monday this and that

happy monday.
both my little ones are asleep right now.
it's a monday miracle. :)

we had the. best. day. on saturday...i'll tell you about it soon.

you know what i am so excited about?
tomorrow is november 1st.
i love november 1st. 
it means halloween is over and the holidays are officially starting.
i am ready to delve into all the wonderfulness that is fall and thanksgiving and christmas.
i plan on making the most of the next two months.
i'm going to bake stuff i find on pinterest.
i'm going to listen to christmas music.
i'm going to drink peppermint spice mocha creamer in my coffee every single day.
i'm going to buy a rick of firewood off craig's list & get that wood burning stove going.
i'm going to watch the family stone and dream about an old house in the country. 
i'm going to be thankful and enjoy these cozy days with my family.

you know what show we are loving right now?
person of interest.
it is so good.
love jim caviezel. love michael emerson.

did you see that emily at jones design company has her november giveaway up today?
she does the. best. giveaways.  so thoughtful & lovely.

okay, sister is waking up to eat....have a lovely day friends. :)


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instafriday

it's been several weeks since i've done instafriday.
i've been busy for some reason or another.

you don't  have to have an iphone to join instafriday...any cell phone pics will do.
it's just a fun, easy way to document your week in random phone pics.

instagram is probably my favorite app on my phone.
it encourages me to stop and take notice.
instagram has it's own little community... i like that too.

i have so many piled up instapics...i'll just pic and choose for ya. :)

i can see both these trees out my window.
i love fall in the ozarks.
in the last week all of the trees have started turning and it's gorgeous.
i had to restrain myself to just two pictures.
the deep red ones are my fave.

fall kicks.
i have resisted the non-wedge toms for so long because i'm so short.
if i don't have some kind of heel, i feel like i'm the kid sister looking up at all the grownups.
i finally gave in, for comfort's sake.
{but dear blake mycoskie, could you please, pretty please, come up with an in-between the super tall wedge and the flattyflatflat toms? and with a closed toe for the winter, please? thatisallthankyou. }

the littles and i went to a friend's house for a playdate this week.
she sent me home with this happy bucket.
it's perfect for the boys' ginormo collection of cars. 

sawyer is a good little shopper.
he loves to go to stores with me.
when we get in the car he says, "okay, let's go to the next store!"
he found a prize at good will. :)
oh my, i love that happy smile. he melts me.

AJ is in this wonderful habit of spoiling me rotten.
i love it.
every morning lately he brings me a {much needed} bowl sized mug o' coffee with aldi pumpkin spice creamer....and a Jesus Calling on the side.
lovely way to start the morning...definitely takes the edge off of those sleepless nights. :)

avery at a friend's mad science party...funny boy.

aj and i had a grown up, all by ourselves, date to a concert for his birthday....needtobreathe...it was awesome.

avery wanted to carve his own pumpkin real bad.
 we're trying to let our little boy grow up.

the boys had crazy hair day at school.
i colored their hair with wet chalk.
thank you pinterest.
what problem can't you solve?

a sneaksie peaksie at ruby's fall fest costume.
can you guess??








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two months

my sweet girl is two months old.
she's changed so much already.
she's getting chunkier...or as a friend of ours says, "she's juicy."
she's just a doll baby and i'm so in love.

i am so happy.
having a newborn is soothing for the soul.
i love snuggling with her day and night.
she smells so good.
she seems to be getting used to her life outside the womb now.
she's learning to take some naps in her crib.
she's becoming more laid back.
she has some adorable awake time now where she coos, smiles, & kicks her feet.

sister loves to be held.
i wear her in the moby a lot when we're out and about.

i'm so busy during the day that i often look forward to the night time when i get to snuggle her right up next to me in bed.
i'm cherishing these moments with my sweet baby girl.

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stop the world.

ruby's room is featured on ohdeedoh today!!!!

so excited.

click here to see it. :)


seriously, i'm gonna ride this high all afternoon.


