don't let life pass you up

when eric and i talk in the morning (his night) he always asks me "how are things going?", typically i have some smart remark like "i just woke up, give me a few minutes" or "the same ole thing." lately, though, it seems like the kids have been extremely loud in the back ground, causing trouble and you know just being - kids. so when the question comes "how are things going?" all i have to do is hold the phone out and he can hear. being such a loving man that he is, he offers his condolences and adds that he wishes he could be here to help. however, the other morning he said something to me that has stuck. he has said it before, but for some reason this one has lingered. after my "how do you think things are, eric?" response, he calmly said "at least you woke up this morning." how true. i woke up.
i woke up.
there is a plan for me today! even if it is scrubbing ketchup stains out of t-shirts, there is a plan for me! there is a visa commercial that i absolutely love. following what eric has said, the visa commercial asks its viewers, what are you going to do today? take a different route, create something new, find a new favorite song...the choice is yours. if my faithful readers are like me, you get stuck into a routine and forget to live. go to the gym, listen to the same music, run errands at the same places, read the same things, check the same sites on the internet, talk to the same neighbors/friends, eat the same things. just going through the motions and just waiting. what are you waiting for?? i have recently been thinking about how exciting it is to be a family in which we have to opportunity to travel around the world and live. we don't have to find one location and stay for the rest of our lives. we can see things we would never see, had we been in our routines and never stepped out side of them. how cool would it be to live in a unique home - like a studio apartment in a renovated old factory? even if it is just a year or 2 out of our white picket fence home with an acre of green grass to play on - wouldn't it be neat to say "i remember when we lived there!" - life is going to pass us all up, and before we know it we will be saying "i wish i would have done___________."

this past week, the kids and i all worked on the food buckets for families in honduras. one bucket full of food (pasta, rice, beans, sardines, salt & oil) will feed a small family for 2 weeks. i explained to the girls what we were doing and why, we loaded a cart full of food, came home and loaded the boxes up. they helped at every point. it is so wonderful to see the girls get into something like this. especially kadence who is really starting to understand other peoples feelings (besides her sister of course). for kadence to have the experience of having the opportunity to help others in need is a priceless lesson in life.

here is a quick laugh. this morning on the way home from the gym (and yes i listened to same music again), the girls where in the back fighting "mom, she did this" "mom she hit my seat" "mom she buzzed at me", i said "that's it! now i have lost my patience!" they both sat there not talking, when kadence quietly said, "mom, i can help you find them."