Living in "Our Prime"

I heard someone today saying they miss being in their prime years. I thought about that for moment and found the statement rather funny. I smiled to myself as I realized that I have always thought that I was in my prime years. I honestly think it is all comes down to how you look at your glass, is it half empty or half full?

I can remember thinking as a teenager that I was in my prime. I absolutely loved being able to get my drivers liscense and the freedom that it brought. As a cheerleader at a small close-knit school I could not have been happier. My life was full of great times spent with friends and we were as free as birds ( well except for our curfews..lol)

Then again in my early 20s I can remember thinking I was living in my prime. I met my soul mate, fell in love and got married. As I began this new chapter of my life I was as happy as could be. We were free of responbilities and flew by the seat of our pants. Our days were full of pure joy as we spent our newly married time hiking, traveling and simply being together.

Then in my mid to late 20s I so clearly remember thinking that I was defintely in my prime years. The overwhelming joy that filled my heart as I held each one of my babies for the first time. The days spent holding those precious little ones, rocking them as time simply stood still. Oh those precious slobber filled kisses and gummy smiles..

And now here I am in my early to mid 30s and I find myself with the same thought: these are the prime years of my life. I have been married to my sweet husband for almost 14 years which I still love more than anything. We are older yes, but also wiser (well for the most part..lol)  Motherhood is so awesome and my children are at such a fun age. They are now easier to travel with which opens the doors to so many family adventures. Our lives are full of camping trips, hiking, and visits to Disney World. I am having a great time watching them discover new things. They are learning, growing and developing their own personalities. I can honestly say that I feel like I am living in my prime years.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that each of these phases of my life have not come with trials and tribulations. There have been tears, more loss that I could have ever imagained, and many hills I have had to pick myself up to climb. But I think what really makes them all our "prime years" is simply being happy.

Our life can be anything we want it to be. We are all given a clean slate and are free to write the story of our lives. It is completley up to us to determine if it will be a happy or a sad story. We are in charge of our own happiness, it is as simple as that. So I urge you to live each day, each year of your life as if you are in your prime. Do what makes you happy, what makes you smile and have no regrets. Do not look forward and do not look back, live for today. Make a point to focus on the postive and  not the negative. For no matter how old you are or what phase of life you are in my friends, right now you are in your prime!

Connor's 7th Birthday Pirate Party!

My sweet baby boy turned 7, so hard to believe. Since my husband built the kids a pirate ship playground when we moved in last summer we decided a pirate theme would be perfect for this very special occasion. Let me warn you I have been known to go a tad overboard when it comes to my kids birthdays. I wanted to share some of the pictures of this special day. We had 42 kids attend, and I think everyone had a wonderful time. The best that I could hope for happened that evening. After hours and hours of planning and preparing so that this party would be perfect, my sweet now 7 year old hugged me and told me that it was "the best party ever and I was the best Mommy in the whole wide world". And for this mom that means one thing..............Mission Accomplished!!

 

The Decorations

 We rented these child size table and chairs from the local rental center. I made the chair decorations and table cloths. We used seashells, small pirate figures, and tiny pirate buckets as centerpieces. We used flag banners and balloons to decorate the pirate ship and porches with.

 

The Birthday Boy

My sweet birthday boy. So hard to beleive that my first born is now seven! Where does the time go? Luckily this 7 year will still sit in his mommy's lap and supply her with hugs and kisses..I hope and pray that will never change. I fell in love with this sweet boy the moment I gave birth to him and he truly is my heart!

The Games

Digging for Treasure Station:

We set up a treasure sand box where the kids dug for buried treasure. After finding the coins, necklace and rings they were rewarded with a bandana.

The Peg Leg Obstacle Course Station:

We set up a obstacle course with hula hoops and noodles and the kids had to hop on one leg all the way to the end. They were rewarded with a stick on mustache.

 The Swab The Deck Station:

The kids had to take a mop and swab the deck by hitting a pirate beach ball into the soccer net. They were rewarded with a inflated pirate sword.

The Walk The Plank Station:

The kids had to walk acorss the plank without falling into the water filled with sea creatures. They were rewarded with an eye patch.

