Texts from my husband.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 297

     There was a time when his texts didn't mean as much to me. I didn't fully digest every word he wrote to me like I do now. There was a time when I wouldn't text back. Or he wouldn't text back. Those were hard times. Sad and lonely times. I am so thankful those times are over. I am so thankful for my sweet and amazing husband. The man who has stuck it out with me for thirteen years. This November, we will celebrate eight years of marriage. I used to get upset thinking about all those hard times we went through together. But, then I realized three things. One, every marriage goes through hard times. Two, if everything was all hearts and flowers all the time, it wouldn't be a very strong marriage. There has to be hard times. The hard times make you stronger. Three, every great love story faces adversity. I've never heard a great love story that goes like this: Girl meets guy. They fall in love. They live happily ever after forever and ever and ever. The end.

     No. It doesn't go like that. Great love stories are never done being told. Our great love story is still unfolding. And as the years go on, and our love for each other grows deeper and stronger than we ever thought it could, I remain in constant amazement, I remain in a constant state of thankfulness. I hang on every word he says to me. I hang on every word he writes to me. My heart feels full and warm and whole because Matt loves me. I'm his girl. And I love getting love notes in the form of text messages from him all throughout the day. Thankful for Matt. My guy always and forever. Thankful for his texts. They make me smile the kind of smile you smile when you're passing love notes in class behind the teacher's back.

Sleepover!

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 296

     Ah, childhood. What a glorious thing. Adelyn had a sleepover tonight. Her cousins, John and Ryleigh, came to stay the night with us. It was great fun for all the kids. And even more great fun for us adults watching childhood take place. There was lots of wrestling. And jumping. And dancing. There was some acrobatics. There was a pillow fight. There was a movie with popcorn. There was lots of hugs and smiles and laughter. Adelyn was delighted that John and Ryleigh brought sleeping bags. So much so that she wanted to sleep in one. John graciously allowed Ryleigh to use his sleeping bag, so that Addy could use Ryleigh's pink sleeping bag. And John slept in Addy's bed. What a sight. The three of them curled up in Addy's room together. Reading books. Cuddled into warm blankets. But my favorite moment of the entire night was in the bathroom. Adelyn, John, and Ryleigh, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. Brushing their teeth. It was beyond cute.

     Thankful for things like sleepovers. Thankful that Adelyn and Tobin are blessed with so many sweet kids to call family. Thankful for all the laughter and fun we had tonight. Thankful for Ryleigh and John. Thankful that we got to spend time with them tonight. Thankful for childhood. Is there any greater, or more simple, or sweeter time?

I love the sunlight in the morning.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 295

     I love the way the sunlight pours in the windows in the morning. I love the way it warms the house. I love the little pathways of light it makes on the floor. Little patches of warm space for dogs to sleep on. It was a sweet morning in our home. Pancakes. Art stuff in the art corner. And warm rays of sunlight beaming in through our wide open windows. I love when mornings take a while. I love when there is no place to be. Nothing to do. Mornings like this morning, I'll remember. It's funny...all those important places to be, things to do, jobs to work at...all those mornings when it's all rush, rush, rush...those mornings when it is absolutely essential that you get out the door on time, and it's the end of the world if you don't...the truth is, those mornings are forgettable at best. Mornings that take a long time, when you hang out in your pajamas, and you don't brush your teeth until you've eaten all your pancakes, and when you hang out long enough to see the sunlight pour through each window before getting dressed for the day...those are the mornings to remember.

     Thankful for a sweet morning with the ones I love most. There isn't anything sweeter in this world than being with them. Not even a plate full of pancakes drenched in syrup.

Climbing our favorite tree.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 294

     Adelyn really wants to climb trees. She talks about it all the time. Because Shane was a tree climber when he was a kid, he was happy to help her out. She wanted to climb our favorite tree, and she did...but because our tree is so tall, she didn't get up very high. I loved watching Shane lift her up to reach the branches. I loved seeing her sweet smile because she "climbed" the tree. I loved watching Tobin stare at Shane and Addy. Such a serious face, he had. Loved spending time with my loves.

