Baseball hats to hide messy hair

A few things I am thankful for today:

1. Annslie's love for music. I don't know anyone else who loves music like my Annslie Rain. I am always amazed by how much she reminds me of myself. My first born, my sidekick, my heart and soul.

2. Madilyn's never ending curiosity about the Bible and God. I don't have all the answers for  her now, but I hope she and I can learn together. She is such an incredible, witty, and smart little girl who is eager to discover new things. She is going to be something spectacular someday.

3. Wyatt's new dance moves. As soon as he got home today, he pressed play, turned up the volume, and did his thang all over the house.

4. Baseball hats to hide messy hair.

5. Sunshine. Sweet, sweet, glorious sunshine. We had a sneak peek of Spring today.

6. The roof that kept us warm on the coldest day of our lives last week.

7. Best friends who I can go months without seeing, yet pick right back up with as soon as we are together again. The memories we share will forever be cherished, and the memories our children will share together someday, will surely give us all gray hair!

8. New friends who already "get" me -- and old friends who I have reconnected with...can't imagine my life without them.

9. A husband who can truly fix anything. (Like anything) A husband who puts everyone's needs/wants above his own. A husband that does things for people who will never even know he was the one who did them. I never worry because I KNOW we are taken care of. That's such a blessing.

10. Starbucks gift cards.

11. Co-workers and bosses who are like a second family.

12. Allison's infinite I love you's. Hearing those words from her, along with the one thousand and one hugs she gives when she's here, confirms that I am doing something right. We often question our parenting skills with our own children, but that insecurity is majorly magnified when it's your step-children. You just want to be loved and accepted by them, and Allison never fails to let me know I'm doin' alright. I love her.

13. Keith Urban's new CD.

14. "Me" days like I had today. Doing nothing of much importance. The kids were gone and Robby was at work. I do love these days, but I am always more than ready for my people to come back home.

15. My parents and siblings...aka the coolest people on Earth, to my kids.

16. Happy Chances. xoxo

What are you thankful for today?

scenes of 7 degrees

Our house, lately, has looked like this.

Lots of pajamas, unbrushed frizzy little girl hair, messy playrooms, lazy dogs, and fires a blaze. It's been cold, y'all. Like cold, cold. Like 7ish degrees cold. Like school-is-out, shut-down-the-town cold. We have pretty much stayed indoors, at any cost.

This is the coldest day that my children have ever lived. I told them that this morning. They weren't impressed.

As much as I love the Fall and Winter seasons, I am really longing for warmer months right now. I mean, if we aren't going to get snow, then I'm pretty much done with this Winter.  I am ready for longer days with firefly chasing and popsicles and bare feet and cooking outside. Who's with me?

Stay warm, friends. xoxo

Be MORE

MORE.

In 2014 I will: love more, listen more, say "yes" to my kids more, appreciate my amazingly blessed marriage more, create more, give more, have more faith, pray more, take more chances, breath more, care more, help more, see more, and so so much more!

This list will continue to grow as 2014 rocks on, and the journey will be spectacular. Life is what we make it...and this year, this brand new year, I want to be MORE for my family, my God, and myself.

Check out Casey Wiegand's blog ,in the "blogs I read" section, to see hundreds of amazing bloggers who linked up to share their "word" for 2014, like I did! Very cool. 

PS- I'll update you all on the "saying 'yes' to my kids more" thing. We'll see how long that one lasts. :)

Let's get real.

Guess what.

Nobody is perfect. Interesting, right? You felt sure the mom with the 6 month old baby and that size 2 body was pretty flawless, didn't you? Or that family with the beautiful house and immaculately landscaped yard...surely they have no problems. 

Wrong.

The truth is this: We all compare our appearances to others. We all give in to the temptation of birthday cake, maybe even 2 pieces. We all yell at our kids sometimes. We all let our laundry pile up at times. We are ALL flawed. So what? Instead of wishing our lives to be "perfect" (whatever that means), why not wish our lives to be real?....and concentrate on being exceptionally awesome at just. being. real. 

I work 40 hours a week outside of my home. I don't cook dinner every night (pizza is our friend). My husband and I co-parent with our ex-spouses -- which means our children spend some nights away from us -- and calling that "hard" would be a gross understatement. As I am writing this, my background noise is Wyatt screaming "STOPPPP" while Madilyn and Allison laugh uncontrollably...and I'm not even certain those sisters have brushed their hair today. Currently, my floors need to be mopped, but I'm not gonna. In fact, it's not perfection, but, hey, it's REAL....and it's us...and, I must say, we're pretty darn happy.

 

So, the next time you see that picture on Instagram, or that post on Facebook, or read that blog entry that makes you feel "less than", just remember there might be a screaming toddler in the part of that picture that you can't see...and probably a mom with a headache behind the camera with a pile of dirty dishes in her kitchen. :) My point being this: nobody is perfect. Flaws are beautiful, imperfection is character, and REAL life is amazing! Embrace it. Xoxo