Ushering in a new year...

I am having a hard time believing that 2007 is over and that a new year is upon us....ALREADY! Where did 2007 go????? Would you agree that the days pass faster and faster the older you get???

This year, as in most in the recent past, will be pretty low key. Having babies in the house makes New Year's Eve not quite as eventful as it was pre-kids, but that's not a problem for me. I'm not in the mood to be out and about, fighting crowds and traffic this year. I just want to be home. So that is what we are doing...staying home. A few of Ty's friends will come over and our neighbors too (who have a little one) to have dinner and then just hang out. Ty's trying out his new smoker that he got for Christmas. We'll do some ribs and tri-tip. Mmmmm....sounds yummy!

Would you believe that I haven't even picked up my camera ALL week??? Amazing, I know! **wink**. So that means no new pictures for today. Sorry. But, I DO have some pictures of past New Years Eves for ya. I could not, for the the life of me, recall how we ushered in the new year over the past several years, so I had to journey through my photographs to remind me.

Here is us on New Years Eve 2003 to 2004. Ty and I spent New Years with Krystal and Will (all pre-babies, of-course!) at Knott's Berry Farm. They were hosting a bunch of Christian bands and artists that night and we saw Jeremy Camp in concert. Pretty fun!


And 2004-2005....the night that I really started to feel pre-eclamptic and swollen. I was admitted that next day...


I have no pictures of the actual night of New Years 2005-2006, and I have NO idea how it was spent. Luke was just 11 months old. I can't remember if we went out or stayed home. We must've done something....we always do. We've never just spent a New Years at home alone. But, again, I can't recall, so here is a picture I took of Luke on the 31st.


And finally last year....we had just moved into our house 2 weeks prior. I was a mere 7 weeks pregnant with Ellie and we had some friends and family over for a chili dinner and games afterwards. We also celebrated Luke's birthday that night, since we didn't have a special party for him planned. Here is us having 2nd birthday cake!


Oh yes...BIRTHDAY...that reminds me. Just 3 short days until my sweet son has his golden birthday (he turns 3 on the 3rd). Has it already been three years! Sheesh! The party plans have been made, invitations sent and all of you within a 100 mile radius have all been invited (I don't think I forgot anyone!). I desperately wish ALL of you could come...even those of you with kiddos far away...(Heidi, Amy, Roni, Diana....well with a kiddo on the way for D.) And with all the plans for an outside Thomas The Train birthday party set for Luke this coming Saturday (were were planning to have a bounce house and everything!) I learned yesterday that it is forecasted to be pouring down rain Thursday through Sunday! Crumb!!! How crappy is that?! So....I've been in a mad scramble to make alternative plans. Not so easy of a task 5 days out! But, My Gym saved me and it sounds like they have some openings for a party this coming weekend. I'm not sure what time yet though...still have to talk to our friend Terra there. So, all of you blog fans who were planning on coming, just know that I will be emailing or calling you in the next day or so with updated birthday details. Hopefully, the change won't mean fewer guests, but I'm guessing that it might. :(

Well my friends...I should be going for now. There's laundry to be done, the dog to be walked and things to prepare for dinner tonight. I hope that you all have a fun and safe night tonight! Happy New Year!!

Christmas

I trust that you all had a wonderful holiday. I know that we sure did! It was busy, busy, busy, but wonderful nonetheless! Monday (Christmas Eve) was Christmas with my side of the family...my sister Jenn and the girls came up to my parent's house, and we treated the day as if it were Christmas, rather than Christmas Eve. We had breakfast and presents, then lounged around until dinner. So nice! Once dinner was through, our little family headed home to prepare for Santa's big arrival! Luke helped Ty prepare Santa's snack, with a little something for Rudolph as well, and then it was off to bed for a Christmas themed bedtime story and a good night's sleep before the big day.

Christmas Eve has always been so magical for me. As a child, I have many memories of lying in our darkened living room, gazing with awe up at a light-filled Christmas tree, and basking in the anticipation of all those glistening presents delightfully wrapped beneath the branches. Our Christmas Eve was much the same this year, only my anticipation was more focused on my kids rather than gifts wrapped with bows. I was eager to watch Luke open his gifts the following morning, and I delighted in all the magical moments of Christmas....setting out snacks for Santa, telling Luke to listen for reindeer hooves and jingle bells on the roof, turning out the lights at midnight and tiptoeing to bed with a giddy heart at the thought of what our son would find in the morning under the tree. And yes, of-course, lying silently in the darkened living room, relishing in the beauty of our lit Christmas tree with the fireplace crackling behind us. Ahhhhh......how much more beautiful can life get?????

When dawn came, I wasn't surprised to find that I was the first one awake. My eyes popped open at first light and I tiptoed downstairs to get some coffee and make sure that the dog hadn't eaten Santa's cookies! :) When I discovered that she HAD (the plate had been LICKED clean!) I quickly scrambled to replace the half-eaten cookie and crumbs that had been left there by Santa several hours before! A chocolate chip cookie isn't such a bad way to start off a morning, if I do say so myself :) It was followed shortly by a warm cup of coffee....not too shabby of a breakfast in my book! :) Ty was up soon after and we actually got to enjoy our coffee while I fed Ellie. When 7:45 rolled around and Luke was STILL not up, we scooped up Ellie and the video camera and made our way upstairs to wake our sleepyhead. Before we knew it, we were knee-high in wrapping paper and toys were spread all over the family room! :) What a delight it was to watch Luke on Christmas morning! We videoed the whole thing, but I'll just put together a quick montage of photos for ya, I think.

