Holiday spirit – Page 2 – Birds of a Feather

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

December 1, 2017Baby Bears & Little Bears, Family, Happiness, Holiday spirit, Love, Mama Bears, Special People, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Slowly but surely, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our house. I don’t feel rushed, ashamed, or the slightest bit off schedule seeing as tomorrow marks the first day of December. I’m less shocked this year than in previous years that people in my neighborhood started putting up this lights this year just a few days shy of Halloween, but that seems to be par for the course these days.

As much as I love Christmas and all of the joy, spirit, and merriment that comes along with it, I also truly enjoy Thanksgiving and everything that it symbolizes. For me, the carols, Christmas lights, and decorations can all wait until at least the week of Thanksgiving if not until I’ve feasted on turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

The outdoor lights are up and certain areas of the house are in full blow Christmas decor, but our tree stands beautifully lit without ornaments. We’ll get there this weekend and will enjoy singing along to Christmas carols as we adorn it with our collection of yours, mine, and ours ornaments.

Liam’s elf, Willie, returned a few days ago so the excitement of waking up every morning to search high and low throughout the house has him awakening and getting dressed much quicker than normal. I truly wish there was a way to keep this momentum going all year, but I don’t think I would be creative enough to find 365 unique hiding places for Willie in the house.

This evening after dinner and bath time, I thought I’d commemorate the holiday season with a cute picture of the boys in their matching elf pajamas in front of our ornamentless tree. My attempts at cooing, making monkey noises, and jingling a reindeer donning a bell all proved to be epic fails.

But like the priceless picture taken over Thanksgiving break with Santa, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. Undoubtedly these two pictures candidly capture the realness of both moments and are sure to keep us laughing about both occasions for years to come. Here’s to many more memorable holiday moments this season and in the future.

With a Grateful Heart

November 23, 2017Baby Bears & Little Bears, Faith, Family, Happiness, Holiday spirit, Love, Mama Bears, Prayer, Running, Special People, Success, Uncategorized1 Comment

On Friday, the boys and I drove down to the Valley for a long weekend with my parents. The main purpose of our trip was to participate in the Mega Memorial 5K in Harlingen, a memorial run for a dear friend and former training partner, Meg Jorn. For a woman who dedicated most of her life to distance running, it was a touching tribute to a life tragically cut short. Family, friends, former competitors, and training partners all rallied together for a 5K race in her honor.

Race participants released purple balloons in her honor and her best friend, Dayna, read a beautiful poem and released twenty-six monarch butterflies into the clear blue sky. Moving speeches by both her husband and Dayna brought all of us to tears as we celebrated the incredible life she lived and how she had such a profound impact on her family, friends, and community.

Meg lived a “mega” life. She pushed herself professionally and athletically inspiring so many along the way. Her spirit will live on for years to come, but it does not make her loss any easier to bear. A quote on her Facebook page truly sheds light on the kind of life Meg tackled with gusto and strength, “Life is precious…..let us try not to waste it!”

Meg lived by an exceptional mantra. Life truly is an incredibly precious gift. The threads that make up the tapestry of our lives give us so much to be grateful for. In life, we never know how much time we have with the ones we love. Living each day to the fullest surrounded by the ones we love is such an amazing blessing.

Coming home this weekend allowed me the opportunity to bid adieu to a woman who taught me so much as we shared the road and miles and miles of words of encouragement, laughter, and joy sharing something we both loved- the pursuit of athleticism achieved through training and achieving PR’s. It also reminded me how important the little things truly are. Happiness is seeing your grandparents light up when they see their great-grandsons, catching up with your godmother and clinking glasses as we sip on prosecco, and witnessing the powerful love a big brother shares with his baby brother through a simple kiss and a hug.

My mother made an incredible Thanksgiving spread for us while we were home this weekend. Savory, comforting, and truly delectable, she put all of her love into the preparation and presentation. My mom is my rock, and a woman I derive so much strength and inspiration from. Who I am today is a tribute to the amazing things she has done for me all of my life to help me grow. I am truly grateful for the love, kindness, and grace she encourages me with daily, and I don’t know where I would be without her unconditional love and friendship.

