Seeing what's right in front of me...

So this past week we received a fun letter from my nephew Chase. His class is reading the famed "Flat Stanley" book and sending out their own "Stanleys" to have adventures--so Chase sent Stanley to us. He went with us to walk the kids to school, to Carter's flag football game, to the park, dipped his toes in the pool (which is slowly starting to warm up--hooray!), and as you can see from this pic--he smelled our orange blossoms! Part of the assignment was for us to write down some things about Arizona and it really made me start to think about where I live...

I don't think I can do it justice, but I will try to describe how it feels right now in Arizona. I just went outside to shake off last night's popcorn blanket and there is a light cool breeze blowing...clouds are scattered throughout the sunny skies. The breeze gently lifts your hair and then it hits you--this amazing combination of blossoms and flowers. We have two orange trees, a grapefruit tree, and a lemon tree in our backyard and it smells like heaven. I LOVE walking the kids to school each day because we pass by this beautiful tree that has cascading purple blossoms on it--they look like a mix between bunches of grapes and soft lilac flowers--and they smell incredible--as my friend Natalie says--a little like grape kool-aid. I sat out in the backyard today and looked around and just breathed. Talk about aromatherapy....

And I wondered...how do I not see this everyday? I live here and can walk past beautiful flowers without so much as giving them a glance--or I rush to my minivan without pausing to breathe in the frangrant air. How do I miss the blossoms, the morning calls of birds in the trees...the chatter of kids playing at the park--the wind rustling the branches of the swaying palm trees, the quick smiles from my kids when I bring out the popsicles...

So I guess I should be saying "thanks for the homework Chase!"--it helped me to sit back, look around, and really see what's right in front of me...

A few of my favorite things...

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens....just kidding...but how can you not sing that song when you think about your favorite things? Just last night as we finished off our family home evening, I sat back (as Kelly so kindly put the kids in bed) and thought about some of my most favorite things...

Each morning when Christopher comes in to our room, he climbs up on our bed and onto Kelly's back--just like a little monkey. It brings a smile to my face and is the best start to my day!

Tessa's little personality is really starting to shine through and I just LOVE it when she scrunches up her face, totally concentrates and spits...she is so funny and sometimes surprises herself with how loud she gets!

Mackenna is growing up so fast--and I think she wishes she could grow up faster. One of my favorite things about Mackenna is her style. She loves BIG bows in her hair, crazy socks and lots of lipstick. She is brave when it comes to fashion--and I must say she has come up with some interesting combinations--but she manages to pull it off. She's so sassy...and most of the time I love it! I'm sure it will get really interesting when she turns twleve :)!

And last night, Carter was my favorite! Kelly had the kids getting ready for bed upstairs while I fed Tessa. Carter was heading to his room and stopped at the railing to yell "goodnight mom, I love you!" I told him the same and then I blew him some kisses. He blew kisses back to me and I said, "Oh--I just felt one hit me on the cheek."--to which he replied, "I just felt one on my chin...no wait a minute..." (he stops to think) and says..."I felt it in my heart".

Now I know that I'm still VERY emotional from having a baby...but it melted my heart and I was very nearly in tears.

Those are the moments we live for as mothers...those brief glimpses of love at home. It makes all the crusty looks, the groans about dinner, the stinky diapers, the whining about chores, the laundry, the stickers on furniture and marker on the wall--worth it. It's that tiny peek at happiness that keeps us going even when we don't know if we can (while maintaining our sanity). I'm just grateful to God for those tender mercies...when He shows me how much He loves me--by helping me see how much I love my children--and by helping me see how much they love me...in spite of me.

So--to be true to Julie Andrews--when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad--I simply remember my favorite things (namely--Kelly, Kenna, Carter, Chris, and Tessa)--and then I don't feel--so bad!! (It really has a much better effect if you sing it!!) :)