Can't stop her!

The heat is blistering (OK, not really, but it gets mildly warm here on occasion!), the bees are buzzing, and my daughter is growing up! Just this week alone, she has popped over at least 8 new words! I can't keep up with it! Included in the list are...down, out, off, more, bubbles, pop, juice, ouch, no way, and Chester (our cat). We also think she's trying to say "come on" and will mimics just about anything you say! Go Jaelyn go!

What else have we been up to? Swimming, where Jaelyn LOVES to go out deep (with mom or dad holding her of course!) and kicking her legs and blowing bubbles in the water. More than that even, she loves to play in the muck of the shoreline burying her legs, filling her bucket and then of course, emptying it! She has mastered the art of climbing the ladder of her slide and going down ALL BY HERSELF! I nearly had a heart attack when I looked over my shoulder to see what she was doing, and there she was, on top of the slide, and *whoop!*, down she went! Perfect landing! What will be next? She already climbs all the furniture and can do a pull-up/chin-up better than I can! My daughter amazes me to no end!

We'll be off shopping tomorrow to get the goods for the Fourth of July, we already have about $200 in fireworks, now we need glow in the dark sticks for the kids, and of course, some treats! I can't wait! Saturday has music in the park for the weekend, I think we'll go, Sunday (the 4th) has our family reunion PLUS fireworks over the lake! THEN, Monday, we're getting together as a family and lighting off some fireworks in the back yard! Could it be any more exciting??? I don't think so!

I truly am enjoying our summer thus far and can't wait for future camping trips, swimming lessons and afternoons in the park! Live is SO wonderful!

Busy as a Beaver

Busy as a beaver...it's a phrase I've heard countless times spanning my brief 25 years on my journey, but what does it mean? I mean, a beaver is busy just surviving, you don't see beavers playing poker or sun tanning or scrapbooking, they hunt, eat and maintain their homes. Everything they do is to ensure not only their own personal survival, but the continuance of their species. How then, is a human as busy as a beaver when we have so many liesure activities?

I have been very busy lately...for me that is! Jaelyn and I, in the past 2 weeks, have gone to the circus, gone camping, to the lake twice, strawberry picking twice and to a family reunion of sorts. This is, of course, besides the usual everyday activities of coloring, splashing in the kiddie pool, playing with play-do and reading books and what not. But it goes much further than simple survival, for that I am thankful.

Even when I am scrubbing out my anger on a pot in the sink, picking up the millions of toys and toy pieces, general cleaning or out gallavanting, I frequently find many hours in the day filled with emptiness. Either I need to fill those hours, or embrace that fact that I don't have to constantly be doing something, as the beaver does. I'm sure the beaver does not sit in his dam thinking of things he should do, he does them with no hesitation, or he will not survive.

As humans we have a great luxury, the luxury to live, not merely survive. I for one, am determined not to abuse this luxury, not to waste the time I have for living on trivial things, to take advantage of opportunities thrown across my path and enjoy every minute of this great journey we call life!