carnival joy.

I love this verse. I love the woman in Proverbs 31 - she inspires me.

The weekend is here! Not only that - but a 3 day weekend to boot. This time of year is wonderful for so many reasons: the warm weather, my birthday, the pretty flowers, the longer days, the excitement of summertime.. I could go on and on. But one of my most favorite things in May is the carnival. Hands down.

Now, let me explain. There is a traveling carnival that stops into our town twice a year in May and August. It really is nothing special - basic carnival food (funnel cake!), the same old rides, and the games that suck up all of your money. It's overpriced for sure, the food will clog your arteries, and every year those same rides get older and older... But I love it!

I have always enjoyed the carnival but for the past six years it has also held a special place in my heart. It is where Yosi and I met :-) We had known each other's names from school, but it was at the carnival that he asked me on our first date. It was six years ago yesterday. I had been at the carnival with some friends that evening but it was late and I was heading home because I had a 10pm curfew. That is when I heard my name. I turned around and it was Yosi, he asked if I would want to go on the octopus with him. I so wanted to go! I called my mom to ask if I could stay out for another 20 minutes - and she said no. I told him I had to go home, he asked if I wanted to go to the beach the next day. Of course I said yes.

Here we are six years later. And on Friday night Yosi surprised me with a date to the carnival. It was a blast! We went on the octopus because that is the best carnival ride ever, we walked the loop, and then we went out for dessert. It was perfect. BUT, it only gets better! Yesterday we took the boys to enjoy some carnival fun, and it was amazing to watch their faces light up. This was the first year that Nolan has been old enough to walk around and get in on the fun. It is safe to say that he had the time of his little life. I will prove it with photos:

love.

tilt a whirl

brother love.

Until next time,

Carmen



21.

Today is my 21st birthday. It was a wonderful day really. I spent the morning with the boys, had lunch with my mom, and dinner with my lovely husband. It was a day filled with all of the amazing people who have been so important in these past 21 years and it was a blast.

Today marks the beginning of a brand new year for me. A new year filled with new adventures, new experiences, and new goals. I love the idea of renewal. I love that I have a whole new year to conquer new things. I have always loved my birthday, but I especially love the attitude I have about this one in particular. I have made some goals for this year, so of course, I made a nifty list.

things to do while 21

read 21 (non school related) books

run my heart out

learn how to make 21 new dinners in the crock pot

be the best mom I can be

learn by heart 21 meaningful bible verses

be the best wife I can be

go 21 days without eating anything that comes out of a package

be a good friend

take the boys on 21 surprise adventures

live kindly

This is going to be a fantastic year. I am excited to live it fully, and appreciate each day. I will be sure to keep all of you informed as I live out my goals for this new year of my life.

    

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" Psalm 51:10.       

Hubs and I before heading out to dinner <3

-Carmen



sunday life lessons.

Happy Sunday! The weekend has been good, but for some reason it has come and gone entirely too fast. Today was an usually trying day for me, and I learned a lot about myself. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it because I would hate to leave you wondering.

Today I was at work just doing my work thing. Since I do not have a regular position, I rely heavily on the regular staff to boss me around and tell me what to do. I welcome the direction - because in order to be helpful I need to know what they need me to do. Most of the time all of the regular staff are very helpful and are great about keeping me in the loop. Not today.

During my shift another staff member was blatantly rude to me because I was unknowingly doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. The staff member was not snippy, or short with me, she literally yelled at me. I do not do well with being yelled at. I just kind of freeze and stand there with a 'deer in the headlights' look on my face. It's kind of pathetic, but it's just how I am.

Anyhow, after the incident I was upset. I just couldn't understand how and/why people feel the need to be that way. Sure we all have bad days, but this wasn't a bad day oopsie. It really bothered me. I spent a good part of my day being upset by her hurtful tone.. and then it hit me. It's her. Not me.

I like to be kind. I pride myself on being kind and polite to others. I think it is important. I realized today that maybe not everyone feels this way. I see kindness as one of the basic qualities of humanity. The key word there is I. It is slightly selfish for me to think/expect that line of thought from everyone. I have to make peace with the fact that not everyone is going to be kind or polite. While what she did was completely uncalled for, being upset that she does not place the same value on kindness as I do is only doing a disservice to myself.

Pretty deep right? It is Sunday afterall.

Until next time,
Carmen



my husband is wonderful.

(I don't know too much about marriage in general - but I know some about my own and that is the one I'll be referring to throughout this post.)

Being married is pretty much a full time job. In order to be successful, you have to put in the work. I was married at age 17, Yosi was 19. It was October when we first sat down to start planning a big wedding for the following summer. Let me tell you - wedding planning is no walk in the park. It seemed stressful, and expensive, and time consuming. All we really wanted was to be husband and wife. We decided not to wait, and instead we got married just four weeks later in November.


It was a beautiful day. We took a big risk by planning an outside ceremony, but I am so glad that we did. It was the last nice weekend of the year, and it turned out to be almost 70 degrees. Beautiful.

Anyhow, we got married young. I personally had zero idea how to be a wife. I don't know that anyone ever does. I still sometimes feel as if I am winging it- but that is ok because he is too. At the end of the day, he is my person and I love him. Not only is he good looking, handy around the house, and a great father, BUT he also is caring, kind, and wonderful. Pretty much he is rad, and I love him.

