Spook-tacular.

Today is Halloween. It’s the time where you can be anything you want to be, anything you can imagine. You can be a mighty dragon or a dainty princess, a fearless superhero or a rockin’ pop star. The sky’s the limit.
Every  year I make Krysta’s costume- at least the bulk of it. So there's no reason why this year would be any different.

We spend days, sometimes weeks brainstorming how Krysta wants her costume to look. I find great joy in creating. It’s an addiction, really. I draw out a sketch for her to see my vision, and then we collaborate and make the necessary changes to get her costume exactly how she wants it.
Over the top? Absolutely. It’s Halloween, the most spook-tacular time of year! We don’t take dressing up lightly, you know.

With that said, here are Krysta’s past Halloween costumes:

 My Aunt made this adorable pumpkin costume. You can say, this is where it all started.

Go Wolfpack!  Howlooo!

We won 1st place in the costume contest!

My Bestie & I did joint costumes -Princess and the Frog- we even decked out the wagon! We both won 1st place with this little number.

the prissiest black cat

prima ballerina

beautiful blue fairy

This years costume? 

I'll give you a hint: One eats carrots, the other eats acorns. Any guesses?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN YA'LL!

And then life suddenly changed.

This morning I had a great post all typed up and ready to go.

I was going to talk about how life has been chaotic, but fabulous. Fabulous, because in these chaotic times is when I feel the most alive. I’ve been busily running around, checking off my to-do list, all while being over-caffeinated.

I’ve been dicing, mincing, steaming, and boiling.

Having heart-to-heart conversations with my firstborn over pumpkin spiced lattes and books

and spending time with the hubs gathered around the breakfast bar, taking in the savory smells of Ron cooking tacos.

I’ve been cherishing my babes little childhood moments and chasing an over-active bouncing boy who’s too big for his own britches.

I also gave Krysta full reign when making the decision on her haircut. She opted for short. Super short. And I have to say, it’s super cute.

Through it all, I even took a moment to drink up the views and watch first real snow fall of the season.

Now I will tell you about dance class. She was all arms out, shoulders back, toes pointed, little Ms. Prima Ballerina.

Little did we know, life would change for us in a split second. Priorities would be rearranged. And that “to-do”, well it’s taking the backseat.

****************************************************************
You start your day off feeling like you’re the king of the castle, ruler of your empire, ready to take on the world. You get things accomplished and you’re feeling great. Nothing can bring you down. Then, you get a phone call. That phone call that brings you to your knees.

The shaky quiet voice on the phone says, “Em, Krysta just had a seizure and collapsed.”

Everything suddenly goes dark, then a quick flash of light. Your heart drops into your gut. Your entire body goes cold, but yet it feels like you’re overheated all at the same time. Your mind is racing and the room is spinning. You’ve just been dethroned, your empire has just been defeated, your world has just crumbled.

You see, this has happened before. After many tests and trips to the hospital –both on and off base- Doctors and Specialists couldn’t find anything wrong with her. So we’ve resulted in an observation period. Now, three years later, we will start from the beginning. The slate has been wiped clean and hopefully we can get to the root of the problem with a new series of tests.

Krysta says, now I can add these stickers to my sticker collection. Always the bright-side, this kid.  

 

But hey, let's not dwell because right now she's fine, we're fine. There's a lot of life to be had and it's ours for the taking. We're going to regain control over our castle, rebuild our empire, and live life to its maximum capacity.

Tomorrow is Halloween folks! Get dressed up, pull out that orange plastic pumpkin, fill it up with Starbursts and miniature Reese's, and eat yourself into a 24 hour sugar high.

Big Dude has added two more teeth. Totaling SIX pearly whites! Hence the major drool.

Enjoy!

~Emily

A carbon copy.

Do you remember back-in-the-day when businesses used carbon paper for receipts? You know, before printers and other electronic devices were used for making exact duplicates. Well, that’s what my week was. A duplicate of last week. A nice, easy going, smooth sailing, perfectly relaxing week. Easy going, smooth sailing, and perfectly relaxing are rare words in our dictionary, so when they come along –not once, but twice in a row- we soak up every last drop.

