Happiness Archives – Page 5 of 5

Just Passing Through..

February 17, 2015 Leave a Comment

Being a military wife (United States Air Force) is pretty awesome…most of the time. My family and I are blessed for my husband’s career field, because we don’t have to worry about him deploying. (Shout out to all of the military families waiting for loved ones to come back home. You all are the strongest people ever, and I will continue to pray for your families) One of the hardest parts of being a military family, is making amazing friends, and eventually having to say “goodbye” to those friends once we move to different bases.

Don’t get me wrong, moving to different bases every few years, is both a blessing and a curse, of being in the military. Obviously, the curse of moving every few years, is having to leave amazing people and the place you most recently called home the last 4 years. The blessing of moving every few years is having the opportunity to live in so many great states and countries this world has to offer. In addition to living in many places, there is the greatest part of it all, which is meeting so many amazing people who become lifelong friends. Outside of knowing awesome people, it also means we have cool places to see and people to visit for vacations 🙂

This post was triggered by us having to goodbye to some great friends a few days ago. Thankfully, we will get to see them in September when we go visit them in D.C. I was also running errands around town this weekend, and passed a few homes our friends used to live in. There was an instant sense of nostalgia and sadness when I looked at these houses and thought about there being strangers in them now, who have no clue the memories their home holds. If they’re lucky, their memories will be just half as awesome as ours.

I’m sure our day(s) of being the friends people have to say goodbye to will be sooner than later. But in the meantime, we’ll hold it down in Big Sky Country, and look forward to creating more memories with the framily (friends who become family) we have here, before we have to say “goodbye” ourselves. However, to all of our friends who have since left and moved on to their new journeys at their new bases, we hope you love your new home and your new friends! Although, nobody can compare to the Jamiesons as friends, right? 😉

Until the day comes where we all officially settle in to our forever homes/hometowns, we will just keep passing through the military life, making forever friends in the process.

Happy Monday!

<3 Brie

[02.16.15]

Farewell “Parenthood”

January 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

The show Parenthood is coming to an end, tonight, after six seasons. To say I am going to miss this show is an understatement. I started watching Parenthood about two years ago on Netflix, thanks to the suggestion from my friend, Krissy. I watched the first two episodes and knew I was hooked. I was hooked for many reasons..

The main reason being I saw my own family in these characters. This huge, tight-knit, loving, easily angered, slow to forgive, boundary overstepping, mixed family. This was the first television family I have seen that seems to really demonstrate to all of us what having a large family is truly like. Growing up in a large family has its ups and downs. There are awesome moments when having a large family is the best! For example, in the show, when Drew had a baseball try-out, or when Victor got adopted, and the ENTIRE Braverman clan showed up to support them. (Whether they liked it or not) However, as with anything else in life, with the good comes the bad, and sometimes having a large family means people can overstep their boundaries of “closeness.” For example, when Kristina started the argument in the emergency room about the Luncheonette that turned into a huge blowout between Adam and Crosby. But what I really saw in these examples were how close families actually operate. There are going to be times when we absolutely adore each other, and there will be other times where we make each other SO mad or SO crazy, but in the end, an “I’m sorry and I will always love you” is all that matters. When families lose sight of the love and dwell on the anger, it makes for a lot of broken families and ultimately partially broken people.

Outside of seeing my own family in this show, I see what some would call my “ideal” immediate family. I want to have four children. Two biological and two adopted. Although none of the original four children are adopted in the show, there are four of them. I’ve always loved the idea of having a large family of my own. I’ve always loved thinking about my kids having multiple siblings to have their back and confide in if they can’t in Mom and Dad. Being the crazy lady during the holidays that I am, I even think about how Thanksgiving and Christmas will be amazing with a house full of craziness and children, or as I like to call it, a house full of LOVE :-). I even think about the future, and how our children will have their own little families, and them all bringing all of their families to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions. ~~Sort of~~ almost exactly like the Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes of Parenthood in season 4.

What also makes a show lovable, is whether or not it is relatable. From Max’s Asperger Syndrome to Crosby and Jasmine’s interracial marriage, everyone somewhere could relate to a character or situation on this show. Even the different marriage dynamics were skillfully and thoughtfully planned out. There are characters I love (Drew) and other characters that make me insane (Kristina).They discuss issues that make us happy (helping children with special needs, adoption, college acceptance, etc.) and they discuss issues that are hard to talk about (cancer, abortion, alcohol abuse, etc.) No matter the issue, the writers always beautifully showed the right and wrong ways to handle conflict resolution. I believe in today’s world, with all of the sensitivity and conflict taking place, we could all use a television show that shows us how to respectfully and lovingly deal with conflict and how to resolve it like adults. Because the truth of the matter is, we are human and will not always agree on everything our loved ones say or do.

The last reason I love Parenthood, is because it was a nice wholesome family show, almost everyone could relate to at some point in their lives. The first time I heard myself say “wholesome show” out loud, I realized I was definitely a Mother lol. It was nice to have a show I could watch with anyone from my Grandmother to my sister-in-law, and not have to feel uncomfortable thinking an inappropriate scene could happen at any time. It was nice to watch a show where you didn’t hear the characters calling each other disrespectful degrading names for ratings. And more than anything it was nice to watch a show that demonstrated the meaning of unconditional love and undeserving forgiveness.

