Moments Today

Today I'm thankful for:

maddie falling asleep without tears after our 3am feeding

having time to pump and read a few scriptures before the girls woke up

a day with my mom

center of a cinnabon to share

white hairbows that stay in place

confusing questions from starbucks baristas that turn into a yummy frappuccino

a fresh haircut and brow wax

grace from my hairdresser when i'm 10 minutes late after she squeezed me in #newtwinmom

a stroller with wheels and babies that like movement

couch chats with mom

pictures on the wall

the gift of formula and gracious parents

a fire-free neighborhood in the midst of fire-filled san diego

air conditioning that works

cockatiel chirps

sister's voice on the phone

taco salad and in-laws that bring dinner

freed-up space in my closet

coffee bean, starbucks, cinnabon, and drumsticks in one day #sleepdeprivedmompickmeups

clean cozy sleepy snuggly babies

new garbage disposals and plumbers that come at a moment's notice

free personalization

clean laundry, matching dresses, and lights that turn on

freshly watered back yards

bed time #fortwohours

a full tank of gas

couch chats with j

bedtime lullabies

39 Days

Thirty nine days of being a mommy to Maddie and Rachel.

Thirty nine days of sleeping less than three hours at a time... always.

Thirty nine days of tears, laughs, hugs, exhaustion, and pure joy.

Thirty nine days of feeding babies, pumping milk, washing bottles, changing diapers.

Thirty nine days of cycling through every emotion that exists within a matter of minutes at times.

Thirty nine days of falling in love with my husband in a whole new way as we take on the 

immense blessing and challenge of parenting together.

Thirty nine of the best and hardest days of my life.

I can't believe it's only been thirty nine days.

I can't believe it's already been thirty nine days.

I have learned that I can function on far less sleep than I ever thought possible. 

[being a night nurse, I thought I already did this. well, now I reallllllllly do this.]

I have learned that anything and everything has the potential to make me cry.

[the thought of them getting one day older, trying to feed them, Maddie's puckered lip when she cries and Rachel's hoarse high pitched whimper, their snuggles, anyone doing anything for me, sweet texts, cards, verses of encouragement... you name it.]

I have learned that being a mommy is the hardest thing I have ever done. 

Harder than I ever thought possible.

I have learned that being a mommy is the greatest joy I have ever experienced. 

Greater than I ever thought possible.

I have learned that each day is made of moments, and living in this moment is the best way to live. Thank you Mom for this best piece of advice and encouragement you could have given.

I have learned that my Savior's love for me is deeper than I ever really understood.

I have learned He truly is my strength when I am weak.

I am SO thankful for the blessing of being a mommy.

Madelyn Joy and Rachel Claire are the biggest gifts I could have ever received.

Thank you Lord for these moments.

A few Feelings in this Moment

exhausted after a few nights of work

full after yummy quesadillas J made us

inspired after a few pinterest photos and my latest craft projects

surprised my nails are actually a little bit long

amused by a bold funny interaction this morning

hopeful for where we are headed on this journey

relieved i am off tonight

happy i am home with my best friend

excited to see my friend for lunch tomorrow

blessed by God's faithfulness

ready to snuggle up in bed and read my new books

thankful for my sweet family

satisfied in Jesus

Bits of the Beauty of Holiness

July 29th's devotion from Jesus Calling really spoke to me.

"Worship Me in the beauty of holiness. I created beauty to declare the existence of My holy being. A magnificent rose, a hauntingly glorious sunset, oceanic splendor - all these things were meant to proclaim My Presence in the world. Most people rush past these proclamations without giving them a second thought. Some people use beauty, especially feminine loveliness, to sell their products. 

How precious are My children who are awed by nature's beauty; this opens them up to My holy Presence. Even before you knew Me personally, you responded to my creation with wonder. This is a gift, and it carries responsibility with it. Declare My glorious Being to the world. The whole earth is full of My radiant beauty - My Glory!"

'Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.' Psalm 29:2

'And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."' Isaiah 6:3

Last night, the pups and I were out for our walk we take twice a day everyday.

I realized how many things I see each day that I don't think twice about.

So tonight I decided to bring the big camera and capture a few simple moments in our walk.

Because fresh perspectives are refreshing.

And moments through a lens help me remember.

so not every photo is created by God, but there is beauty in these things even still

this happens to be my favorite house ever - is that not the cutest roof and garage door?!

Shout-out: A Beautiful Mess {and some visual moments of late}

 So I found this new photo editing app called A Beautiful Mess.

If you have instagram, you NEED this app. 99 cents is absolutely worth it.

A Beautiful Mess is also the name of a blog by two sisters, Elsie and Emma.

These girls are just the cutest and have way more than just photography on their blog,

so go check them out if you have time.

I told Carly we need to have a sister blog. :)

I've been having fun using the app to add to photos I've been taking.

So here's a little glimpse into a few moments in my life this month.

fourth of july parties with carly, j and the pups in the bed of j's truck

amazing skies crafted by our Creator Himself

 dinner with family to celebrate mom's birthday

visits to coronado beach

 puppy play time in coronado with my gorgeous sister

 and puppy snuggles on the way home after playtime

 visiting and photoshooting with our favorite little girl {and family} in the world

 amazing sunsets

 beautiful new blooms around home

time with my sissy

 family photos

 discovering a new park

 time with baker

 time with emma

 being reminded of how fortunate i am to live in san diego

healthy 'green' smoothies

yummy strawberry banana smoothies

and way too many homemade white chocolate iced blendeds {possibly my favorite treat ever}

God, You are good.

