Still a reason to celebrate.

Every morning I wake up with half-squinted eyes peering open to the sounds of a crying toddler over the bedroom monitor. Every morning I pull William out of his crib, who instantly wedges his head perfectly in the crook of my neck, and every morning, with wobbly knees we scoot downstairs.

As we round the landing of the stairs, we stop for a moment to look out outside to see snow or a pink sunrise or a moose or sometimes just a grey, gloomy, hazy dawn. Once we’re satisfied that it is indeed morning and we are indeed getting up for the day, we proceed the rest of the way downstairs where I’m hit,every morning, by the intense aroma of coffee gurgling in our red coffee pot. Ron brews two cups of coffee for me --rain or shine-- every. single. morning.

Today however, was not like all of my other every mornings. Today my girl and I woke up at the crack of dawn to undergo an EEG. Today my girl was nervous beyond belief, but wore her big girl brave face.

pardon my blurry photo

Krysta has been having random, non-patterned, on and off seizures for the past 3+ years. There’s no rhyme or reason on what causes her to have them; the only thing that’s constant is the actual seizure itself -her eyes roll back, she collapses, and her body does a little shake making her body extremely limp.

We’ve done an EEG before, but the results were unsuccessful. We’re praying that we can find answers, so we can get down to the root of the problem.

 

When your world is shaken up with the not-so-perfect combination of uneasiness, worry, and insecurity, we tightly wrap ourselves into one another.

We are a family. We are entwined together. And we deal with the good, the bad, and the unknown together.

  

In celebration of one step closer to finding answers, we treated the kids to a rare outing to Moose Tooth Pizza, the most delish, overpriced pizza in Alaska, followed by a trip a Barnes & Nobles for new books.

 I'm currently reading "The Fixer Upper" (love Mary Kay Andrews!) Krysta's reading...all the rest!

We tend to find many reasons to celebrate around these parts –birthdays, a lost tooth, a “hey I finished all the laundry”. It’s the good, the bad, and the unknown that makes up life, and that alone is worth celebrating, every day.

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”  ~Oprah

 Happy Friday!

Em

Twenty-Nine and Dancing Around the Sun.

I turned 29. You know the one that comes right before 30! I’m feeling pretty good about this --the moment the second hand on the clock slowly ticking over 1:05pm, officially making me a year older.
 
It’s a feeling of empowerment and excitement of what lies ahead as I create the last year of my twenties. I’ve earned my spot in adulthood and that alone is something to celebrate. I’ve grown to the point in my life where I’m no longer unsure of myself --what I want out of life and who I want to be-- I know exactly what I want and I know exactly who I am. And I’m living it.

I’m the creator, the producer, the painter, the sculptor, the photographer, and the author of this life of mine. The chapter of my twenty-ninth year is blank. I’m going to fill is with all things good, all things bright and cheery, and remove all the grey and black that has lurked over me, hindering me from soaring beyond limitless possibilities. I’m flying high. High on life and dancing around the sun.

Here’s to twenty-nine years, and one hundred and nine more!

How are you going to create this great big ginormous life of yours?

“Twenty-eight was great. Twenty-nine is, oh so divine." I just made that up. Cheesy, no?

Happy mid-week!

PS Check out the awesome cake that my awesome husband had made for me! He knows me all too well, and I love him for it.

Bunny Chocolate and Ice Pops.

Just a quick Easter note:

The Easter Bunny has come and gone, and all that remains are two little ones with fevers, running noses, coughs, and raspy voices, along with a year’s supply of egg shaped chocolate.

Despite the fact that we were gradually getting sick, we pushed through and gave it all we had in preparing for Easter. We decorated pink cupcakes that nestled in crinkled tulip cups, set out our crotchet lined baskets, and spent hours preparing for our traditional Easter dinner.

cupcakes for The Bunny

By the time four o’clock came around, we were beat. All of us. The remaining Easter Sunday was spent vegging in our jammies, eating ice pops and frozen yogurt, and playing Hi Ho Cheery O.

I  wish I could tell you more about out little Easter happenings, but I have two exhausted babies to nurse back to health!

Have a great week everyone!
Em

Shine On

The sun is out! I repeat, the sun is out!

When your day starts out like this -sun rays pouring in through curtains with an illuminating glow that puts a smile on my toddler’s face- you know it’s going to be a good one.

It seems that we’ve fully made the switch to spring, and for us Alaskans, this is pretty major. In Alaska, spring is also known as “the Breakup Season”. All that was once engulfed by snow is now a slushy mess --perfectly sized miniature lakes for my girl to splash around in. Our snow bibs, snow gloves, snow boots, snow shovels, and all things winter, are all packed away, and have been replaced by all things spring, like rain boots, budding trees, adirondack chairs, and sidewalk chalk.

