I see the light...

Yes, I see the light!! The end of the tunnel is near! 

I see the end of school nearing... just 13 more days for the kiddos! FUN. I love summer!!! No alarm clocks, drippy popsicles, wrinkled swimming fingers, long lazy days, flowers and fireflies... and VACATIONS!

Yes, only 35 days until the kids go to camp and John and I jet set off to Ireland! 

And only two more weeks of baseball and then we have a nice break. Wow... what will I *do* with myself without 8 baseball events per week, carpooling, volunteering at school, Wednesday folders, packing school lunches... ahhhhhhh. Bliss. 

And only six days until we skeedaddle on down to San Antonio to visit my parents and niece and meet their new puppy!! Ohhhhh the fun times abound!!! 

But what is most fabulous about my life is that it's not just these big events that please me most, but rather the day to day blessings that surround me... be it my sweet, adoring husband, my awesome kiddos, my soft, loyal pup, my lovely new friends, my mom on the telephone, baby tomatoes in my garden or baby birds in the nest in the rose bush... I feel like I'm just completely surrounded by goodness and light every day. 

And this man, right here, is one of the brightest lights in my life. I adore him beyond words. He brings laughter and joy into my life every single day. He makes me feel loved and beautiful and safe and secure and doesn't even get the slightest bit angry when I back my car into his truck, causing damage to both vehicles in one very expensive, very careless moment. John, thank you for being my light and my rock... and of course, my BFF. Oh, and thank you for putting up with me and my camera. :) I love this new picture of you!!!

Here's the damage from my big whoopsie daisy on Thursday... EEK. 

Great Big Fun and Pint-Sized Perfection

We're home... always a fabulous feeling, no matter how fantastic our travels are. 

We had some BIG fun in Disneyland. It was a total BONUS DAY for us... we just squeezed it in to our SoCal adventures and we're so glad we did. Jasper was finally tall enough to go on every single ride in the park, so that's exactly what we did! Light crowds, perfect weather and happy kids. Gotta love it. After the fireworks show, Kathryn let us know we'd been awake and movin' for 21 hours... and we were all starting to feel it, so we decided to call it quits earlier than expected and left the park an hour before closing. 

But no rest for the weary. 

Up and at 'em again the next day for Sophie's 3rd birthday party in the park!! So cute to watch her run around with all her little knee-high friends. Everyone had a great time. 

I finally got to meet our newest family member, baby Finn, who is a mere 3 weeks old and every bit as perfect as I expected him to be!! I drank up as many baby snuggles as I could get, knowing next time I see him he'll be a completely different kiddo. He's a doll and I can tell we're going to get along juuuuuuuuust fine. 

The older cousins had a blast together, chasing and screeching and swimming and singing. 

Spent Mother's Day with John's family. My brother-in-law prepared a fantastic feast and we mothers were pampered morning 'til night. 

Came home to a ridiculously lush (and mowed! Thanks neighbor!!) lawn and a new Mayor (yay!) and now we're enjoying the growing excitement as school and baseball wind down and summer approaches. 

Good times. :) 

A Few Thoughts on Mothering

Mother's Day is coming! I love this day. I love that it's now a holiday I can share with my own mother... not only celebrating her, but also my own role as a mom. :) I'll blog about my Mom very soon, but today I want to talk about myself. Ha ha ha.

Being a mother has been the most fantastic ride for me so far... from the first moment I held my deliciously beautiful, sticky little newborns until now, when I send my big independent kids out the door to school.

It's going by fast. WAY WAY WAY too fast. But I'm trying to enjoy every bit of it. Most days I succeed. 

There are some silly things I love about being a mother:

First of all, I absolutely loved the possessiveness I felt as I scooped up my warm sleeping burrito-wrapped bundles in the early days. And I loved nursing them, feeling so incredibly connected, just sitting there quietly, rocking, feeling like I could happily stay there all day long.

I loved when my toddlers called me "Mommy." I think that's one of the sweetest sing-song words in the English language. I admit I was sad when they graduated to just plain ol' "Mom," but I've grown to love it as well. 

"Mom," to me, means the privilege of getting to stare at your sleeping beauties for a few sacred, peaceful moments before waking them in the mornings. 

