Blogger

I used to consider myself a blogger. However, as I've increased the human {and dog} population of my home, the blog posts have become far and few between. See the picture above for proof in case you were doubting me. That is, if this blog still even has any readers!

Working outside the home definitely afforded me the luxury of time. And I found myself being more intentional about my time spent reading and pouring into my own life. I tend to do much better when given short snippets of time, rather then an entire day. One thing I enjoyed about blogging so much was the challenge of coming up with content. New recipes, life lessons, fun outings....total motivation! But now as the days are longer yet with less time (funny how that works), I find myself having little to blog about other than the usual stay at home mom stuff, "did laundry today, these kids are driving me nuts, could my house BE any messier" which translates to BO-RING!

I recently read a book by the author of the BigMama blog. The book was fantastic, I would recommend it! She's hilarious, witty, and super pleasant to read with some great spiritual lessons tied in here and there. Once upon a time, my blog might have been described the same way. Not nearly in the same magnitude, I mean, this blogger is extremely well written and HI-LARIOUS. But whenever I re-read certain blog posts from the past I think, that girl was fun...where did she go? Or even, that girl had insight.....I wish she'd come around again.

So, as I head into what's left of Spring and into the Summer, I long to revive this blog and I know that starts with creating content. In the wake of certain tragedies that have happened around our nation as of late, I always think about what my children would think about me should I pass away today. I feel like this blog is a glimpse into my soul at times and if the Lord chooses to take me sooner versus later, I would sure love to have documented some things about life and the blessings that God has shown me for my children to enjoy someday.

I have had a bit of a tough winter. I think for the first time I was actually affected by a little seasonal depression. I really need to increase my vitamin D intake. I can pep talk myself with the best of them but this has been more than just a, shake it off sister sort of thing. Because of that depression, I've fallen into a bit of a pity party about how hard life is with littles, how hard it is to stay on track with weight loss when you're so busy taking care of everyone else, the plight of being a working mom from home with no space to call my own truly, etc. But bottom line, as much as my body needs Vitamin D, even more so my soul needs the Son. {Yes, that just happened, ha ha ha....Jon Acuff would be so proud of that Jesus Juke}. No really though......my life won't be enriched simply by trying new recipes to blog about. I want more than than. I want content. I want significance. I want to write something profound that my daughter will copy and past and retweet, so proud of her mother's wisdom. I want a challenge!

So with that said, hopefully you'll be hearing more from me. That is, if anyone is still reading. :)

Easter 2013

{This post is late but I'm trying to get back into regular blogging because I'm just not ever going to be a scrapbooker!}

This year we had a really low key Easter. I tend to be on the high expressive side and have big expectations for holidays, not necessarily in a bad way but just like them to be fun and festive. My in-laws that live in town like to basically just get together and eat, no decorations or anything. It's not a bad thing, just different temperaments celebrate differently. :) I've learned to try to let go of expectations and enjoy my children and family but man, it's tough sometimes. I'm excited for my parents to move back into town so we have more variety with holidays. :)

Because we love celebrating Easter morning at church, we usually do one little present before we go to church and then the *Easter Bunny* comes while we are gone.Or she runs out of the car ahead of the kids when we get home from church and gets the Easter baskets out. ;) My kids aren't morning people (nor are their parents) so this is a much better way to celebrate for us versus cramming all the fun into an early morning.

My Emersyn looked so darling. I had bought this dress a few months ago on clearance at Marshalls and it was a little dressier than most of her dresses, it has a few layers under it that make it puffier. Anyways, I thought it would make a cute Easter dress and sure enough, it did! I loved the little purse it came with too. I have yet to spend more than $20 on a holiday dress for her, period. Mama likes to bargain shop. This dress was $7 and it's a great brand and quality.  Everett looked darling too! We had a beautiful warm Easter so he was able to wear a polo and shorts. Too cute.

 {The Easter Bunny's delivery}

It was special that we got to spend Easter with the kids Great Grandpa Jensen and great Grandma Stanton!

