life with you is never boring

                               Grant modeling his sister's sun glasses

                                              this is a daily occurrence at our house!!
 

                                eating ice cream outside of Joe Willy's
So my little boy turns 18 months old today, and after narrowly escaping what could have been a HUGE disaster yesterday, I am holding him extra close today and sending up extra prayers of gratitude. I won't go into all the details, but let this be a warning to all parents with a toddler in the house: Don't leave a crock pot on a surface that is within reach of said toddler!!

Grant pulled a completely full crock pot off the island yesterday, and although he escaped with only one little cut and 2 little blisters (from the hot liquid splashing up on his skin), it could have been much, much worse. The Lord protected my little boy, and I am so very grateful!!

GRANT at 18 months:

* he is into everything, constantly in motion and climbing on every surface

* he LOVES his sister more than anything in the world, and asks "Where's Sienna" at least 100 times a day....even if she is only in the next room

* he loves to eat!! (as a side note, as he was pulling the crock pot on top of himself yesterday, he was exclaiming "EAT, EAT!!")

* he has a massive vocabulary and is becoming quite the bilingual baby = his favorite Spanish words are"Mas," "Leche," "Agua," and "Ojos" (more, milk, water, eyes)

* he is extremely social and loves when we have visitors at the house

* he has a terrible temper and hates being told "No"

* he greets his Daddy when he walks in the door every evening as if he hasn't seen him in weeks.......quite the ego boost for Daddy :)

* he doesn't particularly love taking baths (unlike his sister who loves being in the water) 

* he wants nothing to do with watching television (much to his mother's dismay!)

* he is a great sleeper....knock wood

* he loves to be rocked at night before bed

* he has the sweetest smile you have ever seen and loves to give kisses & hugs to almost anyone who asks

* he can recite the entire cast of The Andy Griffith Show thanks to GaGa

* he is adorable!!

Nature Girl

So here's the truth:  I am not extremely adventurous. In fact, I would say, I'm not even a little bit adventurous. I am not the girl that goes camping or hiking or mountain biking or scuba diving......BUT I have always wanted to be that girl. I am; however, a list maker, and I have made numerous Bucket Lists along the way that include some variation on the theme: Be More Adventurous. 

The people that we vacationed with in Costa Rica however, are extremely adventurous!! They all woke up before 6:30am each morning to work out, and they filled every waking minute with some sort of physical activity. I decided early on, that I was not going to be the girl who refused to participate, who wimped out and sat on the sidelines. Instead, I sucked it up and tried some of the scariest things I had ever tried. The group took to calling me "Nature Girl" after I told them that the only nature-y thing I do is drive my SUV out in the country :) 

Everyone could see how difficult it was for me at times to participate in some of the activities, and they were all extremely supportive...even when I opted out of the ATV trip on the last day and when I cried on the zip-line (if you look closely at the above photo, you can see the tell-tell signs of the post-crying red nose).

SO here's what I learned on my Costa Rican Adventure: I am more adventurous than I give myself credit for! There are some things that I have no desire to try (sky diving, for example) and I will not allow myself to be talked into doing anything that I really don't want to do, but I realized on the trip that if I can let go of the fear, and give some things a try, it will be well worth the effort. I actually loved the white-water rafting....just enough adventure combined with sheer beauty. The zip-lining, on the other hand, is something I can simply check off the list = been there, done that, don't need to do it again.

the economy

I have been thinking a lot lately about the state of the economy (who hasn't, right??), but not only the economy is general, but more specifically, the economy in my household......i.e. the money going in and out of our bank accounts :) 

I have thought about writing on this topic before, but I always stopped myself....I heard someone say recently that most of us would rather discuss our sex lives than discuss our financial lives. I don't about that, but I do know that money is a scary thing to talk about!!

One thing I know for sure, is that I, for one, am grateful for the personal awakening that has come about as a result of the economic crisis. I am more attuned to how much certain things cost, I am MUCH more restrained when it comes to throwing money away at places like Target & Old Navy, and I have begun poring over my credit card statements looking for ways to cut costs. 

My entire perspective has changed over the last few months. I would much rather put $100 into my children's savings account than buy yet another outfit for them that they will likely outgrow in a matter of weeks....trust me, this was not always the case!! Don't get me wrong, I am not above the occasional frivolous purchase, and I believe that a life without scrapbook supplies is not worth living☺ but on the whole, I have become much more deliberate about where our money is going. 

