No plans, just go.

My awesome hubby told us earlier this week that he wanted to take the kids (and me, of course) to Virginia Beach since we hadn't actually been to a beach at all this summer.  Out of the two of us, I am definitely more of the "planner" (which actually doesn't say much because I'm actually not a planner at all) and Pack is usually the "anti-decision maker" (because, well...he has a VERY difficult time committing to dates and thinking ahead unless it's work-related).  BUT....he booked us a hotel for a night and got us all psyched up for an overnight vacation (which, to be honest, is about all we can handle with out little guys lately).

Our plan was to have a nice supper, let the boys get some energy out in the hotel pool, and then hit the hay so we could have lots of go-juice for the beach on Saturday.  We did all those things, but it didn't go as smoothly as we had planned.  We had our celebratory supper (celebrating not cooking, of course) at the Cheesecake Factory and realized we were demonstrating why many restaurants are banning children these days.  We saw not just one, but three couples opt to wait longer for table than sit next to us (Oh, WHY didn't they let us have a booth????).  In our defense, we had to eat and at least we went early before the crowd really started pouring in...

On the walk back to the hotel, we passed a cute little cupcake shop and I thought a little sugar would help get my stress level back on track, so we picked up some to have after our swim and hurried on to hit the pool.  The pool was great and the boys had fun (after Jude got over his 15 minutes of being terrified of the cold water and begging for the hot tub).  We thought after a nice dessert, bath, and prayers, the boys would go right to sleep while we watched HGTV.  We were wrong.  It took Jude an hour to give up the fight (after many threats) and then Penn decided he didn't want to be awake alone and tried to wake Jude up by bending his finger backwards.  What was he thinking???!!!  After settling that, we cut the T.V. off and we all drifted off to sleep.


This morning, our boys woke up with plenty of "go-juice."  We were all eager to get out of the little hotel room and hit the beach.  After an awesome breakfast at our hotel and a quick shopping trip for beach snacks and a couple more toys, we were ready.  Getting a parking place close to our spot, was grossly expensive, but worth it when we were having to lug a beach bag, shovels, buckets of toys, umbrella, and two wild little men across a busy street.  Once we touched the sand though, we hit our stride.


From mid-morning until mid-afternoon, we did a lot of playing in the water and a lot of this:

Yeah...I'm the mom that packs a disposable cup and spoon for sand toys...so what!

Filling the bucket with sand so I could dump it over and break it...oops!

Sweet beach baby:)

It was pretty fun getting sandy...and thanks, Pack for not making me look like a fatty:)

Hey mom...you sunscreened your boys, now would be a good time to sunscreen yourself!

Beach play wipes you out!

More creative sand toys:)

When we decided it was time to go, we grabbed hot dogs for the boys, some Chick-fil-a for us, and we were homeward bound.  It was a great trip and I'm so thankful that our life here allows us to make no "real" plans and just go.  I'm also thankful for a husband who knows how to "roll with it" and take some initiative when I don't even know that I need him to.  We had a blast and I can't wait to go back!

The Secret's Out!

Things I Dig

In response to my grump list...here are some "things I dig."

• Lists (obviously...)
• Babies (my twin sis is having one RIGHT NOW...there will be another post on this)
• Camping
• Window shopping
• My boys
• Having a husband who tours VA wineries when he travels on his off time.
• White Merlot (see above)
• Dessert
• Bubbles
• Reading 
• Trying new foods
• Seeing moms breastfeed in public (go ahead and roll your eyes, I'm cool with that)
• Ice (preferably from Jumpin' J's in Florence)
• Making my husband a meal that he requests to eat again (chicken spaghetti, baked eggrolls, Ramen casserole???)
• Making my kids a healthy meal that they will actually eat 
• Sappy, romantic, cheesy stuff
• Perfume, blush, and lip gloss (on a deserted island, this is what I'd miss)
• My parents, siblings, and in-laws
• Having a friend nearby to do free date night exchanges with
• The "rainbow" selection at the car wash
• Coffee someone else makes 
• Having a husband who is "not a natural," but gives it all he's got ;)
• Facebook
• Learning to make my own "stuff"
• Peace (the groovy, hippie kind) 
• Peace (that passes understanding)
• Having a Savior.  Enough said.

