Eggs, Sangria, and Fun

It was a wonderful weekend indeed. We picked up some plants for the yard, we got eight lavender plants, which I can't wait to plant. It has been pretty chilly still, so we didn't plant anything, I'm itching to get in the dirt and go at it.
We took the kids to the local easter egg hunt and I was so proud of my little ones. The hunt starts right at 9:00 am and as people were leaving, a mother comes with two little boys and they were five minutes too late. So, my kids asked if they could give some of their eggs to the kids and I said sure and so they did. I was super proud of them!
Today, we celebrated Easter at my father-in-law's house and my parents came. It was a wonderful time, we ate so much food, drank sangria, and laughed so hard. The kids had fun with another easter egg hunt and then have a go with the pinata, it was so funny to watch the kids. Afterwards, we stopped at my mother-in-law's for another easter egg hunt and we saw an owl as we sat around the fire.
It was a fun-filled packed weekend and in need of another weekend to recover. I'm thankful for these moments with my family!

"Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless." ~Charles M. Crowe

A story for her daddy....

My sweet pea read me the story she wrote for her daddy. It is titled, "Wen you wer gon" or "When you were gone." She has not conquered spelling, but then again she has only been six for about a month now, but I can read what she is intending to say. She is so excited to read it to him and it is so heartfelt, which is one of the many reasons I love my children. They are still at that age where they are not afraid to display their affection or emotions and I hope that doesn't change.

My sweet pea was informing of an incident that transpired at school and how hurt her feelings were, I told her she needs to be honest with her feelings. I said maybe that wasn't what she meant and so if you don't ask or tell them that it hurt or was bothersome then how is she to know? Of course, all advice I'm trying to conquer myself ;)

Anyway...back to her story...I will spare the misspellings and just type what her story says, so without any further thought interruptions, I present "When you were gone" by my sweet pea

"This is the day we were sad. And our hearts were empty without you.

We missed you when you were in New Zealand. I hope you had a great time in New Zealand.

I love you so much. You're the dad I love the best. I do not want to ask for another dad.

I love you more than a person loves a kid."

The End

So, that was her story....I asked her if she was trying to make her daddy cry and she said, "of course, I cried while he was gone." And I laughed and said, I suppose it is only fair. I will give her credit, in her notebook, she spelled New Zealand as Noosilind...gotta love it!

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." - JM Barrie

Lavender buds are a blooming

I was picking up some leaves and sticks in the yard and saw some new buds and the color coming back to my lavender plants. I'm definitely looking forward to the fresh smell of lavender and making the lavender sugar scrub and lavender cupcakes.

Yes, Spring is here...thank goodness Spring is here! Seeing all the new blossoms and rebirth of plants and trees is so awakening. I took the kids for a picnic and as we walked, we would try to see which plants had buds.

After we had our picnic, we came home and my sweet pea asked if she could have a "tea party" with us, so my little man, the dogs, and I huddled around her little table and it was just a wonderful moment.

I am so blessed! It is easy to caught up into everyday life and all the negative things going around that you forget all your blessings, especially with all the tragedies as the earthquakes, local shootings, and other media events, you have to be thankful for every moment you have. And with Spring in bloom, I'm going to restart the Random Acts of Kindness Campaign that I participated in last year...so tomorrow will be the start, not sure what I will do to kick it off, but I will think of something.

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." Angela Monet

The Countdown is on....

So, we are officially counting the number of days left till my hubby returns. The kids are excited when I tell them the number, their smile turns into a huge grin of excitement and they talk about how they are going to make a whole bunch of signs.

I've definitely adjusted to his absence, but it doesn't lessen how much I miss him, which I do, there are times when I feel somewhat apathetic, but on the whole I can't wait for his return. The kids and I have been staying busy, which helps. I have no complaints, the kids are great, there is the occasional fighting and bickering, but overall I'm such a lucky mom. I've got two of the greatest kiddies ever! And I tell them all the time, how proud I am and how helpful they are since daddy is gone. We planted our herbs (they are indoors right now) and I think this week we'll grab some veggies and try to get a good head start on the seedlings that way when it's time to plant them outside we have plants vs seeds.

This weekend was super busy with play dates, speaking at a conference, travel to Iowa City to see family, and then more play dates. I was asked by the Transplant Coordinator by one of the hospitals to speak at a conference they had - I was the kickoff speaker to the event and I think I spoke for about five minutes and then they played the digital story I created during my MA program. I was a bit nervous and considering I didn't really know what I was going to say till the night before, I think I did well and didn't have my nose pressed to my notes. After, I spoke and they played the story, everyone clapped and some stood, a lot were crying and as I left, the transplant coordinator, just squeezed me. It was a neat experience and I was glad I did it, I'm honored they thought to ask me, especially when I feel like what I did wasn't anything that grand, there are stories like ours everywhere.

