Twenty10:114

I found this drawing in the crazy drawer in my kitchen. I vaguely remember Eric drawing it one day because Jack wanted to draw with him. It says so much about Eric's perspective on our family. :)

Twenty10:113

Kaitlin is a whole new woman! She got a hair cut today and she needed it......bad. Since we are rapidly approaching middle school, I guess it was time for a fresh look, so we called Lindsey. Kaitlin loves her new hair. I think it's just what the doctor ordered.

Kaitlin look so young here, but she does not look this young in real life. She is 5'2 and has the longest legs on earth. I give her 2 more years before she looks like my younger sister, not my daughter. Speaking of young, I had a 65 year old man get a little fiesty with my at the grocery store today while I tried to purchase a bottle of vino. He asked me in a mean voice if I was trying to use my mom's I.D. After I informed him that my mom is 61 years old, he looked at me like I was a liar and studied my ID while people in line looked at me in wonderment. He was so wanting to bust me for using a fake ID. And I think the people behind me wanted so badly to witness it. I loved every minute of it. Ten years ago it drove me nuts. But now I relish every angry elderly man or woman who can't possibly believe I am 31 years old. I am now very appreciative of 2 things I hated growing up: curly hair and young looking genes.

Twenty10:112

I wish I would have thought of silly bands. I would be making a surprising amount of money right now. It's amazing to me that these little rubber bracelets are so in demand.

I wonder how long this craze will last?

Twenty10:111

If you don't have a ball, why not use an orange?

Twenty10:110

It's "callapitter" seasons. It nevers stops amazing me how something so ugly can turn into something so beautiful. One of nature's finest little treasures if you ask me.

Twenty10:109

Jack decided to add some decorations to his room. When I walked in and saw this, I smiled. My favorite part of his design is the upside down g. Five years ago I would have taken these off the walls. Today, I am just glad he didn't color on the walls. I am leaving his narly decorations up. He likes them, and that's all that matters. I have so many other battles to pick with him. It's great therepy for the little portions of OCD that are still left in me after being a working mother for 4 years. I've had to give up my dreams of being organized, perky, and efficent. Survival is my new goal.

Twenty10:108

I planted sunflowers in my ugly backyard....and they are actually GROWING!

Twenty10:107

It is days like today when I can't imagine not having my faith. I have no desire to write about today. I don't want to relive it. I have had no desire to write at all this week. But I am so thankful. Thankful that despite that millions of reasons people choose to not believe in God, I choose to believe. And since I chose to believe, He has shown up in ways that I would have never imagined. Ways I would never share with others, because most people would not believe me. On days like today, I would have fallen apart if I had not known that God was holding me all day long. Holding my mom. Holding my whole family. My mom is okay. Life continues as normal. I've learned that a normal day is a blessing in my world. And for that I am thankful.

Twenty10:106

We had some great success at the neighborhood garage sale today. It was a long day, and I was beyond tired....so I felt worthless, but Kaitlin helped Nana a lot. She is very much comfortable when she is organizing and in charge. And I was very much comfortable sitting in a chair and dreaming of a soft, fluffy bed. Jack and Carsyn stalked my mom's new neighbors, Lee, Brant, and Saishell, all day. They would NOT.LEAVE.THEM.ALONE. I felt so bad, but I was so tired and was not making my normal parenting decisions. These sweet people just loved Jack, and Jack and Carsyn wanted to hang with them all day. He talked their heads off. He charmed them into letting him play with their dog, their bubble machines, and practically host their garage sale.

This is Brant, giving Jack a ride on the dolly they were trying to sell. I seriously owe these people babysitting money. I feel bad, but they loved him. I think Lee and Saishell are a young couple, possibly contemplating marriage, and playing "pretend parents" with Jack and Carsyn to test the waters. I am not sure they will have children of thier own after today. I need to send them a thank you card. No matter how many times I told them to stay away from the neighbors....I would turn around and see them over there....running the show.

Twenty10:105

We helped Nana set up for her garage sale tonight. Jack and Carsyn had more fun than we did. They built a whole pretend house and even added plants on each side for decor. They were really into their little world, so Nana and I just listened. This was the living room I guess. They are so cute when they play together. Such vivid imaginations.

