Heart Shots - Part 1

Remember when I used to post "Heart Shots"?  Those shots that may not have been technically correct or mean much to anyone else but that speak directly to my heart and I love?  Well I was going through some older files tonight and found a few more I needed to share:

After getting herself dressed Miss Em walked into my room where I was getting dressed and said, "Aww dude, your shirt matches me!"

 At the park after the last day of preschool, McGee and big cousin Brady.

Dinner out at Rubio's to celebrate the last day of school for my boys!

Remember Us???

Wow it has been awhile since we've been around this blog!  So, so much has happened I'm a little overwhelmed in thinking about catching you all up so I probably will just have to skip that and do my best to take baby steps in keeping this blog up and hopefully somewhat current.

Lightning fast update?

We have a 5 year old about to start kindergarten after Labor Day, a 3 year old a week away from beginning preschool, a unemployed educator still hoping for a miracle to be rehired in the next few weeks, a part-time photographer momma contemplating the life of becoming a full-time business woman again and hearts full of thankfulness and joy at the fun (and fast) summer we've been enjoying as a family!

Today we enjoyed our church's annual baptism potluck and thanks to rough waters our normal river baptism was held at a local pool and park and I think the kids had even more fun because they were able to enjoy the pool too!  Here are a few pics from our day:

McGee was having a blast being a "hero" - something he learned all about at Summer Blast (Vacation Bible School)!

The kids loved hanging out in the beach entry pool and we couldn't have asked for better weather!

I love this shot of them together

The pool wore Miss Em out!  Daddy had to hold her while we waited in line for food.

Our McGee trying to cut up his hot dog with a plastic fork

It feels great being back here on our blog - I hope you've all had a wonderful summer too!

Not My Children! Monday

A new version of "Not Me! Monday" for the record books (aka blog):

 - Miss Em is did NOT start surprising us with her presence after learning to climb out of the crib.  She is NOT now moved into a nice little toddler bed!

 - It WASN'T my son who I found at 6 am in the dining room eating the last of the chocolate silk pie straight out of the pie plate!  His response when I walked half-asleep into the room wasn't an excited, "Hey mom guess what?!  This chocolate cake is making my coughing ALL better!"  Nope, it WOULDN'T be my kid who would wake up when everyone else is still asleep, sneak out to the fridge and eat the last of that delicious pie!  And the tell-tale sign that woke me up?  It couldn't have been just the fact that I heard his very loud humidifer get just a notch louder when his door opened and it took me a few minutes to actually get myself out of bed to see what he was up to when I didn't hear him going to the bathroom.

 - Only about 45 minutes later it WASN'T my two children whom Daddy found munching on cold leftover piggie-in-a-blankets and donut holes and sitting in front of the television.  NOPE, our kids DON'T sometimes act like they own this place and can do whatever they want.  In fact, McGee HASN'T been overheard saying, "You know, God says we should do whatever we want to do."  Uh-uh, NOT my child!

 - Miss Em has NOT moved from her crib to a toddler bed and immediately exploited her freedom doing the above and going into her brother's room early in the morning to wake him.  What is this I've heard about kids who won't get out of bed until their mother comes to get them???  NOT here, and I seriously mean NOT here. :(  When I tried to tell her not to wake her brother up McGee's response to me WASN'T, "But mom, I like when she comes and wakes me up, I want her to do it!"

 - This image is NOT what I saw as I peeked in at Miss Em last night:

 - And yes, she has already fallen out of bed a couple of times, but it hasn't woken her yet. :)


 - Miss Em was NOT found hauling water in a plastic toy shovel from the bathroom outside.  There were NOT drips of water everywhere to the point that not a drop of water ever actually made it outside.  I WASN'T at least a tiny bit glad that at least she'd obeyed me when I said not to turn on the hose. 

 - My poor fair little Miss Em did NOT get a sunburn on her face thanks to her mommy forgetting to think about any sunscreen and having her spending a few hours out in the sun.  Mommy did NOT just think it was a red face from the heat of running around...and was super sad/guilty when the red face stuck around overnight. 

 - These are NOT a few of my new favorite images taken that day we had fun in the sun:

I Heart Faces│Slice of Life

The theme this week at I Heart Faces is "Slice of Life" and I've been wanting to share this picture with you all for awhile and haven't found the time to do a proper blog post, but I think it fits the theme perfectly this week.  We were out on a walk during Grandma's 89th birthday celebration and through the trees I spied Daddy & Miss Em having a little fun.  However, I submitted a picture already for this challenge on my business photography blog so I won't be "officially" submitting this one to IHF.

A Trip for the White Stuff

A few weeks ago we made our annual trip with some great friends up to play in the snow.  Unfortunately, like last year, Miss Em wanted nothing to do with the snow so Daddy had to spend most of the time sitting in the car with her.  However, after lunch and some yummy hot chocolate, she was ready to sled and we enjoyed a good time getting cover in that wonderful white stuff. :)

McGee LOVES to sled - he had such a blast!

The adults - we always have a great time whenever we can get together.

The kiddos - don't you love McGee's pb&j mouth?

Dear me, could that be a real smile on McGee?

Daddy brushing off some snow after McGee took a snowball to the head.

Hard to believe just an hour or so earlier she was crying in the back of the van refusing to play in the snow.

We found a private little area for lots of snowball fun!

It was a beautiful day - perfect for fun with friends!

I put together some little Valentine gift bags for the kids.  I told McGee that after nap and quiet time they would have a goodie bag from Mommy.  The bags were on the kitchen counter all ready to go.  Neither child seemed cooperative with nap/quiet time but both were supposed to be in their rooms reading their TAG books quietly.  I was working in the office and somehow missed McGee sneaking past me, but I did hear when he said, "Mommy I'm going to put my new dinosaurs with my old ones."  I went in to find he was in Miss Em's room, had gotten both of their gifts bags and passed hers out to her.  They had both opened theirs and were quickly opening everything in sight.  Good, obedient and patient little children?  Not so much.  Cute and fun to be around?  Absolutely!

Valentine's has never been a huge holiday for Daddy and I.  I mean who really needs one specific day to declare their true love?  Shouldn't it be done daily, through word and deed?  Despite putting together the bags for the kids, I didn't get a single thing for Daddy and didn't even make him a card this year!  After hanging out with his friends this afternoon he brought me in a Valentine gift - this pink bag filled with hand soap in the scents I love from Bath & Bodyworks.  This may not seem romantic, but the fact he noticed I haven't had any of these in quite a long time and then picked out the scents I love (even though he doesn't like them), meant a lot to me.

Here's to my Valentine, my best friend, my love.

You've made me laugh from day one.

Your kind eyes and smile have made me feel loved and adored for the last 16 years.  Your mad skills in the kitchen don't hurt much either. :)

Your love for our children shines through in the amazing dad that you are.

 Our children are blessed by the strong example you are setting.  Your son thinks you are the greatest person to wrestle with...EVER.

He giggles like CRAZY and BEGS you to tickle him!

But it's the BIG bear hugs he loves the most!  We love you and wish you a very happy Valentine's Day!

Later in the evening Miss Em and I enjoyed some pre-dinner dancing in the kitchen.  It was a blast and made me realize how much I love having a daughter!