It's Quiet 'Round Here...

Sorry for the absence here on the blog.

Life has been rich and full and very thought-provoking lately. So when that happens, social media tends to takes a backseat and I really try to focus on being present in my life.

Last weekend we hung out with some amazing people; had really meaningful conversations about life and current challenges we're facing; and it felt good to be vulnerable and honest and know that I wasn't being judged, or talked about when the night was over. Everyone should have people like that in their lives.

Of course we did the whole "beach thing" over the holiday weekend too, because... well, when you live 25 minutes from a beach and it's a gorgeous day out, you just feel compelled to do that sorta thing.

I took this one picture on the way in, and then put my phone away for the rest of the day (well, except to film some awesome duo-boogie-boarding my sons were doing).

  

We also had a date night on Friday evening. It was really great to sit across from my man for three-and-a-half  hours and still have interesting conversation (and a LOT of laughs). Sometimes spending $12 an hour for a babysitter kills me. But then we have a night like that and it reminds me that date nights are imperative... no matter the cost.

Photo courtesy of Payton Heckman ;)

On Memorial Day, we took the kids to a ceremony at a local Veterans Memorial Park. It was a beautiful program and I held it together emotionally for almost the entire event until a bagpiper started playing "Taps" and all the Veteran attendees stood at attention saluting the flag. Then I pretty much lost it. It was a pretty powerful moment to say the least.

After the program, we went to the adjacent park and walked down the long pier. We even spotted a huge family of stingrays. It was a pretty awesome moment.

And what Memorial Day would be complete without some sort of swimming, grilling, block party, etc? We did it all in a matter of about 3 hours. I love our little neighborhood. Such good people.

Between the shortened work week (which always throws me off and I think Tuesday is Monday all day until I realized I've missed basketball practice - oops!), and my oldest son home with a stomach bug today, my week has really been mentally confusing. All schedules have gone out the door. I had 3 cups of coffee this morning before it was 9 a.m. I desperately need to go to the store but can't because Payton doesn't want me to leave his side...

You get the point. It's kinda a hot mess around here.

But I stopped myself this morning as I was drying off after a hot shower, and I thought...

"Okay, yes, I'm tired from being up all night. Yes, I have a sick kid. But somewhere, someone today is going to get a cancer diagnosis...maybe even for their child. And here I am with two healthy (albeit a little ill) kids sitting on a comfortable couch, in an air-conditioned home, with all sorts of medicines and things to help my big guy feel better. Ya know what... life is good. Sometimes you have to choose happiness."

Bought this sign on a total whim last week. Best $20 I've spent all month.

 That's all I got for ya today. By the time this post goes live, tomorrow will be Friday. Where the heck did this week go?!?!

Memorial Day Weekending

It's almost 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
The house is silent except little scratches here and there from Mocha.
Everyone else crashed out early, so I just spent the past hour or so editing and uploading all of the pictures I took over the weekend.
It's a long, and sometimes tedious, process to go through the hundreds of pictures I take over the course of a few days. But at the same time, I find myself pausing on random photos, smiling - sometimes even laughing - when I see something that maybe I didn't notice when I originally took the picture. Sometimes it's an expression on someone's face; sometimes it's a moment that I had forgotten I had captured; sometimes it's just a sweet embrace between two family members that just makes me so happy for phone cameras... for without them, I would have only a fraction of the pictures that I do.
And although I would give anything for a big ol professional Nikon, my iphone has captured some pretty amazing pics this weekend. Tell me whatcha think...

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As I shared in my last post, I hosted a baby shower at our house on Saturday, so Brian took the boys to his parents' for the day. It was a huge help to have the house empty all morning to prep for the shower, but even nicer to have a quiet house all afternoon so I could rest after being on my feet for 8 hours straight. :) 

The boys were SO excited to go spend the day with Grandma & Grandpa. Here's a picture Brian snapped on his phone as they were leaving for their "Guys Day Out."

 

There was no shortage of fun that day, that's for sure!

They went to Payton's favorite breakfast spot when they arrived and then hit Walmart for a little toy shopping.

How precious is this picture? Good job Brian capturing such a sweet hug.

Then Grandpa to the boys out for some miniature golf.

Apparently that didn't tire them out enough, so Brian then took them swimming!

After that, Parker got his blanket and pacifier and climbed up in Grandma's lap for some snuggles...

and then...

CRASHED.

