If you were a bug

I cannot count how many time I have heard betend or beingtend (for some reason Nathan and Natalie are convinced that this is pretend). They have such an active imagination that it becomes a hassle for us when we are trying to get things done. We hear Nathan yell, "be careful when you back up, you are going to hit the house with the trailer hooked to the back of the truck." They are constantly making up stories of things that have happened to them. Sometimes it's cute and sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out.
Today was a cute day, as I was cleaning the floors Nathan informs me that if I turned into a bug he would make sure that Justin didn't step on me! I could hardly keep myself together. The best part is that he was so relaxed when he told me, and so confident in the fact that he would protect me. When it is not cute is when it's 10:30 in the evening and he is so scared because the bear from Brave is real.
Where do we draw the line between real and pretend? Do we ever fully learn to do this? I have so many irrational fears, I have just learned to keep them in side instead of screaming. We all have so many delusions. We ignore so many major problems in our life and our society. We are 'beingtending' that things aren't real just to make things easier for us.
Walking in truth is one of the hardest things to do. but if we can learn to cast our troubles on someone who cares, things would be a whole lot easier for us. It's something that 7 year olds and 70 year olds need to learn how to do.

Outside looking in

This weekend we had the wedding of the year (my sister's of course)! I must say that it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to. I laughed, cried, and had a great time.

From the outside everything went off without a hitch, but what you don't see looking from the outside is the tears when the wedding had to be moved in doors, the panic when we couldn't find flower girl baskets, the stress when the cake started to lean, and all the nerves that were involved in the whole weekend. Everything came together, and boy are we glad that it did, but I think it shows us an important lesson.

One reason we shouldn't judge a book by its cover is because we don't see all the problems when we look at the outside. I am always telling Natalie and Nathan not to compare themselves to others. If you compare yourselves to others you are comparing yourself to a an idea and not what is really going on within.

Justin and I have such a great relationship (thankfully!!) but don't judge us from the outside. We cry, we get offended and we get mad. It's not perfect but it IS great. You can't chase perfection because it is not attainable (not even any longer in my beloved sport of gymnastics). But why worry so much about never being able to get perfection when you can reach greatness?

Tick Tock

I cannot count the number of times that I heard my mom say "take time, have time". If we didn't clean, read a book, have quiet time, exercise, or anything else we wanted to do, Mom's response was always "take time, have time". When I was young this statement drove me crazy, but as I am getting older it is becoming my response as well. There is so much truth in this one statement. Whatever you take the time to do is what you are prioritizing. Sometimes it's intentional and sometimes it is just poor planning, and sometimes it is the choice to place the wrong thing in priority. Prioritizing is tough. The days it seems like prioritizing (or 'taking time') is really difficult, are those days that I am NOT super busy. On those days I usually end up laying around for way too long. I realize I have waisted my day when its almost time to leave and I haven't done anything around the house and I am still in my pajamas. 

Today is not going to be one of those days, today is going to be one of the days where I take the time do what needs to be done. 

A little bit more than amity

Amity is defined as a peaceful relationship, and Justin and I have been blessed with a peaceful relationship. But a successful marriage is about more than a peaceful one. Sometimes you have to call one another out on things, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. But if you make sure that you place your relationship above any other earthly relationship there are a lot of things that you never have to deal with.
This week was our anniversary... 4 years! I can honestly say that I am happier now than I was when we first got married (not that I wasn't happy then). Don't get me wrong, marriage is hard and is something that you really must commit to inorder to be happy/successful. But it is also one of the best things you will ever do and can be wonderful. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who has completely committed to the marriage and prioritizes it over lots of things. 
For our anniversary we had a schnazzy dinner at the Tavern followed by a nights stay at the Alpine Motel, for any of you that are familiar with Abingdon you know that the Alpine Motel is nothing special, but for some reason I have always wanted to stay there, So thankfully, the Hus came through. We slept in til 10!!!  And then spent the day roaming through Bristol and Johnson City. It was nothing special but it felt like a vacation. It was so great to be together, just us (except for a lunch date with TR).   

On our way home we had to stop to get a pic of the an awesome rainbow.

Joy

My middle name is Joy so I have become some sort of a stickler for using the word joy when you should and not just using it interchangeably with happiness or cheerfulness or some other similar word. I say that happiness is a momentary thing that changes according to the mood but joy is something that sticks with you regardless of your emotional state. When someone has joy it is clear because even when they are in 'the pit of dispair' (insert voice from Princess Bride), they are able to appreciate life. People say that love is not a feeling but a choice, well I think that joy is also a choice. It's the choice to be content no matter what you are dealing with, the choice to recognize that there is more to the world than your little circle, and the choice to be thankful for what you have even if it is not enough.
I pray that I have joy and that I am able to show my joy to others by the way I live.

Independence Day!

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays. It is such a care free day centered around simply celebration. It's like a vacation from summer vacation. There are so many things about the holiday that bring out the kid in me. The sparklers still make me feel giddy with excitement and even flipping down the road in the heat for a parade with my little gymnasts is refreshing.
As new parents we got to experience a whole new side of "America's Birthday" (as we referred to it all day). The Lebanon festivities seemed like they had so much more to offer when you are experiencing them with 2 kids who see it as a huge new adventure, and the $20 spent on fireworks was one of the best investments I have ever made because it allowed me to capture these great moments...

The Composer 

"Mo" (due to the new haircut)

Dancing

So serious

Not so serious

Horses/photos

So I married into a crazy horse family. And lets just say the fire has not gotten ahold of me. It's not that I don't like horses, it is just that there are a whole lot of things that excite me more. Right now one of those things is taking pictures, so consequently there are a lot of photos on or around horses. Last week we went down to the horse ring and I discovered some great photo opportunities!!

Nathan's facial expression cracks me up!

Relaxin' all cool

 Thunder (The kids pony)

He even gets bored every once and a while 

Caught this one of her spinning while half way in a backbend

I can't take the giggles

So even though horses are not my thing, it's totally worth it to see them develop confidence in something. I love that they get to spend valuable time with grandparents doing something other than just watching tv.