Fireflies and stuff.

We made it! We're here...beautiful Asheville, NC!!!

The flight went so much better than I anticipated...so many people willing to help out a mom by herself with two kids (and way too much stuff for one person to carry!) You just have to appreciate the man who offers to carry a car seat to your seat and then latches it in securely. And the person who makes sure Hadleigh doesn't run back into the airport because the noise of the airplane at the entrance scares her, all the while, I am trying to collapse our stroller to check gateside and keep Nathanael from falling over.

So thankful for our helpful flight attendant...and for Mom waiting there for us...she was the light at the end of the tunnel for me!

It is so good to be "home" ... I"m just soaking in the mountains, the trees, the green, the smells of this place that I love so very much. We went for a walk tonight and Hadleigh caught her first lightning bug!

Fun to watch the kiddos interact with aunts and uncles and grandparents...excited about our visit...will post pictures later!

Not for the faint of heart.

Being a mother, that is.

We had an unexpected trip to the doctor this morning for this little girl.
Not fun at all. She has a UTI...which is tough to diagnose until you get a pee sample which is hard to get from an almost 3 year old because it hurts.

But she did better than I expected. And hopefully in 10 days, this will all be behind us. (hmmm...could the pool be the culprit???)

I do not like going to the doctor. It surprises me how well I do taking my children for check-ups, shots, and the occasional illness. (I fainted once after having a TB test...the summer before I went to college...shhhh....don't tell anyone else!) So it surprises me that I can hold my child calmly without getting weak and light-headed when they have to get their shots.

I hate seeing my children in pain...and I am thankful that God heals and that He has gifted doctors to help ease pain and help in His healing.

What are you thankful for today?

Savoring this moment.

After being passed by two storms this weekend, I am finally enjoying a little afternoon shower.
(It is really depressing to live on the edge of town and to see all the storms on the horizon and watch them pass you. Like, by an inch. Not fair.)

Not a thunderstorm, but still, the rain and clouds are most welcome here!

And so I am sipping my Earl Grey tea and eating my Pepperidge Farm cookies (French vanilla milanos are SO good!) and thinking of what a great day it has been. Hadleigh and Nathanael have been great today... got some cleaning done, errands done...and now it's nap time and I can enjoy these couple hours and do something for me! (Oh, and I got the sweetest email from Brent, asking if I wanted to get a babysitter for Friday...so fun!)

I find that I really need ME time these days...a little time to clear my thoughts by writing, reading, scrapbooking...something that is just a little bit of an indulgence. Not much. Even a couple quiet moments with a cup of tea will do it.

What moment are you savoring today?

Splash.

We put Nathanael in the kiddie pool for the first time the other night. He loved it! He would splash the water coming out of the hose into his face and get the most bewildered smile on his face! (Too bad we didn't have the camera out while he was in the pool...and it turned out to be a very cool evening for Texas, hence the hooded wrap!)




Of course, Hadleigh is a pro at the pool...this year she can hop in and out of it so easily. She gets so excited and then slips and falls and just thinks it is hilarious. I think we need to get her a slip and slide. She loves to look at her footprints on the driveway too.

I love how simple life is for a child. So carefree. So innocent. So fun.

The fourth.

Happy Fourth of July!

We'll be watching the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular tonight!
Wish I could actually be in Boston to see the show...last year it was amazing!!!
Also lighting sparklers (my favorite), grilling hamburgers, and playing in the kiddie pool!

I'm thankful today for our freedom...how about you?