A Thorn Among Roses

i stand in awe of the wonder of this creation of god's every single day. the beach to me is the epitome of perfection...i love the beach. for some reason, i hear god clearer at the beach. i see the wonder of god and all creation clearer at the beach. i take time to listen...and to see. i have spent thousands of hours at the beach in my life...it's where my family always went on vacation as a kid...and it's where we take our kiddos now to spend time together. the sunrise at the beach amazes me every day...how does that happen? i mean, i understand logistically how it happens, but seriously, how DOES that happen? god is so much bigger than i treat him sometimes. i mean, he stinking created...spoke it all in to creation. seriously...then, he breathed adam's first breath. and every single second of every single day he is passionate about me. why does it take me removing all the distractions to see and hear him more clearly? because i let the sound...the noise of the

one of the things that makes weight loss or food management hard for me is, well, food. i love me some good food. i don't mind working out. but i need my double chocoloate fudge in a waffle cone every now and then! i grew up celebrating anything good with food...birthdays, grades, vacations. and when sad things happened, we ate our feelings...funeral dinners, loss of the boyfriend, glosing first chair, getting benched in a game. so as i take time on tuesday to pay tribute...i think of food. seriously. these onion rings...they made my heart skip a beat when they were sat on the table. ahhh...greasy, deep fried onions with a gooey dipping sauce. yum. the night at the pier...the sunset was gorgeous and perfect...the homemade ice cream was more than awesome! the golden egg...any place called "the golden egg" is a greasy spoon, but what a fun place! brian got a cinnamon roll...we all did the big sigh. and my heart sings for an ice cold diet coke from the countain...not k

i got to meet my very first bloggy/twitter friend in person a few weeks ago...and i was so excited. so the deal was this...my hubs is certain that there are hot guys stalking me and my blog to meet me and steal me. so when heather from not a DIY life lived close to where me and hubs were, we met up! and as a bonus, i got to meet her ladybug!!! heather and i have prayed for each other and laughed together...and well, done a little bit of cyber life together. but a friend that prays with and for you, no matter where you meet them, is priceless.

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... hubs DID NOT leave me a tiffany & co "gift catalog" to look thru as he walked out the door to mexico city last week. i DID NOT hug and kiss the sweet blue catalog and look longingly at it, kinda wishing it would all come true for our 10th anniversary! jada DID NOT say, " 'i saw dog poop. i stopped and did not step in it'. i DID NOT do a little happy dance knowing i didn't have to clean up her shoes or tell her one more time to watch out for the bombs in the yard. a neighbor shot off a big firework in the sky...sof DID NOT yells 'whoa' and points then proceeds to jibber-jabber about it for several minutes! brooke DID NOT cut her own bangs while doing a cutting exercise at school bc she insisted on taking her hair down...apparently, some of her hair DID NOT get in the way and she DID NOT have a little hair cutting action right at her desk. she DID NOT do a decent job. i DID NOT find a "gift&

soccer season is always well anticipated around here... then, the season actually starts and the attitude of the b-ster flares on the field and it gets interesting! brooke gets tired and just thinks she should be able to rest...so her shoulders start flaring up and the pout starts to set in. lucky for her, grandpa was able to cuddle her and calm her down. then it's off to the field to kick around and play some soccer. crazy kid. this year was jk's first year playing...i didn't know what to expect, honestly. jada is my "watch" girl...she's not much of a jump in and do it kinda girl...but apparently, soccer is her thing! she was sooo cute and soooo excited! her fav thing...the pink soccer shoes! in the beginning, all the kids were running in a big circle around the ball and jada was staring at the birds and the people on the sidelines, with a smile, i might add. i yell from the sideline..."jada, run towards the ball and try to kick it in the goal."

in typical fashion, brooke did not disappoint. most kids would lose a tooth...sure, that's not a big deal. but the b-ster, well, she not only loses a tooth, but loses 2 in two days...while ryan and i are on vacation...oh, and did i mention it was her first 2 teeth? oh, and the tooth fairy apparently is fairly generous with her $1 per tooth donation...i can totally live with that...but the tooth fairy gave in! b lost one of her teeth on the school bus...bc she was totally showing it off to her friends...the teacher sure thought she did the right thing sending that tooth home with her. well, anyway, she's cute...a few front teeth missing on a kid {note: kid, not adult} are soooo cute. i love those smiles and the added lisp that comes along with missing some teeth. happy tooth fairy days...i think maybe i'll leave her a note and tell her i lost a tooth on the bus too and maybe i can make some extra cash for that new lens i want for the camera!

