the doctor said he could never have kids. after his brain tumor was removed, the doctor said it could never be done.
but he did. he had a baby.
a little miracle baby.
…orange wednesday…
vacation.
the wows (not sure if this is a real word, but now it is) and woes of our vacation.
the wows
manoah: loved all 20-some hours of the drive. thank you mr. dvd player for parenting my son.
san luis obispo: quite possibly my favorite place on the planet
firestone: quite possibly my favorite restaurant on the planet
friends: visiting quite possibly some of my favorite people on the planet
sleeping: 2 nights of 11 hours of straight sleep. special thanks to the extra dark hotel curtains. i love you pismo beach hotel.
sam: unpacked the car, took out the seats, vacuumed, scrubbed, and washed the mini-van (love him!)
the woes
baby samuel: not a fan of the car. lots of screaming. lots of tears. did i already say screaming? lots of it.
san luis obispo: that i don’t live there.
firestone: got my husband sick, but i still love you.
rain forest cafe: it has got to be a crime to charge $7.99 for a kids meal.
sleeping: 2 nights of 5 hours of sleep. a room with no curtains.
mini-van: just the fact that we own one. it is a love/hate relationship.
friends: saying good-bye
(clinging to his sword and watching toy story 2 for the 10th time)
(the gum wall. i disinfected their hands, don’t worry)
(sam took this picture. i like it. i know samuel looks afraid, but i still like it)
(it was chaos. 8 kids under the age of 6. beautiful chaos)
(i had to take a picture of him sleeping because it rarely happened while he sat in that seat)
goodbye vacation. you were mighty good to us.
happy wednesday.
…orange wednesday…
wonder.
“My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of wonder.” meg ryan. (you gotta know by now that i love this girl) movie: joe vs. the volcano (sam’s favorite movie).
i want to be one of those people. the one that is awake. the one living in a constant state of wonder. and i think that taking pictures wakes me up. photography helps my eyes focus, draws me and moves me to become more alive. to appreciate beauty in the littlest of things. here, in the seemingly unnoticeable places, is where i find wonder in life. in feeling the sand between my toes, the twinkle in my sons eyes, and the little things that makes us all so unique. and it is here, in these moments, that i am full. satisfied. at peace. i am wonder-full.
what moves you to wonder?
p.s. i am on vacation for a week. yes, thank God for vacation. we are packing up the minivan and heading to SLO & Sac town to visit friends, play on the beach, and eat at firestone. i’ll miss you. until next wednesday..have a wonder-ful week. okay, i’ll stop with the pun. but seriously, am i the only one in the world that just put that together? wonderful and wonder-ful!?? that’s amazing! well, maybe i am the last person on the planet to make that connection. surprise, i’m not all that sharp. now i am just rambling and wondering around… okay. seriously, done. now.
happy wednesday.
…alisa & philip…
he saw her, loved her, then asked if he could marry her.
alisa’s mom made, yes made, her wedding dress.
…forget me knot weddings…
when, megan, creator of forget me knot weddings asked me if she could feature one of my weddings on her blog, i was ecstatic.
her blog is beautiful, resourceful, and outrageously creative. i love it. i mean LOVE it.
take a stroll over to her blog and let your creative senses be filled.
…orange wednesday…
brave.
pneumonia, a massive hive that took over my face, flu, food poisoning, colds, 1 infections that i got twice, 2 trips to urgent care, and the stomach flu.
all illnesses i’ve had in the past 6 months.
when i got married i told sam that if i ever got a terminal illness, to just let me go. what i meant was: i am a wimp. i am not a fighter. when i get a headache i pop a few aspirin. when i went into labor and the nurses asked me if i wanted medicine i said, ” yes, please. NOW. thank you.” i am no superwoman. every time i get sick i have this thought, “i would rather DIE than feel like this!” (i told you i was a wimp). since i have been continuously infected with illnesses this year, i have had to seriously toughen up. and this last bout with the stomach flu was proof… i didn’t have that thought once! you heard me: not.even.once!! this was a definite accomplishment in my mind.
so i told sam. and his response, “wow, you are getting more brave.” (i sensed a slight sarcastic tone in his voice)
to which i replied: “i AM brave!” (i say like a 4 year old who just went down a big slide for the first time, standing proudly in a superman stance)
he interrupts my victory dance by saying, “I said more brave. not brave.”
thanks for always putting me in my place. kind of annoying, but i appreciate it.
***
to anyone who ever asks me what i actually do all day as a -stay at home- mom, i will kindly direct them to this post.
(piles of laundry)
(lunch)
(finger painting)
(cleaning up from finger painting)
(frozen yogurt. which is kind of a bribe, i mean, incentive for our next outing)
(haircut. thank you great clips, it was delightful.)
(quick trip to vons. i know. totally gross. i promise i put my camera away and took care of this situation)
(rest time. if you know me, you know i LOVE chick-fil-a. & daddy was proud about his book selection)
(a starbucks client meeting with the wonderful gracie & david)
(ran over to church to see Sam teach a fantastic seminar. love this man!)
kids asleep and laundry folded. can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow. my future frightens me. i can’t think long term.. just gotta get through today.
maybe i need to grow more brave in all areas of my life.
to all the moms out there, “how do you do this??? raise kids and not feel crazy? a little help please!??”
by Anjuli
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