March On...

As icky and difficult as February was, March was unexpectedly crazy busy and delightful!

While February was home/basement bound due to horrific amounts of snow, this past month I literally experienced all four corners of the U.S. with weather ranging from below freezing to tropical.

SEASONS OF LIFE....

I am grateful that God gives us seasons of fasting and seasons of feasting.  The feasting never tastes as good without the fasting, but the feasting can only last so long before you need some stability.  Sometimes seasons of life last for several years, and sometimes they only last for a month.  I am learning to embrace each season for what it is.

The month of March was my feasting season, 

and I am SO thankful to have experienced it!

A few highlights from March:

New York City - My mom took my 3 sisters and I to NYC for my 30th birthday!  It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and my mom is a rockstar for planning the whole thing!!!  We experienced so much fun, I'll have to share it in another post.

My 30th Birthday - After the trip to NYC, my mom came back home with me for a few days so she could hang out with the grandbabies!  Upon arriving at the house, my husband had some surprises for me.  He decorated the house as a 'construction zone' and did a long list of home repairs/fixes that needed to be done, which lead me to believe my present would be remodeling the master bathroom (we have talked about doing this since we moved in, but keep putting it off).  He knew that was what I would think (tricky guy).  Instead he lead me to the garage and pulled off a HUGE surprise.  Unfortunately, it is still on back order and won't be in for another month.  He was a little bummed, but it's the thought that counts!  On my actual birthday, the girls, my mom and I spent the day doing fun, simple adventures that mostly revolved around eating (like Dunkin Donuts and Which Wich and ice cream:)  Then my mom watched the girls while Phil took me out for a steak dinner at Prime 47, just the two of us.  It really was the perfect way to usher in my 30's.

 

California Trip to Celebrate Joe Wiler's Life - My best friend/college roommate/college teammate, Lesley's dad passed away from Alzheimer's and there was no way I could miss his memorial and celebration of life!  I booked a flight last minute for Aven and I and off we went to California.  Although I knew they would have so much family support, I love Les and her family too much not to be there.  I have learned so much by watching the way their family has conducted themselves and the strong unit and support they are for each other.  I am thankful for the reminder to live life with passion, to the fullest and daily show those you love how much they mean to you! It was also a bonus to have some one on one time with just my little Aven girl since that time is so rare!

Sarasota, Florida - This year Phil's work trip was to Florida and since I felt like I hadn't seen him pretty much all month, it was really great for the two of us to get some alone time.  We could not have asked for better weather and I literally could not stop smiling as we went for our daily bike ride to breakfast before laying by the pool all afternoon.

But, all good things must come to an end and I was beyond ready to get home to see our little girls (and my incredible in-laws were probably desperate for a break after watching the kids for weeks as I gallivanted across America this month.  HUGE thank you, Marcia)!  Their little faces were just what I needed to see!

Sadly, Monday morning when I went in to get the girls from bed, Emrie was sick...like couldn't get off the toilet sick.  Then just as she seemed to be feeling a bit better that evening, all her lunch came right back up on the carpet that Phil had just had cleaned.  Ahhhh, nothing snaps you back to reality quite as quickly as a sick child!  Just a little bit of real life for ya:)

Now we are hopefully going to settle back into a bit of routine and normalcy, and be grateful for this season of life!