re couping!!

The party was a HUGE success on Saturday... and we celebrated his actual birthday yesterday... and then I just got finished hosting a baby shower for my friend Sarah who is due in less than a week!!!


so needless to say... I am exhausted from prepping for the party.. cleaning from the party.. prepping for tonights party, and then cleaning up from tonight...
I have tons of fabulous pictures.... from our jungle safari..... so stay tuned !

thanks for visiting, have a great day!

CURDLED MILK, and other randomitities

randomitities... is it a word? I think I have head it before... oh, well..its a word to me. the moldy milk thing... we are well into the sippy cup stage and with that comes the countless cups of chunky=somewhat yellowish-greenish-color-and totally rancidness found throughout the house, car , and notoriously in the diaper bag. gag me. totally.



(the above sippy cup may or may not have contained chunky milk)



and so since I have just spoken as if I am in the 80's ...I will move on to the randomitities...( ok, I just like saying that..though its a bit tough to type..lol)

*Brigham is into his second session of swim lessons. We entered into them two weeks ago, a bit skeptical.. would he put his feet in the water? After several hotel trips this past winter, where we tried to lure him in with numerous new toys, the boy just wouldn't budge.

well I was shocked to find him with his feet in the water on the first day!!

he managed to get some more body parts wet, however, would not stop clutching the wall, when it was 'life jacket day' and they were in 'hannah's pool'(the med size pool that his friend took lessons in )

so since he was not moved up, and recommended to stay in the 'tiny' pool, we are back at it again.

His little friend Isabel, who we have not seen for awhile, is also in his class.

We're crossing our fingers that the face will get wet, and he will get moved up. Andrew is just happy that I am there with the camera, to catch the teacher..I mean his son, in action!

* I am busily NO, stressily(just made that up) prepping for Brighams 4th bday party this weekend. We're going with a jungle safari theme. so these are the invitations I whipped up.

and hopefully the parents will heed my instruction and fill out the lil' pass ports with their kid's picture in it. It is their admittance into the party after all.

and so if you click on the inside, you can read the party info. Though I would like a RSVP. apparently in the last few years, its been deemed completely unnecessary to respond whether you are OR are not attending a birthday party, baby shower, wedding,picnic, or any other type of gathering, There may or may not be a pith hat or piece of lion cake for you.

just sayin'.

*and speaking of cakes... I don't think I have shared any pics of the cakes I've done with my business.

ok, so its not much of a business. but I have done like 15 cakes since September. and I have been paid. and I Do have a name. and business cards.

but mostly its just fun. did the giraffe one for our Lifegroup babyshower a couple weeks ago.. and this other one for a friends daughter turning six. we were introduced to the Cheetah girls. there was a dance contest and a karaoke contest. Brigham, won the dance contest, complete with a Hannah Montana wig on!*and speaking of business... while I did not plan for this,( SERIOUSLY, JENNIFER, you know what I was thinking, )... I have been getting lots of positive feedback on my picture taking, and therefore, several people are asking for me to take their kids, babies, families.
Well, in my opinion, I can use as much practice as I can get , so I am happily taking on the fun of smiley people other than my family.
Someone asked me if I was going to start charging....at this point, I don't think my photos are paying- money -for -worthy. I am still learning... but say in 6 months from now, maybe. right now its a hobby turned obession!!
and so, since people are asking, then I have inquired about a logo. my friend Greg is a graphic designer and is helping me set one up. He also has been talking with me about getting a website(since he makes those too) up. I have had some ideas in mind that I have gotten from the Orange Gecko lady on 2peas. I just want a place where I can set up galleries and stuff , so people can order from what I have taken.
and since I don't want to lug my diaper bag around with me anymore, I dropped hints about this:
that Andrew got me for mother's day. I absolutely LOVE it. you can get one, or choose from the many other gorgeous bags that she has here.

its got great pockets for my ever growing lens collection..(ok I have two-soon-to-be-three) and you can get a cute little strap to match or in a matchy match pattern.*been busy playing with my camera. Here are some from a couple weeks ago, at the park and in my living room. My friend Jennifer helped give me some pointers. I am really happy with how these ONE year old pics turned out! (though, I hope you know, Jenn, that you're missing out, b/c I totally would have paid YOU to take them =)
and I did have three other of my favorites posted. but accidentally deleted them, and know blogger is now playing nicely and letting me add them in here. i don't have the patience to re load and rearrange everything, so I may just do another tribute to my baby girl later.