i am what some call "short"...i've lived 40 years hearing short jokes. if you've heard it, it's been said to me....remember that terrible song "short people got no reason to live"? yeah, i was in like 4th grade and kicked a kid at school in the ankle for singing that to me. i broke his ankle...no one ever messed with me again. i am 4 feet, 10 inches {almost}...and yes, i am aware that if i were one inch shorter i would legally be a "little person"...but i'm not. i also am NOT your grandma and i don't need to know that i am exactly her size...just so you know. :) i am a 40 year old woman who has to stop strangers in the grocery to get boxes from the top 2 shelves...i don't use any shelves in my kitchen above the first one bc i can't reach anything without the use of my "reacher"...some tall people call them spatula's or tongs, but i use them to reach the coffee cup on the second shelf. as for stools...i don't

seriously? am i the only one NOT on the phone? it's lunch and there's not phones at the table...did you not get the memo? nope...you didn't? ok, well then i'll just take a pic then. {love b's eyes...she's chatting it up with nana}

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... hubs and i DID NOT have the best time on our alone vacation. it was NOT awesome to finish sentences, eat when and where and what time we wanted. it was NOT awesome to kiss when we wanted to and not hear "eeeewwww. gross mom and dad." we DID NOT eat dunkin donuts for lunch one day...eating nothing but 2 donuts. we are not getting cholesterol tests after this vacation to ensure we are NOT having heart attacks. brooke DID NOT call this week on wednesday and said she had lost a tooth that had been loose for at least 3 weeks. i DID NOT ask, "would you like to write the tooth fairy a note and tell her mommy and daddy are on vacation and she could come on saturday when we all were together again?" b DID NOT reply, "no. i think i'll just take the money now and show it to you when you get home. seems smarter, mom."b DID NOT call on thursday saying she had lost yet another tooth at school that day...then

ryan and i were on vacation last week...and we really didn't think paige would mind us being gone all that much. after all, she's the teenager; the high schooler; the well adjusted, excited and well, teenager! turns out that when you get some news you weren't expecting, the ones that you need the most in life are mom and dad...and, well, we were away. i got the sinking feeling when i answered the phone and it was paige and she could hardly speak from sobbing. i was 800 miles away and couldn't hug her... we chatted. i cried with her. i cried for her. i supported her. i prayed for her. but i couldn't hug her. but when you get to hug them, it's soooo worth it! we drove straight from the airport to paige's softball tourney...to see the last out of the game. but when p came out of the dugout running {and i do mean running} and crying to me...every second of my motherhood was reaffirmed. she sobbed on my chest and i just held her. i was who she wanted. th

it has been one amazing week...i know you are totally tired of hearing about it, but i can't tell you how much it was needed. i got to do some things that were totally refreshing...sleep, laugh, date, walk, speak. we said good bye to the beach this morn...pretty sad, i must say. i got a tear... so, now i'm sitting at the airport...drinking coffee, using free wifi...and desperately wanting to get home to my girlie pies. i miss them sooo much! bye bye beach...hello girlie pies!

there are some very important details that i have found essential for a great beachie vacay when the kiddos are not tagging along... since we left behind the diapers and the water wings, i got a few fun little details to make the adult vacation super fun... every single drink needs an umbrella...this is actually my water for the morning, but doesn't it look great with a beach umbrella in it??? i'm telling you...umbrella's make the drink better! mini skirts and bright shirts...they are fun and i can't pull them off at the park at home or the softball games because, well, everyone would see my business and that's just not good. but when there's no diapey's to change or little ones to pick up, i can pull it off. good friends...enough said!!! a super cute coppertone baby beach blanket...and my fav neon flip flops! ...one super hot hubs! sandy beaches... and honestly, just time....to talk and laugh...and to not be interrupted. and time for me to remember how mu

we miss our kids...we really do. brooke lost her very first tooth... sofia is teething, cutting eye teeth and really wants her "my mommy" and "my daddy" paige is having to take charge of java... and well, jada is honestly, being spoiled to death alone with ryan's 'rents. we're still having fun... we've been boogie boarding...i can't believe i have been doing it, but i love it!!! outside of seeing the jelly fish and feeling a fish along my leg...and the sunburn on my back, it's been one of the funnest experiences on vacation! and we look good too! {insert giggly laugh here} it's the end of the week and we head home in only a few days...but we have soooo enjoyed our time here. but we REALLY miss the kids...and are gonna be glad to be back together, because we are best when we are all in one place.

i started following kayleigh freeman's blog when she was only a few months old. adam and aimee became part of my daily prayers and i just loved that little girl! so when they did the "give 4 kayleigh" drive, we were soooo in. i sent in a few things for aimee to be pampered and made a few donations for them as well. kayleigh at that point had been in the NICU 8 months...she was born 3 months premature...1lb 1oz! as a momma of a NICU baby, i just ached for the whole fam. about a week later, i got an email saying i had won package 3...i really didn't even know i had entered to win anything when i donated, so i was certain it was a joke. turns out, it wasn't. so now, this week, me and hubs {and brian and karen} are spending the week in the condo in sc that i won on "give 4 kayleigh"...and we wanted to honor a fabulous family, who simply tries to honor god in everything they do...even when kayleigh got her wings a few months ago, and continues to still!