The other night, todd came home from work and offered to take the kids outside for a bit so i could get some work done (house related and to-do list related). of course i happily obliged.

as i was heading towards my list with lofty hopes and goals i heard little laughter from the garage, clinks from a wrench, and the voice of my husband encouraging jonah to try his bike without the training wheels.

it took me a few minutes as i was shuffling through my emails and piles on my desk to think, WHAT AM I DOING? why i am i sitting here sorting through emails while my son is practicing riding his bike for the first time without training wheels!?!?

So I grabbed my camera and headed outside. See you later, to-do list. you will be there when i get back.

I almost missed this. over a to-do list and chores. Sometimes I need to remind myself that the work will get done.

but this? this, i don't want to miss.

well, that's a first!

Last week was our first full week of summer! We did lots of fun things and truly embraced the FUN (yet busy) summer schedule... we actually checked a few things off our Summer Fun List!

We had our first ice cream treat of the summer (don't worry, someone got a cup this time).

We ran through the sprinkler in our backyard for the first time this summer (and speaking of our backyard... apparently in that little creek there is a "neighborhood coyote" roaming around and it's been spotted that she had six cubs!!! now that's definitely a first for us. kinda freaking out over here!!!)

I even ran through too-- so fun to be act like a kid too sometimes:) had to capture it on the timer!

We attended our first town summer concert... a jimmy buffett-ish band!!! it was awesome! we went with friends and watched the kids spin and dance. Fins Up!!

I got my first Smash book courtesy of my mom-- super excited! thanks mom! i am not sure yet what i am going to put in the book.. but i am super excited to try it out. it looks like so much fun!

I made my first ever 8.5"x11" layout-- and i am loving this smaller size!! especially as a two pager! You will probably see more of this size from me in the future! :)

Supplies Used: Cardstock (white and kraft): Bazzill. Paper: Lily Bee. Small Alphas: Lily Bee. Circle Alphas: Jenni Bowlin. Yellow Alphas: American Crafts. Red Ribbon: Scallop Punch: EK Success.

Jonah had his first speech session for the summer. He is seeing the same teacher he saw last summer and she was so thrilled to see his incredible process. The theme for his "class" last week was music-- she asked him his favorite song and he casually replied, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" ! That's my boy!!!

We had our first family swim night this past weekend at my mom and dad's pool. This is something we did daily when i was little (since we lived next door to all my cousins!) i totally miss that and it was SO fun to have another night like this with my kids, my cousins' kids, siblings, and aunts and uncles! We are hoping to make this a regular event this summer. I love family!

That about sums up our first week-- not too shabby! How was your first week of summer??

on being a princess

tomorrow is the day.

millions will wake at an insane hour to watch will and kate marry. will you be one of them? i will!!

ok, let's be honest, MOST of us just want to see what kate is wearing. and to watch the making of a princess.... to watch history unfold!

and it got me thinking-- how is this any different from my three year old daughter who LOVES princesses?

Jordan at six months in front of Cinderella's castle

From Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Rapunzel... to Diana and Kate. the fairy tale story captivates the hearts of to girls young and old.

But why?

maybe it's the glamor, the attention, the authority, the castle, the prince, the clothes, or even her people who love her. whatever it is, i believe it's every girls hearts' desire to be cherished like a princess.

to really understand what it is to be deeply loved.

to possess grace, compassion, forgiveness, and kindness.

to know that she is one of a kind, she is special, she is beautiful.

to be taught that she has a Heavenly Father that came to earth to rescue and save HER, His princess.

Yes, that's the story every little girl wants to hear and believe is true. It's the hope of every girls heart.

That is what I was taught by my parents as a little girl, and that is what we are teaching our daughter today.

So are we raising a princess? You bet we are.

We are raising a little girl to have a heart of compassion and love. a girl to look at what's on the inside, and focus on the heart. A girl to fall in love with the Lord, and truly embrace the fact that she is a daughter of the King.

That's a true princess.

So tomorrow as I watch the Royal Wedding, and my daughter watches Rapunzel for the millionth time, I will say a prayer of thanks for my parents who raised me as their princess.

and for my husband who treats me like one each and every day.

being vulnerable is a blessing.

Decisions, Decisions.

It's just part of life; but sometimes adult-sized decisions seem to come at you from all directions, all at once.

For instance, yesterday.

Yesterday we made several family decisions, ironically all unrelated to one another.

Yesterday we made a final decision to "hold Jonah back" a year, and enrolled him in a Prep-K program at the Christian school where he will eventually attend Kindergarten (in a year).

I have to say it was hard, yet relieving, all at the same time.

We had previously wondered if this would be the best option for our sweet boy. He is a smart, energetic, creative little boy who could use an extra year to prepare for Kindergarten.

And I am more than okay with that. Because I know it's what is best for Jonah.

We want him to start off strong, rather than start off with struggle. And now I have an extra year with my boy. :)

Secondly, yesterday was a big day for me personally.

I have mentioned a few times on my blog, that I struggled with post-partum depression/anxiety in 2008 after giving birth to Jordan.

My struggled with anxiety and fear seems to come in waves and seasons. I was at my lowest point in 2008 and have taken a slow climb up since then.

Right now, I am doing well.

And yesterday, we (my husband and i) came to a decision along side my doctor, that now is the time to remove my three year old "crutch" (which comes in the form of a 10mg a day anti-depressant ... a blessing that was much needed at my lowest point) and "test the waters", so to speak.

