ww

happy wednesday.
a

tuesday ten

1. it rained all weekend and i loved it.  rain is my favorite weather.

2. i have bieber fever and i think the kid is an absolute doll.  em and i saw his movie and he really seems like a great kid.  hopefully he doesn't go all typical teen star and make me wish i never went let my kid go gaga over him.

3. ethan has new furniture and it makes my heart go pitter patter.  maybe because my hubby made it perfect.

4. i am going to do a Bible study with some of my friends and i can't wait.

5. i am seriously thinking about being vegan-ish.  nick already gave up dairy months ago and i pretty much have, with the exception of greek yogurt and creamer.  animal protein does some nasty stuff to our bodies and i am having a hard time stomaching that.

6. my fingers are currently covered in spray paint.  you know what that means... yep... i spray painted :)

7. we are taking our kids to the grand canyon soon... can't wait, i love the gc.  i hiked it ya know, stayed overnight at the bottom and hiked out the next day.  amazing.  except for no running water due to a flood and getting pelted in the back of the head with a rock.

8. i've never been snow skiing or snowboarding.  i love to wakeboard... it's warmer.  i love the snow and all, but not actually being out in it.

9. i use ........ too much, but i'm ok with that.  i'm secure in my identity and am capable of admitting my puntuation abuse.

10. i'm planning on redecorating our master bedroom.  hopefully nick will read this post and will find out here... much easier than breaking the news in person.  l♥ve you babe.

happy tuesday.
a

girls scout cookies galore

this is what a distribution site looks like.  a high school parking lot with every single parking space filled with cookies.  the spots that are empty were already picked up.  amazing.

a couple of us crazy enough to get up to pick up the cookies.

and proof that i wear flip flops all year long-even in "winter"

em's portion.

i'm glad she's excited because now the work of delivery begins!!!

happy sunday.

a

tuesday ten

1. we had a mno (mom's night out) with our moms group on friday.  my girls got tailed through the outdoor mall by security and then kicked out.  did i mention we were all dressed in wedding, prom and hideous glitzy dresses?  and it's a church group.  we represent well.

2. whole wheat toast with pb and sliced strawberries is a fantastic little pick me up mid day.

3. my computer crashed last sunday and i was without technology for a week, aside from my phone which i'm not counting, although i really should.  and my hubby was out of town so i couldn't even use his.  i'm pathetically addicted to my computer.  he picked up my new one last night and i held back until this morning.  i wasn't going to spend the evening of l♥ve on the computer.  instead i fell asleep on the couch at 8:45.  romantic.

4. my weekly purchased tulips were duds and shriveled before they opened.

5. we were at the park yesterday and the tooth fairy came by.  ethan hid in the train.  he was cool when he thought she was just wearing a pretty dress with wings, until i mentioned that she was the tooth fairy (handing out toothbrushes, of course) and he didn't want a thing to do with her.

6. we had a massive purge day on saturday and we took about 250# of crapola to gw and i'm still on a roll.  the "scrapbook room" is under major scrutiny.

7. my life is happy.

8. i want to repaint the entire downstairs.  i think nick mentioned something about taking a poster to every paint store in the area that includes my picture and a  "do not sell paint to this girl" message.

9. my front room has been taken over by girl scout cookies, which for some might be a problem, but not for me, i don't eat them.  i still have 4 boxes from last year.

10. you should never go paint pottery with a group of girlfriends.  it's a well known fact that we never shut up and sometimes talking is a distraction.  i have a decorative plate on top of my cabinets that reads "happy everythiing"  it took me 3 months to notice the mistake.  my dad was here when i noticed it and he laughed at me, he saw it right away and felt bad so he didn't say anything.  he also wondered how long it would take for me to notice, but he just thought he would come over and it would be gone someday, he never dreamed he'd actually be here for the realization, which i'm sure was hilarious for him.  i left it up, it makes me smile.

happy tuesday.
a

pray for kate

i feel led to share this with you because there is no such thing as too much prayer.  there is a young girl named kate mcrae that lives just miles from us here.  many of my friends are close friends of her family.  even though i don't know them personally, i am very touched by their faith in Jesus.  my heart has been heavy for their family since the results of her mri on tuesday showed new spots on her brain that they believe to be cancer.

please visit their site and pray for kate and her family.

there is nothing that He can't do.

a

ww

happy wednesday.
a

tuesday ten

1. i was on the wallace and ladmo show twice when i was little.  once with girl scouts, once as a class field trip.  one of my friends was in a different class and i wanted to sit by her so i traded seats with the girl next to her.  the girl i traded with won the ladmo bag.

2. i can't stand to walk around my the house (anybodies) barefoot and i always have socks on, especially on the tile.

3. lunch with jb today was just what i needed.

4. i am the cfo of our family, handling every bit of our finances but investments.  i leave those to my very capable husband.  i don't pay any attention to his side.  i usually don't know what he does until i see a new "investment" line on our banking site, because he's cool like that and has every.single.account linked to our main bank account.  we have budget meetings though, for some reason he likes to see where his hard earned money goes.  i've tricked online banking into thinking that hobby lobby is a "household necessity" which instantly justifies multiple debit transactions.

5. we're going to dinner at bandera.  my mouth waters just thinking about their jalapeno cornbread.

6. i've been working with a personal trainer and i love it.  for some reason looking and feeling better outweighs the ridiculous workouts that he puts me through and i keep going back.

