Yesterday’s Life Lesson

I’m sorry I haven’t been diligent with blogging lately. It has been a busy month! The Family Circle Cup has been so much fun this week that I haven’t found much time to get in front of a computer. But I learned something yesterday. Please bear with me because I’m typing this quickly and trying to share a bunch of thoughts that make sense in my mind but may not work out on paper!! 🙂

Yesterday was an awesome day. I knew I’d be working all weekend so it was jam-packed with “stuff”. We went to Charleston’s Cafe for breakfast and ate WAY more than I want to tell you! If you haven’t been there and you’re local you MUST go — it was such a treat! Our day was full of fun. We went downtown and walked the length of the waterfront. Then we went to the Charleston Beer Exchange (where Scott is sporting a new look ;)) to pick up their latest rare beer for our grill-out this weekend. After that we picked up our bikes (and bike trailer for Miles) at Trek in Mount Pleasant. Then off to the pool at the club for swimming and supper and then an evening bike ride with the whole family. It couldn’t have been a nicer day!

My point in outlining the whole day is that I learned an important lesson from an interaction we had with the boys in the evening. After all this fun, we get home and it is time for bed. Colin and Davis wanted to keep going even though it was late. They asked questions over and over: Can we watch a show? Can we play a game? Will you let us stay up for 10 more minutes? Can we ride our bikes some more?… I found myself becoming frustrated that they couldn’t be content with the really great day that we had. I said something like, “We did so many nice things with you today. I wish you could be content and satisfied with what a nice day it was.”

Later that night, it hit me that I do the exact same thing. Probably on a greater scale!! We have SO many blessings in our lives but I constantly find myself praying for more. More time, money, things, desires… I always want more. So I asked myself the same thing: Why can’t I be satisfied with all that God has done for our family? How come I’m always hoping/ wishing/ waiting for the next level of comfort, security, whatever…? How can my children behave any differently when their mother does the same thing?

I’m pretty lucky that my Heavenly Father doesn’t get frustrated at me like I did with my boys. Ah, it’s good to have a change in perspective. So, I’m back to praying for contentment 😉

Here are some photos from our day. I didn’t take many because my iPhone died. I think I have some on Chad’s iPhone and I will try to add them later. And, yes, Miles got a haircut!!

I can feel it coming…

I can smell it in the air… spring must be right around the corner! After an inexplicably cold winter (don’t laugh, my northern friends!!), the cherry blossoms are blooming, doves are making nests, and I am SO excited.

These little guys are nesting outside our office window. Of course you’ll notice that the photo is so much better than my usual photos since it was taken by Pat Stuckart (our IT guy at my office) with his amazing talent (and amazing camera)!

Colin is so excited about playing golf with Chad again! They haven’t been out on the course together in a while. I have a feeling that they’ll be out there this week, now that the weather is so nice. It’s hard to keep a six-year old engaged for a round of golf but Colin really enjoys the fresh air and time with Dad.

Spring “things” are happening all around. The Charleston Food and Wine Festival was last weekend and all around Daniel Island there is evidence that the Family Circle Cup is close at hand. I don’t know a whole lot about tennis but I love the excitement that the tournament brings to our neighborhood each year.

Yesterday I got to have lunch here on DI with a dear friend at Laura Albert’s Tasteful Options. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a welcome break during a busy day!

And, of course Miles got to enjoy the nice weather too!! Spring, I’m so thankful that you’re here 🙂

How to make a little boy’s day…

So a couple of days ago, I posted about Colin’s fixation with the Port of Charleston. Two days later, I got a tweet from the CRBJ that the largest cargo ship to ever enter Charleston had come (and gone) that afternoon. We missed it!!!! There were a few photos in the paper but Colin was really, really disappointed that we didn’t see it.

Well, the very next morning, I received an email from Pat Stuckart (the IT guy in my office). I’ve posted several of Pat’s photos on my blog before. Believe it or not, he had gone out and taken photos of the MSC Rita while it was at the Wando Terminal. Colin was SO excited!! Again, it was sweet to see how God does little things for us to show His love 🙂

Here is the MSC Rita in all her glory. If anyone knows when she will next be in port, PLEASE let me know!

Thanks to Pat Stuckart for making my son’s day. If you’d like to see more of Pat’s photography, you can click on his name