words of the anonymous wise

"never chase love, attention or affection. if it isn;t given freely by the other person, it isn't worth it"

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i have no idea who wrote this, but i would like to hug them super tight right now. nibble on that with a little side dish of self-respect.

~hugs

quote

i thought it would be lovely to start my week of with a lovely quote. perhaps this will become a weekly theme so that i can actually keep up on my blog. maybe?

to love at all is to be vulnerable. love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. if you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. but in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. it will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. to love is to be vulnerable.

-c.s.lewis

~hugs

testify

it has been a freakishly long time since i have blogged. whoops, sorry about that. i have really been so incredibly blessed these last few weeks and i can't really even begin to express my gratitude for everything that has happened recently.
blessing number one, i don't know if i have told you already, but Mister has been looking for a job for a while now. he applied for a job in the criminal justice field on the east coast of the US, but he didn't get it. that was a really hard time for us, so devastating because we really "needed" that adventure. well, our Heavenly Father had a different plan for us. Mister has recently been hired for a job, i can't tell you what it is, or i'd have to kill you (doesn't that sound so very james bond?), it's in the field of criminal justice and i am oh so very proud of him! he will be so incredible and i will be grateful for the work and the benefits that come with it.

blessing number two, taxes. we finished our taxes last week and happily await that sweet return from the feds. yay for a return. thank you to baby #2 for that ;)

blessing number 3, have i ever told you how incredible my friends are? i have some majorly fantastical friend. love them and they are a blessing to me

blessing number 4, i only have 16 lbs until i am at my pre baby weight! yes!!

blessing number 5, Mister is the bomb. he has been playing stay at home daddy for the last few weeks and i absolutely love that i found someone who is such a good father. my children ADORE him and i love it. i love having him as my rock and my support system. i could go on and on about my love for him, but i'll just say he's a blessing.

blessing number 6, my kids. holy cow you guys. being a mother is, without question, the most incredible thing i have ever done with my life. bar none. i adore these little precious ones and i am ever grateful that i have been entrusted with them. i love waking up to the sound of my sweet baby girl laughing and cooing. i love to walk through the door and have my rough and tumble son greet me with the biggest hug ever. i never thought i would say this, but i cannot wait to have more!

blessing number 6: hyperbole, i love it, i use it, i would die without it

blessing number 7: books and literacy. last year i read 56 books. i have read 6 so far this year and i cannot imagine my life without books. i love them so.

blessing number 8: tithing. it might seem strange to feel like giving 10% back is a huge blessing in my life. but it is. it is my belief that Heavenly Father is just waiting to bless us. He waits with a bucket of blessings to pour upon us and we just have to pull that string and let those blessings tumble down upon us. i not only believe this, but i KNOW this. i am intensely grateful for the multitude of blessings that i have been given. the tests and trials, the disappointments and failures, and the sweet rewards and treats that we have. i know that God is real. i know that He loves us and He is right there when we need him, we just have to ask for that help. we only have to ask.

blessing number 9:the tests and trials that i myself have had, and that we as a family have endured. i'll be honest and tell you that i am not the most confident person. if you know me, you might be scoffing at the computer right now, but honestly, i am in full "fake it til you make it" mode 75% of the time. i am super thankful for th trials that i have had recently that have helped with my self-worth and confidence (insert Mister here, he makes me feel like a million bucks all the time, even when i don't deserve it).

lastly, i am so grateful for the sunshine and the blue sky. my dad always says "once january is over, we are good to go". things start clearing up (nasty inversion), getting brighter, the days get longer and warmer, and in general life gets happier. i always forget how much i love the sunshine until i go 15 days without it. that vitamin d is something isn't it. the first day after the huge storm that cleared the inversion out i went outside and looked up at the sky and i almost cried. i was so overwhelmed by the beauty of this earth. i love it, i love the blue sky.

~hugs

hugs