Time for Myself

One of many things I struggle with is taking time for myself. In my small little world, there truly never seems to be enough time in the day to do the things I love. It's like our clock is on full speed from the time we wake up until the time we finally get to bed. Where does that leave time for me? I'm learning that I can't just wait for extra time to jump out and pop me in the face. It's just not gonna happen. It needs to be made. Things have to be shifted to the side so I can use some of our time for the things that I enjoy.

The past few days I'm making more of an effort for this to happen. Now that I'm 30 and all, I think I deserve more me time. Don't you? ; )

So yesterday I treated myself to one of my favorite indulgences ever! A pumpkin muffin from Dunkin Doughnuts. Oh my goodness, I forgot how much I missed those things. If you haven't tried them. You have to! They are heavenly! They're only around through the fall, so once you're hooked, you have to wait for the next fall to come around to enjoy them again. For me, that's probably a good thing. I could easily get way out of hand with them.

My second favorite fall treat can be found at Atlanta Bread. They have a Chai tea that I LOVE and of course I get one of their pumpkin muffins to go along with it. Not quite like Dunkins' but still very yummy.

Yesterday Gracie and I went over to the home of one of our very creative friends from church and made cards to send out to those who could use some encouragement. This lead me to come home and spread all... of my scrap booking stuff out and dig back into it again. I finally took the wrapper off of Fletcher's baby book so I think it's time I stay focused long enough to get it done. Now that he's two, this will be a major test of my memory to see how much I can remember as I wasn't nearly as good about jotting milestones and events down like I was with the other two. Scrap booking is something I do truly enjoy so I consider this to be "taking time for me". I would show you a picture of my mess but I am highly too embarrassed. My dining room truly has fully been taken over!

Today for the first time in ages, I "put the kids on the shelf" for a bit to squeeze some exercising into my day. Oh how I wish I could make myself do this everyday. It's definitely going to be one of my goals to work towards.

And for the big one... we are going out tonight!!! I am so super excited! It's been way too long. I seem to "deal" with not having me time pretty well, but poor Josh. He craves time for us to go out when he can have me to himself and not have to get in line with the kids to receive my attention. So yes, we both are very excited. Hold on though, it gets even better. Kudos to my wonderful aunt Joyce for being brave enough to have all three kids come over for a sleepover tonight. This will be Fletcher's first sleepover so I just hope he does well for her.

Thank you Aunt J. for always being so helpful to us in so many ways. You truly didn't hesitate in stepping right into my moms footsteps and I know how proud she is to have you loving on her precious grandkids for her. You are loved and appreciated more than you know!!!



Aunt J. had lots of helpers when blowing out her birthday candle on September 16th.

It's a Pink Thing

I guess when you are the only little girl in the family you get a little spoiled. We have always consciously made an effort to make sure that no child of ours is treated any differently than the other. We don't want Colton to feel like like he's expected everything new just because he's the oldest and there isn't any hand me downs to be passed down his way. In the same way, we want to make sure that both Gracie and Fletcher don't grow up being the proud recipients of every hand me down available. Now being practical, we do pass down and reuse everything possible but there are certain times that require making each child feel uniquely special with the gift of something new. Something unused by one of their siblings. Specially bought just for them.

This is where the pink four wheeler comes in. Gracie's first four wheeler was of course handed down from Colton. Colton received it for Christmas when he was 3 years old and Santa even had it airbrushed with his name right in the front and flames all over which just happened to be one of Colton's favorite things. So for the past few years, Gracie has been sporting around her "Colton" 4-wheeler. She deserved her own. Not only that, the old one was getting too small for her and is in very used condition. So Josh sold Colton's gently used 4 wheeler and profited enough money to cover the cost of two new ones. When he was viewing his choices on the website which he ordered them from, something struck him when he saw this pink camo one. Sure it won't be able to be handed down to Fletch (or will it?) but just think of how special she will feel to be driving that around the woods. Oh yea! When it arrived, he couldn't wait to give it to her. Was he successful in making her happy? Uh.... YEA!!! No need to explain. The girl LOVES pink and she knew that her Daddy picked this out, specially for his little girl! Now all she needs is a new helmet to match her new 4 wheeler ; )

A New Decade

Yesterday was the beginning of a new decade for me. So how do I feel about it? Actually, I'm very excited. Life is a gift. A new adventure, a new surprise, a new journey is waiting around every corner.
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Life is like a book. How do you want your story to be told. We are creating our story one page at a time. I don't want to look back through the "pages" when I'm older and have regrets. Regrets of not spending enough time with my family. Regrets of not making time to have fun and do the things that I love. Regrets of not living out certain dreams that I hold dear to my heart.
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I am really learning to live my life to the fullest especially since loosing my mom. It's so very hard, but I'm trying not to fall into the trap of getting stuck in the "just trying to get by one day at a time" thing. I want each day to be more special than the next. To look forward to each day with a renewed hope and excitement for what's to come. Life has so much to offer and we don't have to get wrapped up in that trap of just trying to get through each day.

