don't miss out

"guiding your children cannot be done in your spare time:

opportunities are almost always inconvenient.

 be ready so not a single one is missed."

~tweeted by Mark Dugdale

my sweet hubby sent me a pic of this tweet this week and said

 "your the best at this"

maybe a little too good at it, and sometimes i think i let the house go way too much! but you know the saying , your not going to look back one day and  think "i wish i worked more"

 {or  spent more time cleaning and had the house spotless,

which is impossible when you have kids anyway} 

you are going to think, i should of spent more time with my kids. 

so next time your doing your dishes and your 3 year old comes up to you and says 

"hold me mommy"

stop doing the dishes and hold them

next time your doing the laundry and your 4 year old says 

"let's play a game mommy" 

{while throwing the laundry all over the livingroom, haha}

take time out to let those clothes get a little wrinkle in them and play a game or throw the clothes all over with them :)

next time your babe is fussing because they want to be rocked, 

take time out to rock them in your arms instead of putting them in the swing 

{i'm not saying that the swing is not a complete lifesaver, 

and never to use it,wink}

i love and adore my kids so much

 {even though some days i go a tad coo coo}

i always want them to remember that mommy had time for them 

and loves them so much

kind of sappy, but sometimes we all need a reminder {including myself}

 what things are important in life.

like spending as much quality time with your kids

and not just "fitting" them in to our schedule

high school sweethearts {13 years}

this week, on january 29th, shawn and i will be together 13 years!

it is so crazy! 

i feel like we just started dating in high school. i'm always saying to him "don't you feel like we are 16? i cant believe we are married with 3 kids!" 

time has gone by so fast.

we actually started "talking" when i was a junior. i had a boyfriend at the time and i would always talk to shawn about him. one day i asked shawn to take me home  {because i was a junior and still had to ride the bus...thanks a lot mom and dad, haha} and we really hit it off. i remember being so embarrassed the first time he took me home because it was a super hot day and we had the windows rolled down, as we were sitting at a light a bee flew in the window. if you know me at all , you know i'm the crazy person that runs across the yard if i see a bee a mile away. i tried to remain calm...but that only lasted about 2 seconds, then i started waving my hands, unbuckled my set belt and was freaking out, basically crawling into the backseat. i am laughing so hard picturing it right now! i can even remember what i was wearing... a blue short sleeve turtleneck {so ugly, i know} and i think i still might have the jeans in my closet {which i can no longer fit into}. shawn looked at me like i was crazy! he is one of those "don't mess with the bee and it wont mess with you" type of people.

so, that's when we started talking, but we didn't actually start dating until January ...we went on a group date to applebee's and to a movie, and then we used the "official" date of homecoming for our "dating anniversary" {which shawn says there is no such thing as a dating anniversary, but i think it's an important date} which was just a week later. i'm pretty sure when he came to pick me up that night, my dad had a talk with him and probably scared the poo out of him...but not bad enough because he ended up kissing me for the first time that night. {sorry dad} 

our first kiss was at an after party at my friend meredith's house.

 we were sitting in the same chair watching a movie and he looked at me and just gave me a quick peck on the lips. when it got to be around 3 am, i walked him out  {that's when all the boys left} and he said " i'm so sorry about kissing you in there.i know you're not like that."

{he knew i dated my previous boyfriend for 1 whole year before i kissed him...poor guy, i know} and i said "oh, it's ok!" then what do you know....he lays one on me! talk about mixed signals! 

ok, enough about how we started dating! all i can say is that i'm one blessed girl to have him! his parents did a great job raising him and he is everything i have dreamed of and more. not only is he a great husband he is a wonderful dad too!

