Show Us Your Life - things you LOVE

OK this will be a fun post! Kelly is hosting another Show Us Your Life and this week is all about things you LOVE or things that make you HAPPY!

So, here goes, it's a loooong list!

Number ONE - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
My amazing husband Bob. Love him with all my heart, he makes me sooo happy!

These two precious girls. Truly our greatest gifts from God!

My Mom. {love my Daddy too, but he's in heaven now}. And my in laws and extended families {sorry no pics of them today}

These two mutts ... haha ... they drive me nuts most days but they make me super happy too! {how do you like our redneck fence ties?!}

Our church and church family {no, this isn't the church we attend, but it sure is pretty, isn't it?}

My fun, fun friends. Love them so much!!!! {and many more awesome friends who I just don't have pictures of right now!} The Caribbean, going on cruises and my favorite place in the world - BERMUDA!
My home. I have come to love it and be content with it. I also love snowstorms and living in New England - two other things I have truly come to love, enjoy and appreciate instead of gripe about.
Floral design. Working at the flower shop always makes me happy. It's fun, creative and my co-workers and I always have lots of laughs together!

Cooking. I love trying new recipes.

Being a homeschooling Mom. Love it. It's fun, rewarding and we get to make our own schedule. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sewing. It's so neat to see something beautiful you've made yourself!

Planning parties and making a big deal out of special occasions. {even if it is only for my little family!}

Baking. Especially baking for other people and giving the goodies away just to brighten someone's day.

Being crafty and creative. Just makes me smile.

Giraffes. Have always loved them - they are just so majestic and amazing!

This purse - I love it's cheery colors and beautiful pattern.

Organizing. I absolutely LOVE my IKEA shelves that hold all our school supplies, all my scrapbooks, most of my novels AND all of my scrapbook and sewing supplies. These units ROCK, they hold SO much stuff!

Pedicures ... need I say more?

Smoothies ... next up I'm going to finally try a 'green' smoothie - stay tuned for that!

Flowers of every kind and color. I never get sick of them and wish I could surround myself with their beauty 24/7.

Books. Lots and lots of books bring me SO much joy and happiness!

Ice cream. 'Nuff said.

LOVE. I love LOVE. And LIFE. I love LIFE. LOVE is LIFE. LIFE is LOVE. {now say that 10x fast!}

Nature. I'm totally in awe of the marvel of God's creation and the intricacies of everything He has made.

Coffee .... yummmmmmy! Scrapbooking. Why do I never make time for something I love so much??

Things not pictured:

photography, my camera, taking pictures and looking through pictures. Aside from my family, my camera and taking photos are seriously my number one possession!

And for now, I think that is enough. I love a lot of 'things' and I love my life. I am so blessed. I love being happy and content and just enjoying all God has given to me.

Click on the button below to go to Kelly's Korner and see more Show Us Your Life posts!

Loving ...

Today I'm loving ...

* that it's another gorgeous morning here with sun shining brightly in my windows and a perfectly warmish/cool temperature.

* that my girls like to sneak off together to play. Love listening to their little voices as they make up stories and listen to their little girl laughter and giggles. Love that they are each other's best friend, though they might never admit it.

* that it's a long holiday weekend and we have NOTHING scheduled!

* that several of my friends have had new babies recently and it's always so amazing and refreshing to see God's handiwork at it's best.

* that list making is so much more fun when written on our new chalkboard wall in the hub of the house. {more on that later}

Have a wonderful, safe long weekend friends!

It's a Take Over

Are you kidding me?! My king size bed has been taken over!

And these two are not even supposed to be ON this bed!

This one can stay ... she's awfully cute!

I think they're a little too comfy ...

Awwwww!

I was given my first bloggy award! So sweet of my friend Jessica to give this to me! Thanks Jess!

You are supposed to write 7 things about yourself so here goes ...

1. I grew up in Canada, but have now lived in the States for 20 years. WOW, time flies!

2. I met my husband when I was 17 and since I'll be 34 in a couple weeks I have now known him for almost half my life!

3. I never liked coffee before I became a Mom, now I don't see how I could live without it!

4. I love sunny, cool, early mornings sitting out on my swing for my quiet time.

5. I cried at the Biggest Loser finale last night.

6. I get excited about the little things - like finding a bunch of pretty sea glass at the beach yesterday.

7. I am terrible at being disciplined - whether it's prioritizing my time, staying committed to diet and exercise or keeping a regular quiet time - I never stay disciplined. It's not something I'm proud of.

