2/1/2013  ....you know that moment of sudden silence in the midst of utter chaos?  That split second when the world slows down to a crawl-- the spaghetti that your two year old just threw at the dog passes before your face in high-def slow motion, the eleven year old's "almost curse" word sounds like a drawn out version of the mating call of a Tibetan yak, and the nine year old's incessant clattering of the dishes seems to be in harmony with the nearly painful pounding of your own heart beat.... That moment when you look around and say "Uh-Uh!" while vigorously shaking your head in denial, "My life was supposed to be so much more glamorous than this!"  That is after all why we all watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, Pretty Woman, and Cinderella wasn't it??  I thought that was training for the future life I was going to have! Not the whole hooker part of Pretty Woman- the swimming pool sized bathtub, indulgent shopping sprees, and private jet parts though. We were supposed to be able to grow up and go to fabulous parties, where we'd sip champagne and drawl "daahhhling" at one another whilst discussing our billionaire husband's latest acquisitions.... but no- here I am in my ordinary life, with my wonderful husband gone 70% of the time for work,  flying spaghetti, a dog that has yet to figure out the difference between beige, berber carpeting (where he poops) and grass (where he should poop), a full time job, a full time college career, three (loving, smelly, brilliant, confusion-inducing) boys, two more dogs, and two cats..... Yeah- that is my life.  Until recently I hadn't given much thought to my life.  I mean yes, I know that I am created by my Heavenly Father for great and awesome things, and that He knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11) but I hadn't given a lot of thought to how I was using that gift, and whether I was truly appreciative of it!

Fast forward a few weeks, a few more flying dinners, and a few basketball games down the road, and here I am.  I have really been ruminating on my life recently.  I have been blessed so far beyond what I am able to fathom.  I have been given eternal life through Jesus, a beautiful family, a home of my own, friends that are truly sisters of my heart, and a loving and merciful father in God.  So that is where I find myself today- in this place, at this time, I decided that I will begin my UN-bucket list.  I will write down all of the wonderful opportunities I have had in my life, the memories I have made, the laughs I have shared, the experiences I have been given, and the lasting connections that have stood against the test of time and the strain of the miles- and I will truly be grateful.  I can't say that this will be a daily thing, as my crazy, wonderful, activity- packed, stress-inducing life (which I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, even a swimming pool sized bathtub) may not afford me the opportunity, but I will check in frequently!  My promise to anyone who takes the time to read this: You may laugh at times, you may cry at times, you may want to kick me in the ear sometimes and ask me "what were you thinking!?", or you may find what I write to be utterly boring and pedestrian (daaahhhling)...but there will always be something here that you can look at and say "Yep- I've soooo been there!"