A Very Good Night!

3 kids + 2.5 hour wait to see the big man in red + 2 days before Christmas at the mall = a FUN night!!

I would not think the above equaled to a really fun evening, but surprisingly it did! We made a last minute decision to brave the crazy crowds around town and especially at the mall, to visit with Santa. Abigail and Mitchell were beyond ecstatic to get to see Santa and sit on his jolly old lap! We had actually been to the mall earlier today with Nana and caught a peek at Santa, but due to the time of the day and naps quickly approaching for the boys, we had to bypass the lines and head home. Abigail was so disappointed to be so close to him, but not get a chance to sit on his lap and tell him her wishes for Christmas and how good she had been this year. It broke my heart to see her little face, so full of disappointment, but putting on a brave look since she is the older sister. I called Steve later in the day and told him what had happened, and being the good Daddy that he is, he agreed to meet us at the mall after work to fulfill their wish.

We found out that it was a 2.5 hour wait to just get in line and almost turned around and went home, but just couldn't disappoint them again. So, we took our pager in hand and ventured on to eat some dinner and wander through the very packed mall! We were prepared for some meltdowns and tears, but everyone had a great time and we just enjoyed the wonderful company of our children. Even Hayden, who went well beyond bedtime, was good as could be! It's those kind of spur of the moment, fun evenings, that make you just sit back and smile!

But my favorite part of our family date night had nothing to do with the decorations at the mall or even Santa himself. It had to do with a conversation over dinner with Abigail, that made my heart beam with love and awe. We were talking about all the excitement of Christmas and getting to see Santa and Abigail stopped me and said "Mommy, but you know that this is not what Christmas is all about, right?" I told her yes, I know, but prompted her to tell me what she meant. She then began to explain to me that this is all fun, but the true meaning of Christmas is about baby Jesus' birth and that God loved us so much that he sent his only son for us (these are her exact words!) I sat there in complete silence as she continued explaining to me about Mary & Joseph's travels to Bethlehem and their troubles once they arrived and about how Jesus grew into a man and then how he died. We talked about the crucifixion then and she asked some questions about what happened and then told me "Mommy, don't be sad though because Jesus rose from the dead so that we could live forever with him & God. And they are always in our heart and that is what Christmas is all about, having Jesus in our heart".

I have heard many messages and sermons about the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but hearing that story spoken from the lips of my 5 year old daughter, is hands down the best version I have ever heard! Then to top it off, I asked her if she learned all this at church and she said no, she knows all this from Mommy and Daddy! It's always amazing to know your children are listening to you, but to know she is listening and taking in the most important information we could give her is priceless!

This is the end result! It took all of 1 minute, but was so worth it!
My 3 blessings!

So, I will have to say, this family date night will go down in the books as an amazing evening, in more ways than one!

Momma is out of commission

It is never fun when Mommy is sick, but when Momma is down from a surgery and cannot do anything, things really get interesting!

December 3rd I had a major abdominal surgery and I have a recovery time of about 6 weeks. Because it was an abdominal surgery, I am unable to do much of anything. No cleaning, no lifting, bending, twisting, no picking up Hayden. It has been tough, especially not getting to pick Hayden up, and then there is the pain factor that I have been dealing with and trying to manage.

I have to say though, I feel so blessed. I have an amazing husband that has really stepped up and has been doing a fantastic job, even being completely out of his element. He took off work for the past 10 days to be here at home to not only take care of the kids, but to also be my personal nurse, making sure I took all my medications on time and helping me get up and around. He has also had to take on my other roles, and has been doing laundry, cleaning and keeping up with the rest of the things around the house. I am also blessed with great friends, who have all chipped in to bring us meals every other day and to also call or text to check on me daily. What a wonderful feeling to know how loved you are!

I still have a long road to recovery ahead, but each day I feel stronger and more like myself. Steve will be heading back to work tomorrow, so I am on my own, but again with the love of our friends, I will not have to take care of the kids. Several friends have volunteered to take the kids during the day, as I am still very limited in my movement and activity. I know that I am one lucky woman and that God has blessed me in abundance with an amazing family and wonderful friends and that is the only way that I have made it through the past week and will continue to recover!

Reliving my Youth

Tonight was such a fun night for me! I played in my first high school alumni basketball game in my hometown and it was a blast! And I now actually have the privilege of saying that I played in the Inaugural Carroll County Lady Panthers Alumni Game and hope to make it an annual tradition!

