Life's "Love-a-byes": I know, I know...

it's been a really long time since I posted anything here. Work has been really busy and I have to admit I have spent my evenings chilling out with a little game of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. I know, sounds silly but it is the only thing that seems to allow me to let my brain have a break from life for a few moments :)

However, life has been busy, full and interesting. For interesting, I will just go with I have begun to learn the power of love and forgiveness. You don't realize the power of those tools until you have to pull them out of your life packback and really apply them...I know that seems a teaser but that is truly the most I can say there.

Busy between work, kiddos being sick, parties, graduations, Court being in Vegas, birthdays, zoo visits (another post) and sport activities beginning. Camryn starts soccer tonight and I actually shuttered as I realize that the next 6-7 weeks will be a bit full. The upside is that Cam gets to be with her best buddy, Evan and I get to spend time with my favorite neighbor Becca. Even though we live 5 feet from one another, we don't see eachother quite enough. I realized today that I really appreciate her and I am so grateful that we are neighbors...am looking forward to our sideline chats :)

So on the full side, the girls and my Dad and I went to Bellingham to visit Joshua and his fiance DeLayne this past weekend. Yep, you read correctly, his fiance. Joshua is taking the plunge; he has found the girl. This is an interesting emotional experience for a big sister...it came on a bit quickly (they've been dating for a short while and the wedding will be in October). No, it is not a shotgun wedding; he just found the girl. We met DeLayne on Mother's Day this year. We could see that Josh was pretty into her but because of this, we didn't really get a good chance to "meet" her. So spending time with them this past weekend was really great. We got to see them in "their" hometown and got to see the things that they share. She is really a cool cat! She is very mellow, smart, has a great contagious laugh (just like Josh) and has an obvious love for little ones (as Cam could only talk about her for the next 48 hours). I was able to see what it was that Josh sees...how he fell for this girl. I was also able to see that being the big sister means that when your little brother marries, you have to let a little bit of him go. As we drove home, I teared up a bit realizing that. I spent a lot of time "secondarily" mothering him and as much as I am sure he is thankful that that role was finally filled by my own children, he's still the first baby I "took" care of...if that makes sense. We are family - we are bound forever. A bit bittersweet... So, this post is to congratulate them both, wish them well and tell them how excited I am for their upcoming wedding day!

Here's some pics from our Bellingham travels...