 {any man who does the laundry,can cook dinner and changes poopy diapers...is a keeper}

i love him so much

{obviously}

our first picture together ever

january 27, 2000

homecoming

january 29th, 2000

one year together 

2001

seniors 

2 years together

we went to new york to watch a baseball game at the old yankees stadium

sometime in 2003

engaged in 2005....

on our way to get our marriage license  

married on june 8th, 2007

honeymoon

baby number one, hunter

2008

baby number two, carter

2010

shawn thought our fam was complete...

i had another opinion 

{and we all know, girls always get what they want,wink}

baby number three, capri 2012

here we are 13 years later, still in love with three beautiful kids

"i have found the one whom my soul loves"

~song of solomon 3:4

happy 13 year dating anniversary shawn

{even though you think it's not a real date to celebrate , haha}

love you

xoxoxoxox

the middle child

carter bronx

i love my little carty! he is seriously the sweetest child ever. he is so loving and kind. he is such a mama's boy.

my new york yankees fan of a hubby picked his middle name.

{i think it fits him perfectly}

 he is such a little sweetheart and so smart. his dimples melt my heart! i loved spending one on one time with him last year when hunter was in preschool! we would go to dunkin' almost everyday for breakfast after we dropped hunt off.

 he is the type of kid that will sit and play with toys for hours, such a good listener {he is starting to get a tad ornery with the influence of hunter}, and still loves me to hold him!

when i found out i was having another boy, i thought what  in the world am i going to do with two boys?!? but now i know, play sports, go on lots of bike rides, play outside as much as possible, {and talk about poop}

love this sweet boy so much!

                                   happy 3rd birthday to my little sweetie peetie!

grandpa smith

i have sat down to write this for the past two nights, i start to write then delete it. i tried to make up a poem, tried to goggle a poem and thought hard about what i could say to talk about grandpa.

i was talking to grandma the other night on the phone and she said 

"i know how much grandpa was loved and adored"

and that he was!

 but i think that all of us grand kids know 

how much he loved and adored us!

i remember the first time i met grandma and grandpa, it was at shawn's parents house on 41st street. i was in the drive way when grandma and grandpa pulled up. grandma came right up to me and hugged me and ran her hands through my hair and said "oh, i would just love to run barefoot through your hair!" haha... then she said that may of sounded odd but it was true.  and grandpa gave me a huge hug. his smile was amazing and so sweet! they were a little power couple full of sweetness.

speaking of sweetness.... everyone could see how much grandma and grandpa loved and adored each other. that is one of the things that stood out most to me about grandpa. his love for her....her love for him.... they were a true example of what a thriving marriage looks like. everyone dreams of having a love like theirs 

my favorite pic of grandma and grandpa

this pic sums up their sweetness

always smiling

the other thing that stood out was his love for his kids and 

all 1,000 of us grandkids! :)

he was always willing to throw a ball, hold a baby, take the kids on tractor rides, go to breakfast with us....there probably would of been many more of those if he didn't want to meet before 7 am, haha!

i can still hear him saying to the boys "come here son!" , and "hi babe!" 

grandpa and i sure did enjoy grandma's cooking and we always talked about her homemade chocolate cake!  {which is divine} i loved going to their house for dinner, grandma and grandpa would greet us at the door with hugs and kisses,grandma was of course in her cute little apron, she would set the table perfectly with china, and cloth napkins, and i was usually the  "drink pourer"  i'd set out grandma's diet coke, pour grandpa some ice tea and we'd all sit down to an amazing meal!

such a sweet dad

the first time meeting capri

grandma, merle lewis and hunter lewis

grandpa and carter

there were always tractor rides with grandpa,

one thing that the boys will remember the most

a whole lots of pics:

kids, grandkids and great grandkids

 

 

we will sure miss grandpa, but so thankful he gave us all so many great memories to cherish! he will always be in our hearts!

i love you so much grandma!

i hope you know how much you are loved and adored!

xoxoxox

one of my favorite songs to think about my grandparents in heaven 

this song is so touching...

i can imagine grandpa up there right now in complete awe of how amazing Heaven is

{grab a tissue}

"Yes, i am sure that nothing can separate us from the love of God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers,nothing above us, nothing below us,or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39