Tag Archives: Life

Do The Next Right Thing

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 19 August, 2014 None comments

Though life provides many bumps and challenges and most often within relationships—do the next right thing. What does that look like? Where is God calling YOU?

Marriages crumble every day, Children abandoned, love forgotten…

Take a look back in life—-

Do you find yourself utterly in love with your spouse longing to be close to them every minute of the day? Feeling you can’t get enough of them? Yearning for their arrival home after work? Loving the excitement it brings to the home while you chase them around vacuuming up wet grass they brought in from watering the lawn on your newly mopped floor? Or daily cleaning up their dirty dishes from their lunchbox and oh the butterflies this brings to your soul. How about participating in half watched movies while you get the kids to sleep and make lunch for the following day? Finally you get a moment to sit on the couch and oversee him massage his feet for ten minutes not even realizing it– and then he scoots in to snuggle so close and romantically. Do not all of these mannerisms create a deep love that you simply cannot get enough of? Almost as if it’s a new-found relationship and you get that tingly feeling from head to toe being in their presence while butterflies swarm throughout your tummy.

Most of you probably laugh at my ridiculousness wondering why I would say such a thing. You probably are saying to yourself “these things drive me crazy!” Let me ask you– didn’t we used to be that way? Didn’t we love our dating relationship and ignore all the odd things about them? We simply yearned to be in their presence no matter what we were doing with them, we wanted to be near them. We loved their quirks; they made us laugh. We never picked up on the feet fetish they had. The Xbox played all the time. Or the lack of cleaning up after themselves. These things were pushed to the wayside but now, now that you’re married, boy does this take on a whole new meaning.

Being married brings on a world of uncertainty. Sometimes we feel we’ve hit a brick wall and become stagnant in our marriage. Sometimes we take steps back and allow every little thing to destroy our marriage. And sometimes, we choose to fight the battle and fall in love with our spouse over and over again.

So how do we put up with the annoyances? The reality is we longed for this previously and need to get back to embracing our spouse for who they are and what we hold together in our families. I’ve learned to laugh at these ideas that swarm throughout my head. I find that if I focus on the nuisance of constantly cleaning up his dishes from lunch the previous day, I will go batty. But when I focus on the reality that my husband is home after work spending time with the family, providing for the family, playing with the children and lastly, making God a priority– then I step back and realize– I have a lot to be thankful for.

Don’t lose hope, we all go through terrible times in life asking God why we were dealt these particular cards. I’m not stating that life is easy, but when you have a solid foundation with Christ and your husband pursues the same; God will bless that. I am speaking from experience but I am no expert. As many of you know, my husband and I have had three years of never-ending trials. We felt as if we were in the furnace being scorched from every angle; every hair on our head completely singed but somehow we were still alive. We’ve been there, and still are not out of the furnace completely. But, God has brought us further away from the fire, feeling the heat but not being completely doused in the flames. We are on a path of healing and redemption.

When you are faced with the fire the little annoyances in marriage or family become extremely piddly as your skin is enveloped in the flames. Your focus begins to change; you will either allow your heart to soften and soak in the opportunity to learn, OR you will become bitter and angry focusing on the what-ifs rather than the what-now. Often our shattered dreams bring about a deep yearning for God’s perfect dreams for our lives. Taking the focus off ourselves and allowing him to ignite a fire that goes beyond what we could have imagined. Shattered dreams bring change in our souls; let the change be glorifying to God and not push you away.

My challenge to you is what my challenge to myself the past three years has been. It sounds simple and almost unhelpful, but the reality is when you are in the fire, you need something small to grasp onto. You do not need a 5-step program to get you where you want to be futuristically. You need help to get you one step closer from dying in the fire. Sometimes we do not realize the intensity of the fire our friends and family face. We are not expected to understand, but need to come along with compassion, prayer and support.

Each fire has different degrees. Some fires, the furnace is full-blown fired up and scorching anything within miles away, destroying homes, friendships, families, relationships, finances, health etc. you name it. But even in the midst of all that, my challenge for all of you is to “Do the next right thing.”

