glowing in the wonderfulness that is family

So many things are going on right now.
Everyone is growing in some part of their life.
Preparing for big changes.
Facing big changes.
Wings are being spread.
Relationships are growing stronger.
I am so lucky to have a large family to love. I am even luckier that my husband's large family feels like my own. I am even more fortunate to have a large extended family. The fact that i run out of fingers and toes before i have finished with brothers and sisters, is amazing. Then to know that although the next few months may be hard, wonderful things are happening for so many of them. In the next years time 3 of them will be graduating with a bachelors, masters, or doctorate degree, one will be living far from home at 16 to pursue the sport he loves, three will be enjoying a year of family firsts, two will be learning the ropes at new jobs, and hopefully my mom will use her "empty sooner than she wanted nest" free time to date and enjoy all that is wonderful her. And those are just the things you can put on paper. I didn't mention the proud tears, happy sighs, and the strength of character required to make the hard choices.
I guess i am glowing in the wonderfulness that is family.

seattle fun

having a great time in Seattle.
we arrived at 7pm on Friday night and had dinner in the international district. It was good Chinese food and even more fun to watch the girls eat dinner with their chopsticks. Then with very full belly's we went up and did the space needle. Samantha's favorite part was the elevator and Kaitlyn's was the telescopes on the observation deck.
Today we went to the zoo and checked out as many animals as we could find. Samantha's favorite was the gorillas and Kaitlyn's favorite was the giraffes. Then we did the Music Experience and SciFi Museum. Eric and I are a bit of SciFi junkies so we really enjoyed seeing all the props from our favorite movies and TV shows. There was also the traveling Jim Hensen display. I must say Jim Hensen was an amazing man. The girls really enjoyed the Muppet's. They even got to do a little puppet-tearing themselves. Very fun indeed!! Next we looked at the Music Experience. We were very tired and worn out and very hungry. I think i would have found it more interesting in a different circumstance. We left quickly and had dinner at the Olive garden. I ordered the soup, salad, and bread sticks. Dinner was wonderful and for desert we had Italian donuts.
Now I have two girls sleeping soundly, a husband watching the shock vs Boise and me blogging. The shock are winning so far. Soon the game will be over and i will be asleep. Another big day tomorrow. We are going to the aquarium and a cruise of the bay. The girls love the aquarium, the otters most of all. And being a pirate on a boat is always a blast!
Good night.

pictures

I am stunned right now!
Laura has posted wedding photos on her flickr account. They are as expected, most wonderful. Cherished memories turned treasures for Julia and Cody and all of us for many years to come.
What really impresses me is the pictures of my wonderful children. The way the light and their expressions and the moments are all captured. The fleeting expressions that say so much, mean even more and express more than words ever could..... those little things that last for a moment. Well she caught those moments. I look at these photos and i know that I will always have a window into their personalities as they are right now.
Take a look and you will seee what I mean.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smilinglaura/

growing

It's a rainy grey day outside. I should be taking advantage of the cool temperatures and get to digging up the remaining dirt in the driveway. However my girls have wanted to snuggle most of morning. I have felt the need very much to indulge them and have snuggled away the morning.
I admit that I am gleefull about all of the snuggling. We spent the weekend shopping for big girl beds for my girls. We have put away the toddler beds. We have assembled the bunkbeds. The girls are now sleeping in their bunkbeds. I will also admit that I cried. I didn't cry as much as I did when we put away the crib, but I did cry and blubber a bit.
I don't like this getting bigger and growing up stuff. I like my girls snuggle wanting and small enough to fit in my lap.
OK they don't really fit in my lap now, but they still snuggle. I don't like the idea of a snuggle free future.

lonely tuesday

So here it is, Tuesday.
All of the Hawker's have come and gone, we did Hoopfest, Julia is now married, we celebrated Danica's, Josh's, and Chris's birthday, we enjoyed the park and watched the 4th of July Fireworks, we went to the lake, had a Friday movie night at our house and my wonderful Husband and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary.
It has been a busy 11 days.
Now it's Tuesday and with nothing on the agenda to do, I find myself at a loss.
I am sure that I have plenty to do. I just can't focus on anything. I am sure there is laundry to do, dishes to do, a playroom to pick up, floors to clean, and that dirt in the back yard still needs digging.
Yet somehow anything more than snuggling on the couch with one or both girls and keeping little girl cups filled with hot coco. Is all I have managed to do.
I hope i get my act together soon enough to have a hot meal ready for Eric when he gets home. He took a few days off of work and today is his first day back. Very busy would be an understatement for his day.
Happy Tuesday Everyone!