Thirty Days of Thankful: Part 2

The month is almost over and year after year this renews itself as my favorite, and saddest, month.  Intentionally counting blessings is it's own gift, but the occasion of Thanksgiving always makes me miss home and my family.  Perhaps a gift in itself and a needed reminder of the good things that launched me to where I am now.  I am perhaps more thankful for that than anything.


30 Days of Thankful 2013

Days 11 through 20

11.11.13 - Day 11

I am filled with awe and gratitude for our military and their families.  Happy Veteran's Day to so many heroes including my dear Dad.  You are loved and appreciated today and every day.

11.12.13 - Day 12

Tonight I am thankful for cotillion and how much my kids enjoy it.  It is such a blessing for them to have fun with their friends in a drama free space where manners are COOL!

11.13.13 - Day 13

If you heard the news this morning then maybe you heard the woman from the Philippines saying "we don't need money or cell phones or television.  We need food."  I am thankful for every banana in my kitchen that is slightly overripe, every chicken breast that I forgot to thaw {again} to bake for dinner and every other staple I thoughtlessly skip when looking for a meal.  Today I am most thankful for food.

11.14.14 - Day 14

I am thankful for the view from our front porch this afternoon.  God's art is my very favorite.

11.15.13 - Day 15

Tonight I am beyond thankful that we have no commitments until noon tomorrow. Awesome!

11.16.13 - Day 16

I am thankful for a cozy place to call home.

11.17.13 - Day 17

Today I am thankful to be from a good family.  Not a famous family, not a rich family, but a GOOD family.  A family that taught me the value of hard work, honesty and worship and gifted me with the freedom to love deeply and to give without hesitation.

11.18.13 - Day 18

I am thankful for my amazing husband.  13 years ago today I became Mrs. Montoya and it's been a crazy ride, but I wouldn't change a minute of it for anything in the world.  Happy Anniversary Mr. Montoya!  You are everything MY husband should be and then some.  I can't wait to see what's in store for us next.  Forever and ever.

11.19.13 - Day 19

Today I am thankful for my sweet husband filling up my car with gas so I didn't have to and for a Starbucks skinny peppermint latte.  Little things make a big difference on busy mornings.

11.20.13 - Day 20

I am thankful today, and every day, for my Nanny.  She was the world's strongest, kindest, most faith-filled, loving woman EVER.  She would have literally given you every item of clothing from her closet, every ounce of food in her kitchen and loaded it all into her car for you if you said you needed it.  And then she still would have called you when you got home to see if you needed anything.  Disappointing my Nanny is the only thing that ever truly broke my heart and when I pray I honestly believe that she is sitting next the Lord listening.  She was so good and so incredibly perfect and Heaven is a much more appropriate place for her, but I still miss her beautiful face every single day.  Lucky me to have her in my world for more than 30 years.

Hot and heavy

This bit of goodness about tending to marriage fell in my lap today and I just ate it up.  

Promises are much harder to keep in the making-breakfast-doing-laundry-carline-and-work filled days. I believe it’s called monotony. And it can kill your marriage.

{via}

None of the details are news to me, but it was one of those "right place, right time" things that hit hard. And I loved it.  And I think all of us who are threatened with the deadly doing-laundry-carline life should read it and take it to heart.  It is important to want a hot marriage and actively work for it. 

The full post can be found HERE

To: Kristen from We Are THAT Family ~ thank you so much for the reminder.  Please let Mr. Montoya know where to send the thank you card.

Ten things to smile about: August 2013

Part of playing catch up on the blog is being sure that I am adequately documenting the goodness of our every day and my gratitude for every moment.  Every month this year has a draft version of "Ten Things" but first things first.

Ten Things to Smile About: August 2013

My dear friend finding her happily ever after.

And it doesn't hurt that these kids are the cutest things ever.  God Bless this sweet family.

A special sleepover for my darling niece in honor of her 4th birthday.  Sunday morning brought breakfast, some dress up and a dance party.  Love you little B!!

Absolutely everything about our 5th annual family vacay to Yosemite National Park.  E's parents came this year, as well as some dear family friends.  It was truly the best ever.

 

 

 

Riding bicycles through a meadow in the rain with my little girl. 

Learning how to play Spoons for the first time.  Seriously the most fun!