*and in the spirit of picture taking, I did some scrapping. actually had these pictures back from March when I did a make shift photo shoot in my living room. She was miserable. but I LOVE these pictures. Am I a bad mama because crying baby pics, melt me? that's Tatum doing her arm 'thang' .. she's been doing since about 5 months old. I totally have a page worked up (in my mind) for her little 'thang'!!

* Andrew has been working overtime for the last week and a half, which means I am about to put my self in the loony bin. 12 straight hours, for 7 days is a bit much. I do not envy single moms one bit. but I totally respect the dedication that they put in to juggling work and home.all the time.

*we bought a new dryer last week. Our last one was burning our clothes.ICK. so instead of replenishing our wardrobes, which is what I suggested, we went with Andrew's idea of buying a new one. So Andrew's friend Greg came by last night and help installed it. and today I am doing loads and loads of laundry. SO thankful that I submitted to the wishes of my husband.Eck!

*the 4th of July was full of memories. except I hardly captured any of them. I charged up my camera and headed off to the park.... with NO memory card. I am patiently waiting pictures that Greg took of the kids at our annual parade in the park and the cookout at my moms.

I was able to get this classic pic, when we got together later that evening.

LOVE that the girls are huddled in fear, and Brigham isn't going to admit he is scared enough to put BOTH hands over his ears!!

*sparkler fun. the lighting was really tough, because we were camped out under these big stadium lights. We had been at a bbq at my brothers for about an hour and then met up with Greg and Kelli for a KFC picnic and fireworks. We had plenty of space for all kinds of games and stuff. and we didn't have people on top of us.plus, we were really close to the fireworks setting off guy.

(though I was informed, they don't have little guys setting them off- they use computers. who would have known?LOL)

* Tatum has had enough of the party


* Tatum is trying to conceal the two HUGE potato wedges, that she swiped from Mr. Carter's plate.

* and a re- inactment of Brig on his bike for the morning parade. My mom's neighborhood does this block party, and all the kids decorate their bikes(Hannah and Kiley braved their scooters) and then they ride up and down the street.. eat watermelon, and freeze pops and play in the park. This is the second year that we've done this with the Kouts and then we go back to my mom's house for a few hours to cook out. and have our traditional brownie sundaes,as requested by Greg.lol

* we just got our baseball tickets for our vacation in St. Louis. I can't believe we leave in a little over 2 weeks!! I sure hope that its dried out by the time we get there.

we had bad storms through the area again last night. I always wanted to have a lake house, and maybe with all this rain, I'll get one!!

( and now I am feeling really in sensitive to all the people who actually did lose their homes due to the flooding.not to make light of what they are going thru)

* kids are napping so I am heading to the garden to plant in about a dozen new things a got. I am always frustrated about half way thru the summer, when the first blooms are all done, and the other's haven't started yet. My dad came over and helped spread a driveway full of mulch on Saturday. So now the tricky task of digging and planting without disrupting the 'prettyness'.

well, I have gabbed enough.. hope you are all having a great week!

evidence of God

here are some of the reminders of the amazing gifts that are all around us. I love the summer when all the scents and color so boldly remind me that God is Good.
in my garden:

He is all around us. and having a nearly 4 year old constantly asking questions and eager to learn about the world, gives me the chance to 'look for myself' at my surroundings and bask in the awesomeness of what we have been given here on earth.. all because our Father in heaven loves us SO incredibly much.

we went to brigham's best friend Hannah's birthday party on saturday... my only other friend who goes crazy with themes... did a bang up job with a fun 'rainbow' theme. everything was so cute!

and of course we got to tell Brigham about rainbows... why God sent one after the flood... and then Sunday when we were getting ice cream with grandpa, we saw a rainbow!!

pretty cool, I didn't have my camera .. WHAT was I thinkng??!!!

Andrew and I celebrated our FIFTH wedding anniversary!! WOW!! although are grandiose plans got put on hold since we're going on vacation in a month, we still had a nice dinner out at our favorite Italian restaurant. sat on the patio. the weather was perfect. and then we went to see GET SMART... pretty funny, but just ok. and then for drinks.

