Happy Birthday Little Sister

You always were just a little bit cuter...

A little more fashionable...

A little more inventive...

A little stronger...

A little tanner...

A little taller...

Your teeth always were just a little bit whiter...

You always were just a little bit crazier...

A little more beautiful...

A little bit of everything I always wanted to be! I love you!

A Trip to the Pool

I think the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder has never been more true. After Nate was missing from our lives, for what seemed like a very long 5 months this past year, the last few months of having him home has been, for lack of a better word, AWESOME! It really is amazing how much Carter and I both look forward to the moment "Daddy" comes home everyday. Our faces both light up and a new energy enters our home. So, yesterday on his way home from work Nate called and asked Carter if she would like to go to the pool. The craziness that follows is one tiny little two year running frantically for her swim suit and all the other necessary gear for a trip to the pool! I am so fascinated with the way her chubby little self has turned into quite a leggy little lady, especially evident when she has her tiny hiny squeezed into a swimsuit! Her excitement is contagious and we all have a bounce in our step as we head off to Oak Harbor's one and only indoor pool. It is unseasonably warm inside which makes for a nice escape from the damp and chilly weather we endure every day. Carter cannot wait to shed her sweatsuit and shoes and heads straight for the water.

She loves it and I love watching her as she enjoys her new favorite game which is a splash war with her dad.

My heart feels like it could burst as I watch them playing together and am reminded that in what I know will only feel like a few short months Nate will be gone again. I try not to dwell on it too much, but it is in moments like this that I am reminded of the huge void that his absence creates. There is a spot in our hearts that is just empty without him. It makes us stronger as a family, or at least this thought is something positive to hold on to, we appreciate each other in a way that is only possible when you have gone without. I cherish these moments and hope that they will be the ones that we are reminded of on the days when things seem hard. They give us something to remember and something to look forward to...I can't ask for much more than that.

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Dad! It's hard to believe you were ever this small...

Not at all hard to believe you were ever this cool...

A little hard to believe you ever looked like this...

So easy to believe you loved me...

Took care of me...

You made me who I am today...

I love you dad!

Debbie's been a friend for life.

My sister and Debbie and I spent this last Friday night together. We were all snuggled up with blankets, pillows and a nice cup of Starbucks hot chocolate at Oak Harbor's finest drive in movie establishment, The Blue Fox. It was a carefully planned outing. We decided early on that hot drinks were a must and were hoping to accompany them with something iced (butter cream to be exact) from the local Safeway bakery. We were more than just a little disappointed that the only enticing cake was 3 tiers high and looked as if it would serve at least 20 people. Wanting some sort of treat, without the guilt of devouring a whole cake between the two of us, we decided to fall back on an old friend, Little Debbie. She's seen us through many a day.

She was a welcome familiarity in school lunches. I could always count on a swiss cake roll to help me "unwrap a smile" even on the really tough days. My mom was the kind of mom who let us eat things like Little Debbie's, Oreo cookies and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. She never tried to trick us into thinking that a Graham Cracker was a cookie. This made us very popular, especially with our good friends the Nix's. They went on a Little Debbie binge every time they came over, the proof was wedged in the cushions of our couch in the form of empty wrappers. I was always quick to remind them that those Little Debbie's were for our lunches, but they never seemed to listen...

Lyndsay, Jayson, Me, Laynce, Kim and Clint

I love my mom for putting swiss cake rolls in my lunch. I love the fact that while sitting and waiting for 27 Dresses to parade across the screen, as I sat all warm and cozy next to my sister, just taking a bite out of a Little Debbie brings back a flash of so many memories. My mind briefly wanders down the path that leads to where that roll of chocolate and cream is headed, which is straight to my hips, but even the thought of those extra 10 minutes I'll need on the treadmill can't wipe away my smile.

B-O-W-L spells FUN!!!