Basketball was my life when I was younger. I started playing in elementary school and by middle school I lived and breathed basketball and that love for the game continued on throughout high school. I was on the varsity team my freshman year and by my sophomore year I was a starter. I was blessed to have some God-given talent on my side and athleticism, so that led me to be quite successful and came out of my high school career with numerous awards and honors. But all that pales in comparison to what I was able to experience at tonight's game.

Tonight I got to play a game I love, and haven't played in years, with fellow alumni that were out to have a good time. Some that I had played with during my years in high school and others that had graduated ahead of and behind me, that I was playing with for the first time. But the best part is that I got to play in front of my husband and children and it was awesome! I heard Abigail and Mitchell cheering me on from the sidelines and heard their sweet voices yelling "Go Mommy!" and "Just do your best Mommy!" And I saw my husband giving me thumbs up and full of pride as I ran up and down the court. Gone were the pressures of scoring and winning that I had experienced during high school, and in its' place were the immense feelings of gratitude and love.

The kiddos and I before the game

All the Lady Panther Alumni and coaches

Me attempting to still have a shot and getting to wear my old number again!

I am so grateful that I still have the ability to get out there and play and also that I get to share it with my family. Abigail even said, after watching me, that she no longer wants to be a cheerleader but now wants to play basketball, that was music to my ears! I hope that I am blessed to play again next year and can continue to show my children that if you put your heart into something, you can always make it happen. I didn't think that 12 years later I would be able to hit the basketball court again and am so proud that I did!

Gatlinburg Mini-Vacation!

We have never vacationed this time of year, but I have to say that it may be my new favorite time to have a little getaway! We left for a fun-filled 5 days and 4 nights in the beautiful Great Smokey Mountains Friday and just returned last night. We also did something completely new to us and vacationed with 5 other families, 4 of which we had never met before! The trip is an annual event for a good friend of mine that I have made at the gym and they were down a family, so she invited us to go along with them and it was one of the best times that we have had vacationing with others!

The chalet we stayed in was amazing, nestled on top of a mountain and had all the amenities you can imagine, including hot tubs, expansive decks overlooking the woods with rockers and swings to enjoy the view, a huge 19 foot TV screen that dropped down from the trees and fireplaces all over the place.  It was also gigantic, a 6 bedroom/6.5 bath chalet, which made a perfect spot for 6 separate families. In all there were 12 adults and 16 kids that ranged from ages 16 down to Hayden at 13 months. A large group of kids, that would seem to be chaotic, but they actually all got along great and entertained each other.

The entire trip was basically about relaxation, which included two full days hibernating in the chalet. The kids ran around and played non-stop and the adults were able to eat tons of food, watch football and play cards. But we also made time to see some sights that are unique to Gatlinburg.  We visited the Titanic Exhibit, ate at the Apple Barn, spent a day at Ober Gatlinburg, browsed the shops of downtown Gatlinburg, and of course did some outlet shopping! It was the perfect amount of time to be away, coupled with great company and a good mix of activity and downtime.

Watching some college football on Saturday

The kitchen with all the grub!

Beautiful view from Mt. Harrison

Our family at the top of Mt. Harrison (Hayden is zonked out on me!)

We all enjoyed our mini-vacation and loved getting to spend time away from the hectic everyday life we can sometimes get overwhelmed with. It was also nice this time of year, where the holidays are upon us and with that comes even more craziness than usual. The kids enjoyed making new friends and being out of their daily routine and Steve and I had a great time getting to spend some time with other adults, but also getting family time with the kids. We hope that we will be able to make the trip again next year and have the opportunity to make more memories with a fun group of people in a beautiful setting!

Some things never get old

When it comes to your kids, any of the "firsts" never get dull. We have watched our older two children learn to walk and experienced all the excitement and elation watching them wobble and teeter and finally take those first steps, and now we are getting to go through the experience with Hayden and we are as giddy as when we first watched Abigail and Mitchell.

We have been anxiously awaiting Hayden's first steps, knowing that he was building up his confidence to step out and try it on his own. He has been cruising around furniture and walls for months now and lately has been a wild man with his walker, but had never ventured out without a safety net, until tonight.

