A Relaxing Saturday!

I can't tell you how awesome it is that Saturday is here! We are feeling better and were glad to get out of the house this morning and enjoy the fresh air! After having months of Saturdays filled with busy wedding planning, bridal shower, batchlorette party, and wedding it is wonderful to have a Saturday with no plans. I'm loving it.  I almost don't know what to do with myself, but don't worry we are finding plenty to do.  We took the boys out to a few stores. Chad is looking for a projector mount for his new projector.  I stopped in at Pier One to look around.  When then took the boys to a greenhouse that is nearby and have they have a big fish pond which our boys love! Our last stop was to rent a game for the boys and it couldn't have come at a better time.  We are trying to teach our boys that there are things in life that are privelages and not expected. Renting a game is a privelage and they now understand that.  While I would love to give them a game whenver they want I don't think it's in their best interest.  We do normally buy them a game every few months but once a month we let them pick out a game to rent.  Noah has been counting down for 14 days since I told him he could rent one and he hasn't stopped talking about it all day today.  He was trying so hard to be patient but you could tell he was busting at the seams.  So in we went and out we came with a lego game they are thrilled to play.  Now that we've had lunch I think i am going to actually work on laundry since I didn't do more than a load yesterday.  Once that's done and the boys take their nap I'm going to sit on our deck and read a book! I love to read and am so excited to have time this afteroon to relax and do just that. 

Thank you for your prayers yesterday! I had all three meetings and they went amazingly well.  One of them could have gone better and we'll see how that plays out but I know without a doubt that God gave me words or wisdom and peace.  I cant' tell you what a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders!!! It's huge.

Tonight we are going to church and I can't wait!! I just love our pastor and can't wait to be fed spiritually.  My dear friend is back from Haiti and she will be there as well.  I'll also get to see Ash since she is back from her honeymoon.  We saw her briefly last week but it will be nice to see her for more than five minutes. I can't tell you how hard it was this week not to call her at 8am like I normally do.  I promised her husband I'd wait until at least nine and i'm already in my office by then.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful fun filled Saturday! I know we are and I'm thankful for a weekend at home with the fam! Blessings.

Cabin Fever!

That's right...I'm having major cabin fever! I haven't left the house since Monday and I'm getting anxious.  I don't remember the last time I have been home for this long.  I've enjoyed spending alot of time with the boys, reading, lounging, since we haven't felt good, and playing many board games.  But yesterday I felt like I needed to get out! I watched at least 6 episodes of top chef, which before yesterday I never watched, and now i'm hooked.  I tried to get caught up on work email but frankly just didn't have the gusto to put a whole lot energy/thought into it.  Today I was back to work, but worked from home. The phone started ringing bright and early but it was wonderful just sitting in my yoga pants plugging away.  My mom and Grams stopped over for an hour to help with the boys who were home today, because Noah still wasn't 100% and I greatly enjoyed their company.  I ran out of coffee beans two days ago and have missed my daily java! My mom was so sweet and stopped to pick me up my favorite coffee drink from our coffee shop around the corner.  It made my day! Tomorrow is Friday and it feels like my Monday.  I'm heading into the city and have a busy day ahead of me.  I have three big meetings back to back and have lost a bit of sleep over them this week.  They are each crucial to different implementations within our organization and I am not looking forward to them.  Sometimes I wish I had a job that I could leave at work.  I'm thankful for the job/opportunities I have as I realize many people are without a job, but some days I wish I could leave it at work and not bring it home.  I find myself having a hard time putting my iphone away and not checking my emails/messages often.  I also have a hard time just relaxing and letting my open items sit until the next day.  Once the boys go to bed I often open work right back up in hopes of getting a head start on the next day.  And lastly when I'm on vacation a day doesn't go back that I check in multiple times....I know as I'm typing this I realize I need to work on this and really pray about prioritizing my day.  Others do it and I don't know why I struggle with it so much.  Any suggestions on how you might deal with your day and leaving work at work?  It's important to me that our boys have my undivided attention when I am home.  Sorry I just went off on a tangent...I guess I just needed to get that out.  I'm off to check on my piles of laundry in hopes that a laundry ferry attacked them while I was working today:) And then its play time with my main men.

