Scrapping, Cooking, & Reading...

I made a commitment to join Ali Edwards in her year long "One Little Word" workshop for 2014. It sounds like a very enlightening/fun project, and so far I'm enjoying the process. You can read more about it here. I chose "prosper" as my word to focus on for the year. The first two pages in my 2014 album are dedicated to the thinking process of what prosper means to me, and where I would like it to lead me. It's all about mindful thinking and being more intentional in your life-lessons I hope to gain from. Here are my first two pages:

 

 

It looks like a lot of writing, but most of the monthly prompts are project oriented. The first month, as you get comfortable with your word, is more about really thinking about what you would like to see evolve for yourself during the process. It involves some soul-searching...I'm incorporating this project with my photo.a.day so they will both be in the same album. I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for me and my family!

Another thing I have really enjoyed while being on break is reading. I got a Barnes & Noble gift card from my hubby for Christmas, and of course I've already spent it, plus more!! Here's the newest Amy Tan book I'm reading:

...and I also scored two new cookbooks to go with my new Kitchenaide mixer, and I got sale prices on all 3 books, score!

I think I'll have to start taking some of my baked goodies to school to put in the teacher's lounge, or feed them to my students. I so enjoy being in the kitchen baking or mixing up something new, but I certainly don't need all of the calories.
I can happily report I have been headache free for 4 days in a row! That is such a blessing...my husband (and a few close friends) are probably the only ones to really know how they have affected me in the last year--and bless their hearts for putting up with me. I'm getting back my energy and feeling so much better. Yeah for modern medicine!

I'm off to meet Jamie and Joel for dinner. They are in Tulsa for the weekend for a family wedding. They didn't bring the boys, I will miss them dearly, but we can have a real grown-up visit!

Happy Weekend to all!

the past few days...

 

Kelsey and I went to Texas to enjoy some playtime with family. Last Thursday was G's last day of school so we showed up after he got home to surprise him! We crammed in as much as we could in 3 days: a trip to the park, swim lessons, gymnastic lessons, computer games, movies, board games, swimming at the pool, snuggle time and more! And, we may have or may not have consumed a large quantity of homemade cinnamon rolls. We were even there to join in on G's very first friend sleepover, and I'm happy to report it was a big success!

 

 

G and M playing games...

M loves to swing. They have a really cool park within walking distance
from their house, so there's no excuse not to go have some fun.

Competitive gymnastics has given G a lot of confidence.
He wanted to hang from every bar he could grab a hold of!

And, I was pleasantly surprised when we got
back home to see my hydrangeas beginning to bloom.

The trip was fun, as always. And, now that I'm back home,
I have our annual Eureka Springs Girl's Trip to look forward to.

Everyone needs an Uncle KK...

The boys are always so busy and "on the go" that most of my pics the last couple of years are very candid...that being said I still wanted to try to capture one last photo of them before they began their trip back to Texas... they were all dressed up (meaning not in their pj's), hair combed, no toys out to distract them, etc.  I asked them to sit on the couch so I could snap a couple of quick poses...G is getting where he will indulge me and the camera, for a few seconds at least, not so much with M. I still got a few adorable shots, but soon they were distracted by something more fun...Uncle KK was standing in the same room, so they were quick to jump up and start playing around with him.

Maybe I shouldn't stress over not having more traditional, posed shots...because, how cute is this? What a cool uncle he is, and they love to wrestle around with him...I think the feeling is mutual. These are the pics I treasure the most... 

Continuing to "ham it up" for the camera...

These are priceless... 

...and they are priceless!

Christmas at Nienie's...fun times!

We had so much fun over the holidays...no one was sick...no drives to Urgent Care this year because of sore throats or strep...we all relaxed, ate, played, took naps, read, watched movies, and simply enjoyed being together as a family. It just can't get any better than that. Fun was had by all!
The table game was meant to be one of daddy's gifts...

...and if you hold your mouth just right, and concentrate
it makes it a lot more fun!

Sorry daddy, maybe you can play next time...

The boys got some wooden toys to put together, packaged with screws and a kid-friendly screwdriver, G got a tow truck and M got a train
...after assembly they needed a colorful paint job

I love that they are so creative and enjoy building things and putting things together-they are perfect crafting buddies for Nienie!

...and G is a natural at reading directions and following them step by step, it's fun to see him so confident and self assured, the printed pages are not intimidating to him at all... 