Oh, those first steps are precious, whether it's your first or your last. The sweetness of seeing their faces light up, knowing they have done something new, is the best sight. Hayden was standing at the island in the kitchen and wanted to get to his walker that was a few steps away, instead of going into a crawl to get to it like he normally does, he reached out and 1...2...3 did it! He took his first independent steps! We all started clapping and praising him and he plopped down with a huge smile on his face and started clapping for himself. He had no idea what he had just done, but he sure was liking all the attention! And to make the moment even sweeter, was seeing his big sister and brother just as excited as we were, they love experiencing these firsts as much as we do!

Little Hands

I love little hands. I love how they fit so perfectly in my hand and it's one of those things of childhood that I never want to forget. I want to imprint the feeling and sight of holding hands with my kids in my memory forever. It is something that we probably all take for granted, but sometimes I am reminded on just how special this simple act is and I can savor it a little bit more.

When it's time for Abigail to get on the bus, Mitchell will go up with us because he loves to see the bus. We stand there and blow kisses to Abigail while the bus is pulling away and then on the way back down to the house, he always holds my hand. His little hand just reaches right up and grabs on to my hand and we just casually stroll down the street, usually with him rambling on about something that he saw or has recently done. I love that still-a-little-chubby hand holding on to mine while we walk and talk.

Then when it is time for Abigail to come home, I usually go meet her about halfway up the street by myself and as soon as she sees me, she instinctively reaches for my hand. And then I get the wonderful experience of holding my girl's hand while we walk back home and she tells me all about her day at school. Another special moment in my day, which may seem small and trivial, but very important and fulfilling for me. I love that my big girl still wants to hold my hand!

And of course Hayden, he is still very much in the hand-holding stage and I love it now that he is trying to walk. He wants to hold on to your hand or your fingers to practice his new found skill. He is still very wobbly, so he is holding on out of necessity, but I still cherish it! I love looking down and watching his very round, chubby feet as he balances and shuffles around, holding on to my hand for all the support that he needs.

No, it's not my hand, but I love watching them hold their Daddy's hand too!

I guess I am a little sentimental today and I can see the metaphor in this very simple, everyday act. I am going to enjoy every minute I have with my kids right now, while they are still little and love walking and holding my hand. And then one day when they are bigger and they don't want to hold my hand, I hope they know that I am always here for them and that I will always love to walk and talk with them and that I support them in every aspect of their life. I am their Mommy and my job of holding their hand, whether actually doing that or just figuratively, will never end and will always be something that I hold near and dear to my heart!

A Decade

A decade. 10 years. 3,648 days. This is what I am celebrating today- 10 years ago was my first date with Steve and it was a date that changed both our lives forever! It is so hard to believe that it has been 10 years already, but on the other hand it doesn't feel like it has been that long at all!

When we met I was just a 21 year old college kid and he was a recent college graduate, trying to get his new career up and running. He took one look at me, with my tattoos and short shorts, and said no way will I date her, she is a party girl! Now true, I was still partying quite a bit, but isn't that what you are suppose to do at that age? We hung out in several group settings over the next few months and finally turned up the flirtatious chat during several bonfires with our friends in the month of October. At the prodding of our close friends' Manny & Cassie, who were newly engaged, we had a dinner with just the four of us and that is when the official date was made! Steve approached me on the way to my car and asked if I would like to try this on our own, the whole date thing. We made plans for the next night and I was beyond excited!

We had an amazing first date, the best I had ever experienced. Steve was very prepared for the evening and had our date all planned out, however, he had wanted to go to PF Chang's, which at that time was brand new and did not accept reservations. When we arrived there was a 3 hour wait and we both said no way. After several different stops we settled on the revolving restaurant at the top of the Ramada Inn and enjoyed a wonderful dinner overlooking the lights of downtown Cincinnati. The conversation never had an awkward lull and hours had passed before we were ready to leave. We then followed our dinner up with a stroll through Sawyer Point, and even though it was chilly, it was a perfect end to an already incredible night!

By our second date we knew that we had met our soulmate, the one that God had made for each of us. The love that we share is one with God at the foundation and built on trust and honesty. Steve is truly the other half of my heart and soul, as well as my best friend and I am blessed to have shared the past 10 years with him. 10 years ago today I had no idea how much that one date would change the course of my life and from it my dreams came true. I married a wonderful man that loves me deeply and unconditionally, and he made me a mother to 3 beautiful children and he works hard so that I get the privilege of staying at home with them to watch them grow. I can only look forward to another amazing 10 years!