Look deeper

While I do love Orlando, I have always said, "It's just not very pretty where we live!"  And my oh my how I was wrong.  Just down the street we recently found one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  It is full of tall trees, moss, a creek and streaks of sunshine all around.  We walked and walked and listened to the birds sing and I thought, "Isn't it interesting that perhaps the places and people we see as not very pretty are actually probably the most beautiful?! Sometimes you just have to look a little harder and dig down deeper,  But I think that if you do that, you'll find that everywhere and within everyone lies more beauty than you initially imagined."

Once some sand got into Myra's little jelly shoes she insisted on going barefoot... Initially I wanted to tell her no.  But thought about how I ran around barefoot allllll the time when I was little so I just told her she might get hurt and that was her decision.  She had to deal with me pulling a little sliver out of her foot later, but I don't think she regretted her choice anyways.  There is something about going barefoot that makes you really experience everything just a little more.  I also read somewhere that dirt contains something in it like an anti-depressant?  So if it improves her moods, I'm all for it.  haha

I love this picture below because it is so HER!  It is hard to get her to get dressed these days if it isn't a dress she will be wearing... and then she walks around holding it up on the sides, curtseying, tilting her head to the side and telling everyone she is a princess.  Princess Myra Grace. 

And that princess sure likes to climb ;).

Pickin'

Early Saturday morning we packed up the car and headed to Clermont to pick some berries.  As we drove out of the city and started to drive past big open fields I felt a calm and peaceful feeling deep in my heart.  I mentioned to Jordan how sad it is that humans make the earth so much uglier than it is naturally... That we can't even come close to competing with God. 

These big open fields full of trees and wildflowers blowing in the wind literally took my breath away.  I have always thought of that expression as merely just a figure of speech.  A way to describe something as very beautiful... but I literally felt my breath escape me for a moment.  Perhaps it was not just the view, but also spending time with my family all together too that made me feel so much gratitude to God.  For He not only created the beautiful earth but He created each of us individually and joined us together as a family.  There is nothing I would rather do and nobody I would rather be with.  I want to explore this world and see everything that He created from small blueberry patches in Florida to the mountains of Switzerland (although the later may take a bit longer to save up for;)) and I want to do it with these people by my side.  I am a defender of motherhood.  I am a defender of the family. And the older I get, the more I become a defender of our environment. 

 

Stormy days

Today we had one of Florida's big beautiful rain storms.....Which made me SO happy.

I have been feeling a bit sad the past few days seeing everyones fall pictures back in Utah and it makes me grumpy that I don't get to have much of a fall and all the beauty that comes with it.  

The 

colors of the trees

fresh crisp air

bundled up for high school football games

BYU games

maple bars

Stephens hot cocoa

rain

boots, sweaters, hats and scarfs

apple picking

pumpkin everything

....

Its just the same color of green here... everywhere... so sometimes in the fall I get sad. 

But today as that rain came down and the frogs came out, I felt happy again.  It felt a bit like fall for the day.  A Florida kind of fall.

The storm was crazy enough that it took out our internet...including my phone internet..which I was bothered with for a few minutes.  I then realized as I sat snuggling up to Myra how much more present I was with her and by joy tripled.  It felt good to spend a few hours taking a break from the world all together and just be with my kids.

The rain stopped just in time for me to get to the store and get last minute groceries for dinner and as I pushed max to the car in the cart with Myra on Jordan's shoulders I couldn't help but smile because I felt so grateful for my family. While we may not be in Utah we are with each other and wherever THEY are thats where my home is.  As I step back and stop thinking about all the things Florida is lacking and instead think of all the greatness it possesses I become so much happier...and much more pleasant to be around :). 

Florida

We have been here in Florida for almost two months now.  Jordan is doing great in school and I am loving being home with Myra.  While there are many things I miss about home (peaches, fall leaves, byu football, family, Sunday dinners) there are a lot of things here that I am growing to love as well.  The sunsets are breath taking, our ward church members are so welcoming, the missionaries are basically my best friends, and Jordan and I are creating little traditions of our own, like watching a disney movie together every Sunday night.  Last night was Tarzan, and I cried it was so good.  

Myra is the squishiest little thing ever and we love it.  She is the happiest baby and lately she has been getting in the cutest slap happy moods where she will just look at us and start chuckling over and over again. 

Jordan is as happy as ever.  He is killing it in school and somehow has a lot more time to spend with us then I planned.  He is probably sick of me telling him that he should be studying more.  Last time I told him that he gave me his look... Like, isn't an A on my last test good enough?  Yes,yes it is.  I guess he is a grown boy and knows what he needs to do best.  I am so grateful that he is making sure to keep his life well balanced though.  Also, I'm more in love than ever.  He does everything he can to make sure I am happy and how can I not melt when I see him with the baby?  She's got him so wrapped around her little finger... Whatever Myra want, Myra gets.

We are still getting settled in here so most of our adventures have been getting to know people and trips to target and ikea.  It's been fun to slowly make it our home.  We are so excited to get to know people better and now that it's cooling down a little bit we will be hitting up Disney and Harry potter land more.  Maybe I ought to venture out there alone with Myra.  

Feeling excited and grateful to be calling Florida home.