Family Beach Trip, 2012

Our family took advantage of the lower rates in September and headed to beach last weekend.  We ended up staying at a wonderful hotel and resort.  Above was the view from our balcony!  Talk about picture perfect.

 

 The girls enjoyed the sand and pool, and Ella enjoyed riding some waves in with her daddy.

 Amelia preferred the pool to the ocean, so that meant most of the time one of us was at the pool while the other was at the ocean with Ella

 Our last night there we enjoyed a lovely walk on the beach to the Pier.  The girls played games at the Pier Arcade, and then we walked along the Pier, where Ella proceeded to talk to every fisherman there:)  Our little social butterfly.  Then we walked back to our hotel for a lovely dinner:)  By far my favorite memory from the trip, but really the whole four days were wonderful.

 My girls are so stinkin' cute, and getting so big.

 We found some other beach walkers who volunteered to take our photo while on our walk.  We lucked out.  They were really into it and took several for us.

My Favorite photo from the evening!

Crazy Idea

Okay, here's my thought.  I have an addiction to Pinterest.  I have an addiction to decorating.  I want to do more with interior design.  These things are all true, yes!  So... I'm thinking I should start a separate blog, and post photos of designing/decorating I do around my own house or for others.  I can upload the photos to Pinterest, and begin my own portfolio of sorts.  Then I'm incorporating my love for design, photography, and Pinterest into one big project.  What do you think?  Share your thoughts.  Let me know.

Lessons in Gratitude

"It’s our job as parents to slow our children down and teach them to be thankful for what they have.  It’s our job to capitalize on the small moments and help our kids stay grounded.  It’s our job to model the gratitude that we want our kids to demonstrate each day."



I have been thinking a lot lately about gratitude, maybe it's the upcoming season of giving thanks, or maybe it's just something I feel I want to have more of in my life, and by extension, I want to raise my children to be grateful.  It's so easy to get wrapped up in "I want this" and "I want that."  My children are always asking for things, and I know that's very normal for children, but how do I combat the overwhelming message they get from media, from friends, from the world, that it's all about the getting?  I found this lovely blog, and this mom has some wonderful ideas.  I'm not sure exactly how to give credit in the "grammatically appropriate way," but here's her blog address, and here are her ideas:

Source: http://practicalkatie.com/2012/03/19/lessons-in-gratitude/

1.    The Happiness Jar:  When kids become bored, frustrated, or feel like they don’t have what they really need in life, it can be useful to stop and think about what they do have.  What you need:  A large glass jar and a stack of index cards.  In a moment of calm, ask your kids to name the things that make them feel happy.  Write one happy statement on each index card and place them in a large glass jar.  Place the jar in a prominent place and reach in and grab a happy statement when life starts to feel overwhelming or unfair.  Talk about why that makes everyone happy.  It might be playing cars, walks on the beach, or chasing butterflies that makes your children happy on any given day.  Sometimes they just need a gentle reminder that they can do any of these things.  For that, they can be thankful.

2.    Three Good Things:  Bedtime is a great time to decompress and check in with your kids.  It’s also a great time to talk about gratitude.  Ask your child to identify three good things in her life as she goes to sleep.  Keep a journal by her bed so that you can write them down and revisit them during the day.  You will probably find that family, mommy & daddy, and favorite toys make the list often.  Many kids tend to think about these things as they end the day.  Having them verbalize it shows them that it feels good to go to sleep feeling happy and thankful.

3.    Collect Coins:  It’s no secret that kids love coins.  They like to play with them, hoard them, fill their banks with them, and throw them in fountains.  Create a special coin collection jar.  Have your kids put a few coins in the jar each week.  When the jar is full, talk about local charities where they can donate the coins.  Better yet, find a fountain that donates the coins to a local food bank or some other charity and make it a fun outing.  Be sure to explain where they money goes and how it helps other people.  Kids (even toddlers) take great pride in helping others.

4.    Pick a Stick:  Do you ever feel like your kids are constantly looking for something to dodespite shelves of books and toys?  It can be tempting to start listing the things they should be grateful for, but this doesn’t actually teach a lesson.  Sometimes kids just need visuals.  Make a list of fun family activities and toys and games the kids have at their disposal.  Make use of those extra craft sticks by writing one activity on the end of each stick.  Flip the sticks over and ask your child to pick one.  Flip the stick back over to see what activity the family should do next!  Sometimes a simple game to make things fun reminds our children that wonderful things are all around us.

Two means trouble

Our little munchkin turned two almost a month ago, and I never got around to posting about her birthday festivities, mostly because the poor thing got sick on her birthday so they turned out to be rather anticlimactic.  The poor thing had a fever of 103 on her birthday, and didn't even touch her cake.  Maybe we'll have to do something fun for her 1/2 birthday, but luckily she's too young to be bothered by it all that much.  It was more disappointing for me.  We made the best of it though.  Ella helped me make a yummy chocolate cake with homemade frosting.  The rest of us enjoyed it at least:)

Amelia is such a great little part of our family!  We just adore her, even though now she has a temper and can be an absolute stinker, that's just the two in her (plus a little personality which is really fun to see grow and develop).  Amelia loves everyone, and everyone loves her.  She has everyone thinking they are the favorite of hers.  It's just how she is with people.  She smiles easily, loves freely, and is just one big bundle of love!       

Two big candles for one little girl.

 She went straight to bed after blowing out her candles, she was just too tired to enjoy any of it... poor thing.

