Gratitude

Arizona

February 27, 2014

What a great week Elena and I had in Arizona!  We’ve experienced an approximate 70 degree change in weather over the last 48 hours but other than that it’s good to be home.

I’ve determined Arizona is my happy place.  Not only does the sunshine and perfect weather do my body good, but I have so, so many happy memories in my parents’ house.  I’ve been visiting out there ever since I was a little girl when my great-grandparents owned the house.  It’s a place where life really does slow down.  

I left a crazy, busy and COLD winter behind for a week and literally enjoyed an entirely stress-free time.  I knew I would be coming home to chaos, so I just tried to savor each moment of peace!  We spent our days taking Elena to swim, where she was the loudest kid in the pool.  Or we opted to go shopping.  The rest of the time was spent outside on a walk, at the park or simply sitting on the porch doing a crossword puzzle.  I seriously could retire.  ðŸ™‚  I had In-and-Out Burger three times (had to get my fill for the next year!).  I enjoyed my Momma’s cooking and, I must admit, it’s nice to have someone else do the cooking AND cleaning up of the dishes post meal!

So, as you can see it was a pretty boring trip, just what I needed!

We flew home Tuesday and have immediately been thrust back into reality.  We’re closing on our house and moving to the new digs all before the week is up.  Though we’ve been packing for a month, there’s still much to do.  But we couldn’t be more excited to be starting this new chapter in our lives!

Too much fun in the pool!

We missed Pete so this lil guy had to fill in.

 Showing off all her presents from Gramma….literally from head to toe!

 Pretty much sums up our week 🙂

Porch time with Gramma
And while we didn’t get any pictures with Grampa, I assure you we thoroughly enjoyed his talented renditions of “Old McDonald” all.week.long!  ðŸ™‚

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This is Elena. Our Light. You can see all the goodness and joy that shines from those deep blue eyes. She loves sneezes, yawns, industrial toilet flushes, automatic paper towel dispensers and The Star Spangled Banner. Music is her everything, specifically Moana, Frozen (really all Disney), Queen & Taylor Swift. Nothing makes her squeal quite like swimming, fast boat rides and her two brothers in trouble. In addition to her megawatt smile, Elena reminds us to cherish the smallest of victories, to live in the present, and to daily dwell in a posture of gratitude for every breath and every blessing.  

More About Our Story

I’m Emmalee, an ordinary gal born and raised in the Heartland. Wife to Chad, and Mom to Elena, Calvin & Turner, I spend most my days ridin’ dirty (literally so much trash) in my minivan carting kids to and fro. When I’m not being a Momager, I excel at self-care, cooking gourmet meals my kids won’t eat and deep-diving all the feelings. Most days, my attitude is gratitude, just taking life one step at a time.

Emmalee & Elena

Meet The Gals