The Flu...ugh!

I remember growing up my mom always did a great job of taking care of us when we were sick.  And I love cudding with my boys when they don't feel good, but what I'm not good at is cleaning up puke.  I'm just being honest..it's not my gift.  This weekend Chad started to not feel good on Sunday and he thought he had food poisoning...I doubted it but didn't even think it was the flu.  I always thought the flu went around in the winter....well I was wrong! Last night I worked late and went to bed around 10:30...and about twenty minutes after that Noah came in our room and said, "Daddy I got sick on my bed, on Kylan, in the hallway, and the bathroom.  I tried to clean it up and i'm sorry"...I don't think I've ever jumped out of bed so quick. My poor baby was sick and felt bad that he couldn't clean it up..I wanted to cry right then.  So Chad and I get up and access the damage and yes there was puke everywhere!!! including Ky's head...I wish I was kidding.  The smell and sight of it made me want to get sick...so we woke up poor Ky who does not do well being woken up out of a dead sleep and stripped them both down for a shower.  After that we all piled into our room and luckily made it through the night with no other incidents. This morning I woke up did some work and felt the onset of sickness and now 3 out of 4 of us are sick...chicken noodlos, gatordade and club crackers are gracing our counter and I think i've watched every episode of phineas and ferb that exists!  I'm thankful we were able to enjoy the long weekend minus poor chad...but now I don't want to miss work because i'm sick.. :( Here's to hydrating and clorox wipes! :)

Family and pictures!

The bride and groom!I love being their mom!MikeSome of my sisters and two of my cousins!Patiently waiting for the party! :)

This week has been truly a blessing in so many ways! My brother, Mike, was able to stay and extra week which we ate up! We had so many wonderful talks and just watching him hang out with our boys melted my heart. You see when my brother left Wisconsin 20 months ago he was just recovering from his drug addiction and for close to two years before he left he was a different person than the Mike I had known. At one point he didn't communicate with any of us for 9 months and my mom and I would often see him around town looking hollow and his clothes falling off of him. That's the short version but I think you can understand from this small tidbit how different the Michael I spent time with today is different from the Michael who lived here before. God has truly used Florida as an opportunity for him to get clean, move away from his "friends" and figure out what he wants to do with life. God has also used it as a place to bring him back to Him...and I can't tell you the joy our family feels that Mike has given his life back to Christ. Anyhow this week we were able to talk through many things that have happened in our lives and it was great! I love his laugh, his bear hugs and his heart. Yesterday we had to say goodbye and that was so hard!!! I took the boys over to my mom's in the morning and Mike and I sat our on the porch for an hour and just talked about his next steps. He really wants to come back home and finish school after he is finished with basic, but right now he has to talk to his recruiting officer because he is part of the National Guard in Florida and has to see if he can transfer. After lunch we got him all packed and took him to the airport...I'm not sure who it was harder for, but we are hoping he can home next month for a week before going to basic so we were trying to stay positive. Today, the boys and I had a play date with my dear friend MJ and her son C-man... I love them both! C-man is 11 months and is so precious to me. We took all of our boys to our favorite coffee shop this morning for a latte and scone and then headed to my house and the boys played in the pool and slip and slide. And the hose was a huge attraction...lol...forget all of the summer toys we buy for them...the green hose was great! MJ and I cracked up and caught up on life and compared stories of our past weeks and motherhood. It's so nice to have a friend to share play dates with. After they left we headed over to Ash's house to drop off all of the tables cloths I washed for her while she was on her honeymoon. If I don't see another table cloth for the next 7 years I'll be great:) We got to catch up with her and Kris for a minute but we didn't want to stay long as they still have to unpack and get ready to jump back into life tomorrow. Plus I have a lot of work to do and wanted to have some down town with the fam... Oh and I forgot to share one of my favorite moments of our whole weekend!!! Last night I decided to have a slumber party with the boys. We brought blankets and "a few stuffed animals"...While I was setting the fort up I asked them to pick out a few animals and their pillow and bring them downstairs. Five minutes later I go upstairs to see their whole bedroom in the hall way...books and all. And of course I wanted to be the cool mom and helped them bring it all downstairs..and they spent a good thirty minutes trying to figure out each animal's sleeping arrangements. We then played memory, read books, and watched episodes of Max and Ruby, Diego, and Backyardagains. I think we finally fell asleep at 11 which never happens but was so worth it. This morning Ky woke me up at 7:30 and was upset because we forgot to play Sequence....so at 8:00 this morning we were up playing Sequence... Tonight we are relaxing and getting ready for the week. I'm so thankful it's a short one. I have two big presentations tomorrow and true Mimi style am waiting until the last minute to put my finishing touches on it. I figure I'll do them while watching The Bathlorette. Before I forget here are a few pictures from a wonderful wedding! I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!