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Thinking of what's to come in this next decade leaves me very excited. I will get to see my kids grow in so many ways and my hope is that I will grow leaps and bounds too. Mentally and spiritually that is. Hopefully not physically. But I think I'll have to work a little bit harder on that now that I'm 30 ; )

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There are lots of joys when thinking of the upcoming years but to be completely honest, some things leaves me feeling a little weepy. Teaching Colton and Gracie to drive. Graduating Colton from High School (hopefully) the same year that I'll turn 40! And celebrating my 40th birthday with my 12 year old baby! Waah!!! I need to stop now!!!

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Although I sit here with tears in my eyes just thinking of it, I know that those times will also bring so much fun. I look forward to them growing into young adults and all the exciting things we'll be able to do together as a family. But boy will I miss my babies! Even though they are constant work, I just love this stage so much. I truly, truly do. Diapers and all (although we're nearly done with them), I love it!

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I'll leave you with a few too many photos (as I'm famous for doing) from our party yesterday. It was a beautiful day. We got to reconnect with some old friends and were grateful to have most of our family there to celebrate with us. We wound up having a big sleepover at our house and we all had a blast. There were 9 kids (including our own) who slept over and a few of our friends! Talk about a full house!
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the dart game was a huge hit!

Don't let the little size fool you. These two boys popped a balloon almost every time!

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"everybody better watch out!"

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fletch and our cousin faith

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My aunt joyce made him an oscar the grouch cake from a cake pan she's had since the 70's. So fun!
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I made this cake to match the color theme of the party. I was so glad people weren't scared to eat it. It really turned out super yummy!
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Two of my bridesmaids whom I rarely get to see. This was a special gift to me that they came! We had so much fun!
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Me and Laurie. My good friend and neighbor.
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Look at this 2 year old cutie! He cracked us up all night with his guitar and dancing skills. Not to mention skateboarding skills. He's definitely a talented kid!

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Colton the rock star with his friend Cole!
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Fletch opening up one of his coolest gifts wrapped up in homemade wrapping paper (I love this!)...
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An owl made by sweet Aurora who's pictured above. Her two brothers each picked out one of their trucks to wrap up for him. I think that is just the greatest thing! So heart felt.
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Fletch and his Uncle Austin.

The kids have the two coolest uncles ever! Check out Austin's site here (if you happen to stumble across pictures of half dressed women in bikinis please close your eyes ;) seriously! And his bikes can also be seen here. And my brother's awesome artwork can be seen here. I wish they would give me some of their talent! They truly are amazing people all around but most importantly to me, they are the best uncles my kids could ever have. How neat that must be for them to have an awesome artist, surfer and musician as their uncle and their other one is an incredible motorcycle builder. It doesn't get any better than that for the boys! I think they will appreciate them even more as they get older. I was bummed I didn't get a picture of Fletch and Brian or Uncle B. as they know him but here is one from Gracie's birthday party last month.

Thanks for "dealing" with all the photos. I always have the hardest time choosing which ones to post. I'm a very visual person, so I want to see the pictures, not hear about the stories. So there you have it : )

Birthday Memories

2 years ago, I knew my birthday was coming. I also knew my baby was coming. Just didn't know exactly when.
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This was me exactly 1 week before my 28th birthday. I was ready and waiting for my little one to arrive. Like over ripe ready! Go ahead and say it to yourself. "did she give birth to a watermelon?" I truly was huge!


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Josh took these pictures with my early birthday present. They are priceless to me.
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On the evening before my birthday, as I tried to fall asleep, the contractions had taken over my sleep and I knew that my precious baby would be sharing a birthday with his or her mama.
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At 7:37 am, on September 20th, Fletcher Eli entered the world into the loving hands of his daddy.


The best birthday gift I surely have ever received.


Your big sister was more than anxious to meet you.
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And with daddy's help, your big brother had the honor of cutting your cord.
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What a surprise gift you were to me!
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Pure bliss for Gracie. A moment she'd waited a long time for.
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Colton had been praying for a brother long before I was even pregnant. He was so amazed that God had answered his exact prayer. He thought that was so cool and I did too!


