Dear Loralee and Christine

Dear Loralee,

We met by chance last year during the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.  It was my first time writing everyday.....ever.  Your thoughtful and encouraging comments kept me motivated to write each day and I wrote that month all but one day.  I didn't know then that the Lord would keep our friendship going and now a year and a few months later, I treasure your emails and comments on my blog just as much as I did the first day we "met".  I believe the Lord gives us who we need, when we need them and you have been a treasure.  I love that the blogging world brought us together.  Two ladies from two different countries. You are a blessing and I'm looking forward to our continued friendship in the years to come!

Love and Hugs!


Dear Christine,

Today..... many years ago (like 30 something) our momma gave me my 4th sister.  You were the cutest thing and I was so so happy to have another sister in our house.  We shared a room together when you were younger and I remember changing all (probably not all) but lots of your diapers.  It's been a joy to watch you grown into an amazing mother, cook, and now... HOMEOWNER!!!!! YAY!  Watching your joy is a true blessing.  The Lord has brought you so much good, I can't wait to see how His plan continues to unfold for you.  Thank you for the joy you bring into my life even though we aren't together often, you are always in my heart.  I love you little sis!  Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Dear My Love....

Dear My Love,

Thank you.  Thank you for standing by me.  You cared about me.  Asked me how I was doing, if I needed anything.  You stayed with me at the hospital.  You took our girls to vbs and still made it to the hospital before I went into surgery.  You tried to coordinate everyone's schedules to be sure everything was covered.  I love you.  You were the only person I wanted to be with me. I love you with all my heart.

Blessed Life

Lately I've been busy with these three little ladies. 

Our life is a crazy, busy life, but it's a great one!  We have three very healthy little ladies and we are blessed that we are busy. 

What are some of your greatest blessings?  I can't wait to read about them!

A Beautiful Day

Today we spend a LOT of time in this.....

We went to the Cincinnati Zoo with friends.  It was amazing and crazy crowded since today is supposed to be the best day of our spring break. :)
We were able to see the new baby cheetahs.  I would LOVE to snuggle these little guys. Look at how cute they are!

They were delivered on March 9th via c-section.  Their momma didn't make it and one of their little brothers didn't either. :(  Good news is they have a nursery dog who's been stepping in. :)

We also saw these.....

And I was also able to snap a few shots of these adorable girls...

We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we have! :)

From our Brown eyes to yours....

A Real Life Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Have you ever seen or read the book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?  Spoiler alert!  It's the one where the girls share a pair of pants and they magically fit each one of them even though they are all different shapes and sizes.  WELL..... I have a real life traveling pants story except... they aren't pants.

When my mom made her first communion in 1958 (I think), her mom made her a gorgeous dress.  Luckily, my grandma saved that dress and then gave it to my mom when she had kids.  I'm not sure if I have ever told you this... maybe I have, but I have 5 sisters.  You read that right, 5! I also have one brother.  Each of us are built very differently, and each of us wore that special dress for our first communion.  It magically fit all of us.  It has NEVER been altered, it's NEVER had fabric added to it, it's just magic. 

Yesterday we went to my mom's house for an Easter brunch after mass.  Before we left, I thought.... EEK we have to try the first communion dress on Amelia because this year is her year.  She again is built so different than our oldest who is a stick and all legs. :)  I truly didn't know if the dress would fit her because she's a little curvier and more squeezable.  But sure enough, as she slid on the dress, IT FIT!!!!!!  Below is a picture of our oldest daughter on the left in 2014 and me on the right in 1984 in the same dress. 

From my Brown eyes to yours.....

Memories

Family.  It's such a strong and powerful thing.  Family helps you to develop into you.  I have so many great memories from being a kid.  First let me tell you that I'm one of seven. Just like the VonTrap's only there are 6 girls and 1 boy in my family.  I'm second in the pecking order.  Here's what it looks like:  Sister, me, brother, sister, sister, sister, sister.  We were all born within 10 years.  Being younger, I had no idea.  I just knew our house was always loud, crazy and fun!  I don't know if I appreciated it as much as I do now having my own family.  Why am I thinking about it now????  Well, my daughter's love to listen and dance to music, nightly. We have a party rocker that has disco lights on the top, which makes the experience so much more fun!  It takes me back to when my dad would put the 8-track (or sometimes the reel-to-reel) of Air Supply, Linda Rondstadt (sp?), Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, in and we would just dance and dance. We would laugh, my how we would laugh.  It was our weekend fun.  My mom would make a GIANT bowl of cheese popcorn (I have our old popper and do the same for my girls) and we would just dance the night away.  These memories are so dear to me as I hope they become dear to my girls one day.  