Pack, this one's just for you:)

Eleven years ago (when I was a junior in high school), I had this crush on a guy who may or may not have known I existed (and who may or may not have known which "twin" I was).  We "talked."  We flirted.  We went to a concert together.  I told him I had a thing for big, strong, tall guys.  He said he always like petite girls.  He gave me a piggyback ride on the beach because I didn't have shoes with me on the shell-littered shore.  We had our first kiss at his house and we became "boyfriend and girlfriend."  After a sweet summer with lots more kisses, I was addicted.

Sometime that first year.

 Then...he went away to college...FOR FOUR LONG YEARS (well, four-and-a-half, if I'm being honest).  I tried going to college close to him (it didn't work).  He thought about coming home to be close to me (he didn't).  There were a couple of times that we both thought it just might not work (but, it did).

One month after he graduated (on my 21st birthday), he asked me to marry him at a picnic on the grounds of the university I was attending.  I still can't believe I didn't cry.

Telling the Family!

Just a few short months later, in April of 2005, I married him...at last (and I still didn't cry)!

The kiss!

Now, six years after that most perfect wedding day, I'm living in someplace I never imagined I'd be with someone I never imagined I would be able to love more and more each day, and I have the job of my dreams...as the mother of his children.

Nowadays...

He makes me laugh all. the. time.  He is such an awesome dad.  He makes me feel beautiful (even though very little about me still resembles that "petite girl") and I have never doubted his faithfulness.  He prays with me and for me.  He always surprises me.  He never stops trying to be better--at his job and at home.  He makes me walk on the inside of the road with the children so he can protect us from traffic.  He's an awesome guitarist.  He is honest with me.  He is such a professional and his work makes me so proud.  He's a friend to everyone.  He's mine and I know he loves me.

Me with my best friend!

Pack, thank you for kissing me, loving me, and asking me to marry you six years ago.  You are very simply the best husband I could ever dream of and I'm so thankful that God saved you for me!

Happy (late) Anniversary!!!

My Favorite Valentine Memory...

Pack and I got engaged in August of 2004, so February of 2005 was our last Valentine's Day as a dating couple.  We already had decided where we were going to live, come April, and Pack was getting ready to move in for a couple of months alone before the wedding.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, we had a picnic in our unfurnished (unheated) formal living room.  We sat on the blanket that Pack bought me for our engagement picnic and drank from the mugs he bought as well.  Luminaries lit the room (even though it was in the middle of the day) and we ate a an eclectic mix of food from our two favorite places (chicken from Chick-fil-a and a dessert from Applebees...what simple tastes we had then, lol).  We ate and lay on the blanket, not really believing that after almost five years of dating, we would be married in just a couple of months.  This Valentine's Day was a real celebration!

We, of course didn't take any pictures, but that is still a vivid memory, six years later (which doesn't seem like so long until I think of the two children, numerous jobs, and several houses we've had since then).  This was my favorite Valentine memory, but the love I have for my Valentine is so much deeper than I ever though was possible back then (you know, when I thought he was perfect).  I'm so thankful for my partner, my best friend, and for the way he loves me.

Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.

Christian Jargon

"Faith like a mustard seed."

What the heck does that even mean?!  When I think of mustard seeds, I think of that spice on my spice rack that has been begging to be used for years and never has.  So they make mustard from that or something?  I dunno.

What I do know is that that jar of mustard seeds, doesn't do me a lot of good when I'm trying to figure out this whole faith thing.  It's easy to throw out that phrase and expect that people "get it."  "Oh, mustard seeds are small, yellow, and round, so that explains it!"  Yeah right...

I've always felt that my faith was child-like and simple.  Thankfully, it never really took a lot of convincing for me to believe in God and Jesus.  I never needed a lot of proof.  As a matter of fact, the older I've gotten, the more obvious the reality of God is to me.  I don't feel that I need to take a step of faith to realize that He exists.  Once I had the experience of going from a "regular person" to a person growing and pushing into the world another living, breathing, thinking, loving person...He was confirmed in my life.

Faith, I'm learning, comes back to one question for me:  "Do you trust ME to take care of ALL of your needs.?"

The ABC's of Financial Freedom is a very misleading series.  I thought it was going to teach me all about how to manage my (our) money so we could get out of debt.  It's not.  Financial freedom, just like any other type of freedom comes from being able to let go of our control because God has promised us that "for those who love God, all things work together for good." (Romans8:28)

All things?  ALL things?  That means everything, right? 

He way is right AND best.  I don't know jack.  Guess who I'm putting my money on...LITERALLY?

Is 27 still considered "mid-twenties?"

