black and whites

snuggling

Our kiddos are both snugglers. One of their things lately has been to climb in bed with us in the morning and snuggle up under the covers. It's so fun! I think about how great it would be if we all fell back asleep and actually "slept in." It hasn't happened yet. They're much too wiggly! When Drew sees this picture the first thing he says is, "WooWoo!" which is his little giraffe next to him. I think it's so sweet!

first day with my new rebel!

I have wanted a digital SLR for a long time, and I was surprised with one over Thanksgiving break as an early birthday present. Wahoo!!! It is sooooo fun! Every time I put it around my neck, I feel like a professional photographer. I can't wait to learn what it can do! In the mean time, I'm having a great time taking pictures of everything and everyone.

I had some willing subjects:

and some not so willing:

finally, I resorted to taking pictures of pictures (this is my gma and gpa's wedding pic from 1945):

and even myself:

only boys

Tonight's entertainment involved a wooden spoon, tongs, and oven mitts. The boys used my cooking utensils to make "fly swatters" and then spent a long time swatting imaginary flies and bees on the trash can. As I stood back and watched all of this, a thought popped into my head: "Girls would never do this." I just thought it was so funny. The difference between boys and girls sometimes is like night and day. Corey and I had a good laugh at them, and then I had to take a picture. :)

I made fish!

Tilapia, to be exact, which I know probably doesn't sound like that much of a feat, but it was for me. I've never made fish before--mostly because I don't like it and I hate the smell of it. But, my husband likes it. So, 5 years into marriage, I made him fish. I bought three tilapia fillets and made one blackened and the other two with lemon butter. Ty ate almost two fillets by himself! Corey enjoyed his blackened. Drew wouldn't touch it. (At this point, it looks like he's a vegetarian like his mama). I'm glad to have a new recipe to add to my collection. It was so easy! Who knew?

de-stressing with friends

To say that I've been a little stressed out and distracted lately would be a bit of an understatement. We went to Indy a week and a half ago, put an offer on a house, got super excited about it, came back to STL, told everybody we found a house, decorated it in my head, made what feels like hundreds of phone calls about home owners insurance and other whatnots, had a routine home inspection done on Monday, found out it had radon, termites, asbestos, and mold issues, felt like we had the wind knocked out of us, took back our offer on the house, and returned lots of phone calls about no longer needing homeowners insurance and other whatnots. I feel like I've been stuck in my house for days with the phone glued to my head, ignoring my children. With all of that said, we are not disappointed or discouaraged because we know (obviously) that God was protecting us (and we are so thankful!) and must have something better for us. We'll just have to wait and see what that is. Today was a much needed breath of fresh air. My sweet friend, Emily and her little boy came to hang out with us, and it was so fun to spend time with them (and not think about houses or apartments or moving or phone calls or packing or getting lung cancer from what I thought was going to be our new house).

Emily, Ty, and Tripp

love the pose

my little loves

first pony ride

Today we went to a super fun birthday party for our now four year-old friend. There were pony rides and a petting zoo, balloons, and candy. It was a kid's dream come true! The boys loved it! Ty jumped right in line to ride the pony. He was so giddy while he waited for his turn. (He couldn't help but jump up and down smiling the entire time. He's been talking about wanting to ride a horse for a long time!) And he really liked the sheep--he liked giving her hugs. (I have to admit, she was very soft...and sweet-natured.) Drew loved the animals too, but he never stood by one long enough for me to get a great shot. He'd touch one, giggle, and then quickly move away, but they were definitely a highlight for him too.