Part of living in a state with four seasons...

Do you guys remember this?

Being bundled up in cozy blankets, living in my UGGS for warmth, sipping hot drinks, eating lots of soup, being stuck at home for 4 days...


And now there is this...

I don't even want to talk about it!

I was reminded this week as I was out and about that the seasons will inevitably change and this heat will move on. At target I saw the back to school signs and products everywhere, Christmas ornaments out at Hallmark, college football and fall clothes in stores...whispers that fall and cooler temps are coming. But, I'm trying to live in right now as time seems to be flying by instead of wishing the days away. I was talking with someone this week about the balance of living in today's moments rather than putting life on hold until we get to that next place in life we are hoping for.
Live it up friends- make your life what it to be! And on that note: It's friday-friday-gotta get down on friday, fun fun fun fun fun-lookin' toward the weekend!

Thankful thursday...

I missed thankful thursday last week as we were on vacation- which I was super thankful for! :)
Here is my list for this week:
*Safe travel
*Light rain
*Beautiful wooded countryside
*God's faithfulness
*A week of Michael off work
*A week somewhere where the temperature was lower than 106 degrees!
*AIR CONDITIONING!!
*watching a deer scamper by while drinking coffee on the back porch at our cabin
*Michael's positivity
*Michael's calm attitude when I'm hyped up
*Both of our parents' safe return to the USofA
*StowNgo compartments
*friends
*our washer and dryer

Have a lovely Thursday!

10 months

Isabella had her 10 month birthday while we were on vacation. So she didn't have her zebra/chair picture until a few days after. Close enough, right?


It is getting harder to keep her in the chair now that she wants to move all the time.


I love this look on her face!


Her favorite food right now is yogurt. She has it for breakfast every morning.


Now that she is mobile I find her in all sorts of different positions in her crib.


Her sweet toes peeking out under our morning read...she still curls her toes a lot.


This month she began pulling up on things, and can now pull herself into a standing position. But she is still pretty wobbly. Some of her other new skills this month have been opening her mouth for "kisses", picking up food to put in her mouth, standing in her crib, floundering like a fish out of water during diaper changes, and saying buh-by.


We are enjoying our days with her so much! She has continued being super smiley with the sweetest giggles.
Happy 10 months baby girl!

A week by the sea

We spent a few days driving and a week at our favorite beach with friends last week. We had a great time and made lots of lasting memories. Our days mostly consisted of coffee and breakfast, playing with our babies, watching our babies play together, then morning nap, beach time, lunch, napping again for the babies and napping/reading/shopping for the grown ups, dinner, smores, talking, and laughing.
The forecast was showing rain every day so I was hoping we wouldn't be rained out every day. But it only rained a couple times during the day, and just for short periods of time. Unfortunately the rain out at sea did wash up loads of seaweed a couple of days turning the water into a nasty green algae mess that no one wanted to swim in. Luckily for those days there were books to be read and an outlet mall close by. Isabella did not care too much for the beach on our trip in May, but she loved swimming in the water this time. Hopefully she is now converted to a beach baby!
My favorite things were: seeing the dolphins swimming, a fancy smancy grilled cheese from an adorable airstream trailer in Seaside, swimming with my baby in the ocean, smores, the quiet of our cabin, running with Beth, the fried shrimp I had on my date with Michael, watching the sunrise, and lots of family and friends time.


#9 Our cabin at Grayton Beach State Park. Nothing fancy about the cabins, but they were peaceful, clean, and had everything we needed. There was no TV, no wireless internet...and I think those are good things to take a break from.




Isabella and Milo had quite the set up at the beach between their shade tent and little pool with an umbrella. All they needed was someone to bring them drinks with umbrellas in them and they would have been set!


Out on a date with my hot husband. We tried a new place called Shorty's. It was way loud and not the best for a date where you actually want to talk to the person you are with, but I did have the best fried shrimp I have ever eaten! I would order it to go next time.


At the beach with my girl




Family picture night


Goodbye Grayton Beach...we will be back again!

