Just Breathe

Do you ever feel like all you do is spin your wheels and nothing gets accomplished throughout your day?  Do you ever feel like you are so busy that you don't have time for breakfast, a shower....or for a breath?  While we are definitely living a slower lifestyle and choosing less so we can pour more into our kids intentionally, we are still short of breathes at the end of most days.  The couch has our names written on it and the bed by 10pm.  So a vacation was definitely what the doctor ordered for this family and breathe we did.  Well, I did and Kurt was the human jungle gym for the kids as he tossed, juggled, jumped, ran and built with the kids in the water and in the sand at our vacation getaway in Florida.  Siena loved being in the water and pretending to surf on a boogey board.  Carson was a little more hesitant to get in the water but he did and had just as much fun.  What made him giggle was destroying sand castles that everyone else built.  His boyish characteristics are definitely coming to the surface.  And Allegra adored having the waves wash over her feet.  She was content to hang out in her seat under the umbrella or in her beach tent and meet new people along the beach.  It should come as no surprise that she brought a smile to anyone who walked by.

Siena and Mommy enjoyed being buried under the warm sand together.  

Though the evening started out cloudy, we were blessed with a gorgeous sunset while we were having fun in the sand.  Our God, the master artist, painted the clouds the richest colors and the sun itself transitioned from a yellow to gold to a fiery orange to a brilliant red before going to bed.  

We thoroughly enjoyed our time away and embraced every second we caught to reconnect and relax.  Rest is good for the soul and necessary to continue on the journey but too much is not good either (or at least that's what I tell myself when the "to-do" list gets too long) but Florida and the Knolls found the right mix to make our fall break magical. 

Celebrating the Every Day

Siena can leap through the air with the greatest of ease and jump over mountains with a single bound!  She has successfully taught Carson her tricks and he has been the perfect protege.  He is now in Tumbleweeds, a tumbling class for preschoolers, in hopes of improving these skills.  They have both been blessed with the most amazing physical skill and agility above kids their age.  As a result, we receive strange looks implying, "You let them do that?!!"  -- Yes, yes we do.  I don't think Kurt & I were much different as kids. 

This was the fun we had a family night at the MTSU home football game.  Siena had not been to a game since she was one so this was a first for Carson & Allegra.  We all faired well (the weather was in our favor) but the youngest in our crew crashed early and we called it a night shortly after halftime.  (Lower the volume on this video for the sake of your ears; the kids are dancing to the halftime performance of the band.)

Happy Birthday to our dear beautiful Siena Rose!  She is such a breath of fresh air and a bright light in a dark world.  Her teacher continues to brag on her, both academically and the compassionate heart she has.  Siena was so delighted to celebrate her day with chicken corn chowder and carrot cake with her family outdoors.

Allegra is such a source of radiance in our home.  Her eyes sparkle and her grin is absolutely contagious.  To say we have been blessed by this baby girl in our lives would be an understatement.   God has answered my prayer: she has blended into our family seamlessly, she goes along with chaos of our home happily and never complains.  It's like she has always been apart of our little team.  She has made the transition to 3 children a joy.  She sat up with Daddy's help the other day and she has been eating rice cereal for a couple weeks.  And she loves to suck on her two middle fingers -- 

go figure!

Our church small group took our families to Lucky Ladd Farms (a pumpkin farm) for a day of fun.  The kids enjoyed their first pony rides, slid down tunnel slides, rode on a tractor, played in corn boxes (instead of the typical sandbox) and never left the side of their little buddy, Clark.  I predict these two little boys are going to continue to be close as they grow.

While so many of those around us are moving on and moving up, constantly looking for the next new thing, we continue to keep the status quo and to embrace what we have.  We have found meaning and purpose in changing diapers, nap times and repeating ourselves over and over and over and over again.  We have found the exact thing we have been wishing for -- love, laughter and each other.  May God bless each of with the same joy-filled life that we have found.