She's married!

This week has been a whirlwind of amazing memories! My brother was here all week and we spent so many hours just talking and catching up. I love talking with him and one of my favorite memories was sitting on the deck of my favorite coffee shop and talking about our past year in depth. Mike and I talk on a weekly basis but I treasured being able to sit across the table from him and talk without interuptions. Ash and I had a lot of fun at the spa spending the day getting pampered, having lunch, and talking about her future with Kris. I loved every minute of our day! Three days before their wedding I started waking up in the middle of the night and couldn't get my brain to shut off...lol and on the morning of her wedding I was up at 4am putting together gift bags for the bridesmaid and had the car packed by 6am. I went and visited with some of my family that came from out of town and was rambling as my coffee had kicked in :) By 10:00 I was getting my hair done and then off to the church we went. Ash was extremely calm (or at least perceived to be) and had a great time chatting it up and getting ready. The tears started flowing as we prayed over her and one of the groomsmen delivered a card from Kris. 20 minutes before the wedding the bridesmaids made a barcade and we dashed down the hall to take some pictures with the photographer before the ceremony began. The actual ceremony was amazing and even though I'm a little partial it truly was one of the neatest weddings I've ever been too. The recited traditional vows but then read their personnel vows to each other and the tears were flowing! Thankfully I had plenty of kleenex :) The reception was a blast and my little man danced the night away while the other didn't stop running! I truly enjoyed catching up with all of our family who came from out of town and wished we could have all stayed together one more day. This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to take Mike to the airport.....picked our coffee up and away we went. An hour and a half later we pull into the airport only to decide it would be great for him to stay an extra week. And fifteen minutes last after locating a cheap one way ticket we turned around and drove all the way home! That story will make our history book. I'm thankful to have another week with him because I don't know after this when we will see him next. I came home and crashed with the boys who were watching cartons and didn't move until after 4. I just now started moving around the house and taking notes of all that needs to be picked up....ALOT! I'm praying for a first wind and hoping to get some of it down tonight. We'll see...i'm off tomorrow and so glad I took the day! I have to say after being off for a week and spending so much time with the family I'm not looking forward to going back. I love what I do but over the past week I've reflected alot on how much time I truly spend working and frankly haven't felt like cleaning out my inbox at all. I'll post pics soon. I just realized I uploaded them to my laptop but will definately share our fantastic day! Blessings!

She's getting married!