"Mom" means being able to slather them with as many kisses as you want, even if they're yelling "Stop!" because you know they're secretly loving it... the smirk on their faces gives them away. 

"Mom" means knowing your children inside and out, almost better than they know themselves. 

"Mom" means being ON IT all the time, 24/7 with no breaks and no paycheck and no sick days, but with endless benefits!! :) 

"Mom" means having to learn to love the smell of peanut butter and Miracle Whip first thing in the morning. 

"Mom" means being able to have a whole conversation with your child with just one look. 

"Mom" means always knowing where EVERYTHING is, from a favorite Pokemon pencil to a beloved stuffed animal to baseball cleats and hair bands or iPods and DS chargers. Always, all the time. Just ask.

"Mom" means loving your children so fiercely that it sometimes literally hurts. 

"Mom" means you're absolutely, without a doubt, ready at any moment to throw yourself in front of a bullet for your kids, no hesitation, no regrets. 

"Mom" means the joy of getting to giggle with your kids, watch them grow and learn and master new things, being so full of pride you just might possibly burst at the seams. 

"Mom" means having a new love and respect for your own mother because now you REALLY TRULY understand how she feels about you, even though she's been telling you for the past 38 years.

"Mom" means going to bed exhausted every night of the week. 

"Mom" means something special will happen to you every single day of the week...  you never know what's coming, but I promise you, be it a big thing or a tiny gesture, it *will* happen.

I thank God every day for letting me be a mother and for my own mother, who showed me how to be great at it. 

*Photos by the extremely fabulous and talented Gillian of www.gigiphotography.com. THANK YOU LOVE for capturing me with my children... I love how these photos show exactly how I feel about them!! :) I will treasure them always! 

Yertle the Turtle

Meet Yertle. 

He was a good pet, for a day. See, we have a rule around here and that is that any "pet" we find, we only keep for one day and then we set them free again. 

I really enjoyed Yertle. John and Kathryn saw him trying to cross the street on Saturday during the huge crazy storm, so they snatched him up. Yertle was a BIG hit at the birthday party!! Quite entertaining. All the kids loved him. 

Yertle braved the stormy night with us and then posed for a few photos before we bid him farewell. 

The kids did not shed any tears. I guess he just wasn't fluffy enough for their tastes. 

Mmmm, Romance...

Question: What do you get when you have no kids at home, no power, a massive thunderstorm, dozens of flickering candles, delicious red wine, the Best of Journey playing on the laptop, Chinese food delivered and a Backgammon board? 

Answer: A PERFECT Saturday night!! :) 

John and I enjoyed a rare treat last night... being home alone with no kids! It was a crazy stormy night but we totally made the best of it and we agree it's the most fun we've had in a long time. We think we might make a new tradition out of this... farm out the kids to friends and then pretend there's no power. You should try it! It's good for a marriage. :) 

Appreciating the Appreciation

I felt compelled to blog today. I've obviously been pretty lazy about it lately. I'll tell you, it's harder than I anticipated, keeping it up on a daily basis. I did okay for a couple of months, then it started being more of a weekly blog and now, well, I get messages from frustrated followers, asking when they can expect the next entry! Whoops. Sorry. 

But yesterday I got the most beautiful message from a dear friend of mine. I wanted to share it. She really touched me and has given me encouragement and motivation to continue my blogging journey!!! I'll try to do a better job of keeping up with it! 

So today, if you know someone who has been doing a good job of something, be it a teacher or a coach or a housekeeper or whatever... LET THEM KNOW! Shoot them a quick email and tell them how much you appreciate them. I promise, it'll make their day! I should know:

Hola Stacy!
Wow...I just read a lot of your blog....you made me laugh, cry and happy to be alive all in one hour! But seriously, i really, really want you to know that since we got back in touch I've been following your pictures and little comments on Facebook... and you're a HUGE inspiration! Who loves life more than you?? Seriously, I can't name one person in my life who does besides you and it's made me re-examine my life! I've been in such a funk lately and you're making me realize that little things like planting flowers, watching my nephews and neice and appreciating my fiance, my family and friends are the things that are important!! We get so caught up in work and politics and such that the little things get pushed to the side. 
Anyways...you have the most amazing aura around you Stacy, it comes through in your writing and pictures...you're beautiful in every way and nice and caring and an amazing photographer! John and your children are blessed to have you! 
Okay, I am getting mushy so I'll stop here, I just wanted you to know that you've been on my mind a lot lately :)

Isn't that the sweetest? Aw, thank you my friend! Okay, and since now I know that my silly ramblings about how much I love my day-to-day life aren't boring everyone half to death, I'll tell you about another thing that made me quite happy the other day... 

