The Simple Life

Easter Fun!!!!!

2011-04-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

So, I know this is the first post in like 8 years, but I am bound and determined to not forget important things, so even if it is on a rare occasion that a post gets written, I am still going to write. Anyway, Easter is the reason for this post and I had to post a fun idea to engage children in the Easter holiday. I am all for doing the traditional Easter things, egg hunting, dying, and baskets, but it was important for our family to teach our children the REAL reason that we get to do all of those fun things, which is Christ. So, I wanted to do a countdown to Easter since our advent calendar at Christmas was such a hit with him. Well, what I decided on was a pre-Easter egg scavengar hunt each morning.

So, what I did was get 24 plastic eggs and numbered them through 24 with a permanent marker. Next I filled them with Jackson's favorite candy and each morning I hide one somewhere. After breakfast, (sometimes we don't make it to breakfast before he is asking to find his 'treasure egg') we then talk about finding our egg for the day. But before we go 'hunting' I talk to him about some of the most important aspects of Easter. For example, one day I told him, 'Do you know why we celebrate Easter? And then I told him that Jesus died on the cross for you and me and everyone!' So the next day when I asked him why we celebrate he was able to tell me that fact about Easter. Then, I would add something else to that on the next day. On the days that I added something that was harder for him to get, we would just repeat that fact for the next few days. So, now on the 15th of April when I ask him why we celebrate Easter he tells me, ' Jesus came and died on the cross to save sinners like you and me, and he rose from the dead and beat sin!' It has really been a blessing to me to see him learning Truth.

After that, it is time to find the egg! He gets so excited and usually can tell me what number we are on before I can. He then gets two clues from me that lead him to the egg. Of course at this age they are verbal clues, but eventually they will be harder clues that I will probably have written out. I do the first clue leading him to the room the egg is in, so an example, 'Go to the room where you go to sleep.' or 'Go to the room where we 'tackle' (momma's bed). He takes off and runs to that room where I give him his final clue. One of the clues I led him to the other day was in his play room and then I told him, 'Look in your toy where the cows, horses, and pigs live.' He immediately went to his barn and found it sitting in the chicken nest.' I LOVE watching him get so excited, and proud of himself when he finds it! Although at this age I have the same candy in each egg, he still acts like he is SO surprised at what might be in it. :) He also loves that he gets eggs with funny faces on them.

He tells me, 'I wonder what face my egg will have today.' Then once he finds it, he makes up a story about why the egg was sad, happy, or silly. I tell you what, this child is SO much fun and I love encouraging his little creative imagination. So, I am so thankful that we are doing this and hopefully it will be a fun tradition for years to come!

I Heart Faces- Sun Flare

2011-03-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here is my entry for the I Heart Faces photo challenge this week. The challenge is sun flare. I captured this shot of these two love birds as the sun was peeking over the wall. I thought it gave them a spotlight moment as they kissed. What do you think?

I Heart Faces

RED- I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-02-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

I dug through some oldies for this photo, but just thought this picture I took of Jackson's very first hair cut would be perfect for this photo challenge. Check out all of the others at I Heart Faces!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

I Heart Faces 'Heart' Challenge

2011-02-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

So, when I heard that I Heart Faces was doing a photo challenged titled 'Hearts' I knew I had to enter since I had just done this photoshoot of my sweetie. This is the photo I chose to submit. Check out the other entries at I Heart Faces!

LOVE.LOVE.LOVE.LOVE.LOVE

2011-01-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well, instead of trying to copy all of the valentines pictures onto this family blog, I figured I would just post the link to Raspberry Rain's blog where you can see all of the pictures. I did want to elaborate on this fun 'adventure' with my sweet Jackson. First of all, Joey and I have REALLY seen a big turn around from Jackson since he has turned three. He just seems more aware and more compliant, not as combative. This along with him not being so opposed to my camera made for a much better photo shoot. What I really did was give him candy and a whole bunch of red heart balloons, which he decided we magic balloons that would carry him to the jungle. We played for a good hour with those balloons and still have them in the house. I love this boys imagination and love that I have some sweet memories along with some fun photos to share. Check out the photos HERE

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!