Twenty10:104

This is Eric's man cave. He spends a crazy amount of time here. He plays an online game called Evony, and I am pretty sure that after the amount of time he has spent playing it, he has become Lord of his Country, or whatever it's called. He is very serious about his pretend universe, because in this virtual world....no one whines, no one asks him to help clean, and he is always in charge. Must be nice. :)

Twenty10:103

My mother in law should teach courses to other Mother in laws. She picked up my kids from school, brought me a Starbucks iced coffee in a new coffee mug, cooked dinner, did 3 days worth of our dirty dishes (this sink was overflowing with crusty dishes this morning), and let me work for 2 hours by myself this afternoon. I could go down the list of things she does for us regularly. She re-defines the word service. Thank you Beth! God knows I need your help!

And she even used organic ingredients because she knows I'm freaky like that. :)

Twenty10:102

The best part of my day (besides the obvious waking up alive and making it thru with portions of my sanity) was unpacking this china. Eric and I did not register for china at our wedding 8 years ago because we were 12 and we did not know what we were doing. Who wooda thunk that all these lovely years later I would help my mom pack up her house and she would GIVE me her china from her and my dad's wedding? I am obviously her favorite child. And I am so stupidly excited that I have fine china in my house. I love the pattern too. I goes with everything in my dining room. Eric's parents gave us the dining room furniture, and now we have my parents china. yay for us! Now its time for a fancy dinner party. Break out the Ramen noodles! Mamas gone fancy!

Twenty10:101

It's always fun to use a computer when you have this beautiful brightness bar frozen on your screen. I'm not complaining. I don't do that. I'm merely mentioning that this is a joyful experience and that I highly recommend buying a Samsung flatscreen monitor because they do this awesome thing and everyone should experience how awesome it is to have a monitor Justlikethis with this frozen bar in the middle! I love having to move my pictures around the screen, only to catch one half of an eye around that awesome brightness bar and not even be able to SEE the pictures I am editing. But I am not complaining about this. It was just the only thing I thought of when I realized I never took one single picture all day today, and I am in the middle of this awesome project that I have joyfully committed myself to in the midst of my busy life that requires me to take one picture every.single.day. As soon as I get paid, I am getting a new monitor. I've found some really nice ones on Amazon for under $150.00. The end of this month, this pollen, and this monitor can not come soon enough. No complaints, just stating facts.

Twenty10:100

I can't believe I have made it to day 100 with this project!! And the best part about it is that I somehow am off by one day. hehe. Today should be day 101. But I am always a little bit off, so why start being "on" now? That's not me.

We are having a contest in our little foursome family. I have had it with the complaining and whining that I hear in my house on a regular basis. Eric is always complaining about his job being so stressful and how the kids don't listen. Jack complains about just about everything. Kaitlin complains about being bored or having to help me around the house. blah, blah, blah. We grabbed some Mexican food after church today and it hit me. I wake up happy and inspired, but am quickly brought down by negative complaining and whining. I decided to challenge my whiny family to a contest. And the biggest complainer loses. We each picked something (that costs nothing) we really wanted if we are the winner of the contest. For every verbal complaint, each person gets a strike. 3 strikes and your out. I am so going to win this game. The good thing is, my kids are becoming aware of the negative thought patterns and words that are robbing them, and people around them of happiness. I want them to be aware that when they complain and whine, everyone around them is affected. But the person affected the most is them. Your actions often follow your thoughts and words and lead you down a very depressing and negative life. I do not want my kids to be negative thinkers. It has been a very peacful day. We have gotten competative about it. Every word that comes out of our mouth is thought out carefully. I'm loving this.

Twenty10:99

As I pulled into Nana's house today, I saw that one of her neighbors horses was laying down, not moving. I was in a rush, but wanted to make sure she wasn't dead, so I pulled over. As soon as I got out of the car, she lifted up her massive head and turned around to let me know she was alive. I felt a huge sense of relief. She was just taking a nap. Thank goodness, because I was about to enter day 3 of moving exhaustion and was in no mood to break the news to her owners that she was a goner. I guess I've never seen a horse take a nap. As I stood there in amazement at the enormity and beauty of one of God's most awesome animals, one of them decided to come say hello.

