At just the right time

Yesterday morning, as Ava and I were embarqing on our weekly grocery run, I heard the sweetest, most inspiring little voice. "Our God is for us, our God is STRONG!"  That little three year old, my baby girl, just about made mommy break down in tears right there in the Price Chopper parking lot.  Tears of joy and hope. Tears of relief, for knowing that everything was going to be okay because of Him!

Romans 8:31: If God is for us, who can be against us? 

After a long week of working lots of hours, a long weekend of being on call and getting called quite a few times, and after a morning of children rising at 6am after going to bed at midnight, I knew that He was with me.  To know that she's hearing these words, through songs on the radio, based on His word is awesome.  It's permeating her little mind and she wants to sing about it!  I know that this little event happened for a reason and that this message that came out in my baby girl's sweet, innocent child voice was something I needed to hear, and at just the right time.  Right there at 7:40am, on a Sunday morning, just me and my 3 year old daughter, standing there breathing in the cool, crisp temps of a fresh fall morning in the parking lot. 

Happy Monday all, may you know that God is with you today and always, no matter what you are going through.  Seize the day!

Life is...

Definitely not perfect...

And no, I'm not getting ready to elbow him in the face, I promise!

But you know what, even though life isn't perfect, it is warm and cozy And full of life and joy

And rich and plentiful

And amazing

And just plain friggin awesome!

Saw this on a friend’s blog and thought I’d copy- what a great idea! In no particular order, here I am!

I like early morning snuggle sessions and breathing in the joy that is my children

I like bear hugs from my family

I like knowing that God has my back

I like hot and spicy cheez-its and jalapeño poppers

I like making out with my hubby (Grandma, ignore this one)

I like McDonald’s hazelnut iced coffee

I like it when my family is healthy and not missing school/work

I like it when I get to see my children show their love for each other

I like when I get more than 7 hours sleep (this is rare)

I like the dimple on Ava's right cheek and Isaac's left cheek that shows up when they smile

I like walking into Isaac’s room at 4:30am in the pitch black and not having to turn a light on cuz he’s reaching out for his mama and he knows I'll be there

I like baby soft skin that smells so incredibly yummy

I like watching my children’s eyes dance

I like Jason’s dreamy blue eyes, his broad shoulders and fabulous abs and calves and bum ;)

I like lasagna and garlic bread with a salad on the side when the ranch barely touches everything and mixes together

I like pumpkin and apple pie candles

I like when Ava says to me, tell Daddy I did a good job mama

I like hydrangeas, calla lilies, fall mums, gerbera daisies, brown eyed susans, lavender, and azaleas

I like singing out loud in my car with Air 1 turned up as high as I can stand it without blowing the speakers (warning, no kids ear drums were harmed in this situation)

I like no traffic days

I like quiet time in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee and God’s encouraging word

I like dancing with my children

I like hearing Isaac growl like a tiger, do what the gorilla does and hop like a bunny rabbit

I like watching Ava prance around in her high heels, princess dress, and butterfly wings as we go for our evening walks.

I like foot rubs and getting my hair played with

I like Isaac’s mean face

I like Jason’s jokes and random thoughts, and inspirations and ability to dream of our future when all I can think about what will I make for dinner

I like Ava’s bounce in her step

I like fudgy brownies with ice-cream and a cup of coffee.

I like how Isaac swings his left arm side to side when he walks and how it moves faster when he runs.
I like how Ava nurtures her baby dolls and rocks them while singing to them

I like sunrises and stepping out into the cool with a robe on while listening to the quiet morning

I like taking pictures of my family and venturing out of Auto into the world of a bazillion settings and trying to learn them all

I like how my pup crawls in my lap anytime he knows I’m upset

I like it when Jason makes the meal

I like anything girly: lip-gloss, hot pink or bright red nail polish, perfume, flip flops, long dangly necklaces, big earrings, and flowers in my hair

I like it when laundry is caught up (btw, this never happens!)

I like to thank God for everything he’s given me every single day

I like it when I have a big presentation or meeting that I’m so nervous about speaking publicly and that huge feeling of relief when it’s over

I like encouragement and appreciation. A kind word gets me through just about anything.