Doing the next right thing becomes doable. It takes your mind off figuring it all out. In all reality we know we can’t figure anything out yet we still try. What we need is God, and time on our side to fulfill His desires not ours. God already has it planned out the way it’s supposed to be, not the way we think it should go. If we keep our focus on how we want our trials to look, we will only stay that much longer in the fire, rather than submitting to Christ’s will for our lives.

Moment Of Truth: The the path may be bumpy. The fence may be walked. But the truth still remains: we can always choose to do the next right thing. Whether you messed up big time or not, Christ calls us to move ahead, choosing to walk the long and narrow path; the path that leads to Life. Keep your eyes on things ahead and not on things behind.

There is grace for all.

Take the challenge– Do The Next Right Thing!

Insecurity and Doubt

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 6 August, 2014 None comments

Have you ever had a moment where you quickly judged a stranger and immediately found yourself not liking them? You have no basis for this, but you tend to quickly judge someone for their fashion, or lack there of. Or quickly call someone a jerk because they cut you off in traffic. Maybe this person was at the park with their kids and let their child steal a toy from yours. Do you find yourself judging the “unlovable?”

I completely found myself in the midst of my own insecurity while judging this gal at Starbucks earlier this week with my son. I found myself to be a frumpy ol’ housewife with no sense of fashion. This gal mind you, was on a lunch break in a skirt and heels while I on the other hand was having a cleaning day at home with workout clothes and tennis shoes. No need to get all dressed up to clean the house and weed my garden right? But in the same breath, I thought to myself how I must go home and shower immediately and get all dressed up to feel better about myself. But for what? I wasn’t going anywhere that day and this gal would not ever see me again. So why was I having these thoughts creep into my mind making me believe I am less of a person because I am in workout clothes and not all done up?

Insecurity chose to take root for a few minutes and I let it. The thoughts distracted me from my son while we were on a mommy-son date getting treats together and watching all the cars, trucks and motorcycles speed by. My thoughts were not on him and what he was excited about while eating his little treat and speaking with his vast vocabulary. My poor baby was not the main priority until I finally realized my thoughts were not on heavenly things but on worldly distractions; comparing what I thought to be, my self-worth.

How often do you find yourself daydreaming of things that are not reality? Be sure to not let those things become a priority in your mind “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) I’ve been reading 2 Corinthians this past week and while it’s easy to let our thoughts travel around, I realized that we are warned over and over to keep our eyes on Christ. This warning comes multiple times as a clear reminder that we are easily distracted from the bigger purpose.

Today, my purpose was not a purpose of discouragement, comparison, doubt or worthlessness but a purpose of things God has prepared for me on a daily basis. It took going down this rabbit trail to be reminded of what my purpose really was, rather then the lies I was choosing to believe. God has created a beautiful world around me full of life, His life. Yet I choose to believe a lie, a lie that if I allowed to take root, would lead to destruction.

Things I need to be reminded of: God has laid before me a beautiful scenery in my own backyard. A beautiful son filling my heart with joy. A husband and best friend whom I love dearly and share my life with. A home filled with comfort and joy. And most of all, Christ has filled me with His love and I simply choose on a minute by minute basis to receive it. And this my friends is our hope; Christ knows every step of the journey until we go home, home to heaven.

Moment of Truth: Christ calls us not to judge. We were not granted the sword to cut down and destroy but we often do so leaving our souls bared to those around us. They will often know what we are against rather than what we are for when we choose to pick up our sword of defense. I partook in this destructive action today and was left feeling sad and more so embarrassed. I judged a heart I know nothing about and all due to my own insecurity. Lord, keep my heart pure and my motives for You alone.