Five years later , I am finally getting that life isn't random. that my husband was perfectly created and chosen for ME. And even though I tried to change the heck out of him, as soon as we started dating... GOD knew that too!! LOL. We are perfectly meshed and compliment each other so well. and you can read my husbands thought on this here. (yeah, he has a blog!! the husband who made fun of me for two years for blogging, has crossed to the darkside!!LOL)

And because of our marriage we have been seriously blessed beyond our wildest dreams with our two kiddos.

my family. love them to pieces.

and I am thinking that I may have been blessed with a tad bit of talent.. b/c I am getting such encouragement from my picture taking !! I have had 4 people in the last week ask me to take maternity, kids, baby, and family!! I can't say how much of a blast I am having with 'other people's kids..and God's right there too... teaching me patience and self control for sure!! LOL

ETA: my husband has informed me that brigham looks green... well, husband, (and anyone else who thinks he's got the flu...)well, I purposely creatively edited him, with blueish hues...just playin'!!

(cuz with brig and tate, I can scream, and boss and be a big meany!!)

and as I sit in the comfort of my home, while it may not be a dream home, its comfy and cozy and I am lucky to have the safety of our subdivision(yes, we can leave our doors un locked...SHHHH.) I know that I am provided for. above and beyond.

through, clothing, shelter, food, friends, family, talents, comfort... sometimes I don't feel worthy... and I KNOW that I sometimes(more than not) take it for granite.

and the biggest way, is through His word.. our church is so phenomenal about teaching scripture and totally making it relevant to our lives . Our lifegroup discussion has been incredible.

My spiritual faith has grown leaps and bounds in such a short time. I am SO thankful for finally taking the promptings, that were so clearly given for the last year or so. God was leading us to an amazing place in our new church. Sometimes I secretly wish we would have taken those promptings more seriously, and we would have been saved a whole lot of grief, stress and sadness. But then again, we trust that we are right where God wants us. and it was his timing and HIS plan after all.!! LOL

whooops, didn't mean to go all churchy on ya'll. but I guess, I would say .. stop for a minute, and look around at this awesome world we live in.. that was created just for us... because God loves us that much....and even when we screw up.. He's still there loving us.

so tell me, where do YOU see evidence of God in your life?

pics and pages

you may have to click to make them larger to see the journaling. this was the first time I 'wrote' on my photo!! *GASP** I seriously, had to contain my self!

these are a couple from Christmas, I know, I know, what happened to up to date scrapping?!!

Last Friday, my preggo friend Sarah, was brave enough to put her pertruding belly in front of my camera.... and this is what I got:

(and about 175-ish more)

got my new lens, and was dying to try it out.... also got come cutie pie shots of my lil Missy.(but I haven't edited them)

got to go finsh decorating a cake... we're throwing a baby shower themed party tonight at Lifegroup. We finished up a service project for a local crisis pregnancy org, and we got a dresser, and we all pictched in to FILL it with all kinds of things a new mom would need. We're going to pray over the dresser and for the mom who gets it.... sooo cool!

oh and since I have a cake biz, figured I could hone up my skills by doing the cake. if it turns out, I'll take a pic!

Have a great day!!

random whirlwind.. and not just the weather..

the title is relevant to how our week felt.. kinda 'tornado-ish'..


so last weekend we were supposed to go camping with our friends the Kouts... had been planning this event for months. and for those of you how know us, know that we are a tad aprehensive about the whole bugs, dirt,sleeping on the ground and other primative accomadations.. but our friends had wanted us to go with them last summer, and well, I was up for it, to 'experience' it and ok, seriously, so I could SCRAPBOOK the occasion. Our friends brought up the idea again, this spring, and I convinced Andrew (who's still has nightmares from the baby deer that he happened upon while frisbee golfing) to try it out!




Sooo we were all geared up, had lined up all our necessary equipment to borrow from friends, and were mentally prepared. Until God had other plans for us.


Parts of the state of IN was declared a disaster due to flooding... they had to close the interstate in some parts.. and tons and tons of property was damaged to due the monsoon-like weather we've had this month!!