I see all of this as a good thing....and I realize that it is an enormous blessing that I even have the option of buying my children clothes and toys......but I am grateful for the wake-up call. I truly believe that whatever we have has been given to us by God, and I want to be a good steward of our money.....I want to use that money in a way that will be pleasing to the One who gave it to us in the first place.

This is an ongoing process, and there is still so much more I could be doing, but I am actually excited about the future.....it feels good to have a firmer grip on what is coming in and out each month, and to know that we are doing the best we can to secure the future of our little family.

lately

* overwhelmed with photos and trying to design a system that will work for me (uploading, saving, printing, ordering, storing, scrapbooking, putting in photo albums, etc..)

* looking forward to Creative Escape

* trying hard to be present and "in the moment" with my kiddos....this is a hard one for me as I find myself constantly thinking of what I need to be doing next

* dying to see the season finale of the Bachelorette next Monday!!

* thinking a lot about the memories we are creating for our children...thinking about the kind of family we want to build and the kind of home life we want to create

* searching for ways to put God at the center of our family = looking for practical ways to teach our children about the Lord on an every day basis

* starting to think about our schedule when school starts.....coming up with a "chore list" for Sienna, getting us organized, ordering uniforms, etc...

* gathering all the materials to have a shadow box made of Sienna's first dance recital (ballet shoes, tiara, program, photo, costume)

* working on a photo book of our trip to Costa Rica

more costa rica

So now the question becomes: what do I do with all the photos I took in Costa Rica....not to mention all the photos that were taken by the other couples on the trip??

For now, I am making some fun photos collages, and then I think I will make a photo book from Shutterfly??

we're back

We are back from our week-long stay in Costa Rica!! It was an amazing vacation, and I am already looking forward to our next trip there!

Some highlights:

* meeting new friends

* white-water rafting

* horseback riding

* zip-lining through the rain forrest

* natural hot springs and mud bath

* the view from our villa

* the sunsets

* spending time along with my husband (no kiddos for a whole week)

* taking a boat out with Johnny and seeing the sunset from the water

* spotting sea turtles, monkeys, iguanas, sting rays

* snorkeling and getting stung by little jelly fish ("sea lice").....very interesting!!

* our beach picnic

* brushing up on my Spanish

We packed A LOT into seven days, and I ventured way outside of my comfort zone several times (thus the nickname "Nature Girl" given to me by our travel companions)....but we came home well-rested, so happy to see our kiddos, and so grateful to have been in such an amazing country, experiencing so much of what they had to offer!! 

blessings

Every single day truly is a blessing!! It has become almost cliche to say this, but I really don't think it can be overemphasized.....every day that we wake up, see the sun shining in the sky, breath in and out, hug our children, kiss our spouse, pet the dog, hear from a friend, put one foot in front of the other, sing along to the radio, look out the window at the flowers, the trees, the grass, the clouds....it is all a blessing. My life is far from perfect, but I am so very grateful for all of my blessings!!

Perhaps knowing that I will be leaving my children for a short period of time while I spend time with my husband has made me a tad nostalgic for them (before I have even left)....but I have been so mindful over the past few days of how truly amazing they are....frustrating as heck sometimes, but amazing nonetheless :) 

My little boy is ALL BOY....he goes non-stop throughout the entire day, and rarely likes to be held. There are simply too many things for him to see, to explore. But, at night, before bed, when the bath has been taken, the pajamas have been put on, the kisses from big sister have been given.....he simply lays in my arms with his head on my shoulder and lets me rock him. It is the sweetest part of our day, and although his daddy puts him to bed on most nights, when I have the honor, I cherish our time together...so very peaceful!!

sweet

OK, so I realize this is technically not the best photo anyone has ever seen, but I simply could not pass this little moment up. I was sitting in the living room a couple nights ago, and I could hear Johnny reading to Sienna (she is VERY into Barbie these days).....so I ran to get my camera, snuck in very quietly and took a couple shots. The sun had already gone down, and the only light in the room was coming from the lamp beside the bed, so I cranked up the ISO on my camera and captured this sweet memory!!

intention

I was thinking yesterday about how the subject of "Intention" has been popping up over & over again in my world the last few days. 

First, I heard an interview on Oprah radio a few days ago that Oprah did with a lady who studies intention from a scientific standpoint....she gave all sorts of data that supports the idea that intention can be an extremely powerful source of change. She gave an example of thousands of people focusing their intention at the same time on decreasing violence in Sri Lanka, and showed that violence actually decreased dramatically in that region after the experiment. 