Fun Home Decorating

2011-01-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

So, I have been SLOWLY working on getting some things up on our very bare walls. It has truly been slow going considering all of the birthdays and holiday happenings that have been going on these past few months. Raspberry Rain has also been busy getting in all of the family christmas pictures, so all of those excuses to say that I am just now really starting to work on mi casa. Well, if there is one thing that Joey and I have decided when it comes to our style is that it must be cheap. Haha! Well, I guess it works well then that I love old weathered things that bring some history and stories into our home, because typically I find these beauties at resale shops or junk sales. It all meets the cheap requirement. Another reason that we have been slow to add things to our walls is because Joey really wants everything that we hang to be something that has some meaning or was made by us. Now, as you can imagine, that does not make for quick decorating. Coming up with ideas, executing said ideas, and being happy with the finished product, especially for a perfectionist like me is no easy feat. Well, we have this awkward large wall space by our fireplace that remained empty until now! Yay! It makes me so happy to finally have an empty wall filled.

This is what we came up with. It is a subway sign that has all of the places that have been special to us on it. It has both of our birth places, both of our favorite places to be in the whole world, our parent's birth places and even the city where we met.

All we did was get a 4 ft by 4 ft. piece of plywood, painted it all cottage white, stenciled on the letters and numbers, and then began the time consuming task of painting this perfect grey color around all of the letters and numbers. Side Note: You know, it was time consuming but really it was almost stress relieving to just paint. Well, once the painting was done, we got to do the fun part....using the power sander! Ahhh....so much fun to use! Once distressed as desired I used an antique glaze to make it look less 'brand new' in color and then sprayed the whole thing with a sealer. Voila!

We think it fits us perfectly and had a perfect home on this large wall.

I also just printed these pictures for our hallway this week. I love the graphic black and white square prints. And of course they are of my two favorite boys. I ordered them on a thicker backing so they can just 'float' on the wall. Super easy...cheap...and again, no artistic talent needed.

I think they look great, but I am thinking I need three more! :)

So, these are a few of the things that we have added to our house. They make our house a home and hopefully there will be more to come soon. The point of this post is to show that even if you are not artistic, you can get a little creative to personalize the little space of world you inhabit.

Happy Birthday Jesus, Joey and Jackson!

2010-12-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

So, December 16th was filled with lots of birthday fun this year! First Jackson had school that morning where they had scheduled a 'happy birthday Jesus' party which he loved. He was a little confused because anytime someone said 'Happy Birthday Jackson!' He would say 'Happy Birthday To You Too!' It apparently was everyone's birthday on the 16th. We went from a great day at school (minus a trip to the principal's office...yikes! Another post for another day) to a place called Going Bonkers. And boy did he go bonkers!!! From there we went to Chucky Cheese where he played his little heart out and even got to meet Chucky Cheese!! If you haven't seen the video on facebook already you'll have to check out my little man's dance moves on the videos at the bottom of this post. The next day we had more birthday fun at my parent's where we opened gifts, ate great food and celebrated Joey and Jackson. We somehow ALL ended up underneath my parent's dining table a.k.a. 'the fort'. All I know is Jackson LOVED it!!!!! So, I think his birthday was a huge success!!!

December 16th sure was a day of birthdays this year!

Self Portrait- I Heart Faces Photo Challenge

2010-12-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here is my photo entry for the new I Heart Faces photo challenge. I think I look good rockin' the 'stache.What do you think?

Christmas Time

2010-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

I love christmas and had a really hard time this year waiting until after Halloween to decorate. I made it to the first weekend in November and then christmas was officially going to be in my home. Jackson has helped me make ornaments and we have had fun decorating while listening to christmas music. This is just such a special time of year and it blesses me to think of what it really means in the hope of my Savior Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Our homemade advent calender with small bags 50% off from Hobby Lobby and dollar store christmas chocolates. Jackson wakes up ready to open his gift with a small treat inside. He gets really excited trying to find the correct number and opening the bag for a new treat each day. He is also learning patience, which isn't the fun part since he sees the bags and really doesn't like that he can only get one per day. Good lessons to learn non the less.

Hope you all have a wonderful christmas!!! God Bless!

Some of My Favorite Things

2010-11-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, for some reason there have been a few things that have come up within the last few weeks that have really made me super happy, so I thought I would share them with you all today.
Ok first of all has to be 103.7. This radio station plays Christmas music 24/7!!!! It is the best, and I have it on in my car every holiday season!
Second, I found the best ever pound cake recipe! It is a cream cheese pound cake and I ate this thing in two days!!!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Cheese-Pound-Cake/Detail.aspx
Third, I found the most comfortable lounge pants in the whole world at Victoria's Secret. Seriously, they fit perfectly and are so comfy that I may live in them all day!!!
http://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265342767389&c=Page&cid=1287144204520&pagename=vsdWrapper

So anyway, these things made me happy and I hope you find some joy in them too!

