Day 79: 1 Years old

Absolutely overwhelmed with gratefulness today as I celebrate the life of my 2 little ones coming into this world a year ago.  They have blessed my life with more joy than I ever thought I could have.  I truly feel like I am living the abundant life the Lord promised because I am abundantly in love with my beautiful family. 

Today I am grateful for the blessing of Zaya and Chase!

Birthday Videos

Day 78: It's Cooling Down

Sometimes I hesitate sharing the simple things. No major revelation, no life changing epiphany just everyday gratefulness, but then I got to thinking that's life. Life is ordinary and mundane most says and God is calling me to be grateful for those ordinary, mundane, everyday kind of things in order to keep my eyes on Him.


In Florida the scorching temps and uncontrollable humidity feels like they will literally melt you come October. You are so tired of it in revolt you start to wear long pants just because the weather should be cooler. Well, finally it is cooler. By cooler I mean in the 80's but at least I don't feel like I'm going to melt anymore. My prayer is the coolness lasts at least a couple days this winter.

Today I'm grateful the scorching temps are going and the cooler weather is coming.

Goodbye Summer

Day 77: Every Moment

The last couple weeks we've been looking back at old pictures of the babies as we've been preparing for their upcoming 1st Birthday. I really can't believe that it has almost been a year since the Lord blessed us with such an amazing gift. I remember during the sleep deprivation months thinking to myself, "Am I going to make it?" Life was turned upside down and I never cared as much about anything as I did about these 2 little lives. It was crazy taking care of two babies at once, getting to know what each cry meant, knowing how to comfort each one, how to play with each one and how to hold each one. Now their 11 1/2 months old and I finally feel like I know them. I know what each cry means, I know how to make them laugh and I know how to comfort each one of them and I can't believe we're here. We made it! I made it to the place where I feel good at being a Mom, where I feel like I actually might know what I'm doing and It feels good. All the crazy moments, and worried tears lead to this moment. All the moments definitely weren't all easy but they were definitely ALL Great!

I'm so grateful for every moment I have had with my sweet babies!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Silhouette

 Priceless Moment 

Check out more beautiful silhouettes at I Heart Faces

 

Day 76: Fall

I first fell in love with fall in college seeing as I grew up in the desert and there wasn't really the change of seasons.  Illinois had it though and I fell in love immediately with the crisp, chilly weather, the campfires, the wonderful goodies to eat, and ofcourse my favorite, the beautiful colors of the leaves.  I would travel around campus and find my favorites and stick them in my bible for keeps.  (I think I still have a few)

Fall in Florida doesn't really have the crisp, chilly weather or the wonderful hues in the leaves but it's still such a special time in our family.  This is when we celebrate my birthday, our wedding anniversary and our babies birthday!  As far as I'm concerned all good things happen in the fall and I love it!  It's a time to reflect on the abundant blessings that the Lord gives out and a great time to be thankful for all of those blessings. 

Today I'm grateful for Fall and all the blessings it brings with it!

Day 75: My friend Jenn

Over the last month or so I have been reflecting a little bit on my needs; my needs as a mom, and a wife. What do I need to do for myself to make sure that I can be the best mom and the best wife I can be? I realized I need to start taking care of me a little. I'm sure I can fit it in somewhere between bath time and diaper changes, dishes and laundry but even if I can't I need too. I need to put my feet up sometimes, read a good book, watch a meaningless television show but what I need most is my friends. I have always been a social butterfly and am so aware of this as I watch Zaya smile at strangers and try to meet everyone she can even though she can't even talk yet. She is definitely my daughter. But I have always been energized by people, by great conversations over coffee, and loud music to dance to with friends. It's just who I am and the longer I ignore that the less energy I feel.

I'm grateful today for friends who have stuck through this crazy twin journey with me. I don't have much time to talk on the phone, I rarely make the first call, and when you’re with me I'm usually a little distracted. Jenn has been the greatest at understanding this journey. She delights in my babies and is so understanding and encouraging to me as a friend. She is always good for a laugh and will always help out with whatever I need even though she hasn’t changed a diaper yet. She’s the greatest though and I need more of her in my life. There is something stress relieving about friends. I need to make more time. I need to invest in my friend’s the way Jenn has invested in me.

Today I'm grateful for my friend Jenn.

 

Day 74: Visit to Vegas

It's been a while since I have blogged because it has been a tad bit crazy at the Hinton household.  We went to visit family in Vegas and all brought home the lovely flu.  It was wonderful as it took out our family one-by-one like the domino effect.  Horrible! 

So now that were all healthy again.  I wanted to share with you my favorite part of Las Vegas.  It's beauty!  I lived there for my entire childhood and some adult years and I now know that I took it's beauty for granted most of those years.  Not a lot of people think of Las Vegas as beautiful but really it is!  Vegas is in a valley surrounded by gorgeous mountains and a big blue sky.  I love that you can see the entire city just going on the outskirts a little.  I love the sunsets with the beautiful colors that are painted behind the mountains.  I wanted to capture the beauty with this photo shoot I did with the babies. 

Today I'm grateful for my  home-town and all it's beauty!