The biggest surprise (for me) of the morning came in the form of a little black velvet box, wrapped in a gold bow. Resting inside was the most beautiful diamond solitaire necklace that I have ever seen!! My husband......oh my sweet husband! I tear up just thinking about this. You see....our 'budget' to spend on one another this year wasn't much. We had decided to keep it pretty simple and to just get some smaller things for one another. But my dear husband decided to nix that plan. He had other things in mind, after all. Let me give you a little background so that you can understand why I cry at the thought of this beautiful diamond hanging 'round my neck....

Ever since we moved into this house, Ty has been planning, designing and working on his garage. Its always been a 'work in progress' since money has been tight. He has dreamed about putting in epoxy flooring, is in the process of building a custom work bench and just has big dreams in general for how he wants his garage to be. It is really important to him....something he talks about all the time. His 'retreat' so to speak. Well...all along, his plan has been that he would sell his dirtbike/motorcycle and use the proceeds(which really isn't much to begin with!) to finish as much of his garage as he could. We always agreed that his 'motorcycle money' was his to spend as he saw fit. It was his 'play money' so to speak, since there isn't a lot of room for extra stuff like a fancy garage with our one-income family. And when he finally found a buyer for his bike a few weeks ago, we were so excited to think that he would be able to finally start in on his 'garage plans'. Seriously friends.....he's talked about this garage ALL THE TIME! He has been so excited about it!!!

But as Christmas approached, my husband thought long and hard about what he wanted to buy me, and our small budget for one another just wouldn't cover it. So, what did he decide to do??? He took his dreams for an awesome garage and sacrificially put them aside in order to purchase a stunning necklace for his wife! He took what meant so much to him and gave it to me! I cry now as I type this. His gesture touched my heart so deeply and it meant the world to me! I didn't need a diamond necklace. And we certainly don't have the extra money to buy me one. But he knew that this diamond would mean so much to me. It is something that I will wear each and every day, just as I wear my wedding band.....for it represents to me my children....my husband...and now, his sacrificial love for me. Isn't he the most amazing man?! In his words, he 'just wanted me to know how much he loves me.' Oh, I most certainly do, Ty.....I most certainly do.

I apologize for being so long-winded today...there is just so much to share! :) But rather than continuing on in words, I will leave you with a montage of our holiday. It's a little lengthy...just to warn you, 'cause I added in a couple of video clips. And please excuse my raspy voice in the videos....I ended up loosing it completely later in the day! Anyhooo...enjoy the montage! :)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas wishes....

Since I wasn't able to carve out the time to send a traditional Christmas card to all of you who mean so much to us, I decided to post our holiday greetings here...which I will do in just a couple of minutes. Ellie and I had some time alone the other day when Luke spent the morning at Meemaw's house, so I took FULL advantage of the quiet time and did her four month photo shoot. It's tough to get pictures done with Luke around, as he doesn't like it much when Ellie is the center of my attention...understandably so. And its even tougher to get Luke to be involved when I'd like him to be in the pictures. He nearly flat out refuses now, which is why our Christmas greetings are just of Ellie. :(

I highly doubt, with all the hustle and bustle of the next few days, that I will be able to get online to post again. There are birthday parties to attend, a house to clean, presents to wrap (yes...STILL!) and a bit more baking to do. And to top it all off, I have come down with a terrible sore throat and body aches. Argh! Why do these illnesses always come during the holidays???? We were all sick for Thanksgiving too! But so far, I am the only one affected. I'm sure Ellie will have it soon though, as I am always touching and kissing on her and was doing so before I knew I was ill. :( And poor Ty....I pray he doesn't get this round...he is STILL working on getting over our Thanksgiving bug. Yes....STILL! He has been sick for weeks and weeks....just finally went to the doctor a few days ago for some antibiotics and is starting to sound like himself again. Phew!

Anyhoo....I hope that you all have a beautiful Christmas with your loved ones close! I am very much looking forward to this Christmas morning and seeing Luke's face as he opens his gifts! He has really taken to the idea of Christmas this year. It has taken on a magic that makes my heart swell! :) And the most delightful part for me is that he understands that Christmas is first and foremost about Jesus and secondly about Santa. We talk about both. Santa is essentially Jesus' helper....helping to spread Jesus' joy, love and grace. So....from our home to yours, may you all hold the true meaning of Christmas close this holiday season and may your year to come be full of His blessings!

Sending love to each of you....

Ever heard of Wordless Wednesdays? Well, an online friend of mine occasionally does them for a break from the routine. She posts mostly pictures rather than a written blog for the day. And having decided to end my brief hiatus, I think a good way to ease back into blog land is to do a Thursday version of Wordless Wednesdays. So without further ado here are some of the things we've been keeping busy with.....

Gingerbread house makin'











The finished product...





And the children were nestled all snug in their beds....



A visit with Santa....and a very scared little Luke! (sorry the quality is so bad....I had to scan it in)



And to end my "Wordless Thursday", here is a sweet picture of my Ellie Belly, who turned four months old on the 16th **snif, snif**

The last few blogs have been deleted....it was getting out of hand. It makes me sad to see that the first and only time I attempted to venture out of my comfort zone and actually share my opinion about something that was important to me, it was met with so much drama. That was completely not my intention. I guess I'll be more careful in the future...