He slept like this for over 2 hours! My poor Mom-in-law, her arm must have been killing her. They ended up having to wake him up because it was getting past dinner time and Brian needed to head back to Tampa. Nothing like napping in Grandma's arms. The best place in the house!

On Sunday after church we headed out to one of our favorite local beaches with some friends of ours.

We were waiting in line to get into the beach and Brian had his window rolled down with his foot sticking out the window. I looked back and Parker is doing the same exact thing. Mini-Brian!

Parker had a great time playing with his friend Nathaniel and of course, big brother.

Parker did not want to come out of the water, so he wasn't thrilled when I took this picture. :)

My Dad sent us a "Memorial Day Care Package" with his famous "Paca-Corn" in it. So we made sure to bring it with us to the beach! {Thanks Dad!}

It was a beautiful evening and we stayed long after the crowds of people packed up and headed out, only to leave us with an empty beach and a spectacular show in the sky!

Stunning night sky.

Monday morning, I was treated to a pancake breakfast made by the boys.

 They were delicious!

Then we rallied the troops and headed up to our local pool with some friends to wear out the kiddos. It worked like a charm because Parker took a marathon nap and we ended up having to wake him up to go to our Memorial Day block party. Poor kid was so tired.

But nothing turns a cranky kid into a smiling one like giving him a special cupcake!

After the block party, we went to our neighbor's house for some swimming and sparklers.

It was a great way to end a fun-filled weekend.

Of course, even though we did do all of the traditional Memorial Day things like attend parties, eat hot dogs, and hang with family and friends, we also want to once again be reminded of the real meaning behind this holiday.

There are so many people who spend this day grieving over a lost loved one who gave their life for our country. The sacrifices that have been made are truly awe-inspiring if you stop to think about it.

So, thank you to all of our Veterans and current military service men and women.

Without you, our lives would look very different today.

We salute you.

We thank you.

We honor you.

Memorial Day

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend full of family, beaches and BBQ's.

We started off on Saturday by going sailing with our neighbors. None of us Heckmans had ever been on this kind of a sailboat before, so we were all very excited about it. It did not disappoint, let me tell ya!

We drove to the causeway by our house and then sailed over to an island that is only accessible by boat. It was amazing! The water was so clear, the beach was soft white sand and the weather was perfect. God was really smiling down on us that day!

Here is a picture of the sailboat:

 Here are my two pumpkins in their matching swimsuits. I could just eat em up!

I had to include a picture of this solar oven that our neighbor's son made in school. They actually cooked hot dogs on the beach with it! Pretty amazing!

 It was so nice to just kick back and enjoy God's amazing creation.

 The island was perfect for shell hunting! Payton found an amazing conch that was fully in-tact (and "nothing was living in it!" he kept saying!) Plus lots of sand dollar pieces!

Great time had by all!

 Don't let him fool ya... Parker is not sleeping in this picture even though our neighbor's son was. He rolled around in that tent for an hour and never napped. What a stinker!

On Sunday we headed to Bradenton to visit Brian's family.

His two aunts, two cousins and their 3 kids were in town from IL & WI.

There was lots of time spent at the pool:

 How cute are Brian's cousin's kids?!? Precious!

 Even the adults enjoyed some poolside relaxation:

 Payton had so much fun being "thrown" by Uncle Todd (over and over and over):

 Brian's cousin's son is almost 6 and he and Payton hit it off instantly! They were "Best Cousins" as they kept saying.

 Can't you just hear Payton laughing???

 And fortunately for me, Brian's other cousin's daughter was more than willing to keep an eye on Parker, and he adored her too.

 All of us girl's at breakfast Monday morning:

Along with the rest of the family:

 It was so wonderful to spend such an important holiday with so many family members. Just reminds me that above all, it's family first! No matter what happens in life, your family will always be there for you. I feel so incredibly blessed to have married into such a warm, loving family.

After our whirlwind trip to Bradenton, we headed back Monday evening just in time to get the kids to bed and ready for school on Tuesday. All in all, fantastic weekend.

Hope you all had a nice Memorial Day too! Don't forget to thank a Veteran this week!

A Thank You Letter - Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.

We will celebrate like so many other millions of Americans with family, food, and fun. 
We will hug our loved ones who have traveled hundreds of miles to be here, and we will wear red, white & blue to show our outward American pride.
We will probably watch bits and pieces of an old black & white war movie... and probably some good ol' American baseball.
Heck, we may even eat some apple pie.