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Fletch on his first birthday


Fletcher Eli, you are loved more than words can say. You are such a blessing to so many.



I look forward to making many more birthday memories with my sweet boy!
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Sneaky Snakes

Our lives have been bombarded by snakes lately. As hard as I try not to be squeamish of them, I just can't seem to get used to the idea that one may be lurking around the corner. I'm trying really hard not to make an impression on my kids that may cause them to be afraid of things. I don't want them to develop a fear of something due to my own fear. It's just so hard to stay tough and not show your true feelings in moments like these.
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Just last week as I opened the door in our bathroom which leads out to the back porch, a snake which must have been resting between the top of the door and the molding fell down as I opened the door and landed right across my arm. I quickly shook it off and did the only thing I could think to do. Besides scream. I covered it with a large bowl and left it for Josh to deal with when he got home from work. (side note... he doesn't like snakes. At all. There just plain creepy he says.)
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So we found out that it was just a harmless corn snake, but none the less, I wasn't hoping to have one "jump" on me as I headed outdoors.
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Then today when I went to turn the hose off, a very large black snake greeted me in front of the hose spicket. Harmless, but none the less, I wasn't in the mood nor was I expecting this type of greeting.
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Needless to say, I ran into the house as quickly without turning the water off. It stayed on until Josh came home from work.
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Then about an hour after my meeting with the black snake I got a phone call from a very concerned neighbor. As she was passing by our house on her way home, a large diamond back rattle snake was hanging out in our front yard near the road. It was cuddled up near a small pile of yard clippings that Josh had dragged near the road to be picked up.
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About 30 minutes later the garbage truck that comes around every two weeks or so to pick up yard scraps just happened to arrive. By the time I noticed them out there, they had already spotted the snake and were staking out their plan, shovels and pitchforks in hand. I saw them on the phone probably finding out if it's okay for them to kill it. They corralled the snake and fought a battle until they won. The kids and I were watching like hawks on the front porch as the snake was thrashing and striking and trying to do everything it could to attack.
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By the way, it wasn't just a little guy either. It certainly would have done some major damage to my little ones who play in the front yard most evenings with the two little boys across the street. Not to mention Lucy our dog who likes to explore the yard as well. Or the three children who live on the other side of the vacant lot next to us who frequently walk over to play.
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I know that killing the snake will cause many people to stir, but I was just glad it wasn't a decision that I had to make and I'm also glad that I'll sleep a little better tonight knowing that it's not hanging out in my front yard. If it were up to me, I would have of course called the animal control and let them handle it.
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Not to say there aren't more out there. We know there are. And water moccasins too. The neighborhood kids had a blast catching the fish that were being washed away from the preserves during all the rain we had. They would catch them in buckets before they'd fall down into the drainage grate, just adjacent to our house. Then one day a neighbor spotted a huge moccasin that was dining on the fish that were flowing to the grate. So long are those fun days. That it is home so we just steer clear from it.
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Oh the joys of living on a preserve. I guess one way to look at it is their family was here first. Not us.
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So was it shere coincidence that someone in our neighborhood happened to see it and took the time to look our number up to warn us? Was in an accident that the yard waste truck just happened to pull up at the right time. After all it only comes around every couple weeks. Was it by chance that they didn't just routinely grab the pile of clippings without noticing the dangerous snake. I don't think so.

*** Update ~ the day after I wrote this post, as we pulled into the driveway Gracie announces "oh, I see a snake!" This sneaky black snake was greeting us as we pulled up and yes, it was that large that she spotted it from inside the car. Colton tried and tried to catch it but it was way too quick! He hasn't caught a snake yet but wants to so badly! Yikes! I'm not to sure how I feel about this but I do remember my brother always catching snakes. As long as Colton doesn't chase his little sister to her room with it while she screams of fear like I so fondly have the memories of, then I think we'll be okay. Maybe that's why I am so uneasy about snakes! Thanks Brian : )

Cherished Pictures. Cherished Memories.

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I am holding on tightly to these and many other priceless pictures of my dear Grammy. Tomorrow will be one week since she left us here on earth and we are missing her dearly.

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If you've ever had the privilege of meeting her, then you've been greatly blessed. She was just an amazing woman in so many ways. The love that she showed me is the kind of love that I hope my children feel from me and the love that I look forward to one day sharing with my own grandchildren. A love like no other.