Jasper bought me this squirrel picnic table. It's hysterical. The squirrels look like they're sitting on a little chair, eating from a little table. We love it. And I love it more because my sweet 7-year-old son was willing to use his OWN money to buy it for me for no reason other than he thought I'd love it. 

I wanted to get a few photos of the squirrels for him, so the other day, I stood outside for a good half hour, inching closer and closer to the feeder, until I was only about two feet away! The squirrel ALMOST took the strawberry from my hand! Too funny.

Have a great weekend everybody and don't forget to tell someone how much you appreciate them! 

What a Wonderful Week!!

Oh I've just had the best week... hanging out with Gillian and Lucia... taking hundreds of photos, drinking too much coffee and staying up late. 

I have so many new fabulous photos I couldn't possibly post them all, but here is a little showcase I hope you'll enjoy... a mish mash of some of our favorites, in no particular order. This is TRULY the BEST Mother's Day gift I've ever received!! THANK YOU AGAIN GILLIAN!!

Take a TALENTED photographer, handsome boy, funky old beat up truck and golden light... and this is what you get!!

We were so happy to find a little patch of bluebonnets... 

Of course you can't come to Texas and not ride a horse!!!

Gillian has a new lens... and she has already mastered it. They make a GREAT team... combining her ability and the delicious creamy bokeh of the lens... the results are breath-taking. She let me take her new toy on a test run (because I was drooling all over it!) and sadly, I just cannot for the life of me make it SING the way she does. She is so gifted!!! She is a huge inspiration to me. If you'd like to check out more of her work, visit her website at www.gigiphotography.com or her blog, at www.gigiphotography.com/blog. You won't regret it! 

Ohhhhhhhh one of my FAAAAAAAAAAVES. :)

And of course I adore all the ones of me and Jasper snuggling. 

And this one has got to be my ALL-TIME FAVORITE EVER photo taken of me and the kiddos together. I'm going to print this on a huge canvas. I can't wait! 

Double click this photo below to check out Jasper's shirt... says "Mama's Boy." ;) 

Jasper decided to get in on the action... he picked up my camera and starting taking Lucia's picture while I took some of Gillian... I turned around and saw this and my heart just sang! He's a natural!

Here are a few of his results. 

Ohhhhhh and Lucia is such a sweet pea. I got to meet her for the first time when she was just a few weeks old. She is a joy to have in the house... she is silly and sweet and mild-mannered and quiet and loving. Melts my heart every time she comes to give me a hug or kiss. I am still trying to convince Gillian to leave her with me, but for some reason I'm having trouble convincing her. Hmmm. Couldn't possibly understand why! ;) 

Unfortunately, Gillian is upstairs packing her suitcase and I'm feeling sad she's leaving today (So soon??!! But didn't you just get here??!!) but I know she's anxious to get home to her two other sweet girls. 

I'll post more pictures soon... I have a CRAZY busy weekend ahead... volunteering and two baseball games tonight, then two more games tomorrow AND my father-in-law is coming for a visit... so I have to do a quick turnaround on the house and guest room sheets... fun times!! I can certainly never complain of being bored!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! 

Purty as a Picture...

Meet Gillian. :) One of my very dearest friends EVER. I'm sure you've heard me talk about her... if not, well, you obviously haven't been paying attention. Ha ha ha. ;) 

We met online five years ago via a photography forum and people thought we were CRAZY the first time we decided to meet in person... but we hit it off just as well in real life as we did online, so it's been a fabulous relationship ever since. 

Gillian is beautiful. And frilly. And girly. And super duper sweet. Did I mention she's beautiful? I love her in so many ways. She inspires me. She is a FANTASTIC photographer and is always cheering me on and boosting my confidence. She also listens to me whine and well, we email each other back and forth literally dozens of times a day. 

