Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Bella Boo


I was long overdue to upload photos from my camera. As hundreds of pictures flashed in succession on the screen, this one caught my eye. She was hunting for Easter Eggs...can you stand her intensity?! This is my Ella Bella Boo. My only little girl who prefers sweatpants and t-shirts over dresses. The little girl with the big hair and the bigger personality.

She is teaching me lessons by perfectly mimicking almost everything I do. She insists on being right, like me. She insists on running the show, like me. She can snap back with a little sass, like me. And she is a little too quick to point out mistakes, like me.

This is where I bow my head and blush with a little embarrassment and a twinge of shame.

Except more than anything else, Im grateful. Because it doesn't matter what I say, she will continue right on. But I know that she will notice what I do...and she will mimic that too. And hopefully she will learn that trying to be the best person you can be never gets old. And one day I will tell her all the ways she made me a better mom, a better friend and a better me.

Thanks Bella Boo, I needed that.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Drew on Ice

This boy loves to skate. I mean he really loves to skate. As in, I'm glad he likes it, but Im kinda wishing he liked it just a hair less :)

He wants to skate everyday, but has settled for twice a week. Sometimes I try for once a week and it doesn't go over so well. He cried for 45 minutes one morning because we weren't going to a free skate he likes. He had already skated twice that week.

He glides out onto the ice and it is as if he enters his own little world. He flies around weaving in and out of the other skaters. He'll race with Ella or wave to me, but lately he slides. Racing down the rink as fast as he can go and then suddenly he throws himself onto the ice to slide.

"Watch this mom!"

I wouldn't miss it, buddy.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Daily Dose of Cute

He is adorable and he knows it! He is beginning to run the show...pushing Tyler out of the way, coercing Drew to fetch him balls stuck under the car, and begging Ella for snacks and hugs. Never mind the hoops the adults jump through to please him.

 

Can you blame us?!

 

Monday, April 16, 2012

Dreams Realized


I barely slept the night before and when I did, I dreamed of being horseback with my girl by my side. I jumped out of bed Sunday morning with a smile on my face and butterflies in my belly - it was the day the dream would come true.

Ok, I admit to being dramatic, but only just a bit. I found a little backyard barn set ideally abutting conservation land. Four stalls are home to 3 horses and one little puff of a pony. Cocoa is her name and teaching kids to ride is her game. And Ella and I are in!

The first day went so well. We groomed, we tacked up, we rode and then cleaned up. She loved it and my heart swelled.

Me, my girl, and a pony....dreams really do come true.
Stay tuned for many more Cocoa updates to come, hopefully with the boys included too :)

 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

So Much to Say

It is always hard to start writing again after I take a break. Do I fill in the missing days & weeks, or jump right into today?

The past few weeks have had their unfair share of life moments you wished never happened. I've spent long car rides contemplating how people cope, how I can help, how to make sense of the senseless.

In the long run, I always come back to my kids. When nothing else makes sense, they do. And just thinking about them makes me happy.

So, Ill be back tomorrow with the happy stuff. My kids, pictures, stories of our adventures together - because it makes me happy :)