Imagination

One of the most wonderful parts of my day is getting to pretend.
Weston is developing such a fun and silly imagination.

Today we brought a bug home from the store.
He had an exciting car-ride home with us, in which he was passed from Weston to Mom to Weston to Dad. He helped Dad drive the rest of the way home. Quite the trip for a little bug.
We pet him, said he was 'oh so cute.'
Then he had a delicious dinner of pizza crumbs..just what every bug loves.
Then he was left to wander and play on his own because Weston's 'Weston-size Bed' had to be put together and that is so much more exciting than a bug. Sad, but true.

Thanks Mr. bug for spending such a happy evening with us.

Expecting

Today, every time my phone rang I raced to see who it was.
My sister and my sister-in-law are expecting baby boys any day.
I am so excited.
No matter how many nieces and nephews join our growing family, this feeling will never, ever grow old. It is the anticipation of meeting them, the joy of their arrival, and the complete awe and beauty of seeing another little miracle from heaven.
Little baby boys, we cannot wait to meet you!

Sight

"No eyes that have seen beauty ever lose their sight."

~Jean Toomer

I went to the eye-doctor today. I have always been afraid of going blind. One of those crazy, unfounded fears of mine. Everything checked out okay for my prescription and such. Then at the end the Dr. asked if he could dilate my eyes to check on their 'health'.

I immediately started worrying to myself. "What if they aren't healthy, what if he tells me I'll be blind by the time I'm 30? What if, what if, what if."

Then I had to laugh at myself. I'm such a worry-er. So I stopped worrying.

I decided, instead, to think about what a blessing my sight has been.

Some of my favorite sights are:

Waking up to seeing my husband next to me. And his eyes. And his smile. And just him.

Walking into the boys room and seeing those adorable little grins and arms reaching out to be picked up.

A sunrise or sunset. They are so different, but equally beautiful.

Even better: a sunrise/sunset on the beach.

The snow covered mountains. They take my breath away.

Family. Every single one of them.

People hugging.

People laughing. What an uplifting sight.

A rainbow after it rains.

The first spring blossoms.

A clean room. A clean kitchen. A clean house.

Folded piles of laundry.

The view from an airplane window. (especially when they are clouds)

My boys discovering something new.

Daddies with their kiddos.

An expectant momma.

Couples holding hands.

A brand new baby.

My brand new babies.

Weston kissing and hugging his little brother.

Tave's scrunchy-nose face.

My hubby when he walks in the door after work.

My boys (all 3 of them) laughing together.

Family again. Parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles ~ I just love seeing all of them.

Anything that makes my boys happy.

I have been blessed to see so much beauty in my life.

(and still will be...my eyes checked out fine)

Cookies

Being a mom doesn't always come easily. I don't always make the right choices, or say the right things. Some days I just want my house to stay the way I cleaned it and I want to have time to finish my huge stack of unfinished projects.
But I never, ever regret putting aside all of the 'must do's' on my list and sitting down with my kids for some play time.

I realized today that I am happiest when I have helped my little boys to have a happy day.
When I make my day more about them than about me.

Today we played with play-doh. Weston used the rolling pin to make cookies. And then he baked them in the oven. No help or prompting from me. And I couldn't help but be proud of his accomplishment.
We had so much fun squishing and pinching and rolling blue cookies.

After a fun and laughter-filled lunch, I packed up these adorable little boys and we went for a walk. We haven't done that for months. It was cold. (so so so so so cold) But the sun was shining and we needed to get out.
We looked at icicles (I tossed in a mini-science lesson about ice, whoa, getting ambitious!), threw Mr. Incredible in the snow, and slip and slided on the iced-over snow patches.

I know I have a long ways to go, but today I felt like I was a good mom.
And that was a really really great feeling.

Hands

Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

Tave has taken to the piano. Well, really it's this mini piano with only four keys. But these four little keys make his day. And consequently, they make mine. He gives this darling smile and giggle. He could stand there all day - just pounding away.

When I look at his hands, I do see a part of heaven. I see my little boy and endless possibilities. I love when those hands reach for me to pick him up, when they wrap around my fingers, when they grab some of my hair, and when they clap in delight.

I love kissing each of his little fingers and wondering what good those hands will do.

And I do feel closer to Heaven.

The beginning...

I have had an on-going conversation with my sweet husband for the past few months. It's about how I want to be a better person, mom, wife, and well...basically I want to be better in every single aspect of who I am.
(I love how I can bounce all of my crazy ideas off of Jeff and he doesn't tell me I'm crazy or have too many things on my to-do list, or that I am being a horrible mom or wife or person. He just listens and encourages. He's so great.)
So one of the things I have been wanting to do is write in my blog-journal daily. Yikes, can I really do that? I don't know, but I want to try.
And this isn't going to be just any journal. This is going to be my Becoming Better journal.
One of the many many ways I am trying to become better is by being more optimistic. By seeing the beauty around me and recognizing the blessings I have right now.

I'm not gaurantee-ing a picture-a-day. But I will write every day and I will *try* to post a picture of the beauty I found in that day: the little things that help me to be a little better and brighter.

I was talking to my aunt and telling her I was late in starting my 'betterment' project. "Well, use this month (January) as your planning month and then get started in February. You just needed to figure things out."
So, that's what I've been doing: figuring things out. Pondering my goals and setting up a plan so I will succeed. And now I am ready.

Here is the beginning of a really fabulous year:
A year of learning and growing. A year of blessings and beauty.
A year of my life. One day at a time.

Christmas Eve

I have always loved Christmas.
The sights, the smells, the traditions, the service, the family-ness of it all. It is such a sweet, beautiful holiday.
One of my very favorite Christmas traditions was that all 5 of us kids would sleep in the same room together on Christmas Eve. It would take hours for us to go to sleep. Just as we would be drifting off, someone (hmm..Shawn, could this have been YOU? wink wink) would start laughing or whispering, or talking about what they were going to get. And then we'd all be awake again - wondering, wishing, and whispering.
Christmas Eve was definitely one of the best parts about Christmas.
This Christmas Eve was no exception. We had four of the five kids back in CA at my parents home for Christmas. (I can only imagine the crazy-fun we would have had if all five of us were together! We definitely missed you , Chels) We didn't sleep in the same room, but I could feel the together-ness of being under the same roof again. And as I drifted off to sleep in my dear husband's arms, I still felt the wonder of it all-- that magic of Christmas that hangs in the air. The magic that comes from giving and loving. And I wished that I could give everyone exactly what they may have been wishing for.

My first collage

I am learning how to use picasa and my new computer. I have yet to add my own photos, but this was just for fun. Aren't these pictures amazing?!

I love beautiful photography.

Enjoy.

I will try another collage soon!