happy birthday mom

the relationship between my mom and i is very special, and that is the truth.

my mom means the world to me....

from birth she has been my protector, my nourisher and has bestowed upon me an abundance of love and care....

she has sacrificed many things in life to give the best to me, my sister and my brother...

thank you mom for all of the unconditional love that you have given me

thank you mom for all the pain and sacrifice it took to raise me to be the person i am today...

thank you for forgiving me when i was wrong....

thank you for your unconditional love....

thank you for holding me and standing by me when it felt as though the whole world condemned me for the choices i made and the roads i took...whether they be the right ones or wrong ones...i could and still can count on you to be there...holding me...standing by my side....

thank you for being by my side when i needed you and when i thought that i didn't need you...

thank you for creating memories with me that i will remember forever and always....

your love for me is something that will never be able to be explained with words...

your love is endless and unselfish and enduring......

even when your heart was broken only the way a mothers heart can break for her child your love has never failed or faltered.....

without you i would not have achieved what i have achieved.....

without you i would not be the mother that i have become....

you my mother have taught me to fly...to achieve things and become things you dreamed of for yourself but were not sure how or if you could obtain them....for that i am forever grateful...

you my mother, are the most beautiful woman i have ever seen....

all i am i owe to you.....

you my dear mother, you are the truest friend i will ever have....

i thank my lucky stars for everything you have ever given me, but mostly for the unconditional love that that you give, never skipping a beat.....

i hope that your 60th birthday was bigger and better than you could have ever imagined or dreamed that it would be....

i hope that the memories that we created for you will stay with you forever just as the memories that you created for me through my life i still hold very close to my heart....

i love you forever and always mom.....happy happy birthday!!!

x's & o's
~r~

10 Day Challenge - Day 9

day nine - 9 loves

1. my husband....oh how i adore that man....

we have not had a "perfect" marriage but who does....and people who say that they do are living in a fantasy world and i always wonder how "happy" are you really...putting on a facade...pretending that things are perfect 100% of the time..

the one thing that has been constant for our almost ten years of marriage is love...no matter how much i give him the silent treatment...no matter how much he tries to ignore me...no matter how much i nag him...no matter how much he tries to sweep things under the rug...we know that we love each other....

the one thing that we have promised each other is to ALWAYS say "i love you" when leaving the house or getting off the phone...even if we are mad and to never say things in the "heat of the moment"....

it is so much easier to spout off at the mouth than to hold your tongue and think to yourself what you are getting ready to say and how it is going to make the other person feel....

i love that man of mine...he is a good man....a dedicated man....a strong man....a loving man....an honorable man....and he is mine...i'm a lucky girl!!

2. my children....even on the days that i want to lock myself in the closet....

even on the days where i can't wait until they go to bed so i can have a few moments to reflect...

even on the days where all it seems they do is fight with each other or challenge me....

even on the days where it seems that nothing any of us can do is right....

especially on the days where i hear them laugh and see them smile...

especially on the days where they play together for hours with not a mean word spoken....

especially on the days where everything goes right....

especially on the days when i really need a hug or a kiss and they are always there to give it to me....

i love those girls of mine...i am more than blessed to have them in my life and to be able to call them mine

3. my parents.....they have been in my life since the beginning...they have...

supported me....

encouraged me...

loved me unconditionally....

been there to help me pick up the pieces...one more than one occasion....

parented me....even when that meant not letting me go out with my friends...

gave me a solid family structure and always made me feel safe and secure....

pushed me and made me do things because they were "good for me"

4. my sister....even though we have not always seen eye to eye on everything i know that in my heart of hearts she will be there for me when i need her....

she has shown me compassion and love....

she has shown me what not to do to stay out of trouble....

she has shown me that you don't have to fit the "mold"...be who you are no matter what anyone else thinks....

5. my brother....even when he makes it hard to love him you just can't help but to....

my kid brother....

my partner in crime....

the one i never thought was an intrusion on the countless number of times he came to hang out with me and my friends when i was in high school....

the one man i know that has a heart of gold....

the one i can count on to get up at 2am on black friday and go shopping with me two years in a row....(if that isn't love i have no idea what is!!!!)

6. ice cold coke....the one thing that i will never give up no matter how health conscious i become...i can't....i won't...end of story!!!

7. sewing...i love being able to make something...to think outside the box....to mix and match and come up with something that no one else will be wearing....i love that my girls love that i sew for them!!!!

