tired, yet thankful.

sometimes i let the woes of the world get the best of me.
today was one of those days.
i wish there was a way to shut off my brain sometimes, you know.
'cause it's tired.
tired of worrying about the what-ifs & whos-whos.
tired of thinking about all of the pain & suffering people are enduring all around me.
tired of seeing family & friends broken & hurting.
tired of hearing my ellie cry every night 'cause she's all of a sudden scared of the dark.
tired of not being able to keep up on the housework.
tired of planning it all & not finishing well.
tired of the small mishaps all day long.
(like my washing machine overflowing twice tonight & flooding my garage with no husband home to fix it).
tired of reading about cancer & how many lives it steals.

tired.

but then i am gently reminded of a God who never grows tired.
never grows weary.
who begs me to cast my cares on him.
'cause he cares for me.

and then i am a puddle of tears in my lap.

oh, how many times i've heard that verse.
and still it means the same.

verse.
after verse.
after verse.
after verse.

and a ton more!

like water for my thirsty soul.

so why does it take me so dang long to give it him?
Lord, forgive my stubborn, stony heart.

so tonight, i'm gonna choose joy & thankfulness instead.

thankful for old friends & new and all the life they bring.

thankful for a stubborn third child who brings me so much stinkin' joy it's crazy.

thankful for my twins that will always have each other for a good laugh.

thankful for my husband who keeps me going. & loves me even when i'm not me. he's so good with me guys, it's ridiculous.

thankful that my kids get to hang out with their great grandparents. so rad.

thankful for my mom & her 62 years of life (& that she happily saves me in my meltdowns as my washers overflowing).

tired, yet thankful.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

g'night friends.
thanks for listening to me ramble.
xo

let's play catch-up, shall we?

karis' 30th bday rond-e-vu.

burke williams massages & spa day (swimsuits optional, say whaaa. rikki!)

the best salad in the world. i still dream about you, salad.

a fancy shmancy hotel.

dinner on a rooftop.

the largest pimple on the side of my face i've ever seen.

halloween.

two sweet butterflies.

one little ladybug that would definitely not keep her wings on.

a trip to the pumpkin patch.

we said no rides.

annnnd they ride rides.

ear tubes. 

again.

a daddy who has to work last minute.

a mommy who can handle it on her own.

you! can! do! this!

panic.

eh, a little dry heaving, buuuut they did fine. phew.

an insta friend party!

with 3 of the cutest boys you've ever seen.

edes was in hea-ven. & i sure love meeting new friends.

oh hello friend warehouse sale with the best company.

such a fun day!

a veteran's parade!

um, my baby turned ONE.

but you know that.

and we had the best day ever at disneyland.

we almost moved to orange county.

but that, my friends, is talk for another day.

nat is the hostess with the mostess tho & was almost my neighbor.

let's not talk about it.

date night with my timmy tim tim.

a hole in the wall italian place with oozy, gooey, buttery rolls.

and the scariest, real-ist movie (that was so not appropriate for a date night), argo. anyone? AH.

and there you have it.

WAKE UP.

are you still there?

that is my life for the past month-ish in a blog post.

and now i can sleep at night again.

you're welcome.

eden's first.

this kid was spoiled rotten by natalie & her fam! thank you for the pics, friend!

we celebrated our sweet eden at home.
& then there was a sparkly donut, presents, & disneyland!
this [first] year was simple+sweet.
full of family & friends doting on her all the way to the big day [and even after!]
and i kinda loved it a whole lot. 
one things for sure, this kid sure is loved.

eden, we just adore you.
we thank God you came along, every. single. day.
i have a feeling this new one year old self is gonna be a fun one.
you're a spunky little part of our family, and we just can't get enough.
so thankful for you! ahhh!

happy first birthday, eden paige!

a day for us.

*catch-up post alert

audrey found these glasses in the parking lot. finders keepers.

first churro. yum!

her face the whole ride. she was so into it!

i found a cute arrow!

terrified of mickey! and my ugly laughing face. the best.

hockey.
the mall.
chili dogs.
and then it's a small world at disneyland.
we had daddy all to ourselves!
and we weren't about to share him.
such a good day.
so many memories.
eden clapped and waved the whole time!
video to follow. if i get my act together.
ah! i love my family!
thank you, Jesus!

our mini getaway video.

shot with iphone's 8mm app. so fun! i'm addicted! go get yourself one stat.

the weekend.

shopping. hotel bed jumping. jacuzzi. fooooood! disneyland. birthday candles. a handsome birthday boy. and my favorite people in the world. oh, and of course, my new best friend, the iphone. wink. [i think pictureshow is my favorite so far. can you tell?]

it was a good one.
thank you, weekend. you were just what we needed.