Shows like Parenthood come around every once in a blue moon. It’s sad, but it’s true. After six amazing seasons, tonight will be the last time I cry on a Thursday night watching Parenthood. (If you watch this show then you know crying is a norm) I’m SO beyond sad to see this amazing television show go off the air, but I’m even happier it ever existed. Here’s to praying one day I have a large family of my own to recreate this family dynamic in real life. As for now, I will enjoy the beginning and building stages with my awesome husband, my amazing daughter, and my entertaining dog.

Farewell Parenthood. Thanks for the made-up yet beautiful memories!

Brie <3

[01.29.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

Goals for 2015

December 31, 2014 Comments : 6

The year 2015 is around the corner which means the “New Year, New Me” posts are about to emerge on every social networking site known to man. In between the flipagram “2014 reflection” videos, of course. However, at the end of every year, I like to make a list of goals I would like to accomplish for the upcoming new year. It is more of a list to keep me on track of the bigger picture for the entire year, in case I forget and need a reminder. I am also a person that LOVES list. I make lists of things just so I can cross them off. Physically crossing completed tasks off of a list makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something in my life. (Whatever. Judge me all you want. I will make as many lists as I want!) Here is my 2015 Goals list. I always list quite a few goals, because I’d rather have more to aim for, and if need be, carry into 2016. Maybe you like to do the opposite and make a short list to focus on. Feel free to share yours :).

1) Read my Bible daily.

2) Have Jordyn baptized/blessed.

3) Consistently write in my gratitude journal.

4) Travel at least 3x.

5) Finish “Operation Home(less)ness business plan.

6) Stay committed to blogging 2-3 times/week.

7) Keep up with my “Fit Girl” lifestyle. (Lose 15-20lbs)

8) Read at least 6 new books.

9) Write a children’s book.

10) Do bi-weekly DIY crafts/projects with Jordyn.

11) Learn how to invest money.

12) Try a new exercise class.

13) Pay it forward at least 5x.

14) Date night with the husband once a month.

15) Don’t sweat the small stuff and ENJOY LIFE.

-Brie <3

[12.31.14]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Family Love

Merry Christmas- From My Family to Yours

December 25, 2014 Comment : 1

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Today, I pray all of you enjoy what this day is all about. Faith, family, and food. Thank God for his son, Jesus Christ, and everything He has done, is doing, and will do in our lives. Thank God you have family, or friends who have become family, to share this day with. And thank God you have food on your table to eat and share with others. While we are rejoicing in the birth of Jesus Christ, with our loved ones, please remember to pray for those who do not have the luxury of faith, family or food. If you are able to be a blessing to someone else during this season, please do so. Nobody should spend this day alone and/or hungry. So always remember to give thanks for the many blessings we have received in this life, and lets all try our best to pass those blessings onto others.

A very Merry and Blessed Christmas from my family to yours!

P.S.- it’s this beautiful little girl’s first Christmas. The greatest blessing God could have ever given my husband and I! <3

Brie <3

[12.25.14]

All Posts, Music Favorites

My Christmas Playlist

December 22, 2014 Leave a Comment

Tis’ the season to be merry and listen to even more merry music! Here are a few of my favorite Christmas songs, I must listen to, this time of year. They are in no particular order, but these are my favorite versions of each song by various artists. What are some of your favorite songs to get you in the Christmas mood?

All Posts, Dear Diary

Give Thanks Anyway

November 30, 2014 Comments : 6

It is the Sunday following Thanksgiving, and lets just say, the holiday didn’t quite go as planned. This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our home. I love hosting holidays in our own home. As much as others complain about being busy, I love the hustle and constant movement during the holiday season. The added bonus- it was little Miss Jordyn’s first Thanksgiving! 🙂 As we had planned from the beginning of November, we would host Thanksgiving, and my husband’s sister and her boyfriend were going to spend thanksgiving week with us. In addition to having them in town, we were also expecting four of our close friends here in Montana to join us for dinner.

Well, two days before Thanksgiving, my husband’s sister found out she would have to work on Sunday. So instead of staying from Wednesday to the following Wednesday, she would stay from Wednesday to Saturday. They were planning to drive from California so they would need to leave early in the morning, a day in advance, to make it back in time. Although we were pretty bummed their visit would be cut short, we were happy we would get to see them at all. Fast forward about 3 hours later, and not only did she have to work on Sunday, she had to be in town for rehearsal on Saturday. Which means, they would have left California in the wee morning hours on Wednesday morning, gotten to Montana Wednesday evening, spent all of Thanksgiving Day with us, only to have to go to bed early to get up in the wee morning hours on Friday to drive back to California, and make it there in time to sleep for a few seconds before heading into work on Saturday. As much as my husband and I wanted to be with them for Thanksgiving, we knew expecting them to deal with a ridiculous driving schedule just to spend one day here in Montana with us, wasn’t fair or safe for that matter. I felt really bad for my husband all night on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday, because I know how much he loves his sister, how much he misses her, and how long he had been looking forward to seeing her for Thanksgiving. Then, to add one more change into the regularly scheduled program, by the time I had finished last-minute shopping for Thanksgiving necessities on Wednesday evening, my husband informed me that one of our friends were not joining us because he had to work as well. In the span of about 16 hours our Thanksgiving guest count had gone from 8 people to 5 people.

