What is my "calling?"

As I had mentioned in my last post, Saturday was my birthday. The day came and went as birthdays do as you get older, not much fanfare, but just enough love and attention to make a girl feel special! :) Now, if you've ever lived through a birthday while being on Facebook, that just adds some extra "special" to your day, as your birthday wishes roll in via comments, messages, etc. I know it might sound silly, but how can 100+ birthday wishes not make a person feel special!?!? It does for me, that's for sure! :) But there was one comment that stuck out to me more than any of the others, because it made me tear up and think, "Wow, someone really thinks that about me?"

This comment came from a "friend" named Erin. I put the word friend in quotes, because she isn't a bestie, she isn't family, and I'd venture to say it's been 5+ years since I've seen her, but we hung out in the same crowd years back, I keep up on her family via Facebook, and apparently she does the same to me! :)

After leaving me the standard, "Happy Birthday" comment, she then replied to her comment with this...

"Every time you post something it always makes me smile...you are such a positive and spiritual person...gives me hope that there are good people!!! Hope you enjoy this beautiful day:)"

Wow! What a kind, sweet thing to say to me! I tend to be a pretty positive person, it's just my nature. Of course we ALL have bad days, we all have struggles and NO ONES life is perfect...we lose our patience with our children, we bicker with our spouses, we say mean things to the person who cut us off in traffic, we might tell a little white lie (although I am the WORST liar ever!!!!! Not that that's a bad thing! ;)) Like the song, by Natalie Grant, says,

Tell the world you've got it all together

And never let him see what's underneath
We cover it up with a crooked smile
But it only lasts for a little while


There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God

So although my life isn't perfect, I tend to keep my Facebook statuses, light and positive (usually! ;)) and I often wonder (because I'm super self conscious), "Do people think my statuses are phony?" "Do people think I'm annoying?" etc. and then to hear someone say something kind like that cast all those shadows of doubt aside and made me realize, even if I inspire just one person, then who cares what the naysayers think? I was named "Most Inspiring of 2011" at my work so that has to mean something? ;)

Which brings me to the point of my title (yes, I do have a point! ;)) While sitting in church each Sunday, I often think to myself (especially if the sermon is speaking about "calling") what is my purpose in this world (other than being a good wife, mother, sister, daughter, etc.) What is my TRUE purpose? If you are a Christian, most likely you've heard the word "calling" before and what it pertains to. I want(ed) to find my calling, and sometimes my friends, I often wonder is my "calling" simply what I've been living....just to be a positive, happy, "inspiration" (for lack of a better term) in peoples lives. When I tell people I'm praying for them, I pray. When someone is on my heart, I pray for them EVERY SINGLE DAY! There are many blogger friends/families that I have met, who have touched my heart, and I pray for their well being each day.  Maybe it's just THAT simple...be me, be positive, be loving, be prayerful, be kind. So maybe it's not my "calling" but maybe it's just a way of life we should all try to live! :)

*After typing this post, I thought, "Do I sound pretentious?" There I go thinking again friends! :) Just know that this post was written with nothing but the best of intentions and I pray that it doesn't come off arrogant or self righteous! :)

31 years...

So yesterday I turned the big 3-1! :) It was a BEAUTIFUL day in Maryland...gorgeous breeze, low humidity, sun shining and all around lovlieness! :) It was one year ago today that one of my very best friends had her son, Connor, so I spent my 31st birthday with my hubby and kiddos at Connor's 1st birthday. It was a very sweet day. We go on vacation for 8 days on June 16th, so that is basically mine and Manny's birthday presents to each other (his birthday is June 26th). Vacations are EXPENSIVE, so I had no problem foregoing a "real" gift for vacay! :)

Here are some pics of the weekend...

 My beautiful girl and her beautiful curls! :)

 Hubby and the kiddos playing "baggo", "cornhole" whatever you call it in your neck of the woods! ;)

 Lauren and I (one of my best friends from high school)

 My two kiddos and Lauren's girls

 Manuel, Mia and Gwen (Lauren's oldest)

Mia, Gwen and I

 Kel (the birthday boys Mommy), Laur and I (all friends since high school-LOVE these girls! :))

After we got home from Connor's party, Manny surprised me with crabs for my birthday! :)

Memorial Day weekend

We had an absolutely wonderful Memorial Day weekend...Friday was Manuel's Kindergarten picnic (which I left work early for...I wasn't going to miss it for the world! :)) Saturday we went to my sisters house for a cookout/birthday celebration for my BIL Mike. Sunday was our first get together (outside of church) with our small group. It was an absolute blast but I left my camera in my car, which was at church :( And today, Memorial Day was spent relaxing, poolside. Now, for picture overload! :) Enjoy!

 Bean Bag Boogie :)

 Tattoos and Freeze-e Pops! 

 Ready for our first weekend cookout! :) 

 Mia, Spencer and Vivienne playing in S&V's new pool :)

 Cousins :) 

 Manuel and Manny

 Saying goodbye...SOOOOOO sweet :)

 Packed up a lunch and went to the pool for Memorial Day

 Yes, she's eating her sandwich in practically every picture! ;) 

Mia's NOT winning Mother of the Year ;)

Hello friends!