So last wed, we called down to the camp, and the Lake was 25ft above capacity... the docks were covered, debris in the water and they said that if we got 5 more feet than the road leading to the campgrounds would be gone.




We had rented a boat for the afternoon also, and were able to cancel that as well as the camping lot. and the lady actually asked our friend what the reason was, when he called to cancel our reservations! UM, while mud is known to have a cooling effect, I am pretty sure we don't want to sleep in it! so bummer, but we're trying again later this weekend. the kids were disapointed, and I have to admit I was pretty devasted that I wouldn't be able to eat my quota of chocolate and marshmallows.




We ended up opting for a grill out instead of campout and pool time with our friends.. with the intention to finally nailing down our vacation, which we had been 'talking' about since March.

So finally after flipping through brochures, fighting over the internet and midnight upon us, we secured hotel resv. for here. St. Louis here we come! and we only picked the hottest time(last week in July) to head to MIS-ERY.




But we'll be staying here, for five days, and that way we can hang out in the evenings, after we've been on the go to all the attractions during the day. Holy cow, there is alot to do there! Luckily we all agree on doing the same types of stuff, so its going to be a blast.

I actually went with my family when I was younger, but things are a bit fuzzy!! LOL

There will be five kids between us, and they all get along fabulously. can't wait!

------

so to the bits and pieces part comes in to play as we were starting up the grill, ready to celebrate fathers day with my dad!

( we had already celebrated with Andrew with KFC and kite flying)


I was prepping in the kitchen and noticed that in about 5.3 seconds the sky had turned an eery shade of green. everything was calm. and then WHOOOSH!


things started flying..Andrew ran out to turn the gas off and brigham started directing everyone to get to their safe place.

Andrew came running in saying, he'd never seen wind like that, and has he was running inside, a piece of siding came hurling by him.

I ran to the front window, just in time to see our neighbors' gazebo completley up in the air!

um, scary.

and about ten minutes later it was all done. we went outside, to see the skies clearing, and our yard and street littered with branches, siding, and roof shingles.


this was one street over. by far got hit the worst.. brigham has not stopped talking about 'the house that the roof went all gone'!








and these two majorly huge trees busted down the power lines, which left us in the dark for about 6 hours!!




we managed to eat our dad's day dinner by candle light around 9 pm!! but it was tasty. I had gotten this incredible candy bar cake for dessert...totally worth it!



-----

whirlwind... of a week began...

got up in the am to go teach vbs( I was supposed to be in charge of the preschool room) totally did the room up right. It was so stinking cute.. better be, I had drug my kids in for about 10 hours the week before as I decorated the whole thing and turned the room into a backyard haven!! (pics to come)

spent the afternoon with jennifer... catching up.. way over due for gab time.

went to lunch Tuesday down at our train depot .. brigham experienced sidewalk cafe dining where it was a tad 'windy'.. he was so worried that his plate was blowing away and that his hair was blowing.... oh, my he is so high maintence!! LOL

then we met some friends at the fountain, and we all got a good sunburn.

wednesday we met my friend Trini at the zoo. Her little girl and brigham were all matchy in their browns and khaki... we had to theme them up like zoo keepers ..lol (pictures not available at this time)

after 3 hours playing we finally decided to head over to Chick filet for a late lunch. The kids got to play a bit more and the moms gabbed some more.
and then we all came home for naps!!

Thursday, we met some lifegroup friends for lunch at the park. Brigham was so excited b/c we got to play at 'grandma's park'!! the kids found the big sticks left over from Sunday's storm more facsinating than any of the play equipment!
whatever.. kept them out of our hair, so we could chat.

are you seeing a theme.... we get kids together for 'Play dates' but is it really for the kids? or the moms?? LOL
Thurs night I went with my friend to an enrichment night at her church. Its the 4th one I have been to with her. Its something pretty common with the LDS church, and it is just soo cool! I always leave, so uplifted. (spirtually and physically) the food is always so amazing, and the talks so meaningful. the night was focused on 'renewing' so we had tasty apps and a choc fountain with all kinds of yummies to dip.. and then we learned some relaxing techinques from the Alexander method... made bath salts , and whipped up some cute little scented massage pillows! I actually sewed something!! My husband was in shock, as he has 3 shirts that have been awaiting buttons, for the last 2 years!! LOL .. now, he knows, I can sew! oops!
anyway yesterday my friend Sarah came over and while the kids played, she let me take some pictures of her cute preggo self!
I am almost done editing them, and then I'll share!

