Can you feel it?

The warm humid air of summer is slowly becoming cooler and crisp.  The evenings that were once full of sunshine until well after the kid's bedtime are becoming darker earlier.  The bright green leaves that grace the neighborhood trees are showing hints of different shades of green, red, yellow, orange and brown. The official first day of fall has come....and gone.

While I love the warmth of summer and the long sunny days spent basking in the sun and playing in the water at the beach, pool or on the boat,  there is so much about fall that brings a smile to my face.

Here are a few of my favorite things about fall:

1.  Getting to celebrate another year of marriage to my honey.

2.  Cool mornings, crisp evenings and warm bonfires to take away the chill.

3.  Mother nature's air conditioning, open windows and fresh air.

4.  Cozy sweaters and tall boots

(pinned in on my "My Style" board on Pinterest, but I can't find the source via the website link)

5.  Lazy Sunday afternoons watching football (and maybe, just maybe the back of my eyelids ~ there is
     something to be said for a good Sunday nap)

(Source)

6.  The slow change into beautiful vibrant colors of reds, oranges, yellows, browns and greens.

7.  The lovely, warm, cozy scent of cinnamon in the form of candles, baked goodies and beverages.

8.  Speaking of beverages ~ spiked apple cider ~ mmmmmm
     Need a recipe for yourself ~ try this one (I don't put the ginger in, I keep it warm in a crock pot and
     yep, for the adults I serve it with a shot....or so of spiced rum)!

9.  Chili, soups, casseroles and other warm comfort foods

10.  Fall-ifying my home ~ switching out the seashell and driftwood decor of summer for rich colored
      leaves, pumpkins, candles, flowers and pictures.

11.  Getting to spend time with family during our annual hunting trip.

12.  While I don't like the early setting of the sun, there is something to be said for the beautiful morning
       sunrises that I am able to witness on a very consistent basis due to the darker mornings.

The seasons, they come and go and while there are definitely some I like more than the others, they are all beautiful and unique.  And fall is, hands down, one of my favorite!

What do you like about fall?

Why are we so critical?

Why?

Take a few moments to watch this video before you continue reading...



For me, this really hit home.  I'll be honest, I stood in the mirror just this very morning, checking out my  tummy, that I wish was flatter, my nose smaller, my arms more defined, my hair fuller..... Why do I do this?

I do believe that women, myself absolutely included, are so very critical of ourselves.  We compare ourselves to the "beautiful women" we see on TV and in print. Our hair is not quite the color or texture we would like it to be.  Our skin color, too light or too dark.  Our noses, too big, wide, pointy, simply not shaped the way we would like, or see as beautiful.

I could go on and on about the rest of our bodies, from our feet to the nails on our hands to the tips of our ears and I'm certain I most of us could tell you about the trait(s) we wish were different or think are ugly.

But these things that bug us about ourselves ~ are just that.  Things we see.

When was the last time you looked in the mirror and didn't think one negative thing about your physical body?  When was the last time you looked in the mirror and thanked God for your individual beauty ~ the beauty that makes you ~ you?

As women, I think we feel the demands and desires of the world, to be the thinnest, to be the prettiest, to be the best.  What if we all just embraced ourselves fully and conquered each day confident.  Confident in our abilities and especially in our skin.

We need to remember, as this video shows, we are ALL unique, we are ALL beautiful, we just need to change our attitudes.  Next time you look in the mirror,  remember who you are and that there is no one else in the world who is you ~ so Rock It!

Oh, and as my 12 year old daughter reminded me just last night, 

 "You're never fully dressed without a smile!"

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4, four, fourth......

Yesterday (Sunday) my "baby" turned 4.

 I swear it feels just like yesterday when I was rocking Smiley's tiny newborn body in the middle of the night savoring her every expression, cry, coo and beautiful baby scent, reminding myself that although the days and nights can seem long (especially when you are tired mommy with a new baby) the years are so very short.  And tonight, now that we have finally eaten her birthday cake and opened presents from us (we were out of town over the weekend, spending it with family ~ hunting actually ~ a few presents were opened, but no birthday cake consumed) I am sitting here thinking about my girl.  Let me tell you what she is like today ~ a day after her 4th birthday.

She is a planner.  She decided after her 3rd birthday that she wanted a classic "Barbie" cake.  She first saw it at Super Target and told me EVERY subsequent shopping trip that that was the cake she wanted.

She can be a bit obsessive. For example, she has planned that tomorrow, she will be playing with her new Play-Doh as soon as she gets home from school.  You better believe that will be a MAJOR topic of conversation until she is actually playing with it (I'm happy we are playing with it tomorrow, and not in a week.  I wouldn't hear the end of it!).

She enjoys watching TV.  She watches very little but looks forward to the treat of it.  She likes to watch  Dora and Doc. McStuffins.

