I'm Famous!!!!

Most of you know I have a friend. Jess. She's awesome. She's creative. She's a writer and so much more.

She's kind of a BIG deal.

Today is my birthday. I'm 29 again.

Click here to read my birthday dedication from my sweet friend.

Love you, sweet. Thank you.

A Creative Piece of ME

I know I have allot of quirky talents. Ballooning, throwing great parties, painting, and another list of random God given abilities that I have been blessed with. They just come naturally to me and I get excited about preforming them.

For the last 6 years, I've known that I have a talent for photography. I began taking pictures of my kids and others when I knew I could do better than what a professional photographer was giving me. I then began doing families, kids, seniors, and engagement photos here and there for friends and family to help them and I know now that they were helping me to gain experience to helping me foster a talent that they also saw. I love that each time I meet with someone or pick up my camera, that the BEST photo I may have ever taken or will take will be today. I love that when I am taking pictures, I feel the photo happen, knowing it's that great one. I am thankful and blessed by each and every family that allow me to share a moment in their or their child's life.

So it's been my little hobby. An outlet to allow me to be creative and to see something that is ALL me. I'm usually busy around the holiday, but WOW, has this season been off the charts. I'm sorry I couldn't post all of my work. Please forgive if you don't see your cute mugshot.

Maybe someday this will be more. For right now, it's a blessing.

Turkey Run

On November 21, we ran/ jogged/ walked in Wichita's Annual Turkey Trot. We did OK, running continuously farther than we had ever run and beating the goal that we had set. I also discovered I could sprint. Who knew?? For these reasons, I am so proud of us.

Jess, K, and I recruited the amazing BTT and her wonderful children. This alone made the Turkey Trot amazing for me. I am admittedly a HUGE BTT fan along with J. This fabulous woman spoke at my Friday morning MAPS group a year ago. The message she brought spoke deeply to my heart and was something that I greatly needed to hear. For this and another HUGE list of reasons, she is a little like a Beth Moore to me, except she's local and she gives me hugs. Both of these women speak the Lord's truth and wisdom to those of us that need to hear. Both very INCREDIBLE ladies. Love BTT to pieces and so privileged to call her friend.

So, already paid for the New Years day run. Can't back out and it's sure to be a cold one. Need to set a new goal that is attainable.

The Alter Ego Revealed

This Halloween the kiddos went as Batman, Robin and Batgirl. If you know me, I am anal about having a theme and everyone dressing as a group. I know that these times are limited so I am taking advantage while I can.

I sit the kids on the porch to take our pictures before we load up to leave and Maddox begins to act HILARIOUS!!! Running around, using all of his super abilities as Batman's sidekick.

I know I have said this before, but Goo is my extreme shy guy. He holds onto my leg when we go to an unfamiliar place and once there he takes forever to warm up or never does. But daily around our home, he runs around and cracks me up countless times a day with his funny quips and actions. I long for everyone to see what I see.

I was amazed Halloween night, when in his costume, this alter ego that is funny and boisterous emerged in public. Having a mask and costume gave him some sort of comfort to feel that he could be someone other than the shy guy he seems to be around others. I was so incredibly proud that night to show off my sweet Goo. Everyone saw what I see everyday. He's amazing. He's funny. He's friendly.

He's mine.

He's mine always.

He wore his costume to bed that night. Wanting to be Robin that much longer. I let him. And I didn't make him take it off any the next day. If he felt invincible in that costume, I let him.

Whatever magic it held is his whenever he wants it.

I love you little Goo-Robin-superhero. You're amazing to mommy everyday.

Jackson's #7

Yesterday you walked into the kitchen and said, "Mama, I don't wanna grow up. I wanna be a kid forever and play my video games and always live with you."
I want that too bubba. I wish I could freeze you perfectly at age 7, still in love with your mama and playing with toys. This past year, more than any other, I have felt the time passing too quickly as you grow.

This year you were brave enough to ride the school bus and try hot lunch for the first time. Big, Big deal bubba. You were so excited to tell us all about the lunch line and choosing your own foods. Your favorite is the deli sandwich and chocolate milk.

You are so friendly, my sweet. We went to the zoo this summer, in a town that was not your own. We walked in with our maps in hand, ready to explore for animals, when you spotted a young boy about your age. You confidently walked up to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Hey, we're wearing the same flip-flops. Cool!!" This is who you are. My easy going little man who can talk to anyone and play whatever as long as you have a great time.

You played T-ball, soccer and learned to swim this year. You can read, write and add and subtract. You love to color and create. A handful of a few words that are leaps and bounds from where you were a year ago. So proud of you bubby and the smart little boy that you are.