...I'm sure M will soon be reading his own directions because he loves to follow along and do anything his big brother does!

I hope everyone had a blessed holiday!

Does this ever happen to you?

Christmas Eve at Deda's...
we really wanted a group pic of the little ones,
just one would be great-
we don't get everyone together very often...

After coaxing all of them into the same general area
we thought the rest would be a breeze,
quick and painless
we thought we had it made...
Should it be so challenging
to get everyone's attention at the same time?

Of course, there is always the animated one...
teasing us, making us think we were almost there,
and also one (or two, or three) who could care less...

All of our clapping and snapping and dancing around
did nothing to convince them to all look our way and smile...
especially not all at the same time. 
They were really making us work for it...

Maybe even better than snapping the perfect picture,
was watching their comical faces entertain us
as we waited patiently for group cooperation,
which was not to be had...

At this point, we can tell that it's not going to happen,
not like we thought, anyway...
let's throw a "big kid" into the act and see what happens...

We aren't making perfect pictures,
but we are making perfect memories...

Thanks kids, maybe next year.
Happy Holidays!

I know these aren't the best pics, but I was shooting inside through a glass window. I love watching the boys at their swim lessons...

M's face was cracking me up! And the instructor was so good with the kids, very full of energy...can you say h-y-p-e-r???

Look at his cheesy smile, I think he had just finished flirting with another little girl in the class next to him:)

He's "movin' and shakin'' in this one, getting ready to jump in, too funny!

Look closely and you can see his flippers...

...practicing floating on his back...

And, here's the only shot I got of G, I guess I was busier watching M play during G's lessons than I was watching G play during M's lessons!

So here's an extra shot of G, he was playing "tie me up" with sissy...notice jewelry doubling as handcuffs...

And, just because I miss her, here is mom relaxing on the deck this summer during our girl's trip...

Hi mom! Love you:)

...a work in progress

It seems like I've been busy lately, to say the least. Not a lot to show for it, just "life". My summer seemed so short-changed, getting back into the school groove was more of a challenge this year. Or, maybe I'm just getting slower! Anyway, I miss documenting my little projects along the way, so I'm going to attempt to get back on track. I've been making a ton of these little yo-yo squaresand have started putting them together into rows. It's going slowly, but I love working with all of the different colors. I have 4 long rows so far, at the rate I'm going it will take a year to finish it. I've been interrupting the process to work on projects for Christmas gifts, which I can't reveal until after Christmas! I've also added quilting back into my life so I seem to "float" from one project to the next before completing anything, a little A.D.D., maybe? Here is a longer view, there are actually three more rows tucked behind the chair to keep it from falling while I took thepicture. And speaking of A.D.D., I worked on this little fall project while my pics loaded on the blog. I just have a very difficult time sitting still! And, switching from projects to family, Caleb came home from Norman this weekend to spend some much needed bonding time with us. We went out to celebrate Kelsey's 20th birthday!Thanks for the pose, kids!

...a movie & marley

The boys love to have their breakfast in the mornings while watching a movie in the living room. We've finally been able to add a few new titles to the viewing mix--notice "Aristocats" on the big screen, via Old School VCR! We have such a collection of Disney movies on VCR, I'm happy to get a bit more enjoyment out of them, even if the quality isn't great. They both look so focused on the TV, but actually they are splitting their time 50/50 between the movie and keeping an eye on Marley. Like I mentioned a few days ago, they both finally warmed up enough to Marley that they were comfortable with her roaming around the house and not being in her crate during the boy's playtime, which is spent mostly on the floor.
Marley was so good, she wanted to be as close as possible to the boys, I think she just wanted to be noticed. But, I also think she knew there was a GOOD chance of being put in her crate if she became annoying or interfered with their playtime.

This picture cracks me up! Marley looks so dejected, but honestly I think she is hoping Morgan will accidentally drop a bit of breakfast on the floor for her.

Here's Morgan trying out his new dog training commands, telling Marley "down".

Oh wow! I think Marley really thought she might get a bite of cereal.

Oh boy! Licking the hand is a good treat, too! Maybe that's just as good as getting a bite of cereal.

And, this next picture is one of my faves. I'm glad we were so patient with waiting for the boys to be comfortable around Marley....now, I think they'll have a very long friendship. Grayson even told me to make sure I brought Marley with me on my next visit to his house!