Its just not gonna happen....

...getting Christmas cards out this year, I mean. That is such a bummer to me too, especially since my pictures are such an important part 'me', but there just isn't enough time or energy left this season for me to get them done on time. Are Happy Easter cards appropriate??? teeheehee. Oh well. So those of you who are expecting a cute little card from the McLaughlin's this year, please don't be disappointed when you don't receive one or think that you have been forgotten. You certainly have not been. Just chalk it all up to a mommy who feels a little overwhelmed at Christmas-time.

Okay....now that that is out of the way...something exciting happened this week for us. (Exciting for me, anyway!) Ellie finally rolled over from her tummy to her back a few ago! I had placed her in position for some much needed tummy time the other morning, and went about my business of getting Luke some breakfast. When a few minutes had passed and she was still not fussing to be done, I returned to check on her and found her tummy up! :) I was so surprised that I raced for the video camera and hoped for a replay. Ellie, however, had something else in mind and decided her one 'trick' was enough for one day. She has yet to repeat the feat, but I'm keeping a watchful eye on her now!

As for our weekend of flying solo while daddy was gone in Vegas...all went surprisingly well! The kids were so well behaved and mellow. It was actually quite a pleasant weekend. I was able to finish up all our holiday cookie baking one night after the kids went to sleep (that is, until I learned yesterday that we are hosting Christmas dinner here and I now need to make more cookies for our guests!) and Ty seemed to have a great time with his buddies. All in all, it was definitely not as tough as I thought it might be.

My biggest challenge right now is just getting all my ducks in a row for this holiday season. For some reason, I am feeling constantly behind this year....even when I look at the calendar and see that I still have 12 more days left until Christmas. I guess I'm not really doing that bad...all of our Christmas gifts are purchased (minus a couple of little things that Ty and I want to pick up for our kids...but we have a 'date' at Toys R Us planned on Friday to finish that up!), the house is decorated and my baking is nearly done. I still need to wrap gifts, figure out plans for dinner here Christmas day and then of-course just clean and such. But I think the thing that has me most stressed is actually Luke's birthday. Its just TEN short days after Christmas and this year we are planning a little party for him, since we had just moved in last year and weren't able to do much. So, now that he is old enough to appreciate it, we will be throwing him a little bash here at home. I shopped yesterday for his invitations and party goods...he chose Thomas the Train this year, and whoa! that boy is EXCITED about it!! He keeps talking about his party and mixing his birthday up with Jesus' on Christmas day. teeheehee. We've been teaching him why we celebrate Christmas and telling him all about it being Jesus' birthday and now when we asked him who's birthday it is on Christmas, he says "Mine!". Not quite, buddy. We'll continue to work on that one! But he's getting a grip on the idea. All in time.

Anyhoo....my littlest one is starting to stir in bed, so I must end my blogging for now. My post feels a bit disjointed, but oh well. Hope you guys are having a great week!

Another weekly recap....

So as you might have guessed, the lack of blogging this week is indicative of my lack of 'free' time to be at the computer. I've been busy this week with processing a few photo shoots that I've had (everyone wants their Christmas card pictures!) and so any child-free time (aka naptime or after bedtime) has been spent on Photoshop. And while I absolutely love this photography hobby of mine, I am glad it is just that...a hobby, and that it doesn't usually steal me away from my kids and my husband like it has the last couple of weeks. A shoot every once in awhile is great for me! Those are my pleasure to do and I truly enjoy them. I'm just not a fan of this back to back thing. There is just too much to attend to with my family, and that for me, is my first priority.

Anyhoooo......

Guess a recap of the week is in order. Let's see......

Ahhh...our anniversary. Has it really already been a week? Sheesh! Our actual anniversary on Friday was pretty uneventful. It was a cold, rainy sort of day, so when Ty got home from work, we spent the afternoon listening to Christmas music with the fireplace on while we decorated the tree and the house for Christmas. It was a cozy kind of afternoon....all together as a family. Very mellow, but very nice. Luke got to decorate his very own, tiny tree in his playroom this year. He thought that was super special to have his very own tree!

He was actually pretty adept at hanging those tiny ornaments too! I was surprised! And I was equally as surprised that he agreed to wear his santa hat while doing it! Here's my happy boy!

Then he decided to try on Tess's silly antlers....

This was just one of the shots in a series that I took, each with Luke 'posing' in a G.Q. kind of way. They're pretty silly and incredibly cute!

Saturday actually felt more like our anniversary than Friday did. That's when these arrived, accompanied by a beautiful poem...

...a day late because UPS was delivering them and had apparently sorted them wrong. :( Poor Ty was so upset on Friday night when he told me that they were supposed to be delivered earlier in the day to surprise me before he got home. He was crushed that his surprise had been botched. I didn't mind the mix up at all....in fact, getting them on Saturday was actually better, since it was the night we had planned to celebrate anyhow. And......because of the whole UPS mix-up, the flowers ended up being FREE! :) Who can complain about a free dozen long stem red roses and white calla lilies????

Saturday night was our special night out. My mom came over to be with the kids and I nursed Ellie just before we left with hopes of her going to sleep and not needing to be fed again until the middle of the night. That sort-of ended up being what happened...my mom attempted to give her a bottle of pumped milk I had left 'just in case', but Ellie refused most of it. Silly girl! She was fine though until her 3am feeding. (Yes....she's STILL waking hungry at 3 or 4. Wondering when that will end, but that's another whole story!). Here's the fam. just before Ty and I left...not the greatest of shots, but like my mom said, it catalogs what our 5th anniversary was like...our arms full of kiddos! :)

Luke apparently wasn't in the mood to look at the camera. Surprise, surprise.

