feeling the love

my friend wrote a book, Cancer Slam (Ansley Dauenhauer) and I was super touched that I was added to the back in the "Thank You" section. 

Sometimes it's just really nice to know that you are appreciated, Thanks Ansley!

so much going on but...

so little time to blog, but I can tell you this, in the last month we have acquired,

2 fish (Flame and Henry)

a king size bed (oh, hello there wonderful night of sleep!)

a new bed for Carter (with 3 space saving drawers, wahoo!)

3 foster kittens (oh yes, you read that right, we got kittens from the Seattle Humane Society that we are taking care of  for a few weeks until they are big enough to get adopted.  Have I mentioned that I don't like cats? but it turns out that I do like kittens!)

a new grill (a major score as I dislike cooking but my husband loves grilling, win, win!)


the month of May was full of many blessing for the Person family, we are thankful for the One who gives just what we need and often times much, much more. Pictures to come of everything because my new bedding is lovely and stripey!

xo Carissa

read much?

first books checked out on her own!

spring break reading material

making her go to bed at 10PM, after reading all of these!

A few weeks ago we got C her own library card.  We got her own because we cannot keep up with her reading and we live within a block of a library...have I ever mentioned how much I love the location of our rental house, love, love , love it!  Carter loves these books called Rainbow Magic fairy books, there are 234 in the whole series, she has read 100 of them and wants to read them all.  It takes all 3 of our library cards to get the holds and check out as many as possible.  We still have a bunch left.  The good news is that they range from 60 to 120 pages so she can read a bunch in a one day or in bed at night (her favorite time to read).  I love a good reading goal and I am proud of this munchkin.  She also mops, folds laundry and made her own birthday invitations, I really feel like my life is getting too easy!

happiness

It really makes me happy when it's clear that my kids & husband are happy and boy oh boy are we a happy bunch lately.  I think life just sorta slipped into place for us, it's been a long haul, but we found our place and it's lovely!

recent happy pics below:

I caught the kids having an impromptu dance party!

K and Paula, do you like my Idaho vintage salt & pepper shakers?

blanket forts are always fun!

helping dad with the Beemer in tie dye jammies, that's seriously fun & silly!

I got these on sale for $4 bucks each at West Elm, they make me smile, big time!

96

My beautiful sweet Grandma Helen aka Mom Mom died this morning, so sad, but honestly at 96 years of age she was ready to go, she had an awesome life! She had 3 busy boys who combined had 10 even busier grand kids who then had 20 super busy great grandchildren, my kids are in that bunch.  I was going to see her next week while I was in NY, but I have memories to last a lifetime.  Thanks Mom Mom, I love you.

5/13/1915 to 1/26/2012

beauty & life

Wednesday morning sunrise, gorgeous!

 Mateo, 10 days old, I am absolutely in love with that little guy, 

34

I turn 34 tomorrow, I am not going to lie, I am having a hard time with this one. I don't want to get older, for the first time in my life, I really just don't want to get older.  I have felt very unsettled knowing that my birthday was creeping up.  I think breaking my toe, our one and only car breaking down, a little family drama and the fact that a few of my hopes and dreams are not coming true, throw that all on top of turning 34 on New Years Eve and boom, you get a bit of a Carissa pity party. I have been doing my share of pity party to anyone and everyone who will listen. I have several amazing friends who listen non-stop and love me, care about me and pity party with me but mostly they also tell me to shut up and get over myself.  I love that about them (you know who you are, wink, wink) they love me so much that they tell me to shut it, but always with love.  I have a blessed life, I really do.  It's not perfect.  I struggle.  I struggle with my weight.  I struggle with my kids.  I struggle with my husband.  I struggle with family and with friends.  I struggle with my place in life.  I struggle with my desire to have another baby and I struggle with trying to also let that go.  I struggle with control.  I struggle with jealousy.  I really could go on and on and on but then it would be a long post about my Carissa pity party and that is boring, it really is.  What I do know is that on my 34 birthday, I am deeply loved by so many people and it's so emotional to even write about.  I have such an amazing husband who is crazy in love with me, yup me the one who struggles with so much, he loves me for me, plain and simple.  My kids love me, mommy, and I am so blessed to be their momma.  I have many friends but I have four awesome ladies who love me, who care deeply about me, about Jeremy and about my kids.  There is never a week that goes by that I do not receive a text, email or phone call from each and everyone of them, sometimes all three in just one day. Thank you Emy, Salwa, Jo and Deirdre.  Thanks for making everyday feel like my birthday just because I have you, your friendships are the greatest gift.  I am also so very thankful for my parents, their wisdom and love have carried me through. I am thankful for the laughter and joy I share with my brothers. So, on this New Year, my 34th year, I want to make sure that I am forever grateful even in the midst of hardships or disappointments.  I want the people around me to know how much I care and appreciate them.  I want to scratch the old plans, hopes and dreams for my life and make new ones and just follow God's plan for my life.  I might have to loosen the reigns a bit and learn to chill out.  But, I have pretty good idea that several people will be along for the ride, to help me out!

Happy New Year, peeps!