**edited to add...i had no idea they'd already featured ruby's girly chandelier last month. thanks tonya for cluing me in! :) 

also, thank you so much ohdeedoh for featuring me.  you made my day. :) Pin It

snapshots

it's been crazytown up in here.
i got so excited when i looked at my calendar and for three days this week, it says, "no events."
woo. hoo.
i have enjoyed all the things i've been doing, but it has been busy and hectic and i feel like i've seen aj coming and going.
hoping for a more relaxed week this week.

on thursday morning i was supposed to work at rhea lana's all morning but had to stay home with sawyer who threw up the night before and was acting sickly {side note: he never threw up again. . . weird}.
i was actually just fine with staying home.
i needed a break and i was happy to piddle around the house.

i walked around with my camera and took some random shots. 
i like to remember the mundane, ordinary things about our days.

 

love those sweet, little white pumpkins...a subtle nod to fall.

i like jars.

 the pool is closed for the winter.
bittersweet.
we made so many wonderful memories there.
i hope i always remember our summer of being in the pool together every single day.
what a blessing.

back door. 

my sweet sister-in-law made this beautiful art for my birthday.
she used vintage sheets and printed the verse on fabric.  love it.

living room.
puny boy watching a movie.
let's pan around . . . 

laundry waiting to be folded.
six people make a lot o' laundry to be folded & put away.

milk glass. 

looking out.

sorry about the grainy photo {it was dark in there}, focus on the sweet sleeping baby.
oh mercy, her cheeks! i can't get over how beautiful she is. 


hope you all have a lovely monday.....

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sunday inspiration

this is an excerpt from my favorite daily devotional,  Jesus Calling.
i've been mulling over it a lot the past few days.
i thought it might speak to you as well. . .

"The ultimate solution to rebellious tendencies is submission to My authority over you.  Intellectually you rejoice in My authority over you.  Intellectually you rejoice in My sovereignty, without which the world would be a terrifying place.  But when My sovereign will encroaches on your little domain of control, you often react with telltale resentment.
The best response to losses or thwarted hopes is praise: The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.  Remember that all good things- your possessions, your family and friends, your health and abilities, your time-are gifts from Me.  Instead of feeling entitled to all these blessings respond to them with gratitude. "

i've been talking to Jesus about this....asking Him to show me where i'm allowing resentment in my heart...and choosing to replace that with praise.
because i have so very much to be thankful for.


and now i'm going to head over to amazon & use some swagbucks to buy the Jesus Calling for Kids.
i would love to read that with the boys every morning before they leave for school. Pin It

my precious gem

when ruby was just ten days old, sweet callie (callie granderson photography) came over to shoot some newborn pics.

this is the first time we've done newborn pictures...i wish we had them of the boys. 

she captured ruby's sweet, sleepy newborn self and i'm so thankful.

i'm so thankful for people with really good cameras and mad photography skillz.

i love these precious photos.
i haven't figured out how i'm going to display them yet.

i look at these photos and i think, "i can't believe that's my daughter."

i'm one blessed girl.

oh mercy. i die.

that cute ruffly goodness and her sweet little pink lips. 

callie used items from around my house for props. 

i would have never thought of using this old brief case but i love how it turned out.

aj came home for lunch during the shoot and callie was able to get this sweet shot....love.

do you have great ideas for displaying newborn photos? do share.

