Hello Spring!

It's officially here! The pollen storm has begun too. I remember how surprised I was last Spring to see everything covered in a yellow dusting. Now it is rather annoying as a home owner. It is everywhere and gets tracked into the house so easily, especially with a little boy who likes to be in and out. As I recall it only lasted a couple of weeks, so hopefully it will be the same this year.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade- kept in heaven for you...."
~1 Peter 1:3-4

Wow! What a precious promise. The One who has called us toward a heart change has already given us everything we need for it to take place!

Christian is 18 Months

I cannot believe our "baby" is a year and a half. Christian is looking more and more like a little boy, rather than a baby or toddler. He is thinning out from all the running and constant movement. I think his smile also makes him look older...all those teeth! Despite being a little ornery at times, Christian is truly a joy. He has such a fun personality, sense of humor, and a great smile, although so very hard to catch on camera sometimes (then again, it is hard to catch him on camera other than the back of his head.) C has been talking away, not a lot of clear words yet, but A LOT of animal, car, and plane sounds. Other than the not-so-fun discipline part of this age, we truly enjoy watching Christian learn and interact with others. Such a blessing to see the world through the eyes of a child.

Weekend Links 3/11

Some weekend reading (as if you didn't have other things to do.)

Small Notebook:: Loosen the Grip of "More Stuff"

Passionate Homemaking:: Simple Steps to Declutter Your Home

Small Notebook:: The Man/T-shirt Connection: Why Guys Still Love Their Worn-Out Tees

Small Notebook:: Waiting to Upgrade: How an Ugly Couch Made Our Marriage Better

Happiness

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

~Frederick Keonig

Disney Magic

Our final trip during Steve's R & R after his deployment was to...you guessed it...Disney World! If you know us well, you know that we (especially Steve) love Disney World and Disneyland. We had season passes to Disneyland the majority of the time while we were stationed at Edwards AFB in California. It was always fun being able to take the 1.5-2 hour (once 6 due to a wildfire) drive to Disneyland for a little getaway from the desert. Christian is almost 18 months and has already been to Disneyland and Disney World 2 times now! What a spoiled little boy. :o) Anyway, back to our trip....

We had a wonderful time! We stayed at the Shades of Green military resort, which was quite a bargain for being so nice and also within walking distance to Disney's Polynesian Hotel and the transportation center. We went to EPCOT 2 days (because it is our favorite park) and the Magic Kingdom 1 day, and of course, Downtown Disney because I needed to get my Ghirardelli hot chocolate. :o)

Christian loved any chance that he could walk around, explore, and help Disney with their gardening needs. (Spending so much time at our house doing yard work lately has translated into Christian wanting to dig in the dirt and rearrange the mulch.)

It was fun to see C's face light up and he especially seemed to enjoy "Its a Small World" and "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" aquarium at EPCOT. Each morning Christian was excited for another day and would actually want to be in his stroller (temporarily) ready to head out from our hotel room.

EPCOT was having their "International Flower and Garden Festival" which was really neat to see the Disney character topiaries and beautiful gardens. I especially liked the butterfly garden.

Other than Christian having a stomach bug on the way home and enduring a very smelly 7.5 hour drive (we had to pull over to change his clothes 3 times) we had an excellent Disney World vacation. I am sure that future Disney plans will be in order soon. But now, after 3 weeks of fun together, today it is back to reality.

Happy Birthday Steve!

Today is Steve's 28th! Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, and friend. You are loved and bring so much happiness to those who know you. Hope you have a special day! We love you!!