My sweet sister Ashley is getting married in two days and I can't believe it! She is a couple of years younger than me and one of my best friends! I couldn't be happier for her and have been helping her plan her special day since October. Things are coming together wonderfully and we had a great day at the spa yesterday relaxing! This week has been wonderful for so many reasons. My brother Michael, has lived in Florida for the past 20 months. Since he was in high school he struggled with both alochol and drug addictions both of which got out of control when he was 20 and 21. He made a huge decision 20 months ago that he needs to get clean and have a change of scenery. We couldn't have agreed with him more! And 20 months later he came home for Ashley's wedding and I have been crying almost every day since he has been home. On Sat for the first time in 6 years we went to church as as a family, Mike included and it was awesome! I will treasure that moment for a long time to come. Mike and I have had so many wonderful conversations and have just enjoyed hanging out. The boys have clung to him like white on rice and my youngest is his biggest fan. I'm not sure who is will be harder for when Mike leaves on Sunday, me or them. We took the boys miniature golfing with Mike and Chad and they had a blast! I just praise God for the miracles He has performed in Mike's life and how great it is to have my brother back. Today we are heading to the church to set up which should be fun then I have to find shoes for the boys to go with their tuxes. And somewhere in between all of the I need to figure out what to make for dinner...I'm almost thinking it's going to be a Papa Murphy's night. :)
Oh and before I forget we had family pics done on Sun which was awesome! I just saw a sample of them and had to share. She hasn't done any editing on these so there are a few glares but overall I just lover them! I promise to post pics of the wedding!

So many fun things!

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks! I went to Greenville South Carolina for a week with work and fell in love with the downtown area! They had so many fun shops and restaurants and I was able to frequent a few. The Lazy Goat and High Cotton were my favorite and there was a Starbucks on the other side of my hotel which was awesome! The bonus for me was being able to see my Grandma, Aunt, and my cousin and her family. I truly enjoyed just hanging out with them and catching up. It was wonderful! My cousin has 5 year old twins and they cracked me up. I'm thankful that I can now see them on a regular basis and get to know them. I flew in and out of Charlotte this time and was on a big plane which made for less turbulence and less anxiety for me. I got home on a Friday evening and had to turn around and fly to Kansas City that Monday. I was not too happy about that and honestly was quite emotional. I missed being home and with my boys and Chad! Noah was graduating from his pre-K program and it broke my heart that I wouldn't be there. It only made it worse when I got to the airport on Monday and found out we were taking a small jet. I had a panic attack and really had to work through that. I kept praying for peace and God truly helped me work through that one. Kansas City was a great trip. I met alot of great people but the long hours were alot. I couldn't keep up with my day to day work because of the late meetings and dinners so I was anxious to get back and just have a few days to catch up. Fortunately, unfortunately I flew back Thursday night and the next evening the festivities for my sister's batchlorette party began. Friday night we went shopping and got everything ready and Saturday at 7am we headed to the train station to head into the city. It was a wonderful trip and all of the girls had a great time. I was a little nervous because there was 7 of us and a variety of ages, but we truly all enjoy each other's company and made a lot of neat memories. I still can't believe she is getting married in two weeks!! Our brother Michael is coming home on Saturday and I can't wait. It's been 20 long months since I've seen him and I just want to give him a huge hug. I'm taking next Tuesday through Friday off and can't wait to have family time with everyone. We are going to have family pictures down on Sunday which will be an amazing gift for all of us! We haven't had a family picture since my youngest sister was a toddler so this will be so special!

Today I took the day off. I woke up exhausted from everything and did just decided to call it a day. I moved my meetings and rolled over and went back to bed. I woke up at 11:34 and had to do a double take at the clock as I can't remember the last time I slep that long, but I know I needed it. My mom came over and we chatted over coffee and played with the boys. It was so wonderful just to sit and talk with my mom...I truly enjoy our friendship and am so thankful that we live in the same town. It's also wonderful to see the relationships she has with our boys and I treasure that! Growing up in a military family we moved my whole life and I saw my grandparents once a year if I was lucky and I'm so thankful that my boys are able to have relationships with all of their grandparents and our siblings.

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend! More of the wedding and family time to come. God Bless!