After finally escaping the little ones, our night out was really nice. We had cocktails and appetizers at the swanky little bar at the resort (I had my first martini ever...a raspberry drop. Not too shabby!) and just talked awhile since we had arrived about an hour earlier than our reservations. Then we got to ride a little boat (they called it a gondola, but it really was just a small motor boat) across the resort's lake to our restaurant....the Sea Grille. When Ty made the reservations, he asked for rose petals and candles on our table just as we had on our anniversary table last year. So sweet. We had a delicious dinner...lobster thermador for me and sea bass for Ty. Mmmmmm....yum! We lingered as long as we could at dinner, drinking our wine and just enjoying our meals. The night was over much too quickly though, and soon we found ourselves back at home, checking on the kiddos before hitting the hay ourselves. ***Sigh*** I still wish we could have gotten away overnight, but so it goes. It was still a nice evening. And five years are now under our belts! :)

Oooh...I almost forgot....Saturday morning before those amazing flowers arrived, I got lost in messing around with my camera and one of my lenses that I hadn't used in quite some time. I must've taken 200 pictures, just playing with settings and such. Here are two of my favorites....of my two most favorite kids in the world!

I just love that little smirk! Its rare to get him to look at my camera, much less smile at it these days, so this adorable little look was priceless. And ahhh....my sweet Ellie. I just adore this girl! She is the most beautiful child I have ever laid eyes on! (Of-course, I am a little biased!) But seriously...she grows more and more beautiful every day! And get a load of those cheeks!!!



In the process of taking all those pictures, I came across one in particular that reminded me so much of myself as a baby that I had to go digging through old photographs to be certain. What do you think....do you see the same resemblance that I do?????



I see a lot of me in her.....but maybe it's just me hoping that at-least ONE of my kids looks a bit like me! :) I grew them both in my belly, afterall. It would be nice to have them look the part! :)

Well my friends.....with all that said, I guess that it is time for me to sign off. Ty is out of town for a boys-only Vegas weekend with his highschool buddies, so I had better get plenty of rest to keep up with my two munchkins this weekend. Not that having them to myself is much different from any other day, but the idea that there is no break in between a long week past and a long week ahead makes me tired! ;) Ta-ta for now.

Five years ago today....

...I married my high school sweetheart, my best friend and the love of my life. It was a crisp, cool, fall day....still the most beautiful day of my life...despite the rain that fell. Its hard to believe that day was already five years ago. It still seems so vivid in my mind. Still harder to believe is that is has been nearly fifteen years since we first met. Time does indeed pass by much too quickly. And it seems as if it flies by faster the older you get. Much has changed in these past five years. And there is much to be thankful for. God has blessed us in ways we would have never imagined...the greatest of those blessings sleep soundly in their beds upstairs as I type this now. I marvel at it all. My heart swells with thankfulness...for my husband...for my family...for my life. We've had our share of challenges and trials along this road, but nothing that didn't strengthen us and our marriage more in the end.

I wanted to have something special to rekindle the memories of our years together, so as I do with most things, I turned to my pictures. They really are the only things left of times past, and as I poured through them this week, it became ever more apparent to me how precious all those snapshots and photographs are to me. I am so very thankful to have my pictures! There have been several times in the past where Ty has teased me and occasionally rolled his eyes at me for being such a photo-fanatic (and yes...sometimes I CAN go overboard), but looking back through the catalog of our photographs this week only strengthened my resolve to never stop snapping pictures of our lives. There were many, many things I would have forgotten had I not had a picture to remind me! And to see how we change and how our children grow....well....its just incredible. So.................all that to say that I put together another few montages to celebrate today. The first is the same one we showed at our wedding reception, and the second is something I made for Ty. I'll share it with you though too...because that's just how I am! :) Without further ado........

Part I


And Part II

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanks for sticking around to watch both of those! :) As for how we will celebrate....today we will just spend the afternoon together as a family, probably just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. And tomorrow, in lue of our annual minimoon, Ty is taking me to a fancy-shmancy dinner at the Marriot in Palm Springs. A steak and seafood place. They even have romantic gondolla rides! :) Should be wonderful. I'm mostly just looking forward to some time alone with him. I just miss him so much these days...even though I see him every day, its not always the quality time we would like to have. Between kids and work and life....the 'he and I' part of things sometimes and unintentionally takes a backseat. We've purposed in our marriage to always make time for 'us' no matter what the circumstances and to go on dates whenever possible. We feel that is probably the single most important thing we can do for our family....to take care of the 'us' so that 'we' remains strong, secure and vibrant. But with the new baby and all, date nights and time alone have been mimimal. Just really looking forward to Saturday...it means a lot.

Annnyway.......

I feel like I am rambling. And I most likely am. :) Guess I'll be going for now. Again, thanks for sticking around to read! :) Happy 5 years to us! :)

Recap

Yet ANOTHER week has passed me by without blogging. :( Busy times. Let me recap...

Thanksgiving turned out beautifully. It was quite busy with getting everything ready, having a house full of people AND being ill on top of it all, but we were thrilled to have our family here and share Thanksgiving with them in our OWN home! :) The meal turned out great and everyone was happy! Here are just a few photos...

