Perspective

You know when things are tough and you think you have it pretty bad then something happens and you realize that really isn't the case. It just puts everything in perspective and you realize that there really is always someone that has it worse that you. Well unfortunately I have been reminded of that this week.

My sister's best friend Kelci had a wonderful little boy 7 weeks ago. Max is a doll and is so darn loved. I had the opportunity to take Kelci's maternity pics and she was so very excited. She enjoyed her maternity leave at home with Max, holding him and spoiling him rotten. And then she went back to work and Max went to the sitter. And then Max quit breathing at the sitter. He was resuscitated but has substantial brain damage and can't breath on his own. His loving parents have some very tough decisions to make in the coming days.

My sister has been at the hospital with them quite a bit and their families are all there. They have a lot of support but this is devastating. I'm so proud of them all! There is no rule book for this kind of thing and no way to know how you will handle it until it happens. They are amazing people. I had the opportunity to see Max yesterday and he is just a doll! He has chubby little legs, a dimple chin, and is just adorable. I gave him a little kiss and told him how loved he was and how proud he makes his mommy and daddy.

And then I came home. And Hulk threw a massive fit and I thanked God he could scream. And today when he colored on the wall I reminded myself how lucky I am that he can see. And when he wanted to make bird feeders I said yes even though I had a lot of other things to do. Because at the end of the day the only that that matters is him. The laundry will be there tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!!!

We had a wonderful Easter! We were planning on going to Tulsa to visit family. And then my Dad's aunt died so he and Cricket came to town for her funeral. While that was sad it was a great suprise to get to see them and visit!

Hulk spent time coloring easter eggs with Aunt Phyllis and I. He thought that was pretty neat. Though he did want to eat them all! He also got lots of Easter goodies from Heather and I. And he got to have two easter egg hunts. One at our house that the neighbor kids set up for him. And another with my nieces. This is the first year he has really understood how to dye eggs or hunt eggs so it was a blast.

We also made our annual Easter visit out to mom's place. I love visiting her on Easter. It's always nice to take her new spring decorations. But Easter reminds me that I will see her again fills me with hope and excitement for that day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter too!!!

Christmas

Our Christmas was pretty darn amazing this year. Since my mom died Christmas has been painful for me. In fact every Christmas since she died I have been sick. I think the sickness is brought on as a way for me to avoid the day. While I actually really have had physical symptoms I think it's just been my way to get out of dealing with the day. But not this year! I've been praying for weeks that I would be well and that we could have a fun day. And boy was that prayer answered! It was an amazingly fun weekend!!!

 

Hulk is just the perfect age! He really understood this year and was just so much fun. From making cookies, to baking Jesus a birthday cake, to opening gifts, to playing with new toys. He was just a blast! We got to spend the whole weekend with my sister too and got lots of time with my best friend Darby and her family. It was just a very relaxing laugh filled weekend! The best Christmas that I've had in years!

 

Hulk got some really wonderful gifts. I got him an indoor trampoline, a digital camera, and some other little things, my sister got him a kitchen, my dad and cricket got him a picnic table and movies, and Monte and Kathy got him a cute chair, a fun truck, and lots of clothes and pj's. What's crazy is he seemed so excited about all of it. He has spent so much time playing with everything and having a blast.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

Labor Day Longing

No words really...

Just an image...

Of Hulk and Heather...

Our Labor Day weekend of longing...

For our mom...

And grandma...

20 Tiptoes

20 toes

4 baby feet

4 chubby baby legs

2 wonderful babies

Love These Children!

Darby's babies are getting so big! And Caden is such a super star brother. I just love them! I really really love them. Even that girl. Who knew I could ever become fascinated with hair bows and tutu's. But I am when it comes to her. Go figure!

 

 

 

 

A Hulk Day

Today was Hulk's day. I promised him this morning when he woke up it would be all about him today. I scheduled no photo sessions for the day and made no other plans so we could just be together uninterupted. Other than a quick trip to Wal-Mart the rest of the day was spent on fun. No chores, no cleaning, no calls, nothing but he and I!

We so needed a day like today. I feel like every weekend lately I have either had to work or we have been running around seeing people or doing things. We haven't had just an uninterupted day in a long time. So what do you do on Hulk day you ask?

Well you go to the zoo in the morning! We even fed the ducks! You eat a picnic lunch at the park and spill lemonade all over the place and it doesn't even matter. You eat grapes and peanut butter sandwiches. You even get to have a chocolate chip cookie for dessert on Hulk day!

Of course after all that you need a little nap before you head to the pool. You swim and swim and then realize there are water slides. Which means that you need your mom to carry you up all the stairs and slide down with you. Yes indeed I hauled an almost 40 pound child up three flights of stairs 17 times so we could go down the slides. That's all he wanted to do. He loved it. I love the slides also but man my legs hurt!!! I was worn out.