It is always a tough transition coming back from a week of vacation and 24 hours a day of time together. I always miss Michael when we go back to spending our week days apart. I am so grateful we had the time together.

We returned this evening from a wonderful week at the beach. As usual, I loved traveling and I love being at home too. But I was definitely not ready for vacation to be over. More to come...

It was a great day

We enjoyed lunch and playtime at the beach, watching a pod of dolphins
that came to play right in front of us, naps, reading time, fresh
shrimp for dinner, and fun with friends. Happy Tuesday!

Happy Friday!

We leave on vacation early in the morning...

and thus far this is the extent of our packing. But- getting out the suitcase is an important step, right?

In other news...

I found Isabella like this after her morning nap. It is time for Daddy to lower the crib again so our jailbird doesn't break free!

Alright, gotta get going- lots to do today. Happy weekend!

Thankful thursday musings

The moon is full and gorgeous tonight. While I was running I saw it rise and change from a golden yellow to a bright white. My cousin was meeting me to run and I'm glad I had someone counting on me because I was not feeling it tonight. I felt like rubbish after a gross salad I ate. Too bad it didn't gross me out until after I had eaten most of it. Salads shouldn't make you feel gross...they just shouldn't.

Today was a good day. We played at home, we played with friends, we ran errands for our vacation, we visited Michael at work, I went out for dinner with my book club...it was a full day. I sat to write my thankful thursday post, stinking from my run and ready to head for bed when I got a text from a friend. The kind of text that makes you feel like something is very wrong. I tried to wait patiently for the response to my reply. Waiting. Waiting. Then a tearful call came that her mother's cancer is back. The doctor used the phrase "incurable- except by God". I am shocked and again reminded how quickly our lives can turn and an ordinary Thursday becomes a defining moment that changes everything.

While I am thankful for an abundance of things today, my mind is caught in fear and with rapid prayers. The kind of prayers that are a constant repeat of the same thing. The pleading kind. I am asking God to move in a big way tonight.



-I am thankful for sweet friends.


-I am thankful for bright blue eyes.


Isabella tries her first orange.
-I am thankful for the gift of new experiences and watching them through my daughter's eyes.


-I am thankful for my profession and colleagues I share an office with.
We recently moved to a bigger space. I love this plague in one of the offices. I love stories. It interesting the way people tell their stories. Some stories come bursting forth as if the person cannot bear to hold it in for another second. Other stories come out slowly, over time, piece by piece, as trust and time allow. I am struck by the dichotomy that exists of how both pain and healing can come through spoken words.

-I am thankful for grace and forgiveness.
-I am thankful for a Godly, kind husband.

Isabella at the farmer's market.
-I am thankful for my baby who has given me a greater glimpse into God's love for his children.
-I am thankful that although life on earth is unpredictable, that God is always good.

Zoo

We braved the 104 temperature Monday to visit the zoo. The elephants had the right idea and were having a great time playing in the water.










We encountered this gorgeous peacock on our walk. Isabella was not sure what to think of it and its crazy squawking!




We enjoyed time at the splash pad with friends.












And then we high tailed it outta there before heat stroke set in!

Thankful Thursday

I can't believe it is Thursday again! That means it is time for another Thankful Thursday post!
A few things I have been thankful for this week are:

*Clean water
*Isabella's determination
*Encouragement from a friend
*Unexpected rain
*Getting to talk to my parents while they are overseas
*A husband that cooks, and cooks well!
*How much joy Isabella's smile gives me and the strangers we meet when we are out.
*Safety
*Watermelon
*Long holiday weekends
*and last but not least... I found the pearl earring! It was under the glider in Isabella's room. I now *vaguely* remember going back there before the trip to the living room to grab her pacifier. It must have slipped out of my hand then and fallen by the chair. I did receive a lovely email from the good people of tiffany who would have replaced the one earring rather than buying a set. They were so nice, it almost made me want to go have breakfast there.


How big is Isabella?


So BIG! :)


How is that face for some joy?!