And she's HERE, right now, sitting next to me on my sofa while we both update our blogs and facebook pages. Ha ha ha. Yes, we're BOTH total computer dorks. :) 

We've been trying out some photo shoots together, scouting new fields and locations, braving Texas-sized mosquitos, fire ants and a sometimes grumpy toddler... and just laughing at the chaos!! But I *am* loving some of the results!! 

Tonight it's my turn to be the subject... eek. Gillian is a wizard though, and I know she'll make us look FABULOUS. I can't wait. 

So here's my GORGEOUS, wonderful, sweet blue-eyed Canadian sweetie... Gillian. :) 

(Oh, and yes, she LOVES to tease us about our accents! HA HA HA. She says Jasper's is especially thick.)

This is sweet little Lucia, Gillian's youngest of THREE girls (yes, she manages to take care of THREE girls under the age of 5, run a VERY successful photography business AND have AWESOME hairdos every day! I don't know HOW she does it... but she does!!) I think Lucia's been enjoying having Mommy all to herself for a few days. Doesn't she look happy? 

SPEAKING of Lucia... whoops, darn, the doorbell just woke her up... ohhhhh noooo. :( Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to blog some photos of me and my kiddos... FUN stuff! 

If you want to check out Gillian's INCREDIBLE work... go to www.gigiphotography.com or have a peek at her cool blog at www.gigiphotography.com/blog. 

Have a GREAT day! 

It's the little things...

I love regular ol' days in my life. Sometimes I think it's these regular ol' days I adore the most. Not the big exciting special days full of events and parties and sports and travel... but the days at home, just being us, doing what we do. 

Yesterday was one of those days. Nothing special, and yet, I loved it. :)

Here are some snapshots, all from yesterday... to show you what I mean. 

Planted some flowers. I think these African Daisies are my new favorites. The colors just blow my mind. 

Picked the kids up from school and Kathryn was quite chatty because they'd seen "THE FILM" in school. ;) I remember that film well. Big day for those kiddos. Anyway, then we were hanging out and the kids were telling me stories from their day, eating their after school snacks and I noticed they were pretty darned cute sitting together, in their shirts that kinda matched with all the colors, so I asked if they'd oblige me and sit for a couple of quick pics... 

Roxie wasn't really cooperating, as usual. She is, I swear, the CUTEST stinkin' dog you've ever laid eyes on... and yet she's so unphotogenic it's not even funny. She HATES my camera. She's a tough client. Anyway, this one still makes me smile. 
And this photo ("Come on, PLEASE, just put your arm around him for ONE second and let me take a picture!") cost me exactly $4 and four pieces of Easter candy. These kids have learned to drive a hard bargain when it comes to photo bribes!!
This is Kathryn explaining to me that I was now OVER my 5-photo limit and so I owed them MORE Easter candy. Ha ha ha. 
And this is Jasper's latest obsession... fortune tellers. Do you remember making these as a kid? I used to LOVE them. Funny how little things like this resurface and bring back memories!! Anyway, Jasper discovered that one thing even MORE fun than the regular sized fortune tellers is MINIATURE fortune tellers. We have, with no exaggeration, about 3 dozen of these things all around the house and every five seconds Jasper comes up to you... "Pick a color!!" giggle giggle "Pick a number!" giggle giggle "Pick another number!" 
Sometimes you get lucky and get something like "I like you" or "You are cool." But don't be fooled. Most of the time you get something more along the lines of "Your butt is so big that the universe is falling." Ohhhhhhhhkay.
After my "big butt" fortune, Roxie and I decided to go for a stroll in the field across from our house. I almost stepped on a tarantula (ew!) and was trying to lure it back out of its hole so I could take a picture of it when John came driving up from work. Of course, Roxie goes BALLISTIC when she sees him... especially when he races her through the field! She LOVES this game... and she's so beautiful when she's running this fast... just a big black and white blur with a huge grin on her face. It's fun and totally terrifying to watch the race... I'm sooooooo scared that one day Roxie is going to get a little too close to the tire and get squashed... EEK. But she seems to be a pretty good judge...

And they're off! (Click on the photo to see it larger... I didn't have my zoom lens on my camera!)
Uh oh, now she's gaining on him...
Oh yeah!! 
Roxie wins again! (John usually lets her win so she'll have good doggie self esteem.) Seeeeee... she is TOTALLY smiling!!!!
That's it. Just little details of my happy day. Just us. Doing what we do. :) 

CH CH CH CH CHAAAAAANGES...