     Thankful for trees to climb. Thankful for our favorite tree. Thankful for a beautiful fall day. Thankful for the way the late afternoon light makes the leaves glow. I love that glow.

Needs

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 293

     I was giving my kids a bath tonight when I started feeling very needy. I'm sure it's not just me. Most mothers neglect their own needs to first cover the needs of their children. Go out and ask any mother you know if she might like 30 minutes to get a shower, or get a pedicure, do her hair, put on make-up, go shoe shopping, or just to sit and do absolutely nothing...I guarantee not one mother would turn you down. Sometimes I like to do nothing. But tonight, I needed more than nothing. After the kids were in bed, I ran out the door to Patty's house. On the way over, I blasted Korn, and screamed along at the top of my lungs. All the while driving exactly 25 mph. Those Haymarket cops are sneaky little devils. When I got to Patty's, we did exactly what I needed. We laughed hard. We talked. We drank some lovely lattes. We sat together. Sometimes, I get the feeling that everything will be alright if I can just be in the same room as Patty.

     Thankful for Patty. I'm thankful she's mine. I'm thankful for her love and friendship. I'm thankful I can run over there any time I need to. I'm thankful to have a key to her house on my key chain. I'm thankful she has a key to my house. It means that my house is her house. Her house is my house. It means any time I need to, I can run "home" and be with my sister. And everything will feel all better again. Needs taken care of. I guess because, well, really, when it comes down to it, all I really need is love and my family. And I get a healthy helping of both whenever I'm with Patty. Love her beyond words.

Getting our babies dressed for bed.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 292

     Thankful for sweet moments that present themselves unexpectedly. Adelyn dressing Sally for bed. And Matt dressing Tobin for bed at the same time. I love when simple moments like these make you sit back and think, "wow...this is an amazing life." Thankful for my family. Thankful for the word family. And what it means. What a nice word. What a nice way it slides off the tongue. Family. That word makes me all kinds of thankful and happy.

Adelyn thinks spiders are beautiful. & Tobin is growing up way too fast.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 291

     The other night, I was lucky enough to capture one of our resident wolf spiders on camera. To be honest, just the sight of them used to send me into a panic. These spiders are so big that if you stepped on one, it would be like stepping on a mouse. When we first moved into our home, we had quite a few show up in the basement, and more than I can count living in our front yard. I used to pray every time I went into the laundry room that I wouldn't see a wolf spider. It became a real phobia of mine. I didn't particularly like spiders before my phobia developed, but I wasn't afraid of them either.

     Fear is something I deal with everyday. It's annoying. It steals my time, and my joy. One of new greatest fears is that my children will learn to fear. I don't want that to happen. I do not want my children growing up with fear always gnawing away at them. Because I don't want my children to have irrational fears, I learned to not fear spiders. This helped me: http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/eb-whites-fantastic-letter-about-why-he-wrote-charlottes-web. Now when I see a spider, especially, a wolf spider, I look at them. I study them. I find them fascinating. And they are. I have to admit...I kind of like them, now. I just don't like them in my house. :)

     So, yesterday, I was sitting on the couch with Adelyn, and I showed her this picture of our latest spider friend. She said, without hesitation, "wow, that spider is so beautiful!" Made me smile. And it made me proud that she found beauty in something that so many others find detestable.

     Tobin had his one year well check today. He is growing up way too fast. He says a few words now. He claps. He waves. He'll be walking any day. I felt so proud walking into the doctor's office with my sweet son, and my sweet daughter. I felt blessed. And I felt even more proud when Tobin had to get his shots. Adelyn tried to help him feel better by saying, "it's okay, little boy blue...don't cry little boy blue!" When he was done getting his shots, I picked him up, and he hugged me for a very long time. He gives the best hugs. He holds on really tight. And he rests his head on my shoulder. I could never tire of his hugs.

     Thankful that Adelyn finds beauty in spiders. Thankful that she isn't afraid of them. Thankful that Tobin is growing healthy and strong. Thankful for his sweet hugs. Every day is sweet and amazing because of Adelyn and Tobin. I'm blessed to call them my babies.