Magic Moments

After our friend's wedding reception in South Carolina came to a close, Boss and I jumped in the car and hit the road once more. Our destination? Gatlinburg, TN for a little 'us' time. And goodness me, I cannot even begin to tell you how gorgeous the drive was between Ashville, NC and Gatlinburg, TN. Green mountains, rolling hills, blue skies, several tunnels. My body desperately wanted to rest, but my eyes refused. They needed to see the beauty that surrounded them. Boss and I rolled down the windows, opened up the sun roof, and breathed in the fresh mountain air as if our very lives depended on it. The stress that comes with ordinary days melted away with the miles, and all that was left was extraordinary perfection. I did close my eyes at one point, but only so that I could try and capture the moments of that drive forever in my heart. Because that drive, those moments, felt like magic.

We arrived around supper time and quickly prettied up to spend a night out on the town. We tossed around several ideas of where to eat, but as soon as  I saw that roof top dining was available at a Mexican Restaurant, nothing else stood a chance. We sat at a table for two that overlooked the mountains. Twinkling lights danced across the sky. Boss and I shared an order of fajitas. Throughout dinner, Boss would wink at me or reach over to take hold of my hand, but we hardly uttered a word. Our server joked that our food must have been great since there was no conversation at our table. What he didn't know was that after a decade of love, sometimes words just aren't really necessary. Another magic Moment.

The next morning we set off early for a hike up to Laurel Falls. The climb was fairly steep, the trail crowded, but we pressed on. When we reached the top of the falls, my breath caught in my throat. The falls were so powerful and beautiful, yet I was disappointed that there were so many other people around. I had wanted another moment. And because he is amazing, Boss knew that. He asked me if I wanted to be brave and hike off the trail, climb down to the bottom of the falls. I wanted to say no, I don't really do brave, but I said yes instead. Another moment, after all. Boss took my hand like the gentleman that he is and gently guided me down the rocks. Several times he asked me if I wanted to stop, if where we were was far enough, but I always replied keep going until there is not a  single person in sight. Finally, after about a half hour, we stopped to sit on a large, flat, reclined rock. The people were gone, the sound of the falls pounding the rocks all that we could hear. We took off our shoes and stuck our feet in the mountain stream. We reclined against the rock and closed our eyes, letting the sunshine warm our faces. Boss grabbed my hand again. And then he leaned over and whispered that this was his very favorite moment with me yet.

So many magic moments in the span of a single day. Is it selfish to wish for a lifetime more?

Scenes From Amish Country

Hello, Little Red Barn

Hello, Horse and Buggy

Hello, Sweet Kate

Hello, Baby Goats

Hello, Inn at the Amish Door

Hello, Sweet Horse Looking at Me

Hello, Farm With Golden Fields

Hello, Sweet Sisters

Hello, Buggy Parked Outside Dollar General

Hello, Brown Fuzzy Baby Cow

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Mama, Kate, and Emma

This morning, my mom, my girls, and I left on a little road trippin' adventure in honor of my upcoming 30th birthday. Remember my 30 Before 30 list? On there I listed that I wanted to take a little trip with my own mama before I turned 30, and I was kind enough to invite my little girls to come along. A three generation trip, if you will. Our destination? Ohio's Amish Country. Also known as one of my happy places. Little girls in simple dresses and kapp's, small boys riding bicycles, the clippity clop of horse hooves, sleek black buggies.... all of it makes my heart feel happy. We reached Holmes County around two this afternoon and checked in at our Inn. It's gorgeous! It has a grand central staircase to die for. This afternoon we hit the shops in Berlin. I fell in love with a $128 dress, but decided that Boss might not feel like that was really in our budget. I tried to convince the girls that eating might not be necessary over the next two days, and told them how good Mama would look in that dress, and wouldn't they rather starve in the name of mama looking stylish? Oddly enough, they declined. Turns out they are  rather fond of eating. Who knew? So after we shopped, we took my little food lovers to Cindy's Diner for some yummy grub. It did not disappoint. And then it was back to the Inn for swimming. Well, the girls swam and I soaked away 29 years of stress in the hot tub :). And now I have decided to join in with my Amish neighbors and go to bed with the sun. Good night, all!






Magic Moments

I still believe in magic. It's true. I will turn thirty this summer, which sounds to me very much like turning into a grown up for real, but I still believe in magic just like my small daughters. Not the kind of magic that transforms Prince Charming into a Beast, nor the kind that turns a pumpkin into a carriage. That kind of magic is reserved for fairy tales and story books (though I will forever be a sucker for a happy ending). But I believe in magic of a different kind.

I believe in the magic of the everyday.