I'm hoping to hit the Omaha zoo with the kiddies before the hubby return as a special getaway treat, I just need to figure out when, so that will be next on our list.

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." - EB White

Growing Up.....

My wee man celebrated his 5th birthday! And I can't believe it, he is five, I know I've said it before that it just goes by so fast, but seriously where did my baby go? I think I have mentioned in a prior post that he was our "surprise" baby and I'm so thankful for that. I definitely have a mentality of things happen for a reason whether we grasp it then or later and although I definitely wasn't prepared or ready for a second, we made it work and have been blessed with such a funny and caring little boy.

I'm super proud of him! And I want to freeze these moments, we are celebrating his birthday this weekend and so he kept asking, is it my "real" birthday or is this a "celebration" birthday and when I would say it was his "real" birthday, he would then say, well when is the celebration? And when daddy called via skype to sing him happy birthday, he said, "daddy, you've made my day," I think both the hubby and I cried.

So, it was a "yes" day yesterday, we went to Chuckie E Cheese, we ate cake, we read books, and they stayed up past their bedtimes to we watch movies (they made it through one and then fell asleep through the second one). And as my little man ended his day and was desperately trying to stay awake, he squeezed my arm and said, "thank you mommy for the best day ever." And I said, "no, thank you," to which he looks at me and says, "what did I do?" And I said, "for blessing me with you."

So, happy birthday little man, you gave me such worries before you even came into this world and even though I still get on edge with your daring antics, you are growing into a wonderful little boy!

"The spirit is there in every boy; it has to be discovered and brought to light." R. Baden-Powell

Does absence make the heart grow fonder....

We are about a week into my hubby's trip and I was doing well, a wee sappy when he left, but I've tried to remain busy with the kids, work, pets, chickens, and the household chores. The kids have been great, of course, they miss "daddy" and bedtime is the hardest part. My little man said, "we just aren't a family with the three of us." My heart sank, so we use our imaginations and travel to see him. Yet, again, I try to keep them busy too. It definitely helps that we can "skype."

After the kids went to bed tonight and I finished folding the laundry, I decided to just rest, no work, spoiled myself with some television and just relaxed....and then it crept on me...the stillness in the house, no noise, except for Barney, the pug, snoring. The house just seems empty. As I've posted before, the hubby and I don't always make "us" a priority as it is easy to get caught up with everything else, that it is easy to pass up date nights or one-on-one time with each other than asking someone to watch the kids, so we just don't do it. And although I knew he would be gone for several weeks, I'm not sure I was quite ready for the emotions that have come with his absence. The last time we skyped, I started to break down, which I quickly tried to hide because I didn't want him to know that I was crying and tonight, I simply miss him. I miss hearing his voice, his crazy antics, and all of who he is.

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't do well with a long distance relationship, but I know many people do. It gives you an appreciation for your relationship, especially coming from a military family and knowing my mom had to go sometimes six or nine months out of the year without my father or those who have partners currently overseas.

So I do think absence makes the heart grow fonder....at least for me...I'm looking forward to wrapping my arms around my hubby, showering him with kisses, and telling him how much I love him!

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." - K. Gibran

Aotearoa

Well today is the last day to blog for "blog4nz "and I hope that is has encouraged people to think about visiting, even after the earthquake. They had many people blogging on their behalf. As I was debating on what to post, I couldn't decide. There are truly many amazing and wonderful places to visit and for this to be my last post, it is hard to pick.
So, I've posted this slide show on previous posts, but I felt it was appropriate for this purpose as well. New Zealand holds a special place in my heart, regardless of how long I've been in the states, I still call it "home."

Aotearoa

They say it was fished from the sea,

Aotearoa,

land of the long white cloud.

The deep seas are calling me,

the mountains are howling my name, to come.

Home.

The land of my ancestors,

the land of my mother,

the land where I am from.

Beautiful with grace, that steals your breath away

runs through my soul, my heart, my blood

engulfs me like a wave of wonder

Home.

Oh, how the sea calls me

Oh, how the mountains howl for me to come,

and I so far away

can hear it loudly

Because I am your lost child

In a world not my own

And my soul yearns to break free,

back to Aotearoa

fished from the sea.