i've never felt so vulnerable

as i do now that i have a kid.

the thought that something bad could ever happen to him, someone who is literally a little piece of me, makes my heart hurt.  life is so fragile & it is so easy to forget how quickly things can change.

last night i stumbled upon the story of stephanie nielson, or "nie nie." i'm probably the last person in the world to have discovered her blog, but nonetheless at 11:30 pm, the time i had promised sam i'd be tearing myself away from the computer & heading to bed, i watched her story.  i bawled all. the. way. through. it.  oh my gosh, i cried & i cried.

not because i thought it was sad.  no, it was incredible.  it was a much needed reminder to me of what is really important, what really matters.  where our heads should be.

talk about gaining some perspective!  the "bad parts" of my day all of a sudden really didn't matter.  did it really matter that i had a pen leak on my shirt, possibly ruining it for good?  did it really matter that i didn't have time for a pedicure & i haven't had one in a couple months?  uh, no.

watching her story really changed the way i went throughout my day today.  every little moment is so precious & we need to be spending it with the ones we love, doing the things that matter.  letting them know how we feel about them & showing them we care.

i know i squeezed parker a little tighter today when i held him.  & then he spit up all over my shirt.  ahh well.

so here's a couple moments i captured from our day today... a day that reminded me i have a life worth living.

this morning.  bundled him up & went for an awesome run around the lake.  he l-o-v-e-s walks & runs.  my kind of kid.

on the way home. as soon as he was buckled up & the motor was running, he was out.  i never thought i could spend so much time watching someone sleep.  {sorry for the crappy quality... iphone shot.}

this afternoon.  parker decided it is really funny when mom sneezes.  so i did it again, & again & again, until he no longer thought it was funny.  here's a little clip of p-ray while he thought it was absolutely hilarious.

love that kid.





our climb to the top has stalled. ote-vay ote-vay ote-vay! {& yes,  that is pig latin for "vote."}