Summer is Here!

Well, okay...not technically. The weather is still vacillating between cold and warm, the trees don't quite have their leaves back, and our community pool is still closed.

BUT...

We got a picnic table yesterday! Here's what it'll look like when I'm finished with it (sanding and staining and all)!



I could not be more excited. Now I know you're probably thinking, "A picnic table? Not so exciting." For me, though, it is! It's sturdy (which is a plus, since my boys are human wrecking balls) and it's friendly...it just makes you want to sit elbow to elbow with your closest family and friends. We had a picnic table when I was little, and I remember our family having cookouts, birthdays, holidays, and many other fun memories on it. I have wanted one for a while now, so that when the weather DOES finally cooperate, we can use it to make our own awesome memories.

Summer...here we come!

 

Note: You'll notice my page has a new look, and I finally took the time and figured out how to add pictures to my blog. I know, duh. So from now on they'll be a little more colorful :)

My Favorite Things

I've seen a few bloggers do this, so here are a few of my favorite things, in no particular order :)

• The smell of my kids after a bath


• Thunderstorms (non-tornadic)


• Fresh from the dryer bedsheets


• H&M - my new favorite clothing store (I first shopped there in London, and now they have one in the Mall of Georgia!)


• Chai tea


• Coke


• Stephenie Meyer - author of Twilight


• Sushi (Though I'm not that adventurous - I mostly like the shrimp, crab, or veggie varieties)


• Girl's Nights Out (these have become few and far between!)


• Going to the movies - and my Regal Crown Club card that gets me free movies and concession items from time to time)


• The smell of my husband's t-shirts


• The sound of my boys laughing together


• The beach...I definitely took it for granted when we lived in Florida!


• Speaking of Florida...Disney World!


• my church - I never thought I'd enjoy a pastor as much as Bob Coy...until I heard Andy Stanley!


• reading and writing (not arithmetic though)


• my iPhone (this one is purely frivolous, and I blame my husband :))


• hot baths/showers


• my parents

Showdown

It's me vs. every closet in my house.

Our neighborhood garage sale is coming up in May, so I'm desperately trying to sort through all the crap that has accumulated in my closets. This past weekend, I tackled the boys' closets. I'm still here, which is a good sign.

Today, I'm attempting my own closet, and I gotta say...it ain't looking so good. I have to admit that several months ago, my dear friend Kim came over and helped me organize my closet and bedroom (she does this for a living - professional organizing - and if you're in the metro Atlanta area and need someone to organize you, feel free to let me know and I'll get you her info...she's amazing). I kept it clean and straight for a while, but then it all went to pot again.

You see, I like to try and keep a clutter-free home. When I walk through my front door, it stresses me out to see stuff everywhere. This necessitates me throwing things in my closet from time to time, since that is the one room in my house I'm fairly certain no one will visit.

I also hate laundry. I usually manage to get it washed, dried, and folded. Putting it away...well, that's another story. I barely manage to haul it upstairs before I throw it on the shelves in my closet (this goes along with the not liking clutter part - when I walk in my bedroom, I don't want to see clothes on the dresser or the bed). Needless to say, my closet is filled with crap and clothes.

I got a crack on it this morning. Mike's side of the closet is nice and tidy now. Mine, however, well...I'm blogging...so there's your answer. I'm exhausted. I'm trying to muster the strength to get in there and get to it again. Maybe I will, or maybe I won't. My inspiration and motivation come in waves. I'm thinking it's going to take a tsunami to get me back in there :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

We recently returned from vacationing in Florida, and I have only NOW caught up on my cleaning and laundry, (and though I'm embarassed to admit it, my DVR'd tv shows!) which is why I haven't posted in a very LONG time!

Mike's school (he's a teacher in case I have any readers who don't actually know me, which is probably not possible!) just had their Spring Break, so we decided to take a trip down to Florida and visit our families. I went down a week early to catch up with my family, and to see my best friend AD's new baby, Charleigh (see previous post), who is by far the cutest baby girl I've seen in a long time! Mike drove down to meet us in Orlando, where we spent three days in fantastic weather with his family, including his brother and his wife, and their little girl Haley. Cody had a blast playing with Haley...he definitely wants to have a little sister, even though he loves his little brother, Tyler (whether we will give him one is yet to be determined...hee hee).

We did Magic Kingdom for a day and Cody got to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse and his new favorite, Pinnochio (my mom bought him the movie, so he was super excited to see him). Tyler latched on to Minnie Mouse during the photo op and would not let go of her! I think he had a little crush. We rode Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, and It's a Small World (which Cody has yet to stop singing to us). The best part of the day was the Spectromagic parade at the end of the night. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, my boys or me! I love the parade (and Mike can vouch for the fact that I threaten his life whenever he says we should skip it). It reminds me of my own childhood trips to the Magic Kingdom. We had an amazing time, even with Mike on his motorized scooter (still recovering from knee surgery and all!), which was absolutely hilarious to me. 