I agree, it's time. Time to say no to drugs, at least for a little bit.

However I am a little nervous. Is it normal to have anxiety about the possibility of having anxiety? Maybe.

But i TRUST and KNOW God is in control. I am taking everything I have learned these past three years, and i am going to give it a shot.

I am going to give myself another chance to be me. And i won't let fear take that chance and opportunity away.

so why do i bring this up? i am sharing these two things on my blog simply because i firmly believe that being vulnerable is a blessing.

when i was deeply struggling with PPD and anxiety, i had a friend pull me aside and tell me she struggled with this too-- she had been there and survived. her vulnerability blessed me, encouraged me, and gave me hope.

my hope today is that someone might read this and simply be encouraged.

the blog world can tend to look picture perfect... but this much i know, no one's life is perfect. we all have struggle, frustrations, unexpected circumstances, and pain. we've all got stuff. and chances are, being vulnerable enough to share yesterday's heartbreaks may be someone else's glimmer of hope today.

know that you do not walk this road alone.

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3

Hurried.

Recently, my friend Ann recommended I read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts.

With a 11 hour plane ride in front of me and 10 days with no children to care for, I took her up on the challenge. Although I am only 1/3 of the way into this book, I am sold. There is something about the way she thinks, writes, and observes that resonates deep within my soul.

"A dare to live fully right where you are", states the front cover.

Yes.

That is me. I want to embrace that very concept at this point in my life. Amidst the daily needs of chores, laundry, dishes, investing in my marriage, feeding the children, schedules, vacuuming up dog hair, and shuttling my kids here and there-- how do I live life FULLY?

She addressed a concept early in her book about the sanctuary of time.

Time. Something it seems i don't have enough of. Before I know it, the day is ending and my to-do list sits in the same place it did when I ambitiously wrote it this morning.

Ann writes, "Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing... Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away."

It was then that I realized that hurried was (is) my mode of operation. Isn't it funny how we can "step away from life" (like I did this past week) and gain a greater picture of who we really are? It's almost like setting my camera on a timer, and suddenly viewing myself as part of the event rather than the one who orchestrates it. That alone is one thing I love about travel.

"On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgment and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur", Ann writes.

That is me.

Hurry to get breakfast going once the kids wake up at 7 am. Hurry to get dressed. Hurry to get in the car by 8:45 to take them to preschool. Hurry to get through the traffic on Allisonville Road. Hurry to drop them off, and get all my errands done before the 11:30 pickup. Hurry to get to my mom's to feed them lunch so we can get back in the car by 12:05. Hurry to get Jonah to second preschool by 12:25. Hurry to get back home before Jordan falls asleep in the car so she can get a decent nap. Hurry to catch up on email, chores, and scrapbook assignments before Jordan wakes up from her nap. Hurry to retrieve Jonah from the school bus, make dinner, and start our evening routine. Hurry to get through bath-time and bed time routines so we can enjoy some adult peace and quiet. Hurry to get all I want done and into bed by a decent hour so I have enough strength to get up and do it all over again.

Which begs me to ask, why am I in such a damn hurry?

It's something that has convicted me and had me thinking for days. Why I am I rushing through life? What gain do I achieve by living in this hurried mode? And more importantly, what am I missing?

I have come to realize that time can either be your friend, or your enemy. It's your choice. One of my favorite quotes (which actually appears as my senior quote in my high school year book) is by John Popper of the band Blues Traveler, "Time is the beauty of the road being long". Ha! Funny how I am truly realizing this only 14 years later!

Ann sums it up with this: "Time is a relentless river. It rages on, a respecter of no one. And this, this is the only way to slow down time: When I fully enter time's swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention, I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here. I can slow the torrent by being all here. I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment... I just want time to do my one life well."

I have time for God.

I have time for my husband.

I have time for my children.

I have time for my family.

I have time for my friends.

I have time for unexpected moments.

I have time to stop.

I have time to go.

I have time to share.

I have time to serve.

I have time to worship with thanksgiving.

I have time to live in the present.

I have time to play.

I have time to love.

I have time to learn.


"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10.

New Zealand in a Nutshell

Yesterday we returned from our New Zealand trip.

And what a trip it was. A trip full of beautiful sights.

We drove a lot (successfully on the opposite side of the road)

We saw alot of sheep.

And cows.

Even day old cows (this little one is less than 24 hrs old)

We even got a little too up close and personal with cows. (public service announcement: carefully consider where you are standing while at a milking barn. meaning NOT where i am standing here)

(and coincidentally, we ate alot of sheep and cow.)

And enjoyed incredible wine.

And fabulous coffee (flat whites complete with latte art, to be precise)

Did alot of sightseeing.

Rode on segways in Auckland (note to self: teach people how to use my camera when taking picture of us :)

We ate.

alot.

Saw incredible beaches.

Met up with a new Studio Calico scrapbooking friend


Took a Glass-blowing class.

Witness the incredible beauty of God's creation

Had a heck of a time with my favorite person in the world.

The End.

P.S. I did have the opportunity to complete about 85% of my New Zealand mini book as we were there!! I have a few pages to complete at home, and then i will share photos of the book along with some thought of the process of scrapbooking on the go ... but until then, here are a few sneaks :)

P.P.S. I'll be back tomorrow with the Ella Publishing Blog Hop eBook Winner :)