Did we have our ups and downs? Sure did. Frustrated with sleepless nights? Yes. Annoyed with unplanned meals and an untidy house? Absolutely. But we got over it and we moved on to more important things, like just being together.

We played board games and watched William stand and pull up on furniture. We chanted cheers for him like, “Whoa, Go Will” and “Come on Big Dude, You Can Do It”! 

And speaking of the big dude, look who’s getting some more teeth.

Since this weekend was so carefree, it gave me bunches of time of bake homemade apple pie!

…Er uh, okay maybe it was frozen Mrs. Smiths preheat to 350 and bake for 65 minutes apple pie. Either way, it was yummy and very fall-ish.

*************************************************************
When Krysta starts saying things like, “Mom, babies take up a lot of time” and “Why are you always so busy with William”, you know it’s time for a mommy-daughter date.

We left the boys to nap, and high tailed it to Nordstrom for a little bit of girl shopping. As much as my girl loves to shop, she loves cookies and milk even more. So, we stretched out our time together and snacked in the Nordstrom sky bridge. She was over the moon watching the buses, cars, and people pass by from down below.

We’re going to have to make room for more of these dates in the near future.

As relaxing as these moments have been, believe me, we’re going to make up for it over the next month. I tell you, it’s going to be complete chaos. Constant peaks and valleys. But I got this.

For now, I’m enjoying the valleys.

PS Check out the latest drama in our neighborhood. Yes, that would be our dumpster on fire!

Have a nice, easy going, smooth sailing, perfectly relaxing week everyone!

Sprinkled Confetti

I kept thinking, we’re going to venture out and do fabulous, fun, beautiful things, but we didn’t. We stayed within the four walls of our home, just us. However, there’s something just as fabulous, fun, and beautiful when sitting around in worn out gray thermal leggings that are baggy in all the wrong places, matched with a faded-out t-shirt with babies constantly crawling all over you.

You see, our lives can become hectic in split second and suddenly we find ourselves going, going, going. We bite off more than we can chew. We over-volunteer. We scribble down more to-do’s on our already over flowing to-do list making it impossible for any one man to accomplish, but that’s how we live. It’s how we thrive.

Then again, there are times when it’s good to rip up that to-do list into confetti-like pieces, toss it up in the air, and leave it where they fall.  And that’s exactly what this was- a week was full of scattered confetti pieces.



Some of the pieces fell in Downtown Anchorage, where my girl and I spent some mommy/daughter time together. We drove to the top of the parking deck to stick our heads out to listen to the roaring streets below before making our way to the dance store for new ballet slippers.

It’s one of Krysta’s favorite things to do when heading to the mall- seeing how tiny the cars and people look from up above. For me, I dig the views.

Yup, you heard right. Krysta’s starting dance class- ballet, tap, and jazz to be exact. It’s another year of pirouette spinning, plie’ bending, and toe pointing. She’s over the moon to “reunite” with her dancing buddies and her teacher, Mrs. Karen.

As this week rolled on, my ripped up to-do list sprinkled itself around our home until we were knee deep in a pile of confetti nothingness.

We did alot of studying, home cooked meals, playtime, and of course, just being.

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.  ~Jane Austen
 

 When toys fail to entertain, a laundry basket does the trick.

*******************************************************************
Do you see that moon? We starred wide-eyed at that harvest moon in anticipation of all the bounty and wonder this season is going to bring forth during the holidays.  The best time of the year is quickly approaching! *squeal*

While we were busy doing nothing, God was busy doing alot of somethings. Do you see these? Lately I’ve been watching a bunch of sunrises and sunsets. I can’t seem to get enough of these cotton-candy skies in the mornings before the babies wake up, and then in the evenings, the rolling of golden clouds as the day seeps away. I feel so rejuvenated during these tiny wondrous moments.

Being at home -in our core- surrounded by each other, was exactly where we needed to be. After all, home is where the heart is.

 

***********************************************************************

When my girl and the hubs just got home from school and work today, they came baring gifts for me- a root beer and a bouquet of flowers! They know exactly how to make my heart swell. 

Krysta says, "Mom, I just want your day to be even gooder."

How can you not love that? She's seriously the sweetest, and I'm the luckiest mom ever to have her as my daughter.

Good night ya'll. I'm off to cuddle with my lovies.