Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Best Made Plans

We all do it. We make plans; we sit with our spouses, friends, siblings and parents and talk about where we’ll be in one year, five years, even ten years.

We envision new homes, new babies, fun vacations, new jobs.

Even before Matt and I got married we started ‘planning’ our lives – where we would live, when we’d get a dog, when we’d have our first child. Oh, we had a long list of things all planned out.

We planned for Matt make a lot of money playing basketball in Europe. We planned to live overseas for a few years and then move back to Colorado and buy a large home. We planned to have four children. We just kept planning… kept looking towards the future.

When those plans didn't work out we were disappointed.  Frustrated that things didn't go our way.

And along the way I had someone tell me “when we make plans, God laughs.”

I smiled, agreed, and kept on planning. We continued to sit and talk about our plans. In Europe we had more time than we knew what to do with. This is a dangerous thing.

Our conversations always drifted to “let’s just get through this year and then we will move back to the US, buy a home, start a family”. Sadly, all of that planning left little time for just enjoying what we had in that moment - the freedom to just be us.

No responsibilities, no bills, no schedule. All the time in the world to just enjoy each other’s company.

Spend hours just sitting at a local café.

Freedom to travel when we pleased (as long as Matt didn’t have a game).

Freedom to stay up late and sleep until noon.

Yet we continued to plan for the future. There were many times when we even talked about living in the moment and enjoying each day but then we’d somehow go back to planning.

What type of house we wanted, what we’d be doing for the next holiday. How would we afford to have children.

Fast forward four years and I have to admit I haven’t changed much. We still sit in the backyard and plan our future. Only now that future has changed. Our priorities have changed. I guess we’ve grown up a bit :)

And when I think about all the plans we’ve made over the last six years (yes, our wedding anniversary is coming up next week!) I know that many of the plans we’ve made and have yet to make will never come to fruition. Or if they do, it will not be on our terms.

When we make plans, God laughs.
God knew the day each of us would be born and he knows the day each of us will die. What we have in between is an opportunity to fulfill the wants God has as He lays out opportunities in front of us. It is the small things in each day that make us who we are and make life worth living.

But I continue to search for the grand deeds, the big events in my life instead of recognizing the small miracles and blessings. I know he has plans for me and they may not match up with the plans I’ve made for myself.

So as I sit her making plans (again) about moving back to Colorado, having a second child, finding my dream job, I’m trying to do better. To be better. To put my life and trust in His hands. To not look to tomorrow so much and live intentionally in the moment.

To live for Him

Sunday, July 17, 2011

My Daughter Hates the Pool

 After two weekends dealing with various illnesses we are finally all healthy again!  We had a great weekend and it was so nice to get out and not be stuck at home!!

We spent Friday night relaxing with some great friends.  Avery and Gage considered going for a wagon ride together but it was just too hot to be out for more than a few minutes.  


Saturday morning we had a nice time just relaxing and being lazy. 

We then headed over to a sweet little girl's first birthday party.  Happy Birthday Tatum!!

 The party was a pool party and Avery was not happy about being in the water.  I don't know why she doesn't like it... she enjoys bath time but put her in a pool and you'd think she was being tortured.

Saturday night we went out to dinner at Outback.  Avery had fun trying to color. It was so cute watching her try to hold the crayon like we were.  


Today we decided to try the pool again.  I really want her to enjoy the water and not be afraid so we figured if we keep exposing her to it she will get over her pool aversion.  She did a little better today but it was still a battle to keep her in.  She liked walking around the shallow part but I think it scares her when her feet aren't touching.

Any recommendations for getting a toddler to enjoy being in the pool??

Silly goose loves being thrown up in the air though :)

Swimming with daddy

As usual, the weekend flew by way too fast and I wish it wasn't already Sunday evening.  Oh well, thankfully vacation is right around the corner!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Etsy Sneak Peak

So I may have mentioned on facebook this morning that I am in the process of getting my Etsy shop up and running!  I am so excited for this new adventure, it is something I've been planning for awhile now. I actually wasn't planning on even spilling the beans that I was setting it up but I had my first sale this morning and I was so excited I just couldn't keep it to myself!

A few of my sweet friends asked me what my shop name is and what I will be selling.  While I'm not ready to do a formal reveal just yet, I thought I'd share with you a couple of the items I'm working on (and that are currently listed).

Stay tuned, more exciting news to come in the next month!!