I think 2012 and 34 could be pretty fantastic, if I only let it, 3 cheers to that and my new pretty fabulous shoes!

light it up

I meant to post this weeks ago but I kept forgetting and now it's really close to Christmas...but if you want to spread some good cheer to our service men and woman overseas here is an idea:

I read an article while at a rest stop near Vantage Washington heading back from our November Spokane trip and saw an article about a service man from Yakima who wanted Christmas lights for his air base, you can read the article here.  We love Christmas lights at our house, they add sparkle and wonder to the delights of Christmas and it made me a bit sad to think of the wonderful people serving our country all over that will not only miss Christmas with their families but also the delights of lights.  The kids and I got lights, we just made Mr. McGowan some cards and I will mail it tomorrow and hopefully it will get to Afghanistan soon and Christmas delight will be spread.  I think the more lights the merrier.  The address can be found int he article.

Merry Christmas people, spread the cheer, light it up!

blast from the past

snow in NYC w/ Carter

Theo's 1st birthday

Caught in a snowstorm, Theo sleeping in the stroller NYC

Carter as a toddler

Carter was not a fan of Santa

Disney World!

Carter's 4th birthday, pregnant with Theo.

Theo Halloween in NYC!

The great thing about making photo books is that you get to go through a bunch of old photos and all the sweet memories come flooding back, it's been a blast.  Love my kids.  Love my husband. Love my life and love the reminder that past pictures show of a blessed life.

on Thanksgiving we did a lot of this...

chillin' (Jer with my big brother Justin & little brother Trevor)

tight hugs (maybe too tight!)

pie eating (my nephew James)

napping (niece Sunrise)

game playing!

laughing

posing (me, Kendra, my mom and SIL Shyrah)

here we go...

I always look back at old pictures of our last Thanksgiving in heaven New York, the parade pics never get old. I am so thankful for those beautiful 11 years in that glorious city where Jeremy and I got married and two beautiful babies were born.  The truth is no matter where I am (and seriously, I have been loving Seattle the past few months), I have amazing friends.  I have a fantastic husband.  I have the coolest dad.  I have the sweetest, most supportive mom.  I have two very crazy/fun/handsome brothers. I have the best kids.  I have very cute nieces and nephews (and one on the way).  I have AMAZING friends, did I mention that already?  I. do. they rock.  I have so much and for that and more I am so very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

99% my thoughts exactly.

READ THIS! and start thanking your lucky stars, jumping up and down praising God for all that you have, seriously people, we are one super blessed nation stop being ridiculous.

blogworthy

So since I have been off of FB I have gotten a bit blogger crazy, turns out there are some pretty amazing people in the world.  I love reading blogs and unlike FB I find them encouraging and for the most part non-addictive.  I just found this blog and almost chocked on my popcorn after reading this: "I have a husband who is so handsome, it hurts me to look at him. I'd follow him to the ends of the earth, and that's basically what I'm doing."  I feel that way about Jeremy, seriously. He. Is. So. Stinkin'. Handsome.  I once wrote his mom a mother's day card just thanking her for making him, no joke.  Turns out he's smart too, like really over the top smart that I often feel totally inferior but it turns out he is just as smitten with me as I am with him, gotta love that. 
Then through one blog or another I came across this blog and was immediately wanting not only her sense of style but also one of her paintings.  Really, super cool.  Jeremy and I like big art, I am sure you have noticed in many of the pictures I post that we like big, big, BIG paintings.  I also like that this girl blogs with her heart, it's not all sunshine and rainbows and anyone who has the heart to post about a negative bank account and asks for prayers deserves a medal of bravery in my book.
It turns out I am not the only one with a completely imperfect life.  I feel like blogging has this sense of camaraderie.  I often feel like I really know someone despite having never met.  There are some really cool people out there with big and/or small problems, who love their kids something fierce, who want to do better, and be better.  I am always striving for that, to be better and do better, I mess up a lot.  I offend easily, I don't learn life lessons the first or even the second time, I say "yes" when I really want to say "no", I chop my hair off and get the official soccer mom haircut and instantly regret it, I snap at my kids, I nag my husband (3rd baby, 3rd baby, 3rd baby...dishes, clothes pick up etc.) I forget to call friends back, I forget to send birthday cards, I show up late, I don't always shower, I put my foot in my mouth, I get nervous when I am intimidated and I gossip (which I just hate about me, working on it, I promise).  Yup, I am totally imperfect.  This blog is not about making my life look good, it's a love letter to my kids and even love is messy sometimes.  Life is  messy.   But, I really love this life.  I am so blessed (3rd baby or not!) and I want to focus on that instead of my many imperfections.  These blogs I am looking at (or following) are heartfelt and moving, some are crazy, some are silly, some are sad but most are just living and loving life to the fullest, I admire that.  I want that, even if I am here in Seattle, even if I don't ever have more kids, even if I can't say "no" . I want the full enchilada (where did that saying even come from?) of optimism!

