afternoon at the park

swing me higher, momma! corbin pierce loved swinging today. he's never liked it that much until now. he was trying to get the coordination down for pumping himself. i could see the wheels turning in his head by the way he held his tongue partially out of his mouth. i could hardly pull him away from the swings when it was time to move on.when did my little ones turn into such BIG BOYS?! they are becoming so independent. so very tall, and smart. there are days i hardly recognize them. wish they would slow down this whole growing up part of life. i love when they tell me they want to marry me and live here with me and dad forever. meltwe walked all along the river that runs through the park. i showed the boys how fun it is to throw sticks and rocks in the water. Cooper totally loved finding the biggest stick he could and making a big splash.lots of reminders spoken to not get too close to the water. it was deep in places. the thought of having to jump in after one of my babes was very unpleasant. swimming in said "river" with that green stuff... creepy.excited Spring is here! exploring the great outdoors with the boys is big fun.

Ready for Spring

we have raised garden beds! they are perfect for our sloped backyard. these three raised beds built so brilliantly by my dearest husband are perfect. can't wait to see them full this summer. we really dig gardening. i love that the boys can help out and watch our own fruit and vegetables grow.

strawberries
peppers
okra
cucumbers
onion
spinach
lettuce
cilantro
tomato
cauliflower
brocolli


we started most of our garden from seeds. stay tuned for lots of pics of a big bounty from our little backyard garden of love. ===================coming summer 2011====================

what a week

Monday started off me being stranded on the side of the road in the Taurus. thankfully, Adam was able to come to the rescue pretty quickly.
this car was such a God send when we got it 3+ years ago. Adam's spent lots of time keeping it going. it was hard to see it go.
We sold it to the tow truck driver. Bittersweet.
So a date with the sewing machine never happened on Monday. i still managed to get all of these complete.
my Etsy shop is open! you can click to it right on the blog.
I'm excited to finally be selling my sewing online.

so super excited for the boys to be home today. i'm going to spend the weekend giving lots of hugs and kisses. and we might talk about their upcoming 5th birthday and do some planning. and car shop some more, and grocery shop and church. it's gonna be great! In God We Trust, yes!!

happy.heart.day.

happy valentines day! loving these flowers from Adam. i feel special.

loving my blue eyed blonde babe.
loving these little boy feet. my sacred piece of solid ground.
oh let the sun shine in. face it with a grin. loving i get to spend the day with my sewing machine.

love you big.

I sure do love my boys! so thankful for this parenting gig. it's hard and real. humbling and fantastic. it wouldn't be the same without my awesome love. he continues to be so wise and patient. and super duper handsome! mmm hmm i'm lucky for this life. this family. blessed!

first snow.

this was the first time the boys had seen snow. cooper spent some time taste testing.
around town there were accidents everywhere. this poor truck driver had a bad day.
bundled up to play in the snow. they didn't last too long outside once their fingers were frozen. they did enjoy looking at the snow covered back yard from inside the warm house.

soooooo COLD

home sick... that's where we've been all week. i know most of the country is snowed in and going stir crazy to get out and about again. i feel ya! it's just too cold to get out here, and with half of us still sick we haven't wanted to be out spreading germs. come on spring weather!

Cooper found it fun to string buttons on yarn. most of the week has been spent playing the Wii, watching a few cartoons, and pleading their case for time on my computer or iphone.
Corbin talking non stop. he feels great so he's still busy telling us something all the time. and playing the Wii only after insisting he has the number one remote.

weatherman is predicting snow in central Texas today. the boys are anxiously awaiting their first taste of a snow flake or two. on Monday they had their first treat from the ice cream man. yeah, it was a warm 75 degrees that day. they chose Batman ice cream. but well of course they did!

happy oneth of the month

this time last week i was busy baking these pumpkin muffins . and rainbow jello for the boys. both in the same day ! i was feelin good....
and BAM the next day the whole family is sick.
sick kids always worry me. sick husband... the worst. i was even sick with 101 fever. mean virus. thankfully now a week later half of us are nearing 100% and the other half are getting close. boo for this time of year. we always get sick in jan or feb.

i love peter krause on Parenthood. he is so likeable in every way.
excellent show! i admit it does scare to be the parents of teenagers. i have so much to learn. and teach. and i have a lot of faith. amen.

hope you are staying warm and cozy. this winter storm is unreal!

i love paper and pictures

Oh yes I do! it started in the early 90's. it was all about the paper and supplies. creative memories stuff. the pictures and the story were a complete after thought, really. oh i'm preserving memories? recording my life?!
journaling and story telling were completely left out on most pages. that's really sad to me sometimes, but i also know it's gonna be okay. it's okay if every memory isn't recorded in a scrapbook with photos and words. whatever pictures are taken and preserved will be a treasure beyond any measure. the end. {i am way more focused on the story and the moments captured in my camera now, btw. AND the love of paper lives on !}

i always have a pile of completed layouts or half completed layouts waiting to be put into a sheet protector and placed in an album. i love these albums. they hold a lot and it's super easy to add pages along the way. i've never had much luck with the post hold type album.and it's about time i empty this archiver's bag from my last trip there uh.... last month. and fill up this new paper holder. i'm using it for pattern papers.

the boys love love love stickers, and glue and cutting paper. i'm glad :)

these feet worked HARD

aw, clean little boy feet. the best.

hard at work unloading firewood from the back of the Pilot. it's our truck sometimes too. handy.
so serious about their "job"..... "we're worker mans mama!" oh how they love to have a job to do. easy.child.labor
he loves this pullover sweater these days. don't you love hand-me-downs? twin hand-me-downs are the bomb! {i'm not going to say hmd's anymore}

have a happy day. and don't forget to give your kiddos a job to do. it's good for them! and they love it :)

Random

love this game.
play it everyday.


reading books before bed.

sweet child of mine.

house and home

a perfect sized bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup after naptime.
ice cream is so good when it's cold outside.
_____________________________________________________________

bumble bee pillow pet {love}

lady bug too. crazy about the boys new quilts. [thanks mom!]
masculine colors, lots of texture and flannel. so perfect for these two.






thrifty finds. the cat clock reminds me of one that used to hang in my grandma's kitchen.


going through lots of firewood this winter.
pistachio cake

RIP Hamlet

our little Hamlet hamster passed away last week. :(
we knew on Christmas Day he wasn't doing well.
we're thankful he went peacefully in his sleep.
he was a good little pet we'd had almost a year.

the boys immediately said they wanted to get a dog now. haa! we'd love one but not sure if we're ready just yet. anyone know where we can find a labradoodle?


I donated one of my yellow box shoe boxes and adam and the boys gave him a proper burial in the backyard.


rest peacefully little buddy!