I think maybe this is what life as a grandma is meant to be...

beach beauty.

pool of babies

We have something like five pools plus a lazy river (plus the ocean, of course) at our condo resort. Sunday evening we tried out the smallest pool which we slightly took over when we entered with all 8 babies.

 

meet "bear"

Last night was a perfect little Jackson night- we escaped the rain by making Teddy Bears at Build-A-Bear followed by ice cream. He LOVED making his teddy bear who he fittingly named "Bear" - he took it very seriously, giving careful attention to picking him out, stuffing him, placing his heart inside, giving him a bath and then picking out his outfit. When we got home I told him he was a very lucky boy and he replied, "that's why I'm so happy!"

dinner party.

I'm not sure which view was more enjoyable last night at dinner: the one from the lanai over the water or the one of these little guys having dinner together. They've eaten together many times, but last night they were acting so "adult" with their little conversations. It was pretty adorable. 

first trip to the ocean.

Jackson, Audrey and I landed in Destin, Florida yesterday afternoon after 2 flights, one layover in Atlanta and many, many "are we at the ocean yet?" pleas from Jackson. (They were both PERFECT travel companions, by the way). So, after mamaw and papaw picked us up from the airport and we checked into our condo, we headed straight to the beach to satisfy my little man and introduce both babies to the ocean for the very first time. Jackson was amazed at the size of the "big water" and even more impressed by the limitless potential of all that sand. The peanut didn't say much (maybe because she doesn't talk), but took a little look around and then sweetly fell asleep on my chest for the rest of our evening on the beach. 

t-12 hours.

In 12 hours I will be boarding a plane to the beaches of Florida with a 2 year old and 8 month old in tow, leaving behind my best partner who needs to stay back for work purposes. I'm positive this week will be full of a lot of great memories, what I'm not so sure about is... well a lot of things considering I'll be flying solo with two little monsters. Good thing I'll have mamaw and papaw back-up if needed once we land in the sunshine state.

on the up side...

Last week Dan sent me the following excerpt from one of our favorite books because it seemed to sum up what we both so strongly believe:

Your mind is unquestionably your most valuable possession. You may lose every material thing you own, but knowledge can never be taken from you. With it, you can earn a new fortune, build a new home, and buy anything you truly desire. No one else can control your thoughts; even the cruelest tyrant cannot force you to think about something you refuse to accept. When you make a deliberate decision to take control of your mind and feed it positive, constructive thoughts, you are on your way to taking control of your life. The thoughts you allow to dominate your mind will determine what you will get from life.

 Isn't that powerful and freeing? To know that  you have 100% control over the way your mind operates- what you allow it to focus on, how strong you enable it to become, where you allow it to take you- all of that is completely up to you. Incredible. 


But, to be honest, there are days- or more likely multiple times each day- when keeping my mind focused on the right things, the positive things, is really hard and I often fail. Unfortunately, my personality type is very unforgiving when I do this and I beat myself up over it. So, I'm working on it, working on progress instead of perfection and working on keeping those communication lines open with God to THANK Him throughout the day for all of those blessings that I just seem to take for granted or overlook as real blessings because they're too small. 

So here goes 5 things I'm thankful for this morning- because it's nearly impossible to let your mind focus on the negatives when your heart is so full of gratitude. 

1. For coffee. Who needs sleep when you have this guy in your life? 
2. For the freedom to work from home when I need like on days like this when I just need to be closer to my family- both physically and mentally.  
3. For the opportunity to take Jackson and Audrey away next week to the beach. 
4. For our new bed. Dan and I finally got a "big kid bed" and the amount of space in that thing blows my mind, I can finally sleep with my legs and arms completely stretched out like I've always dreamed of, no exaggeration. Jackson calls it our "weally, weally big bed."
5. For Dan. Where do I even begin on how amazing he is? 

sunday adventures

we've got a clapper!

Girlfriend learned how to clap this week and she is PROUD of her new skills. I don't think I've ever seen anyone clap so cutely. Crawling, clapping, pulling herself up... what's next, Peanut?

daddy's helpers

Saturday morning Dan decided that that he needed to make 2 things: salsa and carmel popcorn. Do you see how these two things go together? Me either. So, long story short, my kitchen went from clean to chaos in less than 5 minutes. And as with all good messes, Jackson and Audrey instantly wanted in on the action, helping Daddy make his goodies. The plus side: both treats turned out great and the kitchen- eventually- got cleaned up! 

best friends.

sunday afternoon swim.

audrey danielle: EIGHT months

Jackson's EIGHT month updates HERE and HERE