The Leaf Pictures

Back in the fall, we spent a lot of time clearing out the rough to build a fence for Luke.  We spent days and days and days out there.  It was sort of overwhelming.  The leaves in the yard were also overwhelming at the very same time.  The kids naturally gravitated to them.



The sun was beautiful this day.  I was in and out helping my love (who was doing most of the work), and when I saw how the light was shining on their faces, I ran in to get my camera.



It was a little cool this day.  Earlier that morning, I was in a hurry dressing Jesse and grabbed one of Jonah's old sweat shirts.  She loved it.  She picked out her hat on her own and off she went.



We spent some time on our grassy yard trying to get some of the leaves up, while Dad had a bonfire burning in the rough.  I thought it was a great opportunity to burn some of these leaves too.  That turned into "Mama, no!  Don't burn our leaf piles!"  Grief.  I don't know why I try to accomplish anything.



We would rake a while and then they would swing for a bit.



Do your kids swing on their bellies like this?  That's what they like to do the best.



And then they would run back in the pile.



And back to the swing.



She loves it when her brother pays attention to her and plays with her.



Here she is just before the belly swing launch.  I can't believe I captured a serious face.





They had so much fun, we even made a picnic out of it.  They just really didn't want to go inside.





And somehow, thanks to the sun and their good moods, I got some great shots.  I've enjoyed looking back at them.

Then, December came,  and it was time to think about a Christmas card.  Time flies you know?  My beautiful sunshine friend decided to take a vacation the next several weekends and left no opportunity to get good family shots, so I kept going back to these.  I couldn't decide which picture to go with.  Who cares really though?  I never study anyone's Christmas card, but I do feel a since of joy and excitement when I know I'm opening one.  Who will it be?  I tear into them like a kid on Christmas morning.  It's a joy.  I could care less if it is a professional picture or even includes a picture at all.  I just love the tradition of sending and receiving Christmas cards.  It's the simple things.

Anyway, I started toying with the pictures in Photoshop.




I created the front first.  I mean, how many pictures can you fit on a card ha?  Over the top?  Maybe.



And here's the back.

Several times I thought about changing it and never had time.  So it stuck.  I spell checked it a million times, because I goofed last year and misspelled Merry.  Who does that?  Anyway...I was sure the spelling was good.

The next morning after it was ordered and all was said and done, I realized just one thing.  I forgot to put our names on the card.  Happy Christmas folks!  You figure out who this is from would ya?

Good grief.  I should seriously give up because I obviously have way too much on my plate to be making Christmas cards.  Right?  Oh well.

So, I ordered more with names.  I thought I would send those to people who didn't see the kids as much, especially since I didn't use a family picture.  But then, Jesse started helping stuff the envelopes and it all sort of got mixed up.  Your card might have looked like the picture above...or it might have had names on it.

Good grief.  If you do not laugh at yourself and your own mistakes, you will go crazy.  I seem to give myself a lot of opportunities to laugh.

Here's the thing though.  I'll look back at this card when I'm 80 and get all warm and fuzzy inside.  I'll remember this day when we had a blast just playing in our own backyard.  I'll remember how the sun was so beautiful and exactly how it shined on their sweet faces.  I'll remember how well they played together.  It will make me happy.

And the words on the card...well...it's actually my words to them and it seemed to be appropriate for everyone.  Why not?

And who cares about names.  I'll know exactly who these blond kids are when I'm 80.

Happy Christmas!

Aunt Kelly's Tree

After Thanksgiving, the kids helped Aunt Kelly decorate her tree.  She has a lovely tree.

I am in love with this picture...a beautiful tree and a beautiful boy with his beautiful Aunt Kelly.



They spent the night with her this night.  It was so exciting for them.  Really, they can do it any time they like.  Just kidding.  No, I'm not kidding.  Seriously, any night you want to spend the night with Aunt Kelly, you just tell Mommy...OK kids?...OK?

Glad we got that straight.

Anyway...

Family was all around...Grandmommy and Grandaddy too...a great treat for them.



And I'm so glad I brought my camera.



