i smile because...

as much as they seem to fight...

they apparently really do like each other.

these freezing temps are really making me wish for a much warmer place.

the best of thanksgiving break 2010:


*aunt Jen's chocolate pie

*shopping Black Friday like some kind of bionic woman

*an afternoon at the movies
(Tangled is fantastic)

*a giving tree

*more than a few shoveled driveways

*snow

*snow

*and more snow

*oh...and a photo opp with this baby girl.

(i mean really...to that tutu. so cute.)

to the boy who loves a stack of buttermilk pancakes more than life itself.

i smile because

this is what we woke up to.

and now I can play Christmas music without feeling a bit of guilt.

noteworthy occasions fall 2010

alright...so, I am down to posting one month's worth of pics in a post. we are all about time management over here.

FALL 2010

*fall leaf wild rumpus

*a trip to the corn maze and the first time appearance of
this, almost 11 year old's, "i'm too cool to say cheese" face.

*a Halloween to remember, where I actually made (with a little help from a few
skilled seamstresses) pirate costumes for my little guys.

*Oh... and i got to sit on the beach with my husband.

it was perfection.

i smile because

it's caramel apple season.

i smile because...

i get to chase after this kid everyday.

field trip to the pumpkin patch. official beginning of fall for me. hard to believe i only have a few more of these left to go to. my kids are growing right up.

i wonder how many hay rides i'll have been on by the time this is all over?

i wonder how many times i'll have watched one of my kids scramble to the top of the hay stack with their classmates close behind?

i wonder how many times these memories will put a big smile on my face in the falls to come?

i have been working on this piece FOREVER. trying to make a little girl's room into a big girl's room by adding bits of kelly green to the all the pink. i love the finished product, but am now looking around the room at what else needs to change to make the night stand work better.

next thing you know, my husband will be standing in the room with a paint brush and a look on his face that says, "i thought it was fine the way it was."

oh, my poor husband.

girls in white dresses

She is wearing the dress I wore on my baptism day. My mom (her grandmother) made it. Her other grandma made a few adjustments and slight changes so that she could wear it. A dress made by both of her grandmothers. She says she is going to have her little girl wear it some day.

Can you honestly think of anything better than girls in pretty white dresses?



*thanks to my sweet friend for helping to document this memory with me. you are the best.

Balloons, button jewelry, mud pie, and swimming...that's what 8 year old little girls are made of.

A day I won't soon forget.



*another date to remember. sign up now!

rub-a-dub-dub

two men in a tub.

River.

i haven't posted much on this here blog. we have been doing A LOT of this...

among other things.

summer is going by way too fast.

that this face I am making right now will ALWAYS turn my Mom into putty.


oh...and that Diego was real and actually my brother.


happy birthday to me...littlest C.

no words for how much i love this kid.

happy birthday little man.

a few "oh, so summer pics."

we are loving every second of it. can you tell?

end of season

loved watching my son do what he loves to do so much...play baseball.

(one of many snow cones consumed this season.)

brave today

"happy lives here"

brave enough today to finally put paint on canvas.

brave enough today to admit that happy doesn't always live here.

sometimes stress, chaos, and a fair amount of "you're driving me crazy" occupy this house.

happy is the goal. now we have a daily reminder.

i am chocolate. he is steak. i am beaches. he is mountains. i am a good book. he is a fishing mag. i am......

certain that after 13 years our differences don't really matter.

today is our anniversary.

around the house

a reminder that mother's day really did happen

new throw pillows

moving outside...too nice of a day.

back inside now. someone is saying it's too hot out.

the heart speaks: mother's day

Growing Pains


He grows up taller, smarter, stronger.
I hold on tighter, harder, longer.

He's open arms, great big world in his eyes.
My heart hurts, I know how time flies.

He's full of purpose, so ready the day.
I plead just wait, you don't know the way.

He says one day you'll have to let go.
I say I know, I know, I know.

my thoughts on the bitter-sweet that is this job of mom. happy mother's day to my mom and every other mom I know. enjoy your day.

ps: mom I love you!!!!!!!

soccer is over and i would just like to challenge any one of you to come over and try to pry my daughter's trophy out of her hands.

(i can't remember the last time i was in a good huddle)

my daughter's cuteness cup runnith over.

travel log in pics

santa cruz- spring break 2010

the red woods

the boardwalk

bet you've never seen missionaries on a roller coaster before.

the beach

monetray bay aquarium

denice the menace park

we had so much fun. such a nice change to see things outside your ordinary. thanks mom and dad for the memories.