Ellie in her cute little dress...the first one she's ever worn! :)


A blurry smile, but a smile nonetheless...

I'm sorry to not have any pictures of Luke in what I call his 'hubba-bubba' outfit. :( By the time he was up from him nap, the house was full of people and I was busy with dinner prep. No time for pictures, I'm sorry to say! But he looked quite dashing in his dark khaki/brown pants and long-sleeved button down light blue dress shirt. VERY handsome!

Here's the turkey man...he did a FANTASTIC job with both turkeys. We made a good dinner-makin' team, he and I! :)


After the Thanksgiving festivities were though, we spent the rest of the weekend cleaning up, putting up some Christmas decorations, and we also went out to tag our Christmas tree. :) We were able to make our first batch of Christmas cookies as well. Luke loved 'helping', but his favorite part was this...

...licking the beaters. That's my favorite part too! :) This picture is blurry too...I was in a hurry, I guess!

I also go the chance to visit with my good friend Heidi over the weekend too, as she was in town with her hubby and sweet boy Brandon for the holiday. I was sad that we were all sick in our house, because it made for a short visit at the last minute on Friday (they were in town all week), but it was still great to see her and meet Brandon after all these months. I had the privilege of photographing her family too...hope you don't mind me sharing this one, Heidi. You guys are just too beautiful to pass up the opportunity to post your pic! :)


Ellie mastered a few new things the last few days too....first was learning that her fingers are a great alternative to a pacifier (which she refuses to take!)

...and second was her new ability to use the Bumbo!

She loves the Bumbo! It allows her to see so much more and interact in ways she can't lying flat on her back. She still isn't the world's biggest fan of tummy time either, so the Bumbo is exciting! :) Oh, and as for our adventures in bottle feeding....we've pretty much given up on it. :( The child just flat out refuses! So we've decided to use a medicine dropper technique that I researched online in the event I'm away for longer than a few hours, and in a month or two, we will try to get her used to a cup. For now though, no bottle feeding means no night away for our anniversary this year. :( Sooooo disappointing to me, but as my sister reminded me, we've gotten away for the past few years and there will be plenty more opportunities ahead of us. She's right. One year won't be THAT big of a deal in the scheme of things. I will most certainly survive. :) Just sad to have looked forward to it and now not be able to follow through, ya know?! Ty assures me that we aren't abandoning the idea, just postponing it for awhile....maybe until his birthday or mine. We'll see.

My last few pictures to share of from yesterday. Luke was out in the backyard playing in his sand table just before sunset and I was working in the kitchen. Suddenly he calls to me... "Moooommm! Lookit! Come twick!" I looked out the window hurriedly, thinking something was wrong, but he was pointing toward the front of the house. "Look, Mom! The sunset!" It was simply awesome! The sky was afire with oranges and reds. A sight to behold! We rushed to the front yard to get a better view and then up to his room to see the sun dip beyond the horizon. "Did you know Luke, that God sent that sunset just for you?" I asked. "That was your special surprise from God today. Just for Luke. Isn't it beautiful?" "Yep....it IS beau-ful!" And when Daddy got home last night, Luke just couldn't wait to tell him all about the surprise God sent him that afternoon. :) It warms my heart just remembering it just now. :) We try diligently to teach Luke about God and how He often reveals Himself through nature. And we always point out the sunsets, as they are our favorite things, as one of the ways God delights us. He's learning. And it's a wonderful thing to watch!

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful for! We truly are blessed! My children, my husband, health, a home....wonderful friends and family....there is little to be desired when I sit and reflect on all the amazing things God has heaped into our lives. We are a very lucky family!

As I'm sure there will be very little time to blog tomorrow, I'm posting a bit early to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. It is my prayer that each of you are blessed to be with your loved ones tomorrow and share in a scrumptious meal...relishing those things that are of utmost importance in life....our families. May God heap blessings on each of you as well!

Before you go to bed tonight though, please say a prayer for our service men and women who cannot be together with their loved ones tomorrow, as they are out protecting our freedom. And please, as a more personal request, pray for my friend Sarah's little guy Angel, who's health has been precarious over recent weeks. Please pray for his little liver in particular, as it is the main point of concern at this time. Pray for strength, patience and peace for Sarah and Nick as well....I know that Angel's health is weighing heavy on their hearts and minds.

Thanks friends. I hope you each have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Luke has decided to share....

...his cold, that is. :( And the weekend was a little botched because of it, but that's just how it goes. Ellie ended up waking up Saturday morning (after sleeping completely through the night again....7pm to 6:15am!!) with a running nose and sneezing. Her spirits were good, but she was obviously getting sick too. Poor sweetie. And Luke spent most of Saturday wiped out in front of the tv...not wanting to do much other than watch cartoons in his pj's. That's totally unlike him! He loves to be up playing, even while watching television. But that day, you could tell he felt punky and sick. He was running a low-grade fever and his little cheeks were flushed pink. So.....I had to call my friend Kelli and cancel our trip out to her home in Burbank for Brayden's first birthday party. A big bummer!

So we opted to work around the house mostly...getting things ready for Thanksgiving and planting a few plants out front. Then, once the kids were bathed, fed and ready for bed, Ty and I got to steal away for our first real date since sometime before Ellie was born 3+ months ago. Gloria came to stay with the kids, and we went to BJ's for dinner and drinks (I got to enjoy a beer...or two!) :) and we just relished having some time to talk. We lingered a long time at the restaurant, chatting about life, the kids and our own growing up. It was so, so, so nice! I really have missed having time like that with my husband....just time to reconnect, ya know?!