Celebrating my E's birthday

Bob being invited to play on an Elite soccer team with girls from her 5 on 5 winter team.  We are very excited and proud for her.


A day of spa treatments, pool time and a dinner date with E.  It was an absolute luxury that I don't take for granted for even a minute.

The first week of school being filled with enthusiasm for what's to come in 3rd grade and 6th grade. 

 

Ending the month knowing that God has big, wonderful things in store for my precious family.  Having so many reasons to thank Him at the end of the month is a wonderful blessing.

 

This month I am linked to Emmy Mom again and am grateful for her always gracious and gentle reminders that another month is over.  Cheers to a great September!

 

10 Things to Smile About: Emmy Mom

 

 

Big Deal

We had only met a couple of months before his birthday but I was frantic to find a great gift for him.  My future husband was back in California and I was in Florida.  Birthdays are big deal for me and I couldn't let his pass without him knowing how head over heels I was for him.  Later I figured out that he didn't care a thing in the world about anything that I sent him, but at least he'd known that HIS birthday was a big deal to me.  Eighteen years later his birthday is still a big deal to me.

He is handsome and ridiculously intelligent.  He is kind and patient.  He is witty and sometimes he's downright hilarious.  His eyes are still my favorite thing about him and he is an amazing dancer.  He married me with all of my faults and has made me better.  He is the most amazing Dad to the most amazing kids in the world.   He is everything I wanted then and more than I ever thought I could hope for.

He's my husband and today's his birthday.

He's a big deal to me.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Montoya.  I love you

The grass is always greener . . .

There is no noise in my house besides the sound of me swallowing Starbucks and my fingers on the keyboard.  That doesn't happen to me very often.  Maybe never.

I needed to work today and really couldn't bring myself to drive to the office.  My extraordinary husband volunteered to take our kids to a museum in San Diego so I could work at home.  God Bless that wonderful man.  What may seem like an insignificant gesture to anyone who doesn't know us or our situation right now it is the equivalent of him flying me to Paris for dinner on a private jet.  It is grand and leaves me speechless and completely humbled with gratitude.

There is a quote that I came across somewhere recently that reads something like

"the grass is greener where you water it"

That doesn't seem like much, but in a world where marriage is increasingly disposable it says everything.  Good things only grow when you make the time to tend to them.  When the opportunity presents itself, watering the grass could be a grand romantic gesture or a generous gift.  When the need is there, it is an afternoon with a laptop and coffee.

Our grass is green and glorious.  My husband is wonderful and I am grateful.  Thank you Lord for all of it.

Ten Things - November 2011

I'm late to the party (notice a trend?) but I somehow feel like if I don't admit that another month went by then it won't really happen.  Not true.  I love joining Emmy to recount the months, every month.  Not matter how fast it went.  But this one hurt a little.  Way. Too. Fast.

Ten Things to Smile About: November

The car service chauffeur agreeing to drop off the kids at school on my way to the airport. They were thrilled!

My super slick laptop and my sweet husband who went out at midnight on Black Friday to get it for me.  We can Skype again!! Thank you, sweetheart!

A 2 year old, a 7 year old, an 11 year old, a {darling} 4 year old, another 7 year old, a 9 year old and a 10 year old cousin having the grandest time together.  This makes me smile bigger than most anything that has happened to me lately.  I am so in love with each of these kiddos for what makes them uniquely special and I especially love how much they love each other.

A {free} fancy dinner and seeing Blue Man Group with E and some fun colleagues.

Emily from Jones Design Company offering fantastic holiday printables that I am using like crazy. You're gonna love her as much as I do.  I'm tellin' ya . . .

Telling myself that perfect is overrated (and believing it!!) and ordering my Christmas cards while they were on sale for Black Friday.

Celebrating my eleventh wedding anniversary with E.  I feel so lucky to still be IN love with the father of my children.  Truly.

Getting started on some handmade gifts

Enjoying the loveliest  Thanksgiving that I can remember in a long time.  Table settings, place cards, candlelight and amazing company.  The evening absolutely, positively made up for us not being in Hawaii this year.

p.s.  Anyone that can prepare a meal  for 31 guests that is elegant, delicious and beautiful and still look this great is a hero to me. Love you, Aunt Linda!!

Beginning the celebration of Advent and sharing the joy of giving with my children.  We have so much and Advent is the perfect time to reinforce with them that our bounty must be shared.  It IS the most wonderful time of the year.

