No, not Joshua. Although that thought may have tried to cross my mind...
Just kidding.

I sold my Canon Rebel XT with kit lens today. I took a random shot with it today to show off what it can do and I have to say I was pretty impressed...



It was my first SLR and my "baby". It brought lots of joy and tons of learning. It also brought me some great captures and some pretty amazing images over the years. But it has also been sitting in a camera bag for a really long time and I decided that someone could probably use it to get started on their own photography journey. It's been a blast, little one. I'll love ya forever and am happy you are going to a good home! I can probably visit now and then. lol

xoxo

I was going through some images from years ago and found this one and it cracked me up. We are headed to my Sis-in-law's farm tomorrow for our Family Thanksgiving dinner. Yay! Family time!

I am so thankful for my family, for life, for food... but mostly I am thankful for a Savior that blesses me every day so I can enjoy the wonderful life He's given me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo

Last year we received the Mr. Coffee Cocomotion and I LOVE it!
Nothing like a cup of something warm, creamy and chocolatey to make you smile.
(The whip cream and cookies help too!)

I have so much I'd like to blog but no time to do it! However, I didn't want to leave this place completely empty so I'm posting this capture of my little man enjoying his first little train ride.

xoxo

The new tile looks great!

We came home to a lot of dust and grime so we scrubbed every inch of the kithen from top to bottom (and everywhere in between), returned the dining room furniture to their places, scrubbed every nook and cranny in the bathrooms, cleaned up after the kids, cleaned up the kids, fed the kids, unpacked a bazillion bags, made a trip to the store, did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned up after the kids again, fed the kids again, cleaned up our room, cleaned the living room, opened a bunch of boxes of fun stuff I ordered last week, went to a fundraiser meeting (John), cleaned up after the kids AGAIN... all in the 4 hours since we've been home after driving 5 hours with crazy kids.

But vacation was WONDERFUL and I am so blessed!!! I have a wonderful husband and two great (albeit sometimes wild) kids. But best of all, God is so good to me!

I am really tired and would complain but all I have to do it wander into my living room and see the huge canvas I ordered of our family pic hanging above our couch. I LOVE it!!! It looks so good (even if we are in it!) and I'm just thrilled to pieces! Maybe I'll get around to taking a pic of it tomorrow.

I have a to do list a mile (or two) long for this weekend and am hitting the sack in a vain attempt to get started early in the morning.

We've been away from home for a week enjoying some much needed rest and family time! We visited some good friends in Atlanta, GA then headed over to Gatlinburg, TN. Our time is nearing an end and we'll be home tomorrow. I'm actually pretty excited to be going home because while we've been gone, our house has been busy with activity! Repairing a bathroom wall and my favorite: tile installed in the kitchen! YAY! I'm thrilled beyond thrilled about it and cannot wait to see it! Our poor kitty was probably looking forward to some quiet time with the boys away but she's had company every day with people in and out, making lots of noise and tearing up the house. We'll be home soon, kitty!

I am the worst about taking many pics on vacation. I end up spending more time trying to enjoy our time together as a family instead of trying to capture every little moment. However, we did stop off while on a trip through the mountains and snapped a quick shot of the fam. It was FREEZING up there! We left Pigeon Forge loving the warm weather and when we stopped to take this shot, it was like 30something degrees in the mountain. Brrr! So a quick snap it was, they gave me one shot then Jey complained about being allergic to heights and Joshua was literally shivering! But here we are in all our vacation happiness...

My mom always says Joshua looks bigger on my blog than in real life. People often think he's older because he doesn't have that baby fat like most little toddlers share and he's a tad tall for his age but then he's definitely on the super thin side. And he doesn't talk much. So it balances out somehow?

These shots were so random. The whole story behind it is a bit random, actually. I was shooting my niece's Engagement pics and while running from location to location we stopped at my house for a outfit change since it was on the way to the next stop. Joshua was throwing a fit about going with me so I packed him up and took him along to our last stop. However, the last stop didn't pan out and we ended up somewhere else and it was insane worrying about his safety (and whereabouts) while trying to shoot because we ended up at a park with a dock on the river and I was certain he'd fall in the river. So, many of the shots taken there I had one hand on his shirt as he tried to run away from me (again).

I took these few shots to test the lighting while waiting for my niece and her fiance to join me. Joshua was so stinkin' cute! Well, at least his expressions were cute! He was wearing an old pajama shirt and a pair of sweats. It was one of those multi-clothing-changes day. Then his shoes were wet because I washed them after his trip through a dirt field the day before. So he was wearing his boots because I couldn't find his sandals.

Random Random Random...

Anyway... back tothe whole start to this blog about Joshua being tiny but large on a blog... look at his shirt? Does it look familiar? It was featured in a few previous posts on my blog. Like the day he got his first haircut (and here)and again in a video when he took his first steps! All around 9ish months old! And here my big boy of 2+ years is sporting the same shirt like it was made for his little self today. Well, a little short but it still fits. Insane. So maybe that will give you a perspective of how tiny my big boy really is.


