Happy Birthday Dawson!

Dawson is 8 years old today!!! My goodness, time goes fast. I'm so lucky to have such an incredible little boy. He is smart, silly, funny, clever, thoughtful and loving. I couldn't ask for a better son. Each year I make a video/slideshow using pictures from his previous birthday up to the present. This is the video for this year's birthday.

Dawson's Letters

This is the first of many letters, signs and other silly things my son makes. He is absolutely hysterical. Whenever he is upset, he uses letters or signs to help express himself. I find them adorable. Since I have a ton of them to share, I'll randomly post them in the future.

This letter was given to me after he refused to eat his supper. I had made chicken and noodles on a Monday. He loved them. Had 2 big bowls full. Then the next day, he absolutely hated them. Same food, different day. So he went to his room, shut his door and pretty soon this little letter (and picture) was nicely delivered to me.

Honeymoon Highlights

We just got home (well, a couple of days ago) from the best honeymoon ever. It was relaxing, fun, silly and romantic. Here are some highlights:

• Friday and Saturday: We drove down. I hate Georgia. The state should be plowed over. The traffic there was awful. My favorite was the lane closings for no apparent reason. Well planning, Georgia. Besides that, the drive was great! Our Florida home for the week was at the Star Island resort. We had a one bedroom condo (thanks Dad!). It was great.


• Sunday: We traveled to Ybor (near Tampa) to go to church at Relevant (love that church). Afterwards we ate at a little french crepe place. Funny story...Aaron ordered a crepe that had rum and bananas (the rum, of course, was suppose to have the alcohol burned out). The guy making it had a bad lighter. After several attempts at lighting the rum, he gave up and served it to Aaron as is, alcohol and all. We watched the whole thing (the guy had no idea we saw this). Good thing I was driving. Haha. After lunch, we drove to the beach to walk around, pick up shells and enjoy the weather. That night we headed back to Orlando to eat at Boma, an African buffet inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Disney.


• Monday: We drove to Cocoa Beach to spend the day. The wind was so bad that the sand literally hurt us while attempting to lay out. It was like a full body microdermabrasion treatment. We decided to walk the beach instead. In 15 minutes, our blanket was 70% covered in sand. We swam a little and jumped waves. At night, we had dinner at California Grill. It is supposed to be the most romantic restaurant in Disney. I would have to agree. It is located on top of the Contemporary Resort which means you get a great view of the Magic Kingdom. We had reservations right at the fireworks time so we sat at our table as they piped in the Wishes music and watched the show. Amazing.


• Tuesday: It was a lot cooler that day so we took it easy. We walked around Downtown Disney, had lunch at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club and then took a nice long nap. For dinner, we ate at a place I've never been to (shocking, I know!) It was a sushi place called Kimonos located inside the Swan Resort in Disney. The food was awesome.... well...except for the shrimp that still had it's eyeballs. Aaron ate his. I did not. (That's just nasty. And I believe I accidentally launched my shrimp eyeballs across the table.) But they did surprise us with free champagne (since we were on our honeymoon). Nice!


• Wednesday: Surprise Dawson day! Dawson had no clue we were in Orlando. He was there with my awesome mom...spending his spring break doing something fun while we were away (thanks Mom!) So we planned to surprise him at the Magic Kingdom. We arrived first and stood at the front of Main Street. He came into view with my mom and had the most shocked look on his face. Did a double take and then I watched him mouth "Mom? MOM? MOMMY?" He ran as fast as he could and jumped into my arms. There is nothing better than moments like that. We spent the day with him and my mom. It was an awesome day.


• Thursday: Aaron and I spent the day in Epoct. Went on rides, ate a lot of food (Le Cellier, the best restaurant in Epcot), walked around the countries, etc. I tortured him with pictures of stupid hats. Then we met up with my mom and Dawson to watch the fireworks.


• Friday: Do nothing day! We slept in, ate breakfast at Fort Wilderness, went to the outlet malls, hung out by the pool, took a nap, etc. Then to finish up the night, we ate at Spoodles. It is a Mediterranean style restaurant at the Boardwalk resort. I've never been there before and I was extremely pleased. Food was awesome and the atmosphere was great!


• Saturday: Packed up and went to Kona Cafe at the Polynesian to indulge in one last fantastic breakfast. They surprised us at the end with a free pastry plate since we were...as you can probably guess...honeymooners. Then we hotel hopped for a bit and got on the road. Georgia, like the way down, took forever. (Have I mentioned I dislike that state?) We ended up at the same hotel we stayed on the way down and get this...the same exact room. How weird!


• Sunday: We arrived home around 6ish. To our surprise, Aaron's family had a bunch of Easter goodies waiting for us (snacks, desserts, turkey) and an Easter basket for Dawson. It was the perfect thing to munch on while unpacking! They are so sweet!

It was an amazing trip. Disney is a great place to go for a honeymoon. We got a lot of special treatment due to our "Just Married" buttons not to mention a bunch of freebies. It was actually fun to enjoy the world outside the parks for the week as well as the beaches. It was a perfect honeymoon. I feel so lucky to have married the most incredible guy in the entire world. :)

Here are pictures!

Honeymoon

Funny Videos

The sky is falling!!! [Actually, I feel quite bad for her...that HAD to hurt!]



The worst Best Man ever... (and why you have to be careful where you get married)



Why throwing knives is not the best idea in the world...