More than anything, I love that you love your family. You run to me everyday after you get off the bus and give me BIG huggers and say, "I missed you mama". You still cuddle in my lap and want me to lay with you at night to read stories and say your prayers.

I love you so much my handsome boy. You are a gift, my precious gift that I treasure. Thank you so much for blessing me.

Prayerful day

Can I tell you how much I love the man that you see here?

He is amazing. He is everything and more to me. He loves me 100% wholeheartedly, unconditionally, and without any demands. He is a wonderful father, never forgetting to tell them how much he loves them and how special they are. He is thoughtful and funny and adorable and I just can't squeeze him enough.

Work has been tough for him as it has been for so many. Yet when he leaves the office behind at the end of the day, he leaves everything there and tries never to bring the stress home to his family. This has always bothered me. I am a teller. I tell all and more and then some more. I can't keep my mouth shut and stick my foot in it frequently. So when I tell him every simple detail of my day, how many calories I burned during my workout to the funny things my girlfriend says during our daily chats I want to know ALL of his day. Everything that has happened while away from me the last 8+ hours while at work. He tells little. AHHHH!! How frustrating for a talker.

Today, something may have had the potential to stress him. Today, I did something that I didn't think I would have the time for or the patience for. Something so simple. I committed to pray for my love upon every hour of his work day. To give him peace and clarity. For help in stressful times.

Nothing happened today. Nothing stressful. Nothing chaotic. He told me he had a peace on the strike of the hour because he knew that I was lifting him and our family in prayer. I helped his day. I did something for him when I feel so helpless and stupid when it comes to his business world.

Do you pray for your spouse? Do you pray for them daily? When they don't even need it?

Faster than Lightening

I can honestly say, I have had self esteem issues most of my life, which I continue to struggle with. I have the typical body dis morphia junk that most women have, Exaggerated by childbirth and my crazy head. My husband doesn't get it. He's a dude and is committed to love me forever. Therefore, he has some sort of blinders on when it came to me stepping into a bathing suit or going to a pool with a full body cover up.

I have NEVER been athletic. I am the epitome of clumsiness and am always falling over my feet and running into walls. That's me and can't change it. Oh how I longed to be that cheerleader who could do flips in the air and kick her toe above her head. That would have been comical. The pyramid would be falling over and everyones legs and arms would be broken because of my inability to walk in a straight line. Instead I chose to be the funny girl and laugh at myself then cry about all of of inabilities in the corner because I believed them to be true. I wanted to excel at something... to be great.

Since giving birth to our 3rd child, Ava, I wanted to feel more comfortable about myself and the way that my post baby body looked. Stop whining about it and do something Seeny!!! You can say I went a Little overboard. Working out for 5 + hours a day, whenever someone was napping, and watching every calorie that I put into my mouth. Lost the baby weight and discovered something. I liked the feeling I had after I finished a workout. I felt happier and strong and proud that I had done something for ME.

My sweet husband agreed to get us a membership at our local YMCA The kids and I go to most days, staying until they page me or my Kid zone time limit has been reached. I Love that I can see muscles in my arms and that I can take my kids to the pool and play without feeling like I need to run and throw on a cover-up to hide my many flaws that continue to be on my Mommy Bod. Which leads me to this...

I want to be a runner. I do an hour of cardio a day but struggle with running on land because of shin splints. This will not beat me!!! A friend invited whoever was willing to do the 5K run in the Race for the Cure. The 5 of us ran, talked, ran a little, and talked allot then ran in for the stellar finish. Very fun and So very proud that I ran as much as I did, and did a ..."RACE". (OK, so it wasn't competitive and our time isn't really important.) I did it and it was fun and I now I want to do more. We are all on board for the Turkey Trot in November. Our goal, to run the entire time. BUT WHEN WILL WE TALK??

100% Big

So why when he brought this piece of paper home did I feel a little twinge of sadness? His very first spelling test. Spelling. What? He can spell? He's a baby. He's my baby. He's supposed to depend on me to write things out for him, not write them himself. He's reading, with much hesitation, and writing and getting all about big and leaving mom in the dust. He says he likes math. He has subjects? What? I'm accepting. Accepting that he's getting bigger. It's a process. I know. It's the 2nd month of school, when does the accepting part stop? NEVER.

Little Miss "I didn't do it"

So, here is the precious, please don't spank me, I am so innocent and would NEVER do anything wrong face of my criminal princess.

I thought it would be fun to have matching hot pink nail polish to match my hot pink MAPS (mother and preschoolers) shirt for last Friday. Sis, Goo, and I run to Wal-Mart to pick the perfect shade and a bottle of white to make sweet lil daisies on the big toes. Fun, right???