I like how Jason makes me laugh and gets me to loosen up and when he doesn’t say, Just relax Crystal!

I like the smell of fresh coffee brewing

I like going to bed with a clean kitchen

I like lifting my arms up in the air as high as I can praising God during Sunday morning services with a child on my hip watching and dancing at the same time.

I like talking to my mama almost every day

I like 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 2:13, Romans 12:11, Matthew 6:27, and James 1:3-4 just to name a few

I like to laugh, that really deep gut laugh where you can’t stop it from just coming out

I like to imagine what my life will be like in 5, 10, 40 years

I like team meetings with my hubby

I like to pray for my family, that God will protect them and help me to show them how very much I love them What do you like?! Leave me a comment with something you like. Have a great day all!

This is the day!!

So many days I wake up feeling utterly exhausted but I try to tell myself, wait a minute Crystal...Are you going to let exhaustion take away from the joy of the day that God has given you? Are you going to give in to the excuse of poor me, I'm so overworked and tired and underappreciated? Remember, that's the devil speaking to you, you know? Are you going to remind yourself of all of those things that were on yesterday's to-do list that you didn't get done and the 10 more things that you've added on for today? Or are you going to take a deep breath, stop hitting the snooze (even if it's 4am) and think of all the blessing's you've been given. Are you going to look over at that dreamy man in your bed *insert husband with a pillow over his head* and lean over to kiss him good morning and tell him how very much you love him and all he does for you? Are you going to think of those sleeping bundles of awesomeness that are snoozing away, storing up endless amounts of energy so that when they wake up they are READY for the day! And boy do I mean READY!! (sorry, breaking out the exclamation points, and it's only 5:27am) You need to jump out of that bed because Crystal Ann, you are so blessed. You're gonna thank Him for such a comfy bed (complete with egg crate mattress from college days), your job that will have never ending job security with all the EMR changes coming along, your healthy, beautiful family who will be waking up any minute now, and the espresso machine, just dying to be touched for the morning.

You've been given a beautiful new day to start over and thank God. For this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

Happy Thursday friends, seize the day!

Top 10 Reasons Why...

It's nice to have kids that get up at 5am on Saturdays....
1. You dont ever have to set your alarm clock
2. The day is full of hours...
3. More time in the day for snuggling and giving extra kisses
4. Coffee tastes really good at 5am
5. You get to see amazing sunrises
6. Your kids are extra snuggly and cozy which is much better than waking up to that annoying alarm
7. You dont have to worry about people driving by seeing your bedhead in the window at 5am
8. Dance parties where you crank up the music and watch your kids shake their groove thang
9. Listening to giggles echo from back bedrooms as they play together nicely...often followed by a screech and fighting over who took what toy from who (we'll ignore that for now!)
10. Photo ops!!

And I know I said 10 but I can't forget the most important reason which is...drumroll, please!
My kids still think I'm COOL and amazing and worth wanting to wake up at the crack of dawn to see me and wake me up to play, snuggle, and take care of them. Reason 552 why it's awesome to be a mommy and I wouldn't trade extra minutes of sleep for anything!

Are we ready?? Yes, we are!

Just do it! Go Team Kusick! Are we ready? Yes, we are!! These are all things that I’ve said many times around our house and boy do they apply to my new adventure in the blogging arena. I’ve wanted to finish up a little diddy for Ava and Isaac’s totsites that I’ve maintained the last 3 years and you know, life just seems to be so crazy! It could be that I’m a working mommy who has a family full of little ones but who’s really thinking about that?! And yes, I did just use my favorite punctuation symbol, the exclamation point, at least 6 times so far. Sorry…

Anyways, needless to say, I’ve yet to write those wrap up journals on the kids sites and that was my hangup for starting this new blog, but what the hey….I’m doing it! I can’t wait any longer to start up a new thing and get rocking and rolling. So, hang on tight, this chick’s ready to rumble!! Make that 10 exclamation points. I promise, I’ll stop soon. Stay tuned kids. There's so much more to come!