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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

This too shall pass.

I've debated back and forth about writing this post, but ultimately decided it was worth sharing. Partly because it's a bit therapeutic to put my thoughts and feelings into words and partly because I know that I'm not alone. There is a phrase I grew up hearing on occasion and have come to rely on frequently in difficult situations...."this too shall pass". There have been many times in life that this was a healthy way to look at a difficult situation; to keep an eternal perspective on the difficulties of life. But, I've come to realize recently that I've been going back to that phrase WAY too often with regards to my children lately.

After struggling through our fertility issues and the intensity of his birth, the joy that filled our lives when Caleb arrived was powerful. I remember savoring the moments early in his life, even when things  weren't easy, and being determined not to "wish-away" any part of his little life. I wanted to enjoy all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. And, I have to say, I did a pretty good job. When our second (and quite unexpected) little boy arrived, I savored his early little life as well, even though it was more challenging with a pre-schooler on my hands too.

But then, somewhere over the past couple years, I have struggled off and on with keeping the joy in my journey of motherhood. Especially the past couple months. An almost 3 year old who is just learning to communicate his needs and wants to us (all the while having a very definite opinion about EVERYTHING) and a 7 year old who is very active, emotional and smart can be quite the overwhelming combination sometimes. When I find myself in the midst of days on end of questioning whether life will ever seem easy, sometimes the ONLY thing that keeps me sane is realizing that "this too shall pass". BUT, I'm realizing that I don't want this to just pass. I don't want to white-knuckle my way through this phase as I have been, because then I am too overwhelmed and exhausted to enjoy the truly beautiful parts of these ages. I've been missing out on way too much of the good stuff because I'm so busy consoling myself with "this too shall pass".  It's time for this girl to put her big girl panties on embrace this enormous, amazing blessing I have been given, as imperfect and flawed as it may be!

Phew...so there you have it.  Probably not my most articulate post, but one that has been a long time coming. Here's to embracing ALL of motherhood!


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Summer fun

I cannot believe how fast the summer is going by! Caleb has been out of school for over 2 months and only has 3 weeks left before starting second grade!!! It's been a really crazy and somewhat stressful (to put it mildly) summer but we've had lots of fun too.

We took a little hike down around the Fresno River

John and I escaped for the day to spend some time with this beautiful couple in SF. :)

Enjoyed apps and drinks and a very cool tequila bar in the city.

Chillin' with our buddies on the 4th of July

Sparklers in a play-do tub....great idea!

Crazy daddy with sparklers (and a cigar).

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for a week and we got an ice cream maker...the big boy wanted to be in charge. :)

Two very happy boys on the train at Gilroy Gardens

G-pa with 2 of his 4 grands.

Sweet brother moment.

Paddle boats!

Very fun water play area at Gilroy Gardens

Both boys loved the water...definitely going back

Boys with their Ma-maw and G-pa

So proud of my big boy who earned his Yellow Belt this past Saturday.

A very proud Papa/Instructor

Little brother enjoying his cupcake at the party.
In the midst of the bits and pieces of fun we've had there's been a lot of other stuff going on...but I'll share some of that later....for now, enjoy the cute picts of my little people!