So why you ask, do I see it as a full time job if I happen to have found such a fantastic guy? Well, because having a great husband doesn't mean having a great marriage. It takes two people with the same goal, and at least some sort of cohesive plan on how to attain that goal. It is an art form that takes practice and some trial and error. It can be stressful and demanding, but luckily, it's also fantastic.

We have learned a lot in our three years of marriage. We have learned what doesn't work for us, and we have since found what does.
There has been a few things that have helped me grow into the wife that I want to be:
1)Jesus Christ and the holy scriptures
2)Loving myself
*and*
3)A good dose of selflessness
4)Not acting like a 17 year old.

Marriage is work, but it is nearly the best job in the world (second only to motherhood). But, enough of this for now. I will leave you with a photo.

11/2/08

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:14

-Carmen

motherhood and other thoughts.

 I was not one of those girls who daydreamed about being a mommy. I loved to help out with other people's children, but I decided that I didn't ever want any that actually belonged to me. The thought of having tiny innocent lives depend on me for every aspect of their lives terrified me to the bone. I never wanted to have children of my own.

And then I did.

There is a change in your heart when you become a mother. It's hard to explain. Suddenly the whole world fits in your arms. All that is important and wonderful. Everything that is scary and joyous. It is just bundled up and placed in your arms. Motherhood is a blessing, and by the grace of God I have been blessed twice.

I took on a different attitude about Mother's Day this year. I looked at this day as a day to celebrate motherhood- which to me meant to be the best possible mom I could be. Surely I try to do this everyday, but I really wanted to spend today focused on the art of mothering. We had brunch with my mom(love you!) and after leaving there we went and bought some flowers to plant in the yard. After coming home I made a healthy and yummy lunch, which we ate picnic-style in the yard. I was sure to sing Nolan his favorite song as I tucked him in for a nap. During naptime I cleaned our house, folded laundry, and mopped floors. We spent the evening on a family game of yard soccer (it was a tie- therefore I still claim to be a better kicker). I finished off the night by tucking the boys snugly into their beds and saying prayers as a family. The day was lovely:)

I would like to thank my own wonderful mom along with all of the women who have played an important part in my life. I want to you know how much I appreciate your love and kindness.

Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. -Erich Fromm

I love this. So very true. A mother's love is forever.

Happy Mother's Day,

Carmen



short and sweet (and by this I mean boring).

 

I think this here just about sums up the goodness in mankind. Kind of a broad topic to discuss on a beautiful Wednesday night so I think we will leave it at that for now. Also - very pretty birds.

These past couple of days have been wonderful:) I have been getting up with Yosi to send him off to work in the morning and then having some 'me' time before the boys wake up. It is nice to have a jump on the day before the boys are jumping around! I have been productive with housework, making yummy food, and enjoying the little men. Today we played outside for nearly three hours and I still got two loads of laundry done, made dinner, and  even had time to run. A wonderful start to summer vacation if I do say so myself.

More tomorrow,

Carmen



kicking out some traditions

Well guys it's been a few days. The weekend was busy (in a good weekend kind of way) and I've just been winding down from my busy and incredibly stressful week of finals. BUT I am back to the blog and back to being my usual chipper and positive self. Yay!

Today I worked a few hours this morning and then had a coffee date with my mom, which was much overdue. I ventured home to greet Yosi, and then picked up the boys and headed to the yard. We played outside nearly all evening. We played a pretty intense game of yard soccer. It was Christian and I against Yosi and Nolan. Christian and I totally won. During some friendly celebration chit-chat I explained to Yosi that I was clearly a better kicker than him. I don't know if it is because he has been playing soccer since the beginning of time or what the issue was - but he didn't agree. I told him that until he wins a game of yard soccer I will continue to believe in my kicking superiority.

I was talking with a friend today and we found ourselves talking about traditions. This really got me thinking about what kind of traditions I want the boys to leave home (in a longlonglonglonglong time) with. What do I want them to carry on to their own families? In response to all of my deep thinking I created a nifty list -
^family dinner at the table
^an abundance of joy and family celebrations during the holidays
^a birthday week (more on that in an upcoming post)
^autumn Sunday's with family, food, and football
^prayer

I know there will be more, and as I come up with them I will be sure to update the list:)

After I picked Christian up from daycare today he surprised me with this lovely gift.

Cute right?

Pile of shoes.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.

Carmen

some thoughts about college.

I had my last final this evening. My first year at college has come to an end. It is bittersweet- but mostly just sweet (more on that below).

Here are some things that I learned:

- college is hard.

- avoid the vending machines at all costs.

- study seriously

- laugh a lot anyway.

- making college friends is good.

- making friends who will be friends long after the college years is wonderful.

- be polite to everyone you meet

- making a good first impression with professors is as easy as using manners.

- spend your time wisely.

- bring coffee with.

 (it is much cheaper to make at home)

I'm not going to lie - this week has been stressful and less than wonderful on the school front. So I feel as though this can't be as inspirational as it could be - simply because I am not feeling that inspired at the current moment. Don't get me wrong - I love school. I love learning, and the collegiate environment, and I have met some interesting people, and made some fantastic friends. However, the post discussing how wonderful it all was will have to wait for another time.

in the meantime - summer starts now