Lately...

Lately we've been...watching the snow fall and shoveling the driveway.  Eating lots of Cuties because they are our favorite winter treat, and catching some snowflakes with our tongues.  Sometimes the everyday dull moments are the very best!

Twirling

Each day after work I pick my little man up from Grandma's house and drive home to await the arrival of my girls.  He tells me about his day and the fun things that he did as we slowly inch our way home behind another one of the elementary school buses.  It's a peaceful part of my day.  It's a time when I actually live in the moment as I listen to Doop's entertaining take on the day, and each day as I listen to him I get to observe.  As I stop the car every hundred feet or so behind the school bus, I get to sit back and watch.  On one particular corner on the way home I watch as a mother approaches the bus every single day at the same exact time to help her disabled son get off of the bus.  Every day she greets the bus driver with a smile and every day she visits with him as her son slowly clambers down from the bus.  Each day she places his walker in front of him and she waves goodbye to the bus driver as she follows her son up the slope of their driveway.  On two occasions I have watched her son hurriedly pack snowballs together as his mother finishes up her chat with the bus driver, and when she turned to follow her son into the house he softly pelted her with the snow.  Both times he laughed at his own actions and she shook her head, and both times I smiled.  

Just a bit farther ahead on the same road I watch another mother.  She walks to the bus stop each day arriving at about the same time the bus does, and she waits for her son to get off.  At this particular bus stop there is what seems like 25 children that exit the bus, and each day she stands with a smile on her face while she waits for the crowd of kids to scatter finally exposing her son.  Just like clock work when he finally shakes free from the mob, he runs to meet her where she is waiting to give him a hug and a kiss and they walk home together with his hand in hers.  Every time I witness this it makes my heart smile.  I envy these ladies.  I envy the mom's that they are.  Being a mom is all I've ever wanted since the time I was told it was highly likely that being a mom wouldn't happen for me, and now it's my turn.  Over the course of this past month I have put my 2012 One Word into action.  I have officially made my first Change of the year.  I have accepted a new job.  I made a choice to change my job to one that will allow me to have more mom time.  I'm going to be one of those moms.  One of those moms that I see getting their kids off of the bus.  One of those moms who cooks dinner, and one of those moms who makes a home for their family.  I'm also going to be a daughter to parents who could really use some help right now.  I'm going to spend less time at a job, and spend more time in the places where I need to be right now in my life.  Change is good, choice is powerful, and I haven't made a decision that felt this right in a really long time.  This is the first change of many to come this year.  I have many more plans for myself and changes I want to make, but this one is big and this one affects all of us.  It's a change that we're all excited about, and it's one that has us so happy we're twirling!

Honoring a Hero

Last week my little man had the special honor of holding a flag in the funeral procession of a fallen hero.  Tragically, six police officers were gunned down in our local city, and one of them did not survive.  My little boy was one of many who stood outside in the cold to honor this hero and the many others who serve to protect us each day.  Although I was not able to attend, Doop's Grandma and Grandpa reported that he stood proudly holding the big flag as the many police cars and fire engine carrying the body of the fallen officer slowly passed by.  He didn't just participate in this amazing out pouring of support, but he was affected by it.  For days following this somber event, he continued to talk about the things he saw and felt.  He just couldn't understand why this young man had to die.  He couldn't understand why his wife and two children are now left without their husband and father.  It was just too big for him to wrap his little innocent mind around.  There were a couple of things that he did get though.  He understands the courage that it took for this officer to complete his job and ultimately die for it.  He understands that we should be grateful for his service as well as for the many others who serve each day to help keep us safe.  He understands that two little girls no longer have their dad to watch them grow up and experience the things that he gets to with his own dad, and because he understands these things he has included Officer Francom and his family in his prayers every single night since he witnessed and felt all of the things he experienced during the funeral procession last week.  A true hero has been imprinted on his heart, and the small flag and pin that he was given are not the only things he brought home with him that day.  He brought home a perspective that he didn't have before.  He brought home compassion for the families that have been so deeply affected by this event, and he brought home a love for the officers that work so hard on our behalf.  He also brought home a bit of pride in his heart for the community that we live in and the fact that he was able to stand side by side with so many to say thank you for the overwhelming sacrifice that this family and many others have experienced.  I'm so proud of him, and I'm grateful that he was able to participate.  He will be holding on to everything he brought home as a reminder of this day. I hope he remembers it forever. 

First Snow

Our winter has been really weird this year.  It is so warm one day and cold the next.  We finally got our first snow though.  It's only about 2 months behind, but hey better late than never.  It was only supposed to be a light dusting, but we woke up to much more than that.  The kids couldn't wait to go out and use their sleds.  There really wasn't enough snow to do much sledding, but they were so excited that they decided to make the best of it.  I had to catch a few pictures of the beauty.  

Disneyland!