I hope you all are having a great weekend...we are over here in the Gomez household! :) Yesterday was girls lunch with all of my girlfriends and their kiddos (most of them!) It was a great time! We just sat outside at Panera, chatted for hours and the kids were SO well behaved. Then today was church, small group and now some much deserved relaxing. I just took this ADORABLE video of Mia and had to share...

Happy Sunday everyone!

28 months

Mia Grace is 28 months old today. I know that seems like an "odd" age to post milestones, but it has been FOREVER since I've done an update so I figured 28 was a nice, even number :)

Let's see, what is she up to these days...

~she is H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S! She is definitely her fathers daughter in that regard. She will do anything and say anything to get a laugh from people! :)

~talking up a storm! I mean shes been saying a ton of words for months and months now, but it seems like overnight she is talking in full, many word sentences, that are easy to understand. It's really cute! The other night we were walking up to bed and I said, "Mia Grace, why are you bringing that pillow with you?" (a pillow from our sofa). She looked at me and said, "Because Mommy, I want to bring it with me." Wellllll excuse me! ;)

~still in diapers. She will sit on the potty all day, everyday, but has only actually "gone" potty maybe a total of 10 times. We don't push it. She'll do it when she's ready! :)

~wears 2T clothes for the most...some bigger, some smaller, but generally a 2T.

~weighs about 31 lbs

~says her ABC's and although it's not perfect, it really is too cute for words

~not big on TV, at all, but there is ONE show she'll watch, and that's Dora. She LOVES Dora!

~still primarily drinks only water. She refuses to drink juice (which is totally fine by us!) And of course she drinks milk in the morning and at night

~loves pretend play...babies, kitchen, "working", etc. She LOVES to pretend

~loves strawberries, fruit snacks, veggie straws, turkey dogs, cucumbers, fish, and well, pretty much anything and everything! ;) She is a great eater!

~has all of her teeth except for her two year molars. I'm guessing they are coming in because she seems like she's teething, but who knows??? It took FOREVER for her to get her first tooth (she was 11 months old), so I'm guessing her 2 year molars will come when she's 10! ;)

~as far as sleep goes, well Mia sleeps on Mia's schedule :) Good sleeping habits have never been a strong suit of either of my children, and I've just grown accustomed to it. They grow up SO quickly and this too shall pass! :)

~she has her moments, but all in all I can't complain about "Terrible 2's" (yes, I know, for some children, it doesn't happen until the 3's! Manuel never went through any of it, so this is all new to me! :)) She has a temper, and throws fits, but all in all, she's pretty good. We actually were hanging out in our bed a few weeks ago, just snuggling, relaxing, and of course my husband has to get silly and start acting up (yes, he's like a 3rd child! :)) and rough housing ensued and Mia hit me (on purpose, yet on accident, if that makes ANY sense!) and after she did it, she sort of went into shock and hid her head in a pillow and started crying and crying! She felt awful. That is the first and only time she's ever done anything close to that (I know some children hit when their throwing tantrums). To this day, she still will say, "I hit Mommy. I cried. I'm sorry!" Clearly she won't be doing that again! :)

~we are in such a fun stage with Mia. Although I miss my little snuggly baby, this stage bring so much cuteness and MANY laughs! :)

My sweet Mia Grace,
   You are such a ray of sunshine, each and everyday. I love you more than words could ever say! I can't wait to see what your future holds. I pray everyday for your spirit and your life. You are my baby and I love you!

Love,
Mommy

*I post pictures on Facebook like it's my job :) so this blog really has been slacking, but I couldn't write a milestones post without a few pics (albeit cell phone pics! :))

And for good measure...

 She decided to jump in a mud puddle at daycare and then play in the sandbox...silly girl! :)

Hanging out at my work (with food in her mouth, sorry! :)) But its too cute not to share!

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!!!

Life lately

I have really not been into blogging lately..not sure if it's a "rut" or I'm over this whole blogging thing in general (I feel like I say the same things over and over again, year after year! ;)), but whatever is happening, I'm never going to completely say goodbye because I've met way too many amazing friends through blogging! I would feel lost without that connection to my favs, but in the meantime I'm sure I'll lose followers and people will stop reading and I'm okay with that, seriously! :)

I had a wonderful Mothers Day, and a great weekend in general! Manuel's school friend is in the hospital so last weekend and this weekend Manny took him to the hospital to visit. It made Billy's day and Manuel LOVED seeing his little buddy! :) Lots of fun stuff happening in our world, and some pictures to prove it! :)

**Oddly enough hubby isn't in any of these pictures..I promise he is still very much a part of our lives, very much my husband, and very much doing AWESOME! :) I know how we can start to speculate when we notice "changes" in someones blog! :)) I promise, he's still around! ;))

Mothers Day tea at Manuel's school

Manuel and I self pic :)

Saturday morning trip to the playground :) Yes, she's in her jammies, but it was around 9am! ;)

Manuel and Billy at the hospital, playing outside :)

My GORGEOUS Mothers Day gift from Manny...I cried :)

Mothers Day brunch...delicious (at my Aunt's house)

Mia and Vivienne

Mia and my mom

A good majority of the ladies in my family (and Spencer ;)) My boys were at the Orioles game :)