I am so so thankful for my husband and two children that make holidays so special and fun!

Emersyn - 4 1/2 Years Old!

Dear Emersyn,

I miss writing you letters on this blog and keeping it updated with all the fun we have! I was so much better about that when you were a baby and when I was working. But now, our days are filled with activities that leave little time for blogging. However, today as you are napping, I had the overwhelming desire to write you a little letter.

You are 4 1/2 years old and I can hardly believe it. I've never been very tearful at the thought of you growing up...each birthday is huge celebration and I'm just so grateful that you are healthy and strong. Yet, as your 5th birthday approaches I can hardly believe it! 5 seems like such a big age....no longer a toddler at all but a little girl. Whenever we snuggle I can't believe how big you are. You are all arms and legs and are such a tall and pretty girl.

Today at school you had an Easter party. You weren't feeling great, woke up with an earache which I suspected might happen. (You had an ear infection this week but weren't in pain so we weren't treating you with meds yet....I got the prescription filled this morning though and you should be well on your way to feeling better). You really really wanted to go to the party though so I said it was okay. At the Easter party there was an egg hunt and as your classmates scurried around you, you patiently looked for eggs. When everyone had found their allotted 7 eggs, you were the last one with only 4 eggs in your basket, looking for the others. You don't seem to have a competitive bone in your body.....I'm not sure my dreams of being a soccer mom are going to be fulfilled through you. Maybe your brother. :) I came and helped you find the remaining eggs and then we went on our way. This simple little activity touched my heart though. You are such a patient and loving girl and while many of your classmates were shoving each other out of the way to get to the next egg, I know you would have been happy to find one and sit down to enjoy it. God has given you a special spirit of compassion and tenderness and as your mama, I will lay down my life in order to help make you into the woman that He wants you to be someday. I was so proud of how you didn't throw a fit or get frustrated when everyone found the eggs before you.

Sister, you remind me so much of myself it's a little scary. You are the best of me and the worst of me and I find myself calling on Jesus daily to help me make it through all the whining and craziness that having a 4 year old and a one year old brings. I'm so so proud of the girl that you are becoming. You love singing songs and making up songs about God. You love reading and turn pretty much any story into a bible one. You love playing with your baby dolls and are such a nurturing mother to them. Your favorite baby doll is hair baby and I just learned yesterday that hair baby now has a sister named Lisa. I have no idea why her name is Lisa but you were proud to introduce me to her.

Your favorite thing in the world is family time. Last night we sat on the couch with Margo, Everett and Daddy which was a rare moment. Everett doesn't sit much anywhere! Anyways, as we sat there I looked over at you and with the biggest grin you said, "my whole family is on the couch....I love it!!". You love going on family dates and you made up a line to "the wheels on the bus" to say "the family on the bus has family time...family time....family time!". It's so cute.

A few weeks ago we decided to surprise you and take you on a date to the Spaghetti Factory, your choice. We left Everett with Nana and Papa and treated you for the night and you just loved it. Best of all, we loved it too! We enjoy you so much and have so much fun chatting with you and loving on you.

There are so many things that I love about you and I need to take more time to write them down. You are such a loving big sister and now a great friend to Margo too. You are very responsible and capable of watching Everett for me when I need to run upstairs. You guys love playing in your room now which works out awesome for me when I want to clean up downstairs real quick.

I love you Emersyn Grace....I'm so proud of the sweet girl you have become!!!

All my love,

Mommy

Margo!!!

My husband is a dog lover. Like, hard core dog lover. He got his very own dog for Christmas when he was 17 and she was part of the deal when we got married. I was horrified at first, but then fell in love with our sweet Molly Brown. She died from kidney disease almost four years ago and Brett has had a hole in his heart ever since. He has looked at dogs online from breeders ever since, but I was just not in a hurry for another creature to take care of! Lord knows I have my hands full as it is.

However.....

