Hi Ho The Dairy-o A Traveling We Go

We're packing our bags and getting ready for a road trip. Iowa - here we come! Here's the plan: pack, shoot the DFW job, Liam flies with Gramma, finish last minute work on job, hit the road and RELAX! Sounds simple right? I have a feeling it will be more chaotic than I would like it to be, but I am praying that God gives me the strength to tap into the peace and joy He has given me through the Holy Spirit! Plus I'm bringing some muscle relaxers and a full flask! Kidding.

We are so excited to see all the Fishes and Gramma Pat! Then there's the Vegas trip with my hubby - just the two of us. Oh boy! Sleeping in 'til 9:00 and a cup of coffee with no interuptions - I can't wait. Thanks Doola and Dave, oh and Anna too!

Reality...

God is doing a work on me right now...I don't know what the end result will be, but reality has hit me today - pretty hard! I realized that this blog is done to capture life in the bowl and so far, everything I have posted is of happy times. That is so NOT life in this Fish bowl. Things, check that, LIFE is hard. I'm so blessed to now have Christ in my life and be able to share that Hope with my boys! The above image is Jude's life. Poor guy. Last night he had a pretty severe allergic reaction to something...not sure what just yet. It was so hard not to panic and cry as he was crying to me saying, "I don't want to itch anymore. Am I gong to itch forever?" After the second dose of Benadryl and a bath, both he and the hives began to calm. He was in a lot of pain and was very scared. However, I am grateful for the tears and love that we got to share in bed before he went to sleep and that Adam and I worked so well as a team.

Before I drone on, I thought I would make a short list of things that stink in this reality of life, along with some photos!

Getting a water wedgie in your Spiderman swim diaper and a Mom that doesn't do laundry often enough to allow for you to wear a real swim suit!
Getting mad on a nice Summer day when everyone else is laughing and having a good time.

Time Outs (only good in the long run - short term they are hard, hard, hard esp. when you're 4.
Crying babies in the middle of a very important photo shoot.
Wrinkles, age spots, old age, bad backs, bad pictures of yourself, etc. The list could go on here.

A bad economy

Messy rooms

Wiping three bottoms when you only have one

Realizing your spouse is your mirror and you're not looking so hot

Too much to do and not enough time to do it all

But the worst of these is not realizing that this crappy life is a true GIFT that should be enjoyed through the gift of Christ and not taking the time to do just that! He is growing me more than I could have imagined and in more ways than I knew were possible. I love my kids, my husband and my life - reality and all!

ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lately our family moto has been "ROAR!!!!!!" Every time I go into Liam's room to get him, it's the first thing he says to me. While we are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, it's the single most used word. I think Adam started it...blame it on the hubby, right? Smart. I know. Adam will give a loud - R-O-A-RRRRRR, scare the pants off Liam and then everyone else chimes in to see who can do it the loudest and the scariest. It's pretty much - awesome! So the next time you're feeling a little blue or want to get in touch with your inner Fishness, give it a try... ROAR!