right now i am....

i love the spring.  the desire to get out of the house and do something.  we have been working in our yard a lot and just playing outside.  unfortunately that means blogging has taken a back seat on my priorities.  even reading blogs....

but i always love blogging because it's recording our everyday lives.  pictures and events that can easily be forgotten.  but i don't want to forget.  blogging is an amazing family journal.

so, i'm going to do a little right now update.  meg and kimberlee have done these, and i completely stole this from them.  but it makes for such a good update, it thought, why not?

right now i am.....

watching:  prison break.  have you seen it?  we are watching it on hulu plus and are a little obsessed.  i go back and forth on whether i want to continue to watch it because it can be so violent.  but right when i say that, something happens to drag me back in.  plus, michael scofield is pretty fun to look at!  ;)

drinking:  water.  trying really hard to drink more water. 

wearing:  i got the new mason crew t-shirt from the gap and am totally obsessed with it.  i figure you can have a least 2 of the same shirts in different colors without going overboard, but i would get one in every color if i could.  

eating:  kimberlee's corn salad/salsa.  the hubs made it last night for a family dinner (per my instructions) and it was so good.  i couldn't stop eating it.  i'll have some for lunch today too!

 listening:  to needtobreathe radio on pandora. 

avoiding:  getting up.  we had a busy fun weekend, and now i'm tired.  plus it's raining.  i'm very content sitting here being "lazy"...

wishing:  i could get really serious about eating good again.  last year this time i was doing so well.  but i had motivation (my brother's wedding).  i need some motivation...

feeling:  torn.  we made a decision this weekend that i feel good about, but today i'm a little back and forth.  i know the decision is ultimately the best and only temporary, but i still feel a little torn.

missing:  my best friend cam.  she had her 3rd baby a few weeks ago and i am ready to go see them.  we just need to find some time that works for all us.

thankful: for my amazing husband and daughter.  we had the perfect mother's day weekend.  i've even had a mother's day month with little gifts here and there.  i can't believe how blessed i am sometimes.  he is too good to me.

craving:  donuts.  i probably crave donuts all the time.  i just had some saturday, but donuts are good anytime, right?

wondering: what book i should read next.  i just finished a series and always love/hate when that happens.  the hubs just finished love does.  i want to read it too, but he only has it on his ipad.  i need something i can read outside.  any suggestions? 

praying:  for our little family.  we have so much on the horizon.  i'm praying that God leads us in his direction and that we are good listeners to what he is telling us.

needing:  some time away with the hubs.  we are getting away this coming weekend and i am so excited!

thinking:  i need to blog more.  i miss this...

dreaming:  about this weekend.  maple hill manor bed and breakfast here we come!  it's such a wonderful little place.  we went here last year and said we would try to come back every year.  we love the owners and the area.  i can't WAIT to go back!!

 

loving:  the little girl my baby is turning into.  she is so helpful and sweet and ornery.  she is becoming more outgoing and is a little sponge.  she surprises me everyday with how smart she is.  she loves to dance and swing.  she knows what she wants, but is learning to be patient.  she has a sweet love and is so caring.  she is the best of her daddyboy and me and i am loving her little personality more everyday.

 well, there you go!


i hope every mom out there was spoiled like i was!  =)

an instafriday UPDATE!!

it's been so long since i've blogged,  and i had so many pictures and weekends to look through, i had to just pick a starting place!  it's crazy.  i can't believe how long it's been.  it wasn't on purpose, i've just been so busy.  it's crazy how things have changed since i started working part-time.  it's amazing and i love it, but getting on the computer to blog....well...it's just not as easy.

but a couple of days ago, even the hubs asked when i was going to blog again.  so this morning, i'm buckling down and doing it.

and since it's friday and i've still kept up with intagraming pictures, i'm going to do a big instafriday update!

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we are big UK fans in this house.  so celebrating the final games was a no-brainer.

we had a lot of fun, and partied like we were in college again!!

and even though she's little, and she definitely did not party with us, you know we had her decked out and ready to cheer!!

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after a week of recovering from staying up way too late on a monday night, we headed to western kentucky to visit some of our best friends!

 

we made it to a beach.....;)

 it's always so easy staying at their house.  our kids love each other, and it's sad to have to separate them when we leave.

we love the warning's and can't wait to celebrate baby #3 with them very soon!  C loved talking about the baby in cami's belly.  she doesn't fully understand the concept, but she was very sweet to cam's belly. 

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we got back saturday night, just in time for Easter sunday.  we missed all the egg hunts in lexington, so we obviously had one in our front yard.

she realized really quickly that most eggs were filled with either candy or coins.  it was pretty hilarious when she found empty ones....

we had a wonderful and relaxing day.  daddyboy made an awesome dinner and we were able to enjoy eating outside.

we spend a lot of time outside in the summer.  and now that we have our awesome new brick patio, and daddyboy is putting up a swing-set this weekend, i know that we will be out there even more!  can't wait to start planting flowers.  this early spring has got me chomping at the bit. 