Tomorrow is my birthday and I thought I'd commemorate that event with a post, since I haven't done that too often lately.

When I take a look back at "my" last year, I'm amazed at all the changes. This time, last year, we had just found out that Pack got THE JOB. The one we had been waiting for to come around for over a year. The ball was finally rolling...we thought. Within a week: loan pre-approvals, meetings with realtors, sign in the front yard, chaos in the house. I was terrified of what was to come. Everything seemed to be moving so quickly during those first few weeks.

Then everything slowed to a snail's pace. Our house didn't sell. Pack was gone Mondays through Fridays most weeks. I felt like a single mom. Our house HAD to stay clean for any last minute showings and I had to be ready to go out the door with just a few minutes' notice. I couldn't and still can't do anything on a few minutes' notice with two babies...

Christmas came. I was thankful that we got to spend one last holiday in this little house that we loved. I missed my husband like crazy during the days he wasn't home. It felt like college all over again, but this time I was doing it as a single mom of two.

After the New Year's Holiday, my mom got sick. Real sick. We were afraid she'd die before going to a doctor. We made her go. A couple of week long hospital stays. A surgery. Months out of work. I was thankful, once again to still be in Florence to help take care of my mom (but if this ever gets back around to her, she should only think I was basically her chauffeur and lunch picker-upper). I still missed my husband.

In March, Jude turned one. Our baby...ONE! We celebrated his first year on Earth with an alien party and had a blast. I decide our house will probably never sell. It was okay...we liked it there.

May came and so did a surge of showings. By the end of the month, there was a contract on our house and I was having to plan a birthday party for my sweet firstborn while getting ready to move out. Penn celebrated his third birthday with a small dragon party at the park (which he requested), but none of us anticipated that he would end up with two swollen feet from ant bites, fever, and soaking wet from getting rained out of his party. May was a doozy!

In June, we became homeless. We lived with my parents for a little bit and in a hotel for a little bit longer (I still kind of hate hotels). I very nearly lost my mind. By the end of the month, we had two significant dates: the day we were SUPPOSED to close on our new house (which ended up as "the day I parked in front a Wachovia and cried because BOA is disorganized"), followed immediately by the day we actually closed on our new house and moved in! If May was a doozy, June was a whirlwind!

July was wonderful, but busy. We made several trips to SC for some commitments we made before we had a clue where we'd be. We went on our first mission trip as a married couple. July was still "limbo" for us. I felt like we were vacationing in Virginia, except I had to make up the beds, cook, and do all the dishes...sheesh!

August has felt right. I feel like I'm home. I miss my family in SC, but I know that by being here, I'm able to give myself up completely for this house full of boys.

This year has been a JOURNEY! I can look back and see God's perfect timing in every circumstance. I might not have been too thrilled with "HIS timing" during this process, but I'm ever-so-thankful for it now. Where would I be without you, God?
I can't imagine how my 27th year will end, but I hope it will be as exciting as 26!

Waiting for the box fairy to come...

We have been in our house almost a week now. First to get settled was Penn and Jude's bedroom. Next was ours. Then...everything else. We're in phase three right now and I'm pretty sure we're never going to be able to park a car in our garage. How come we have no space for this stuff and it's a bigger house?

I did manage to clear the million-and-one boxes off our front porch today so it didn't look like the Sanfords lived here. I think it made a huge difference. Now, all I need are a few green plants to put here or there and the outside of our house will be done for now (the backyard will have to wait...don't get me started).

I think I've unpacked all the boxes in the house with the exception of the garage, the computer room (Mr. Packard will handle that beauty), and the dining room. I really, REALLY want to get my dining room in "dining" condition, but we're going to be painting at some point and I hate to put my china in the cabinet and then have to move it around to paint.

I hate boxes. I hate packing paper. I hate that brown tape that I've been finding all over the house. But I LOVE this new house and can't wait to put pictures up of the rooms once we get everything "straightened." Oh well, enough for now. Bedtime!

Preach it!

"Venting every feeling isn't mature. Learning to deal with uncomfortable and unpleasant feelings is an important aspect of maturity. The pop-psych notion that you have to divulge every unpleasantness or you will have gangrene of the soul and spirit is ultimate nonsense. Learning to endure, transform by perspective or action, and be grateful is the fast lane to a good life. That's right. Having great luck and fortune is not the conduit to loving and enjoyable life; gratitude is." -Dr. Laura Schlessinger

I feel like I owe my husband an apology...yikes!