He was so worn out after all that. He barely ate dinner and we snuggled up to watch Toy Story together and he fell asleep. I just put him in bed and it is 7:15. It really was a wonderful day and I'm guessing we will both sleep well tonight. Now that he is crashed I better get all the stuff done around here that I ignored all day!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I hope that all of you have had a Mother's Day as great as mine! It really has been a wonderful weekend. My dad and Cricket came home this weekend and has been great to see them! We went and visited my grandparents yesterday and all of our family was together for the first time in a long time. It was fun to play outside with the kids and visit with the adults. All the playing and outside time wore us out so Hulk and I both slept very well! In fact he even let me sleep in until 6:15 as a mother's day gift!

We had a lovely breakfast with Heather and then we all went out to mom's place to visit. We took a few new decorations and cleaned up a bit. But it was freezing out there and started raining while we were there so we didn't stay long at all. Every year I anticipate that it will get easier to be without her on mother's day. But it doesn't. Luckily I have Heather and she gets it. So we both had our moment of missing her and feeling sorry for ourselves and then moved on to try to enjoy the rest of the day.

We didn't have to try to hard. Hulk took a super long nap which means we both got a nap. YAHOO! And then Dad and Cricket came back to hang out with us. Hulk adores them. He thinks my dad is pretty darn cool and follows him everywhere. He has figured out that Cricket has a soft spot for him and tends to spoil. If he had much time with her I think he would have her wrapped around his little finger in no time.

I got several bouquets of flowers, a gift membership to a cool site I want to try, a pedicure and new outfit from Cricket and Dad, and some very sweet cards.

So super mother's day here! Hope yours was great too!

Double Duty (Kansas Photographer)

Last weekend my Spring Photo event could have easily been promoted as a twin event. I had two sets of twins to photograph in one day. I loved it! I have always been intrigued by twins. And then my best friend had these beautiful twins and now it seems like I find twins everywhere. I have been photographing twins quite a bit and while it's double duty it is double the fun!

 

Not only are these twins delicious and wonderful and marvelous in every way. And no I'm not biased one bit! They are a photographers dream! Those blue eyes that shimmer and shine and their fine fair skin. Oh mercy! They make my camera and my heart oh so very happy!

 

I think we ended up with some beautiful images of them. The green grass just seemed to make their eyes pop even more! I just adore them and I'm so grateful that I get to photograph them often. Oh and that I get to kiss and cuddle on them too. Yeah that's pretty awesome! I'm one lucky girl!

 

My Biker Boy!

 

I have always liked motorcycles. What can I say I'm just a sucker for a nice Harley. I'm even more of a sucker for a cute guy on a Harley. In the past this could have gotten me into a lot of trouble. Wait now that I think about it it did get me into a lot of trouble. But not anymore.

 

The only reason it doesn't get me into trouble now is because the cute boy on the Harley happens to be my adorable Hulk! Monte got a new to him Harley a couple weeks back and Hulk loves it! He loves to sit on the bike. But only if it's running! He loves the power too I guess. He quickly figured out how to operate the horn and where to turn it on.

 

He had a grin from ear to ear the whole time he was on the bike. He was just thrilled and amazed by it. I think I have a future biker on my hands. While not as exciting as my days working at a biker bar and riding too fast down streets on the back of a big Harley watching him take in the Harley for the first time was pretty awesome.

That works for me! I'm pretty happy with this cute biker boy anyways.

Big Eyes!

My best friend happens to have beautiful big eyed babies! And I am lucky enough to snuggle them and love on them and take pictures of them whenever I want!

 

Those big beautiful blue eyes steal my heart! They are just delicious little babies! The way they laugh now and look at me makes me think I want another baby at my house.

 

Their funny faces make me laugh and make my heart pretty happy. Oh how I love them! I just can't get enough of their big blue eyes!

 

Random Ramblings

So many random thoughts in my head... So grab a drink, get comfy in your seat and let's get to it!

First things first. My kidlet likes Elmo "Melmo". Actually he loves Melmo! Sometimes his love for Melmo and the fact that he plays really hard just wears him out.

Sometimes he gets so worn out he falls asleep on his aunt's lap. Which means it is the only time he is still enough for me to snap a pic of his adorable Elmo socks! He loves those socks. Well he loves all things Elmo!

 

And since he loves Elmo so much today he is getting his birthday present from me early! I am taking him to the big city today to meet up with his favorite Aunt or "da da" and we are going to see Sesame Street Live! I was stumped on what to get him for his birthday and then we found out the show was coming to a big city near us. I'm hoping he loves it as much or more than his socks!

 

This is a picture of my niece that I took at my sister's birthday party. I just find her to be incredibly cute and thought I would share the cuteness with you. She is sweet and fun and waddles when she walks. I miss the waddle walk that Hulk had when he first started walking.

 

And the last bit of randomness I have to share is simple. If you ever visit our house and you can't find our Sophie dog the solution is simple. Just look in the wagon! Somehow she winds up there frequently. This is odd since she cannot jump into or out of the wagon on her own. I think some little boy helps her but that could just be speculation on my part...

 

Why I Love My Aunts!

I am so lucky to have such wonderful aunts! Not only are these ladies incredibly funny but they are also some of the most loving gals I've ever met in my life. I have a million and one reasons why I love them so much but I'll just share a few with you...

