Sprints and Sprinklers!

I want to remember them just like this.

Young, brave, silly. Free.

I want to remember this stage of our life. Even though it's been a challenge, it's also been a dream come true, watching my boys grow together in love.

I want to remember this summer, every moment of it. This humidity, thick enough to swallow. The slick wet of the sprinkler, the infectious giggle of my baby, the flare of the sun through the backyard trees. Everett's flick of the frisbee, Daxton eying his brother with adoration. Stevie instructing them with everything he knows. I even want to remember the thickness of my body, the roundness of my thighs, ripe with nourishment for my baby boy. I was created to steward my family just like this. I am blessed.

I want to remember it being so hot, so so hot, that we all ran into the yard to cool off in the sprinkler 15 minutes before dinner. Even the mosquitoes needed a reprieve from this heat, and I won't be able to forget them, since our bodies are now riddled with their bites.

I want to remember Everett screaming "super heroes!!!", as he sprints back and forth through the sprinkler.

Every single moment of this life is a blessing. Every single moment, not just the picturesque ones when everyone is smiling in their perfectly pressed clothing. The messy ones, too. The sweaty ones, the stinky ones, the screaming ones. The moments when I'm overwhelmed because everyone is hungry for dinner, the moments when I'm followed into the bathroom by everyone because they all want to tell me things they need, the moments when I'm so tired that I want to slump into a nap at 4pm. These moments, though trying and taxing, are my great blessings. Because they are weaving together the fabric of this family that I am so privileged to shepherd. When I was a little girl, I never really dreamed of having a family. I always dreamed of having my name is lights on Broadway and wearing a red dress while I accepted an Oscar for best actress ;) Gotta love the dreams of a child! But now I know that this, this life I am living right now, is the greatest dream that could have ever come true for me. It's not easy, it's not perfect, but it is stunning. I revel in this blessing, to be a mom and a wife, and if I never accomplish another thing outside of this family life, I will still be a successful, accomplished, astonishingly blessed woman.

The heat is making me all swoony and that is just okay. May there be sprinklers and super heroes and melty popsicles in your future this weekend! Happy summer to us all!

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Snowpocalypse?

We had this funny dusting of snow this weekend. It was supposed to be barbaric weather. But it wasn't. For Georgians, any amount of frosty accumulation is reason for panic and madness and obviously, for all the school systems to close. As in, they don't always close but when they ultimately don't, kids are SO MAD ABOUT IT. Because no matter how much (or in our case, how little) snow dusts from the sky, these Georgia kids want to dive headfirst into their backyards and build a snowman. Doesn't matter if that snowman is only two inches tall. You can't deny southerners their chance at a winter wonderland.

So this past weekend it snowed, and honestly, it was seriously cold. It was as cold as our Cambridge and New York days, hovering around 27 degrees for more than a day. And it was windy. Those conditions, along with the freezing rain, turned the roads to ice, and then finally crescendoed into a Saturday morning of snowfall. So for all the silly teasing about Georgians going nutso over just a bit of winter weather, there really was reason for staying in and hunkering down.

Well, there was reason for it for about 3 hours. Then the sun came out and melted the snow. Oh Georgia.

But for those three hours! We enjoyed the snow as if we still lived in the Northeast. We made a big hearty diner-style breakfast (which was a bit challenging, since we are still on Whole30), and then got outside to play. We attempted to take our golf cart out to a park, but after being there for under 2 minutes, Everett flipped out and we had to hightail it home. That child wouldn't wear gloves. And it was blistery, blustery cold. So yeah, I kind of get it. I snuggled him really good on that g-ride home. By the way, he calls the golf cart the g-ride. Cutest thing ever.

But there was some yard frolicking and football throwing and yes, even some hot chocolate making. For my bro-in-law. Since we can't have it. But I made sure to take a reeeeeeally deep whiff of it before I passed him that holy mug. Gosh, this Whole30 is getting hard. I'll stop whining though. Pictures!!!

I know the entire East Coast was hit with this particular winter storm. What did you do this weekend during the "Snowpocolypse"? Hope you stayed warm and toasty, friends!

P.S. - Tomorrow I'm having a little mom chat about babies. So stay tuned, if you're into that kind of thing.