And man is she BIG, and so beautiful it made me tear up just being in her presense. Or maybe I was just tired, but I am pretty sure it was her beauty that left me speechless and tearful. Or maybe it was all the emotions of having to help my mom move away from her dream home that got to me in that moment. But the tears started flowing. She was just so beautiful. And clearly this moment was deserving of being digitally captured.

And I am thinking she liked to photoshoot. I am pretty sure she was smiling. She kept turning her head and posing for the camera. Or maybe she was trying to get a good look at this object that I was holding. At this point I wasn't sure if she was happy that I was there or if she was trying to bully me into leaving. She was SO close to my face, but I'm thinking that she was just being friendly.

And then came her friend, Donkey, whom I enjoyed just as much. Donkey wanted to know what all the fuss was about, or maybe she wanted to pose for the cameras too, or maybe she was helping beauty bully me into leaving. Either way....I got all warm and fuzzy. They let me pet them for a while. We talked about stuff. They were very nice. It was such a surprising little slice of heaven to stop and hang with such beautiful animals all by myself. I wouldn't have stopped if beauty didn't look dead, so in a wierd way, I'm thankful she did....and I'm thankful she wasn't. I am going to miss seeing them as I drive down that gravel road on the way to Nana's. But we can always go back and see them, or drive to PaPa's farm. It's sad that I never really apreciated this amazing view like I should have. I guess I thought it would always be there. And I guess that's a lesson I needed to learn.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

G.G. and her great grandkids

{ This picture cracks me up. I love Jack's mullet and how messy his face is.}

We spent the week moving mom, Cliff and G.G. into their new house. We still have another week of organizing for the garage sale next weekend. The kids were expected to be miserable throughout this process but they were surprisingly wonderful. They both helped us in ways we never expected and were so well behaved all week. Kaitlin was very take charge, Jack was great for placing things where they belong in the new house and taking things apart with his tools, and I am a really fast worker.....flying through like a tornado and gettin.things.done. To be honest, I loved every minute of being with my mom. We laugh so hard together all week. I developed a new favorite word. Chochkee. It's what my mom calls Nick Nacks. I think I've said it over a thousand times this week. I don't get to spend a lot of quality time with her, so I enjoyed this week, even though moving is an absolutley awful process. We got a huge kick out of cleaning out G.G's house. We found so many old pictures and boxes full of her memories. We also found a lot of strange "chochkee's" that we werent sure why she ever bought. We laughed a lot, and gagged on dust mites and pollen in the process. But we were so glad we were getting to do this while she is still alive. She jokes about dying soon all the time, but we think she's got a good 20 years left! Love you Geeg!

Twenty10:98

We loved every minute of our visit with the Galbraiths today. Kaitlin and I were both itching to meet baby Anna. She is beautiful and sweet and snuggly. Michelle and Steven....thank you for hosting and letting us invade your quiet little world! Just kidding. I know it's never quiet around there. But a serious thanks for having us. We wish we could have stayed all weekend and caught up. We've missed you over the last 3 months. Love you guys!

Twenty10:97

This was our dinner tonight. Chicken smothered in sauteed spinich and onions, topped with tomato slices and sprinkled with cheese. Sliced potatoes, cooked in coconut oil, and a dab of ranch on the top of each individual slice. Really Eric? You can be such a pain (as I can too), but you make up for it with all the love you put into feeding our family! My goal for this sumer is to learn how to cook. I don't want to take over as the chef in the family because Eric loves his role in our house, but I would like to be able to whip up a meal like this on a whim.

{This was supposed to be my picture of the day but when you hand a camera like mine over to someone who has never used one, this is the result. Blur, grain, and yuck. I tried to salvage what I could so I could record this day in my book at the end of the year}.

These are my Kindergarten teacher friends (minus half of them who were out of town). Rebecca is about to have her second little boy. She's been in the hospital on bed rest for 3 months now, which I can't fathom. I can't sit still for 5 minutes! She is so happy to be home now and spending time with her son Anderson before Jackson arives, and we were so happy to see her tiny, pretty little self outside of the hospital! I love these girls. They have carried me through this year, not to mention given me many, many laughs. You have to maintain a sense of humor as a teacher or you will go crazy, and I think we accomplish that!