1-2-3 Barf

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 5 August, 2014 None comments

Easy as 1-2-3. My poor little man got his first bout of the stomach flu this morning. 2 separate play-dates lined up, both at water parks, fun in the sun and yummy snacks and a blanket. We were in it for the long haul. All packed up with goodies, lunch and toys and off to the park we go. About two miles down the road and on the freeway, my little man lets out a 5 second cry and off with the projectile vomit while I immediately pull the car to the side of the road. Not sure what to do, I offer him a little water and back home we quickly return.

“Bye-bye! Wes?” he muttered through tears and uncertainty. Poor boy couldn’t understand that he was sick and needed to rest on the couch with his Mommy. A stinky car needed cleaning. A car seat that was just washed yesterday needed to be returned to the washing machine. A little boy doused in his own chunky vomit needed to be hosed off, a blanket filled with the remainder needed immediate attention. My little boy was covered from head to toe.

He released his blanket for the first time allowing me to wash it while he repeatedly uttered “tink, tink” otherwise known as stink. He was beginning to understand his blanket carried the chunky smell that was so terribly potent while giving me a chance to wash this sucker without a meltdown.

Covering the couch in our park blanket to avoid any further mess, we got to rest on the couch while sipping some ginger ale and watching Cars the movie. He sat very well, but would get bouts of pain and point to his tummy. Refusing to nap, I tried to get him to rest on the couch and as that proceeded to fail, I scooped him up to walk outside and admire the few remaining blueberries on the tree for a hopeful distraction. This distraction worked only for a moment as he wanted to walk himself back inside and “BAM,” he fell to the ground busting open his big toe from tripping on who knows what. Sobbing hysterically I scooped him back up while blood showered my shorts and shirt; leaving me not only smelling of vomit but now covered in blood.

(Sorry it’s a little blurry. Very difficult to take with a sobbing child)

I finally got the band-aid on which was a nightmare in and of itself as he only knows them from our frequent visits to the hospital. Finally, the task was accomplished and my little man stoped crying. Had he not stopped crying, I feared another round of vomit would take place.

Finally, I coax him into a nap. Sweet baby needed to rest. Meanwhile, I needed to clean the car. I feel terrible for my poor boy, but oh how terrible a smell especially when baking in the sun for a couple hours while I tried to man the house, so-to-speak. While walking around aimlessly trying to figure out where to even begin, I gazed upon the interior of the car to find projectile vomit resting upon my iced coffee and water. Woo-hoo for me. I pulled the mats out and began to wash them clean while I Lysol-ed what used to be in liquid form, but now crusted upon the leather. Washing the car seat, wiping down the chunks matted in places I didn’t know existed and vacuuming the remainder. Finally….mission accomplished. Every thing was clean…so I hope.

He is still resting as we speak. So….I truly hope this bout of whatever he has is through. Hoping for no further messes but a bed and a tiny body longing to be cleaned upon his awakening. I have high hopes that he will drink fluid to keep from our usual dehydration. I have thankfulness in my heart that we aren’t managing all of this in the middle of the night. I am sustained as-of-this-moment.

Moment of Truth: It’s easy as 1-2-3 and the mess came forth. But it’s never as easy as 1-2-3 to clean up what has been done.

Is My Boy a Farmer?

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 July, 2014 None comments

My little man is overjoyed with tractors, planes and trains. He has a deep love for such machinery that I can’t fulfill within him. As we came to visit my parents this past week, I knew my dad, Coopers papa could fulfill his tiny little dream…and boy was he ecstatic.

Papa took him for rides in his BIG ford pickup…

So high up, he could see the whole world before him! :)

Up at Papa’s work, he got to test drive some tractors… this tractor was quite large.

“Look at me go!”

Trying to figure out if he can shift this puppy into a faster gear??

Looking quite content even though this tractor towers above him, no fear resides.

And yet another tractor. Maybe he likes this one better?

And off to the airport by Papa’s work. This tiny little sucker was such a hit for my little boy. He loves airplanes and was thrilled to be able to experience it all within a few hours. :)

And lastly, Papa decides to reward him with a cake pop before heading back to the house. These amazing little treats are by far a treasure to his little heart.