Now I get to tag 15 bloggers! There are A LOT of blogs I like, many of which might be considered somewhat 'famous' in the blog world - you can see most of their buttons over there on my sidebar. But in all honesty, some of my faves are the ones written by my close, personal friends and fellow college alumni. And since they are amazing and might not normally get as much traffic as the bigger blogs ... I want to showcase them here. As you can see, I love 'Mom' blogs. Especially ones with crafty, creative and homeschooling Moms. I gain so much encouragement and inspiration from these ladies! So without further ado ... here are some of my faves ...

Kristi {Navy wife who just lived 3 years in Japan and is now back in the States}
Shawna {Homeschool Mom, seamstress, cook, I am always learning new things from her!}
HopiQ {college friend, also a homeschool Mom, great example to me!}
Sarah {Mom of 3, adorable new baby, not afraid to admit when things are tough, I admire her in so many ways!}
Amy {Mom of 2 ... I love the way she takes delight in her children!}
Robin {beautiful Mom, great crafty ideas ... adorable kiddos, what more could I say?}
Cass {wait till you see her two adorable baby boys! Awesome Mom, great crafty ideas, fellow Canadian, love her!}
Laurel {what's not to admire about a homeschooling, gardening, Mom of 8?!}
Lynn {one of my besties. Full time working Mom who still makes family her priority. Love her!}
Angie {praising God through all things, including cancer. I have learned so much through this amazing friend!}
Nicki {Mom of 4 crazy boys, now pregnant with her 1st girl! Hoping this award will get her blogging more ... hint, hint! Luv ya Nicki!}
Ashlee {mouth watering baked goods and homemade crafty ideas - such a creative girl!}
Mari {missionaries in Equador, love that she is using her creative ideas to bless those around her for the Lord!}
The Mangos {homeschooling, gardening, modeling Christ ... lovely family!}
Charity {Giving God all the glory despite the loss of two babies. Now pregnant again and so excited to meet their little one in a few months!}

So go check these lovely blogs out and give them some love!

Don't Sacrifice Those Precious Memories!

I was enjoying reading this great post by Jessica Turner this morning and I really felt like it was something I needed to share.

All too often as Moms we allow the way we feel about our looks {weight, etc} to determine our fun level. I know far too many Moms who will never allow themselves to be seen in a swimsuit, let alone actually get in the water for some fun - simply because they feel bad about the way they look.

Now I'll be the first to admit that I struggle with body image. I am definitely heavier now than I was when I was younger. But I refuse to allow my body image to steal the opportunities for having fun with my kids!

As we get closer to summer I just want to encourage all of you - don't fall into this trap! Put your suit on, and no matter how you look or how you feel - get in the pool/lake/ocean and have some fun with your kids! Jump off the dock, do cannonballs into the pool, ride the waves ... your kids will love having fun with you in this way! You will make memories that will last a lifetime ... like Jessica says, the memories of your fun will last far longer than the memory of how you felt in your swimsuit.

One last side note ... LANDS END makes some of the most beautiful swimsuits that fit Moms well, look fantastic and help hide the flaws. I would highly recommend you check them out. And if the price seems a little high, it's worth it. My suits I've had from Lands End have lasted me 5 years! And yes, that is going in the pool, lake and ocean not just sitting by the side!

Here's a post I wrote last year about my fun summer .... what amazing memories I have from then - I hope to make many more this year too!

Addiction

I'm only slightly addicted to this stuff ...

My absolute fave ... if you like the flavor of coconut you MUST try this stuff! Even the aroma of it brewing reminds me of island breezes and makes me long for Bermuda!

Another new fave ... these teas from Celestial Seasonings - they make a great glass of iced tea for those hot summer afternoons! {sorry for the blurry pic}

Outdoorsy

I love the fact that my girls are the outdoorsy type. I fully believe kids learn these type of things from their parents examples. My husband and I have always enjoyed outdoor activities - skiing, hiking, biking, camping, swimming, etc. So it's no surprise that our daughters love those things too. They've known nothing different since they were born. At 4 months old we brought our youngest along with us to the beach, at 2 months old, we brought our oldest on some hikes in the mountains in NH. It's just a natural thing - having kids didn't change the things we enjoyed, it just changed the way we did them.

Anyway, back to the girls. Now that spring is upon us it's hard to keep them inside! They are constantly asking me to go out and play outdoors. It's absolutely wonderful! It's the only thing that would make me want to move south - to avoid the long, cold winters stuck indoors!

Here are some of their latest outdoor adventures...

At a local library we spotted this cool little pond and bridge - who could resist stopping for some pictures {and the girls were searching for frogs!}

On a lovely day trip to Newport, RI - we walked the Cliff walk and enjoyed this lush lawn overlooking the ocean.

