Why I Love Blogging

Why I love blogging Reason #217:


Stumbling across a post from the past (as in 3 years ago to be exact) can give you a HUGE case of my cup runneth over...


It can remind you that not so long ago you had a husband who was gone for months on end and you were doing your best just to get by.  Let's face it sometimes that was as simple as finding the will to put on a happy face for a certain little 3 year old.  At that moment in time it would be impossible to know that 3 years later it would be hard to even remember what her tiny voice sounded like.  


Which brings me back to why I love blogging.  I wouldn't want to go back to that time 3 years ago.  No sir...it was rough and I'm not a fan of not having my hubby around.  But thank goodness for video and captured moments.  It means I can re-visit my sweet little Carter anytime I want to...all I have to do is press play...(click here to see what I mean, it's the video at the bottom).

Happy Day Donuts

Yesterday we decided to take our little girls for a spur of the moment donut breakfast and trip to the zoo.  Those two things together have a way of making the day feel just a bit more happy...

The tiniest thing can make all the difference...

 A few brightly colored sprinkles...

Or milk sipped from a paper carton...

Little things that can transform an ordinary Monday into something a little more special.  Speaking of special...I would like to introduce you to Emerson's "smile"...

Anytime she realizes your trying to snap her picture she quickly busts out her best grin...

Highly entertaining to say the least (especially when she goes all out and accompanies it with the head tilt)...

Oh Happy Day!

Matters of the Heart

This past weekend we made our way out west where the ground is as flat as a pancake...

My mom, Lyndsay and I joined up for a little road trip...

As the daughter of a football coach we moved a lot over the course of my life.  The summer before I started Kindergarten my dad decided to try his hand at the oil business and we landed in Midland.  It became "home" for the next 13 years.  It was a happy place to grow up but eventually those Friday night lights became too much for him to resist and he followed his heart right back into coaching.  


We've lived a lot of places but for me Midland will always be the place I mention when people ask, "Where are you from?"  It may not be my "house" but when I walk into the Nix's I remember what it was like to be a kid there...shooting our cap guns, jumping on the trampoline, and playing basketball.  It's nice to have a place to go that feels familiar and has been around for about as long as you can remember.


Speaking of memories I realized something else this past weekend.  As I walked in and hugged a friend I haven't seen in about 25 years it dawned on me that the heart has a memory of its own.  Maybe a special little corner that is reserved for one of your very first childhood "friends"...

    
Stefanie's mom and mine were best friends long before we were ever born.  According to my mom I have Stefanie to thank (or maybe she does) for potty training me before I was two.  I don't remember a lot about being little girls together...but I do remember thinking she was so pretty and a sunny morning that we gathered eggs together.  What I'm getting at is maybe the heart remembers things our mind can't. As we grow life gets filled up with all sorts of things and memories of being "little" seem to fade.  But as I hugged Stefanie my heart seemed to know just how much she meant to me all those years ago...

It was a privilege to get to spend the weekend with her.  I still found myself thinking, "She is so pretty".  She also has some of the most beautiful sisters you've ever met and a little brother who will make you laugh.  They are some of the most gracious people I have ever met and I loved them immediately.  It was a weekend I won't forget and one I was so very grateful to be a part of...

May every sunrise hold more

P R O M I S E,

and every sunset hold more

P E A C E.

~Blessing~

Lately...

Cue the jazz hands and Grease music 'cause Summer Lovin' is in full swing around here (Carter and Emme with their very best buds Hudson, Claire, and Jaden)...

We've had plenty of Chik-Fil-A outings (where baby dolls are free to come along)...

And shades are mandatory...

I made my way to Austin for a "Big Girls" weekend to celebrate the birthday of this dear friend...

It was fun...

Really fun...

The sunshine is a welcome addition to any outdoor activity.  The girls took in a sand volleyball match and cheered their little hearts out for their adored Aunt Kim...

I could post a pic of her looking amazing in her bikini but she would kill me...so moving on...we also soaked up some sun at Sea World...

Where Emme had the chance to get up close and personal with the love of her life...

She was completely mesmerized...

So far our summer is delivering plenty of smiles, sunshine, singing and dancing...we could totally give Grease a run for it's money.  Happy Monday!

See Jane Read

Every once and a while your kids do something that knocks your socks off.  Lately my have been flying because Carter has just gone nuts when it comes to reading.  I always feel the need to say this is in no way something I have helped her accomplish...to be honest I'm not exactly sure how she got so darn good at it.  All I know is listening to her now confidently read chapter after chapter of the American Girl books is in a word amazing!




I love that she LOVES reading.  It reminds me of a certain someone who will remain nameless that invited her best friend in the fourth grade to sleepover and then suggested they go to bed early and read.  Way to go Carter-Roo we are so very proud of you!  




The more you read, the more things you will know.  The more you learn, the more places you'll go. ~Dr. Seuss

Movie Night

Tonight we had movie night just the two of us (and I don't mean Nate and I).  I got to spend the evening with my favorite five year old and had the opportunity to introduce her to one of my favorite movies (an oldie but goodie)...

I knew the singing and dancing would be right up her alley.  She was also pretty fond of the popcorn and sour patch kids.  I can't think of many was I would rather spend my Friday night than with her (even if she did fall asleep before the movie was over).


As I scooped her up and carried her to bed (stopping along the way to rescue "Lamb" who had been accidentally forgotten and lay haphazardly on the bathroom rug) I was just overwhelmed by how much I love her.  Lately I feel like there are moments when my girls are driving me a little nuts.  We've definitely hit the "quit touching me" stage.  Or, in Emme's case, the "screaming at the top of my lungs because me sister took the toy I was playing with" stage.  Nice though how a Friday night movie can put things back into perspective.  It reminds me that sharing things with them (popcorn, candy and a piece of my childhood) is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

Emme + Elmo = Love

Elmo is a bit of a mystery to me.  What is it about that furry little monster that captivates tiny people?  I don't know what his secret it but I do know my little Emerson is smitten with "Eh-Mo"...

Luckily her big sister has outgrown the little guy and is happy to share her very life like toy with Emme...

 I don't ever get tired of hearing her little voice say "Elmo", there is a very emphatic "O" at the end...

Elmo also gets lots of kisses...

But that's not all...this guy also has some sweet dance moves...

Which brings out the other dancer in our family...

And if all of this is not solid proof of Emme's love for the squeaky little Muppet just hang in there until the end of this video...



Ahhhhhh....young love.  It doesn't get much sweeter!