Sunday started off quite optimistically, with plans to work in the yard, seal the concrete in the dog run so that Tess can begin using it, enjoy a visit from my parents,and wash the cars. But when Ty ventured out back first thing in the morning and found a soggy mud puddle near the corner of the house, our optimistic plans of getting lots done that day turned into a frustrating few hours of trying to repair what appeared to be a broken sprinkler line. :( Poor Ty was so frustrated; having worked incredibly hard laying all those sprinklers and sod, only to find it now damaged. :( After some digging, he was able to locate (and repair) the problem. Apparently, he had 'dry-fit' the sprinklers together before gluing everything, but forgot to glue just one piece, which ended up pulling apart and soaking the ground through and through. Literally, if you stand on the sod in the area of the leak, it is squishy, squishy, squishy! Ewww. Hopefully, it will dry out over the next week or two and the sod will be no worse for wear. We hope!

As the day progressed yesterday, Ty and I both started in with this silly cold too. :( He just called a few minutes ago and said he is feeling feverish and achy. How horrible it is to have to continue to work when he feels so yucky! I just have the sore throat end of it at this point....maybe...just maybe...it won't progress much further. Again, we can only hope. With a busy week ahead, it's a rotten time to be ill.

Well...its time to get Ellie back in bed for her morning nap and to fix some breakfast for Luke and I. Hopefully, by my next post, we'll all be on the road to good health! :)

Pictures

Just a quick post to add some of the pictures I took today for Ellie's 3rd month birthday. She was a tired bug during the session, so it was a quick one. You can tell in her eyes how drowsy and mellow she is....








You know me.....can't pick just one! :)

Luke had to have his turn once I was done with Ellie....pj-clad and all. :)


He has come down with a cold bug today. :( Though you wouldn't know it by looking at this picture! His runny nose and sneezing from this morning morphed into fever, chills, LOTS of congestion and a bout of vomiting in bed tonight. :( Poor kiddo. He seems miserable. I hope it is short lived. And I really hope he doesn't decide to share it with the rest of us! As it is, he's already going to have to miss Kelli's little guy's first birthday tomorrow. I'm planning to still go with Ellie, as long as she's well in the morning. Lets hope she is!

Its time to hit the hay for me. Long day. I'm wiped out. Night.

Three Months Already...

Ellie turns THREE months old today. *sniff*. Time is going by much too quickly. It certainly does not seem as though it has already been three months since she was born. And here we are...almost to her first Thanksgiving...out of that newborn stage and into full baby mode. She is growing and changing by leaps and bounds! While I don't have an exact weight on her, I'm guessing that she is near the 12 lbs mark...she feels much heavier nowadays. She grasps at objects, plays wildly in her little gym; kicking her legs and batting at her toys. And she has begun to hold long 'conversations' with me. Last night, in fact, I was awakened at 1:45 (not a normal time for her) by the sounds of her little voice chatting it up in her crib. Must've been talking to her teddy bear??? I debated about going in or not, but decided to in the end, and found her happily awake, staring at that special teddy my mom bought her and just talking away. Soooo cute...even for 2am! :) I decided to nurse her then, since she typically wakes around 3 or 4 for a feeding, and then put her back down. I knew, of-c0urse, that since she had awakened so much earlier than normal, I was destined for an early wake-up call this morning. Sure enough, when 5:15 rolled around, Ellie was ready for breakfast. I, on the other hand, was not. :( So, we opted for 'breakfast in bed' while I tried to catch a few more zz's, which also didn't happen. Oh well!

Last night was reminiscent of her earlier days of waking often in the night. I wonder if she is going through a developmental growth spurt, which made her wake more frequently. I remember when Luke was tiny, his sleep was almost always interrupted when he learned new skills. Kids are odd in that way. But Ellie is following the same pattern as her brother in that arena too. I just hope she goes back to her norm of waking just once to eat and then happily drifting back to sleep for several more hours. She actually slept completely through the night last Saturday, for the first time. 7:30pm to 5:45 am! A feat she has yet to replicate, but I now know she is capable. And while her wake time is pretty consistent every night, it is obvious to me that she is still quite hungry and still not yet ready to drop that feeding. I am watchful that she is not developing a 'habit'...for now I'm still pretty convinced its not.

Her temperament has changed little since she was so tiny. She is still quite a mellow, joyful baby. She is easily soothed and content most of the time. How blessed are we?! She has started to be more vocal when she's uncomfortable, tired or hungry, but even then she is such a easy-going kiddo. The only area in which we (I) struggle with her is in taking a bottle. She refuses. :( We have made several attempts to get her to take one, simply so that I can leave for more than 2 hours at a time, and more accurately, so that Ty and I can go away over night for our anniversary that is coming up in two weeks time. But Ellie will have NOTHING to do with a bottle of breastmilk. She wants it from the source. I find it very ironic that when Luke was tiny, I struggled so much in getting him to breastfeed and not bottlefeed, whereas with Ellie, I can't seemed to entice her to the bottle at all. Oh how very opposite my kids are in so many ways! So, with my lofty goal of a romantic night away with my dear husband in mind, I ventured to Target yesterday to purchase two different types of bottles, to see it maybe...just maybe they might work better for her. We'll see. I think we'll (ahem....Ty) will start 'bottle-training' her today. Once a day from now until the 30th will hopefully help. I pray that it does! This night away, on our 5th anniversary, is very important to me. Its been much too long since I've even been able to have a date with my husband, let alone a full 24-hours alone with him. We desperately need some time to reconnect. So, if you could, please say a little prayer for success! :)

