orange

this boy is getting old...

old enough to have a favorite color,

old enough to wear big boy undies,

old enough to crack his momma up with his whit, 

old enough to bully his sister all day long,

and old enough to temporarily take the place of his daddy as the man of the house.

taking chance

patriotism is running through my veins.

i once swore that i would always hate politics.

as i grow older and wiser, i realize that i must make room (a tiny corner) for them in my brain.

this world means so much to me.

this country means so much to me. 

my family means so much to me.

my faith means so much to me. 

my life means so much.

these things are all intertwined and i'm slowly figuring out how to process their relations.

meanwhile, i watched this movie that my brother recommended to me:

taking chance

it all means even more to me now.

put the politics on the shelf (because there is a place for them later, which i won't talk about)

and watch this movie.

and cry.

because their is nothing greater than life, no greater gift than freedom, and no greater sacrifice than dying for it.

in honor of  Independence Day approaching, watch this movie and remember those who are gone. their families are forever hurt, but forever honored to have known them. each one died for our world, our country, our families, our faiths, for our lives.

and for our freedom.

and i am eternally grateful.

drumroll please...

and the language that the mr. sailor man 

(my husband)

will dive into and learn for a year and a half is...

arabic

all i have to say is...

wow

don't read unless you'll comment...fo real

other possibles i thought of titling this post:

YOU better comment

i need help

this mirror is the same color as my birth control pill

i'm losing my mind

i know who you are

comment or die

can you tell i'm bored?

this is not a father's day post

dilemma of my life

mirror problems

EXHIBIT A

a $2 mirror from goodwill that i re-painted

now for my dilemma, and your opinion:

my wall of mirrors is soon upon completion...i think, 

but i can't decide which way to hang this one. 

do i 

A hang it vertically to the right,

OR

B hang it horizontally on the bottom

????????

this is me past midnight convincing myself that 

this is the world's toughest decision.

i dreadfully need your help.

i don't care who you are,

you better comment with a vote!

please?

oh, and if you feel extra giving, you can vote 

on my potential titles as well:)

like a ton of bricks

i've been waiting for this.

it has just hit me and it's hitting me hard...

my husband is gone, and i will be sleeping without him next to me for a very long time.

i hurt.

my boy- the aborigine

one of the many eventful days around the cruz house 

while we were in texas:

kavi loves to be nakey and one day asked aunt noelie to tie this string around his waist.

the poor boys' ribs stick out and

he even squats like a little native.

    

other quirks of his during our texas trip:

falling in love with his swimming life jacket 

and insisting to wear it everywhere,

 including cora's school program

and

not taking off mason's bike helmet all day.

29

happy birthday markie marshmallow.

i miss you.

for baby max

my second quilt was lovingly made for my good 

friend beth's little guy.

i'm in love with it.

and equally in love with her little family.

i love the puckering after it is washed.

this was the first time i attempted the binding. 

poor beth; it is so ghetto-ly done...

but i'll get better at it.

look at this little charmer. 

only 2 days old and already workin' it.

                                            

                                           

 talk about cuteness; max's older sister, 

maelynn is off the charts!         

                                                                             

congrats bradfords!

girl power

             

the triathlon was a blast.

i loved being a part of something so big,

i loved being with so many women, 

but most of all i loved being with my sister.

we did it!

and noel kicked my butt!

the day went as follows:

           

                                                                      just rolled out of bed,                              half hour before,

                                                                         carbs and protein                               sun screening up

                                                       

the swim was divided into separate waves and we were towards the end.

we waited in line forever and saw literally all shapes and ages of women-i loved it.

the water was warm and it was a fun swim.

luckily, we got to start at the front of our wave. the swim was 1/2 mile and 

this was my easiest event. the only hard part was getting disoriented as i caught up 

to the wave ahead of us and the water was pretty packed.

next up was the biking.

kicked. my. butt.

there were so many hills and i had not trained nearly enough on a real bike; 

not to mention we had mountain bikes instead of road bikes, 

which apparently makes things a lot more difficult.

12 miles.

i told noel to go ahead of me around mile 2 of the bike because i just couldn't keep up.

she rocked it, then she ran the whole 3 miles.

i walked half.

here she is:

a whole 20 minutes before me.

just how darling is my sister?

i know.

and after i crossed the finish line, i scarfed down a bagel, watermelon, and oranges.

food has never tasted so good.

                                                                                  

the overall feeling of the day was so powerful. 

women were cheering each other on left and right, and we all finished.

it was an accomplishment. 

my favorite part of the race was during the run. at one point, i was all alone. i was running through a field with sunflowers on my left and the blue, blue sky beaming. it was gorgeous and a huge gust of wind blew by me. it was bliss. i felt so alive running strong with this healthy body that my heavenly father gave me.

no matter what my weight is, or how much i complain, i am healthy. my body is strong and it is able to give life. what is a better blessing?

thanks noelie for doing this with me.

and thanks jen for cheering us along.

LOVE those sisters of mine!

Trialthon eve

Almost 11pm
Need to wake up at 5am
Starting to freak out
Say prayer
What did I get myself into?
Wait..

I CAN do this.

Now if I could just fall asleep.

yesterday

4 years ago, i married this man.

i married him knowing we were young and 

i saw the potential of our future.

i worried at times if we would ever reach 

the milestones i foresaw;

but slowly and surely, we are right on target.

he is growing into the man he is meant to be,

and i feel so lucky to get to watch him do it.

hopefully i am reciprocating this act as a(his) woman.

but no matter how fast or slow we grow, we grow together and

our marriage is strong.

strong together.

strong under Christ.

happy anniversary my love.

i hope you get a chance to think about us,

among your sweaty, stinky, days of

shooting guns and such.

a popsicle and a mullet