Eye of the Tiger

 

I had Amelia for the afternoon when she took her first climb to stairs! I believe it all began at swim lessons earlier that day when one of the tasks was to learn to crawl out of the pool in an Army crawl fashion. She took her skills and applied them to the stairs.

At first, I watched to see what she would do on the 2nd step. Then, I got behind her so she wouldn't fall back. When she made it 1/2 way up the steps, I started to videotape her to send to her mommy & daddy.

As she got close to the top, Papa David, was cheering her on!!

"Good girl! A little further! Come on sugar! Almost there! Don't give up! Don't give up! Almost up! [friendly growl] Eye of the tiger!! Eye of the tiger! Finish up strong! Finish up strong! YES! You did it!" He swoops her up, holds her in the air and kisses her cheek.

Brooke & Alex arrived minutes after and when I told her she just climbed the stairs, Brooke said, "No she didn't." I proudly shared she did AND we have a video!

Left attended grandchildren will be loved, spoiled, and quite possibly taught new tricks!  

And Then There Were Four

 

Mariah and I were having a Momma + Daughter date night in a cozy cafe, both of us drinking Honeybush tea with extra honey, when she bent down and held up the sweetest little onesie...

And then there were four 

There are such special moments of realization forever etched in life where your brain registers that life is about to significantly change, that immediately triggers your heart, that goes straight to happy tears, all in less than 2 seconds! My sweet girl is pregnant!!

To tell the kids, they did a photo shoot on the beach in Florida. Here they are holding up the ultrasound photos. What a wonderful moment and I so love that the kids are running towards them. They Face Timed me from the beach, I wanted them to be able to tell me, too, "mOmMy'S gOinG tO hAvE a bAbY!"

How blessed I am with extraordinary grandchildren! My Sofia is 6 years old, Rowan is 4 years, Claire is 2 years, Amelia (Brooke's) is 1 year old, and another one arriving in October. Each so unique with different personalities and wonderful qualities. 

Sofia with her brown hair and brown eyes and the mini-me of her momma, is so sweet, so funny, incredibly loving, smart as can be, nurturing, and feels emotions so deeply. I love conversations with her. 

Rowan is all boy!! Frog holding, arrow shooting, chicken chasing, working with his daddy and building things. I love to hear him talk and I smile when he shares stories with me. He's the one who sticks close by me at all times with snuggles. 

Claire, looking like an angel with icy blue eyes, blond hair, and kissable lips, the quiet one, is matter of fact, unapologetically herself! If she did it, she claims it! She's funny and doesn't take anything off her older siblings. 

Amelia is cute as a button, fabulous smile, on the go on the verge of walking, independent, with bright blue eyes, bows in her thick head of hair, 50% Brooke/50% Alex, crazy over the moon over Papa (my dad), loves to clap, laugh, and a little fish in water. 

It is indescribable how wonderful my little descendants are to my soul, and another is on the way!

Thank you, Lord! 

Hello March

 

Did I just blink through winter and see daffodils starting to bloom? This January and February were quite possibly the fastest winter months on record. Hello March!

Ahh, it's almost vacation and we are looking forward to the changes in latitudes and changes in attitudes in beautiful Key West! 

We got the sweetest compliment from my Mariah. She is at a training in Florida and her instructor was talking about a 60-year old woman in fabulous shape, when Mariah pulled a photo on her phone of David and I on the beach last year. David is 61 with a rock hard 6 pack stomach and me, well, I'm still able to pull off bikini's at going on 54 years old. That said, guess who is knows a beach vacation is approaching? This girl!!! 

Nothing says Keto, intermittent fasting, lots of water, and exercise like a beach vacation. 

We are Carribean Life (tv show) junkies in winter months. My husband wants to buy a house in the Carribean when we officially retire for a snowbird lifestyle. Me, the thought of constant sunshine, outdoor adventures, fresh seafood and fruit sounds divine. 

In the meantime, I am working on a base tan so I can spend my days in sunny Key West.

I got my toes in the water, a~~ in the sand

Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand

Life is good today

Life is good today

Back From Hiatus

 

Sometimes we need a temporary break for lots of reasons. Mine was... life is beautiful, and I didn't want to share it. I wanted to keep it in a warm cocoon, just the two of us. To let the world slip away and be lost in the dream of us. 

Quite honestly, I thought I was done on here and was thinking about doing a whole new blog dedicated to my grandbabies. A few people have asked and when I shared my thoughts, I was encouraged to stay on this path, so my grands have 13 more years of my stories.

Quick update, life with my husband is a constant adventure full of laughter, love, and wit. He is still extraordinary, and I am beautifully spoiled. 

Oh my gosh, we have become such homebodies, which is wonderful. We so love to be at home! We've been in our home 1-1/2 years now and it has become such a reflection of us. We do have a new project going on now, we are finishing our basement. Going with an industrial look, I've become the project manager, as I have more free time than David does. Which kind of means, I get to do it how I want, and he goes along with my vision. Truth be told, he is such a loving husband, and would truly do anything to make me happy. I am so blessed and love him so much!

David acclimated well with the Marshalls. I just came off my best year yet with events. We have very busy schedules and make the most out of all free time we have. 

Today was a much longed for day off. After running all morning, I couldn't wait to come home and actually slow down, relax, binge watch my favorite shows, make some protein balls, and figured it was a good time to hop on here and say hello. 

We have much to catch up on. 

One Year

 

One year... wow, did one year of marriage go by quickly! 

David and I opted for Anniversary Week and found we did something special every day. For our 1st anniversary, we decided to stay home and have dinner in. Ordering the top layer of our wedding cake, inside it is chocolate chocolate chip with double toffee filling, It's so delicious and he lit up when he saw it. We LOVED our wedding cake!! At the end of our wedding, we went to the hotel and realized we were really hungry, so we dove into our wedding cake, thrilled I chose to take it with us. 

Playing the cd, complements of our DJ, transported me back in time to our magical wedding. I could close my eyes and fully remember the wonder of it all. 

Cooking dinner, listening to this music, we perused through our wedding photo album. As we sat down to eat, we held hands to pray as "A Thousand Years" began to play. It's the song I walked down the aisle to. What timing. 

We took our time eating dinner, reminiscing one year ago. After we cleaned up, I grabbed the knife to cut our cake, when David placed is hand over mind and we cut it together. At that moment, "At Last" by Etta James began to play. The song we 1st danced to. He pulled me in his arms, and we danced in the kitchen. 

Then, we played our wedding day video...

All I can say is, I was initially low-key disappointed when I waited too long and couldn't get reservations at our two favorite restaurants. Honestly, neither of them could have compared to the magic of nostalgia we shared with the air filled with the music of our wedding day, our album, our wedding video, and dancing in my husband's arms.

Happy 1st Anniversary, my Love!

xo

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

 

The day off together, summer nights, and a ballfield. 

We did a taste testing of wine at the ballpark. Our favorite choice was the Peach Lemonade Moscato. We provided our one-word description for their marketing purposes, had a blast with the staff in the tent and the woman asked if she could take a photo us by their sign. This isn't the photo, but I'm hoping I can find it online somewhere.

I'm hoping I can also find this refreshing new beverage, too!

US Marshals

 

My husband retired on Friday, June 2, 2023 and began with the US Marshals on Monday, June 5th. 

Retiring from a career is a major life change and bittersweet. Shifting and being sworn in as a US Marshal is another impressive professional accomplishment. 

He's ready for this new season and I am proud of him.