Battle: redskin potatoes

I am a big fan of cooking. I'm not a chef by any means, but I love food and I love to eat. The best news is that I am not the only one in my family that loves cooking. Aaron is truly gifted in the kitchen--not only in his culinary creations but in the fine art of food presentation (like I said, I'm a lucky girl). I am more of a "mom chef" in which I excel in all the comfort foods: chicken and noodles, spaghetti, meatloaf and baking. Aaron excels in, let's be honest...everything, but he shines when he creates his own recipes and makes complex dinners that have ingredients I've never even heard of. My palate has been significantly fine tuned since I met him and I am finding I like certain foods that before, I hated (but no worries, he still has not won me over with fruit. I am still firmly a fruit-free person. He can't perform miracles.)

All of that to say, the kitchen is usually a pretty exciting place in the apartment. Since we love food, we also love the Food Network and watch it a lot. Dawson even is starting to love cooking shows and has asked to make his own recipes. One of our favorite shows is Iron Chef. If you haven't watched it, here's a quick overview: one of the Iron Chefs goes against a "guest" chef in an hour long competition to create five delicious and unique dishes all centered around a secret ingredient. This ingredient is revealed at the beginning of the show and the chefs have to begin work immediately. They are judged on taste, originality and presentation.

Aaron and I decided to create our own version of Iron Chef. I would pick the secret ingredient and he would create a menu using at least three different dishes utilizing that ingredient. It is fun and challenging and it makes us try new things. Aaron is the culinary genius behind what gets made and how it gets prepared...I just assist with whatever he needs (sometimes that's just sitting back and having a glass of wine while he works. Awesome job huh!) Every battle I'll post pictures and let you know how it turns out.

Last week, it was Battle Redskin Potatoes:

Course 1: Warm redskin potato salad [redskin potatoes with mayo, garlic, egg, onion, celery and a hint of hot sauce served in a bed of romaine lettuce]

Course 2: Twice cooked pork chops [with a lemon/herb peri-peri sauce] with asparagus and stuffed redskin potatoes [potatoes were baked and then Aaron cut a chunk out of the middle and filled it with a mixture of asiago cheese, goat cheese, garlic and mayo and then baked them until the cheese was gooey and delicious. Best potatoes I have ever had in my entire life. Amazing]

Course 3: Fried redskin potatoes dipped in chocolate with vanilla ice cream and chocolate drizzle [Aaron cut the potatoes into thin slices and then fried them. Afterwards, we dipped them in chocolate and put them into fridge to cool]. Who knew you could have potatoes for dessert?!?

Next battle: Chocolate!!! [perfect for Valentine's Day]

Fifty People, One Question

What would your answer be?

Smile...

I've been listening to a lot of music lately. This song has helped me a lot.

Smile

Smile though your heart is aching,

Smile even though it's breaking,

When there are clouds in the sky

You'll get by,

If you smile

through your fear and sorrow,

Smile and maybe tomorrow,

You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness,

Hide every trace of sadness,

Although a tear may be ever so near,

That's the time,

You must keep on trying,

Smile, what's the use of crying,

You'll find that life is still worth-while,

If you just smile...

It is a good song to listen to. It helps me to keep things in perspective. And the great news, I haven't lost my weird and random sense of humor. I refuse to let my blog become a pity party for myself so over the next days/weeks/months, I am going to focus on good things. Things that make me...well...smile!

This is my now

Today, I lost my job. A job I loved more than anything. I always described it as the job of my dreams. And now, it is gone. The last five days were agony....the waiting made it the most stressful five days I've experienced. They were painful. But it is over. And right now I feel like I'm standing still, desperately trying to make sense of my new reality while everyone else moves forward. But I won't stay still for long.

I have had a wide range of emotion today. From denial and anger to the deepest pain I've ever felt. It feels personal...even though I know it is not. It feels like I'm now on the outside looking in...even though I know I am not. It feels like I've been abandoned...even though I know that is not true. Feelings and reality conflict sometimes. But one thing I've learned in life is to make sure I focus on what is real and true and good. And I am doing just that.

I let myself ask the question "why" this morning...and after about an hour of this, I realized, I wasn't going to get the answer (unless I started to hear voices telling me why and let's face it...THAT would be a bigger problem than just losing a job). I'm done asking why. Instead, I am choosing to focus on what is next.

Through all of this, I've never for a second doubted God or His plan for my life. He's taken me on a wild ride so far but I know that each situation I've faced, each hardship I've dealt with...I've come out on the other side being better, stronger and closer to Him. Right now is no different.

I'm not going to be angry (or try not to... let's face it, I am indeed human), I refuse to be bitter and I refuse to lose hope. I have so many wonderful things in my life and I'm proud of what I have done and how far I've come.

So what's next for me? Well, I am still going to marry the most incredible man in the entire world. I am going to be the absolute best Mom I can be for Dawson. And I'm going to take some time to breathe. I don't think I've done that in a while. Maybe this is God's way of forcing me to rest....he knows I can be stubborn and not do it on my own. :)

Thank you to all my family and friends who have shown me love and support today. Keep the prayers coming. The hurt isn't gone yet...but I know that it is only a temporary emotion and that soon enough, I'll have successfully picked myself back up, dusted myself off and will be able to look back and smile. God always has a plan. I know that now more than anything.

God is still good.

Quote

We watched Facing the Giants this past weekend. This is a quote from the head coach talking to his football team:

"I want God to bless this team so much people will talk about what He did. But it means we gotta give Him our best in every area. And if we win, we praise Him. And if we lose, we praise Him. Either way we honor Him with our actions and our attitudes. So I'm askin' you... What are you living for? I resolve to give God everything I've got, then I'll leave the results up to Him. I want to know if you'll join me. "