Can you feel it?

Can you feel the buzz in the air? I don't know if it is the promise of spring or something else, but I feel such anticipation of something great about to happen...it seems like there are a lot of exciting things going on in people's lives & that many on are the brink of something wonderful . I am trying to learn how to enjoy the now and not to wonder so much about what is to come, but
that being said I am almost besides myself with giddiness for all the fun to come in April: a reunion of sorts with some dear friends, time with my sister & mom, celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary with my man and hopefully a lot of walks, talks & fun times with my friends! What are you looking forward to?

Time well spent.

Last week levi & I were in Spokane visiting my mom. We spent some time with my grandma, or grammy as she has always been known, who is 90 years older than levi. It isn't the best photo, but as you can see they only had eyes for each other. Precious.

Sunday

Sundays have long been my favorite day of the week, but now even more so. Since Roy began his new job he has been working like a madman. Which means every day of the week for 10 hours except for Sunday. Therefor levi & I love Sundays because we get dada all to ourselves the ENTIRE day. Levi just plain loves it, he seems to laugh & talk more, he says dada every other word & I think he just has more fun which is okay because so do I.

Sunday leaves more time for trying out new rain boots.

Snack time is more fun on Sundays.


Sunday leaves Mama more time for her coffee. I mean creamer. I mean coffee...I couldn't resist taking a photo of this, the sun seemed to be highlighting it so, and seriously I could not make it through a day with out this fine product.

Hope

As you can see I have already changed the look of this blog. In part because Spring is coming & with it the promise of a new season & I am taking that to heart in my own individual life too. The past year has had it's fill of trying times & I am looking forward to a season of hope, joy, & thanksgiving. I have a verse that sits on my kitchen window sill (which as the mother of a toddler you can imagine I read it quite often as I wash sippy cups & high chair trays through out the day) that reads : When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other...Ecc 7:14.
There will be many more trying times of that I am sure, it is just the world we live in, but I rejoice in the fact that Spring always follows Winter. Always.

Big Boy!

It is official, Levi is no longer a baby, he is a big boy! I wouldn't be able to tell you the exact moment the transition took place, but there is no doubt that he has entered the big leagues.

He is walking more & more although crawling still seems to be his preferred mode of transportation most likely due to the high speeds he can reach, he is exploring EVERYTHING, he is developing an intense appetite by which the quickness of how he feeds himself is truly astonishing to Roy and I who can barely get any bites of our own meal in our mouths, because we have to keep a steady flow of food on his tray, he is off the bottle, even his nighttime bottle, which we weren't sure how successful that would be since one of his first words was "ba" and he would begin to chant of the word as soon as we would mention getting him in his pj's, his sense of humor is developing he can crack up over just about anything & it is usually contagious to whomever is around, and his vocabulary is expanding to include: mama, dada, car, thank-you, knock-knock, cracker, ball, bath, book, bottle, nigh-night, wow, nose, up, down, yeah, and many others that we are unable to distinguish at this time.

We just love having him in our lives~ the joy he brings, the moments we share, and the way he shows us how special the small things of life truly are.

Family Portrait

My family portrait has changed. My dad,Wil, passed away on February 14, 2009. My family portrait will never again include him, although he will always be with us. My dad had been suffering for some time, he had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease which was caused from emphysema which was caused from years of smoking & working in an aluminum plant. COPD did not allow my dad to breath on his own, he was on 24/7 oxygen, his skin was like tissue paper due to years of taking prednisone, he no longer left the house other than the occasional doctor's visit, and he was in constant discomfort. The amazing thing is that he never complained once, I know he was disappointed that he was not able to golf anymore, he was sad that he couldn't play catch with his grand kids anymore, he wished he & mom could take one more trip to the Oregon Coast, but never a negative word. We are all so thankful that he is suffering no more~he has gone home to Heaven and is with Jesus~there he is whole, at peace and maybe even golfing. The fact that he is no longer struggling is such a comfort, but it does not mean that there is no sadness, it comes in rolling waves, a sudden thought that I no longer have a dad reduces me to tears, but it is soon replaced by the joy of knowing he can breathe again and that this isn't good-bye, but a see ya'later.

Keeping It Real.

Being real is so much harder than I would think..it is so easy to slip into superficial relationships that don't require work or even in conversation to reply that everything is good when it is not, because surely people don't want a truthful answer to that question right? I mean everyone has their own messes going on. That being said I have been making an effort at being real with people the last few months and Facebook went and screwed it all up.

There is a survey going around on Facebook where you are supposed to list 25 random things and post it for others to see...I followed directions and w/out really thinking about my random things I made a list quickly one day and that was that. I continued to think about my list long after I had posted it, or as my husband would tell you I continued to obsess over it, because I think I failed in being real, I mean who really cares whether I like to fill out forms or not, I feel like I wasted a perfectly good opportunity to share with old & new friends alike some insight into who I truly am, and also missed an opportunity to bring glory to God for how far his grace has brought me from my Really Messy past.

In the current Beth Moore, Esther, study I am doing she said today that "One of the most important parts of fulfilling our destiny will be transparency", because who can really testify if they can't identify with others. I hope to take this opportunity to remind myself that any situation, no matter how trivial, may be a chance to be more real with people and to share what God is doing in my life. I would love some accountability in this and who knows I might just amend my 25 Random Things.