8. dating my husband......since colby has joined the army we have had the opportunity to leave the girls with my parents and go away for a few nights....we get to act like newlyweds again....spend time together where we can let loose and feel free....it's so important to our marriage to be able to do that and i am so very thankful to have wonderful parents that are outstanding grandparents that are willing to do that for us....thank you mom and dad

9. quiet time....i need it....i thrive when i have it....i'm a better mommy when i get it....if i don't get it i crave it and i can get quite irritable....i need to have some adult interaction throughout the day but more than that it is essential that i get my quiet time....

that's it...those are the things i love...the things i couldn't live without

oh my...look at this pic i found....

avery looks so young....and i figured it out....i figured out what makes her look so young...

she still has all of her baby teeth....once they loose those baby teeth they start looking like big kids....

she lost her first tooth when she was barely 5....and then they all fell out so quickly after that....

she is just growing up way too fast

x's & o's
~r~

10 Day Challenge - Day 6

day 6 - six places

if you would have asked me 5 years ago "six places" i probably would have named off some exotic far away lands that had the perfect temperatures and the perfect hotels and the perfect fruity concoctions that involve "adult" beverages....

today...you ask me and the only place that i want to be more than anywhere at this very moment is...

in his arms....i want to hold him...be held by him...hug him...kiss him...touch him...be able to smell him when he has just finished a shower...be able to pick up the phone and call him...cuddle on the couch with him...snuggling with him...

simply put...i want to be with him...

i miss him so very much and being apart from your best friend...your soul mate...your true love really puts things into perspective...

you can keep your beaches...your far off getaways..your foo foo drinks...i just want to be with my husband.....if i were allowed....i would follow him to the ends of the earth...

and since i can't be in his arms for another four and a half months give or take....

place number two is wherever these little girls are...

they each hold a very special piece of my heart....

sure there are days where i must retreat to my closet and hide while i take a few (ok, sometimes LOTS) of deep breaths...but i love each of these little ladies with all that i am...they truly complete me as a person....

place number three would be with my parents....

i miss them....they are so supportive and giving and loving and caring parents a girl could ask for....

things have not always been perfect.....

sure i gave them a run for their money when i was younger.....testing the limits and the boundaries...giving grey hairs and maybe even a few panic attacks...

but now, now that i am an adult and have children and i look back...i am so grateful that my parents raised me and cared for me the way that they did...for that i am forever grateful and thankful....

i hope that i can give my children the kind of foundation my parents gave me...

place number four.....

a cool fall day spent at the park with my girls.....

seeing things through their eyes....experiencing things i have experienced a million times but when i'm with them it feels like it's the first time....

feeling the warm sun kiss my skin even though there is a nip in the air.....

running through the leaves...rolling down the hill.....swinging on swings...going down the slide...racing up the hill....

i am looking forward to the quickly approaching fall weather....oh the adventures that we are going to have....

place number five.....disney!!!!!

we were fortunate enough to take the girls and my parents last summer for a family vacation...and we are looking forward to going back when this damn deployment is over....

advice....if you are sensitive to the heat and sun like i am...DO NOT go in may...or anytime other than the winter months....

GASP...it was SO SO SO hot....but still a good time to be had by all.....

i am delighted that we will be able to take the kids and parents again this february...

place number six......maryland

in addition to our trip to disney last summer we also went to maryland over the 4th of july weekend to visit family....

the girls had a wonderful time as did we.....

i grew up spending many vacations on the east coast...i have found memories of my aunts and uncles and cousins....

fond memories of going to the beach....exploring the history of my family....visiting places where my dad grew up....going crabbing...and so much more...

i hope that we will be able to continue to travel to maryland and give our girls the same experiences i had that i remember so adoringly

so there you have it...my six places....

nothing fancy....nothing over the top exciting....nothing lavish....

just simple places where i am with my family...with the people that mean the most to me....

happy monday friends

x's and o's
~r~

Introductions...

I am finally at a place where I not only CAN but I NEED to start my blog and what better way to start off than with a few introductions as to who we are!


She...