By the garage door the girls have a whole assortment of nature-y stuff. A couple planted flowers they chose at Home Depot, some rocks and shells, a jar with caterpillars in it, and a couple habitats for frogs, bugs or whatever else they find!

Caterpillars ....

Frogs? Toads? I never know the difference ... but the girls just loooove collecting them!

They caught a beautiful butterfly the other day! They kept it in the habitat to observe it for a few hours and then released it again.

Our yard has woods behind it and lately the girls want to play in the woods every day! They have cleared a couple little spots that they call their hide-outs and love playing back there with rocks, sticks or whatever they find. They also love playing 'Tinkerbell' back there. I'm not totally sure what that means, but love that they are using their imaginations AND enjoying nature all at the same time!

I spy a little girl ...

This is my swing, I love the quiet moments just sitting and enjoying the outdoors. Sometimes I have a little girl or two join me there ... sometimes a dog or two as well! The other morning I was up early before everyone else. I brought a blanket and coffee out with me to my swing so I could have my quiet time - even though it was still quite chilly. One by one I was joined by my family members! It was so nice to snuggle with my girls on the swing and enjoy their company.

Dirty hands holding a beautiful butterfly ...

On Saturday the girls found this HUGE toad! Joy was the one who found it and was so super excited about it! That same day they found a total of a DOZEN toads/frogs {whatever!}

With her cousin ... my 3 boy nephews were visiting and didn't know what to think about these crazy toad chasing girls!

The girls put them in this habitat so they can play and swim ...

And keep them in this habitat so they can't get away. Don't worry, we let them go after a day.

When they only had one toad, they gave him a name and a label ... perhaps they were expecting visitors to come see him like in a museum?

And I just had to throw these last two photos in because they were so pretty. I saw another gorgeous butterfly land on my lilies and took a couple pics before it flew away. Love the color of the butterfly against the color of the flower!

So .... do you want your kids to be outdoorsy? Well then get out there yourself! The more you explore and enjoy nature the more your kids will too.

Here are some little tips:

* Get an inexpensive bug catcher from the dollar store. My girls used to be afraid of bugs until they got a bug catcher one summer, then the thrill of the hunt kicked in and they have loved it ever since.

* Establish guidelines. don't laugh. In my home, I am not a fan of critters. So the rule is that they stay outside! I also have rules about playing in the woods. They know where the boundary is and they also know anytime they play in the woods they will have to take showers that night to make sure they don't have any ticks on them.

* Provide lots of books on living things. We have bird books, insect books, reptile books, etc ... it makes it more fun for them when they see something outside and can easily identify it by looking it up.

* Be willing to oooh and aaah over their finds - even when you think they are quite creepy. I do find myself seeing the beauty in many of these little creatures - even if I don't want to touch them and hold them!

* Take lots of pictures. the girls will love printing out the pictures to put in their own scrapbooks.

* Know that the kids are going to be filthy and that's OK. Provide a bin full of junky old 'play' clothes and have the kids where those when they go out to play. Trust me, it will make your life so much easier! And don't worry about dirty, bare feet - have them scrub up in the tub when they come in. it's all a part of childhood!

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. ~Frank Lloyd Wright

Simply Homeschooling

It never ceases to amaze me ... yet, why should I be so surprised? The Lord uses so many things to encourage my heart in this journey of homeschooling! Today I read another wonderful, wonderful post that did great things to encourage me!

I am going to keep this short, because I really want you to go to Ann's blog and read what she has to say. I will say that just recently we have started to really enjoy taking the stress out of our homeschool days and just taking the school days as they come. Some days that means we do more learning about 'life' than we do book learning - but that's OK! Some days are almost completely centered around library visits and reading, some are wrapped up in enjoying nature and exploring outdoors, some are meeting other homeschoolers for bike rides and nature walks ... while the math and language books sit unused at home. But it's been simply wonderful!

OK, OK, I said I'd be short - so go read Ann's post about How to Simply Homeschool!

Stats

In church yesterday we learned some staggering statistics.

Most adults spend an average of 6.43 hours per DAY on technology {TV, internet, etc} yet only spend an average of 15 minutes per day with one on one time with their children.

YIKES!!

I will solemnly admit that my computer time has taken over my life as of late. I want to change this. My kids are growing at an alarming rate. When they are grown the very last thing I want them to say is 'Mama spent all day on the computer and hardly any time with us.'

I'm going to try to log in quickly in the morning, then wait till the end of the day when the girls are in bed to log in again. I'm making this a goal and praying that I will be able to be disciplined to follow it through. I know there may be times I will need to log on to check for an email or research something - but there is really no reason why I need to check facebook or the blogs I like during the day.

And with that said - I'm signing off! Need to spend some time with those ever growing kids! =)