I want them to remember this night.



I want them to remember how beautiful and fun it was.



It's December!  Remember what's important.  Family helps remind me.

Peace and Love and Family and...

Aunt Kelly of course.

Happy, Happy December!

Thankful

We went out for Mexican tonight guys.  It's Monday night.  I hereby declare all Mondays...well...Mexican Mondays.  It's the right thing to do.  I have no pictures from Mexican, but I would like to share these "last of Fall" pictures we captured last weekend.  They do say it's going to snow tomorrow in Georgia.  What's up with that anyway?  I don't know what to think.

Anyway...back to last weekend.

You know, most people were shopping after Thanksgiving.  I invision doing the same thing when the kids want to pick out cool, teen GAP clothes, but for now, we do the parks after Thanksgiving.  Hmmmm...how do I keep them wanting to do parks over shopping...like forever?  I don't know.  Truth is that it is probably impossible, but part of me looks forward to taking Jesse and picking out all of her Christmas clothes while Jonah screams at us to hurry up.  It's the natural progression of life I guess.

It was Saturday after Thanksgiving and the kids needed to get out.  So did Luke.

They were sort of delirious after all the food.  Look, you can see it in Jonah's eyes.  That's what caught my attention at first glance of the above photo.  But...look at Luke.  He also had turkey and pumpkin and sweet potato on Thanksgiving.  Luke buddy seriously needed to get out of the house and burn off some calories.

We heard lots of noises along the trail.  Some noises are obviously more apparent to children and dogs.  See, my love has no clue in the above photo.





And more proof.  There was obviously something creeping down low here.  Goodness...wish I was a kid again.  We miss all the fun you know.



Hey Luke Duke!  Luke, buddy, buddy boy.  You are so awesome.  We love you Lukey Luke!

I'm sorry.  This is how we sound when we talk to him.  We can't help it.

We had a talk about what to do if we saw a bear.  Like kids...don't run.  Here's the deal.  Mama will go ahead and check for bears and you have to stay still and listen.  If I'm alive, then the coast is clear.  Come towards me if I say it is OK.

They didn't seem to have a problem with this scenario.  Why is that?

They had a frisby golf trail along this path, and we stopped here and there and enjoyed the boys play.  What the heck is frisby golf anyway, and who in the world knows how to direct a frisby so well?



She was so excited about our adventure.  I loved her for it.



You know...I don't put myself in pictures much, and it's time for a change.  Yo...this is me and my dog.  We are a fine pair, don't you think?



This is me and my best girl and my best dog.  We make a great trio, don't you think?



And these three...well...this is the best trio of them all.

You know, I didn't miss shopping one bit.  I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.  I'm so thankful for my family.  They could never possibly top the gift of themselves that they have given me.  I will love them forever for it.

Always and forever my best boy and my best girl...

and my best man...

and my best dog.

My Instagram Life

I thought I would share my Instagram life (with myself and my couple of followers and random International hits).  I finally synced my iPhone tonight.  Amazing what pictures I had.  I love Instragram because of the cool effects.  It's so awesome.



This was from my Jesse's first trip to the dentist.  As you can see, she was more of a dental assistant than a patient.  That's Jonah in the chair.  She preferred watching Jonah getting his teeth cleaned.  Maybe next time she will let them do more than just count her teeth.



On a Friday night, my boy came home from school begging to go to his school's 50's dance.  "Ha?" I said.  "Please Mama!" he said.  That's all it took.  I threw jeans on them, rolled them up, my love slicked Jonah's hair back and and off we went.  Jesse rocked the dance floor while Jonah ran laps around the girls with his buddies.  Boys.  Anyway, we had to go to Target after the dance.  I didn't have cash for Kona Ice (some ridiculous ice truck at the dance).  So...we had to make it up to them by going to Target for ice cream.  Ice cream makes everyone happy.



Jonah has started basketball practice.  I had a time finding a church on Tuesday night for practice.  It was dark and rainy.  Jesse was yelling for me to turn up Scooby Doo in the Tahoe while Jonah was all upset that I would never find the church.  I was late, but we made it!  I forgot how much I loved basketball!