But inside, I feel a little sad about Memorial Day. 
Sure, I'll have fun tomorrow watching all the cousins play together, and I will enjoy lots of laughs and good times. But I have a feeling, in the back of my mind, there will be a resounding sadness.

I think about the husband who will do all of the "motherly duties" tonight of tucking the kids into bed and running that last load of laundry because Mommy is deployed on naval ship for the next year. And how he will tell those kids once again, "Mommy loves you so much, and she misses you."

I think about the little 7-year old boy who won't have his Daddy around tomorrow to throw a football with, because he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

I think about all the wives who will spend tomorrow at the grave sites of their husbands who were lost at war. Carefully, and lovingly placing flowers and notes on the headstones. Drying tears from their eyes as they long to be able to just have one more hug... one more kiss.

I think about a dear friend whose husband is gone for several months and missing yet another pregnancy of hers because he is serving our country in the military medical field.

I think about my own father-in-law who lives in constant pain and has had a myriad of medical treatments to help relieve some of the ailments that he still endures from serving his country decades ago.

We so quickly take for granted the fact that we live in a country where we have all of these freedoms. The freedom to vote (or not to vote), to worship whatever religion/God/or non-God you want. The freedom to voice our opinions openly and freely in every medium imaginable. The freedom to wear shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops instead of having to have everything on our bodies covered except our eyes.

We have all of these freedoms and yet... how often do we say "Thank You" to a Veteran? How often do we take a moment to shake the hand of the man behind us in the Walmart line who is wearing a "Vietnam Veteran" ball cap? How often do we just close our eyes and pray for the soldiers who are away from their families and the comforts of home to keep OUR country out of harm's way?

I want to take a moment to just say "Thank You." To all of the men and women who fight for our county. Who are deployed on medical missions, fighting on the front lines, and serving in secretive bunkers. You are self-less individuals who absolutely amaze me. Thank you for all that you have done; all that you are doing; and all that you will continue to do.

I can sleep soundly tonight knowing that our country is safe, and that is due to you. So, thank you.

I wish a happy and safe Memorial Day to you all!

What's Making Me Happy Right Now...

Thought I'd share some random things that are, collectively and individually, making me happy right now.

My house is appropriately decorated for one of the most important holidays of the year.

 Love the American flag. All that it stands for. All that it says about being proud to live in this country and enjoy the freedom that we have.

Parker loves those twirly yard ornament things. Several houses in our neighborhood have them and he always wants to stop to twirl them. So... I got him one. He loves it. Sometimes it's the little things that make me happy.

I also changed out my Spring banner in the family room. As much as I loved it, it was time to say goodbye until next year and break out the red, white and blue.

 I downloaded this "Freedom" banner for free here. You just have to print it and assemble it yourself. I put mine on a long piece of red satin ribbon using hot glue. 

Voila! Instant Pennant Banner! (Insert happy dance for both free and easy banner!)

You can download the subway art that I have framed by going to Google Images and searching "Memorial Day Subway Art."

 I'll save my real homage to our Veterans for my Memorial Day post. I have a lot of thankfulness to write about. Stay tuned.

Another item that is making me very happy is...

 The Carter's Store.

Almost everything is on sale. I can usually find good clearance deals, and they have matching clothes in both 7T and 18 months. I can't wait to see my two little men sporting their new duds this Memorial Day weekend! I love matching outfits. Call me lame. I don't care. I think it's adorable. And until Payton protests, I'm gonna do it. So there. :)

Fresh baked cookies waiting for Payton when he comes home from school.

 I guess it's one of those weird Mom things, but I want him to have a memory of coming home from school every once in a while to the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. He gets so excited when he comes inside and sees them on the counter.

It makes me happy watching him stand over them debating which one is the biggest, has the most chocolate chips, and will taste best.

BOGO at Publix.

I love it when something that I really don't want to buy goes on sale BOGO because then at least I feel like I'm getting a deal on it.

Apparently these muffins are a hot-ticket item in the cafeteria this year. Payton has asked me to buy them for several weeks now, but I hate spending money on such highly processed, sugar-filled, junk food.

Then I decided, hey... it's almost the last week of school... let the kid enjoy a little treat and feel like he's the King of the lunch table for once.

Stickers.

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Such a small thing. It only cost $1, but man, these stickers are going to make Parker so happy. He loves his Pooh Bear and I have grand plans for these babies. Makes me happy just thinking about it.

What's making you happy these days? Please share in the comment section. I'd love to hear from ya!