The Fly Polly Home Station:

The kids had to fly 3 parrots home into the bucket.They werer rewarded with a pirate sash.

Captain Connor & Crew's Tattoo Parlor Station:

We set up a tent and my SIL was the tattoo artisit. We had a variety of both boy and girl tattoos for the kids to choose from. This was a HUGE hit. As you can see above most children opted for more than one!

The Pirate Ship Cake and Sea Water Punch

The Birthday Boy LOVES chocolate so this was the perfect cake for him. We had this made by a Bakery in Mauldin, SC. I was nervous because I ordered this on the phone and described exactly what I wanted. I could not have been more pleased with the results. The cake was absolutely amazing and also delicious!

The Candy Buffet



For the kids goodie bags we decided to provide a Candy Buffet. The were each given a treasure box to fill with all the candy their little hearts could desire. This was a dream come true for my little ones. I try not to keep sugar at our house and only provide candy for very special occasions. To see a table filled with sweets made their little eyes glow. The kids really enjoyed this and they could pick and chose their favorites.

The Adorable Crew

 

The Inspiration

My sweet husband spent most of last Spring and Early summer building our little ones a giant pirate ship. This is a special playstructure that our kids make memories on daily. Not only does it have both a spiral slide and a speed slide, it has a plank and a swinging bridge,a huge sandbox surrounding it and a flying pirate flag. But honestly the best part of it is that their Daddy built it with his own two hands.

 Happy Birthday to my little Connor Bug.

Being Thankful on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time spent with family being thankful for all our blessings. I know that the Turkeys are thankful for our Turkey-Free Thanksgiving and I am thankful for life as well. I am thankful for so many things that I have decided to make a gratitude list this year.

- I am thankful for my husband who puts up with my not-so-normal ways..lol He has stood by my side for nearly 12 years now. How great to have a man that is so supportive of my views that he let me remove both TV and microwaves from our life...now that's love! He is a wonderful man that devotes every spare moment to being the family tickle monster,human jungle gym and playground builder all rolled into one huggable Daddy. He works hard so that I can stay home with our little brownies. I am so thankful that I my kids have such a wonderful Dad and that I have such a wonderful husband. 8)
- I am so very thankful for my three little brownies. My life is hectic and sometimes downright exhausting but I would not trade it for anything in the universe! I have three incredible children that love me unconditionally and that is God's greatest gift. They are full of love and kindness and I am so thankful they have such a close relationship with eachother I am thankful for their wonderful imaginations, creative love notes that I recieve daily, their hugs, sweet little giggles, their love for animals and Mother Nature and most of all the pureness in their hearts. When I hear them say their prayers thanking God for their family I am hit with just how blessed I am.
- I am thankful for my health and the health of my husband and kids. I have learned the hard way that without good health nothing else matters. I am reminded of this everytime I see a young child in a hospital bed, a teenage boy in a wheelchair or an older woman wearing a hat to cover a bald head that chemo has left behind. Everyday is a gift and we do not know what tomorrow will bring. So today I will thank God that we are healthy..
- I am thankful for my freedom. I know that it did not come free. I am thankful for those that fought for it and paid the ultimate price so that I can step into a church and pray without fear for my life. I am thankful for all of the men and women that to this day are fighting on a battlefield so that I can lay my head down peacefully at night.
- I am so very thankful for my parents. I am so blessed to have two wonderful parents that love me unconditionaly. I am very thankful for the way that they raised me and the support they have always provided me. I would be lost without the relationship I have with each of them. I have never doubted their undeniable love for me or had to worry about them not being there for me and that is the greatest thing a child could ask for. I am so very thankful for both of them.
- I am very thankful for my Granny, my rock, the woman I strive each and every day to be just like. As far back as I can remember she is the one person that I can turn to for advice. She has never judged me, tried to change me and always knows what to say to make me feel better. I would not be the person I am today if it had not been for her wisdom, unconditional love and her devotion to God. When I think of her presense in my childhood I think of her daily devotionals, her solid faith, and her teaching me about Christian love. She recently turned 86 and is still my rock. :)
I have a lot to be thankful for on this wonderful holiday. There really is too much to list. All thr little things that we take for granted each day. A warm home, clean water, local churches, money for food and clothes. All these things seem small to us but to those without this Thanksgiving they are huge blessings. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving spent with those you love most!! Happy Turkey-Free Day..lol

