Sunny Days are here to stay

Let's see how I rate in the good mom department?!?!
Emma has been dying to have me spray tan her legs. I did Airbrush tanning as a business several years ago so the girls think it's so cool. They watch Toddlers and Tiaras and see all these little kids getting spray tanned. So....anyway...Emma finds my machine and just begs me to tan her legs!!! What's the harm, right?! She's so excited and we... are bonding. Here comes Olivia....PLEASE MOM!! I give in and we're tanning her legs. Big deal....it's just her legs. Then comes another...giggling and begging....Before long I had Emma, Olivia, Sophie, WILSON AND JACKSON in their underwear (and a tshirts:) in the backyard getting their "spray on". Then I gave into the pressure and sure enough, I'm in my bloomers, tanning my own legs. I don't know if I should be reported or rewarded. One thing I know for sure....The Christopherson's are all bronzed and beautiful!! I think we could get a reality show:) And it was ONLY their legs....although someone I know is bronzed from head to toe....ME!! LOL!

Time goes so quickly....

You know we hear that all of the time.  You run into a little old lady at the grocery store when you're walking around with your stroller and she says, "Enjoy these times....they go by so quickly!"  Last night that hit me like a ton of bricks!!!!!!

I went into Emma's room to kiss her good night.  She's 12 years old...5' 6" and 120lbs so to say that she doesn't look like a baby is an understatement.  But as I sat there (reading her text messages) while she was sleeping, she looked like a little girl again.  She actually curled over towards me in a ball and snuggled up.  And that's when the memories started flowing....

I can clearly remember driving home with her in the car from the hospital.  We had a Chevy Malibu and I sat in the back seat, right next to her, to make sure she was safe!!  We got home and our two beagles went nuts.  Those sweet dogs that I used to think were my babies suddenly became just two dogs.  Not that I didn't love them, but they were howling and jumping and I was so concerned about my precious little angel.  She was the top priority now.  In one moment (or 12 hours of labor:) my whole life had changed.

I also thought of when we moved from Colorado back to Arizona.  Emma was about 14 months old.  Ryan and I were staying with his mom at her home.  We slept "Lucy and Ricky" style in 2 twin beds with Emma at the foot of mine in a play pen.  Within a few weeks she would climb out of that play pen in the middle of the night and dive into my legs!  She'd stay perfectly still for a minute or so, as if I didn't notice her sneaking out and then she'd snuggled up right in my chest and go to sleep.  I used to get stressed about this!!  I mean what if she doesn't sleep in her own bed when we move!  She's not getting a whole night of uninterrupted sleep??? Why can't "I" get ONE good night's sleep!!!  Is this healthy for her???  What I'd give to have another night like that!!!!

I also thought of the most special memory that Emma and I shared when she was 7 yrs old.  She had been asking if we could stay the night in a hotel, just the two of us, for one night.  She had seen an ad for a Best Western and kept telling me how nice that hotel was.  The boys were born and our lives had become pretty chaotic with 5 kids.  This was something she wanted SOOOO badly!  I'm am so glad that I actually followed through on this one....

We got my mom and dad to watch the girls and Ryan had the boys.  It was planned for Saturday.  Emma was running a fever that morning and I knew we'd have to cancel.  We spent the first 2 hrs of the day at Urgent Care.  She had bronchitis.  I assured her that we could go in a couple weeks but she just wouldn't have it.  She wanted to move forward with our Best Western plan.  And we did....

We went to the hotel and checked in.  Emma alternated Tylenol and Motrin all day in order to have some fun.  We actually went swimming in a heated pool but the precious moment happened while we layed in our room and watched an all day marathon of Drake and Josh.  She quietly said to me...."Mom, who's your favorite person!"  I just didn't know what to say.  I'm trying to think of the politically correct way to say that mom's love all their children the same.  I actually told her that SHE was my ALL-TIME favorite 7 yr old and Olivia was my favorite 5 year old and....on and on.  Then in this precious little voice she said, "Well mom, you're my favorite person in the whole world!"  I cry everytime I think of that moment!   It made all the work and all the sleepless nights seem like nothing.  This day that she had waited for so patiently became my FAVORITE memory of her that I will cherish FOREVER!!

I'm still in the midst of parenthood.  My girls are 12, 10 and 8 and the boys just turned 6 this past weekend.  I get plenty of those young "tender" moments on a daily basis with the smaller ones.  I have so many special memories with each one of my kids.  But the truth of the matter is that it DOES go by so QUICKLY!!  Cherish those precious moments with YOUR kids!  Take time to enjoy spending time with them and don't worry about the dishes, the laundry, making dinner.  Sometimes it's just a 5 minute interaction with your child that you'll remember for the rest of your life. I mean that!!  I know that I don't do it enough and today is a day that I'm going to try just a little bit harder to let things go and just enjoy that blessings that God has given me with my children.  I hope that you will try to do the same.....:)

Country Livin"

Well, it's official....we have moved!!!  We went from living in a beautiful community conveniently located within walking distance to the yoga studio, grocery stores, coffee shop, hair salon and tons of wonderful neighbors.  What a blessing that has been!  Who in a million years would have thought we'd end up moving to a rural area out in the country but still be living in San Diego?!?!  It truly feels like a dream come true.  And the conveniences that we grew so accustomed to are no longer available and, quite honestly, if you're low on gas (as a friend found out this weekend) you may not make it from our house to the gas station in time:)

I thought we were destined to stay in our little slice of Suburbia.  It was fun!  We made tons of friends!  The beach was 10 minutes away!  Every date night we shared, we found another fantastic restaurant that we hadn't tried yet. There wasn't a place we couldn't get to in 5-10 minutes and it's exactly what I thought we wanted and needed to nurture our souls!  I was sadly mistaken.  Although, I do feel like we were meant to be there for the time we were, we are clearly living EXACTLY where we were meant to be for THIS season of our lives.  This has been so incredibly God lead and I couldn't be happier.  I'm thrilled to see how this "move" changes and strengthens our bonds with family and friends.

We are now living in Fallbrook, CA on 7 acres!!  Our last house was on one of the larger lots in the neighborhood and I think it was about 10,000 sq ft.  What a change!  I can hear birds chirping in the morning and pretty much NOTHING else, unless there is a crazy cricket or a cow off in the distance.  This is something that feels so "right" and so "soothing" about that.  It's silly and really simple but it makes me realize how chaotic my life had begun to feel.  I'm so thankful and look forward to sharing many stories about our adventures here.  Chickens are the beginning of that story.....

We got 10 chickens today....OH YEAH!!  We actually have a chicken coop that they will transfer to after we "brood" them another 3 weeks.  Ryan came face to face with a coyote this morning while he went on a walk (on our property).  The kids have been riding a go cart and mini motorcycle up and down the 200 ft driveway since Grandpa showed up with it on Tuesday.  My dad is going to rent a tractor so he can mow down the overgrown grass so the kids can run around on a track surrounding the house.  The girl's have become friends with a gopher (or so they say).  There's a vineyard on the property. I am humbled by the fact that God has blessed us with an opportunity to experience this amazing lifestyle that is WORLD'S away from where I've been heading but feels just like coming home.  I'm so happy! 

It just continues to confirm to me how important it is to seek God in all decisions and when He leads, just follow.  He will always make your path straight.  I am going to take it day by day and enjoy the precious morsels that He gives me daily.  They are available for all of us.  I'm sure I've been missing them for years.  Maybe it took this move to just get my attention.  I'm listening and paying attention......