Come Away With Me.....

F - Fabulous
I - Interesting
V & E - Very Entertaining

It's so crazy to think that 5 years ago today Rob & I got married. YAY!
I'll quickly set the stage: Mt. Hood, Oregon, Timberline Lodge, March 12th, 2005...

What a fun day, (better yet) week that was... friends & family arriving in town... snowboarding & celebrating, excitement brewing by the hour!
Honestly, I wouldn't change a single thing about it...
OH wait... I would have my brother-in-law that was in charge of videoing the ceremony push the RECORD button... that I'd probably change..

I can't believe how much we've done in 5 years!

• lived & worked in Seattle
• lived & worked in Mississippi in the aftermath of Katrina
• got pregnant with twins (while in MS in the aftermath of Katrina)
• moved to Southern California
• successfully brought Adam & Grace into the world
• loaded up a big-ol' U-Haul and moved cross country with 2: 4mo. olds, 1: Mother in Law, 1: dog, and 3: plants (2 of which are now dead, I'm referring to the plants in case you wondered)
• found a job in Buffalo
• Dalton decided to come and live with us
• cultivated & grown many new and old friendships
  
• purchased 40 acres to build on & many many other blessings along the way...
  

It's times like these that I feel especially blessed to have Rob to share all of this with.

I hope we can keep our humor about us, and strive to always remember the fond memories even after the ebbs & flow of life flip us upside down and back right again.

It doesn't seem like too long ago, that I swore I'd never find a husband, children or a life for that matter...now here we are!

I can't wait to see what the next 5, and the 5 after that... and the 5 after that have in store for us.

God is great.

peace out,
mem

"I'll have two eggs scrambled and a side of life smothered with expectations - please..."

You must get 8 hours of sleep each night.
Be sure to eat 5 servings of leafy green vegetables everyday.
You need to be sure you have your highlights refreshed every 4 to 6 weeks.
Your BMI must be in the range of 18-24.
A complete wardrobe purchase will be necessary every 3 months to keep up with the current fashions.
Kids must know how to count to 20, know their ABC's and how to tie their shoes before preschool.
I could go on and on and on... but I trust you get my point.

Where did all these high expectations come from? How in the world is one person supposed to achieve and more importantly maintain all of these things in one lifetime?

These are the random thoughts that ran through my head at 4:43 a.m. when a child-falling-out-of-bed-sound woke me from my dream-filled slumber...

Why do we have such high expectations for ourselves, and for others for that matter?
Who made these rules?

Are you truly a failure if you don't have your dream home by age 36?
If you don't wear a size 4 jean, should that define your ability?
Isn't life too precious and short to let these societal and self-imposed pressures control the way we live?

(It's no wonder we need meds or some other form of coping mechanism.)

I think we all need to practice a little grace... for others as well as ourselves.

Give yourselves a break... a little wiggle room on all of these ridiculous expectations...
Offer a little understanding for others that might not live up to the expectations you have set for them...

Go ahead... let those clean clothes sit in the laundry basket for one more day! Go outside and sit in the sun for a minute; take that time to refocus on what is truly important in this life...

peace out.
mem

Note to readers: I did not have time to properly proof this, as I am taking a morning to spontaneously drive 33 miles to have a Starbucks with my friend! Life is short... the laundry can wait!

blah blah blah; blah blah, blah, blah...

Seriously... who stole my energy? Is that what a full moon does? It zaps everyone's energy so it can illuminate the sky?

I sit here tonight, in the chaos of dinnertime, typing. I'm sure Rob is wondering what in the world I think I am doing...
Adam is lifting 2, 3lb. dumbbells (make that dropping dumbbells), Dalton is walking with a book on his head (since someone told him he has great posture at school today) and Grace is wrapping a fake present for Rob's fake birthday!

Rob & I are laughing, rolling our eyes and drinking wine... that's really all we can do!

They say these times will pass, and that we will miss them terribly when they do -

Until then... we'll just continue to laugh, roll our eyes and drink wine....

peace out.
mem