7. my little guy has been showering on his own for quite a while now and he's so proud of himself every time.  i miss bath time though and sometimes he'll let me talk him in to taking a bath just so i can sit and chat with him.

8. i love to craft and cook and clean and bake and decorate my house.  i'm one of those freaky people that loves to mop my floors.  except i don't use a mop, i use a shop towel under my feet, or i get down on my hands and knees.  i don't really think other methods of mopping are effective.  that's just me.  making my house clean and comfortable is something that brings me joy and i consider it a blessing.  both to have a house to clean and having a family that i love to do it for.

9. veggies and jalapeno hummus are my favorite meal at the moment.

10. i love dave ramsey's quote about getting out of debt... "if your broke friends are making fun of you, then you're right on track."

happy tuesday.
a

project life

i'm taking the easier approach to telling our story by using this.  i've come to terms with the fact that "scrapbooking" no longer interests me.  my scrapbook room needs a new name... a new purpose because i'm just over it.  no more buying tons of paper and never using it.  i'm actually going to get our story out of the computer and project life is the method that i chose.  i'll randomly share our project life pictures with you.  today i'm posting just some of our life this year... enjoy :)

 em and i had the dreaded stomach flu on 1.1 and 1.2

 the kids helped me make "pretzel-mint bark" as ethan named it

 basketball with my boy.  i realize that this isn't the best picture with my truck in the background, but it is what it is and i'm exchanging the perfect background for the story

 i bought these... for myself. they were amazing.

it's cookie time for our little girl scout!

 ethan helping put the choc chips on his pancakes

 we've been decorated for valentine's for about a week

my newest l♥ve from my greatest l♥ve

i dare you to visit their site and not fall head over heels. mine's the lola satchel in case you really like it! i have several of their bags and they are amazing quality! the diaper bag... even the duggers couldn't wear it out!

that's just a peek at what's been going on around here!

happy friday.

a

ww

my treasures.  san diego, 7.07

happy wednesday.
a

looking ahead...

the other day ethan and i were driving to the gym after dropping em off at school.  out of the blue he says "mom, sometimes i just get so very sad when i think about you being alone all day when i'm at school."  i started to say that he's going to love school and have so much fun when he interrupts me with "but you won't be alone, you'll have Jesus with you.  Jesus is always with you."

i also can't help but be sad when i think about him starting school next year.  and then i remember that he'll have Jesus with him.

happy tuesday.
a

put a little "happy" into the new year...

makes me smile.  we need it, we've battled a stomach bug around here since saturday morning :(
at least it makes for lots of snuggle time :)

happy monday!
a

Merry Christmas!!

please pray... updated

amy is home and is healing, praise God... thanks for your prayers!!

i realize that i never updated you about amy.  she ended up making a turn for the better and not needing the surgery afterall... until last saturday.  it is just one thing after another right now and today, after three days in the icu, she needs yet another procedure.
take a minute to read the updates on their blog and pray for them.
thank you.
a 

fun fact friday

i came up with that title.  bloggers everywhere will be quoting me within a matter of minutes... never.

ok, so everybody has seen the wizard of oz, right?  well, this is the castle from the movie... the wicked witch's castle... flying monkeys ring a bell?  i took this picture from my seat (thank you crazy great zoom lens) in michie stadium at west point, during half time of the football game.  neat, right?  the man that owned the property when they made the movie said that they could use it to film as long as the monkeys were dressed like cadets... hence the uniforms.

there you have it... the first ever "fun fact friday"!

happy friday!
a

who doesn't love the mall at Christmas...

me.  i never go to the mall, let alone at Christmas time.  we have an outdoor mall by us and i will go there, but i don't really think that counts as a "mall" to be honest with you.

i might visit the mall, however, if i thought i would get to see this... so fun!



i was a part of a flash mob at our women's conference at church and it was so much fun... no singing was involved though, that would not have happened :)

happy thursday!
a

wordless wednesday/ happy december

nobody plays the umbrella quite like he can

happy wednesday/ december!

a

semi-wordless wednesday

he was a proud daddy, showing them around west point

seriously, is this not beautiful? 

i love this... i know he's telling them about the cadets wearing their pt uniforms and about what they're doing. 

10 years later...

hello, beautiful architecture, i've missed you

happy wednesday readers, i've missed you too...

a

please pray

my precious friend Amy is in need of prayer.  their family has endured so many trials over the past couple of years and i ask that you please join me in praying for her and her family.  they are people of incredible faith and Amy has had a very strong impact on my life.  i can't even begin to tell you how special she is to me... she is one of those people... she's part of your life and you're changed forever.  really.
Amy had back surgery last week due to some complications that she has had since delivering sweet maddie last april.  it's a very long story, but since last week's surgery amy has had incredibly painful headaches and has been hospitalized since sunday.  she will have surgery tomorrow and we are praying that the neurosurgeon will find a spinal fluid leak and repair it, resulting in Amy's relief of pain.
please, please, please be on your knees for my dear friend.
God IS good.  all the time.

a

nyc day 2

these are just a teaser, i'll post more when i have the time to sit at the computer for more than five minutes!

trust me, these are my least favorite of the bunch!

happy friday!

a

it's great to be 5!

our little guy turns five today and he is so excited!  he has been looking forward to this day for so long and is so happy that it's finally here!

happy birthday, little buddy!  you are the best little guy in the world and we love you so much!

we can't wait for all of the exciting things being five has in store for you!

love,

daddy, mommy & em