Love Connection

Sometimes I would go to the office late and we'd steal an hour for breakfast and a chat.  We'd use a free Friday night to hire a sitter and have a casual dinner before a movie.  We knew what was up with the kids and each other and we were CONNECTED.
That was before fall.

 

He's coaching a baseball team.  Soccer practice and games take Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.  Fourth grade is harder than we all expected.  My days of slipping  into the office a little late are over.

If you ask me how he's doing all I can say to you is "he is wonderful".  And he is.

He is a wonderful Dad.

He is a wonderful Coach.

I'm honestly not sure right now if he is DOING wonderful, but he IS a wonderful man.

We had a chance over the weekend to spend a little time together and it was nice.  We inevitably talked about family and deadlines and the stresses of impending adolescence, but we talked.  We held hands on the sidewalk on the way to the restaurant.  We weren't just their parents or the coach and the team mom.  We were Mr & Mrs M.  Just us trying to connect.

And I told him that above everything else that is piling onto our shoulders right now I am grateful for him.  I am grateful that we are happy.  I am so lucky he is mine.

I am pouring my heart out with Shell today about how blessed I feel to be in a happy marriage with my E.  When we've done all we can do for our children and we send them into the world the only thing we'll have left is each other. That will be wonderful.

Ten Things

I am a little tardy to the party. Please forgive me. At the end of the month I was lying on the sand in Maui without a second thought for my computer and my blog. June, however, was another fantastic month for me and my sweet little family.

So better late than never, I am linking with Emmy for Ten Things to smile about in June

(1) A weekend getaway and good times with good friends

(2) Perfecting my home recipe for pineapple mojitos

(3) A great ending to a great school year 

(4) Little boys that don't care they didn't get a trophy.  They just like playing together.

(5) Spending an afternoon at home with my sweet nieces and relishing in kids enjoying time together

(6) Date Night at a U2 concert

(7) Taking my two favorite people to Disneyland to celebrate the beginning of summer

(8) My mom being able to spend a week in town and being a great head counselor of "Camp Nana"

(9) Lying on a beach in Hawaii with my one and only and having NO WHERE to be and NO ONE waiting for us.  Even one day was heaven

(10) The blessing of our Princess and celebrating her 7th birthday with a family that loves so completely.  Happy, Happy Birthday my little love.

Wish You Were Here

WE

have not been

HERE

without

THEM

since

THIS

I'm working for a few more days and E is working on his tan.

I like that.

We'll sip some cocktails at the end of the week and watch the sunset.

Together.

These three

are having their own getaway at my mailing address.

I couldn't be happier for all of us.

ALOHA



As handsome as the captain of a cruise ship

In my very humble opinion, there is a genetic requirement for Mothers to love and care for their children. I believe that women who harm children are biologically not well and something is working against their natural instincts. I truly believe that.  I also believe that Dads have to work a little harder to give their unconditional love.  They see through some of the nonsense that Moms get sucked into and don't ever think poop is cute.  It's proven that we are biologically different. And it's all the more reason that it's so much more remarkable for a Dad to be really good at it.  God blessed me twice with men who are remarkable Dads.

My Daddy gave me short, sturdy legs.  That's not my most favorite thing about him, but there are lots of other things that are.  It's because of him that I am brave and tenacious.  I can bait my own hook and shoot a gun.  He is why I am not afraid of bugs, snakes and hard work.  I think of him every time I make a tough decision or tell someone something they don't want to hear.  I have no problem with saying no or being unpopular.  None of those things mattered enough to me while my Dad was trying to be a Dad to me, but I see him in my own parenting so often and understand his motives. I love how hard my Dad worked to ensure that I became the adult that I was meant to be.  I hope one day that my children will admire and cherish me as much as I do him.

There is no delayed reaction, however, to how much my children love and admire their own Dad.  I married him purely for myself without any regard for what kind of Dad he would be.  I loved his big brown eyes and the way he made me feel so much bigger than anything I really was way back when.  I loved him big but could never imagine how much more I would love him as a Dad.  He unfailingly patient and kind with children.  He is a teacher and a coach.  He absorbs far more than his share of pressure and pain in life so that they don't have to.  He loves their mother and shows them how a real man should treat a woman.  He is hard working, hard driving and authentic.

