On my mind

So, I have some catching up to do...

But, I really want to write what's been on my mind and in my heart.

Journal writing
I had somewhat of a rough week this past week. And, as is customary for me, one small minor thing, like a domino, spills into pretty much all aspects of my life. I found the most comfort and gained perspective from reading my journal from about 2.5 yrs ago. There were things that were bothering me then, that are again bothering me currently. Isn't it strange how cyclic our lives are? I read about how I was experiencing the same problems, and how the Lord had helped me and given me answers, how He blessed me with true and faithful friends at a time that I was feeling lonely and heartbroken. He answered my prayers then, surely He will answer them now.
Perspective. It was as if the dark clouds had immediately parted.

I must say that it is not only important that we write in our journals, but imperative that we read them frequently. Read and re-read, over and over again.

Our Nation/Freedom
Simply put- God inspired the Founding Fathers to write the Constitution and form a democratic government so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored on this land. On this soil that I love.

Spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountain majesties, shining seas


I love thy rocks and rills, thy woods and templed hills. My heart with rapture thrills.

Our father's God, to thee, Author of liberty,
To thee we sing; Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light
Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King!

I love my husband
I don't like soda, mostly b/c I dislike carbonated water. 99% of the time I get water with lime at restaurants (the 1% being an occasional root beer with pizza or some fruity smoothie if buying a drink is requisite for a discount). Charles is not a soda fan either. If ever Charles is presented with a beverage option he chooses water. And I love him for it.

He's always down for a last minute road trip. I love how spontaneous he is. Even with 2 kids. He is so fun and makes me laugh every day.

I am a stereotypical girl for the most part. I cry on average once a week, get all worked up over nothing, and so on. When I was on my mission I met an elderly woman who was also serving a mission with her husband as "Area Doctors". She gave me some really good advice: "Marry a man who is a rock." I'm grateful that when I sometimes feel out of control, Charles is my rock. He is stable and balances out my unstableness. And he never stops loving me, even if I don't deserve his love. That my friends is a true blessing. We don't have a perfect marriage by any means, but it is one of our goals to have "an amazing marriage" and an "intentional marriage".

Blueberry Picking

Last Saturday we braved the heat again and went blueberry picking. I think next time we'll try to go early in the morning or early evening. We picked 8 lbs. Charles is responsible for picking about 6.5 lbs, while Azure and I contributed the rest :)
We ate most of them just plain and in cereal. Last night I made my first blueberry cobbler. Tomorrow I think I'll use the rest for blueberry pancakes or muffins.

Yum!

Always know when I update this blog

Remember a few months back when I thought Google Reader would automatically update my blog even though it was private? Remember how I was wrong?

I have been a tad bit upset that my readership has waned since going private almost 2 years ago. My brilliant cousin-in-law Sarah had this great idea long ago to make a public blog that you can link to your private blog and get updates automatically. So, I am finally doing just that myself.

Add azuremarie2.blogspot.com to your reader and you won't have to manually check my blog anymore. Hurray!

Catch up: St. Augustine

We went on an impromptu trip down to St. Augustine on Mon. June 7th and only stayed one night. Besides it being ridiculously hot and humid we had a wonderful time. I LOVED St. Augustine! There's something about Florida that infatuates me in a way that Georgia... well, just doesn't. Don't get me wrong, Savannah is beautiful and I'm positive we'll miss it lots when we move next year but, I can't quite say "I'm in love with Savannah."
First off, we ate at Colombia's, which is not a Colombian restaurant (unfortunately b/c I love me some Colombian empanadas- haven't had any for years) but, a Spanish and Cuban restaurant. We were disappointed that they didn't have yucca. I went for my fave Spanish dish, Paella. While, Charlie had Cuban fare. Here I am with my Paella that actually tasted a little too seafoody for me. I'm not sure if it's one of my faves anymore :(
Next stop: downtown. Very delightful. Cute little shops in narrow little alleyways. Charles was ecstatic that they had a Pepper Palace with hundreds of hot sauce varieties. He is insanely crazy about hot sauce. We walked around Castillo de San Marcos, but didn't actually go inside. I think we've had our fill of historical forts for awhile :)





We checked into our hotel and then walked 1 block east to the beach. Since it was around 5pm or so, the sun wasn't directly above us and it wasn't too hot. Azure was the bravest we've seen her in a long time in the waves. I actually got some time alone to body surf and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Charles woke up the next morning before sunrise and ran on the beach. I slept in with the kids. After breakfast at the hotel, we went to the Fountain of Youth National Park. Pretty awesome. Could of been more awesome if it's wasn't 100 degrees w/ 100% humidity.