She LOVES to help me cook in the kitchen, even if it is simple "cooking" such as pouring her cereal into a bowl :)

She likes to play house.  Being "Mommy"  is one of her favorite roles.

She likes to play store.  She will set up a table filled with random items, grab a toy cash register and some grocery sacks and invite me to come and shop.  Most times my shopping total adds up to either "20 bucks"  or "40 bucks"

She likes to play with dolls and princesses.

She is taller than most of her 5 year old friends. 

She is starting to color and draw for longer periods of time.  This is a new past time for her.  For now, she is more content to draw her own pictures, and she is getting pretty good at drawing trees, flowers, snowmen and people.

She is constantly making noise.  She LOVES to sing.  For example, while she is coloring, she will sing and sing and sing.....  She sings made up songs, church songs ("Glory to God" is her favorite), and current songs she has heard on the radio.

She is stubborn.

She likes to make funny faces.

But, she has a BEAUTIFUL smile.

She cries when I leave her home with Daddy.  But not when she is left home with her siblings.  I don't get it!

She moved from her toddler bed to a twin bed 2 weeks ago.  Neither of us have ever slept better (I may be exaggerating a little bit, she's always been a pretty good sleeper, but she had been getting up about once a night a few times a week.  I think she was squished.)!

She likes to give shoulder rubs to both her Daddy and I.  They feel great, all 5 seconds :)

She LOVES to dress up.  Her flower girl dress (from Sept. 2011) and last year's halloween costume are two of her favorites, but i think her new mermaid dress (from Grandpa and Grandma) will maybe push one of those into 3rd place!

She loves to dance.

She is very social and enjoys being around other people.  She is shy for about the first 5 minutes, but after that.... watch out!

She wants to be a "pom-pom" girl, and likes to practice.  Yes, hubby and I usually oblige!

She enjoys school and has become very good at writing her name.  She has a funny way of saying her letters when she is writing.  For example, she has an "A" in her name.  She knows it is called an "A", but when she is writing it down, she calls it a "down, down, over".

She is sweet, caring and we love her unconditionally!

Happy 4th Birthday beautiful girl!

Nails

A simple moment.

One that doesn't take very long.

But one that means a lot.

Especially to a ten year old girl.

A moment together.

Painting fingernails.

Memories.  Even though they seem simple and mundane mean so much.

Make them and Embrace them.

A 2 year old in a white dress

Saturday was the day.  

The day Smiley put on her beautiful white dress and enjoyed playing the role of flower girl.  

Or, did she?

Here's how the day went down.

Smiley and I arrived at the church at 2:15 for pictures.  

And while she was waiting for her turn in front of the photographer's camera, there was:

Spontaneous Posing

Twirling

Playing

And

Assessing

Then, we moved locations and headed to a field.  And luckily after a few swipes from some baby wipes, her dress remained..... mostly clean :)

Five hours after we arrived for pictures, it was time for the wedding.
She and the ring bearer walked down the aisle beautifully.

She took her place next to the bridesmaids.

Gently placed her flower basket on the floor and proceeded to make a face
that looked something like this:

unfortunately, this was so unexpected that I was NOT camera ready ;(

Giggles engulfed the congregation.
From my pew in church, I finally convinced her to pick her basket back up, but she had to give her sister one last look:

She continued to stand in the front of the church.  As I watched her, I could tell she was beginning to "zone out" and daydream.  All of a sudden, she dropped her basket and the flower petals inside spilled out onto the floor.  She looked at the floor.  She looked at me.  She looked at the floor and I watched.  I watched her little face begin to get sad.  Very sad and soon she was sobbing and running down from the alter to me.  She felt so bad about dropping her basket.  

One of the bridesmaids reached down and picked up the petals and basket.  No worries.  

Smiley was still worried.  When I finally convinced her it was no big deal.  She decided it would be ok to go take her place in the front of the church again.  She walked up and forcefully grabbed HER (hee hee hee.....) basket from the bridesmaid.

And then, she looked at me.  And it was the look.  The same look she had when she dropped her basket.  And the tears came again.  I'm not sure why ~ maybe nerves, maybe she was a little tired, maybe......who knows, but it started again.  The tears began to fall.  She came running down from the alter back to me.

She continued to sit on my lap until almost the end, at which time she made her way back to the front and proceeded to walk out with the ring bearer.

With a little help from the Maid of Honor and Best Man.

Then we were off.

Off to dance and..... have cake :)

Smiley, who loves music and to dance, actually began rolling around on the dance floor
before the music even began.

And when your sister is lying on the floor, you must jump over her:

When the music finally did start,  man did that girl dance.
Actually, all three of these fabulous kiddos danced like crazy.

They danced and danced and danced.

When she had to sit out a dance.  She crashed.

Hard.
(and yes, it was midnight)

She was a BEAUTIFUL flower girl at a beautiful wedding.
What a fabulous weekend, that of course, went way.to.FAST!