Twenty10:96

I step on legos everyday, and it hurts. And my living room is always covered in legos, toys, and baskets full of toys. I've given up on trying to keep it neat. It's turned into Jack's playroom over the last 2 years. I get really mad when I step on a lego because it feels like stepping on glass. I have to hold back the words that want to come out of my mouth. But I know that he is only little for a short time, and I am in no hurry to see that go, so I'll deal. In the mean time, my living room is just going to be exactly this. It's a wreck, but those legos will be missed someday when he is a smelly teenager and wants nothing to do with me. Not that I think he will ever not worship the ground his momma walks on, but I prepare myself for that.....just in case.

Twenty10:95

We helped Nana move into her new house today. When Nana and I were taking furniture into the house, we walked outside and saw Jack, exactly like this, waiting (in all of his cuteness) with his head poked out of the side of the trailer. We both started screaming "don't move....stay just like that!" As we ran inside to get our cameras. And in typical paparazzi fashion, we snapped away at Sir Handsomeness. He was such a big help today. He really understands what looks good in a home and gave us great tips on where we should put what. He is also a great director and a strong mover! We loved his company and his input. He melted our hearts all day with his decor wisdom. We missed Kaitlin though. She sort of takes control and starts organizing and telling us what to do. A Little Aunt C.C in the making, except she's a little bit nicer. :) Love you sister! Now we are off to have dinner at Aunt Pattie's. I'm looking foward to relaxing a little bit.

Twenty10:94

gotta love apples!

Twenty10:93

We had a very happy Easter. We had breakfast with the Vaughns, attended a beautiful church service, helped Nana unpack at her new house, had Uncle Joe and Uncle Scott over for some Tacos, and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks for the 8th, 9th, and 10th time. I spent most of the day quietly counting my blessings. But we sure did miss you Eric!

Twenty10:92

We had a boys night last night. Jack was so excited to finally have his boys sleep over. They ate pizza, watched Alvin and the Chipmunks the Sqeakqual, and played with Legos....for hours. Kaitlin and I curled up in bed and watched The Blind Side. We put the boys to bed at 11, and I woke up to a noise in the playroom at 5:50 am. It was two of the boys, playing in Jack's playroom, at FIVE IN THE MORNING!!! I quickly made them go back to sleep and told them they could not get up until the sun came up. We made pancakes this morning and Jack was so sad when they left. I had a full girl day planned so Mama kept the kids. She took them to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes and I went to lunch with Kristin. Then I got to take pictures of one of my teacher friends. She is hysterical, and it was the most taking her pictures. Adults are so easy to photograph. I ended up picking up the kids at 5 and taking them shoe shopping. I finally got Jack to buy a pair of cool shoes. He likes the terrible ones that light up and have disney characters on them. I like converse, vans, and adidas flips. He agreed today, after 30 minutes of trying on tons of ugly shoes, to buy some adidas flip flops. YAY! Kaitlin got some really cute summer sandles too. We left the shoe stores and headed straight for he park. We got home after dark, and the kids are tired. I love Spring Break. I love the freedom and the weather and the feeling of the seasons changing. Now off to ge ready for Easter breakfast at our house!

Twenty10:91

Jack's class had his Q and U wedding today. He was very upset that he was not placed as Mia's groom. He was placed with Victoria instead, who is very cute, but clearly not his beloved Mia (pictured below). He cried for an hour last night over her. He says he loves her and he's mad that Ms. Dean did not make them a couple at the wedding. I was feeling really sorry for him for a while. He talks about sweet Mia all the time. He says he wants to marry her and have 4 kids. He even named all four of them one day! This girl is for sure his first crush. And how adorable is she??? Oh my. At least I know he has good taste in girls.

I felt so sorry for Jack all day. This afternoon I rushed to pick Jack up from the car rider line after I was done with my afternoon teacher duty. I was feeling that momma love and knew he had a rough day watching Mia marry some other dude. Then he broke the knews to me. This cute girl Piper in the car rider line confessed her love to Jack and now they are boyfriend and girlfriend. Jack also informed me that he is dating Piper's sister, Ellie, as well. He says he still loves Mia, but Piper likes him back, so he's going out with her. A lot can happen in one day in the life of a six year old. Jack is all of the sudden walking a little different. He's got confidence. He's the man!