I am also taking a Bible Study right now about the power of praying for our husbands. It is all about taking specific areas of our husband's lives (work, finances, relationships, health, etc.) and focusing on each of those areas for a week at a time......when our intention is to show our husbands love, respect, gratitude and kindness through prayer, God will bring about miraculous things!

Then, this past Sunday, my husband had Joel Osteen on the television while he read the Sunday paper......Joel was talking about the power of our thoughts and our words to shape the course of our days. He reminded us to wake up every single morning with the intention that the rest of the day would be fabulous......to actually say out loud that "today is going to be a blessed day!" Instead of complaining about your back, your finances, your lack of sleep, your busy schedule....to proclaim each day that you are blessed, that your are healthy, vibrant, full of energy. I must confess, that at times, I find Joel to be a tad cheesy, but I am right on board with him on this one!!

To top it off, at church on Sunday, the message was on "How to Manage Your Money".....it was all about having a plan (intention) for your (God's) money, not simply moving money from account to account or crossing your fingers that the credit card will go through, but actually sitting down with your spouse on a monthly basis and taking a hard look at where your money is going, and how we can be better stewards of the money God has blessed us with. Specifically, he spoke about the 10-10-80 Plan, which is to Give 10% of your earnings, Save 10% of your earnings and the final 80% is left for your lifestyle (and whatever debt you may have). So simple, yet very few of us actually manage our money in this way.

I think it is safe to say that God is speaking to me about the power of prayer and intention!! Here are a few of the ways I plan on putting this into practice:

1. Scheduling a time/place to sit down with my husband and have a Family Finances Meeting each month

2. Continuing to write down our family prayers on the chalkboard in our kitchen

3. Making time to pray with my husband and with the children outloud (other than just at dinner and bedtime)

4. Coming up with a Family "Mission Statement" and a Marriage "Mission Statement"....nothing too fancy, just coming together as a family to create a plan listing out the values that are important to us.....what we want our family and our marriage to look like

red, white & blue

We had a great weekend celebrating our nation's independence. Sienna's excitement over the festivities just made everything that much more wonderful.....she LOVED the parade, going to buy sparklers, playing with the neighbors, hanging out at her grandparent's house and generally just going non-stop for 2 days!!

Grant also had a great time.....I loved watching him take everything in. He watched the parade so intently, and for once, he was absolutely still :)

summer so far + this weekend

I spent some time this morning updating my Project 365 album on flickr......I can not tell you how happy I am that I made the decision to follow through with this project. It is such a wonderful way to capture a full year of photos and memories!!

Last night, I slipped in the photos that I had ordered from the past couple weeks and then jotted down some thoughts, recollections, etc..... that went with each photo. It's only July, and I am already amazed at how much the kiddos have grown since January.

We have been keeping pretty busy this Summer......concerts at the Harbor, swimming, tons of popsicles, homemade ice cream, sidewalk chalk, swimming in the pool, dance day out, mini camps, staying up late, and trying to stay cool!!!

Grant loves keeping up with the latest fashions :)
Father's Day photos shoot.....not exactly the way I had it planned in my head!!

Sienna's dance recital....too cute for words!!

This weekend, I am looking forward to our hometown parade, making homemade ice cream (again!!), swimming, grilling and sparklers!!! I have never seen Sienna more excited about anything than the 4th of July Parade. She remembers that last year, we got donuts and watched the parade from the side of the road. She has been asking me for weeks if the parade is today...she says she wants to see the horses and the cars and the big fire truck......it's so cool to see your kids getting excited as we form our family traditions.

She was also over the top excited to put our little flags out in the front yard yesterday....she absolutely loved pulling each flag out and deciding where we should place it....I guess it really is the little things in life that make it worth living!!!

"the days are long but the years are short"

I have held this quote close to my heart the last few weeks. Grant is at an age that can be, how can I say this gently???? trying at times. He doesn't yet have the vocabulary to tell me what he wants, so there is a lot of pointing and grunting....yet when he wants something, he wants it RIGHT NOW!!! He is also so not into sharing anything with his sister, and if she is bold enough to actually take something away from him that he is playing with, a meltdown ensues that could surely wake the dead :)

Yet when I pulled up these photos from just one year ago, I had to catch my breath. I can't get over how teen tiny they look!! So much has changed about them in just one little year, so I continue to remind myself that "the days are long, but the years are short!!!"