Me So Pretty

A friend of mine shared a website today.  http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2013/02/07/pretty-girls-making-ugly-faces-22-pics/ Go to it...you won't regret it.  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! The web page has pictures of pretty girls making really "ugly" faces.  I have no problem acting silly and not really caring what other people think of me and my crazy antics.  If you would've asked me to do this about 15 years ago, there would have been no way I would have, but now that I have had children, well, let's just say that I have no problem making silly faces for a crowd to see.

So, I share the website on my Facebook page and ask women to post their "ugly" faces in the comment section.  There were two ladies who actually did it.  Kudos to them!  I had other friends text me their picture, show me in person, and refuse to do it.  It got me thinking about life.

We are all beautiful just the way that God created us.  However, we have an "ugly" side too that rears it's ugly head in moments of panic, fear, anger, selfishness, and lack of self esteem. (Bless my poor husband and children who are subject to this side the most.  And maybe some drivers...if they could only drive better!)  When people show other's this side, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and sometimes in a state of having to ask for forgiveness.  Is this entirely bad?  I don't think so.  These moments allow us to be real.  When we find ourselves vulnerable, that is when God can move.  Sometimes it may mean asking for forgiveness, and other times might mean offering it.  Doesn't our Maker do that with us?  I can only hope that I am moving forward in practicing, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13)

Ok, so I have to share my pretty girl ugly face picture.  It is a scary sight.  But, I am being vulnerable...

Light the Night (and the embers under my butt)

The thing about New Year's resolutions is that we make them with the anticipation for something great...and the end result is a few strong attempts, some mediocre ones, and many short-lived results.  At least that's how it is for me.  Thus, here goes my "strong" attempt at starting up my blog again.  *Just a note...this was NOT started on the 1st (thank you, manual timestamp!), but let's disregard that point.  We can all pretend, can't we??*

Here is a short synopsis of what the rest of 2012 held...and ALL of 2013...

September-December 2012:
These months were full of busy-ness (what months aren't??).  We bid farewell to a dear family in our squadron, I started an ongoing journey that I might be able to share one day (let's just say, God had MANY plans for us resting on this pivotal moment), met up with a high school friend who choreographs for the Sesame Street USO tour (perk to getting us backstage passes ;)), got to see my bestie and the International Ballofon Fiesta in Albuquerque, celebrated the kids' 2nd birthday, spent Thanksgiving with my inlaws, first Christmas in San Antonio and then in Oklahoma.

2013:
This year was full of growing, fun, and family.  We spent lots of time with friends and family and visiting various parts of the US.  I started my handmade/resale business, we visited Albuquerque again, bought a different car due to a total loss accident, had friends visit us, participated in extracurricular activities, visited family in the midwest, visited my inlaws and met our new nephew, Kip led a team to graduation in the indoctrination course of his job, visited my grandmother's house in Kansas, took a trip to Disney World, saw old friends back in Georgia, threw a smaller birthday party for the children, cooked our own Thanksgiving dinner, and went to Oklahoma for Christmas.  We also had our share of difficulties.  I lost my grandmother (the one I mentioned in You Only Live Once), and my other grandmother was moved to a nursing home.

This year, my goal is to document life.  I am almost afraid to admit that my memory is not in good standing.  Many important and not so important things have been forgotten with only (hopefully) pictures to remain.  Sadly.  I don't want to forget moments that I shouldn't.

As the new year is celebrated with fireworks (for the ENTIRE neighborhood...never seen anything like it...even in Washington, D.C. on the Mall), I want to light up the year with memories.

Fun with Fingerpaint

Today was an art day for us!  My kids love to paint, but there is always the fear of the brush or their hand going into their mouth.  Most fingerpaint is considered non-toxic and there are plenty of "edible" recipes for paint.  However, I wanted to use something that they could really eat.  Vanilla pudding was the answer!  It can be colored easily (using food coloring or more natural means-berries, spinach juice, etc), and there are no worries if they decide to put it in their mouths.

 

All you need is vanilla pudding and food coloring.

 

Mix together to make many different colors:

 

 

Now, let the fun commence!

 

 

And, of course, we HAVE to taste it! 

