Agree to disagree....

... but wait.  I can not sit silently by and watch you say such ignorant things.  I must speak my peace.  I am sure you do not think you are ignorant.  I am sure you think your beliefs are right, why else would you believe them?  I know in my soul that peace is the answer.  Love is the way.  And our creator (however you see it) made us for good.  And as much as we try to be different, we are the same.  We want to belong.  We want to feel love.  And I believe we want to be authentically ourselves.  It is so hard to see people pretend to be something they are not.  It is so sad to see people hate on others when they just do not understand or they have been given the appropriate insight and they chose to be blind.  I think it all comes down to fear.  What are you afraid of?
Afraid of different.
Afraid of questioning what you have.
Afraid of being yourself.
Afraid of calling a committed, loving relationship between same sex people a marriage?

I can not comprehend why different equals a threat to you?  Why can't different be beautiful?  Why can't different be normal?  It is so easy to cling to our egos and make our ideas or issues seem bigger than they are.  I know that if you feel similarly this will make sense to you and that is alright.  I think that if you want to continue to have tunnel vision, to feel comfort in your chaos, you will blow this off as hippie nonsense and that is okay too.  You may not even read this in the first place.  I hope that you will find strength to be yourself.  Every.  Day.  I hope that you will be brave and let down your walls, do not fear what you do not understand.  Different is good.  We learn from different.  And different really isn't all that different in the end.

Thanks for reading.

Girl's weekend...

...was great!  What does every mom deserve?  Time with your girls.  Talking.  Time to relax.  Sunshine.  Food that we don't have to make.  A few yummy drinks.  A house that we don't have to clean.  Lists that do not need to be made.  To float on a raft in the water.  Hummingbirds.  Hummus.  And a massage.  (the last three things I added just for me and the very last one just in my imagination).  I met some nice new people and caught up with one of my best friends.  We are all so busy.  And whether we have one child, two or three, you are busy.  You have a lot to think about ALL the time.  And this slower paced time by the water was SO appreciated.

I hope that we all stop to realize that some of the lists are not as important as they seem.  Face time with your fam is always more important than checking things off a list.  I hope that we all get (and give!) the appreciation we feel for the loved ones in our lives.  And I hope we can all take that time for ourselves (or with our friends) to refresh our spirits and give us more energy to take home to our family. 

It was my first time spending two nights away from my baby and when I got home, oh my goodness, I could not wait to see her!  All the extra hugs and kisses and smiles were Amazing.

It's time to write.

If you didn't have to work all day what is something you would want to do with your time?.... you could probably list several things, right?  One of the things I know I would do is write.  I love writing. I feel it is the easiest way for me to truly explain how I feel, to reflect and to connect with others by realizing we may have gone through something similar.  I plan on posting more here a lot more and hope that you will follow me along this writing journey.  I also plan to share with you my book that compiles most of my writings and artwork over the last 10 years.  I am a little nervous, excited and completely ready to take the next step to share my story.

The time is now.  I'd love to hear from you too.

He's not just a dog...

he is a part of the family.  If you have ever loved a dog, you know that these domesticated animals quickly take on an important role in your family as well as a permanent place in your heart.  You know that the dog hair, smell, muddy feet, barking, whining... all of these things can be annoying.  And you also know that the second you open your front door you will be greeted by these wildly excited creatures.  You know that they will always be there to bring you joy.  Their playful, energetic beings brings you comfort, a smile, support.  They get up on the furniture, they get in to the trash (even if it's just once), and they chew something up that is not a toy.  They will protect you. 

After several rough days, today Jake passed away.  Matt rescued Jake eleven years ago and he became the mascot of his house in college.  Everyone loved Jake.  He was the dog that you could keep off a leash and he would always stay by your side (of course he did run off chasing a cat once or twice).  He was the dog where you could leave a bowl full of food out and he would eat at his leisure all day long.  He hated the rain and would refuse to go outside if it meant his precious paws would get wet.  He would gently place his paw on your knee to remind you to pet him.  He would nudge your arm up with his snout to remind you to pet him more.  He eventually was adopted by Matt's mom and they became great friends. Such good friends in fact that Jake did not like sharing Becky's attention and would do his best to remind her that he was waiting by her side. Jake got spoiled rotten with Becky and he deserved every bit of extra food and love he got from her.  His favorite treat was cheeseburgers and he would not look twice at a treat that did not meet his high class palate.  Even when he packed on a few pounds he could still run in circles so fast and his whine became similar to a pig oink.  If you ever asked him "where's kitty?" you would get one loud, strong bark.  He was persistent, he was smart, he was a very sweet dog.  We will miss Jake very much. 

Jakester, Jakey, Jakey boy.... Thank you for bringing such love to our families.  Thank you for loving us.  You are a very sweet, good boy.  I pray that dog heaven is the same place as people heaven.

You guys, it's happening....

it actually feels like spring out.  Today was gorgeous.  Sunny all day, cool in the morning followed by a beautiful day.  Brynn has been waiting to get outside and open one of the three bottles of bubbles we have and today we got to do just that.  She ran around our front yard, played on the slide, swung in moma and dada's arms and blew bubbles.  We then took a nice long walk this evening (slightly cool breeze and the smell of cookouts everywhere around us) and ate a yummy dinner.  I am ready to plant some herbs and veggies.  I want to be outside most of the time.  Open windows.  Running around with our daughter.  Happiness.

Big girl.

Our baby is more like a toddler every day... I feel like I've said that before.  Seriously though, her feet look bigger, her body is longer, her vocabulary is expanding... and she had her first for real big girl sleep over at Nana's house over the weekend.  We had an early birthday party for me where we went out to a yummy dinner with great friends then had a game night (we have not hosted one of those in two years) at our place and it was just plain fun.  All parents, all having a chance to unwind, have fun, and play pictionary together.  I mean, what more could ya ask for?  Catching up with good friends that we don't get to see often enough was wonderful and a great reminder of what good people we have in our lives.  Our big girl had a fantastic night at her Nana's house and it was a huge relief on our part, no stress, knowing that not only was she well taken care of, she was having a good time and she was/is so comfortable at her Nana and Grandpa's house.  So grateful.

It goes by so fast

I just finished putting together our girl's first home movies that quickly took me through the most amazing 16 months of our lives.  From the overwhelming amounts of JOY, exhaustion and laughter.  Thank goodness for this brilliant, brave, wild, beautiful baby... who is looking more like a toddler every single day.