TIME TO SIMPLIFY.....

That's right, I said it! We need to simplify our lives!! Put that iphone down! Go outside and play tag with your kids, or play fetch with the dog you always ignore. Pick up a good book, or goodness gracious, THE BIBLE! So, if you can't seem to get ahold of me by phone, drop by my house and we'll sit down and have a glass of blueberry iced tea, and watch the kids ride their bikes. Oh yes, and by the way I am 32 years old as of last week. Let me just say this...Turning 30 wasn't so hard, but turning 31 was really difficult (can't seem to find the reasoning behind that : ), but anyway, now that I'm 32, I don't know, I'm feeling a lot more alive!

Top Ten ways to feeling younger than you are:

10. Run down the street, just for the heck of it.

9. Pack a picnic, GO OUTSIDE and eat on a big blanket.

8. Go camping in your own backyard.

7. Ask the kids what THEY would like to do.

6. Take vitamins everyday!!

5. When going down the highway, roll down the windows and scream at the top of your lungs!!

(the kids love this one!)

4. Go to the park and hit the swings!

3. Build something.

2. Smash some pumpkins!! : )

1. Never miss the opportunity to make out with your spouse!!!!

Today is a day the Lord has made!!!

Okay, now that my mother in law is totally better, we are all praising God and giving Him ALL the glory!!!!!! For those of you who didn't know, Sunday night, they told us my sweet MIL was going to die from complications due to pneumonia and we were just stricken with such a sadness. As we were all preparing to say our good-byes, I just had this crazy feeling that this wasn't "it"! I couldn't explain it, but I wasn't the only one with that feeling, several others, including my father in law felt the same way. Well we believe the report of our AMAZING GOD, not the nurses or doctors. When I walked in the hospital room yesterday morning, I had no idea what to expect. As I took steps closer to the bed, my M-I-L, opened her eyes and SMILED at me!!!!!! Her doctor came in a short while after I did and was equally amazed as I was. He said, "well, lets take her off this bi-papp machine!! Wow!!!

WHAT AN AWESOME GOD WE SERVE!! Her doctor told us after 1-2 days in rehab she can go home! He looked down at her and said, "you are something else". She raised her hands up and said "praise God". I asked her "Mom, are you ready to get that thing off of your face?" She held up her arm, and made a fist and shook it at the mask over her mouth and nose. Would you believe, she couldn't even move her arms when we got her in the hospital?

God's report: She will live and not die, and declare the works of the Lord!

Thanks for reading,

Melissa

since we've eaten out so much over the past 13 days, here's a top ten restaurant list:

10. Hospital cafeteria (not great food, but super cheap! haahhaa)

9. McDonald's, I know, it's 'bad gredients', but we did eat here 1 or 2 times this week

8. Hot 'n ready from little ceasars. Hey, don't judge, our whole family eats for 6$!!

7. Taco Cabana-mmmm tacos!

6. Hoffbrau steaks (I liked it, but nobody else did)

5. LaMadeline (okay, so I didn't eat here this week, but my sister in law did and came back to the hospital with her cup and I was jealous about it, so it made no.5 on my list) ; )

4. Chick-fil-a! mmmmm!

3. Chipotle, love it love it!

2. Jamba Juice for breakfast!!

1. My mom's house! My sweet mother cooked dinner for all of us at her house on Monday night - about 17 people. Kuddos Mom!!

seems like I love to eat, maybe I should eat less, and work out more? hhmmm? or not. Who knows? maybe one day I will make a top ten exercises list. We'll see. Haahaaa, I don't think so.

To God be the glory!

~Mel

Life sure can get overwhelming...

You know when you have those weeks that you just don't seem to measure up to what God wants from you? Yea, that's been my week lately. So, what's the best thing to do, you ask? For me - of course, making a top 10 list, not that they help anyone, they just seem to make me feel a little better. : ) Don't get me wrong, I am more blessed than I could've ever imagined, however, I know that "to whom much is given, much is required". So, to all those out there who have ever had to walk that long, narrow, winding and sometimes lonely road, and continue on it with grace and humility...

HERE'S TO YOU:

{my top ten list for everyday heros that do measure up}

10. Wives who cook for their families!

9. Parents who have the patience of Job (especially when it counts the most, like homework time)!

8. People who can see that glass as half full all the dang time!

7. God's messengers who deliver the truth in a way that it NEVER hurts.

6. Prayer warriors.

5. Children who forgive their parents for the many, many mistakes we constantly make!

4. Christians who NEVER miss any opportunity to share the Gospel.

3. Moms who never stop being 'moms' no matter how old their children are.

2. Husbands who never give up on their commitment, no matter what it costs them.

1. Those who have an illness, fight everyday with faith, fire, and courage! These are the bravest heros I can think of, and I give them all kuddos (those too young to know what 'kuddos' are, they are props!) and all the respect in the world from me.

So, with the 'much I've been given', the 'much that is required' from me is LOVE! The greatest commandment of all. That's the common denominator in all this. It takes great love to be any one of these types of heroes. By the way, yes, this is a top ten list of many people in my life that might remain nameless here, but never in my heart. While I don't feel like I measure up in any of these ways, God has obviously given me awesome examples to learn from, so thanks to all of you listed here, you have all been quite an inspiration to me!

Love,

the forever student~Melissa Crow ; )

Back from Vacation!!

While most vacations aren't relaxing or restful when you have kids, this one was especially exhausting.

I think the shorter the vacation, the more tiring it will prove to be.

With just four short days on this one, we tried to cram it with all we could.

We did manage to have a great time while we were there, though!

Here are some photos I thought I'd share:

(I realize these are horrible quality, but if you can believe it, I forgot my camera, so these are from my iphone - I hate that camera, but it was better than nothing)

glass bottom boats:

by the way, if you've never been here, just try to picture the world after the apocalypse and the only thing that survived for entertainment was this park. It is so run down, it didn't even feel like it was open for business when we drove up, but it was a cool experience to see 22ft. down through the clear water...

we also went to the caverns, but we thought Lainey would tire out fast, or we would from carrying her through an hour and 15 min. of walking, so, we did the mining for gems instead. We all loved it! That's a great activity for small kids (and dads too, we couldn't seem to pull Brandon away) : )!!

The girls with their "booty" !

We also drove through the "arbuckle wilderness-like" adventure...

The guy in the car in front of us hogged all the zebra time, then scared them off so we had to see them from way far away!! : (

Pretty:

Those ostrich were crazy!! They wanted to jump in our car...

at one point Lainey climbed in the way-back to get away from them. : )

All in all, we made some great memories when it was all done.

It doesn't matter what you do, if you do it with people you love, you can have a great time doing it. We laughed so hard through most of this ride, we knew we would have something great to look back on when it was all over.

Just because you may be a photographer, doesn't mean that your own kids make it easy on you...

Here are a few out-takes, and a couple that I just love:

Lainey-Boo being: "Lainey-Boo":

Daisy's Long, Beautiful hair before we cut it all off:

Daisy, telling Lainey to be quiet:

(gotta love your bossy older sister)

; )

I just love this because, I can actually hear her giggle when I look at it.

Daisy, there is only one "you"!

No boy will ever measure up!

(btw-I'm pretty sure I said "don't smile")...

I forgot the basic parenting skill while trying to shoot this picture...

I told her to sit in the chair,

every parent knows you tell your toddler

"do not sit in that chair"

and you'll get exactly what you want!

I love my little family more than life itself.

God has truly blessed me with far more than I deserve.