The following day we spent at his brother's hotel (he stayed at a Disney resort) where we played in the pool. Their hotel had a kid friendly water play area that was a huge pirate ship with slides and water shooting out everywhere. Cody loved it...Tyler, not so much. He pretty much just ran in circles around the pirate ship never getting more than 3 feet close to it. Apparently, he doesn't like water being sprayed at him from all angles...and I really can't blame him. We also visited the Downtown Disney Marketplace that evening and were able to see the space shuttle launch from there...and it was awesome. Cody thought it was so cool that he got to see a real rocket flying into space (although I did have to explain to him that it was not, in fact, the Little Einsteins). I was suprised at how long the sky stayed orange after it had already left the atmosphere.

We left the next day to return to my parents for one more day and then flew back to Atlanta (to gorgeous weather, thank the Lord!)

All in all, it was a great trip!

In honor of Baby Charleigh

My best friend Adrienne is having her baby...right now! She is in the OR right now having a c-section. I've said about a hundred prayers within the last hour, so I thought I'd spend my nervous energy blogging. What better way to spend this time than by telling Baby Charleigh what a great mom she has :)

Dear Baby Charleigh,

It's me, your favorite adopted Aunt Brocolli here.

First of all...I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! WELCOME TO THE WORLD!

Second, you have the best mommy a little girl could have. I've known your mommy for a long time now, and she is the coolest girl around. She will teach you so many things about the world. Did you know she was a naturalist? (That's doesn't mean she was a nudist or didn't shave her legs, it means she knows a lot about nature!) She also is awesome at every sport you can be awesome at. She's really smart, too (good at math smart)! She also loves to have fun (I'll tell you more about this part when you're a little bit older, just trust me on this one for now). But most importantly, your mommy loves Jesus with all her heart, and I know that she is going to teach you all about Him.

I'm so happy that you're here now. I can't wait to meet you and spoil you rotten, because Aunt Brocolli has two little boys, and they aren't nearly as fun to dress as I'm sure you will be.

Love you so much,

Aunt Brocolli

xoxo

Update: Baby Charleigh Elizabeth Huisman was born at 1:33pm weighing 9lbs. 5oz. and measuring 21 inches!

A little bit of balance...

A dear friend of mine got a card in the mail that said, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" on the outside. On the inside of the card it said, "When life gives you crap, don't make anything...trust me."

How very true.

Life has given me a little...ok, a lot, of crap lately...in the very literal sense of the word. If you don't believe me, just read some of my previous posts. So, I felt the need to balance out all of my "crap" talk with something a little more spiritual.

From time to time, when I'm trying to figure stuff out,  bible verses that pertain to my situation seem to spring up into my brain from nowhere (actually, I do believe it's because of the Holy Spirit, and they spring up because of all the many hours of memorization work I did during my Christian school days...thank you WA!).

Here's a few that popped up recently...kind of a "God's Promises" for MY every need:

Romans 12:1-2 - I was wondering what God's will is for a situation/is it my will or His I'm listening to?

Psalm 139 - I was just feeling down in the dumps...but God KNOWS me AND LOVES ME ANYWAY!

Proverbs 31 - I was struggling with what exactly it looks like to God to be a good wife and mom...sometimes I forget!

1 John 4:4 - God is bigger!

My mom reminded me yesterday of the verse "From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Luke 6). Nothing like your own mom to call you out! But I love her for it...because she got me thinking about the condition of my heart. When you speak, what does it say about YOUR heart?

Hope this blesses you in some small way...if not, I could always go back to talking about poop :)

Breakthrough!

Cody actually pooped on the potty last night for the first time EVER! (Yes, I'm writing about poop AGAIN)

Granted, it wasn't very much, and most of it wound up in his little underwear (how was HE supposed to know he needed to wipe?). He came up and found me in the office and triumphantly shouted, "Mommy! I went poopy in the potty!" To which I replied, "Get your shoes on, we're going to Target to get you a BIG PRIZE!" (Wonder what we'll do when he gets his first home run or 'A' in school?)

I know in the minds of those without children this is rather disgusting, and most likely not at all exciting. But for me, and I'm sure the other parents of toddlers who have done the potty training thing...this is HUGE! We have struggled with potty training for almost a year now, so this is such a gift. 

Way to go, Cody! I'm so proud of you!