A long night of looking and riding tractors followed by a delicious little cake pop was not the end of his journey. On a nightly basis Papa would drive him out past their house to see the combines as well as many deer that wanted to be his friend.

Moment of Truth: This sweet little boy has won the hearts of many. I can’t fathom my life without him and his sweet little personality that is growing quite quickly.

Is Life Delightfully Doable?

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 4 July, 2014 Comments Off

I was thinking about the name of my website today and how my caption below says “finding doable ways to delight in life’s circumstances.” I was also realizing how I’m the author and creator of my blog, which means I can share with you whatever I choose and also withhold from you just the same. I want everyone to know life has been anything but easy for me and that, in and of itself, is exactly why I started this website. My goal and desire is for those reading to gain hope while understanding life is not easy, but God did promise us a future hope and peace along the way. We can choose to delight in life, no matter the circumstance. Friends I am living proof of this and it is only by the grace of God, that I can do so.

I’ve spoke on forgiveness a few different times and have explained that the essence of forgiveness is not a feeling but a choice. If we can gain that acceptance, we will be better off. Same goes with life. The more you focus on the bad and the negative, the more your heart will become resentful and pessimistic. Choose to delight in life’s ups and downs and learn along the way. We will never be in a trial longer than it takes to learn the deep rooted issues God is asking us to obtain on a heart level; not a mind level. Knowing and doing are two entirely different concepts and have two entirely different outcomes.

My life as of the past two years has been extremely challenging. Well, let me go back a little further in history. My life has been challenging for years, but since I came to Christ, I’ve struggled more on a Spiritual level fighting against my flesh. My relationship with my husband has been very exhausting as we hadn’t really known one another when we got pregnant. We got married and two months later we had our precious little blessing. With that comes immense hardship. I see God working all things together for good, for those who love Him. But on the same hand, I see the consequences of my sin, living in sin and having a baby out of wedlock still has deep rooted effects on our marriage. Sometimes I get so angry, but than I realize God is taking my sin and turning it for good. It was my choice to live the lifestyle I had previously known and it’s also my responsibility to accept the consequences.

Thanks to harmonythoughts.com

Moment of Truth: Within those tough trials and those tough seasons of life, I am continually reminding myself to delight in life’s circumstances as it will mold me and make me into a happier, thankful person.

Going Through The Motions

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 30 June, 2014 None comments

Heartache is a horrible thing. The true pain life brings is scary and unpredictable. I thought I knew this world was ugly when I was in college but little did I know how ugly it could really be. The vast waters of sin are beyond my comprehension. Although my eyes have seen but a taste, I can’t fathom the root of where this evil really lays and nor do I want to.

“Our world is so big and scary out there” so they say in all the movies, but if that is true, than how much bigger is our God? How much bigger is our sin? How much bigger is heaven and how much bigger is hell? These are all questions that we get scared to think about, but the fascinating part is, this is all we should think about. Christ came for us, made us and wants to bring us home with Him, yet we get so distracted by the daily troubles of life forgetting about what truly matters.

Thanks to socialshare.com

There was a song on the radio other day that I haven’t been able to shake from my memory. It said this: “I don’t want to spend my whole life asking, what if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions.” I know we all can relate to this on some level or another, especially with different seasons of our life. What a horrible feeling to come to the end of your life wishing you had given it your all…but hadn’t. What if you decide today you will do your best with the Lord’s help? How would your life change, what purpose would you fulfill that you wouldn’t otherwise? What regrets would not be there and how many people might you have touched?

This one sentence brought such conviction to my heart but as the day progressed my motions slide quickly back into routine. I don’t want to let my days be a waste, my conversations be worthless and my mind to be on things that I will never remember the next day, week or months. Being married can help gauge how you are doing. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it’s not. I look back on the past couple years of marriage and see how far we’ve come. But, in the same breath I also see how we haven’t moved at all. Within those feelings I have to separate what matters and what doesn’t. Evaluating the things we’ve come far in; is it worldly items and pleasures, or is it of value? That is a tough answer for me and if I am completely honest it’s a good combination. I would rather it be of value than not. And though my combination of the two may seem good, but if you really think about it, do the worldly things even compare to heavenly things? No, not at all!

