Family weekend in Boone

We had a wonderful, snow filled, fun filled family weekend in Boone. Irelynn cheered for App State and the Steelers at the game and loved yelling first down. We made it half way through the second quarter before we began freezing solid and walked back to the car. We had a great dinner at the Japanese steakhouse and then a great brunch at the village cafe in blowing rock. We also paced in some good shopping in king street. Katie is flourishing in college. She looks so happy and healthy and just good. Makes my heart happy ! Livie had a great time with giga and pop. 

Right now, I'm downstairs and everyone else is asleep upstairs. It's summer, so Katie sleeps in, Travis has been working late some, and my precious baby is sleeping better than ever. (although she was awake at 4am this morning). Time alone can be glorious! I remember a day when alone time was either boring or lonely. Now it is neither. It's time to regroup and be silent. It's something I never thought I would need. Now there are so many things that I could be doing, but writing has given me strength in the past, so I am making a conscious effort to get back into it. The challenges of everyday life sneak up on us so quickly, and we forget to prioritize the things that make life enjoyable. I get so caught up in making sure the house is clean, work is done, etc. . I want to make sure the house is clean, kids have everything they need, dinner is fixed, that sometimes I forget to look after what I need. Right now I need this... just to be.

Christmas 2013

Ok, so a lot has happened since the last post. New year's resolution... write more and do yoga. I think those two things will be good for my sole. Other than that, I plan to spend my years taking care of these....3... (yes, now there are 5 of us)... children. One is not really a child anymore, but I'm still counting her. Katie is at Appalachian State, Irelynn is 3 (almost 4) and Livie is 7 months and growing so so fast. Travis is working like crazy and doing his best to spend any other time with us. We were nervous to take Katie to college but she has thrived during her first semester. Although final exams were a little harder than expected, she made the Dean's List. Her favorite Christmas present was an ENO, which is a hammock. Yes, seriously, if you would have asked me 6 months ago what she would want for Christmas, a hammock would not have been on my list of predictions. Learning new things and exploring life, isn't that what college is all about. Irelynn is as clever and beautiful as ever. She spent the month of December picking apples. This meant pulling ornaments off of the Christmas tree. Her favorite gift was a spring horse from Santa. Although she was terrified of the very idea of someone coming into our house while she is sleeping, presents or not; she did like the end result. She also liked the many toys and beautiful clothes from Giga and Pop and the Barbie Dream House from Grammy and Papa. Live was really into the wrapping paper. She laughs and giggles and loves to be held. She is calm and has beautiful brown eyes that draw you in instantly. She is observant. She is already crawling and even pulled up a couple of times. I was so glad that this week was when she chose to crawl because I got to really see her change over the last few days. Christmas was hectic and wonderful. We got to spend time with both sets of grandparents and even the great grandparents. Excited to see what the new year will hold!

Value Life

Recently we had the opportunity to appreciate life. I guess we always appreciate it, but so many times we take each day for granted. Last weekend we said goodbye to our Rocky, our boxer. Well, this was Travis' boxer. His only boy, only son. Sometimes I think he loved that dog more than anything else in his life. Rocky was a good dog and and a best friend to my husband. As hard as it was to see Travis struggle with this, I do believe that for a while, it has made life a little clearer for us. We appreciate the relationships that we have a little more and we value each moment with the ones we love. We miss Rocky, but he is in a better place and our lives have been made better because he was it them. I know that when Irelynn still calls "Rockyyyyy" up the stairs or in the office Travis is able to smile about the times that they had together.

Irelynn continues to grow and change everyday. She is saying so many new words. She can practically repeat anything that we say. She picks up on everything, even some things I wish she wouldn't. "Oh gosh," she will say swinging her hands out to the side. She also says "I'm sorry" whenever she falls down or gets a boo boo. She has started hugging me when I get home from work and acting excited to see me. I think that's my very favorite part of the day, walking through that door. It makes the day away seem worth it.

Well, I guess that's it. Tomorrow is parent night at PCHS. We will get to trace Katie's footsteps through first-semester Junior year!! More to come...

Pretty

When you have a 16-year-old and a 16-month-old, the word "pretty" can take on so many meanings. It is so easy to convince my 16-month-old that she is pretty. She looks at her self in the mirror, puts bow after bow on the top of her head and just knows that she is a knock out! "pretty" she will say, referring to herself of course. The 16-year-old; however, isn't so easy to convince. What is it about teenagers that they have to compare everything about themselves to their neighbor. Self-worth is so often based on cute shoes or shiny hair, and another person's attributes often make them feel inferior. "She's so pretty," is what the teenager always says. No matter how many times she is told she is pretty, it is easier for her to see it on someone else. I would like to tell her that this is just a teenage stage, but in reality it will never completely pass. Although the many distractions that ocurr as we age cause us to steer away from our jealous comparasons, we often tend to base the perception of ourselves on those around us. What I want to tell her is...yes, maybe that girl's hair is shinier than yours, or her shoes are cuter. Maybe the other one is taller, or skinnier, or more athletic. But, neither one is better than you. And right now, they are looking at you and thinking that your dress is prettier, or your hair is longer, or your skin is clearer, or your body is better. Right now you are both looking at each other focusing on the other ones attributes. If you can find a way to continue to do that while also realizing your own, you will have it all figured out. So while some parents want to tell their kids that they are the best or the smartest or the prettiest. I want mine to know that they are the prettiest, smartest, best kid that I know. That they have something better than each person in the room, and each person in the room has something better than them. Notice the "pretty." Notice it and then let it pass as you would a beautiful flower or nice car. Don't strive to achieve HER pretty. Embrace the "pretty" of your own.

Happy Day!

The joy of teaching your child something new is like no other joy. Irelynn is learning something everyday. This weekend, she said so many words and did so many cute things, I don't have the time or energy to list them all. Today, we went to Nannie's house for her birthday dinner. She was ecstatic to see us all, especially Irelynn. Before heading up there, we tried to teach Irelynn to say happy birthday. When we realized that that was a little much, we shortened it to "happy day." She has been saying this phrase over and over all weekend. We all had a wonderful afternoon together. Irelynn has also been expanding her spanish vocabulary with Si, aqui, agua, and a few other words. Counting is really fun for her and we count everything with her. Animal sounds are pretty novel right now. She has been getting the cat and the cow sounds mixed up. She get's so into it though, it's priceless. Each day, she changes and grows more and more.

Melting Pot and More!

Katie had her Sweet 16 Birthday Party on Thursday night at the Melting Pot with 5 friends. They all had a great time. It was so much fun to listen to them interact with each other. Really takes you back to high school. She has a great group of friends right now and a sweet boyfriend named Teddy. They all dressed up and we drove them over there. We were there for like 3 hrs and they talked the entire time. We sat at a table for two beside them.

Irelynn stayed with her Pappa while we were at dinner. She did great. She has started crying when we leave, so I made Travis take her. She and Pappa played in her toy car and really had a great time. She is starting to doing so many things. Everyday it's something different. Like right now, she is sitting in her little chair singing along with the Micky Mouse theme song as she watches cartoons. We went to the pool yesterday and dunked her head. She loved it! She also crawled up the netting into the playhouse at the pool (with a little help). Sleeping is better. Wed and Thurs night she slept all night and the last two nights, she just woke up once or twice. She has started brushing her hair when I hand her a brush and she can point to her hair, eyes, nose, and teeth. What a smart girl!

Saturday night Travis and I took Irelynn and Hunter to chapel hill to eat and walk around on Franklin St. We got ice cream at Ben and Jerry's. Irelynn loved every minute. She walked and squealed. She was precious.