 

 

 

Edible fingerpainting is fun!

 

 

 

 

And, for the results...

 

 





 

 



 

 **If you are looking for literature to read in combination with the activity, check out Mouse Paint.  It is all about colors and how they mix to form new colors.**

 

You Only Live Once

Happy Grandparent's Day!  This is a picture of my mom's mom (my grandma, my kids' great-grandma).  Unfortunately, this is only the second time my kids have seen her...and hopefully will not be the last. 

As I started thinking about the past 3 weeks or so, a reoccuring theme kept going through my mind:  the value of life.  While visiting my grandmother in the small town she lives in (and at the retirement home she lives at), I felt strangely serene and relaxed.  I almost never feel that way, being that I am a pretty high-strung person and happen to have twin toddlers I am around 24/7.  AND, I did not have Kip around to help while I was there.  For once though, I realized that I did not have a lot of responsibilities (ie-cleaning my house for guests to come over, making it on time to meetings or playdates or workout sessions, overbooking our schedule with promises and commitments that were good yet stressed me out).  I focused only on relationships-talking with my mom or grandma, visiting and laughing with other residents in the retirement home, sitting with nothing to do (gasp!) but watch my children play and entertain, and making sure we visited the horses and deer everyday.  I don't know if it was the small town atmosphere that I miss the most or the feeling of a life not surrounded by tv, internet, shopping, and heavy traffic.  All I know is that that was one of the most relaxing weeks I have ever had in my life as an adult.  As my children sat on the laps of my mother and grandmother while they raced around on scooters (yes, like the ones from the Scooter store), I had an epiphany.  THIS is what the value of life was all about: family, enjoying moments, and making a difference in someone else's life.  You see, two days before Asher and Abby were born, my grandfather passed away.  This past week would have been his birthday.  All of my memories with my grandparents involved special moments.  They were as simple as sitting on the dock watching my grandfather fish to waterskiing and playing pictionary (and winning, of course ;)....my grandmother and I were a ruthless powerhouse pair). 

What is important in your life?  I have come to realize that none of the memories I have made that hold a special place in my heart have anything to do with material objects.  They all have to do with RELATIONSHIPS.  Life is meant to be enjoyed...but it is best enjoyed with others.  Make friends and keep in contact with them (hello, Facebook makes it so easy to do this!), get to know someone new (I just met two new friends this past week-while getting a pedicure and while playing at the park), invest in the lives of others (my father's neighbor puts everyone's newspapers right by their door every morning-so thoughtful and very simple to do), and take time to laugh and live (races on scooters, singing and dancing to silly songs with your kids, doing something adventurous you've never done before-skydiving???).

Where are your shoes going to take you?  What shoes have you worn?  What will you make of the moments you are given?

Micah 6:8 ESV    

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Beginnings...

We all have to begin somewhere. Well, this is the reason for this blog being started.  I had a friend tell me that I should blog our life and my ideas.  I was incredibly flattered by that suggestion.  I feel like the normal, run-of-the-mill type of wife and mother.  But, because of her encouragement, and aspirations she saw for this "soon-to-be" blog, here I am...

First of all, I guess I will give a long story short version of our background thus far:
girl (me) meets boy (hubby) via MySpace (yes, that was popular at one point), falls in love and gets married (yada yada), wife moves to be with husband (met in one state, he moved to another because of military), both happy in careers, decides to have children, no success, help :), and viola! TWINS.

Hubby deploys when babies are 6 days old, wife/mommy very tired and stressed, hubby comes home, hubby leaves, comes home, leaves...etc etc....gets orders to move to San Antonio, gets to come home every night, adjusts to life as a family, and that brings us to where we are now. :)  BTW, our boy/girl twins, Asher and Abby, are now 22 months old.

Here we are now:

 

 

We are incredibly blessed to have met (being from Massachusetts and Oklahoma), and we know that God is the reason we are together, have stayed together, and why we have two beautiful children. 

 

Because of a person's encouragement, we start new beginnings.  We would not have met, gotten pregnant, bought a house, made career choices, joined in activities or led groups, started blogs if it hadn't have been for the encouragement of someone. 

 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:11-Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.