8 Years & a Getaway

June 3rd Brent and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary!  Sometimes it's hard to believe all the life we've fit into those 8 years...it's also exciting to think about all we have ahead of us!!  This year  we got away for 4 days to his parents' condo in St. Simons...just the two of us. They also kept the girls (thank you so much, Julie and Eddie you rock...the girls had a blast)!  It was really fun filled with beach time, bike riding, pool time, downtime, talking, laughing (hysterically), reminiscing, decompressing, enjoying the quiet, and just being together without all the hustle and bustle.

It was the first time we have had a designated getaway since before we had kids.  We've been away, but it was always for something-- weddings, conferences, etc.  But this
time we had no agenda but to just be together! And we have totally decided that we plan to do it again...like twice a year. 

 Cheers to 8 years!  Life will always be a roller coaster full of twists and turns...ups and downs...highs and lows...but one thing remains constant.  Brent is still the exact person I married June 3, 2006 and for that I am forever grateful.  It's a journey, but with him by my side we've learned to embrace the saying... "Enjoy the Ride!"  Love you, B!

Like they see you...

My wish for the people I love is to see yourself like others see you.  In your moments of self doubt, exhaustion, and second guessing-- stop-- and see yourself like they see you.

Little Ella reminded me of this the other day.  We were at the beach and it had been a good, yet teary day.  The girls were exhausted after nearly a week of fun at the beach and Ava Jane had skipped her nap and my mother-in-law, Julie, had valiantly offered to rock her to sleep during her meltdown.  Nerves frayed and visibly frazzled, I snuck out on screen porch from the master bedroom where Ella was playing with her My Little Ponies.  When she heard the door turning she stopped what she was doing and looked up and smiled an enormous smile when she saw me and this conversation transpired:

Ella: "Hi Mommy, I heard someone coming out here and I was hoping it was you and it is."
Me: "Ah, thanks Ella, I'm happy to see you too.  What are you doing, sweetie?"
Ella: "Playing ponies"
Me: "That's really cool. Glad you're having fun."
Ella: "Thanks, Mommy.  {then she paused and stood up and walked over to me and gave me a huge hug and looked my square in the eyes and said} Mommy, I love you.  I love you so much.  You really are the best."

And it kinda knocked the breath out of me.  I thought, wow, is this really how she sees me?  Me who falls short, loses patience, and has days where my "A" game seems miles away?  Yes-- me.  Ella loves me unconditionally...for the times she knows I try my hardest, for the times she senses that I go the extra mile for our family, for the nights I hold her when she's had a bad dream, for the fun we have together-- and most importantly in spite of my imperfections which are at times glaringly obvious to me, yet seem to go magically unnoticed by her.  What a truly amazing blessing.

  Isn't this often the case?  Aren't we always harder on ourselves than anyone else will ever be? What if we saw ourselves for the amazing qualities others see in us?  Wouldn't we all be happier people? And so the challenge becomes to be the best we can be and to try our very hardest-- but in case, in our eyes, we fall short-- have the courage to be a little less harsh and see ourselves like the ones we love see us.  Yet another profound lesson from Ella Grace-- our little sparkler that we love to the moon and back times infinity.

Sweet Southern Summertime...

Y'all...it's been over 4 months since I last blogged and I won't even begin to try to play catch up.  But it's sweet summertime in Georgia and that can only mean one thing-- all the stuff the fine people of the south look forward to...bare-feet, beach trips, the pool, barbecues, smocked dresses and swimsuits, oversized bows, cocktails on the porch, fireflies, playdates that last way too long into the evening, and the list goes on and on.  This summer has been wonderfully busy and we are soaking in summertime around our house.  We've gone to a Jimmy Buffett concert (thanks Bensons), celebrated our 8th anniversary, celebrated Ava Jane's 2nd Birthday, celebrated Brent's brother's marriage to Hayley, had a getaway with just Brent and me (thanks Mimi and Papa), met dear friends new babies',  had a fantastic 4th of July celebration and we still have more fun to come.  It's flying by, but we are enjoying the simple joys that a barefoot Georgia summer brings summer brings!

"Then followed that beautiful season...Summer...Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some of our summer gallery and this is only about half...I'm too exhausted to upload the rest...happy summer everyone!! And one last disclaimer-- there are more pics of Ella than Ava J. b/c she is going through that 2 yr. old phase where she won't stay still enough to get a pictures...no favoritism purely a matter of function :)