"Let's Get Real"

Really.....who can complain with a "thinking chair" like this?? I love it!

If you are up for the "Let's Get Real" challenge....check out my friend Angel's blog at www.thevoiceofadventure.blogspot.com/

(Caution...she has a terrible video up right now.....don't go there if you are sensitive like me :-)

I don't think it is a secret to anyone that I do not handle the summer very well!! When Madisyn leaves I instantly turn into someone I do not know or recognize. This year has truly been the worst yet. I don't know if it is because she is staying in Pennsylvania for a longer amount of time....or that I just truly do miss her bubbly smile and conversations. I suppose a combination of both! I really am doing better this week (I just booked her a flight home for 5 days for the end of July, so I know she is coming home soon) but the first week she was gone.....TERRIBLE. I cried non-stop, went to my parents to try and ease up the pain but came home only to cry more and more. I have decided that I cannot change the situation, so I should "put on my big girl panties" and deal with it. I have written to her every day this week......putting something in the mail to her always makes me feel better. I talk to her each and every day.....our conversations are good.....she misses home....but is having a good time! I am glad that she is having a good time...because if she were not it would be so much harder on me. I know she misses Lyza and in turn...Lyza misses her big sissy. She has to be totally confused! She carries around her photo and says "Sissy, Sissy"....and that makes me sad! I let Maddy talk to Lyza on the phone each day also......it is cute to her her babble about everything to Madisyn.

I am learning to love where I am...our Home. For so long it just hasn't felt like "home". I don't know why......partially it is because of just being stressed, finances, settling into a family of four, etc. We just haven't allowed ourselves to make it "home". We are slowly just remodeling, redecorating and adding our own touches of landscaping....thus making it feel more like "our creation". I have spent the last several days just laying in our swing in the yard...and allowing myself to take in my surroundings, God's Nature and be thankful that we have our little bit of acreage and see it's beauty. We really do have a beautiful piece of land and I am especially thankful for it when we are having a bonfire, lounging in our swing or hammock and watching the kids and dogs run freely. We have beautiful shade trees and the weather has been so nice/breezy this week!

I grew up in a very small town and I still refer to it as "home". My parents built their house in 1971 and still live there...so that will probably always be "home" to me. However, as my children get older and I become more aware of just how much of what we do NOW affects everything LATER for my children....I want the same for them. I try to imagine that they refer to this as "home" someday and have that same feeling I do now when I go "home". I want this home to always be somewhere they know that they can rely on, that it is a safe haven for them and that everything will still be in tact when they are dropping off their children to stay with me, the grandma!!! I think it is important to have something that they know will NOT change in a world that is ever changing. So......even though our house is small...there is nothing stopping us from adding on down the road, making improvements, etc. It seems everyone is always wanting more, more, more...something bigger, something better, something different.....and I am no exception, however, I am realizing and making a huge effort to be content with what I have. To realize that "home is where the heart is"..."home is where the toys are"...everything doesn't have to be spotless...it is OK to have spots on the floor, toys scattered and a refridgerator full of masterpiece artwork from toddlers and teens! That is what makes it HOME!

I have the most wonderful, loving husband in the world! I have beautiful children who are a gift from God! I have a wonderful family (both mine and Chris')! I have the best friends who are huge supporters and encouragers! I have a closet full of kittens ( seriously) and a yard with three dogs (animals make me happy)....and I have a GOD who is good! I have it good! NOW, Let's get real and start couting our blessings! We are overflowing if we stop and think about the things that really matter!

xoxoxoxoxo

Misty