Cooking 101: Blaylock Style

After graduating, Israel has decided to serve a 2 year mission for our church.

And he is very excited about this.

So, as we wait for his paperwork that tells us where he's going, I thought it was time to get this darling boy ready to leave home. And since Noah is only a year behind him, I thought he should join us as well.

So, last night we began cooking lessons.

Yes.

Cooking Lessons.

BLAYLOCK STYLE

Unless you have had the rare opportunity of being in the kitchen with these two, it's hard to explain what that means.

I figured a safe first lesson was baked chicken and mashed potatoes.

Safe? Yes!

Boring? NO!

These two are so different. Noah is EXACT and PRECISE in all that he does, and Israel is just determined to be done. 

In the end, we had yummy chicken.

And the potatoes? Well...they were yummy.

Interesting.....but yummy.

Of course Noah had to put his stamp on it!

Needless to say, it was the most fun I've had in the kitchen for a long time.

As I watched these two and listened to them, I got a bit emotional.

They truly love each other. 

And they ENJOY each other.

I'm realizing that our moments with the two of them will be changing soon and it feels like a REALLY big pill to swallow. 

They are not the same without the other. 

So although these coming changes are tough,

I'm excited for what the future brings for both of them.

I sure love these boys.

I'll Catch Up One Day

I have some amazing friends.

You know the ones.....

the ones who are on top of EVERYTHING.

They are organized and somehow they manage to accomplish literally one million things in one day.

And then there's me.

I really don't think I will catch up with life.

Mainly because I don't think it's possible.

So, instead I have to just keep truckin' along.

Well, remember her?

 (Read my post on her) 

My Friend "K"

She sent me something in the mail today that put it all in perspective.

I laughed so hard.

And I've been laughing ever since.

So, here's to all those who also love the 

WOOSHING sounds

that fill their crazy lives.

Thank you "K".

You understand me so well.

We truly are kindred spirits.

Kindred spirits whose lives are full of 

WOOSHING sounds!

Oh The Places He'll Go...

This has been a big week for our family. Another milestone, another change.

Israel Blaylock graduated.

And our life has once again changed.

This is how I remember Israel from when I first met him. 

He was charming, witty and full of life.

I would sit up at night and look through his "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" books and we would laugh as we looked at all the crazy stuff in that book. 

That will always be one of my favorite memories 

of my time with him.

There are many memories with Israel that are priceless.

He has been my buddy, my friend, my quiet cheerleader and someone I have always admired.

He is good, through and through.

I have had the incredible blessing of sharing his life and watching him grow over the years. Although he has changed over the years, in many things he has never wavered.

He is a loyal friend to all.

He is compassionate and cares deeply about others.

He quietly observes the world around him, but boldly 

goes about doing good.

He doesn't need the limelight, he doesn't need attention or praise.

He just quietly goes about his business and does his very best.

Just like every parent who had a child graduate this year, 

I am excited about his future.

I am excited about his potential.

And I know he will become something great.

So, Israel, thank you.

Thank you for making the choice to love me.

Thank you for always knowing exactly when I needed your support and help, and for quietly giving it in powerful ways.

Thank you for the example you are to your siblings, and for the strength you are to your parents.

We all love you.

We are all proud of you.

And we will all be behind you, cheering you along the whole way.

I love you.

Simply Sunday: A Happy Life

Wow! It's been a long time since I've been on here.

This morning, I was sitting here in my peaceful, quiet home and I started thinking about my crazy life over the past months. I feel like I have had to fight to find those peaceful moments to just pause, think and regroup. No one said having a big family was simple and easy, but it is so worth it.

Just a bit ago, Lucy was snuggling on my lap and she looked up at me and said, "You make me happy." She then squeezed my neck tight and said, "We have a happy life, right mom?"

Such a simple question, yet it has made me think of so many things. 

And the one thing that stands out the most is that, 

YES.....we have a happy life.

We have a crazy and chaotic life.

We have a life filled with challenges that can be tricky.

We lots of people who live in this house, who all have their own individual trials.

But, yes.

I do believe we have a happy life.

And I believe we have a happy life because we have each other.

We have a home full of cute little people who make decisions every day to find happiness.

They choose to be happy.

As I watch them do this, it makes me very proud of them.

Am I happy?

Yes.

I am.

I have a happy life because of them.

Simply Sunday: Love One Another

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This weekend we had beautiful weather. 

It was perfect.

And in spite of having strep throat, my little cuties
just HAD to play outside. 

I'm sure the fresh air was good for them.

They had the most fun riding an electric motorcycle. 

They actually have two different ones, but today they decided they wanted to be together on the same one.

They were so fun to watch.

As I watched them, I realized something that kept happening over and over again.

Luke kept making sure that Lucy LuLu was holding on tight. 

EVERY TIME before he would start to go, he would reach down and gently pull her hands together and make sure she was hanging on tight.

He did this
EVERY TIME.

I watched my young little son show his sister such great love.

And I don't think he was even aware he was doing it.

He was doing it without even thinking about it. 

I am so thankful to be the mother of such great little people. 

I'm grateful for Luke.

I'm grateful that he loves his Lucy.

Loving one another really is everything.

A Happy Heart: Be Happy

From day one of my blog, I promised myself that I would try to be as real as possible.

I would try to capture my 'real' life.

Life in a 'real' home, with a 'real' family, and a home full of people who deal with 'real' things.

SO...

 We all have those days.

You know the ones.

The ones where you have grand intentions of feeling joyful about everything, skipping through your day, laughing at the fun of life.....

and then you realize that your new plan is to just be as happy as possible.

Well, today has been that day. 

I am extremely grateful for many things.

But, there are just some days that feel a bit tough.

You know 'those' days.

RIGHT?

Well, today was one of mine.

At one point I was discouraged that I couldn't shake my funk.

And then I decided that I needed to do the best I could.

I needed to be as happy as I possibly could.

And that would be enough.

And it worked.

My day hasn't been perfect.

And I still find myself venturing toward the 'funk'.

BUT,

I DO feel like I have honestly tried to be as happy as I possibly could.

And today, it makes my heart happy that my decision to TRY made the difference.

We can't all have perfect days.

But we CAN decide to try to make the best of them.

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A Happy Heart: Kindness

Something that is very dear to my heart is kindness.

And today is the end of "Random Acts of Kindness" week.

We've had a few little hiccups this week, so all my grand plans for this week fell apart.

And I have been so bummed.

I had so many fun ideas of things I was going to do.

Then this morning,  I realized something I COULD do.

So, I grabbed some caramels and off I went.

I handed them all out at church and came home feeling pretty good about the day.

But I was still kind of bummed that I had missed my favorite week!

Then I started to realize how ridiculous that was.

Why not still do my ideas?

Why was I thinking I could only do them because it
was "Random Acts of Kindness Week"?

HOW SILLY

Kindness isn't shown on some timetable.
Kindness should be at the very core of who we are.
We should always be looking for moments where we can show kindness.

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It really IS possible to find moments when we can be kind.

They are always there. 

We just have to look for them.

Today, it makes my heart happy to know that I can ALWAYS find those moments.

I can ALWAYS try to be kind.