This doesn’t mean, don’t be thankful in the little things and the worldly pleasures. Christ created this world to be for His glory. I will admit, my little pleasure on a daily basis is drinking my morning cup of coffee. I get such pleasure in this and I get even more pleasure enjoying it with my husband.

Moment of Truth: Are you going through the motions, not giving it your all? How can you make little changes in your day so that when you lay your head to rest, you have confidence that whatever circumstance come your way, God will say “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Exhausted Mentally, Emotionally and Physically

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 June, 2014 None comments

Boy does the rain never stop in the lives of the Cook’s. We can’t seem to live a life that allows for a breath of fresh air. When we do things we “go big” so to speak. Between my husband and son, these past 2 years, or more specifically the last 6 months have been an utter whirlwind of emotions.

This past weekend was my sons birthday and we headed to the beach to enjoy a nice weekend away and a well needed vacation “from our problems.” Little did we know our problems were going to transpire into an exhausting, scary weekend away from our abode. The evacuation routes you often see when you head to the coast was exactly what we needed this trip…except in the form of a hospital. Unfortunately I saw them when we entered town and bookmarked it in the back of my mind hoping it was my fear stepping in; not reality. Although we tend to frequent hospitals on an all too frequent basis, Ocean Beach Hospital was a step in the right direction.

As we left town Thursday we were driving over the bridge in Portland waving goodbye to Randall Children’s Hospital opting to never arrive there again unless for the delivery of a newborn baby. Well our wish came true this weekend except that it was only granted for the children’s hospital. Stepping foot into an ER at the beach was not excluded from our list of high hopes. The day of Cooper’s 2nd birthday, he came down with a nasty “bug.” I use that word lightly as my son never has symptoms of a common cold except simply not being able to breath or talk. No runny nose, no cough, no sore throat, no ear infections no nothing is ever on the agenda. So when Cooper came down with this nasty little “bug” we were a bit disappointed as it was the day of his birth and we had planned to play most the day at the beach. Well….that did not happen. He was still in high spirits and we still had a great day.

Come evening, I lay him to rest and kissed his little lips. While playing cards with the family I checked on him and noticed he was very wheezy in his breathing; both inhaling and exhaling. It worried me but not enough to let me anxiety kick-in in overdrive. We kept playing cards and headed to bed pretty late. Less than an hour later Cooper was up and struggling to breath, sleep and simply lay still. Laying in bed with us for a bit, struggling to breath and simply not feeling good while I worried all night long if my little man would quit breathing, allowed for very little sleep. It was an exhausting night!

The following morning he woke up in good spirits and within the hour quickly took a turn for the worse. From playing to laying on the floor writhing in pain and a fever that shook my spirits was very unnerving. His breathing progressively worsened allowing for four adults to become highly concerned. Early nap was definitely on the schedule while multiple phone calls to the advice nurse took place.

My mom and I escaped for a couple hours during nap to grab coffee and enjoy the shops in Long Beach. We had a good time and also grabbed some medical supplies for the little man; humidifier, probiotics and honey sticks to coat his throat. Upon our arrival back at the house, my son just woke up to be extremely labored in his breathing to the point it was beyond scary. His little body struggling with each breath wheezing and with no vocal cords at this point was so scary. He couldn’t talk at all!

Off to the ER. We quickly arrive and immediately were seen by a doctor. No cold symptoms still causing for confusion yet again. They decided to treat for Coup and quickly give a steroid shot as well as a ventilator full of medicine. Within minutes we noticed his little voice coming back to us in a very quiet, raspy sense, but it was better than nothing.