A tribute to our Honey

All through my childhood I dreamed of having a yellow lab. A sweet, loving dog that I could call my own. As soon as I got married I was beyond excited to make that a reality. We moved into our first home and I set out to find my dream dog immediately. We found someone who had a litter of yellow labs about 2 hours away. I will never forget that cool fall day, it was love at first site.There must have been 6 or more puppies running around, but only one stood out among them. She was the sweetest puppy I had ever seen and I knew right away she was the one I was meant to find. Her belly drug the ground and she was almost white in color. She ran to me on chubby little legs and smothered me with sweet kisses that only a drooling puppy can provide. I scooped her up and declared she was as sweet as "honey". It was one of the happiest days of my life, I can almost smell that sweet puppy breath that only a true dog lover can cherish. My husband got a chocolate lab puppy the next day and our new family was born. Honey and Nestle immediately became the best of friends,and having eachother never cried for their Mommies. I honestly believe that they never realized they were not sisters, and from that day forward they were inseperatable. That was 11 years ago. So much time, so much life, has passed since that fall. We moved from North Carolina to Virginia then back home to South Carolina and created so many wonderful memories. It was just like I had always dreamed. Dog walks, frisbee in the park, chasing seagulls at the beach, keeping me warm while my husband was away at graduate school events. I even won a photo contest with a picture of my beautiful Honey, landing her in the Newspaper. After moving back to South Carolina we had 3 children in 3 years. Life became a whirlwind. We fenced in the yard and the toys and ice cream pops appeared. Honey and Nestle immediately loved the children, especially Honey. This past spring we moved to the country, giving the dogs and the kids tons of yard to play in. After moving here Honey fell even more in love with our only daughter Caroline. The kids play hide and seek daily and Honey could always be found hiding with Caroline. Under the picnic table, crammed into a playhouse,it didnt matter where she would loyally sit with her and wait until the boys found them. Caroline would sing to Honey and she loved it. About 2 weeks ago Honey began to drastically slow down. We began to prepare the kids as best we could. After telling them she was old and that soon she would go to live in Doggie Heaven. My 6 year old somewhat understanding was very sad. I dont think that my barely 4 year olds understood though. Caroline noticed that Honey no longer had the energy to play. She started going outside and just sitting with Honey giving her hugs and kisses and singing to her. It has been a painful time for our whole family. Honey not being in pain, we decided to let her die at home with those she loved. I knew she would want to be with Nestle until the end and vise versa. So we loved her, held her and begged God to grant her a few more precious years with us. Last night, my sweet Honey Bun passed away in one of her favorie spots in our back yard. She looked so beautiful that I had a hard time accepting she was gone. After laying with her sweet body for a long, long time I knew it was really over. Her precious life, my dream of having the dog I had always hoped for, those sweet wet kisses and the thump of that loving tail, all gone. We buried her under a cedar tree while Nestle was contained out of sight. We lost a family member, our special dog, but Nestle has lost her best friend, her sister, her 24hr companion for the past 11 years. She cried all night, so heartbreaking that we could do nothing to ease her pain. Today she has followed every scent she can find of Honey, around and around every inch of our property. I knew this day would come somewhere in the back of my mind, but I never knew the magnitude of pain and heartbreak it would bring. Today when my son returns from school I must tell my 3 little ones that their sweet Honey has left us and will never return. I know the pain they will feel and it will deepen my hearbreak to watch them suffer this loss as I do. But as I hold her baby picture album in my hands, I am so thankful for the 11 glorious years that I had with my sweet dog. She made a childhood dream of mine come true. She was better than I could ever imagined, gave me a love that I would have never known without her. Goodbye my sweet Honey Bun you will never be forgotten. Your memory will live in the heart of our family for all eternity.