I have never wanted to be anything other than a wife and a mother. I had other interests that I thought about pursuing at one time or another in my growing up years, but nothing ever captivated my soul quite like the thought of getting married and having children with my love. Sometimes it was all I could think about, talk about, dream about. I dreamed about being poor and in love, together in our early years, just beginning our new life. I dreamed about having babies right away, and lots of them! I dreamed about happy colors, comforting blankets, aprons, home cooked meals, chocolate chip cookies, gardens, and a white picket fence. It was all very magical, this life I had created for my little (or big) family in my dreams. I could not wait for my dreams to come true. I could not wait for the magic to begin.

And then he came along, that February of 2002. Dark hair, kind eyes, easy smile. And I knew, I just knew that someday he would be mine. A little spark of magic burst forth. It was September of that same year when I knew that I loved him, and November when I said yes. The love, that magical feeling, was overflowing by this point. My magical moment had finally come! I couldn't wait to be his Mrs. His helper. His forever love. In May of 2003, my dream came true. We had a beautiful wedding, an amazing honeymoon. Everywhere I looked there was magic.

That same summer we decided to start our family, and by October there were two pink lines on the stick. We were going to have a baby! The magic had overflowed and a new life was beginning. She joined us the following July of 2004. Perfect, and beautiful, and pink. And even amidst tired eyes, and crazy hormones, I could not wipe the smile from my face. I was living my dreams.

After that there were moves, adventures as I like to call them, and new houses, new friends. Every new place and every new face adding to the magic of the life we were carving out for ourselves. In 2006 a new sister joined our family, and in 2010 a tiny brother. My cup overflowed, so many magical moments it would be impossible to name them all. Life certainly wasn't perfect, but it was our life, and it was what we wanted. It was enough. I couldn't imagine not always feeling that full. Not always seeing the magic in the everyday. At times it would drift in and out as it does in any life, but it always came back. The magic always came back. I just assumed that it would always be there.

So no one was more surprised than me when I lost the magic. I couldn't find it anywhere. I suppose it was still there, but I quit seeing. Somewhere along the way I stopped dreaming. I stopped seeing the magic. Or really, I stopped looking for it. I felt a bit lost, not really knowing my purpose. Where once being a wife and mother seemed like enough, suddenly the magic was gone. Boss and the children were still magical, they always will be to me, but my perspective was off. I kept crying out to God, wanting him to hit me over the head with his plans for my life. I wanted grand plans and grand purpose! I wanted magic, but not the everyday kind. I wanted big magic!

And then I got pregnant with number four. And I thought maybe that was my answer. Maybe mothering four children would be more magical than mothering three! I began to get excited. Surely big things would be happening soon! And they did, just not in the way that I planned. As you know, we lost that baby. And I thought the magic was really gone then. Lost forever. I knew I would feel happiness again. Boss and my children most always make me happy. But for me, happiness was different than magic. That feeling that everything is right with the world. That you are right where you should be. I wasn't sure when, or if, I would find that feeling again. Maybe life wasn't as magical as I had once thought.

Last week our family spent the week at Disney World. And as cliche as it sounds, I can honestly say that is where I found my magic once again. And it wasn't in the enchanting music, the beautiful costumes, or in the princesses. It was Emma racing to hold my hand as we walked from one attraction to another. Choosing me to be her partner over anyone else. It was seeing Kate's eyes light up, believing that some of the fairy tales were true. It was in allowing her to keep on believing. It was in Jack's kisses. And in his laughter. There was magic in holding Boss' hand. It was in stripping away everything else, all that I thought I wanted or deserved, and really seeing what I already had. A beautiful life. I looked at the family we had created, together, and it all came back to me. What we have is enough. This life? It can be magic. If we search for it in the everyday. If we strive to see beauty in the simple. If we can do those things, then the magic is all around us. I don't just have to dream of being a wife and mother, or of aprons or home cooked meals, or traditions. I can make it happen. I can do that! I can take my regular life moments and make them magical.


I can choose to believe in the magic of the everyday.

Disney Day Five - Magic Kingdom Revisited

Disney Day Four - Hollywood Studios

Disney Day Three: Animal Kingdom

Disney Day Two: Epcot

Disney Day One: Magic Kingdom

Headed Down to Happy

(Photo Courtesy of AOL Travel)

You all know by now that my sweet family left bright and early yesterday morning for a little week long adventure. Our destination? Disney World! To some, the Happiest Place on Earth. So I kept telling my children that we were headed down to happy. Children, stop fighting! We are headed down to happy! Emma, quit making gas noises with your silly putty! No gas noises on the way to happy! Kate, no, you may not continue to ask if we are there yet! Does it look like we are there yet? Happy is very far away! And Jack.....! Well, there really are no words for Jack. Because he's two. Enough said. But you get the idea. We were headed down to happy and Mama wanted to be happy! But with seven people trapped in a van together for eighteen plus hours, happy is not always what you get. Sometimes you get moody, or grumpy, or irritated. But instead of dwelling on those emotions, instead I decided to compile for you a list of ten things I thought about/noticed/discovered on our way down to happy. So here goes nothing.

