I'm happy as a birdie with a french fry

Last night and tonight I sat in my favorite green chair making these little birdies for my sweet EGS' birthday, while listening to the RNC speeches. My sweet husband sat beside me, working away, in his recliner...the eyesore of my home, but arguably the comfiest spot in the house. Both nights, I had the sweet realization there was no where else I would have rather been than where I was, and nothing else I would have rather been doing.

 

I realized how very happy I was in those moments. There is so much to look forward to in life. As I sat and worked on a project that I enjoy doing, and as I listened to American ideals and dreams which I passionately endorse, I was filled with a sense of peace and optimism. Both what I was doing with my hands and what I was hearing with my ears culminated in a feeling of great love in my heart: a love for my daughter and a love (and not to mention, pride) for my country.

I felt a surge of anticipation. I now prepare for the upcoming events in our lives: upcoming birthdays, upcoming elections, upcoming vacations, upcoming faith promoting experiences (General Conference), upcoming new adventures to provide my children with, upcoming dates with my husband, and upcoming twists and turns in our future that are planned and unplanned. And the prep work is exciting!

The future holds the promise of the satisfaction, joy, and sense of fulfillment that comes from doing one's best to get there. And throughout this riveting anticipation which I can sometimes physically feel flow through me, I love striving to find, or simply happening upon, the joy that can be found in even the littlest things, because life doesn't begin once you get to a certain point. We are living it now, day in and day out.  We cannot forget to find joy in each step that takes us from one exciting moment to the next.  When we do so, it puts the beauties, and even the trials, of life into proper perspective. 

And those little steps sure can be exhilarating.

 

via.

A Penny for Your....Prayers.

I really need to get a journal...where I can write anything and everything...the deepest desires of my heart, personal spiritual thoughts & experiences, and any rantings and ravings I feel the need to somehow express. But this blog is just so easy, not to mention, my entries are all kept in one place. (As opposed to an entry in this journal and an entry in another, and some thoughts on a random piece of paper. Just yesterday I found a sheet of computer paper in my husband's closet that I'd written the contents of a dream I'd had in April 2011 that I'd completely forgotten about until yesterday.)

So my thoughts and experiences remain online, sometimes censored-- and sometimes not! ha! Lucky you? ;)  Well, this morning I had a neat little experience I want to remember. So here goes another journal entry:

This morning I woke up in the Hilton Garden Inn Orlando, where my kids and I had spent the night with my mom. Mom had been whisked away by the airport shuttle at 5:30 AM, so the remaining three of us crawled out of bed at about 8:45.  Ella Grace was ready for her morning exercises right after she was done eating, so she began her meandering through the hotel room in her famous and fast bottoms-up crawl. Immediately after Julian went potty, and just as I had finished rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I felt strongly the need to say our morning prayer right then. We never say our morning prayer until we're all dressed and ready to leave for the day. I thought it strange to say it right after waking up, but I went along with the feeling I'd had, and told Julian it was time to say our prayer. Obediently he came over and knelt beside me. (This is not always how it goes...sometimes it takes a bit of coercing!)

As I knelt beside him and as he began the prayer, I noticed a cold feeling right beneath my shin on the ground. I thought the ground was wet, but to be sure I reached my hand down and touched the cold spot. It was not a wet spot; it was a penny. Immediately I understood why I'd felt the need to say a prayer right then. Ella Grace puts everything, and I mean everything in her mouth.  And if we hadn't knelt down right then, I'm sure Ella Grace would have found that penny before my shin did, perhaps while I was in the bathroom getting ready.

I'm grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. (Click on "Additional Information.) At  the very least, this special Gift saved us from a potentially scary and isolated situation this morning.

I'm grateful for promptings that come from a loving Father in Heaven who watches over us each day, and Who also sends His angels to be our advocates for safety and happiness throughout the day.

I'm just grateful.

{A Huge Piece of} My Heart is in Atlanta

We have had two trips to Atlanta in the last few months, and both trips were so fun.  I have some pretty special people in my life who happen to reside in that glorious city. I have no idea what the future holds for our family (scary...yes!), but one thing Stace and I say is that we can totally see ourselves living in Atlanta, even if just for a little while. 

Our first recent trip to the Peach State's capital was back in May.  We went there to see my baby sister graduate from college (weird...) and made a little trip out of it!  We stayed with my best friend, my kids' Aunt Kathleen. I don't even know what I would do in my life without this girl. Thank you Kathleen for being such a rockstar. :) We went to Union Station downtown and got some food truck grub and our friend Megs met us there! 

Stace waited in the shade while we ordered the food. I think we may need to have a serious conversation about how attractive my husband is. Another day? Ok. 

Everyone loves Gracie Girl! 

Kathleen and Megs had talked up a little popsicle stand quite a bit called "King of Pops" so of course we all had to get one on the walk back to the car! Stace and I both got the chocolate covered with sea salt. Since when do I really enjoy popsicles? Since this day. Holy cow. Beautiful. 