Well....in looking at the clock, I see that its time for Miss Ellie Belly to go back to bed and for Master Luke to wake up (I hear him playing in his room upstairs anyway). So off I go...to begin another day! :) The plan is to take Ellie's 3 month pictures today, so if I actually get around to doing them, I'll post one soon. But since this post is all about her, it wouldn't be right to leave you without a picture for today, so her is my favorite shot from last month's shoot....isn't she just so precious!? My heart is full as I look at her here....

Its my Blog Centennial!

Yup...that's right...this marks my 100th post since I began blogging at the beginning of the year. So, happy Blog Centennial to me! :)

Being that it is WEDNESDAY and all, I figured you might like an update on our weekend. Sheesh. I hate not being able to blog more regularly. I end up forgetting all of the fun, smaller details of our days...the funny things Luke says or the sweet moments (yes..there ARE still sweet moments with him...more so lately than in the last few weeks!) and my blogs tend to get filled up with the more major stuff. :( I like more of a balance between the big and little 'stuff'. Maybe I'll have more time after the holidays?????

Anyway....our weekend....our weekend??? Oh yes!!! Grass, Thomas and San Diego. Yes, yes...now I remember. Friday was our day to lay the sod! Ty and I worked out booties off for a solid 5 hours and managed to lay nearly all the sod before dark. We had to bust out the big 'ol work light for the last little section, since the time change left us in the dark by 5:15! But we finished it and WE NOW HAVE GRASS!!!! HOORAY!!!! It was really cute....on Saturday morning (err...maybe it was Sunday?) Luke threw open the curtains, looked out the window and exclaimed, "Look Mom! The grass is beee-uuu-tee-ful!" And he was right on the money..it IS beautiful! After staring at dirt for 11 months now, seeing GREEN in my backyard is a sight for sore eyes! I love, love, love it! There is life there now...even the birds have decided to venture in! Love that!

After all that sod-laying on Friday, Ty and I were both mighty sore on Saturday. Sod is heavy stuff!!! It was well worth it though! And Saturday morning was Thomas the Train day, so there was no slowing down! Despite almost being late for our 10:20am train ride (Luke had to make a pit-stop before we even got there, AND had an accident, so we had to stop for 'fresh' pants), our day out with Thomas was a hit! I actually got misty eyed when we first arrived as I watch Luke's face light up with delight when he first laid eyes on Thomas! He was SOOOO excited! Luke is enamored with trains to begin with and to see a 'real Thomas' up close and personal was the ultimate treat for him! Every detail made him smile. It was certainly a day to remember! It made a strong impression on his young heart. Even today, he was STILL talking about it and eager to tell Miss Nicki and Miss Tara at My Gym all about his Thomas adventures. Sweet boy! I put together another little montage of the day....

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After Thomas on Saturday, we decided to lay low on Sunday morning and just hung around the house most of the morning, until I had to leave for San Diego and Krystal's closing ceremonies for the Breast Cancer 3-day. Just Ellie and I went, and we carpooled with Will and the twins, so it was actually quite nice. She made it though, despite feeling incapable (her words, not mine) and wanting to quit on Saturday. I am so proud of her...SIXTY miles is a LONG way to walk! I didn't end up getting home until well after 9pm, but I was glad that I went...Krystal was happy to see us all there waiting for her at the end of such a LONG three days!

And before I knew it, our weekend was over! Ty was back at work on Monday, Sarah brought Hudson over to play awhile and then it was back to the daily grind. :P Luke was a little pistol when Sarah and Husdy were here though....I guess he decided that since he hadn't had a meltdown in awhile, Monday was the day. It bummed me out that he couldn't really enjoy having his buddy over to play. :( It had been so long since they'd seen one another too. But Luke must've been tired, because the temper tantrums lasted LONG after Sarah left and he ended up napping for over 3 hours that afternoon.

Tuesday and today have been normal days for us...just staying busy with preparing for Thanksgiving and the SEVENTEEN people who will be coming to our home! :) Thankfully, for it being our first real Thanksgiving that we've ever hosted, the burden won't be too heavy, as everyone is chipping in and bringing things. Ty and I are just providing the turkey, a few sides/appetizers, drinks and a clean house! :) It will be nice to have our family close....his mostly, actually.

Well, my friends....it is now 4:14pm, the sun is setting and my Luke is not up from his nap yet. This time change has really messed things up in the nap department. I suppose I should go wake him, for fear that we won't sleep well tonight if I let him snooze longer. I relish this quiet though. I hate waking up my kids! But I probably should, so I will go for now. Hope he wakes happy! :) Wish me luck....

Meeting Maddie....

Today Ellie got to meet her new buddy Madeline....my friend Laura's little girl. She is just 5 and a half weeks younger than Miss Ellie, and I'm sure they are destined to be good friends...just as her mommy and I are. :) Laura came up to join me for a good, long walk and some lunch. It was really our first chance at hanging out since the kiddos have been born. We had a good time! And of-course, Ellie and Madeline's first encounter wouldn't have been complete without some pictures of the two of them. Wanna see?