1) I really do love road trips! Even with the Boss man, my three children, and my parents along for the ride. Especially with them along for the ride. We don't really even need books, or movies, or other random things to numb our minds as we drive. I always bring a whole stack of things with me to do, but I never use anything that I bring! I just talk and laugh (and sometimes yell at, if we are being perfectly honest here) with my family the entire way. We play the alphabet game and search for license plates and make up other games along the way. We have never let having small children keep us from our love of traveling. We just load them all up and go for it! And it is super great fun!

2)I have a really big crush on my twelve passenger van. Like, really big. I have been her Mama for four years, and I heart her. I even named her Old Faithful, because she has been our faithful travel companion, always giving us her best. Never tiring out. Never shunning us when we leave goldfish and fruit loop crumbs all over her floors. My favorite thing about her are her four super HUGE cup holders up front. Perfect for holding large diet vanilla cokes from Sonic. And really large cups of any pop for that matter. Or if you are one of my healthy friends, I suppose she could hold a nice bottle of water, too. Not sure, though. I will have to ask her about that one. My second favorite thing about her is that when we take out her back row, we can still hold seven people comfortably while carrying just about anything! Seriously! Even a bathtub would fit back there. Not that we have ever tried that, but if we ever wanted to try that I am positive that one would fit (ahem). I am pretty sure that one day Old Faithful and I will have to part ways. Because she guzzles gasoline like I guzzle diet coke. That will be a very, very sad day.

3) Road trips are super great for sharing thoughts with your husband. I love when the Boss man is strapped in next to me. One, because he is way cute, and two, because it forces him to listen to everything that I have been wanting to talk to him about! For hours on end, he is forced to be my captive audience! Sometimes though, his eyes glaze over and I have to see if he is still listening. So I say something clever like, Hey Babe, let's sell everything we own, even the children, and buy Harley's! You can become a biker dude and I will be your biker chick. What do you think about that, babe? And then if he agrees, I know he has not been listening to a thing I have said, and we have to start all over again. On this trip down to happy, I shared with him my most recent dream and vision. The best part? He actually seemed to like what I shared with him! He might have even been a tiny bit excited about it! We will see. But the fact that his eyes never glazed over made me a very happy Mama.

4) I love living in the Midwest, but I always feel at home while back in the south. Right about Tennessee I could feel things begin to change. The air got humid, the sweet tea started pumping through my veins (because you must drink sweet tea when in the south), and the accents! The southern accents were everywhere! And what can I say? It feels good to be back amongst my people, y'all.

5) Do not give your children noise putty in the car if you do not want to hear bodily function noises followed by uncontrollable laughter for eighteen plus hours. Especially if bodily function noises do not make you feel happy. See above.

6) While dining in Georgia this afternoon, I experienced a soda fountain with over 100 choices! Seriously! There were your basic choices of soda (naturally, I went with diet coke), but then you could add in most any flavor. I chose raspberry. Diet raspberry coke over ice equals divine. I knew after one sip that happy had arrived a few hours earlier for me than anyone else.

7) I bought new sunglasses at a truck stop. I don't know why that is significant, but it felt a little bit adventurous, so I thought that I should share that with you here. I might wear them on the Dumbo ride should I decide to get really wild. Time will tell.

8) Florida is not a very beautiful state unless you are looking at the ocean. The marshlands do nothing for me. You, of course, are free to disagree.

9) People at rest stops are very interesting. That is all I have to say about that.

10) When traveling with many people (several of whom happen to be smaller(ish), it is best to be flexible. Our after arrival plans tonight started with changing and heading to Downtown Disney for a night on the town. Once a few people began melting though, we quickly switched our plans to include supper at Sweet Tomatoes (another really great thing that the Midwest is lacking!), followed by a shopping excursion at Super Wal-Mart for the one million things that we forgot to pack. But that didn't work out either. We ended up picking up a few things at the local Winn Dixie and getting Chinese take out for supper. And by nine pm all were bathed and in bed. Except for me. That is when I decided that being flexible was a good thing.

But the happiest news of all is that we have arrived safely, and we all still like each other. (Mostly. The two year old is still questionable. Thank goodness he is cute and gives good smooches!) After a good nights rest we will wake up tomorrow, head to Magic Kingdom, introduce Jack to Mickey Mouse, and get our happy on! I am feeling happier just thinking about it!

Down to Destin

At our children's home annual auction/fundraiser this year, my dad and Boss bid on a week's vacation at a condo in Destin, Florida and won! A few weeks ago, we made the long trip down south and had such a wonderful time together as a family. What a beautiful city! White sand, sparkling water, dolphins. It was everything that you would hope a beach get-a-way to be (except for the jelly fish, but we did not let them ruin our fun!). Here are a few snapshots from our trip. Is it just me, or are my children beautiful?!