Greet the day.

Onto page 54 of my book (I decided to go for the 'random' selection style)
GREET THE DAY.
She goes on to explain that how we begin the morning is what sets the tone for the day.
& that in some cultures, greeting the sun is part of spiritual practice, a way of beginning in gratitude and awe for the new day we've been given.

So Tuesday morning, we went to playgroup. And the sun, it greeted us.

No one knew it, but I was in total awe that morning. In awe of my son, and how he has changed. The last time I brought him to this park, he poked around in the mulch... we spent time swinging, and he walked around the playground.
Today. was. different.

It was like the park was his personal adventure land.

Where he explored, from one side, to the other.

He wanted to CLIMB. And that he did. He went right up those stairs.
And with my stand by assistance, he climbed the whole thing. Again and again.

Maybe next time he can do the slide by himself :)

And before long, he wanted to do it by himself. And I had to take a deep breath, and let him.
So I stood next to him, pretending like I wasn't on full 'catch the falling baby alert'..
and let him do it.
All. by. himself.

Before I knew it, I had a very tired baby on my hands.

After a few chocolate animal crackers from one of the playgroup mommy's...
we went home, for a nice, long nap.
:)
Happy Friday.

A big ole Easter post.

What would Easter be without baskets filled to the brim with candy treats such as Cadbury Eggs (thanks momma).. new toys like this shiny new boat, and plastic eggs? :)
After a much needed nap secondary to an early morning, we got ourselves together, and headed out to enjoy Easter Sunday.

F A M I L Y.
Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts.

"Bringing up a family should be an adventure, not an anxious discipline in which everybody is constantly graded for performance."

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."

"Family means putting your arms around each other and being there."

"A baby is something you carry inside you for nine months, in your arms for three years and in your heart till the day you die."
C O N G R A T S to Rick & Lena, who are now expecting baby #2 !
:)

"The family is where children and vulnerable family members should be able to go for safety and support."

The new lil pup :) Awww...

I'm pretty sure we could have fed an army. Literally.

Easter egg hunt !!

Little bitty rain drops were falling....

As Forrest Gump said..
I was RUNaaang.

and running....

and making you think I'm not going to run again..

there I go, again.

It was an early bed time, for all of us.
Happy Easter, from our family, to yours !!

anger is a curved blade.

Remember that water table I mentioned?
Well, he loves it.
Last week, while Jason was at work late, we went on a little porch cleaning frenzy.
Yes, we. Jordan and I. Me and Jordan.
We came outside, propped open the door, Turned the radio up to a little less than neighborly friendly level,
grabbed our brooms..
trash bag at hand..
and we scrubbed.
Jordan swept...
I got on my hands and knees with a brush and soap and water..
and scrubbed. Until my shoulders burned.
Jordan joined in, too. He made perfect little circles in the soap with his hands.
Of course, a long bath followed. For both of us.

But I'm so happy we did it.
This kid has been on the porch everyday since.
Today, it's rolling around his basketball, and splashing in the water.. and running over to me every 2 minutes to come sit in my lap.
Yesterday it was a complete soak fest with elmo boat in hand.

I had the cutest 80 yr old patient the other day.
Who told me a story about her husband, how they met, how they fell crazy in love, got married at the age of 17, had a baby right away...
the troubles the faced, the happiness that always kept them afloat.
She lost him 3 years ago.
You could still feel the heartache inside of her.
She cried. I cried too.
As she finished her stories, and I was on my way to the next room, she motioned me back for a minute.
She said, please take this home with you.
"Live everyday like it's your last. Because you never know when the person you love the most will be gone. And take it from me, the saying 'you don't know what you've got til it's gone'... it sure is the truth."

Which brings me to how much I love this song. If you scroll down, you can hear it on my playlist.
"You can spend your whole life workin’ for something
Just to have it taken away.
People walk around pushing back their debts,
Wearing pay checks like necklaces and bracelets,
Talking ‘bout nothing, not thinking ‘bout death,
Every little heartbeat, every little breath."

"People walk a tight rope on a razors edge
Carrying their hurt and hatred and weapons.
It could be a bomb or a bullet or a pen
Or a thought or a word or a sentence."
-Brett Dennen

Now to our 2nd favorite part of the day, nap time.
:)

Pray for Happiness.

Today, we woke up earlier than usual by about 2 hours, to drop Jason off at work so we could attend playgroup.
Playgroup is when the mommies get to kick off their shoes, sit on the cool grass, and let the kids play while we enjoy a fresh cup of joe, and watch as all of the little personalities mix.

So today, my book suggests praying for happiness.
My favorite part though, was she suggests asking for it directly. Because we usually want what we want because we think it will make us happy, but we forget to ask for happiness directly.
Tonight, I will pray for whatever will make us happy. Without knowing what it is, I'll leave it all up to Him.

I have to admit, possessions make me smile, and I very much like nice things. But when he makes that face, it's an instant release of endorphins. Because I smile and I laugh, and I just cannot get enough of it.

"Happiness is the dawn before the chorus - the quiet expectation that wonderful things will happen. Joy and sadness are equal partners and both have a place of recognition within the heart. Neither is more powerful than the other. They must co-exist like day and night."

I think happiness and fun co-exists when you and your loved ones are in perfect harmony. I don't think it happens by luck or chance. For some, I think it's pursued. For some I think it comes natural.

Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Only we can decide how we view our lives, and how we choose to respond to all the events in our lives.
"This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk the forest and be part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy."
Susan Polis Schutz

Today, there was an Easter egg hunt. Jordan came upon an egg, opened the egg, dumped out the jelly beans, and ran off with that egg.
He chose what he wanted to do, and he did it confidently.
And I was proud of him.

Sharing some happiness. At the good ole water table.
Which was so nicely, donated to Mr. Jordan today, from the Midkiffs :)

At 6pm, we headed to gramma Joyce's to go for an evening wagon walk around the neighborhood.
Daddy had yet to see Jordan's face light up when his wagon comes out of the garage.
And when he did, I think little endorphin bugs flew out of his ears.

Remember this quote? It's a popular one...
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain."
I think it will remain one of my favorites.
No matter how hard things are, or how easy things are, we will keep pushing forward.

Tonight, we colored eggs.

So there it sits, a basket full of brightly colored eggs, labeled mom, daddy, Jordan, and Lilly.
A family tradition that will be carried on for a very long time.

Tonight is ending and I'm feeling fulfilled.
Today, we made our own happiness.
We set aside frustrations and things we cannot change and we did something silly and fun, because we can.
And those things that seemed frustrating?
They fizzled away just as fast as the dye coloring for the eggs did.
And you know what? I washed it all down the sink. So they're gone for ever.

There's just something about a bright patch of flowers in the middle of no where that results in a real sense of tranquility.
With that image in my head, and a sleeping baby in his crib, I think I'll say my prayer now.