Merry Christmas

"Helper"

If only she were really helping me with the laundry instead of rearranging her clothes in other parts of the house!

4 Years

4 Years and a few pounds later...

Our Ham

This little booger is into everything!!!!!!!!!! She is 16 months old today and is soooo very rotten! We just love her to pieces!! It kinda cracks me up when I'm about to walk in her room and she immediately meets me with something in her hand that she wasn't supposed to have. She hands it up to me like a peace offering! :) She is my little sidekick and wants to be doing everything Mommy is doing!

Update

I'm alive...

Andrew's Senior Pics

I have known Andrew for a very long time!!!!! It was fun getting together to take his pictures. However, it was very chilly down by the canal and so it was a fast photo shoot!!! :)

Promises

While I was ripping down wallpaper and popping off trim yesterday, I went to the other room to get a very important tool-chocolate!!!! As I unwrapped one of those yummy, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of survival, the saying inside cracked me up!!-"Chaos today leads to opportunity later." That pretty much summed up what we've been doing. We're in the middle of moving (next weekend) and getting the house somewhat ready to move into. Wesley is going to be Bro. Shockley's Pastor Assistant and we are excited about all that we will be doing.
Another promise (because you can't just have one!) said something about "making peace with yourself today." That got me thinking, while sniffing old wallpaper glue, that I was thankful that I had a "peace" that didn't come from myself but from somewhere greater and far above any "peace" I could ever produce. An inner "peace" saying, "All is Well;" a promise that outweighs any found on a candy wrapper.

Arilynn's Christmas Pictures

I finally got Arilynn's pictures taken! Ok, I know I'm her Mom, but she's so cute! LOL! And, her hair cracks me up!To see more, you can click here to my facebook album.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I have much to be thankful for!
My top 10:
1. A Personal Relationship with Jesus
2. Wesley & Arilynn
3. Family & Friends
4. Good Health
5. My Church
6. Being an American
7. Wesley's Job and Allowing Me to Stay at Home
8. Scrapbooking
9. Photography
10. Books

2 Cuties

What is happening today...

Booger #1
and Booger #2LOL! Just kidding! They are both good babies! Arilynn is little Miss Busybody and Olivia just watches her and learns how to make messes, etc. Arilynn likes to rub her head and say, "Aww!" Olivia doesn't enjoy it so much! HA!

Happy Socks

I know some of you probably wouldn't be caught dead in these, but I love my "happy socks." They're so fun! I have all kinds of designs and colors and enjoy cool weather when I can wear them. LOL! What makes you "happy?"

Sigh...

Crash, boom, clank, bang, bang, bang! leads to this...

Surprise

These flowers popped up in our backyard and are going to town. I guess since it's been warm they think it's spring.

The Ponytail

She is currently trying to destroy it as I type. She hates things in her hair. I have to recomb her hair half the time when we arrive at church.

Daddy's Little Helper

(Please excuse the M&M stained shirt and the missing ponytail!!! She was working hard! LOL!)

Before and After

I picked up this frame at a yard sale with a "project" in mind. However, that has not come anywhere close to being accomplished so in the meantime...

A little bit of spray paint and Windex and voila!

Falling Leaves

Arilynn and I were coming back from running some errands and as we pulled up to a stop sign, it was as if it were raining leaves. I rolled my window down and snapped a picture, but you can't really see how much there actually were. It's a gorgeous day here, so we're going to take a walk this afternoon.

Edited to add: Here are some pics from our walk...

My Blessing

Arilynn discovering the leaves. She would have been quite content to play in them for a long time! She's such a cutie! :)

Fall

Bedtime Story

I love my little family!

Pursuing a Dream

WARNING: I do not claim to be a writer and sometimes my words do not make sense to anyone but me! Read with discretion! :)

"I have a dream..."

Ok, so maybe it's not a life changing, world peace making, noble peace prize winning dream, but it's still very special to me! :)

For a very long time, I have wanted to be a photographer. I can remember riding in the car thinking, "what a great place for a picture,"...or, looking through magazines/books and wanting to try their tips and techniques...or browsing blogs and seeing them capture someone's special moments in their lives and itching to do the same. I guess you could say it's in my blood because my dad used to do photography in his younger years and so that makes it even more special to me.
This past year, my very special hubby has helped make part of that dream come true! He bought me my camera and even sold some of his prized possessions to boot (ok, so maybe he had double of them, but for the packrat that he is...lol!) He has been incredibly supportive and even when I didn't believe in myself kept encouraging me to keep going...him and my mama! He's the one who says, "YES! You need to take that job/opportunity!"
I guess sometimes reality kicks in and even people (shame on them!...LOL!) sometimes discourage you from trying out the things you love. It took a very long time for my dream to even peek through as a reality and I'm still not quite where I'd love to be. However, I have learned many things over the past year and am looking forward to more!
I do not claim to be great, awesome, or even good!! But, I'm pursuing a dream and having a great time doing so! I suppose you can correct me if I'm wrong (nicely), but I think God gives us these desires and interests. It makes us who we are...it would be such a boring place if we were all the same!

The church where I 2nd shot a wedding this past weekend!

Monkey

Excuse the mess and unclothed child. Wes was laying laminate flooring for mom.

Just a Couple Old Vehicles

We walked down to the car show last weekend. There were gobs of people and cars! Here's a couple that I liked...don't get me wrong...I liked the shiny, perfect condition ones, but I thought these looked a little more "real!" :) (Don't shoot me all you car lovers!)
Won't be long and Wesley and I's vehicles can join them! LOL!

1/2 off Saturday

This is one of my goodies I found at the Goodwill last Saturday! Everything was 1/2 off! YAY! I got a lot more treasures, but they will come later when I get accomplished what I want with them. (Maybe never....LOL!)

Just Playing Around

On a Leash

Arilynn will not walk without someone or something to hold onto. She's been doing this for a few months, but just won't do it alone. Must be scared...
Anyways, she likes to walk behind her walker, but crashes into everything. (Not hard with a small house). So, Wes tied a string to it and steers as she walks. It's hilarious! Looks like he's walking a dog!