went to a bday party for a little friend today.. they had turned their back yard into a super splasher water park.. with all kinds of slides and stuff(pictures to come)..
then we headed over to our annual festival.... Taste of Tippecanoe. Our friend did the website for it, so he got us free tickets.. the weather was perfect. and our friends had VIP passes, which basically were good for clean restrooms and beer. Worked out perfectly for us all night long!!
beer is always so expensive at those things.. and when the food is like so tiny, then its hard to justify paying the price for it.. anyway, we had a great time.. stayed til nearly midnight.. Tatum saw her first fireworks, and did suprisingly well!(pictures to come)
and now I am exhausted. so I'll work on posting some pics later.. too lazy to get them off the camera!
hope you've all had a fantastic week!
I am looking for some down time next week LOL

two great men

I am so thankful for the love you show to me. For the laughter you brought me as a child with your silly voices. For the countless hours you spent teaching and coaching my softball teams. The support you gave me throughout my musicals. The encouragement you gave me when I was too scared to try out for Purduettes. The beaming sense of pride you had for me, when I made it! For the christian upbringing you gave me.

Thank you for the talks as you drove me back to the dorms every sunday night. Thanks for the time you put into typing up (a lot) of my college papers! Thank you for always standing behind me, even if what you think I did was wrong. Thanks for listening. Thanks for not judging. Thanks for giving advice, even when it may be hard for me to hear. Thanks for the time you spend with my kids. Thanks for the laughter that you bring to them.

For the time you are willing to spend with them(even when you may have to change a diaper!).

I am so grateful to have you as a father. You are a wonderful man of God and I am so proud to see the fruits of your patient waiting come to happen. You deserve it! I love you dad.

And to this man. I am so glad to have you in my life. I am thankful for all you do for me. For the countless hours spent listening to my stories. For your paitence, when I give you too much detail. For your encouragement when I am going through tough times. Thank you for listening. Thank you for not judging. Thanks for giving me advice , even when its hard for me to hear. Thanks for helping me figure things out. Thanks for always loving me. For going along with me to things that make you uncomfortable, just because you want to see me happy. Thank you for you willingness to help around the house. For cooking. For doing dishes. For cleaning toilets. Thanks for the humor that you bring into our household. Thanks for your drive to make our family succeed, even when times get tough. Thank you for being such an awesome father. For spending so much time with the kids. For countless hours you spend teaching. For playing. For changing diapers(for a whole 9 months straight LOL). Thanks for putting up with my indesisiveness. For lifting me up. For your constant compliments, even when I don't want to hear it.For your hard work(always working 2 jobs) in providing for our family. For not being selfish.

I am so grateful to God for bringing you to me. You are the perfect compliment for me. I am so excited to see your desire to grow in Christ and lead your family with Jesus in the center.

I am so proud of you. I love you!

been playing with my camera....

my kids are tired of me chasing them around!! LOL

the adorable little guy here(other than Brig) is my friend Patti's son, Cameron. would you look at those eyes!!

I have actually taken a few other friends' children so I'll post them soon. Been scrapping a lot lately, and one day soon, I'll end up flooding the gallerys at a few of my favorite scrappy spots!! LOL

its just such a pain to scan and stich each 12/12 page. this is when I wish that I scrapped 8.5x11 pages!! LOL

I even kept up with challenges at scrapfriendzy and simply obsessed. they were a blast to do, and I was so bummed that I didn't get them posted!

we went back to OH last weekend to visit. A friend of ours had a baby shower, and we drove around our old stomping grounds and showed Brigham where we used to live! He kept asking where did he live. and where did Tatum live. by the end of the day, he had decided that he and Tatum had lived at the Mcdonald's by the big tree and the fountain..but just when they were babies!! LOL

I'll post some pics of our trip later! Well gotta go get dinner before lifegroup tonight. we are discussing such an awesome stretch of scripture right now... James 2.....

hope you're all keeping cool. its awful out there!!

hope to post more pics later.... my new camera bag just got shipped... I am sooo excited !!!


I can't wait to get til it arrives on my doorstep!