Three hours later they send us home with strict instructions to follow up with our pediatrician. Talk of further complications such as cystic fibrosis came up which of course plagued me with fear. On the other hand, finding something that could be causing this is more of a relief than simply no answers at all. All I want is to find a reason and start treating. Now of course, I really pray nothing is wrong with my son and that we can avoid further hospitalizations but that doesn’t seem like the easy answer we will receive.

Wednesday we followed up with our pediatrician with great success, I feel we finally are in forward motion in search for answers. We have an appointment set with a pulmonologist and will be treating Cooper for croup on a preventative level. Our doctors believes Cooper unfortunately will continue to get croup and has had it previously. We will be treating on a daily basis to lessen the severity of croup as we cannot actually prevent it at all. But the goal here, is to keep us from frequent hospitalizations and labored breathing.

This is only the beginning of the long road ahead, but in some weird way I feel confident and relieved that we are seeking this further and searching for answers. Hoping his little esophagus is our only issue will require us to continue battling croup until he’s roughly 5 years old. The good news in that this condition does not have long term effects. Praise Jesus!

We will wait, pray and be thankful that as of right now, what we know to be true is bearable! I will keep you all updated with how the appointment with the specialist goes.

Moment of Truth: Life was never promised to be easy, but God did promise He will never give us more than we can handle. At many times in my life, I have felt I was on the edge and God swept in and allowed a calm in my storm. Circumstances may not change, but our hearts do. I pray my heart grows tender and I continue to seek the Lord, rather than build resentment and allow fear to take over my life.

Father’s Day Weekend

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 June, 2014 None comments

Yes, Father’s Day has come and gone but can’t we still celebrate it more than once a year? Okay the real reason I am posting about Father’s Day two weeks later is because our lives continue to take the roller coaster ride and apparently we never want to stop and get off.

Between a sick child all the time and leaving town for a long beach trip, I finally got around to Father’s Day weekend. :)

For father’s day weekend we went out to one of our favorite breakfast places, Cafe Du’berry. They have great breakfast for a good price! They have always had amazing food and most of the time we get the same thing. Although, this time, Cooper is old enough to eat his own little dish and boy was I impressed with their french toast. It was beyond amazing. I think the toast was homemade with a lemon-egg mixture that the bread soaked in before cooking. I would never order french toast when out for breakfast but this french toast is something I would consider ordering next time for myself. It was that good! :)

Here’s Cooper and Daddy waiting and playing patiently before breakfast arrived.

I ordered a dungenous crab omelette. It is and was always delicious. They use massive chunks of crab with an incredible sauce that makes your mouth simply water. It was so big I shouldn’t have ate the whole thing but I did was uncomfortably full afterwards but comfortably satisfied.

Cooper decided he wanted to play on the tables outside of the restaurant after eating. That lasted about a minute as he wanted to get into all the sugar packets and crumple them up and toss them on the ground.

Stopping at Fred Meyers on the way home, daddy put this 4th of July hat on Cooper and although he always looks adorable….. HE HATES HATS!!!

We had a good morning with breakfast and ended the day with a round of golf! :)

Happy Father’s Day honey, I love you!

5 Minutes Inside a Mom’s Head…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 June, 2014 None comments

What does five minutes inside a mom’s head really look like? I saw this article and laughed to myself while crying over the harsh reality that it is beyond true in every mom’s life.

The comforting thing is we all know what one another is going through while men sit on the sidelines contemplating the next win in basketball or whose going to get drafted to which team.

Some people may think 5 minutes is nothing but a long relaxed deep breath. These five minutes are anything and everything but a deep breath. More like gasping for air, panting as if you just ran a marathon or simply drowning and still making your mental checklist.

I saw this article and it was a must share. Any and all of you who have children will relate to this article while every man reading this may think we’ve lost our minds and have our “job” so easy. “Easy?” You want to talk about easy? My life is everything but easy. Yes I may stay home with the kids and not get up at 6 and get to work by 8, work all day to have an hour lunch to enjoy the sun, take a walk or even go out to eat with the dudes to only get home at 6 pm. Dinners made for you and your kids bathed and ready for bed. “Yes, I stay home with the kids, yes MY job is easy!”