It has been a long seven months since we’ve seen such radiant light like we’ve been having this week. The hazy grey winter air has parted ways, bringing forth bright blue skies, white marshmallow clouds, and golden sunrays, and with each passing day, it keeps getting better and better.

Everyday a little warmer. Everyday a little longer. Everyday a little brighter. Everyday a smile on my face.

When warmth and light collide it creates the perfect recipe for good times in the front yard. We love front yard pastimes. It means turning the sidewalk into a work of art and the happy squealing of children and the smells of BBQs and the blowing of bubbles and a tiny tot trying to keep up with his big sister.

This weekend was spent making any and all last attempts to play with the leftover snow.

It’s amazing how we went from months upon months of this,

to this in just a few weeks time.

Everything is a little better in the spring, don’t cha think?

A night to remember.

 Last Saturday Ron took Krysta to a Father-Daughter Ball in downtown Anchorage. They had a blast, to say the least.
Today, my husband blogged a little about their experience....

Proud that it fit as well as it had the last time I wore it, I once again got decked out in my semi-formal uniform to take my little princess to the ASYMCA’s annual Father-Daughter ball. And she, dressed for a night on the town, complete with curls and conservatively applied makeup, was ready for a night of dancing, princesses, cupcakes and mac-and-cheese.

This year’s theme was “Under the Sea”, and Princess Ariel (who looked curiously just like last year’s Candyland Princess) was there to top it all off.  But, Krysta wasn’t here for the theme. Nope, she was here for one purpose: to GET DOWN.

 iPhone Photo

 

And get down she did. She rocked out to The Village People’s YMCA.  She broke it out to Jarod Neimann’s Lover, Lover.  And that was just the beginning.  This year, Madeline and her daddy, Chad, joined us to make it a real party.

Once everything calmed down a little, the girls made a little time for photos, including one with Ariel, and another with her balloon hat. It may not be much, but yes, I made it.

 iPhone Photo

 iPhone Photo

It was another great Father-Daughter Ball that we will forever cherish.

Healing.

When I’ve been knocked off my feet, and I mean the laying-on-the-floor-seeing-stars type of knocked off my feet, I homebody.

Whenever something jolts your emotions --positive or negative-- we tend to gravitate back to our center, our core, our home base. I do homebodying very well. It’s one of my specialties --because it's my family that rejuvenates me, that makes me whole again, that brings me back to the center, and puts me at peace.

So here's my center:

As much as I’m ready for green grass and flowered fields, I love spring snow. I’m soaking up the merging of the seasons as much as possible because it will be a longtime, possibly forever, until I see sights like these and the feeling that we’re coming out of the cold darkness and into the light and warmth of summer. I want to feel it all. I want to see it all. I want to experience the simplicity of Alaska, like how light dances off of the snow, twinkling against the perfect shade of blue sky in a spotlight of golden sun rays.

Mother Nature blessed us with multiple spring snow showers this week, you better believe I was on Cloud 9. To see the iridescent flakes swoosh their way down, swaying and twisting and spiraling along the way like circus acrobats put me in a state of pure bliss.

William is still mesmerized by the snow. It tickles him to death when he reaches out to catch the clusters of flakes, only to see them instantly disappear to his touch. As long as he isn’t bundled in his snowsuit, he’s golden.

You know what else puts me in a state of pure bliss? My little family tightly cuddled together, flipping through pages of books, laughing as we change our voices to make the character and point to the brightly colored illustrations. It’s all about the homebodying, the togetherness.

And you can’t truly homebody without doing a little homemade cooking. The knife going chop, chop, chop across the cutting board, the mincing of garlic, and the peeling back of an onion that releases a strong tang aroma puts me into the role of Julia Child.

 homemade cookies is a given when homebodying

Since we’re on the subject of role playing, my inner Martha Stewart came out to teach Krysta Jean how to sew. I must say that after her fear of getting pricked by the needle, she did a smashing job!

She says she wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up, and I say go for it!

Presenting Krysta’s first sewing project! Doesn’t Barbie look glamorous?

We don’t live it up by hardcore partying, getting wasted of off booze, or even by getting wild at the club. We live it up by get drunk off of life. By embracing the small moments that bring us huge amounts of joy and laughter is how we roll. And I’m good with that.

Here’s a fantastic example of how we get down:

Oh yeah! We’re a WILD bunch!

I'm at peace. What can be better than that?

I was fortunate enough to capture one of God's paintings. He used an excellent shades of orange and yellow. And do you see his brushstrokes? Spectacular! Bravo God, Bravo!

One more great orange thing:
As many of you know, my grandmother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I’ve joined efforts with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help spread awareness and raise money for Parkinson’s research.
Friday night was kind of a big deal! The Empire State Building was lit up orange in honor of MJF!




 I hope y'all squeezed the bejesus out of your weekend and enjoyed every moment of it!

Em