Trick Or Treat!!!!

2010-11-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, Jackson's 3rd halloween proved to be the best one yet! (well if you're measuring it by the amount of candy consumed) We had a great time watching quite a few Halloween specials on tv yesterday, not to mention practicing our knock on the door and....'TRICK OR TREAT!
Let me give you a little back ground leading up to this spooktacular day. First of all, we received the gorilla costume about three weeks ago and have been getting our money's worth out of it for sure! We decided to let Jackson play with it and he has probably been in his costume nearly every day before the BIG day. He loved it! We also were wanting him to wear it because he used to be extremely afraid of gorillas and our fear was that he would be scared of it. So, all that to say that he really loved his costume. Well, as it started getting dark we told him it was almost time to go trick or treating so we had to get our costume on. His reply was, 'No thank you. I don't want to be a gorilla today.'
WHAT!!!! The ONE day that he is suppose to wear his costume, he doesn't feel like it. Oh great. Well, after reasoning with him, bribing him and trying everything, we eventually just put him in it kicking and screaming. He refused to wear the head, but he at least was part of a gorilla. We went around to a few houses in our neighborhood and then went over to my parent's neighborhood where we hit up a few more houses. All in all it was a great halloween! I also had to post some pictures of our halloween party the night before at my parent's house. Thanks mom and dad for hosting a TERRORIFIC PARTY! :)

Bahahaha! Darrell and Stephanie you guys rocked the gangsta fo sho!!!

My mom and dad were cheap Rangers fans. They had all the gear with all the tags on. Hehe.

And here we are. I was Jess and Joey was me from our college basketball days. Do you love Joey's wig? I do want to say that I don't feel the beard really portrayed me in college, but whatever.

Hope you had as much fun with Halloween as we did. Thanks for reading!!!

Gross Goo!!!!

2010-10-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

So it was pumpkin carving time in our house a week ago and whats not blog worthy about that, so here we go. Armed with only a small 'scooper', some newspaper and a little elbow grease, daddy and Jackson set out to get all of the 'goo' out of our perfect pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. The only problem was that Jackson, my little sweetie is not a big fan of icky stuff on his hands as evidenced from last Halloween's pumpkin carving experience. I love this pic.

Well, apparently he still is not a fan of preparing the pumpkin, so I thought I would post a video showing you. So, here we are in our garage getting our pumpkin prepared to be carved.

Haha! Oh great times. Well, we may have struggled with the preparing the pumpkin, but our family was very proud of our finished pumpkin! Jackson picked the design, of course the 'SCARY' monster, and daddy and mommy carved the design. I do want to add that while we were carving, Jackson had the little hole puncher and was poking holes in the back of the pumpkin the entire time we were working. I think he had a few hundred holes when we were finished. It was definately a team effort here. So, here was our finished pumpkin.

Hope you have a GOOreat Halloween!!!

Fall Fun!

2010-10-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as much as I would like to blog more, my time just isn't allowing it right now. I have lots going on, but hopefully I will hit the high points of what is happening in the Kraus house from time to time. I really wanted to blog about the fall projects Jackson and I did a few weeks ago. Joey was gone for work and we told him that when he came home the house would be decorated for halloween. Well, armed with only the items within my craft box, Jackson and I got to work on some homemade halloween fun.

Here are the bats with purple crystal eyes that we cut out, and the picture in the frame is a fun pumpkin coloring page that Jackson so beautifully colored.

These are the candles that are already in my house decorated with a little ribbon and glittery bat stickers. Some orange flowers and raffia always make for great fall decor, not to mention scary spiders!

This is the old window and sill above my fireplace where we put another of Jackson's beautiful colorings and a homemade wreath from fun sparkly black ribbon and some black feathers.

Here is our eating area where we borrowed this AMAZING candleholder from my mom and covered it in spider webs. That great black lace table cloth was from last year's halloween party. The little chair back decorations are the remainder of the black ribbon I had attached to some black paper that we made into cones and stuffed with orange flowers. Cheap and easy!

Again, reused pumpkin decorations from last year and some homemeade napkin rings.