Over Christmas break we dog sat for some friends and Emersyn fell in love with having a pet. The dog slept with her, Emersyn fed her, took her on walks, etc. When the dog went home after her owners returned, Emersyn sobbed for days, especially at bed time when she would miss her buddy.

That triggered something in my mama heart and I decided that I could handle having a doggy if it meant that my husband and daughter would be so so happy.

We decided to adopt a pet from a pet society at the mall. They have some really neat services and make pet ownership very easy. The food is even delivered to your house every month! We initially looked at a very small Yorkie Poo named Enzo....he was darling but ultimately just too small for our family. Then I got a picture of "Coco" and we decided to go meet her.

The only night we could find to go see Coco was on Valentine's Day! We headed to the mall and met her and it was love at first sight! She is a MaltiPoo (Maltese and Poodle) and is just darling! She is 8 months old and still a puppy but pretty much house broken and very sweet. The adoption process took a few days so we couldn't take Coco home that night which made Emersyn very sad.

We weren't in love with the name Coco so we decided to change it to Margo. It's kind of silly but there's a character on the movie "Christmas Vacation" named Margo and there is this one part that always makes Brett and I laugh where the husband says Margo's name funny and we have known for awhile that when we got a dog, we wanted to name her Margo. Of course, I leaned towards an E name but then realized that Molly had been an M name, Margo would keep up the trend. :)

We got Margo last Wednesday and it's been an adventure for sure. The kids love her and so do Brett and I. It's a fun new chapter in our lives!

Lent

Today marks the beginning of Lent. I decided to sacrifice sweets last year for Lent and did well. Something food related is always hard for me. I could give up things like Facebook or TV but truth me told, I use FB for many business related things and TV is how I preserve my sanity in the morning and in the evening too with my husband. I don't feel addicted to those things like I sometimes do with food.

This year I am on my program so I am already giving up a lot food wise. However, I am allowed optional *snacks* and sometimes really depend on them to get through the day. I've decided to sacrifice those and use those cravings that come especially during nap time to press in to the Lord and His strength. I am hoping to incorporate giving up sleep too with Lent.....I long to have mornings with the Lord. Working on it. How is it that I could pass out at 5pm and then come 10pm I am wide awake and excited to hang out with my husband?

Are you giving up anything for Lent?

February already?

Well, here we go.....another year on fast forward, or that's how it seems anyways! I can't believe it's February already!

I've been a bad blogger as of late but such is life with two kids and a career that hasn't been as part time lately as it usually is. I'm thankful though, working = money and money is a good thing!

We had an AMAZING trip in Vegas!!! We left last Monday afternoon and got back Thursday evening. Highlights of our trip include getting to stay up late and sleep in, going to Fremont Street and seeing a lady who is possibly the worlds oldest cocktail waitress (she looked like she was 80 years old, no joke), getting scared out of our minds when we man in full KISS attire was in the elevator kind of hiding in the parking garage of the Fremont Street experience (pretty sure our friend James almost peed his pants), going to super fun happy hours and enjoying some adult beverages (Sangria is magical), going to our first Cirque show (!!!!!!!!) thanks to discount tickets from a kiosk thingy, going to the dueling piano bar (which we had to pay a cover to get into, my first cover ever!) which is something I've always wanted to do, driving around the strip, seeing all the casinos, getting to chat with friends uninterrupted by kids, getting my birthday present (purse and wallet at the Fossil outlet) and more......it was SO fun! 

 It was so fun to vacation with friends....this was the only picture we got of the four of us. Funny how when you don't have kids with you, pictures aren't as big of a priority. 

I'm excited to go back to Vegas with friends again. The only thing we would have changed is that we would have liked to take advantage of the pools. It was hard to find things to do during the day because it's such a night life place. Not that having too much free time was a problem, it was actually kind of awesome. But we would end up walking forever and then be sore at night, ha! Laying by a pool reading would have been a great addition to our trip. I read a whole book on our trip, "Heaven is Here" by Stephanie Nielson, a popular blogger that survived a horrific plane crash. I always forget how much I love reading until I get to do it. I wished I would have brought my other book that I had rented from the library, a Jodi Picoult one, but I thought there was no way I'd get through the one. Turns out I was wrong! 