The Athlete made a card for him for Father's Day and said he is as handsome as the captain of a cruise ship. I love that! He also said he likes it when his Dad throws baseballs for him, takes his family camping in Yosemite and takes him to basketball games.  What he said in all of that is that he likes his Dad being there for him in the ways that matter most.  What kid could ask for more?

Happy Father's Day to my favorite men and any Dads who have garnered the admiration of their children. You are truly loved.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Turn Back Time

The first half of June is just flying by with absolutely no signs of slowing down. We've been our usual over the top busy selves. The kids are wrapping up their school year and the activities are non-stop. To avoid being broken hearted about the reality of my youngest child heading to first grade I will recount all our busy goodness.

E and I went to Las Vegas last weekend with 35 other adults to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. That was a super fun getaway. Everyone went out dancing together on Friday night. We were some kind of crew!



 

E set the dance floor on fire - SO MUCH FUN! My BFF loves it when he boogies :)

We lounged in the pool all.day.long on Saturday. Given the opportunity, I would do that every weekend.



 

E and I went to the spa late on Saturday afternoon and were starving afterwards. We ate like homeless people in a restaurant in the hotel and didn't make it to dinner with the group. We ended up having an impromptu date night instead and since it was unexpected it was that much better. Time alone doesn't happen very much for us and it was good to be out with no plans at all.

We ended up at David Copperfield and the show was unreal. We were invited for a Meet n Greet after the show and he did the coolest magic trick right in front of our faces. No way!!

And anytime we even think we're remotely cool we come home to a six year old that hides from us and refuses to leave her Grandma's house. Oh right - reality!

The Athlete stayed home from school one day with the remnants of a sinus infection that still won't go away. His sister said she was sick, too. I didn't believe her until she vomited all over my bed. That was not my favorite thing that happened so far in June. With the vomit came a fever and she missed her Kindergarten Awards Tea. Poor baby girl.

Lucky for her she had already been to a birthday party earlier in the week and an end of year pool party.  What's the end of school without thirty eight parties in ten days???

Third grade social studies brought the Pioneer School graduation. Each kid had to select a Pioneer poem to memorize and recite at the graduation celebration. The Athlete did a really great job on his poem and was SO excited about his pioneer outfit. He made me super proud

He also had his end of season track party and end of season baseball party. The coming week will bring Kindergarten graduation, another pool party and field day.

I'll be there with my camera and my tissue. And wishing we could slow down just a little.

Ten Things - May 2011

I always owe Emmy my thanks for making me recap the month with Ten Things.  The milestone makes me take a {much needed} deep breath and remember my favorite things about the last month.  I know Emmy's other friends feel the same way when they commemorate their Ten Things, too.  Thank you Emmy from the very bottom of my heart.






Ten Things to Smile About - May 2011
The easiest, sweetest, most special Mother's Day ever.  Ever.

Finishing a long day of travel and meetings in Maui with a pineapple mojito. Don't hate.  I was working and it was hot.  And I am positively obsessed with them.

Seeing the Maddie James Foundation reach their $1M fundraising goal to make the Maddie James Seaside Learning Center a reality.  God Bless this family as they try to carry on their daughter's memory.

This guy

He is my confidante, personal comedian, the household accountant, gardener and biggest cheerleader for my kids and me.  Our very REAL (dirty socks in bed anyone), but very HAPPY marriage always makes me smile.

One night of completely empty laundry baskets.

Working in LA for the day and seeing the American Idol finale LIVE! I have never watched one episode of that show and was immediately sucked in. I can't believe how life changing that show can be for these KIDS and really did love being a part of something so exciting. And my colleague, and friend, was way super crazy excited. It's always fun to be somewhere with someone who is thrilled about it.

Feeling like we might actually be heading for summer. It seems like it's been cold and gloomy here for way too many months.

Hydrangeas and sea shells

Playing in the sand with my kiddos.  After last summer I honestly wasn't sure if my back would ever be healed enough to play like that again.  I very happily got on my hands and knees to dig and thanked the good Lord for the opportunity for it.  Good health should not EVER be taken for granted.

Finally booking airfare for our trip home this summer.  It's so painful to part with the cash on the off chance that the fares will drop, but I am thrilled that my Southern California sweeties will get to spend some of their summer in the deep South.  I may reward myself with some boiled peanuts and sweet tea!!!

And on to June we go . . .