Summer 09

Since I've been horrible about uploading pictures to blogger lately and have been posting them mostly to facebook, I decided to make a slideshow rather than try to upload photos one by one... this way I could post a ton. So, this video is basically our summer in review in just 2 minutes :)

This summer we passed on a vacation, but instead, took a few trips to visit family and friends, and as we posted before, we went to Chicago back in June. We've had a fun, laid back summer. When we we weren't entertaining or traveling, we spent a lot of time in the backyard, went to the splash park, went to the zoo a few times, and just enjoyed being together.

I don't journal on paper, but very infrequently do on here, so I can print it for our kids someday to know how I'm thinking/feeling at this stage.... I'm about to journal some things I've been thinking about, and since It's mostly our moms and siblings that read this, they may be interested, but if you don't want to read my mooshy reflections on parenting, just watch the slideshow below :)

Lately I've had this overwhelming sense of reality in realizing how fast life is moving. As Farris Bueller so wisely put it, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it." :)

Ava is aproaching 4, and Jesse is now 20 months old. Even though I spend everyday, all day with them, I still find myself wishing I had them longer. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to their bedtimes, and getting out of the house for dates with Michael or alone time for myself... But I guess, I mostly wish time would slow down and they would be my babies for longer. The thought of kindergarten makes me weepy, and so I have been trying to remember to treasure this awesome time that I get to have these two little people all to myself everyday. It seems as if each day Jesse does something new or he gives me the cutest little grin from across the room. Each day Ava says something so witty (get's that from her dad!) or she discovers some new truth about life or God and I get to be the first one she tells it to. I've been storing these memories like snapshots in my mind.

But, reality is that our life is not perfect. We have our good days and our bad. Jesse just threw 3 tantrums at the doctor's office the other day and that is a memory I am hoping to forget :) Ava can sometimes talk so much and asks so many questions that my mind feels like mush at the end of a long day..haha.

In a couple of days Michael and I will have known each other for 10 years. Last night we were talking about when we first met and how we never could've dreamed how ten years later our life would be so different or how happy we would be together. Or how cute or kids would be (we are obviously biased!)
But one thing has stayed the same- when Michael and I were engaged over 7 years ago it was clear that we were similar in a lot of ways. We envisioned a simple life together, just hanging at the house with each other and our kids in the evenings. No huge homes or lavish vacations. Just us, together. That's the way we like it.

So here's our slideshow.. I know some may think the song is total cheesy-ness. But, I love this song and I love the words. Michael and I feel so blessed that God chose us for each other and chose to take it one step further and give us Ava and Jesse.