvious lesson learned here is the oldie-but-goodie "Don't judge a book by its cover."  But from both of these men I also learned to pay close attention to what is being said and think on it, then apply it to my life.  It doesn't matter that one taught religion and spoke about his strong faith and the other taught economics and spoke about its application in everyday life.  In one way or another, everything these men said applies to my everyday life.

And on a some-what related note... I started writing this post yesterday morning.  It is now 9:30 PM on Day 2 and I am finally getting around to finishing it.  Lesson learned?  Perhaps don't attempt to do anything with 3 crazy kids running around!

You Capture - Sunshine

This week's You Capture topic wasn't quite as easy as you might think - the past week was rather gloomy in the Northern Kentucky area and sunshine wasn't exactly plentiful.  This left me a little anxious at the end of the week.  Lucas was scheduled to have his very first tee-ball practice Friday evening and he could not have been more excited.  This kid has been a sports nut from day 1 and has been dying to play sports since he started tagging along at Ella's various games.  However, Friday morning brought clouds.  No rain, but it was just hanging there, with the feeling that it just might drop down at any moment.  I did not have the heart to tell him that his practice he had been waiting for all day, all week, ever since sign-ups... might be cancelled.  But lo and behold, just as 5:30 rolled around and practice was to begin, the sun came out!  Lucas took the field and played hard for the entire hour and came off the field with a smile on his face.

Trust that there will be plenty of photos to come of Lucas in action, but this is one I just could not resist sharing.  First, the obvious sun shining through the trees.  Second, someone on the team yelled "Let's change the game to Kick Dirt!"  And so 13 tee-ballers did just that.

A completely different take on sunshine... There is a peony bush at the corner of my front steps.  It is one that I transplanted last fall and now I can see it through the front windows when I am in my kitchen or walking down the steps.  I was super excited to see it start to sprout this spring and a couple of weeks ago we saw the first bloom.  It is still the only one (although I have seen a few that are not too far behind).  Every evening this flower closes itself up and every morning when my kids wake up, before the sun has hit the bush, they say "Our rose died!"  Every morning I assure them it did not, it is just waiting for the sunshine.  And sure enough, as the sun comes up over our front yard the peony opens once again to take in all the warmth it has to offer. 

Aren't the colors just brilliant?!

That's all I've got this week!  Check out more sunny photos at Beth's newly remodeled site.