 Ella enjoyed it though.  I think it was more like a birthday for her.  She was so excited and helped me make the cake that day.

 The next morning before church we opened gifts since the night before she just couldn't hold out long enough, but she ended up spiking a fever again so I stayed home with her and she slept the rest of the afternoon.  She did love her simple gifts though.  A baby stroller, and a baby to go in it!

My mom with her baby, me (minus makeup) with mine, and Amelia holding her new baby doll:)

A day at Sky Meadows

I have to back track a little and cover some events over the last month that I missed mentioning.  Over the next couple of posts I'll be playing "catch up."

Our little family decided to spend Labor Day doing something fun and a little different.  We decided to head to Sky Meadows, a lovely state park about forty minutes from our home, and take advantage of all the beautiful scenery and historical landmarks.  It's a living farm that dates back to the Civil War (at least), and is nestled against the beautiful backdrop of the Blude Ridge Mountains.  Ella enjoyed seeing a Civil War suit, sharpening old tools, and we all enjoyed a family "hike" up in the mountains (about a mile total).  Considering half of that mile was all up hill, they did pretty good I have to say.

 Ella talking to the Park Ranger

 Beautiful views              

 Sharpening tools

 A view of the farm

 Hiking after she ran the first few minutes, she was ready for daddy to "hold"

 The pinnacle of our hike

All that hiking made us thirsty

  It was a glorious day, and just one more reminder to me of how beautiful it is here in Virginia.  Just absolutely breathtaking.  No matter how long I've lived here, I'm always amazed at how lovely Virginia is!  I'm also so grateful to have such a beautiful family!  We had a lovely day together.

Preschool, here we come!

Wearing her favorite dress that, of course, was also her favorite color!  She was so excited to start another year of school.

Our little Elle was off to her first day of preschool (second year, but first day) this morning.  She was super excited until it was actually time to leave with her teacher, then the tears came, and she was not the only child in that boat.  Then my tears almost came, but the teacher assured me moments after getting into the classroom she was all smiles.  I think we're going to have a good year.  And next year she will be going into Kindergarten, and my little A will be starting preschool.  My o' my how time flies!

......................

And just to see how far we've come in the last year, this was her first day of her first year of preschool last year:)

I also plan to take a photo at the end of the year and we can see how much she's grown.

Simplify

“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.”

Marjorie Hinckley

Oh Marjorie Hinckley, how you speak straight to my heart with your profundity!  "Develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something."  "Be content"... with what we have, with who we are, with the fact that we take things one day at a time and we are where we are.  I really think sometimes we expect far more of ourselves than God does, or perhaps we expect more about the things that really just don't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things.  

Sometimes, even though I'm thirty-something, I feel like I experience just as much drama as high schoolers.  I've been so very concerned about fitting in, wanting to be liked, to be a part of something.  You see, before getting married, I was the social queen!  I learned at a young age (let's say 10ish) what it felt like to not be included, so when I came into my own (late teens/early 20's) and had many friends, I tried so hard to always make sure to be inclusive.  My #1 priority was making sure people who came to my parties or activities felt good being there, especially those who were new or seemed to be on the periphery.  My husband said one of the first things he liked about me was how outgoing I was, how I looked out for others.  So fast forward eight years later, and I feel like I've lost that person.  I don't know where she is.  I don't know when I lost her, but now I largely keep to myself.  Sure, having children and living in my parent's basement doesn't necessarily help with this, but even I have to admit I'm far less social than before.  I can't seem to figure out why, and I feel so incredibly guilty, like my husband wont love me anymore now that things have somehow changed.  But I also have to admit that I feel a little more like I did when I was 10.  I feel like "friends" are getting together and I'm regularly not involved.  I feel like I'm on the B-list so to speak.  It's really been bothering me over the past year, and lately I've been trying to squelch the pitty party I've been throwing for myself and try to throw a real party, with real people, and remember that it's more about what I'm giving to others than what I'm receiving from them.  I tried to invite some friends out for lunch today, and sadly, it reminded me of my tenth birthday when only one person showed up.  Today only two friends came, and even though everyone had a very legitimate reason for not coming (of about 10 invites), it still hurt.  Silly and high school dramatized as it may be, I feel like it's a reflection of me as a person, that I'm not fun enough to be friends with (not to devalue the two who did come.  That meant a lot).

Then comes Marjorie Hinckley to the rescue.  First of all, get over myself, right?  Absolutely.  Second of all, stop trying to prove something.  Who really cares?  I'm a good mom, I'm a good social worker and professional, I'm trying to be a good wife and decent person in general.  As long as I'm trying and striving, that's all that really matters.  I've been focused in the wrong direction, thinking about what I don't have, what qualities I lack that some of these other ladies have that seem to be so "popular" for lack of a better term, and again, who cares?  I'm me, and I like me.  I'm perfectly flawed just like every other mortal, save our Savior.  He loves me, and I need to stop judging myself by what I think everyone else is thinking (when truthfully they probably aren't thinking about me at all), and start judging myself by what He thinks.  I will continue to focus on doing more for others, and thinking less of myself, and I will simplify.  Clean out, declutter.  My home, my mind, my relationships.  I'm going to stop trying so hard to impress people who clearly don't care all that much, and start trying to be the best person I can be because that's who the Lord wants me to be.  

Thanks Marjorie!  I just love Sister Hinckley.  She was a hoot, and so right on!