We had one of our best holiday's yet this year! Largely due to the fact that we were given the gift of being able to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas at home this year. It was so nice to not load ourselves up and travel half way across the country...and we were so grateful that our families did! Nate's Dad, step mom and brother all spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with us.

My family was then able to come and spend a couple of weeks with us for Christmas. We all just enjoyed spending time together, something we don't get to do a lot of with everyone living all over the country. After a nice big breakfast one morning at our favorite joint in Anacortes we randomly decided to go bowling! We had so much fun, and I have the pictures to prove it! I know they're going to hate me for this...but here you go!

A big thanks to all of our family who came to visit and made us feel so special! We love you!

Merry and Bright

Christmas through the eye's of a two-year old is a spectacular thing. Nate and I had the priviledge of explaining every aspect of the holidays to this little person who knew absolutely nothing about it. She bought into it all hook line and sinker. What FUN! Every day there was the anticipation of opening her "cadvent" (or some of you may know this one as the traditional advent calendar). We had several, somewhat apprehensive, visits with Santa.

We put forth our best effort in explaining Jesus' birthday, it may have lost a little in translation with no moonwalk or balloons to solidify the concept. She did have a great first hand explanation of what Christmas is really all about. Our church does a really cool Christmas pageant where all the kids dress up and participate. Our munchkin and a couple of her friends were three little lambs. I could not stop smiling as my cotton covered cutie roamed around the sanctuary.

Then comes the shopping, which I'm not ashamed to admit is my FAVORITE. Finding all kinds of little treasures to make her eye's light up was more fun than I've had in a while. On the list of favorites, a new bubblegum pink trike (which she hasn't quite mastered riding yet), a mini-karoke system (this girl has got some pipes), and a barn complete with all the farm animals needed for a great game of make believe Old MacDonald.

Our activities over the holiday's included one which I hope will become a yearly tradition for us. We had a cookie decorating party with several of Carter's friends and their parents. The result was some deliciously overly iced cookies for the kids to leave out for Santa! YUM! We had a lot of fun and it was a great way to kick off Christmas Eve.

If you need me...I answer to MOMMY!

So...I'm not sure where the need for this is stemming from, but I have a pretty good idea. It started, as most of my fits of creativity do these days, as I was trying my very best to drift off to sleep. I was caught up on the most exciting part of my day which just happened to be doing a "potty" dance for my two year to the tune of La-Cu-Ca-Ra-Cha. After spending the better part of my day in a hyper state over tinkerbell underwear and as many special treats as I could muster for even the smallest drop of pee-pee in the potty I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I couldn't help but think of my mother. She was me once. But, I really don't ever think of her that way. Young, slightly frazzled, pretty even without make-up, and completely devoted to potty dances, markers, playgrounds, playing kitchen, and reading books.


My Mom and I not so long ago...

So I'm realizing that where I go from here is where I see my mother now. And I think even more than that I'm realizing where I go from here is something I've never put a whole lot of thought into. I think in a lot of my scenarios my life didn't play out past 25, the unchartered territory of children and motherhood and reaching thirty was something I knew nothing about and my brain just didn't go there. So, I turn 27 at the end of this month. My husband just turned 30. And as I stared at the reflection of "mommy-me" in the mirror, freshly showered, no make-up, hair brushed (but no time to be dried) I wondered where I was going. Which is how I arrived, wide awake at midnight when I should have been fast asleep, at the conclusion that I would start a blog! I have a website, it is my best attempt at some sort of Left Brained creativity. But, I love to write...I forgot that, but I do. So, I think that I will give myself this little space to share what is going on with our cozy little threesome which currently resides in what can only be described as picturesque Whidbey Island.

The grayness of the sky sometimes tends to threaten a sunny disposition, but we try not to let that stop us from enjoying the view and appreciating a pretty awesome part of God's amazing canvas. I've always been a planner...but I sort of like this new realization that I don't have much of a plan for me. As I watch this baby turning into such a beautiful little girl right before my very eyes I feel completely reassured Someone else has a plan for me...I'm just along for the ride.