All I could think about was how much I would need to change in the amount of food being prepared, and the table set up I had already planned in my head. Then I was quickly reminded of how The Lord works in mysterious ways. Apparently, some parts of Montana were encountering some pretty bad weather, and the Montana Highway Patrol were advising people not to travel on the roads in such terrible conditions if not necessary. In the midst of all my prepping, cleaning, and maintaining a little one, I also realized I no longer needed to set up an additional table, make another centerpiece, or rearrange the dining room area. All five of us would be able to fit at our dining room table, and I actually had a few less things to make me crazy over the next few hours.

Once our few guests arrived for dinner, with their side dishes and desserts, we took our seats, prayed over the food, and proceeded to eat until we couldn’t eat anymore. After dinner, we hung out on the couch watching football games, playing video games, and cracking each other up in the process. One of Jordyn’s BFFs (Amelia) even came over to hang out after her and her Mom had finished their Thanksgiving meal with their family.

I say all of this, because this year I learned (for the hundredth time) that my plans will always be trumped by His plans. Thanksgiving may not have gone how we originally planned it to, but we knew Kris’ sister and her boyfriend were safe at home not battling dangerous snow storms. We also didn’t mind not having as much work to do in the kitchen and in preparation for the day either (haha). Even with all of the changes we had an amazing Thanksgiving, with even more amazing friends that are our family away from home.

I believe everything happens for a reason. This Thanksgiving taught me a very valuable lesson about life in general. When things seem to fall apart or are not working as I had originally planned..

Give Thanks Anyway.

Brie <3

[11.30.14]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Family Love

Happy Birthday GG & Happy 5 Months Jordyn!

November 18, 2014 Leave a Comment

Today is my Grandma’s (a.k.a. Abuelita but better known as Jordyn’s GG) birthday. We were supposed to say “see you later” to GG yesterday morning, but a last minute, unexpected trip to the ER for GG ended up rescheduling that plan for Thursday morning. Don’t worry, GG is doing just fine, and had endured a wonderful case of “vertigo”. Although I am upset she had to go through this, I am extremely happy this unfortunate event took place BEFORE she boarded her train, what should have been the following morning. It also doesn’t hurt that Jordyn and I get to keep GG here with us for a few extra days ;-). GG has been here in Montana with us since September 16^th, and man do we enjoy having her here. It is always nice to have a “piece of home” near you when you’re so far away from everyone. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a Grandma’s girl in general- so Thursday will be a tough day for both Grandma and I. As much as it saddens me, and makes me cry, when my family members have to leave me, I find comfort in the blessing of having so many people to love and so many people to love me back. GG hasn’t even left us yet and we already anticipating the post-GG effects in the Jamieson household. As always, we will bounce back from the sadness, and look forward to the happiness of getting to see each other again in the near future. But in the meantime, I hope my Grandma is having the greatest birthday, ever. It is truly a blessing to be able to call her Grandma. She is one of the most caring and genuinely beautiful people I have ever met in my life. I pray God blesses her to see MANY more. If you would like to send her a birthday shout out, I will be sure to relay the message to her. Happy birthday Grandma/GG! We love you so much!

Jordyn has the pleasure of turning 5 months old on her GG’s birthday. Since her 4 month check in, Jordyn has improved her coordination so much. She is able to reach and grab her toys when they are hanging in front of her. She has even figured out how to slowly move her opposite hand over to the object and grab it with both hands. She has been sleeping through the night since her last week of being 3 months old. (Thanks rice cereal!) I know, I know, we are extremely lucky she sleeps through the night at such a young age. She usually wakes up talking to herself/playing with her fingers and trying to reach her toes for about half an hour before she gives us the warning yell that she is ready to be entertained by her personal court jesters (Mom and Dad). Neither Kris nor I take our new lovely sleep schedule for granted. When doing tummy time, she is still trying to figure out how to prop herself up on her arms, but she has definitely figured out how to get her knees in the crawling position. Tummy time doesn’t last more than 15 minutes, because someone gets pretty impatient at not being able to move, and starts hollering to be put on her back. She also told me to let everyone know she’s working on her attitude problem LOL. Today, we will attempt to try her first spoon fed meal. It’ll only be rice cereal and nursery water so we’ll see how she feels about it. I’ll have pictures to follow within the next few days.

This is about sums up everything that is “new” in Jojo’s world. Oh, I forgot to mention she LOVES to smile and giggle even more now. I just love everything about this feisty, sweet, giggly little Princess J!

-Brie <3

[11.18.14]