Kathleen is the cutest girl ever, no? And those shoes?! I want them so bad (in black). She knew how much I loved them, so this girl went to about 15 different DSW's trying to track them down for me for my birthday. Alas, they were all sold out everywhere she went. But wasn't that sweet? 

On the Friday before the graduation, Daddio put us all up in a super fancy hotel called The St. Regis. It was so beautiful. Here we are poolside. I have to admit, I've never sat poolside at a resort in the middle of a huge city. The pool scene was so gorgeous, it made it a little easier to forget about all of the skyscrapers all around us:) 

Dad rented out a huge room and courtyard at the hotel's restaurant where we enjoyed an amazing evening and dinner as a family and with Jessica's friends. Here I am with my baby girls (nieces): 

Kate wasn't too enthused about the fancy desserts, but an ice cream sundae was right up her alley! 

Sassy, Caroline and Ella Grace. Gracie looks huge in this pic...

Aunt Kathleen  and Megs took my babies to the pool and then back up to the room. Everyone was missing the babies, so they all came down! 

The lady of the hour with the baby of the hour: 

The next morning we went to Aunt Jessica's graduation! We were so proud of our little Magna Cum Laude smartie pants!

Bye Aunt Kathleen...til next time! 

Megs got us free admission again into the Children's Museum (thank you Megs!), and here we are at the park waiting for Aunt Jessica, Aunt Beth and Uncle Chris to go to the Museum: 

Our more recent trip was a GIRL'S TRIP (plus Julian) back in July...a recreation of the one we took last year (March 2011) when I was pregnant with Ella Grace.  Here's a quick recap from 2011:

I can't believe this was only last year...the girls are so much bigger now, and Julian is a GIANT compared to what he was in these pics! :(

You see Ella Grace peekin?

Last year: 

This year (ps: since when does my son suck his thumb? never. he's so silly!)

And this year!  You'd think a six hour car trip with a baby, a toddler and three girls under ten might be a recipe for disaster, but we had a blast on the drive up and back (just like last year)! That TV in Beth's van definitely doesn't hurt! ;) And the girls helped to entertain Ella Grace who was facing backwards (and toward them). Here we are once we arrived at Aunt Jessica's apartment: 

 There's a carousel in the Alpharetta Mall (which is a must-go for the girls because of the American Girl Doll Store). Julian remembered it from last year, and was pumped to go! 

 Later that day we went to the Phipps Mall where they have the new Legoland!  The kids had a BLASTTTT there!!! The things you can make out of legos...my goodness...phenomenal...

Ella Grace wanted to get out and play!

We went to Union Station again...

 I got to stop and see our friends Megan and Jesse!! Megan just had her baby last week! Jesse was Stace's best friend growing up. And his wife and I just happen to hit it off right from the start! She's awesome. :)

 Beth went to her BFF's house for an night, so I got to do the same!! Here we are at Menchie's with AUnt Kathleen and Megs! I love this picture: 

 No matter where Kathleen lives (Nashville or Atlanta), the first thing Julian always wants to do at her place is jump and land on pillows. 

 He sure LOVES her! 

 When we got home Caroline read Julian stories...

 and we all went swimming...

 isn't Julian's new suit amazing? $10 at Janie and Jack? Don't mind if I do...

It was a wonderful trip. I just love my girls and my Bethy. We are so blessed with cousins and family who we love and love to be with so much. Beth and I were meant to be sisters, and we are so grateful we have each other! What an awesome trip!!

An Untimely Death!

A few months ago, I found this idea and thought it was just great!  I set out to make one, since I knew it would be helpful in teaching Julian the concept of time, and also to have a fun way for all of us to stick to the comfort of a routine.  I thought this would be so fun!

I set out to find a reasonably priced clock. I looked everywhere short of Timbuktu. Finally, my tireless trips to Goodwill proved beneficial when I found this little gem for $4.99. What was even better than that it was a perfect size is that it chimed on the hour, every hour (with a bird's song, no less).  I played a trick on Stace (who didn't know of my plans for a routine-clock project) and told him I had just made the BEST find at Goodwill! I acted all excited, then I presented him with this:

Needless to say, he was a little confused and wondered where whatever sense of decorating I may have had gone.  I had a good laugh, then filled him in on the project idea. I tested it out and put batteries in to make sure it was fully operational. It worked like a charm!  What a find!  :) Then I set to work making my clock face using Heritage Makers. I also spray painted the clock a fun color:

Well, the thing about Heritage Makers is that the cost of shipping can be a little pricey at times,  especially when you're just ordering one 12x12 piece of paper. So I decided to wait to order it until I had something else to add to my cart to make the shipping cost more worthwhile. Months went by, and finally I had completed another project and went ahead and put in the order.  I excitedly opened my package when it arrived!  Then I assembled our new routine clock, so pumped to see it finally all put together:

 

Then I stuck the batteries in, tightened screws, and...nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing! I was so sad!  After all this time and effort, it doesn't even work.  So now it sits on my counter as I mourn its loss and try to figure out what to do with it.  I take a peek inside Goodwill and the Dollar Store any chance I get, but still no luck.  

So, if you happen upon a delightfully ugly clock at a thrift store, you know who to call. :)