In 2013 Jay and I went to a beautiful convalidation {when the Catholic church “convalidates” a civil marriage} in April, an emotional vow renewal in July, a tropical 25th wedding anniversary in October and a gorgeous wedding on a sunny afternoon in November.

Each one was sacred and an honor to attend. All these precious couples are from different seasons/decades/times of our lives and I love that, even through the miles, we can come together to celebrate the beauty of marriage at one stage or another.

I adore weddings. I adore being IN weddings.

It’s been well over 10 years since I stood up in a wedding and was part of the bridal party.

Just days into 2014 we received the official news of my brother-in-law’s engagement to his sweetest girl, Anuja. We knew it was coming and I got tired of giving him a hard time!

Well, it looks like this year will be a very exciting year for our family….all four of us will be in the wedding ~ Jay the best man, Elliott a flower girl, Holden a ring bearer and I will be one of FOURTEEN bridesmaids.

Yes, 14. So exciting!

The big day is in late July and we couldn’t be happier. Our summer will be complete with this monumental milestone of welcoming a new member into the Aspiras Family!

Needless to say, I am in planning mode and the first thing I need to do is go order my dress.

“Punch” is the color and this is the style I chose…

On the hunt for silver shoes…

So glad Lent is about a week away. I need lots of discipline for the next 5 months. Hoping the seven weeks leading up to Easter will pave the way for healthier choices and increased activity to take better care of the temple.

Always a struggle, but it’s good to have a goal and something to look forward to.

Happy Wednesday!

We experienced a big milestone this week.

It happened quickly.

My mama heart didn’t have time to prepare.

Holden had complained about one of his top teeth hurting when he bit into things, but it wasn’t visibly loose. He was eating his cereal on Tuesday morning and apparently his spoon got caught in the space between his two front teeth and when he pulled it out it broke the root or something because we went from two seemingly solid teeth to one Nanny McPhee snaggletooth in point five seconds.

He said he couldn’t finish his cereal {because of his wiggly tooth}, opted for a glass of milk instead and off to school we went.

Only to have him come out at dismissal looking like this…

He was so funny. He couldn’t eat his snack. He couldn’t concentrate on his homework. However, he was able to play PS3 oddly enough.

I kept thinking to myself that I can’t send him to school with his tooth looking like a “door” as one of his cute little classmates called it. And he certainly wasn’t going to have an absence based on his protruding chomper, sooooo that left the only other option…..pull it out!

Elliott has lost several of her teeth while brushing so I told Holden to go up and brush his teeth and maybe it’d come out. Sure enough after his shower he screams, “My tooth is out!” and comes running downstairs naked with his little central incisor in his hand. I stuck it in a ziploc and labeled it for the Tooth Fairy while he went and grabbed his towel…

He was so proud.

He’s been a little later than most to lose his teeth. He’s only lost the bottom two and this was his third. But there is something about those top two teeth….they’re like the last, most noticeable, bit of baby-ness. Those two little white nubs that first cut through his little gums so many years ago {6 years ago, to be exact}. Once they lose those, they immediately take on the adorable toothless first grader look and adopt the cute little lisp until the permanent adult teeth come in and they take on a whole new more mature look!

I can handle growing feet and trips to the Vans store for brand new, comfortable shoes. I can handle buying the next size up skinny jeans. Heck, I can even handle a major haircut that adds on a couple years.

But those two front teeth…..they hold something special in my heart. The toothless grin will have to make up for that last bit of “baby” to leave because there’s no going back.

Just a reminder to slow down and cherish this season even though some days are challenging and long.

Let the teeth take their time. Don’t force the wiggle. Just let it loosen up on it’s own and slowly await the awkward, caddywhompus protrusion phase until it just falls out on it’s own.

There is no hurry.

*****

I did also have to pick up a new pair of jeans in the next size up this week, as well. It’s been a double whammy.

The bright side is that Holden will be seven in 18 days and is just now wearing size 5 jeans.

I can handle that.

#pleasestaylittle