8 years with you

8 years with you, John and never a dull moment. Here are my top 8 memories/experiences with you since being married! (in no order of importance...)

1. Moving into our Newport News house and living with you for the first time. Since we never lived together before getting married, this was a HUGE experience for us! You carried me through the front door like such a gentleman!

2. Celebrating every holiday with you as a married couple! We are a team, and holidays are always better with your best buddy by your side.

3.  Going to Goodwill to buy furniture and decor for our house when we were newlyweds. We didn't have much money, but we did the best we could do with our finances at the time. (The furniture was hideous, but we didn't know it at the time.)

4. All the trips we took to Lowe's. It seems as though there is always a home improvement project going on at our house. In our first few months of marriage we did everything together, including running errands. I remember holding your hand as newlyweds walking up and down the isles of Lowe's...so in love!

5. Going to Europe with you. It was a business trip on paper, but we had more fun than most have on business trips! We ate lots of good food, drank good beer (you more than me), and saw tons of beautiful cities!

6. Sushi. We enjoy it more than any other meal. It's our celebration food!

7. Watching you become a dad for the first time. You were a natural. You made it look easy!

8. Watching you become a dad for the second time. You love our two girls in a protective, fun, adventurous, and generous way!

Cousins

Cousins are awesome, just ask Avery! She had a BLAST with Sam and Stella when they came for a visit! They flew home yesterday afternoon, and she has already asked about them a few times :( I didn't grow up seeing my cousins a lot because of the distance between us, and unfortunately it's looking the same way for Avery and Lucy. Instead of focusing on missing them, and being sad that it'll be months and months before we'll see them again, we are going to focus on how much fun Avery had with them, and talk to her about the fun things they did together and the nice memories they made.

The good, the bad, and the...

Since becoming a mother 2.5 years ago, I've learned a lot about myself. I've seen my strengths, but mostly my weaknesses at work. I wish I could say I was a perfect mom, I'd even settle for a mostly perfect mom, but I am far from that!

There are many days that I feel as though all I've done is double as a milking cow, wipe butts, and keep two little girls alive. Ok, the last one was a little dramatic, but it's true some days! I miss the days when I was just responsible for myself. What I would give to run errands on my OWN schedule without a screaming baby in the back, and a toddler who may or may not pee her panties in the middle of Target if I forget to rush her to the potty before we leave.

THE GOOD: I try my hardest to soak up sweet moments with my girls, and enjoy the day-to-day tasks. I love looking at them and think that their 'mine'! I get to enjoy watching them learn and grow each day instead of someone else doing the feeding, changing, and teaching! Being a stay at home mommy is a blessing, and I am so thankful for this time!

THE BAD: I get really impatient with them (especially Avery) when they act their age. How dare Lucy cry for no reason, and what is Avery thinking throwing a fit when she doesn't get her way?! (insert sarcasm) I snap easily some days, and don't show them how deeply I love them.

THE...: I have moments of 'What the +^%$# was I thinking having children??!!' I feel so incredibly inept, and the furthest thing from capable some days. I 'look' (aka read fb statuses that may or may not be an accurate portrayal of their lives...) at other mothers who seems to have it all together (and they have more kids than I do!), and wish I could have 1/18 the composure they do. I don't recognize my blessings on these days, and instead I play the victim. It's ugly.

I shared this with my small group the other night, and people were so encouraging! Everyone has 'suck' in their life, but thankfully we have a God who is SO SO SO SO SO much bigger than these pesky problems we face on Earth. Amen for that! Today I am going to live in His grace, because apart from that...well, my everyday would be THE BAD and THE ... moments.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

Life is better with others

I have always felt as though life is much sweeter when shared with others, whether it's family or friends! I love being around other people, and am in a much better mood overall when I spend time with others. God has really blessed us with some great friends in VA over the last 8 years of living here! Since becoming parents, this concept is even more present in our lives! These friends lighten the load, and are a great sounding board when I have questions about parenting. We love and miss our families, but our awesome friends make life pretty sweet!

 Friends strawberry picking

 Guys from our small group at one of our socials

 'Seashell' with the girls

 Claire and Katey with their girls

 The Bible study I go to Sunday nights

Avery and her two favorite guys: Ethan and Kai

Avery with her buddies at her 2nd bday party

BC life

Life sure has changed since having kids. I call that life BC - before children. I hope what I'm about to say doesn't upset people. In no way am I saying that I regret having kids, or that I don't love them to pieces, but life has definitely changed, and if I'm being honest...it's much harder and complicated.

Since we are in the toddler and little baby stage, there is very little spontaneity in our lives. Avery's schedule is pretty open, with the exception of 3 hrs in the afternoon when she takes her nap, but Lucy's schedule is pretty tight. If we go places (especially with both of them) it's been planned out.

Vacations sure have changed, too! We went to Mexico twice, Europe for a few weeks, NYC and other mini beach vacations here and there BC. The only places we've gone with kids (and really just Avery because we haven't been on a vacation since Lucy was born) is NY and FL to visit family.

I miss the days of hanging out late with friends, not having to be home every three hours to feed a child, and I miss most being able to do things with John being carefree. I know that we'll eventually get back to that place again, but let's be honest...it'll be a while!

But you know what? I have gained SO much since becoming a mother 2.5 years ago! I have learned a lot about myself, my marriage has been strengthened, my patience has been tested, and I have experienced a love that is as close to unconditional as I will ever experience this side of heaven.

I am thankful for my BC days. I'm glad God had different plans for us, and that we didn't get pregnant when we wanted to. I'm actually thankful that our three pregnancies prior to Avery didn't work out (although they were so painful to go through!) because it gave us the gift of TIME! We were able to spend more time together as a couple, and grow before adding kids to the mix. Marriage is hard enough!

But I'm even more thankful for my AD days (adding Dorrs)! I love my two little girls with every fiber of my body!

 Europe summer 2008

 Mexico summer 2009

 Camping with friends fall 2006

NYC winter 2009

Mother's Day 2013 with my gals

Brown eyed sisters

A weekend of celebrations and fun

I'm coming off a high! I had 6 days of fun in a row...watch out, world!

Last Wednesday our small group had an ice cream social, and my bowl of coffee ice cream with candy toppings and chocolate syrup was delicious! Thursday was my birthday, and I got to have dinner out at one of my favorite restaurants with BOTH my parents and John! Friday John threw me a kick butt masquerade themed birthday party. Saturday John and I went to another favorite restaurants for sushi lunch. Sunday was Mother's Day. And finally, John took Monday off so we got to spend the day altogether. Ahhh! All that quality family time made this girl's heart happy!

I turned 30 last Thursday, and I've been thinking about how I want to make 30 a great year! There are a lot of things on my list, but at the top is growing closer to God, stregnthening my relationship with John, and mothering Avery and Lucy with patience, love, and kindness. It's overwhelming just typing those goals out, but under God's direction I can do it!

Here are a few pictures from my great week!

She just couldn't stay away...

So after 3 weeks of my mom leaving, she returned for a visit! She is such a blessing to me and John when she's here and my girls (I know Avery does, and I'm assuming Lucy does, too!) just LOVE her! I'm glad my mom will be here for my 30th birthday, and Mother's Day next week! Here are some pics of Nona in action...