We get home, Maddox turns on Noggin and plants himself on my bed minding his own business and the princess and I set up for our pedicure toe-toe makeover. She is adorable as always, spreading out her tiny fingers for mama to paint. Legs sprawled in front of her, anxiously awaiting new color for her tiny toes. She loves having her finger nails and toes painted. I mean LOVES it!! We get her done and then I do mamas as she blows on her hands and watches. We talk about the flowers and how long it will take for her nails to dry and if they are done yet. I finish and brainlessly go to the kitchen for something leaving sis in the bathroom with a plethora of her favorite past time. DUMB and BAD BAD BAD. Sis then runs in to the kitchen to proudly show me her project. OH, NO...

THIS and THIS









Precious, right? Oh, it gets so much better. Because if sis looks like that, what does my bathroom look like??

THIS

We loaded in the car since I had used ALL of the remover to paint our toe-toes this lovely shade of pink and drove across the street to Dillons and bought 3 bottles of nail polish remover. As I am sitting on the floor of my bathroom, scrubbing my rug with a toothbrush and pouring remover, carpet cleaner, Windex, hairspray and anything else I can find get rid of the impossible stain, the princess says in her sweet sing song voice, "Mommy, bubby did it. Bubby bad boy. What you doing? Bubby bad. " I can't help but then think to myself, "Why in the heck have I not spanked your bottom? Because you look so stinkin cute and sweet and this is my fault that the polish was left out, tempting you as you sat in the same room. But then, wouldn't I have swatted your brothers if they had done the same thing?? Why is it different with you, princess? It's not. And it shouldn't ever be. So with wide eyes, sitting next to me, sis got a spanking from mommy.

Hard to be mommy sometimes. All the time. But completely worth every spill, every swat, every tear and every sweet hug.

She called them Monster Cookies

She came with them in hand, calling them Monster Cookies. I'm pretty sure that she had intended that they be for the children that she was leaving in my care for a snack. I offered it, only one of them was smart enough to take it between all of our kids. Then, I never looked back. Every time I passed through the kitchen, they whispered my name like the ring whispered to Frodo, "my precious." Then they were gone.

I will not deny that they have crossed my mind on more than one occasion. Their peanut buttery, chocolate, oat-mealy goodness I can taste on my lips as I write this. Alas, this is why I am fairly certain I am NEVER making them. She said that they freeze well and make about four dozen so you can pull them out and make them at any waking hour. BAD IDEA!!! I am not a self proclaimed night eater, but I think that these cookies could make me one if I dare to EVER make them.

So for those of you who are brave enough to try and make their wonderfulness here is a recipe that I found. I will say this. They were worth every minute I spent sweating them off.

My Ava Grace

To my beautiful spirit as she turns 2.

You mesmerize me my baby princess. Your love, laughter and excitement can't help but be contagious when you appear in the room that you command.


You move to your own rhythm with no concept of time for I truly believe that you think the world revolves around you.


I love that you are unbelievably funny and love to laugh as much as your mommy and daddy. What would our life be without your laughter? Please never stop laughing sweet girl. The world would be so much less without your giggle.


I love that you are undoubtedly my girly-girl of all little girls. No doubt you are a little priss and isn't that what I prayed for?? My own little princess to play dress up with and doll up each day. To put lipstick and nail polish on her sweet face after putting a bow in soft curls. To hear her clunk through the house with plastic heels in costume jewelry and a feather boa. I no doubt got a princess to call mine. With all of the drama and chatter that comes with it. I love every second of it baby girl. Thank you for choosing me as your mommy.

1st day mommy blues

So how come this is what I saw as you walked onto the bus on this rainy morning, but the only picture running through my mind was this one???

You are growing so big and so fast my handsome boy. Where have my yesterdays gone and why are the tomorrows coming so quickly? I can't seem to hold you tight enough to tell you how much I love you and how proud of the little man that you are. So BIG my little first grader. I blinked and my baby is almost 7.

Hold the hands hold the hands!!!!

As many know, last week was birthday week, which also means, making cakes, which means making homemade-to-die-for butter cream frosting. This ALSO means, everything is in upheaval and a disaster area with things left out and baking products everywhere. I admit it, when i am planning, things are a disaster. One morning for breakfast, Jackson decided he wanted green eggs and ham. SO i made him green eggs seeing as how the kitchen was chaos and full of baking supplies. Later that morning, the Lindsey kiddos came to play while their mommy was at a bible study. Kids played and I cleaned. everything was going swimmingly. My friend Jess came back and we ate lunch and sis and Aubrynn were sitting in the chair when I looked over and I saw it and all i could think was "hold the hands, hold the hands!!!" Sis had gotten into blue food coloring and gotten it all over her hands. The pic below is after washing. It was WAAAYYYY brighter believe me. The next night as I was dying icing with my mom I turned and she was into the yellow Wilton icing dye. EATING it!!! what is it with sis and the food dye??? Thankfully it managed to be fairly easy clean-up and didn't get on anything other than skin. An angel was watching I tell ya. The please don't make a mess so mommy doesn't pull her hair out angel of mine that seems to be permanently attached to my shoulder. Thank you Jesus for making her mine. I so need her!!