Twenty10:90

No matter how cheesy school pictures are, I love um. I love having them around the house. It makes me feel like a real grown up to see these photos of my kids in frames arond the house. This was the first year Kaitlin wore her glasses in her picture. Her friends tell her not to get contacts because she doesn't look like herself without her classic black frames. I agree. Those glasses have become a part of her current identity. And Jack's cuteness makes me hurt. Oh that beautiful red hair!!! And how did April get here so fast? I can't believe how fast the first half of the year goes by....every year. No complaints. Summer is so close!

Twenty10:89

I got to officiate my first wedding today. I had the priviledge of joining the letters Q and U together, forever, in Holy mattress money. This event is something I've looked foward to all year as a Kindergarten teacher. The girls dressed up as Queens and the boys as Quarterbacks. The got to walk down the isle, say their vows, and dance at a very high class reception. We ate cupcakes and drank applejuice and we loved every minute of it. How cute are these little ones? I have so many great pictures but so little time. Plus, this is a family blog, not a teacher blog. I need a blog for my classroom. I have so many great pictures and stories to share every day. Maybe someday when I get my act together.....whatever that means.

Twenty10:88

I count my blessings when I watch Lindsey cut Jack's hair. Not many people are willing to make house calls and deal with an angry 6 year old. Buts she loves Eric's cooking, and says it worth it for one of his meals. It's also a bonus that we are best friends. :) Love her. Don't love hair cut days. We tried cutting his hair in front of a video game this time. That didn't work. I couldn't get a shot of Jack flipping out because I had to drop the camera and do damage control. This photo in no way expresses the real picture of what she deals with. He sure is handsome though! I now have two very cute boys (including Eric) with very nice hair cuts.

And Jack looks JUST like my dad and sister in this picture. I just saw this for the first time.

Twenty10:87

Twenty10:86

Today was great. We tried out a new church, and Jack loved it. We kind of went on a wierd day as far as the sermon goes, but got a great idea of what the church is all about. We are in a wierd place with church, and we just don't know where to go with our feelings. When it comes down to it, nobody delivers a message like Andy Stanley and Joel Osteen, so I've got to lower my expectations and focus on the kids. As long as the kids are happy, and we feel the church isn't corrupt or pushy, we will most likely stay. We are tired of church hopping and want to raise the kiddos in one place. Eric and I want different things from a church, so we've met in the middle and decided to look for something the kids love. I'd be happy listening to Andy and Joel in the comfort of my living room with my husband and my coffee, but we already do that, and it gives our kids nothing. I would "home church" but that takes away from the experience of growing up in a youth group and participating in outreach progams, which teaches the kids to serve the community. So were trying this one out for a while. We'll see. We weren't thrilled, but we came on a wierd day. I am looking forward to the Easter service.

Funny story worth remembering: Eric made this insane meal tonight. Grilled chicken, spinich, broccoli, grilled onions, YUM. The sun came out and we decided to eat on the porch. It was so nice to sit outside with the family and eat a good meal, even though neither one of our lovely children wanted to. Kaitlin noticed a cloud and started to freak. I made a smart elic comment about the chances of that one little cloud passing over our house and raining on our meal and told her to calm down and eat. I believe I may have use the phrase "drama queen". oops! About 5 minutes later, Eric and I heard this rush of water. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from but it sounded like a flood, and it came on so fast. Within seconds, it started HAILING on our house, and our fabulous meal. It was SUNNY outside, but hailing on our house. hmmmmmmm. We bolted inside and watched the remainder of our delicious food get washed away by this random monsoon. I could not help but burst into laughter. We all did. Thank goodness we were done eating! It lasted maybe one minute and was gone. Maybe I shouldn't have called Kaitlin out on that panic over a cloud. She was right, and I believe God has a lil' sense of humor! Next time I'll keep the name calling to myself.