For the record, Seattle is beautiful, and despite having the official haircut I am not a soccer mom and I have actually been very good at saying "no" lately

(spell check is not working, sorry for the zillion mistakes)

iThankyou

I was pretty saddened to hear about the death of Steve Jobs, I am so very thankful for his super techy brain.  I love my iphone something fierce.  Thanks Steve for combining all my favorite music, people and pictures of my life into one really handy gadget that also has many useful and not so useful apps, the world is a better place because of you.

What could possibly be better than 3rd grade curriculum night and a hot date at Matador afterwards with my favorite husband...not much right?  but, right this very minute, the house is totally quiet and I am enjoying left over chicken fajitas from last night's dinner,  after a very productive morning of lawn mowing (fingers crossed that it's the last time this year) and grocery shopping (all by myself!) and pretty soon I get to go pick up my green eyed and auburn colored hair cutie from preschool and then even further into my day I get to see my sweet 8 year old who never ceases to amaze me.  Seriously people, I totally love my life!

scratch that...

3 big cheers for sunshine!  76 degrees mid-September deserves it's own blog post!  The kids and I are trying to soak in as much sun before the Seattle rainy season sets in which tends to run a bit long (October-March) but today was beautiful.  Theo and I met some friends for a park play date at 1, then ran home at 3:30 to pick Sis up from school, then to only run to another park until 5:30.  Fresh air, running around, sun, snacks, making friends, and feeding ducks makes for one fantastic day.  I should also mention that my husband made dinner for tonight, last night at 10pm because he's nice like that so my day got so much better before it even began.  I heart sunshine!

I don't know about you but I really feel like I have some of the best neighbors around.  We not only ride bikes with and/or swim in their pools but also borrow flour or eggs or any number of items from any number of neighbors.  One of my favorite days of the month (book club Wednesday) are all neighborhood ladies, truly a great time every month.  Today, one of my delightful neighbors (who, also happens to have seriously fantastic hair) took me to coffee (hello, super hot chai latte, I love you!) and also treated me to a huge box of chocolates from her family chocolate store Oh! Chocolate.  I have tried REALLY hard not to sample any until Jeremy gets home but I gave in and had one and a half and they are heavenly.  My favorite is the salted caramel and pretty much everything else is my second favorite.  I feel like we live in such a great spot.  We are walking distance to Theo's preschool and a public library, two doors down from Carter's bus stop and surrounded by really generous and nice people.  I might just have to eat one more piece of chocolate just to celebrate our good fortune with our location!

Oh! delicious

dance, we will!

Any self-respecting dinner party should always turn into a dance party! 

too much movement for my silly little iPhone, but you get the idea!

We have been relishing in our "new' life where Jeremy is home for dinner and most importantly he is home on weekends.  It. Is. Awesome.  Our weekends fly by with bike rides, Costco and/or grocery trips, park playing, car driving, sitting out back and reading, nap taking and all around nothingness, it's lovely, really.  We also have been able to see friends.  The great thing about being back in Washington is there are some super fantastic people here, many we have known since we were both kids.  It's so fun to get together and reminisce about our elementary or high school days all while watching our own little children running around and becoming friends.  Smoked ribs, homemade baked beans and cornbread along with new rockin' loud speakers make for one fantastic Sunday evening!

oh sun, how I love thee!

The last few days have been glorious here, so very lovely!  Yesterday, the kids and I made up for months of rain by spending 3 hours at the whale water park with some fantastic friends.  It's so great to have kids old enough to just run around and then I get to chill with my mommy friends on a blanket.  We all keep tabs on each other's kiddos and 3 hours somehow flies by so quickly.  I did however get a little too distracted and only put sunscreen on my shoulders but missed my poor legs, they are bright red and super painful today, ouch!  Then today, one of the same mommy friends invited us to enjoy her pool, ahh yes it was divine!  Hello summer, I love you, red sunburn and all!

okay...

are you reading this blog yet?  I love it.  It inspires me, challenges me, makes me want to be a better person, makes me cry, laugh, smile, cringe, you name it, but by far my favorite blog of all time.   This weekend was glorious, I mean just a really spectacular weekend and at first I couldn't pin point as to why but after reading this on Kelle's blog I realized why.
"In August, I will celebrate my eighth year in Florida. It took five years to beat the homesickness, two more to not cry over the absence of a cold, snowy Christmas and finally, this year, I'm comfortable with the heat. I forget to complain about it, instead remembering to wear ponytail holders as bracelets, keep bathing suits in the car and stock my purse with blotting papers."
This weekend while Jeremy and I were in the car, the kids were happy and quiet, great music was on, the sky was blue, the air was warm, the mountains were gorgeous and I turned to him and just said "we are in it" (yes, I did steal that line from the Garden State movie).  What I meant was we are in this life together (obviously) but we got our not so perfect but totally delightful kids in the back seat, finally weekends together, nothing at all is even close to perfect in our lives...but yet in a weird way it just is because "we are in it" maybe in it to win it, maybe not, but I felt like we didn't have a care in the world and everything was just good.  It was one of those "life is so darn good" moments that I forgot to hate Seattle and actually really kind of liked it and I just decided to accept.  With acceptance can come joy and with joy can come contentment and from there everything can just trickle along as well.