Sarah, isn't that such a Laura look on Maddie's face?! :) Too cute!

In other news, we are FINALLY getting grass in our backyard tomorrow!!!!!!! Only ELEVEN months after we moved in!!! I cannot begin to tell you just how excited I am about this! All that dirt back there has been such a pain all this time! Keeping a house clean with a dog, a toddler who loves to play in the dirt and the amount of wind we get up here at times is quite a challenge! Grass will be such a welcome relief!! The sod will be delivered bright & early in the morning and Ty and I will begin laying it as soon as he gets home from work (he gets off at noon tomorrow). Thankfully, his mom is coming up to help keep Luke occupied and Ellie happy while we work. With the time change and all, we'll only have a few hours of daylight as it is. So....by this time tomorrow, I'm hoping we'll have a semi-complete backyard. Can't wait!!!!

Thanks to all of you who have said such encouraging things about this new 'do' of mine. You might just be trying to help me feel better about it, and I have to say its working. :) I feel a little more used to it now and I'm not so shocked every time I look in the mirror. Its growing on me. :)

As for the weekend, there is a lot to look forward to. On Saturday we are taking Luke out to "A Day with Thomas the Train". He'll get to see and ride in a real life-size Thomas the Train and see all of Thomas's friends. He is SO into Thomas the Train right now and going on Saturday has been ALL he has been talking about. Its been pretty cute...the first words out of his mouth both first thing in the morning and right after he wakes from his naps have been "Is it time to go see Thomas now??!!!!" I don't think I've ever seen him quite so excited about something before! It should be a lot of fun! And then on Sunday afternoon, we will drive down to San Diego for the closing ceremonies of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-day walk for the cure. Krystal has been training nearly all year and is walking the 60 miles this weekend to raise money for breast cancer research. She has worked really hard and met her goal of raising the $2200 necessary to participate, so we're heading down to show her our support. Please, if you wouldn't mind....keep her in your prayers this weekend. 60 miles is A LOT of walking...pray that it all goes well for her!

And that, my friends, is about all I have time for tonight. Time for some sleep. We've got a busy few days ahead of us! I'll leave you though, with one last shot I took of Luke today....he just looked sweet. A world of difference from the terrible-two's we've seen lately! :)

Adjusting....

So after a day with the 'new me', I think I'm starting to adjust to the look. Once I showered and put some makeup on this morning, it all felt a bit better. Makeup helps a lot! Otherwise I look completely washed out and blah! I did venture out to the grocery store, since the chances of running into someone I knew where pretty low. But I was glad to have skipped Gym today....I needed the time to adjust. Luke didn't seem to notice either, which is good! So...just for you Jenny.....here I am....in all my brunette glory!



Guess this is the way it is for awhile now...until it fades and I decide to keep it or ditch it. We'll just have to see how it goes. I'm off for now to get some work done or maybe even relax (GASP!) with Ty in front of the tv. Haven't been doing much of that lately, that's for sure. So goodnight friends. Sleep well. :)

Gone dark.....

with my hair color, that is. And I am not too sure that its a good thing. :( I had a hair appointment yesterday and I went in with the intentions of darkening up my hair to more of its 'natural' dirty blond color so that I don't have to continue with the 'upkeep' of highlighted hair. (Money, ya know!) So my hairstylist, who I totally trust, matched up my color and decided that since my hair doesn't hold color very well, that we would go a bit darker with the intentions of it fading away to a nice 'natural' shade for me. Well......she went darker all right. Much darker. So much so that when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror I don't recognize myself. And to be perfectly honest, I am feeling very self-conscious of my hair today. I don't mean to sound vain, but how your hair looks is important, and today I honestly don't want to leave the house. :( It is the first day, and I know if will fade, but right now I'm just not sure if I like it. Change is hard. And I'm scared to see other people's reaction. I've never really been a brunette before...with the exception of a time back in 2004 when my hair looked like this...this was my 27th birthday...pre-kids:


I guess in looking back at the picture, the color now isn't much different, except there aren't any bold highlights anymore...just subtle natural ones from my 'old' hair color. Maybe it will grow on me. Maybe I'll post a picture later. We'll see. And mom, I already now you won't like it....just to warn you!

Anyway...that's enough vanity for now. The last week has been pretty busy for us. Like Krystal told me on the phone yesterday, its either feast or famine 'round here in regard to being busy. I'm either feeling bored with not much to do or I'm slammed with a zillion things on my to-do list. The last two weeks, I feel slammed. I totally like being busy, but I also like having a day here or there when I don't have any 'planned' activities and I can just catch up on the day-to-day things like laundry, cleaning house and playing with the kids. So today, we're ditching My Gym in order to get some house cleaning and grocery shopping done. (And its a convenient excuse not to have to show my face anywhere just yet where people know me....that's bad, I know, but its how I feel!)

I'll leave you with some pictures from last week when I took the kids up to Oak Glen to scope out a spot for Krystal's family pictures this past weekend. Luke loved playing in all the leaves and now he keeps asking to go back to the 'picture spot.' :) He had fun!
Having our picnic lunch before picture-spot-hunting...


A perfect spot for a rest...


Is this a climbing tree??


Playing 'bow hunting' just like Daddy....


On our way to the car to go home...


Alrighty....that's 'bout it for me today. Its breakfast and shower time. Happy Wednesday!