Thank you for different experiences and eyes to see your hand in it all.

Thank you for new recipes, family time, and puppy smiles.

And apps that make photo editing that much more fun.

You are so gracious to your people.

And you are so faithful.

Moments

Surprise purple flowers blooming on our walk

Sleep knowing I don't have to work tonight

Cinnamon rolls

Tired responses that end up humorous

Tea for the troops

Coffee bean and tea leaf... Heaven on earth

Target... Other {monetary} heaven on earth ~ new gift bags..what what!

Anticipation

Mom's upcoming birthday

J snuggles

Emma planting herself under J until he told her he'd come on her walk

Puppy excitement

Sleeping babies

IVs that last the entire shift

A mommy's love

Freshly cut grass

Air conditioning

Ice cream sandwiches

Sister texts

Rekindling Moments: June

June gloom? What's that?
These are the moments of my days...

1 - J's "happy June" song and dance
2 -  counting steps with the girls at work and reaching 10,000 steps on my fitbit!
3 - my husband being encouraged by his friends
4 - getting off work and walking outside on a cloudy cool morning
5 - good day's sleep
6 - harvest ranch sandwiches and an amazing three hour conversation with Katie
7 - sweet unexpected relaxing afternoon outside with my mother in law and puppies
8 - late night showers in our white freshly resurfaced bathtubs
9 - sweet naptime with my husband
10 - J grocery shopping for me after work, making dinner, and cleaning up before I went to work
11 - putting our pretty new-looking bathrooms back together
12 - three step-down kids and working with Lindsey
13 - the phone call from Katie to say we soon get to work together
14 - brief God-like understanding of the Scriptures
15 - real estate prospects
16 - sending texts and making calls and visits to celebrate Father's Day and looking forward to the day when we celebrate J as a father [beyond a puppy daddy]
17 - toast with nutella reminding me of Italy - I've eaten almost an entire jar of nutella in like a week. #addicted
18 - an amazing day of sleep
19 - a cup of french vanilla coffee from our coffee machine at work
20 - house hunting through Lakeside with Grandma
21 - J telling me "put them in the freezer" about the chocolates we picked up in Del Mar with friends tonight - love that he's come to my side on the cold chocolate thing
22 - snuggling with Baker while braving the latest 007 movie
23 - getting our families together to celebrate my J's 28th birthday
24 - Panera with and encouragement from my amazing friend at work, and just the right words from my amazing husband
25 - grace undeserved
26 - tea time with my favorites, youtube brainstorming, chinese food and birthday celebrating
27 - clean house, afternoon in Coronado watching Em and Bakes frolic in the ocean and then time with the Lord on the grass overlooking San Diego
28 - appreciating my in laws on their 39th wedding anniversary
29 - beautifully yummy sugar cookies and the sweetest card on our doorstep from my mom
30 - two nights in a row working with Lindsey

God is so good. I am so thankful.
I will choose joy.

The Journey of 1000 Gifts

I'm sitting on the grass in Coronado overlooking the city I live in. {I really need to do this more often.} 

In this moment, I choose to be thankful.

- Thankful for the two puppies happily lying on the grass in front of me.

- Thankful for the cool green blanket of grass I'm sitting on.

- Thankful for the crisp blue water, calm in front of me.

- Thankful for cultural music playing in the distance.

- Thankful for the people working hard in the buildings high in front of me.

- Thankful for a couple hours on a Thursday afternoon to sit and be.

- Thankful for black and white frappuccinos and hot dogs with pineapple relish.

- Thankful for the vastness of the ocean to remind me how small I am and how big God is.

- Thankful for what God showed Ann Voskamp and her vulnerability to share with the rest of us through her book, One Thousand Gifts.

- Thankful for the scattered clouds in the sky and the tweets of the birds soaring high through them.

- Thankful for a thankful heart.

- Thankful for the freedom to trust Jesus.

- Thankful for grace when I forget.

- Thankful God's vision is far more perfect than mine.

- Thankful my Savior is not trapped by time. And thankful He knew I needed to be.

In One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp shares about her journey to a heart of gratitude through the initial simple concept of keeping a list of 1000 gifts, great and small, good and bad. In doing this, she learns the concept of thankfulness, among other things. I highly recommend this book. I've started my own list of 1000 gifts. I'm on #70. I keep waiting for the moment my mind will change and I will suddenly be thankful for everything and trust The Lord in each moment.

Then I remember I'm human and my tendency is to doubt and to stress and to be less than thankful for circumstances. 

But moment by moment, I will choose thanks. I will choose gratitude. I will choose to remember the gift of salvation my God has given me so completely.

I don't understand why bad things happen. I make mistakes. I sin and I doubt and I am anything but perfect. And I have a less-than-thankful heart too often. 

But in this moment, I will choose gratitude. I will choose to be thankful. I will choose to trust The Lord and I will choose to remember His gift. 

{ps: I'm blogging from my phone for the first time, using an app called BlogGo, so I have no idea how this will look on a computer or how long this will take to publish!
update: It published kinda weird looking, and it published twice, and it needed wireless to publish, which I didn't have... all that to say, I'm trying to make it look a little better. I'll have to practice with the app more before giving it a good or bad review.}