Twenty10:85

I know I don't look welcome in the bathroom with my camera, but they are fifth grade girls, and they love having their picture taken....even if the looks on their faces says otherwise. They all have their own cameras and they are all constantly snapping away at each other. I remember this time in my life....when I first started growing up and thinking I was pretty, and wanting my picture made....jumping in front of the camera and then rushing to the camera store to get them developed, yes developed. {HOW did I survive my teenage years without a digital camera? HOW?} Then I got terrible acne and my hair turned to frizz (and we DIDN'T have straighteners) and I pretty much spent the rest of my high school days running from cameras and hiding behind the pretty girls. I HATED having my picture taken. I use to rip up pictures of myself because all I saw was a pimpled monster. Moment of prayer: Please Lord let the gene dissapear from my family. Please, PLEASE do not let my children or neices and nephews go thru the torment of acne in such important years for self esteem development. Amen. I think I just went off. Biter? Nope, not at all. Thankful, actually. I was forced to work on my personality instead admiring myself in front of the mirror. God knew what he was doing. I might have been an ego maniac if I was pretty in high school. My life could have taken a very different direction. But since kaitlin is already a beautiful person on the inside, my prayer for her is that she gets to enjoy her teen years as a beautiful, confident, morally driven young lady.

They had fun last night at their little gathering. We are taking all of them to a new church today. I am really excited to check it out and I hope we all love it and make it our new church home.

Twenty10:84

We got to spend some time with Jake and Meagan tonight. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. Our cheeks hurt when they left. Jake is hysterical, but in a totally non-offensive kind of way, which I love. And we are so excited for them because they are having a baby this year! We played Apples to Apples, ate a delicious meal, and laughed. It was a perfect Friday night. Congratulations guys! I'm looking foward to meeting baby Smith in the Fall!

Twenty10:83

Cindy, this one's for you. My lovely, crammed, hodgepodge kitchen cabinet. It's that place that I put everything that I don't know where to put. I like it just the way it is. Gotta have one. If Debi Hice every reads this post she may pass out. :)

Twenty10:82

Eric came home tonight with dinner, and this rose in his hand. He looked at me with this silly grin and asked "will you accept this rose?" in his best bachelor voice. I about fell out of my chair! We both laughed, and no matter how silly he was being, I thought it was the cutest thing he's done in years. It blew me away.

Twenty10:81

Today was tough. I woke up with a fever and a throat so sore I cringed every time I swallowed. I knew it was coming. I started getting chills yesterday and had to leave school right after work because I was so tired I had to sleep. I would have taken the day off, but I had to take 21 Kindergarteners on a field trip to a local museum. It was a big day, and I had to be there. I swallowed several advil, and prayed that I could smile my way through the aches and pains. I made it through the day, but by the time I got to the doctor, I felt like I had the flu. I wanted to cry for my mommy like a 5 year old. Turns out I have strep. YUCK. The kids had fun, and Jack got to go with my class all day, so I got to do both the mom thing and the teacher thing. That was very cool. Great museum, not so great to feel terrible when 21 kids need you to be super perky and happy! And to make matters worse, it was SO cold, and we had to picnic outside. Thankfully I have great parents in my class that took over and helped me lead. Praise God for them!

i heart faces: week 12 {focusing on angles}

i heart faces is all about angles this week. i am glad i re-read this one. i questioned how i would get a picture of an angel. It took me a minute of pondering how all these people would get pictures of angels until i thought.... um, i think i read that wrong. angles suzy, angles. That would have been embarrasing.

click on the button below and check out all the funky angles this week at i heart faces!

Twenty10:80

I bought Jack some brand new crayons so he could use them for his homework. Obviously, with my being a Kindergarten teacher, I love me some new crayons! He stared off crayon happy, making me all kinds of pictures, and then he moved on to breaking them in half and building spaceships with them. Boys. Go figure.

You can tell by the severe crookedness of his bangs that I was the one who gave him a trim recently. I had to. It was a trimergency. His hair was shaggy and long and terrible and he had school pictures the next day. I use to be good at it, but I must have been having an off day.

Twenty10:79

This is one of those rare photographs that I will be so glad I got years from now. I don't know what made kaitlin give her dad a back massage after dinner, but she did. And to make matters even cuter, Jack decided to do the same for Kaitlin! I looked up from doing dishes and could not believe my eyes. I love how Jack has to use a stool to reach his very tall sister's back. I treausure every moment that they get along. And I love how Eric looks like he is praying. I can imagine he was praying that this moment would last. Too bad it didn't!