This is my favorite craft we did. Jackson helped me stencil this banner with black ink and we punched holes and strung twine to hang it. A few glitter stickers later and we have a cute halloween banner.

And last but not least, my favorite little surprise decoration. A paper 'stache for my son's picture. HAHAHAHA! I was hanging the banner and decided to add a few spiders to this cute framed picture. Well then I decided this particular picture needed a little 'dressing up'. I laugh everytime I look at it..and so does Jackson!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone, and hopefully before Christmas I will post the pictures of us at the Pumpkin Patch. Here's to hopin'!!!

Oh, How I've Missed You

2010-09-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

It has been a while Blogger since I have seen you. It has been a long time since I have been here. What has happened you ask? Nothing really. It isn't you, its me. The busier I get the more you are neglected and for that I am sorry. I am trying to update and continue recording the memories that I don't want to forget. So, here are a few that I thought I would share.
Jackson is in 'school' now!!! Yea! He goes two days a week for four hours a day. It really has been such a blessing for him and for me. I actually have some designated time during my week that I can call work time. It has been great. Jackson is just thriving at school. He is such a social butterfly anyway and so he gets to be around kids his age, which is perfect. He also loves to learn. If there is something right now that he is obsessed over, it is his ABC's. He knows about 4 ABC songs which he sings OVER and OVER!! He loves the sounds of the letters, which he goes through the house saying OVER and OVER. And he loves finding all the words he can that start with each letter. I took him to pick out a toy about a month ago, and what did he want, flash cards! I took him the other day to pick out something and he chose an ABC puzzle. Oh, my little book nerd. He is so fun and talks so much that I am laughing and exhausted all at the same time. He loves to quiz me all day long. 'Momma, what letter sounds like 'duh'? He shouts 'D!!!' before I ever have a chance to answer. 'Momma, what words start with 'g'? gorilla...what else,...garden....what else....goose.' This is ALL day. You can imagine my relief that school brings. :) He really is so fun and I am so thankful that I get to watch him grow up and learn.

My other Jackson story that I love is that he loves to say the letters of the words on his flash cards so he will look at the word Dog and say, 'D...O...G..that spells dog.' And he moves on to the next word. Well he got to X-ray and he says, 'X....and looking at the dash, he puts his finger on his face, furrows his brow and says, 'hmmmm? and then finishes R...A...Y. It was so funny! He had no idea what that dash was so now whenever I ask him to spell X-Ray, he spells it 'X....'hmmmm?'...R...A....Y. Haha! I don't want to tell him that it is a dash cuz the way he does it is just so dang cute!!!
Well, I had to get these little gems of my life on my blog so when my memory fades, these memories will still be here.

HU-AH!!!

2010-08-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

I love my son and his crazy comments. Which is why I always have a notebook handy to remember his silly stuff. Here is something that I had to share.

This is the conversation I just witnessed.
Jackson: 'Daddy can I jump on your bed?'
Dad: No
Jackson: 'Daddy can I stand on your bed?'
Dad: 'I guess thats ok'
After he stood there for a few seconds....
Jackson: 'Well this isn't fun. Daddy can I 'hu-ah' on the bed?'
Dad: 'Hu-ah?'
Jackson: 'Yeah.' As he jumps as high as he can, yells 'HU-AH!' and lands on his bottom.
Dad: 'Then no you can not 'hu-ah' on the bed.
Bahahahahaha!!!! I love that kid!!

Rain! Rain! Rain!

2010-08-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics in the rain!

I Can Fix It!

2010-08-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

I posted this on facebook but thought I would post it here for those that didn't see what Jackson said to me the other day.

So Jackson was hugging me and saw a pimple on my face and said

'Don't worry momma, I can fix that! I just need to get my drill.'

So he comes back with his plastic drill and drills my face and says.

'Pretty.....but not quite. I know what I need! I'll get my saw!'

BAHAHAHA!!!

The Details

2010-07-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

So we have been pretty busy with Raspberry Rain Images lately and working on catching up with pictures, hence the extreme neglect of this blog. However, I really do want to continue to update on what is happening in the Kraus House. I thought I would post a few pictures of our new house. These are detail shots, not sweeping wide angle shots. There are really two main reasons for this. First, the house is just pieces right now. We are taking our time with the decorating, trying to be careful with what we spend. Second, the house was a mess when I took these. There you go, the truth comes out. So, I promise more pictures in the future, but for right now, here are a few pieces of the house. I am my mother's child, so a good deal makes me happy, so keep reading to hear about all of the good deals we have gotten!