In November of 2011 we surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland.  We woke them up on a Saturday morning and gave them an envelope.  It had a clue in it that directed them to several other envelopes, and along the way they collected clues.  In the end they had to solve the riddle to figure out that we would be going to Disneyland.  They were beyond excited.  I think this was something they never really thought would happen, and to be honest neither did I.  We decided since this is probably only a one time trip that we should map out our time and research the things that we wanted to see and do the very most.  We made a brief list, packed our things and before we knew it we were on our way.  The drive was long, but honestly one of the best parts of the trip.  I think we made some of our best memories in that little car.  We laughed harder than we ever have, and things happened there that we will never forget!  California was beautiful, busy, and a nice place to visit.  We spent three days in Disneyland and one at Sea World.  The whole experience was so much fun.  From our time in the hotel room, to our time by the pool, to our time in the park itself, I just couldn't have asked for a better trip.  Seej got to celebrate her birthday in Disneyland with extra special treatment on her day.  I don't think it's a birthday she will ever forget.  Here are some of our favorite things about our trip.

1. Riding Indiana Jones and listening to Doop yell over his shoulder from the driver's seat that he promised he would get us out safely.
2. Peeling Lou's fingers off of the post to get her on Splash Mountain and then reaching the end of the ride and hearing her say, "That's my favorite ride!"
3. Watching Seej wait patiently in line after line to meet and get autographs from as many Disney characters as she could.
4. Seeing JM smile and laugh on every single ride, and watching the kids fight over who got to ride with him next.
5. Riding the Tower of Terror with Seej and feeling the death grip that she had on my right arm.
6. Watching World of Color in the evening and taking it all in as a family.  It was amazing.
7. Piling in on the hotel bed with everyone while we rested our feet and ate pizza for dinner.
8. Driving around California, getting lost and laughing while we listened to directions from the Tom Tom.  
9. Sitting with JM in our sweatshirts and coats while we watched the hooligans swim in the pool with steam coming off of their heads.
10. Hearing everyone say they couldn't wait to come back home

So here is a glimpse of our time in Disneyland.  Believe it or not, I didn't take a ton of pictures.  I made a decision before we left that I would enjoy the trip as a mom and not a photographer.  I took my old camera and one lens.  I wanted things to be simple, and I wanted to be able to enjoy my time without worrying about my camera getting broken, stolen, or lost.  I'm glad I did it.  Although there were times when I was frustrated and wanted to take better pictures, it was better that way.  It forced me to just be.  To enjoy the time with my kids and just capture things we really wanted to remember.  I didn't get my camera out often, but when I did it was usually because the kids were pointing out things they wanted to remember.  The images are few, but they stir good memories, and make me smile every time I look at them.  These are the moments I really wanted to remember.

Winter Walking

We went walking this week.  We are experiencing an amazingly mild winter so far.  It's been nice.  So nice in fact, that we talked Grandpa into going on a walk.  The winters are long for him.  It's painful for him to be out in the cold weather, so when the temps hit a warm 49 degrees, he agreed that a ride outside would be a good change of scenery.  We started out with all three hooligans fighting over who would get to push him down the road in his chair.  There aren't many things that bring a smile to his face anymore, but three little people loving him this much made him feel pretty special.  It made me smile big, and I had to laugh when my little man won the fight.  It was an adventurous ride for Grandpa, and that's putting it mildly.  It's a little hard for Doop to see where he's going since he's shorter than the wheelchair, and combine that with the slope in the road and there were a couple of times that I was sure my dad was going to end up in the ditch.  His remaining leg got a pretty good workout trying to stop the chair and get it turned back in the right direction.  It was good for him, and good for us to spend time together.  It's not something we've done in a while.  The sun on my face, and watching the kids interact with him and Grandma was priceless.  Here are a few images of our time together.  If you're feeling the winter blues, go outside and take a look around.  Look hard.  There are so many beautiful things to see, and I promise you will be glad you did.  I've decided I need a lot more winter walking!

One Word

Last year I participated in the One Little Word Project instead of making resolutions for the year.  My word for 2011 was Today.  It was an eye opening experience.  I couldn't believe the power of focusing on one little word, and so this year I have decided to join again.  Although I didn't make the official scrapbook, I did combine daily statements and photographs to help me continually focus on my 2011 word.  Picking out a word last year was not difficult.  I knew that my focus needed to be in the present.  It needed to be on each day one at a time.  My word for 2012 came to me just as easily.  I knew right away what I wanted to focus on for this year.  I knew what I needed to focus on.

Change.  My one word for 2012 is change.  This will be my year.  To reach out and grab hold of the things that will make my life better.  To embrace the power of decision making combined with action.  This will be the year of positive change.  I am committed to keeping my eyes on the goal and taking the necessary steps to make it happen.

Change.  Make or become different.  Alter, vary, or shift.  So many things in my life that need a positive change, and it's up to me to do it.

"They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom." -Confucius

2012 is my year of change.