I am thankful for my little guys. I am so beyond blessed to have them in my life.
*love*

xoxo

I am so thankful for my family...



They are so good to put up with me.

xoxo

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul,
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole;
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.

These days Jeremiah's attire of choice involves dress pants, a vest, a fedora and a tie (or two). Not sure how the tie(s) managed to avoid these shots but somehow they did...


Maybe he was distracted by wearing two hats?


He also dressed himself this way October 31st. We don't do Halloween* so I didn't think about it until we walked into Chick-fil-a and a worker asked what he was dressed as! He told her he was a 'crazy waiter' and that is why he was wearing two ties (clipped onto his vest because he didn't like them snug around his neck). He didn't bother to tell her he dressed himself this way every day that week. Oh, and he also happened to be wearing black sweat pants with a red stripe down the sides (his "karate pants") and blue flip flops.

Snazzy, isn't he?


{Soapbox}
* The Halloween thing... we grow up being taught not to take candy from strangers and my Bible tells me to avoid evil so just because I choose not to join in the celebration of the biggest Satanic Holiday of the year doesn't make me a bad mommy. My kids are allowed to play dress up whenever they feel like it. They get more than enough candy all year long. They get to visit their neighbors, enjoy pumpkins and all other fall related things more than one night a year. I don't feel like I'm depriving them of anything at all and I don't feel like a horrible parent for not letting my kids join in. They are happy, healthy kids who have a lot of fun every single day. If you really want to flip out, I don't tell them Santa is real. We promote honesty around here so I'd rather tell them about someone who is real and matters in our lives: I tell my kids about Jesus everyday. Not just at Christmas and Easter. And I don't tell them Christmas is about His birthday then focus our attention on presents and the threat of a red-suited guy not bringing them gifts if they are naughty. Probably more about our life than you thought you were going to get, eh? :) We have a lot of fun around here and my kids really get to enjoy life to the fullest. We are so blessed and thankful for each blessing. It makes me sad when people look at me like I abuse my children because we don't celebrate Halloween or Santa. I don't give people dirty looks when they want to join in these things, why is there a double standard? What is really important in life? We talk about how sad it is that kids can be so cruel. Why are they cruel? They are learning it from their parents. Those same parents who thought it was cute that a little girl wanted to dress up as Batman but then flamed a mom who's kid wanted to dress up as Daphne from Scooby Doo (Click here for more info on that story). Let's spend more time encouraging one another in the beauty of life, shall we?

Today, I'm thankful that we can serve God freely no matter what those around us say or think. The day is coming very soon where this will not be so in our "free" country (compare your Bible to the news, folks). I'm going to soak up as much of it as I can while I can. Then I'll soak up eternity with my Heavenly Father, not some fat guy in a suit or a witch on a broom.

xoxo

OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... I need the Lord to help me!


(And I'm so thankful He does!)


I tried to find this song on YouTube for those who are not familiar with this old camp song. Here's the best I could come up with...

I can't leave Joshua out of the funschooling that goes on around here so I thought I'd snap a few shots of the kinds of things we do together. He learns so different from Jeremiah (who is so much like me, poor kid) so I have to think out of the my box to teach my littlest man. Plus, Jeremiah was so eager to soak up any and everything and Joshua? Not so much. He'd rather learn how to destroy things. I'm thinking of just preparing him for the Marines...




But in the meantime, we'll just try a few other things. He loves to color. But he doesn't like to draw and coloring books only last for so long so he usually ends up begging me to draw him things to color. So our doodle times become school time...





I draw the same things over and over and talk about it over and over hoping he's getting something out of it. It's hard to tell since he's so quiet and doesn't give me much feedback.


B is for bird...

He likes to find the things I ask him to find...



"Did I get it right?"

He gets downright excited with himself. lol




After posting all of this, it doesn't sound very exciting or even fun. But it is for us. I just love spending time with my little guy! Really, it's just stuff you do with your own kids, right? :)


And, of course, Jeremiah can't be left out of doodle time!



* I am thankful to be able to spend time at ome with my children. God is so good to me!

Today I'm thankful that my God is bigger than this election. Because this election is pretty darn BIG!

Have you voted yet? If not, do it now! If so, then good for you!

Remember to vote responsibly! Your vote DOES matter! We can make a difference if we stick together and fight for what is right. Today, our weapon in the battle comes in the form of a ballot. Use it wisely!

xoxo

Just a little sneak peek of a member of the class of 2011...

It's November! 30 days of blessings to be thankful for! I am going to attempt to blog each day about a few things I'm thankful for. Why don't you join me?

Today I am thankful...

* That I live where I can enjoy the fall colors. It's so amazingly gorgeous!!!!
* That today there is a beautiful blue sky... my favorite color!
* For Yellow Delicious Apples because they are so yummy and plenitful this time of year!
* For Reid's Orchard for supplying my apple addiction...
* My kiddoes and how stinkin' adorable they are. What a gift.
* For tissues and Zyrtec. {Sniff Sniff}

What are you thankful for today?