One of those weeks...

This week has just been one of those weeks. You know the kind I mean....the boys have gotten to bed late every single night, I've spent more time scolding and griping than playing or reading, it's been days since I've been caught up with the laundry and dishes and other household chores...and now it's just plain nasty outside--not snowing, not raining, but just freezing slush drizzling from the gray skies. Ugh. This was not what I wanted this week to look like (is it ever?). This is the first week of December--it's advent season, and we've been readying for the celebration of our Saviour's birth! We've been decorating the house, and making grocery lists for cookies. My closet is bursting with gifts, and I'm eagerly anticipating all that this season has to offer! But, for now, what my season seems to offer is primarily this....

Why is it that our life isn't storybook perfect? Even in December? Why do we constantly think everybody else has it better than we do? The grass is always greener on the other side, right? I've noticed recently that it's not true. I mean, I've always known that everybody has their own struggles, and I shouldn't judge before walking a mile in their shoes. But, within the past few weeks, I've really seen it. Without going into specifics, I've found out that I'm not the only mom who struggles with things. I'm not alone (and neither are you!). We all struggle--no matter what are situation. We live in a tainted world; nobody has it perfectly. Nobody at all. Yeah, there are some whose lives look better....but, you just never know. Seriously.

All that being said, tomorrow is a new day! We are headed out to pick out our Christmas tree--snow, ice and all! Nate is in the Christmas musical at church on Sunday, and Eric is off all weekend! We're excited for a weekend of family time....and maybe it won't go perfectly. Maybe it will rain during our big tree search, and maybe Nate's shyness will get the best of him on Sunday. But, so what? We're going to have a family weekend, and it's going to be good, goshdarnit!

Especially if we make a point to include a little more of this....

Now, I'll cheerfully leave you with a few happy moments from our past week of blah...

Springtime?

I feel that I must preface this post with the fact that I love winter. I've missed the snow this year, and I've woken up more than once a grump because the weather man was wrong, and we didn't get 4-6 inches overnight! I want to take Nate outside to play in the snow, and I want to see our "winter wonderland" last for more than an afternoon.
All that being said, I am loving the abnormally warm weather that we've been having recently! Long walks outside, trips to the playground, and blooming flowers in February? I'll take it!

We took our first family walk of the year last week, and Nate walked down (and back!) our entire street! When did this kid get so big??

We took our first trip to the park of the year today, and we had a blast! It was a little breezy, but, c'mon, it's February! We visited the ducks, which Nate loved. He waved to them and said, "hi", then quacked back at them when they answered!

My little daredevil wasn't much interested in the playground swings (which he loved last summer!), and only wanted to climb up and slide down the sliding boards!

Parade.

We took Nathaniel to his very first Christmas parade last night (yes, I know, the week before Thanksgiving?!). Although it was cold out, we all enjoyed ourselves. We arrived early in order to get a good spot (which we absolutely did!), and we had a chilly picnic of pizza for dinner. While it was hard for Nathaniel to wait for the parade to begin, he did enjoy watching the crowds.

Once the parade actually began, he seemed to really like watching it. I think his favorites were the Christmas floats covered in sparkly lights, the dancers, and the horses. Several people eve made sure to give Nate candy canes that they were passing out! We had a late night (way past somebody's bedtime), but it was well worth it for a fun family night--and a great way to get into the holiday spirit!