Drinking the water from the real fountain of youth folks. That's right, I will never age!

For the record, it did NOT taste very good.

After we came to our senses with the A/C blasting in our car for about 15 mins, we regained our strength and walked around Flagler College, and the Lightner Museum. We ate lunch in what was once a swimming pool in the famous Alcazar Hotel where I had some of the most tastiest salmon w/ fettuccine and lemon sauce. Oh my!

Then we feasted our eyes on the lovely Spanish architecture! I love Spanish architecture, especially Spanish style roofs. (So happy the temple we were married in is Spanish style :) I seriously get giddy just looking at all of these amazing buildings. I could have spent hours photographing them, however with temps and humidity percentage in the 100's, my motivation wanes just a tad.
If you ever have the chance to go to St. Augustine, go! I hope we can go back someday.

The party

We had a party on Azure's actual birthday (Monday, the 21st). I decided after much debate to have a swim party here in our complex. We're not supposed to have pool parties, so I planned to have the kids over to have snacks and play a bit in the house, go out to the pool to swim for an hour or so, and then come back again for cake and ice cream. That way it wasn't a "party" out at the pool, just part of our activity :) It all turned out great. It was a little crowed in our apartment, but I was glad that all of Azure's friends could make it.

I am especially proud of myself for making my first cutesy cake ever! I think it turned out fabulous and it tasted great too.
I saw this fun idea to put runt bananas on the cupcakes. For someone like me who isn't very creative or crafty, pulling this off makes me feel pretty dang awesome!
She received a little too many presents, so we think that next year we will have a no present or at least "small" present party.

Azure is 3!

Time seems to be going by pretty fast these days. Azure is growing up to be such a bright, articulate, and demanding :) little woman.

She is learning how to read! She is doing such a fantastic job sounding words out. We're so proud of her. This site has helped her so much.

About 2 weeks ago she finally started showing more interest in wearing underwear to bed. During that time she has only had 2 accidents! She's gone from 95% to 99% potty trained.

Today I told her she needed to go get dressed. She replied with, "Hold on. I'm watching a movie right now."
"Okay, but we're leaving soon and you need to be dressed."
Hands go up in the air, eyebrows raise, head tilts.
"I'm watching a movie," she repeats. "When it's over I will get dressed. Okay mom?"
Let the 3 year old games begin :)

She really is a sweetie most of the time. She stills loves Vince and is very attentive to his cries or fussiness. Sometimes if he's fussing in the swing while I'm making dinner she will try to make him laugh so he'll stop. If that doesn't work, she runs into the kitchen and says, "Mommy, the boy's crying, will you please get him?"


She is usually very obedient (for a 3 yr old) and I've had other moms comment that they're impressed with her obedience.

She still hasn't shown much of an interest in Spanish. When we try to teach her words in Spanish she'll say things like "Beep Boop, Ga Ga" which is a little frustrating and hilarious at the same time. Charles has been very diligent and continues to pray with her in Spanish every night, though she is not very responsive. I frequently listen to Salsa and whenever it comes on she says, "Speakinspanish Mom!" and then of course starts dancing. Dora the Explorer has made her a little more interested lately but, still not much. Our tentative plan is to put her in a Spanish immersion school once she starts kindergarten but, of course that depends on where we move to.

She is an exceptional drawer. She loves to draw. Here's some of her masterpieces as of late:
She eats pretty much everything that we eat, even spinach and salad. It has to have dressing on it though. Of course, she has her moments when she is picky but, she usually eats a wide variety of foods.

2 of her best friends that recently moved away :(

Azure and her "children". If we refer to them as babies she is quick to correct us.

Nursing one of her "children"

Azure and her pediatrician had a wonderful time together on Tuesday at her 3 yr old well check. She had the Dr. laughing with her little personality as she quizzed Azure on colors and other developmental abilities. It was a fun exchange for me to watch and I really felt like Azure was growing up so much. The Dr. said that Azure's mental and social abilities are up to par with a 4.5 yr old. I'm not quite sure how she came up with that number but, Azure is very bright. I don't take too much credit, she came to us that way.

Quote of the Day

Me: "Azure are you eating that?"
A: "No, I'm just looking at it with my tongue."

Happy 3rd birthday to my little rascal. A post to come soon :)