• Avery Lillian Murray....and juts turned 6 this past October
• my first born and was the easiest and most complacent baby I could have asked for
• she has a heart of gold and shares it with everyone that she comes in contact with....
• she is beautiful both inside and out and even though she has an awkward and toothless smile it is one that shines on the darkest of days
• she is the girliest girl that you will have the pleasure of meeting and INSISTS she wears skirts at least 6 out of the 7 days of the week
• she started kindergarten this year and is loving most every minute of it...with the exception of the first few weeks where she had her ice pack from her lunch box on her head when I picked her up because the "kids are just too noisy"
• she calls her little sister her best friend and loves her more than anything in the world
• she is a charming little girl but a bit on the bossy side...one day she will be a GREAT leader
• she has a thirst for knowledge that just can't be quenched
• she read her first book with NO help two days ago
• she is radiant in every way and her beauty shines in everything she does
• is her father's daughter....it astonishes me how much they are alike in every way

She ...

• Adilyn Grace Murray....just turned 3 this past November
• can melt your heart in one look and turn you to stone with the next look...watch out Medusa....this one's got you beat!
• wants to do EVERYTHING her sister does and gets SO temperamental when she just can't get it
• says her sister is "her best friend in the whooooooole world".....makes my heart smile
• just started pre-school....she goes 2 days a week and even though there were some tears and a little separation anxiety when I dropped her off I know she is going to be just fine (and mama is LOVING the 3 hours on Tuesday's and Thursday's of blissful silence.
• is painfully shy just as her mother was and in all honesty still is
• is following in her sister's footsteps of being a true girly girl
• her favorite thing to do right now....play dress up and be a "pretty pretty princess"
• is truly and 100% beautiful.....with doll-like features and BIG beautiful eyes
• is her mother's daughter...it's amazing how much she is like me
  

He.....

• Colby Daniel Murray....just turned 34 this past October
• is the one and only man that I have every loved with everything that I am
• is strong and caring and kind and has a soft spot for his daughters (and me too as I think that he really finds it hard to ever tell me no....sometimes I wish he would as I sometimes have issues with impulse control...tee hee hee!!!)
• is living his dream....how many people can honestly say that they are doing what they always dreamed of doing....so after 5 long years of trying to enlist in the Army he is doing it...he made it
• is so secure with who he is he has no qualms about putting on a tutu and a tiara and playing dress up with his daughters....or watching a "girly movie" with his wife...not that I am really into girly movies but every now and then there is one I want to watch
• laughs so fully and deeply and hearty that it just touches your soul
• is the one person that can make me laugh to the point of my abs hurting tears streaming down my face
• is my hero
  

I am...

• Rebecca Louise Murray...just turned 32 this past November
• am wife to a wonderful husband and mother to two beautiful and kind spirited daughters and owner of Hot Tots Boutique
• is finally feeling comfortable in her skin with who she REALLY is....
• has taken a vow to herself to take batter care of herself inside and out.....
• is awkwardly shy and often too quiet....as I get a bit older, and maybe a bit wiser about life in general finding herself to being not AS shy and not AS quiet
• does everything with passion and dedication...gives 100%, 100% of the time....if she does not feel like she can fully commit she will not commit at all
• gets her feelings her too easily....tried working on some thicker skin but decided that this is part of her make-up so the thicker skin has been thrown by the wayside and she will continue to be a bit TOO sensitive...it's part of what makes her her!
• loves to watch her children grow and develop and doesn't want to miss a moment of it...part of the reason why her $80,000 education is put up on a shelf and not one ounce of guilt is in her heart or her head....she knows her children are more important than anything in life
• is proud of herself and continues to be proud....it took her a long time to get here but she is happy with who she is
  

We are.....

• The Murray's
• know that the most important thing in life is family and we cherish it
• know that things aren't ALWAYS perfect...sure there are some hurt feelings, some doors shut a little too loudly on occasion, a little hair pulling every now and then (not Colby and I...I promise), a tear every now and then, and not always in agreement
• but also know that we NEVER go to mad, always say I love you when leaving to go somewhere or getting off of the phone....ALWAYS, practice patience with each other, and never say hateful things to each other
• strong....not as individuals so much but as a unit we will stand the test of time
• have a love that is so deep and so pure and so true for one another that even when there is a little hair pulling or a few hurt feelings or a tear shed here or there we know that in the end...when the dust settles we have pure unadulterated love

So there it is....

There we are....

This blog will be dedicated to documenting our journey through life together and as individuals as well as an outlet for my creative side.....

If you took the time to read this I am sorry for getting sappy in a place or two...I often do that as well, I'm a sap at heart...it's my little secret though so don't tell anyone.... :)

Happy Hump Day Everyone...and Welcome to A Journey Through Life

XOXOXO