 

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also, another little update that is kind of out of order, but one that i can't let go by.

shaun had been training for a half marathon.  and a couple of weeks ago, he killed it!

we are super proud of our daddyboy and were very impressed that he ran 13.1 miles in under 2 hours!!  good job boy!

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well, there's the update.  i'll try to stay more on top of things so that they don't all get jammed together in one picture overloaded post!

ok - here's one more picture. 

some "flowers" for you!

have a good weekend friends!!

amazing week & instafriday

i'm so bummed that i haven't blogged since last friday.  hence the double title.

but tonight, i finally have a little time to sit down and reflect.  but, i will preface this by saying that i probably only got 4 good hours of sleep last night.  C is sick for the 1st time in a year.  almost exactly to the day.  she got a lot of ear infections when she was younger, but the past year she has been clear.  well, this morning, after a near sleepless night, the doctor confirmed that she has one.  let's just say, i was up a lot last night...

this week has been awesome.  we've had some pretty big things happen here.  before anyone gets their hopes up - i'm.not.pregnant.  but what happened this week is something that i've been dreaming of, kind of like a pregnancy.  as a family, we have been praying for this for a long time.  ever since C came along.  but the timing was never right.  God was telling us to wait. 

but, 2 weeks ago, a part-time job just showed up out of nowhere.  wait, let me go back 3 weeks.   3 weeks ago, shaun and i had a family budget meeting.  now, don't be impressed.  these aren't meetings we have often.  in fact, we had been needing to have one for about 4 months.  but we dread them, so we put them off.  but finally, one wednesday night we made a plan, stuck to it, and had a meeting.  and in that meeting, we ran scenarios of what it would look like if i worked less, once we had another baby.  we prayed and left it at, "we'll make it work."  but again, this was once baby #2 was on the scene.

then, out of nowhere, less than a week after our meeting, i see a posting for a part-time job with a non-profit organization i know and love.  so, i update my resume, send it over, but don't really expect to hear anything.

but then, i did.  and then, i had 2 amazing interviews.  and then, they offered me a job.  and then they told me i could do some work from home and that i could stay home with C for 3 days a week. woah!  shaun and i ran the #'s and it all worked.  perfect.  like too perfect.  like, God perfect. =)

so, in 1 week, i will be working part-time!  yahoo!  you don't know how excited i am.  to be home more with C.  to feel more like a mom that works, instead of an employee who's a mom.  and to work for an organization that means something to me.

this has been an amazing week, and God has been in every step.  so many steps of faith, so many open doors, and so much confirmation. 

thank you to everyone who has prayed with us.

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shew!  ok, so how about some instafriday?  as usual, linking up with jeannette @ life rearranged!

this was taken a week ago, but i forgot to add it to last friday's post.  we have had some crazy weather here.  it was 56 degrees, blue skies, beautiful day, sun roof open and february.  that's weird here.  the weather today - 29 degrees, snowy, gray.  that's  normal for february.  i had to capture this rare moment!

also from last week, but again, i forgot to add it.  this was C's last night in her crib.  i know it's probably weird, but i had to get one last picture.  she looks like such a big girl here.

but an even bigger girl here!  that's right - the big girl bed!  she loooooooves it.  still thinks it's the best thing ever.  when she talks about her big girl bed, it's with so much excitement.  and she is doing amazing.  the first night was seamless.  she didn't get up once.  but, she did wonder into our room at about 5:30am.  then 6:30, then finally shaun got up at 7:30 with her.  she's doing much better now after a week, but that's why we did it on a weekend.  we knew it would take some practice!  =)

saturday morning jam session.  daddyboy was holding the chords, and C was strumming and singing.  they made a pretty good team!

isn't this vase amazing?!?!?  a very sweet co-worker gifted it to me this week.  i couldn't help but snap it's picture.  and i can't wait to put pretty flowers in it this spring.  a gift from anthropologie is always a good way to start a work day!

and look at these pretty ladies!  some beautiful tulips from my amazing hubs, as a congratulations for getting a new job!  such a sweet surprise.  i'm kind of spoiled....

my sweet girl after she was really brave at the doctor today. she's not the biggest fan of the doctor, but now that she's older, i feel like we can talk it through some.  and i'm not above bribing and rewarding her with treats.  so after she did so great, we made a little stop at starbucks.  is it weird that she get's excited about and really knows what starbucks is?  is it weird that when we go to the grocery store, she knows there is a starbucks inside and gets excited?  nah...

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well, i'm staying on track with my february photo challenge.  

