Random Is As Random Does

After school snuggles.

The cuteness may kill me.

Why do I feel like this is a glimpse of 16 short years from now?

Fish caught at Nana and Papa's pond.

She's such a goof in the evenings.

Our blessings. Be still my heart.

I just want to squeeze them all the time.

Brecken leaves surprises for me to find later when putting dishes away.

Who doesn't love Freddy's fries?

Thankful: for an openly Christian principal in a public school.

Look who is standing on her own!

Love him, Love her.

Soggy babies are the best.

More practicing.

Still her favorite activity.

Please tell her to stop growing.

The end.

Motherhood

 

"Don't be lured away from the plan of God to the ways of the world

where motherhood is belittled,

femininity is decried, and the divinely established

role of a wife and mother is mocked.

 

 

Let the world go its way.

 

 

You follow the plan of the Lord for the greatest measure of true,
eternal achievement and the fullness of happiness." Richard G. Scott

 



She Found Love in a Clothing Place

"Hi."

 

"Oh! Who's that girl?!"

 "I love her."

Lori Danelle

So I've got this cousin. And she's pretty great. She's a part of so many of my childhood memories. We spent hours playing "house" in grandma's dress-up clothes, creating imaginative worlds under the large blue-berried pine tree outside grandpa's house, annoying our parents to death singing a little ditty about a China Doll for hours on end, and cheering for each other through grade school, high school, college and now "real life". 

Lori is a cousin, sister, daughter, wife and mommy to two beautiful little girls. If that weren't enough she's also an artist and one of the most driven and creative women I know. While her talents and creativity cover many areas of her life, a passion that she's really excelled in is paper cut art.

If you follow Ashley Ann then you've seen her "Bittersweet" work here (towards the end of the post). If you love unique and out of the ordinary gifts you've seen her here. If you've been to my house lately you've seen her here:

I was so honored to get this extra special piece from her...

Lori has a special place in my heart. So do flapjacks. : ) Flapjacks were a special treat growing up. A recipe (while really not unique to anyone) that I hold near and dear due to the sweet family that it came from. My great-grandma made them. My grandma made them. My mom made them. And now I make them. And, judging by Taryn's ecstatic reaction anytime I say I'm making them, she'll be making them for her kids one day too.

Hand-cut precision work. That's a lot of hours with an exacto-knife!

Very delicate. So special. Makes my heart happy every time I look at it.

On my dream wish-list for someday is this amazing piece of art:



Of course, I'd probably get our names. : )  Those are personal, actual, individually unique finger prints! You send one in. She blows it up. Then painstakingly cuts them out. I'm in awe.

Since we're making a wish list go ahead and add this one:

Oh, ok, this one too:





Stunning!

If you can't tell I'm crazy proud of Lori and all that she's accomplished and can't wait to see where the Lord is taking her and her family through her pursuit of her passions. It is a joy to see her go after her dreams and to stand alongside her in prayer and celebration.

Go visit her site here.  Make sure and pin your wish list items!

Now I'm hungry for flapjacks....

 

Halloween Fun

Here's our attempt at getting a picture of our Halloween girls this year...

So...not so successful. But darn cute!  : )  B was much more interested in the leaves around her. A was much more interested in throwing leaves at T. Although I may be biased, I'm fairly sure that there isn't a cuter Dorthy, bumble bee and Blueberry Muffin out there.

We actually had a couple different Halloween events to go to. The first was a party at our church called Pumpkins and Pancakes. Our college students put on a great event in the gym full of games and candy. Then, the small group that Derek and I are blessed to be part of put on a pancake feed. It was a beautiful evening and we had a lot of fun.

A couple months ago Taryn and her best friend had picked a costume. Then, just before Halloween, the girls got to searching through the tubs of past costumes. They each decided they wanted something different. I was in love with the original costume so the little girls wore it to this event.....

Makes me smile. A friend whose two girls are 4 months apart (A and B are 7 months apart) asked me if the back said "worst enemies".  Ha! Said like a mom who understands.  : )

On Halloween day the kids (we have a foster son who is also in Kindergarten right now) had parties at school. I got to go and watch their parade and class parties.

In the evening we stuck close to home and trick-or-treated in our neighborhood, down Main street, and at a couple churches on our block. It was a great evening!

 

 

What a great Halloween! Now, to find something to do with the obscene amount of candy we have!