My mom came into town to watch the kids while we were gone which was nice. I'm sure my in-laws would have watched them but my sister-in-law is due with her first baby in California and so I didn't want to risk her going into labor and making it so my MIL couldn't get down there because she had my kids. Plus, my kids love time with their Mimi. When we came home Everett was sick though and now Emersyn is sick. Oh the life of winters in Oregon. UGH! 

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday! It was very fun to have my mom here to celebrate and she pampered me all day. We went to coffee in the morning, she took me shopping to buy a few things, then she gave me a priceless gift....TIME! Time to go eat lunch by myself (so nice) and then get a manicure. We went to dinner with the kids which was fun but my poor Ems wasn't feeling well and Everett was being a terror typical toddler so dinner was a bit of a workout. Came home and opened some cards (thanks for the cash mom and dad!!!) and Ems had asked Brett if she could get me a lip gloss for my bday so Brett got me one on her behalf from Macy's. 

It was a great birthday. I can't believe I'm 32....geez. I'm so so blessed though and looking forward to each and every year to come. 32 will be the age where I hit my goal weight, and be a better wife and mother than ever!!

Hero

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a link to the video above. If you want, watch it before reading on. If not, this post is a bit of a spoiler. ;)

I'm normally skeptical about YouTube forwards, especially ones that say they will make you cry. However, the friend that sent it to me rarely forwards stuff so I decided it must be worth watching.

I totally cried. Ems was on my lap watching it with me and since she couldn't read the papers that the girls are holding up, she didn't understand what was going on.

Basically, three kids, grandparents and a mom and dad go on a vacation to rent a cabin in the mountains near a cliff. While the mom and dad are signing the rental agreement, the kids stay in the car and somehow the car gets knocked out of gear and starts rolling towards the cliff. The mother, in a desperate attempt to save her babies, stands in front of the car to block it and her kids remember the look on her face as the car ran her over. Thankfully, her body somewhat detained the car's rolling and the grandpa was able to get in the car and pull the parking brake. The mom miraculously survived but is paralyzed from the waist down and is still an incredible mother. Her kids sing her praises of how she is their best friend, how she has come to every piano recital, tennis tournament, etc.

I was so moved to tears because I know that I would do the same thing for my babies...risk my life or even give my life.

The daughters of this woman made her this beautiful tribute video and I began to wonder, what kind of video could my kids make about me someday?

See, I believe that truly amazing parenting happens when we go beyond what's required of us. No one thinks that their mom is a hero for simply providing food and shelter. I long with all my heart to be a hero to my kids, hopefully not in such a dramatic way as this YouTube video, but if so, let it be.

I think the hardest part of being a mom is how thankless it is at times. Obviously, Emersyn has no appreciation for me getting up early to make sure she is bathed, dressed cute for school, and a lunch packed. She could care less that I strive to get up early and spend quiet time with the Lord, in a quest to be a better woman which makes me a better mom. She doesn't bat an eye when we deliver a meal to someone sick or when I stress out over real estate deals so that I can help provide for our family. But someday, she's going to know the kind of mother that I was today. And if I wait until she's old enough to understand all that I do for her before I start to do these things for her, it will be too late. Does that make sense?

Good parenting isn't just hanging out with your kids, making sure they are {relatively} safe, fed and clothed. It's turning off the computer to play Memory for the 12th time that day. It's making my daughter a cup of tea and having a discussion about silly made up things, like how her daughter Hair Baby loves watching UmiZoomi but it apparently drives Emersyn crazy. It's letting her help bake and not caring when she spills the sugar. It's being loving to her daddy and modeling how to be a selfless wife. It's going out of my way to make sure that I get enough sleep so I'm not cranky in the mornings when it's time to get ready. My heart aches for my children to call me their hero someday....so what am I doing about that today?