Thanksgiving offers us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the profound blessings God has graced us with. Our health, happiness, family, friends, and all of the other infinitely beautiful blessings we call our own. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with delicious food and family and friends around your table. Even after tomorrow, let us remember that we have the opportunity to start each and every day with a grateful heart!

Rain, a Baby Lamb, & Darth Vader

November 1, 2017November 1, 2017Baby Bears & Little Bears, Family, Happiness, Holiday spirit, Love, Milestones, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Thankfully the rainy conditions didn’t dampen our Halloween. In lieu of trick or treating outdoors, we opted for a more creative evening of indoor trick or treating. Then we rummaged through the Halloween loot as we watched A Toy Story Terror Halloween movie pushing pause occasionally for the few soggy trick or treaters who rang our doorbell. Atticus sampled his first lollipop, and his sweet smile and sticky fingers proved it was love at first lick!

You might be wondering what in the world indoor trick or treating looks like. It took a little creative ingenuity, but Liam’s grandparents pitched in so Liam could trick or treated through the house to four different rooms. He preceded to bang on doors, shout trick or treat, and relish in the excitement of a pumpkin tote filled to the brim with Twix, Kit Kats, Pirates Booty, Dum Dums, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and a whole mess of other sweet treats.

The rain never dissipated, but Sean decided to brave the weather with Liam so he could trick or treat at a few houses in the neighborhood. The outdoor adventure was short lived, however, because the cooler temperatures and increasing rainfall made for rather unpleasant conditions.

After the sugar rush ended and Darth Vader and our little lamb were tucked in for the night, I decided to venture out myself for a rainy run. I felt like a little kid splashing through ankle deep puddles in the pouring rain. The neighborhood was quiet with few porch lights on and and even less trick or treaters out and about. The pervasive theme as I ran through the dark neighborhood past houses along the lake was the number of televisions I saw on with people gathered around watching the Astros.

This has truly proven to be a unique Halloween, which certainly seems to be the trend for us. It was only last year that I was trick or treating with Liam, Sean and the Rafla’s while I was in labor with Atticus. I can only imagine what next year will have in store for us! The only thing that will make this night even better is a World Series win for the Astros.

A Halloween State of Mind

October 22, 2017Baby Bears & Little Bears, Family, Healthy snacks, Holiday spirit, Mama Bears, Milestones, Recipes, Special People, Uncategorized, VegetarianLeave a Comment

Christmas is undoubtedly Liam’s favorite holiday, but Halloween is a very close second. He wholeheartedly embraces the spookiness and mystique that encompasses the spirit of Halloween. This weekend he embarked on his first independent venture of carving a pumpkin. Now granted he needed a little parental supervision and guidance, but overall he successfully orchestrated a pumpkin work of art.

Carving a pumpkin is truly a labor of love, and you certainly can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Liam squealed with delight as his fingers combed through the squishy, stringy pumpkin as we made our best effort to get every last seed and all of the pumpkin pulp. He also meticulously combed through the pulp with an eagle eye to gather all of the seeds for roasting.

Liam spent the better part of the morning cutting his pattern, gutting the pumpkin, using the poker tool to outline his pattern, and finally carving out his design. The end result proved to be both a labor of love and a source of pride for him.

Carving a pumpkin creates quite the mess. Liam served as my little helper and in almost no time flat, our kitchen was spotless. We realized we’d worked up quite an appetite, so we snacked on some of our roasted homemade pumpkin seeds and relished in the beauty and artistry of Liam’s first solo carving venture.

If you haven’t carved your pumpkin this Halloween, consider saving your seeds for a savory treat. They are great as a stand alone snack but also would be ideal sprinkled over oatmeal or on top of a fresh salad.

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Ingredients:

pumpkin seeds
sea salt
2 teaspoons of butter
parchment paper

Directions:

Melt the butter and pour over the pumpkin seeds. Mix together and then spread the seeds evenly on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Stir at least halfway through. The seeds are roasted to perfection when they are golden brown.

A side note: the buttery smell that permeates the kitchen as they roast is absolutely heavenly. Enjoy!