The Lure of the "Red Stuff"

So this is the face of our little diva after I noticed her missing one evening after dinner. I had left the bottle of ketchup on the counter to which sis had pushed a chair over, climbed up, got herself a plate, and dumped a almost entire bottle of ketchup covering the Disney princess' , and then preceded to eat plain ole ketchup with her fingers. I just don't get the lure of the red stuff. I mean it's good with fries and on burgers and dogs, but eating plain?? Dipping a green bean in it?? on a ham sandwich?? I don't get it??!! Some of my girlfriends would tell me to ban the stuff because of all the "red dye" in it sent from Satan. Don't think I'm quite that extreme, but I do think there is some kind of narcotic in it to make kids dump it all over Ariel's face and eat it with their lil fingers.

Trying to make a memory dang it!!!

So, I was trying to be the good mom and I bought all the fixins to make smores thinking we would all stand around the chimminhea, sing campfire songs, hold hands and giggle. Right, that worked out well. The kids did ok for about .5 seconds. Jackson didn't even want to eat his marshmallow, Maddox just wanted the bag of marshmallows to eat out of, Danno hates smores and wouldn't even act like he was interested, and Miss Ava wanted to poke her brothers with the skewers because she thought it was funny after eating 4 Hershey bars. Her tiny face smeared in rings of chocolate and hands a sticky mess that attracted every bug in our backyard. I am trying to make a memory here family, please humor me in participating!! I did enjoy two of them after Jackson went in the house to play Wii, Maddox begged to open bubbles, Dan played with his phone and sis continued to drag her chocolated coated hands through the clean hair that I had just washed. So I guess that the memory is... no one really likes smores but mama :( But, never fails, I will try to make this same memory again, when its a little cooler.

Is there anything better??

There are so many things that make summertime that much better. Dips in a cool pool, no school, and endless hours playing video games and watching TV. But can anything really be better than a Flavor-ice on the front porch. Their easy no dip plastic packets you would think could be every mommy's no fuss dream. My children however, seem to find a way to make them almost as bad as a baby eating rice scattering it all over the floor. But never fails, every afternoon and into the evening, someone begs to have Flavor-Ice Popsicles to ease the heat of summer and make that 100 degree that much more bearable. Not to mention that it seems to cost a dollar for about 100 of them :)

Just a great pic of sis that I took. Thought I'd share....

VBS and Day Camp week

Last week was VBS and Day Camp for the kiddos at church. This was Jackson's first year at Day Camp which was held at Eberly Farms. The kids got to praise Jesus everyday in a camp like setting, while making new friends and learning about God's word. I felt a little at ease because I knew Jackson's camp leader and had told her of his lack of swimming ability despite my frantic rush for swim lessons at the Y the last couple of months. So you can imagine my surprise and heightened anxiety when I went to pick him up the first day and he plops in the truck telling me that he went off the slide into the deep end without taking the swim test and also got lost the second he stepped off the bus onto the camp grounds. This is my BABY!!!!! He what???? He seemed to take it all in stride and not care much about getting lost and completely thought I was over reacting about the deep end thing. But that is my Jackson. Laid back, no big thing,mom, Jackson. Where did my baby go??? Well, I got over it and am slowly letting go. He had a GREAT time at camp and is talking constantly about how indestructible and undefeatable our GOD is. He is such a wonderful little boy, my Jackson.
Maddox. Well, you know goobley. It takes him a few days to warm up, but once he does, he has a GREAT time. He made boat loads of crafts and proudly sported his VBS shirt each day. He was in the same group as his "one and only lady", miss Aubrynn. He now sings to all his songs in the car and demands that no one else sing but him.
Sis went to the nursery class that she commands each week. No big surprise there.
Mommy worked her tail off serving snacks, no a daily buffet, to all the hard working volunteers that help make the week possible. I'm fairly certain that I gained a few, which I am feeling this week on my cardio.
All in all, a great but exhausting week. So grateful that our church hosts such an event that tells all the kids about Jesus. There had to be 500 + children involved. Truly, a blessing.