This was my ride home today.  There were tornado warnings in the area.  I hate tornadoes.  I've been running from one in my dreams since I was a little girl.  Seriously, in my dreams, I'm back at the home I grew up in.  I see it coming, and I run up that Golf Course Road like a bat out of hell.  I'm determined for that thing to never get me!  It hasn't yet!  (And I didn't grow up on some swanky Golf Course.  My house leaked when it rained.)



And here's Luke buddy.  He had two sardines for super.  Did I get a dolphin or a German Shepherd?  And what's up with his ears?  They are supposed to be pointing up, but he would rather let them flop around.  What does that mean?  Oh shoot, I don't care.  I love this dog.

Funny how an iPhone can tell a life story.  I knew I had a good excuse to have one of these things.

Harry and Jesse

My boy wrote me the sweetest letter on a napkin this week.  He said I was the best Mama ever and that I was beautiful and also that I was very "bisy."  I loved his sweet comments, but later I wondered if a child noticing that you are busy is a good thing.  I don't know?  Surely he recognizes that most of the reason I am busy is to somehow benefit him.  Shoot, he's too young for that realization.  Why do I worry about these things?  I'll just turn my concentration to the most important part of the letter...you know...the beautiful part.

One of the wonderful things about being a Mom is how beautiful they think we are.  It's brings me so much joy.  Kids do not see wrinkles and dark circles under our eyes from lack of sleep.  They see loving arms and well, beauty.

Halloween surely kept us up a lot and very busy.  It was a roller coaster week and in an ideal world, I could sit down and write a daily blog about it all, but that's just not going to happen.  I'm too "bisy."  But goodness, I surely wish that I could.

I've been about to explode to share some of it.

No doubt what Jonah wanted to be this year.  No doubt.  My Harry Potter fan wanted no other than to portray his favorite wizard.

And let me just say something here.  My blond haired, blue eyed child transformed pretty shockingly.  The dark hair, the scar, the glasses, the shirt and tie, oh my.  Buddy won the costume contest for being the "most transformed."  I still look at the pictures in disbelief.  Is that my boy?



Jesse had a pretty obvious choice as well.  When we watch Toy Story or pass by a Jessie doll in Target, she quickly shouts, "Look!  That's me!"  Sharing her name with the Toy Story celebrity has been quite amusing to her.   It made sense that she should be the cowgirl this year.



I decided to make her costume.  Yes, I decided to make her costume.  I thought it would be easy.  "It's just a cowgirl," I thought to myself.  But nothing is easy for a full-time working Mom with a busy life.  Oh, and one other thing...I can't sew!  Oh crap, that was a bad oversight.  Sorry I said crap.



I managed though.  Iron-on adhesive and a fabric pen folks.  Iron-on adhesive and a fabric pen.  Why am I repeating myself so much?



Who is that child with my daughter?



She was a Rootin' Tootin' Cowgirl.  Her daddy found her belt for me at the last minute.  Good job there daddy!  Have I told you how awesome you are lately?



No way he was going to scare off Voldemort with that face.



You see those cheeks?  I just can't get enough of them.



There should be a cowgirl tune playing here while Jesse walks off into the sunset.



And here's their sidekick, Luke.  The ferocious German Shepherd with the floppy ear.



I can't fool you with ferocious can I?  On a side note, Luke buddy has been so sick.  I'll have to tell you about it one day.  He's doing great now.  We are so happy to get a good night's sleep again.



Harry, "Oh no!"
Jesse, "What is it Harry?"
Harry, "I just realized something.  How am I going to fight Voldemort without Hermione??  All I have is you, a cowgirl with yellow flowers.  I'm doomed."
Jesse, "Do not underestimate me Harry!"



"Yes, I look sweet and pretty, but I'm a tough girl.  Voldemort has nothing on me."



"Oh, good grief.  I better practice my spells."



"Trust me wizard boy."



It's all worth it.  The wrinkles, the dark circles, the "bisy" and the tired.  It's all so worth it.

I love these two so dadgum much I can't stand it.