Okay, out with the old, and in with the new... soon! It's coming! I'm tired of looking at the same ol' header on this blog so I'm off to try to figure out how to make some fresh changes! :) 

See you soon.

Guess what? Root canals really *do* suck!

I'm not sure what's worse... getting old, or admitting it. 

Today, I feel like I took a giant leap toward officially becoming an old woman. :( I got my first crown. No, not a nice sparkly bejeweled crown, but a stinkin' FAKE TOOTH OF A CROWN. 

Sigh. It came as quite a shock, but after several hours, I think I have finally cried out most of the tears, I think. 

Yes, I had the dreaded root canal AND got a crown today... all in one very miserable, very expensive trip to the dentist. I wonder if the Tooth Fairy will come and leave $1,500 under my pillow tonight??? You think? 

Probably not. 

So yeah. I feel old. My teeth are officially starting to fall out (okay, that's exaggerating just a bit, but just be nice to your elders and play along with me or I might whack you with my cane... well, I don't have a cane, yet, but I probably will soon...). John's already making jokes about me going to the store to buy Fixodent (in case, God forbid, the temporary crown decides to fall out during Easter brunch). 

So0000 not funny. I had to remind him that HE will turn 40 LONG before I will. And yes, I do plan to rub it in. Daily. 

I just recently finished reading the BEST book (Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet) and in one part a man was describing an older woman as having "attractive crinkles at the corners of her eyes." Awwwwwww. Isn't that SWEET??!! I want *my* husband to talk about me that way, not make Fixodent jokes!! 

The reality of it is, it's happening. I'm getting old. And I don't like it, even though I try to convince myself that what my mother says is true, that at least it's better than the alternative. ;) 

I just wish the *reality* of growing old with your spouse was as romantic as the notion seems to be when you're young and talking about growing old together. Know what I mean? 

Not quite sure what the point of this blog is. Just to blog it I suppose. To say I had a traumatic experience today. To say I feel old. To say my husband better be extra nice to me for a day or two while I lick my wounds. To say I had to kiss a new Dyson vacuum cleaner goodbye as I paid the unexpected dentist bill. To say getting older sucks, even though it's still better than being dead. 

And that's all I've got to say. 

Anticipation... It's all Good.

I'm not the most patient person you'll ever meet. I readily admit it. I do NOT like waiting for surprises to be revealed or for hair appointments to be available. I get really grumpy if I have to sit for more than 15 minutes in a waiting room and I found out the sex of both of my babies as early in my pregnancy as possible. As a kid, I HATED counting down until Christmas morning or the first day of summer camp and I still stare out the window waiting for the UPS truck on days when I'm getting a fun package. Can't stand traffic or red lights or being put on hold on the telephone.

But I'm trying to get better. Just be patient with me. ;) 

I'm definitely making progress. I'm even starting to enjoy the anticipation of things. Maybe it's because I ALWAYS seem to have a good thing going, so the waiting in between is easier? I don't know. But yes, I am enjoying watching my yard slowly burst forth with color. Every day I look at the buds and I feel giddy watching them grow until they look as though they could burst open right before my very eyes! 

I'm getting better about enjoying being lost in a really long book or being excited for a certain movie to come out on DVD. It's all good. 

I have a LOT to look forward to and I'm enjoying the feeling of anticipation... waiting for my first nephew to arrive on April 14 (maybe that's easier knowing EXACTLY when he's coming!) and I'm super duper looking forward to my dearest friend Gillian coming to visit on April 20. And before all that, there's Easter and right after that we're going to California to MEET my nephew (and of course, squeeze in a trip to Disneyland! WOO HOO!)... 

So I just feel happy. And full of patience. It's lovely that all this waiting isn't coated in anxiety, but rather seems to surround me like a pleasant aura of gladness. 

Maybe it's because I've finally learned to just be totally okay in the NOW, not always looking backward or forward, but just being content at every moment. I can sit on my porch, letting the minutes wash over me until I realize those minutes have turned into hours. And I am still ready to sit some more. :)

There's a lovely quote you may have heard that sums it up so perfectly...

"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." -Babatunde Olatunji