Merry Christmas

this is us...living in excess...

Daily my kids will say..."there is nothing to eat for breakfast"...so I had to get everything out to show them...

bahahaha...

Remember that time I wrote this...about this sweet cute adorable (sleeping) girl?

Now when we travel (she is 6) it is i-pod in...nap time on! SOOO funny what a HUGE difference, oh say, 4 years makes! I actually enjoy traveling with my 13, 9, and 6 year old! ...although I will say the sharpie thing, yep, it's still there. She STILL has a preference for these...why?? why does she want the permanent markers??? We probably have hundreds of crayola washable markers. Let's not go down the route of pre-rebellion attitudes!!!

super cute creative people :)

my artist is soooo amazing!

I am proud.
I am happy for her.
She was given a gift and she is using it to glorify God.
She waited. Waited until the time was right. Waited until God said go.
Now she is going baby.... :)

my photographer is dang good!

I am proud.
I am happy for her.
She was given a gift and she is using it to glorify God.
She waited. Waited until the time was right. Waited until God said go.
Now she is going going going....:)

I want to go. I want to be a part of creativity.

Laguna Beach

SOOOOOO Fun with Amy at Laguna Beach!

ummmm...YUM!

Okay how good does THIS look??? Angus burger (medium) havarti cheese, arugula and tomato:) Served with a healthy side of garlic fries and topped with a cold Chimay:) Laguna Beach!!!!!

truth... no dare

truth:
i have been a lousy wife for a year now
i have been so selfish for at least a year now
i have had resentment in my heart for over a year now
i have hid out, afraid to look in, too lazy to look in, too much trouble to look in.today is the day that this changes.today is the day i will take a look in.

Tidy Whities

My boy has moved "up" to the awesome world of tidy whities...I used to buy all his underware at The Gap. I like them the best here. They are colorful and cute (in a manly) sort of way! Well, I guess not now! I just bought Mac a new package and he took them out, looked at them and said
"really mom?"
Otherwise known as....no way shape or form am I wearing these "Gap" colorful undies.
He said "can I just have regular like white or gray or black or something?"
Just a side note though, I think The Gap should take some responsibility here, I mean why are they still making the "cute" underware in a size 8...obviously some 9 year old boys wear them? Or are all the moms buying them only to get the "awww mom..." and then returning them? The Gap should make only white, black and gray from size 8 and up! That's all I'm sayin.

lazy days of summer????

We have been so bus y so far this summer!
2 days after school was off Kennedy and I left for cheer camp at SAGU. We were there for 4 days, and although it was very tiring, it was funa nd a great experience. Kennedy had so much fun!!
After we got back, I had to take care of my house that I had completely neglected when I was SOOO busy the last 2 weeks of school. WOW. It is amazing how everything can just build up!
I took Kennedy and Emy blueberry picking! We had a blast and we got some very yummy blueberries as well as some blackberries and we bought some syrups too. It was a cute little house on a hill with a barn/shop and it smeeled amazing!!! They bake pies and turnovers and cookies of all sorts...definately a good place to go to:)

be

Practice loving-kindness
Restore myself
Be knowledgeable
Live simply
Be outgoing
Be compassionate and accepting
Be truthful
Practice self-discipline
Pay Attention
Eat well
Forgive
Be grateful
Be beautiful
Maintain a neat and tidy environment
Have confidence
Be decisive and content
Create
Be curious
Practice detachment
Have faith
Be generous
Be fit, flexible, and healthy
Laugh
Love

boy oh boy

I am sorry...i have the world's cutest boy! And he speaks Spanish! too adorable.

summer blogger

I should so change the title of my blog to summer blogger.
I have never been as busy as I was this past year. Just ask my family. They hate me...well not hate, but you get the drift.

have-to-find-a-way-to-slow-down


today my 6 year old graduated from Kindergarten, I am okay with this. Some people get all weepy etc... but I have never been one of those people. I hope that continues until she is older.

Life right now

i heart my parents.
they just left after a visit, and they are the best. It is so easy to be around them and to hang out and chat and run places and sit and talk and of course, my mom's personal favorite, re-arrange the furniture:)
Even though this summer will be busy (already packed out!) it will still be a break. My kids are awesome.
We inheritaed a baby baby kitten! So small and cute. it almost makes me want to keep it, but then I remember, they will grow into cats and I am normally anti-cats.

Easter or Any ole day!!

I close my eyes.
and the first thing I imagine is the thorn of crowns, cutting into His sweet, bloody brow. I look at the crown. In my mind, I run my fingers gently across the thorns and I whisper to Him. I just sit in the sorrow for a bit, and when I feel ready, I let my minds-eye travel to His face and His beaten body. His arms, aching from being stretched out and held up. I spend time studying His sunken cheeks, His hollowed eyes, His chest, His arms, and oh, Lord, His wrists. The blood that came from a nail, spilled for me...

I gradually see His back, beaten beyond human recognition. I move slowly, taking it all in. I trace the wounds, I pray for Him, I weep with Him. I thank Him. I see His legs, hung weightlessly into the base of the cross, nails driven through his ankles. I imagine what it must have felt like as the nails pierced His skin. I hear the shouting, the chaos, the overwhelming sense that the moment of death is near.
I am another woman who stands at the foot of the cross, forgiven.

whoa, woe is me

this world is not my home. i know that because there is much frustration, disappointment, and so many things that bother me and just plain ole get on my nerves. and that is ok for we are passing through. i do desire joy in this life and contentment and peace and God has given all of this to me. He helps me cope through things that really used to paralyze me. I will persevere. I have a job to do while i am here in this world and with His constant help I will accomplish that job. smiling all the while even when i may be crying too.
Another year has come and gone and resolutions have once again been made for this chic. Study scripture, cook more, eat less, exercise, love well, and journal.
As i think about the past and my ever-lingering struggles, my heart cries out for relief from these things. A new set of challenges doesn't sound near as bad as the round and round with the stupid things that i drag around and allow to hold me back. Symbolically i am laying these things down, once again, and asking that my God would take me beyond myself and transform my mind, body, and soul... that he would prepare me to experience life on a new level of thinking and service. There is much i would like to pursue. but before i may lay hold of any single thing that i dream of, i must pursue Him like i have never pursued Him before. I know this. i have no doubt about it. so with this totally at the front of my mind and heart i am crying out for a passion for Him that supersedes anything else about me. .. family, marriage, work, exercise, anything at all... i want Him to overwhelm me with a relentless longing for Him. His name, His glory, His character, His plan, His promises. I want to love Him like i have never loved Him before. It's a confession i am making... I want my love and my pursuit to be different. It must look different and involve much more than it does today. if it does not then nothing will change, nothing will develop, nothing at all. i will remain as i am today. It will take a new level of determination, a new level of obedience and a new level of diligence. I admit i am lazy when it comes to pursuing the God whom i want so desperately to know. and to not pursue equals to not know. i desire to have a transformation take place in this heart of mine and for Him to be glorified in a beautiful way because of the way i love Him and the way i love other people in His name.
Holy God, will you please take this dirty nasty lazy life of mine and breathe new life into it...daily. it has been redeemed by your precious blood so let me not allow these negative things reside here. Transform my mind, heart, body and the passion that fills my days. Show me how to be different. Give me the strength to do my part.

what else is there

I LOVE this bag!!!!!

cheese-ball snowmen!

Yummy appetizer!