How about the fact that they love my little Hulk and are always so thoughtful when it comes to him. They bring him gifts that they know he will really love. Things like Elmo t-shirts, magic grow capsules, balls, and little people toys! And don't forget the cookies! Yes they bring him cookies which is something I never do. They read to him, kiss on him, play with him, and just love him. It's so awesome to me because they are so much like my mom and when they do those things for him it makes me feel like a little bit of her rubs off on him!

Seriously when I say they look and act like my mom I am not joking! Their hands are so much like my moms. It's amazing how much time I spend staring at their hands. Now that I've said it they are probably going to be all weird about me stalking their hands. But I can't stop myself. I love their hands like I loved my mama's hands.

Another reason to love them is that they can make me laugh like a crazy woman. They say some darn funny things. We spent hours last weekend looking thru old pictures and they had me cracking up. Heck I wish I would have known them when they were in their 20's because they looked really funny then!

In all honesty the main reason I love my aunts is because they love me! They really just love me for me. No strings attached. I don't have to be funny or have cute hair. I don't have to be happy all the time or have a perfectly cleaned house. They just love me and laugh with me and are just some of my most favorite people. So thanks gals. You crazy aunts rock!!!!

The British Are Coming!

Okay so the British aren't actually coming. But my aunts are coming to visit us TODAY! Yes all of my crazy aunts and a couple uncles should be arriving at my house in just a few hours. I'm so stinking excited I can hardly stand it. I love being around them!

Since we are preparing for a move the Aunts are coming to help me go thru some of mom's things. There were lots of things that we thought they might want. So this is the weekend to sort and divide and share memories and laugh and just enjoy each other!

Let's bring on the fun!!!

Tradition

My sister's birthday is today! She is 23 this year which is just crazy to me! But since it's here birthday I made her traditional birthday cake.

 

You know some people make cakes from scratch and others make elaborately decorated cakes. But around these parts we are all about Strawberry cakes straight out of a box. Call us simple if you wish but we love them. Well actually my sister loves them. They are her favorite. So that's what I make.

 

Usually I do try to fancy up this boxed cake by making it in layers with lots of yummy cream cheese frosting. But I couldn't find my round cake pans. I believe that some little boy used them for something and didn't return them. And because I was making the cake during that boy's nap time I didn't waste a moment looking for them. I baked the traditional strawberry cake out of box in a nice aluminum throw away pan. I'm so darn fancy. Your jealous aren't you?

So here's to tradition, simplicity, and a super 23rd birthday to my beautiful sister.

 

A Gift From Grandma

My sister and I have been spending a lot of time sorting thru things before the house sells. There is much that I will need to get rid of. But some things are just to precious to sell. A beautiful tea set that my mom had is one of those things. In fact there were several little tea sets so Heather and I each got to keep one. But one tea set went to a special little girl we know.

 

Our niece Mattie loves to have tea parties. So it seemed only fitting to pass on the tea set to her. She was a little nervous when we had her sit down to unwrap her gift from Grandma. We told her she had to be careful and boy was she. She was a little scared to touch it at first.

 

But once she saw what it was she was pretty happy. As soon as half of it was unwrapped she was ready for tea and coffee with us.

 

It's so cool to see her play with it. Our mom used to have tea parties with Heather and I frequently. I know if she was here she would love to have tea parties with her grandkids too. So I'm just thrilled that Mattie loved the gift so much.

 

She also made sure to have her dad put it away high on a shelf so her sister and Hulk wouldn't mess with it. Smart girl!

The Best Valentine's Day Ever!

This has by far been the best Valentine's Day I have ever had! I spent it with my two favorite people so how could it not be right!!! Hulk and I headed to the big city this morning to spend the day with my sister. And what a fabulous time we had! We went to lunch where Hulk was on his best behavior and had a great meal. And then we headed to a science center that was a ton of fun!!!

 

This place was so cool and so great for kids and adults. They had awesome water tables that Hulk loved. He thinks water is super cool and was pretty amazed by it. But if I had to be honest my sister and I thought it was pretty cool too.

 

They had an exhibit about the Wright brothers with lots of fun things all about planes and flying. We tried out a flight simulator, looked at some awesome model airplanes and Hulk even practiced doing a little flying himself.

 

Hey look at that. There are even two yes two pictures of Hulk and I together. He doesn't really go all over by himself. I am just usually the only person with the camera. But today I handed it off to my sister to actually get a couple of pics of me and the boy having a good time. He will always be my first Valentine!!!

 

One of the exhibits was all about Mr. Potato Head. I've never seen so many potato head parts. And there was an awesome archeology dig activity that Hulk loved. He didn't care much about finding the fake bones. He was really into the fake rocks and digging gear.

We so needed a fun day together doing something different. We have been stuck in the same routine for so long that it was such a great relief to get out and do something fun together. I wish we lived in a bigger city so we do these type of things more often. Maybe someday right. Until then it will just make our trips to the big city even more special.

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day too!!!