Here's to a little (or a LOT) of dancing tonight!

From my Brown eyes to yours......

10 Year Old in the House!

I can't believe I'm the mom of a 10 year old. Yes, you read that right, a 10 year old!  I don't feel old enough to have a child that is 10, but the reality is..... it's true.

It's been a wonderful 10 years with our oldest.  She's grown into such a fun, loving, carefree (sometimes too much for me), beautiful, precious little lady. She's an avid reader to the point where I have to ban books as punishment.  She LOVES all animals, real and stuffed.   It feels like I just blinked and here she is... 10.  On her birthday I told her all about the day she was born.  How we didn't even have a car seat!  I know!  Thankfully, my sisters went and bought us one as well as washed clothes so we would have something to bring her home in. First time momma.... and a baby that came three weeks early, we weren't ready.

In honor of your 10th sweet girl a little letter from your momma.

I am blessed to call you my daughter.  The day we found out we were expecting you, I knew you would grow to be a phenomenal woman.  Even though you are still a "kid", I can see the glimmer of what you will be like when you are grown and it's a beautiful picture. You have a personality that lights up a room.  You have an abundance of friends because of this personality. You are so loved.  I pray that you will stay true to your faith.  Keep the Lord close to your heart and mind.  He will guide you in all your ways and be with you even when things get tough.  Here's to another year of amazingness!  :)  I love you sweet girl.

 

Sister Love....

One of my 5 sisters is getting ready to have her first baby.  In anticipation of her little bundle of joy, the boys had a Diapers and Drafts shower!  Man... times have changed!  I wish I would have had one of those, minus the Drafts.  I wish I would have kept track of how many diapers I used/changed for each of my little ladies.  That would probably have been an astronomical number I tell you.  Anyway.... my nephew and his girly friend said they would babysit all the kids so the MOM'S could go out to dinner!!!  You read that right, it was just the MOM's!!!!!  It was an amazing night out!!!  I had SO much fun!  We talked, laughed, talked, ate, laughed, talked and laughed some more to the point of tears!  It was so nice to be out with my sisters and to not have someone ask me to go to the bathroom 50 times or tell me they hate the food or start arguing with their sister OR spill something.
We were at the restaurant for 2+ hours when I had to be the party pooper because my girls had to get up early to sing at church and go to Sunday School.

I'm hoping we get more nights like this.....

I just love these girls so much!  All of them add joy to my life.  Their kids add joy to our lives.  It's amazing how we've all grown.  I can remember playing with them at home, dancing, singing, and chasing each other around the house, especially when we were mad at one another.  Those memories seem so distant now that we are grown, but I still hold all of them close to my heart.  Until next time!

This verse from Sirach is how I feel about my sisters and many of my friends.  My parents gifted me with the love and friendship of 5 great women (and one brother!). I'm blessed and thankful everyday for each one of them.  Click on the verse to print it out for yourself!  I have given this verse as gift to friends and it prints very well as a 5x7 picture. :)  When was the last time you hung out with your family?  What did you do?

From our Brown eyes to yours...

The Perfect Shell

While on the sandy beaches of Cayo Costa, my daughters and I had a great time shelling.  There are some of the biggest shells I've seen there!  As we were walking on the beach, we were constantly scanning, trying to find that perfect shell.  I started to think... what makes a shell perfect for picking. So I asked our middle daughter, Amelia.  She said, " It has to be smooth, no cracks or breaks, colorful, and cool."  So we kept looking. Then, I started to feel bad for all those poor shells that would never be picked because they were not quite "perfect".  Then, I picked up one.  And then another. And then, my daughters and I were all on the lookout for the imperfect shells.

I started to think then about life..... how we're always in search of the perfect everything.  Perfect life. Perfect body.  Perfect man. Perfect kids. Perfect family. Perfect job. Perfect..... everything. But there is so much to be said about that not perfect shell.  There is still beauty in the broken shell.  The colors, the lines, the texture, they can be gorgeous.  I'm an imperfect shell, but I'm trying to love my imperfections.  I'm loving our imperfect family, our imperfect life.  I'm embracing and loving being an imperfect shell.

Are you still on the search for the perfect shell?  Give up. Go for the imperfect one.  They are much better and will still bring you lots of joy. :)