Last Week

The girls and I went back to my hometown last week.  We spent time with family and went to see THIS: 

It was exciting for the girls because they've never been.  We also went to Ellis Island and saw some pretty cool stuff.  My girls have not studied Ellis Island in school yet so they were a bit bored.  But we got to see and learn some fascinating things.

After a few days of being together every.second.of.the.day, I needed a break.  So I grabbed a White Mocha from Starbucks and headed here: 

HEAVEN!  I also love perusing, coffee in hand, through Anthropologie, as well as, any thrift store I can find.  I have yet to make the trip to IKEA but it's definitely something I will do in the near future.  

AnYwHo, while I was there I took a few pictures of things that caught my eye.  For your viewing pleasure: 

PiLLoWs!

Love these!

Anyone in need of GIANT things?  A spoon or flip flops, perhaps?  Why on earth?! 

 

 

I want these canisters!  

Kitchen fun!

Knob love 

cute and colorful napkin rings

Random Rooster 

I ended up buying two of these.  Love 'em!

I LoVe color!  It makes me happy.  I used to be a rustic country, earthy tones, type of gal.  I still love them but now I am more attracted to color.  It just lifts my spirits.  

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I'm working on a project.  I'll give you a few hints.  It involves some of these: 

and some of this...

photo credit

and maybe a few of these...

Any guesses?  I'll post some pics soon.  

Thanks for stopping by, 

Music

Music is a big deal for my family.  My husband plays guitar, I sing (a little!) and my daughters both love to sing.  My youngest, Avery, aspires to be a musician someday.  As you can imagine, we're always listening to something, singing something, or playing something.  

One of the things I've noticed, as my girls are almost 9 and 10, is that most of the music that  appeals to tweens on the radio these days is about boys and first kisses.  As a christian mom who wants her daughters to wait for the man God has chosen for her, and to not be boy crazy, this bothers me.  I'll admit, the music is catchy and fun to listen to.  I don't mind the music, I just don't want that to be the source of their outlet when they start dealing with feelings and boys. Let's face it, our girls won't always believe that boys have cooties. Anyway, all of these feelings have recently prompted me to find some new-to-us musicians.  I found a few that fit my girls preference and music style and I wanted to share them with you.  

So click away and have a listen...

Josh Wilson | See You

Brooke Fraser | Albertine

Gungor | Beautiful Things

Francesca Battistelli | My Paper Heart 

Audrey Assad | The House You're Building

Adie Just | You and Me

Warren Barfield | Reach

Glenn Packiam | Rumors and Revelations

Meredith Andrews | The Invitation

Do you have any music suggestions for me?  What do you like to listen to?  I'm always looking for new artists!


Thanks for stopping by,

Some of my favorite pics from 2011

Hello there!  I will skip the part about me not writing for 6 months and my list of reasons why I have not and get right down to it.  I was looking through some pictures from 2011 (and maybe a few from 2010) and thought I'd put them out there for your viewing pleasure.  


Enjoy!

I have no explanation for this picture.  

Or this one...

Ummm, nope.

Christmas hat from Grammy and Poppy.  She rarely takes it off.
It's about to become a health hazard.  

The girls got a beautiful keyboard from Grandma this Christmas.  

This precious girl is my niece.  She's one part of a two part set.

This little rascal is part two.  This is his general expression.  

Fall fun!  

A friends dog, Lilly. 

Happy Birthday!  

I took this picture because at that moment 
it hit me just how fast she's growing up.  

Sisterly love

As often as they bicker they both know they couldn't live without the other.

Emma, with her straight hair, decided to try curly.  So cute!

My newest addition.  It only adds to my addiction.
I am married to an enabler.  

My brilliant idea to let my girls try coffee, thinking it would deter them from it.
I was wrong. 

They loved the coffee.  They are not allowed to drink it.
We compromise with hot cocoa.

Emma wanted a sock monkey for Christmas.  Personally, they creep me out.
But she's in love so now Bob has become part of family, much to my dismay.  

My christmas present - a drawer for my K-cups.  Awesome!

Christmas mess!

See?  I told you.  Ugh. 

My husband was obsessed with goofy grins 
and questionable sweater choices this year.
I don't know.  I didn't ask. 

Bob.  Ugh.  

This is the only way Avery would let me snap a picture of her.  

I told you.  He even got our church family involved.
Yes, this picture was taken AT OUR CHRISTMAS SERVICE!
 *sigh*

Farkle!!  I LOVE this game.  Our family in Texas got us addicted to it.
If you've never played, go out and buy it right now!

Jeff turned 34 this year.
Apparently the candles were a bit overwhelming for his aging eye sight.  

I look forward to blogging a bit more this year.  It's a struggle because I think that there are so many great blogs out there, why bother writing one.  But I guess I need some kind of outlet for the things rattling around in my brain.  

Thanks for stopping by,

This Summer

This has been a very busy summer. I recently started working at my church office. Hubby, who is a teacher, is Mr. Mom while the kids are on summer break.... he can't wait to get back to his day job *smile* He has a new appreciation for stay-at-home moms. 

While I'm hard at work, trying to balance work life with family life and church life, I'm learning a lot about myself. I'm not talking deep, philosophical stuff. I'm talking strange, quirky stuff. Let me share a few: 

• it drives me crazy when people leave their blinkers on and I'm stuck behind them on the road. I find myself constantly tapping my breaks thinking, "Now? *tap* Are you gonna *tap*... wait, breaking now? *tap* No, not now. What? *tap* Now? *tap*" You get the drill. Very annoying. Maybe I should just give up and ram into them. That'll teach 'em not to keep their blinkers on.

• when I go through the drive-thru, and I happen to be doing that a lot lately, I take my sunglasses off when I get to the window. For some reason, I feel the need to look the people in the eye when I'm giving them my money and collect my stuff. I have this thing about people talking to me with sunglasses on. I need eye contact! I make exceptions if it's sunny outside and migraines are involved. 

• The concept of gum kind of grosses me out. The thought of chewing on a piece of rubbery blob for hours that has now been contaminated with the stuff that was stuck between my teeth turns my stomach. So I try not to think about it when I pop a piece of gum in my mouth.

• Speaking of chewing gum, I don't really chew it as much as I pop it between my front teeth.  It's such an annoying habit and I really try to be conscious of it while I have gum in my mouth, but when I'm alone with my gum... it's pop heaven, baby!  It's kind of a stress reliever and helps me process.  Weird.  

• I want more kids... what?! Yes, this is a biggie... maybe more philosophical than quirky, but it's true nonetheless. For my friends who know me and are shocked by this, we need to get together for coffee. 

• I've crossed over to total Mac Snobville. I got an iPhone and I'm in love. The love affair all started with our mac desktop computer a year ago and now is fueled by my iPhone. LOVE... that's all I can say. 

• I realize that I get hooked on one or two songs and it's all I listen to for a week, driving the people around me crazy. Then it's over and I move on to another set of songs. It's weird and it's been a problem since I was 12 years old and was hooked on Madonna's Crazy for You.  I listened to it so much that my best-friend at the time made a tape of the song over and over again. She was doing it out of annoyance and a joke, but it's still one of the best gifts I've ever received.  Like I said, weird.  

• I have a full-fledged coffee addiction. It used to be that I would get the shakes if I had too much coffee. Now I get them when I haven't had caffeine. True addiction. I need to do something about that. I'll start Monday. 

These are just a few of the things I'm learning about myself. There is so much more but I have to leave for church now. 

I can't promise when I'll write again. Probably when the girls start school and I have a little more time. I do have a lot to share... if I still have readers...

Blessings!