days with my girls

Life is good.  I'm going at it with a positive perspective and it's taken me a long time to "Be Joyful Always."  I still find that I can let myself get down sometimes.  It's especially hard when things don't go my way. 

Stay focused and move forward.  Where else can you go? 

With summer near an end, we've traveled and I've being teaching both sessions, but I feel so weighted down and tired.  I haven't had much of a summer, but that's not to say I don't remember the days as a reporter where I worked through holidays and weekends, so I do appreciate my two hours of "work" each day and the time I'm able to spend with my daughters.  My two girls have come along with me quite a bit to campus. They watch movies and do crafts while I'm in class in my office. 

They turned 9 and 5 this summer.  June and July always mark big birthday celebrations for us. 

They fuss and really argue.  Is it their age difference? I'm beginning to wonder.  I so hope they one day get along and love to spend time with each other.

The best days are spent with all 3 of us singing at the top of our lungs to music in the living room.

             Watching Ginny Grace dress up over and over again like a princess and put on a recital for us.

                     Finding Starling curled up with a book in her room, reading quietly...without me asking her to take some time out to read.

                                Listening to them laugh together.

                                                   Going shopping with them and they each have their own opinion as to what they like.  I'm sure I'll regret saying that later.  We went shopping for TOMS yesterday and Starling picked out the perfect pair of glittered black shoes, while Ginny Grace found her own pair of sequeined Yellow Box flip-flops.  My little fashionistas.

Motherhood is the best thing that's ever happened to me.  How did 4th grade and kindergarten get here so fast?

Here's what I hope to leave each them with today:  I love it when people who could be totally threatened by each other make the choice to truly appreciate the other person’s gifts. It’s a great reminder that beautiful things happen when we’re not afraid to step back and let someone else shine. 

It took me a long time to not be threatened by those who were prettier, smarter or more talented.  I embrace God's gifts he blessed me with.  I only hope my girls will embrace their's too.