Custom dish cloths




Chenille Burp Cloth Set


Monday, July 11, 2011

Averyisms

Okay, I'm going to keep this short and sweet with a bullet list and a few pictures

1. Avery has found her belly button!! Cutest.thing.ever.  She lifts up her little shirt, bends over and looks for her "button."  Because she has a toddler pot-belly she does have to lean forward a bit to actually see it which makes the whole thing even cuter.  She then wants to see ours. If you know me you may know I DO NOT like to have my belly button touched.  Totally creeps me out.  For her though, I'll do anything :)

2. I've started putting her hair in pigtails!  She finds this to be complete and utter torture so I give her her toothbrush (which she loves).  If I put a little toddler toothpaste on it she will be occupied long enough to tolerate the hairdo.





3.  She has learned to make a fishy face and stick out her tongue.  The fishy face is in steep competition with belly button search for cutset.thing.ever.


 4. We are finally giving in and installing child locks on all the cabinets.  I just cannot handle the tornado affect she has on our bathroom.  It has really gotten out of hand :) Oh, and the fact that she has developed a new interest in picking up the heaviest pots and pans in the kitchen.  Yeah, it is time.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

What gets me through the day.

Some things this momma cannot live without (in no particular order)


My life is chaotic...seriously! When you have an active toddler and a full-time day job life seems a little crazy at times. Every second I try to enjoy, breathe and not sweat the small stuff.....AND, I am lucky that I have a great husband and amazing family support!

1. Faith. (God and His love always gets me through the hard times)

2. My little girl’s smile and laugh

3. Caffeine. Everyone has a vice… I have a few. Caffeine is the one that gets my day going.

4. Blogger. To document my family and our lil’ life

5. My Singer sewing machine. Sewing helps me to unwind and is a great creative outlet for me.

6. Pinterest. I don’t think I need to rehash my pinterest love.

7. My Vacuum. I have a yellow lab and dark hardwood floors. Enough said.

8. A nice glass of wine (or two) in the PM (vice #2)

9. My husband. We are two peas in a pod.

10. My family. I don’t know what I would do without them

11. My metabolism (for the way I eat… I should be 300 pounds)

12. My parents’ cabin in Colorado. One of my two “happy places”

13. Chick-fil-a. Ugh, I eat way too much chick. See #11.

14. Iced Coffee. Hot brewed coffee in 100+ degree temperatures just doesn’t work for me.

15. A good book. Just started “The Help” and I can’t put it down!!

16. Aveda Hand Relief. Oh gosh, I love this stuff.

17. A good smelling candle to trick Matt into thinking that A. the house is clean or B. there is something yummy cooking in the oven. Neither happens very often.

18. Magic Eraser sponges. Truly are magic.

19. My (borrowed) Cricket. I love this thing. Need to get one soon!

20. Blue Bell Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (yes, this is my third vice)

21. http://www.incourage.me/ daily inspiration.

I am blessed beyond words....not every day is easy, I complain way too much and I am trying to work on that but at the end of the day, I know I am a very loved and blessed girl.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July!!  It has been so nice to have a three-day weekend!! We had a rough start to the weekend...  Avery had a stomach bug Thursday/Friday but seemed to be be feeling better on Friday night.  We had plans to get together with another couple for dinner on Friday so we figured we'd play it by ear and see how she was doing. 

She seemed to be fine, and after a little inspection (no this isn't the most attractive picture ever but Avery does this a lot and I think it is pretty funny so I wanted to remember it) and kisses she determined I was fine too...



Well, we were sitting at dinner with this couple (who are dating and in college) and I hear an awful noise come from the corner of the room where Avery is sitting.  Matt and I looked at each other and jumped up quickly knowing that noise couldn't be good.  Sure enough, Avery had the biggest diaper explosion ever.  In front of these two college kids.  They must have been mortified.  I will spare you the details but poor thing, it was just terrible.  If they get married and don't have kids, I'll know why.  Yes, it was that bad.

Even after all of the diaper drama from the night before we decided to head down to Matt's parent's house for the day to go swimming and just get out of the house. 

As always, these two were good sports during the car ride.

We stopped at Academy and bought Avery this little infant raft and let me tell you, this was the best $15 I've spend in awhile.  Last time we took Avery swimming I held her the whole time and she really didn't enjoy it.  With her little raft though I was able to lay back and relax and she had a great time!!

We headed back to Dallas Saturday evening and spent Sunday relaxing at home.  I've been fighting sinus/allergy issues and it is just too hot to do much right now.

Avery had her first Otter Pop.  It was love at first lick. She also wore her first bikini :)  Sweet little All-American girl!

 
She did not however like it when the Otter-Pop fell on the floor.  Is that not the most pathetic face ever??

We were supposed to barbecue with friends tonight but Matt caught Avery's stomach bug and then some... Poor guy, it's been a long 24 hours.  So, we're home and hoping to see the fireworks from our backyard.  We found out last year that our house is close enough to the lake that we can see the city fireworks.  It is still so hard for me to believe that a year ago Avery was so small and helpless and now she is such a big girl!!