{thank you callie.  i love them.} Pin It

what i would say to you if you came over for coffee

happy tuesday.
life has been a bit hectic lately.
besides the fact that i have four {!!} kids, one of which is a newborn, life has just been b-u-s-y. 
october always seems to be a really busy month for us. 
i really prefer a slower pace but it is what it is.

i've been working a bunch at rhea lana's consignment sale.
my friend, ashley owns the local franchise and she hosts four sales a year.
it's fun and it's how i clothe my children....but it is a bit crazy, schedule wise.


i've been catching up on my favorite blogs lately.
i love this post from the nester.
it's about being creative with design and not following rules.


lindsey @ the pleated poppy has been showcasing her friend nicole's farm house.
i send the posts to aj at work so he can drool over them as well.
that house is Dreamy with a capital D.


it finally feels like fall today.
it's been in the 80's for a few weeks and finally today it's in the 50's.
yay.
i need to light a candle and boil some water for a hot drink.
i just realized that i talk about the weather a lot on this here blog.
i am 82.

my back is so sore from wearing ruby in the moby for 5 hours a day working at rhea lana's. 
baby girl is loves to be held.
she is the most happy when she's all squashed, womb-like, in the moby.

my boys have a fall festival on friday night.
i somehow need to get costumes together by then...hmmm...not sure how/when that's going to happen.

ruby is eight weeks old today. wow.

okay, time to go get the laundry going...have a lovely day......









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thank you.

hi friends.

i want to tell you that it means so much to me that y'all read my blog.
there are a bajillion blogs out there and you choose to read mine.
that blesses my heart.
sometimes i will run into people that tell me they read my blog.
i love. that. 
it's not weird at all...i love it.
that's one of the reasons i write.
i really missed it for the almost 3 weeks that i was without computer & internet.
i really enjoy this little space here.
i hope you do as well.

so thank you for coming.
thank you for commenting.
your comments make my whole day....seriously.

and now for a little bit of cuteness.....
{these were taken 3 weeks ago...she's 7 weeks now!!}

do you see her little angel kiss by her mouth?
adorable.

she is getting so big!!!


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fall is pretty.

when my boys were off school on friday we made a little trip to the pumpkin patch.
the boys were itching to get pumpkins to carve and i always love some pumpkins around the house.

sawyer loved this guy.
so cute.

i love all the different shapes, sizes, and colors of pumpkins.
they are amazing.

i love the really reddish ones.

avery looks huge to me in this picture.
my boy is growing up fast.

is there anything better than a basket of baby white pumpkins?
love.

the boys love the pumpkin patch.
sawyer went running as soon as he got out of the van.
avery and finley chose big pumpkins to carve.
sawyer insisted on a little pie pumpkin. funny boy.

are you wondering where ruby was?

sweet girl, behaved very well on her first visit {if you can call it that} to the pumpkin patch. :)

what about y'all? have you visited the pumpkin patch yet?? Pin It

this could be why i've had so many cavities . . .

i grew up on sweet tea. 
there was a pitcher in our fridge at all times. 
if you live in the south, it's a must have.

it's my beverage of choice, fo sho.

most of you probably have your own way of making tea, but i've had people ask how i make it, so i thought i'd give you a tutorial on my version of southern sweet tea.
if you're a yankee and only drink unsweet tea....well, i'm sorry. come back tomorrow.

here's what you need:

i used to buy luzianne tea, but i started using great value and it tastes great.
so whatever brand you fancy will work.
and i didn't realize until looking at this picture that this is "iced tea brew."
i don't usually use that kind...so really, it doesn't matter.

first, you put a tea bag {or two if you like it stronger} in a measuring cup or microwave safe cup/mug. 
fill it about 3/4 full of water....don't fill it too full or it will bubble over in the micro.

microwave for 3 minutes.

while that's a cookin', put almost a cup of sugar in your pitcher.
more than 3/4 cup and less than a cup.
i just eye ball it. . . about this much:

if i have time i let the tea bag steep for a few more minutes before pouring it in to mix with the sugar.

next you get your tap water running as hot as it will go.
fill the measuring cup back up and let that tea bag steep a little more.

add that to your pitcher.

then fill to 2 quarts with cold water.
stir it up and you're ready to enjoy your fresh brewed sweet tea. 

i like to drink my first cup warm.
my sweet mid-western husband mixes his half with lemonade to make an arnold palmer.
he grew up on unsweet tea so my tea is just too much for him.
more for me. :)




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