Sometimes I want to yell this to every man out there who complains about there regimen of working to support the family. I 100% appreciate and support any man who is willing to care for their family so the wife can take the opportunity to hold the house together and raise the children with good morals and standards while keeping them in a family environment rather then childcare. I also appreciate the simple fact that my husband can earn triple if not quadruple the income I could earn in a given year. Yes, I support you and greatly appreciate you and all the hard work it takes in our society these days to have a one income family! Thank you!

On the other hand, learn to appreciate your wife. Appreciate your child learning manners, learning their alphabet, getting socialized on play dates, having educational toys and activities to participate in. Appreciate that your child and wife are probably happy when you reach home at the end of the day. Appreciate that you probably don’t partake in most the household chores, errands, grocery shopping, laundry and bills that’s been taken care of for you! Appreciate that when an outburst happens at home, your wife probably knows how to handle the situation and guide you through it!

This may make you laugh at the harsh reality of it, but lets be honest, a man wants respect and appreciation so badly. This is what makes a man a man. We all long for respect and appreciation as well. We may long to receive it in different ways than our spouse but oh how true it is to feel that respect for what you do on a daily basis. Both men and women need to bot give respect and receive respect. We work our jobs because that’s the job we’ve been given at that point in time and we need to be thankful and appreciative of one another. Households are no easy to run and we all know earning an income to support a family is a challenge in and of itself. No need to put one another down and compare our job tasks, simply appreciate them and love them for what they do!

For a little humor read this article: 5 Minutes inside a moms head

Thanks to: huffingtonpost.com

Moment of Truth: Multi-tasking is the essence of a mother’s life. Learning how to manage her family to get everyone where they need to be, projects done, bills paid and fresh clothes to wear is the essence of a mother who cares. All you mom’s out there, you do a great job even though it is often a thankless job! Keep it up!

The Deep Ocean Waters

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 May, 2014 None comments

We took a weekend and headed to the beach just the three of us for a GREAT change in scenery. We needed to escape as our house has never ending plumbing issues, I’m watching three kids, my husband works full time, his mother just passed and the “ebb-in-flow” of life seems to not flow so smoothly for the Cook’s.

It was supposed to rain all weekend as usual because we just came from a beautiful week of hot sun. My husband feels he’s doomed as every weekend brings on the rain while he can play but during the week it’s bright and sunny while he’s inside at his desk. Since this is pretty typical for our lives, we took the challenge head on and packed for rain and headed to the coast.

To our surprise, we had not only beautiful weather, but no wind either. It was incredible. Totally unexpected, unplanned and NO people. The usual crowded beach was every but that. We had the best time and surprisingly the water was not the typical freezing temperature as usual.

Cooper did not nap in the car on the way there which was our hope. This un-napped baby was beyond amazing! No fussing, no squirms, no attitude, no nothing. He was so happy he couldn’t even make it far before stopping to through the sand. He was in heaven. We took beach chairs and snacks and got some good sun.

He was so busy he did not have time to realize he was extremely tired. He had the time of his life. He loved the water and went up to his little waist multiple times. We had to drag him back to shore to get a break from the water. :)

I would take him out but he quickly got bored of it because I had pants on so we couldn’t go as far out as he would like. Luckily for me, daddy had to take him. His little brain was so fascinated and captured by the huge, deep waters. His little mind was going miles a minute. You could see him trying to process this vast ocean that was super fun to get wet in.

This was one giant bathtub for my little man.

You can see how deep they went as Cooper could not get enough of it.

Headed back to shore for some more digging!

Sweet little baby!

We ended the day at Mo’s, famous for clam chowder and sat outside soaking it up. Cooper had a blast and ate like a champ. This tired boy crashed within 5 minutes of leaving town. Sweet baby!!!