 

and yes - i did take today's, even though if i could have skipped one, this would have been it.  why am i like that?  i guess because it was a picture of just me.  seems weird.  but i guess, good at the same time.  i guess...

have a good weekend friends!  

i'll be back soon with a sweet cookie recipe that i found on pinterest.  just in time for love day!  

don't they look and sound amazing!  can't wait to make little heart shaped ones!  =)

InstaSunday?

well, i know i usually do posts like this on friday, but since it's my blog and i didn't get to it friday, i'm doing it tonight.  why not?

 

 since we like to have fun, but don't necessarily love crowds, my friends and i decided we would celebrate new year's eve on friday night, instead of saturday.   we found babysitters and headed to near by cincinnati for a night with the husbands.  great memories and a ton of laughing.  seriously.  like, stomach and face hurts laughing.

 

the hubs what looking pretty hot that night...=)

 

bundled up and ready to go back to school.  she was home with shaun or i for over 2 weeks.  she was really excited to go back to school and see her friends.  it was pretty cute.  i'm thankful she has a place to go to each day that she enjoys.

one of her favorite things to do right now.  wear a tutu and dance with her daddyboy.  

she is totally crazy about kona right now.  she is constantly hugging on him and making him sit so that she can kiss him. love that he is such a good boy with her.

crazy about this little picture.  love these two more than anything else in the world.

she is getting good with orange leaf.  once she can't scoop with the spoon, it's time to tip it up!

love that she loves her christmas present so much.  she's behind this little house all the time.  =)

so, it's 2012.  

happy new year blog friends! 

did you make any new years resolutions?

i've made 1.  well, 1 that i have control over.  there is so much that i want 2012 to bring.  2011 was good, but our little family went through a few tough times. i know that hard things will happen no matter what the year is, so my resolution is to be more intentional.  more intentional with my time and more intentional with my life.

i've seen a lot of new years resolutions this year that beg for a fresh start.  but just because there is a 12 at the end of the 20, doesn't mean magic.  i know that for something to be different in my life, it has to start with me.  so, that's my resolution.  difficult things will happen.  but if i'm more intentional with my spiritual life, my family, my friends and my time, i'll know who i am and what i stand for during those hard times.

i was asked by C to dance yesterday.  as i watched her little body twirl and her face light up i danced right with her.  i needed to do laundry and fix her lunch, but i still danced. 

be intentional friends.  so far, it's pretty fun!

christmas time - 2011

alright - i have got to get a blog in about our christmas before the new year!  i'm always tired after holidays, and think i'll blog about things soon, and then it never happens.  like thanksgiving.  we had a great thanksgiving and it was the first one at my house.  but did i blog about it?  nope.  time got away from me and then christmas was here and blogging about thanksgiving felt weird.

soooo, after all that whining, i'll get on with it.

we had a wonderful christmas this year!  lots of time with a lot of family.

that's the infamous uncle tom on the far left there.  we call that pose, the totem pole...=)

this was the first leg of our trip.  the beginning of  6 days of traveling.  and we always get a lot of random goodies here.  perfect for some interesting pictures...

does C have the coolest uncle, or what?

little diva!

this is a picture i will cherish.  i'm going to make it black and white to add to our photo wall in our kitchen.  C and i are so blessed to have such wonderful family around us.  4 generations and still going strong!

i'm good at getting pictures with my family.  not so much with shaun's.  i hate that.  i'm sorry for that.  it's probably because my mom is always asking "did you bring your camera?"  shaun's family is never asking that...  i guess it's their fault then...;)

one of the most important parts of christmas since we've had C is being very intentional about celebrating the real meaning of christmas.  we were home again this christmas morning.  just the 3 of us, at first.  we woke up, started some new family traditions, and took it slow.  we read from luke 2, then read a children's book about baby Jesus' birth.  we watched the excitement in our little girls face as she got her presents, and started the tradition of only giving her 3.  Jesus got three presents, so that's what our kids will receive too.  from us at least.  this includes 1 big one. 

i KNEW she would love it.  i couldn't wait to give it to her.  and i'm so glad i got to capture the moment!

after our little family time, my mom, brother and sis-in-law came over.  i love having christmas at our house, and i love that my little bro is a chef!  that french toast pictured below was amazing!!!

he added a little orange juice to the egg batter (only because we forget to zest the oranges).  it made it so sweet and yummy!

even kona got some good treats!

we ended the night at my dad and stepmom's house. 

my dad always loves to play christmas carols on christmas.  sing-a-longs are encouraged and it always starts the conversations of a family band.

 

C got to play along this year!  a little guitar just her size. oh sorry dad - not guitar, ukulele... =)

the day ended well!  lots of family time, lots of food, laughs and fun.  last year i was sick on christmas.  this year i am so thankful we were all healthy and happy and safe.

the night ended with lounging in front of the fire. 

kona stole my spot though.  whatevs....

hope you and yours had a safe and merry christmas out there!

now on to 2012! 

are you ready for it??