Monday, November 29, 2010

christmas-time is here!!

i am so excited to announce that "for the moment"...i'm putting my "painting me happy" hat back on for some christmas creations!!!!



these footprint plaques would make a precious gift for grandparents...or a keepsake for mommy & daddy!!!!

i am going to take the first 30 orders and guarantee that those will be ready to roll for holiday gifts...so HURRY and get your name on the list!!!! all others will be taken in order and filled as time allows!

please email me at mere877@yahoo.com if you are interested...and i will make arrangements to get your little one's footprints!

i just love everything about this time of year and look forward to what new memories this holiday will bring! hopefully, i'll be seeing YOU soon!!!!

merry, merry christmas!!!!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

under construction...

***looks like the "holiday facelift" proved to be too much...but at least we got a facelift!!! still trying to work out some kinks...but we're getting there!!!!

as you can tell...we've suffered some M.a.J.o.R problems w hen trying to give our blog a holiday facelift!!!!! hopefully, the engineer in the family can solve this problem asap because it's driving me crazy...and i'm not savvy enough to fix it myself!!! :(

Saturday, November 20, 2010

our recent birthday girl...

in her birthday suit!!!!








just doesn't get much cuter than this!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

hard...

how can something as easy as taking down a portable crib seem so hard? i mean it's just taking up space in my bedroom...and ava hasn't slept in there for months...

but it's not just the act of taking down the bed...

it's what it represents.

it represents the fact that my baby is not as much of a baby anymore. that time is marching on.

ava, at the ripe age of 13 months, is walking now, has recently cut four teeth at once (three being on the top), is repeating words like "bye", "hi", & "mama", eats like a horse yet is hovering around 17 pounds, will pat herself when i say "love the baby", gives "sugar" by blowing kisses, loves baby dolls & bath time, is in a big girl car seat (still facing backwards of course), has weaned herself for the most part (which has me weepy inside)...and just generally blows me away moment by moment.

yes, it's gonna be hard to take down this crib...but i look forward to the day when she crawls into bed with us just like her older sisters do to cuddle...

i love being their mommy so much...it hurts...and that means it's gonna be hard sometimes...even when it looks so easy.

her birthday

one month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months



12 months...which sounds somewhat better than ONE YEAR!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

this is just classic...



there are few words that should be used here...i find this utterly hilarious...

this sums up quite a few of our "posed photo sessions"...but as evidenced by the vast majority of my posts...i don't give up easily...

i'm not sure they'll thank me for these years from now...

but at least they'll have proof that i had patience...

i sure do love these goofy, nose pickin', fussy babies of mine...more than life itself.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

2 out of my 3 pumpkins

ava and i picked up maddie from school the other day and decided to swing by the st. luke's pumpkin patch for a few minutes before we needed to go get ella!!!! i just happened to have my camera in my car because i had been to mrs. sumlin'sbirthday celebration that morning!!! perfecto!!!

maddie had a blast running around and rearranging tiny little pumpkins...and avahad a blast sucking on as many pumpkins as possible!!!! ewww!!

it was a fun time...and it's neat to see maddie in her role of "big sister" when ella is not around! she's really funny and LOVES to dote on ava! she's at such a precious stage...well, all three of them are really...but on this particular day...i just loved spending time with two out of my three pumpkins...











getting her bowl on...

ella was beyond the moon excited to get to go to jack eli's birthday party on friday afternoon...and an added bonus that she didn't even know she would love was getting to bowl!!!!! she and lots of little friends from kindergarten bowled, and bowled, and bowled!!!!! they were so sweet about cheering each other on and taking turns...it was such a fun, fun party...and we appreciated getting to go!

i'm pretty sure that we found something that the price family will be doing together very soon...especially if ella has anything to do with it!!!






Friday, November 5, 2010

teacher feature...

drop off...

this year at the carnival...i decided to bid on the "teacher feature" for ella's class! i'm not usually a bidder...and i can usually make a guarantee that i won't win...but this year...

I DID!

ella was so excited because that meant she was going to get to spend an evening BY HERSELF with her special teacher!!! each of the k-5 teachers could meet one of their students up at the activity center at school to make pizza together, decorate aprons, and eat!!!! my little girl was on cloud nine!!!

she was smiling so big when i dropped her off...and that big smile was still there when i came to pick her up! of course, she didn't want the evening to end!

thanks, mrs. hight for spending some time with our girl...it is a memory that i know she will hold onto forever...

pick up...

ella's creation...

Thursday, November 4, 2010

everyone has one...

a story that is.

my mind is swirling tonight...and my heart doesn't know whether to break into a million pieces or feel thankful. it will probably do both.

i served dinner at the shreveport rescue mission this evening with jeffrey. he has gone several times...but tonight, i got to go with him.

what a humbling experience.

the whole time i was serving up the hot food to these mothers and children, i just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that everyone has a story. if i could have, i would have gone and sat with each one of these individuals to find out how they got here. i certainly wouldn't be asking just to be a voyeur into their lives or to seem judgmental...i truly want to know what happened in their life that has brought them to this place...to this point.

there was a little boy (there were several children but this particular child really struck me) that caught my attention in the dining room. as he came through the line, i looked in his eyes and i saw sadness...yet he was so polite...saying "yes m'am" when i asked if he would like gravy on his rice. he's learning manners somewhere. he had a school uniform on and i just couldn't help but want to scoop him up into my arms and tell him that he matters...that he can make something of himself. i couldn't help but wonder if some teacher tells him she loves him. he has to go to school every day just like my girls, but instead of coming home to a pantry full of food that he can help himself to...he has to ask strangers for a glass of milk.

like i said, the heart inside this mother wants to break.

i'm a detail oriented person...so i told jeffrey that i wanted a tour of the facility. a very nice lady guided us through and i just had so many questions. it's truly amazing what they offer. the ladies and the men are separated - there's about 50 bunks for each group. we weren't able to walk through the sleeping quarters, but from what we saw it was a room with lots and lots of bunk beds. there was a common area where each group, men and women, can watch t.v., use computers, or read. you wouldn't believe the faces staring back at me.

there are 12 family suites that she said are always full. once again, heart breaking.

they sign up to do their laundry. they have worship. they have dental and medical care (which is just amazing to me). they have hot meals. showers.

all the basic things we have...but they don't have security. they don't have luxuries or comforts.
i just can't wrap my head around what it must feel like.

our "tour guide" told us that one man that just went through their 9 month program (basically an equipping class) had a ph.d from stanford...got diagnosed with lymphoma and lost his job...and found himself at the rescue mission. everyone's got a story. and it's not always because someone lost their way in drugs, or was abused, or was uneducated...

sometimes life just happens...and i guess that's what breaks my heart the most.

it makes me want to do more than just serve food. i suppose that's what a lot of people grapple with...how do you make a difference when you're just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things.

i don't know the answer to that tonight. but what i do know is that i will be going back...if only to serve food. because something is better than nothing...

everyone has a story. including me. and i want my children...the ones who have a plethora of food, their own toys, the ability to have friends over to play - security...to know that there are those in this world, in this town...that don't have anything...and i don't want them to know this just because i told them it is so.

i want them to know this. i want them to care.

desperately i want this.

the only way they'll see this is to lead by example.

so tonight...as i lay my head on my soft pillow, in my soft bed...i will be reminded of what i saw today...and i will be thinking about how everyone has one...

a story that is.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010