This is above our fire place. It is an old window frame and window sill from an old barnhouse that I got at canton. Those old mason jars are from there too. I love items with a history! There is something about old and new together that makes me so happy!

Of course I had to take a picture of a picture. Hehe.. This is on the wall by our dining table. I love it cause it just has all the little details of my sweet family. And then those birds are from Pier One, salt and pepper shakers for $3.00!!! I didn't think anything in that store was $3.00. This is one of the chairs around our dining table. We found these at a resale shop for 7.00 each! A little paint and distressing made these perfect for this little table.

I am in love with this that Joey found at a resale shop. We painted, distressed and put on some super cute light blue glass knobs and there is our tv stand. It was $17.00 by the way. All the credit for this one goes to my super thrifty hubby. Way to go babe!! Oh, and those vases used to be black. Just a little spray paint fixed that.

These are some pieces of our guest bathroom. I love that the previous owners put in the se super nice faucet and sink. The slate is just perfect in there too! How cute and contemporary.

I put a sweet pic of Jackson in a distressed white frame on the counter.

This is in his playroom. Let me explain. The 'playroom' is actually the garage converted to all things children. The previous owners insulated it and made it functional for their three children, which was GENIOUS!

I strung some twine and some clothes pins to hang his artwork that he does out there. He loves to finger paint and this was a fruit loop chain that we did as well. I love that Jackson likes to be creative. He calls this his 'art show'. And when he shows off his playroom, he likes to take them through what each painting is. (Auntie, I think he takes after you :) )

Here are a few fun things in his playroom as well. This is a tunnel he got last christmas from my parents. There is his Thomas the Train set at the end of it. He has his little table from his Nan and Beasch that he colors at and eats his snacks. You can also see the enormous amounts of toys as well. Not to mention he has his own tv in there for all the Dora and Wiggles.

And of course one final image of my sweety pie playing with his train set.

So, I know this doesn't give you a broad look into the house (I will get those pics soon I promise), but I did want to show a few of the detail shots I have taken lately. It is a slow process, creating a house into a home, but we are on our way and soooooo excited!!!!

God and Sex

2010-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ok I just listened to a seriously amazing sermon by Matt Chandler on God and sex. If you are single or married or dealing with discussing this topic with children, it really is great. If you have listened to him before than you know that he is real, raw and honest with pretty much everything, and this subject is no different. He is unashamed to discuss things that historically the church has failed to teach. But, I need to throw in a disclaimer..... he does discuss some seriously adult topics, just in case your child is with you :) (that could be a little awkward). Anyway, thought I would just throw this out there.

http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/200910161900HWC21ATAAA_MattChandler_CultureAndTheology-GodAndSex.mp3

Engagement Session

2010-07-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

We are working on getting a new blog and website going, but until then I have posted a few pics of the engagement session we did this past weekend. Thanks RJ and Chelsea for being the best!

Sweet Family

2010-06-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks Darrell and Stephanie for letting me take your sweet family pictures. I had such a good time and hope you enjoy them!

No Fear

2010-06-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Jackson really has no fear when it comes to the water so we watch him like a hawk when he is outside. He jumps off the side of the pool and yells 'CANNON BALL!!!' on the way down. He also will try to 'swim' without his floaties on to me and just sink. When I pull him up he has this huge smile on his face. I have been working on him to kick and move his arms while he is under the water to try to teach him the basics of swimming, but we are definately still looking for swim lessons. Hopefully he will pick it up quickly, because if there is one thing I know, it is that we are going to be doing ALOT of swimming this summer! Enjoy the video!

Kingston's B-Day Bash!

2010-06-18T18:49:00.001-07:00

What an awesome time we had at my sweet nephew Kingston's first birthday bash! It was a fun filled party with a great 'beach' theme. The decorations were awesome! They had chips in sand castle buckets and drinks in palm tree coolers, not to mention the gifts in a kiddie pool. It was so cute! Beep and Amanda, thanks for an awesome time! And, to my man Kingston.... the first year is good but it only gets better!!! We love you sweet boy!

The Zoo

2010-06-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

So we are trying to figure out how to decorate Jackson's room in our new house and we decided on the zoo animal theme. He is in LOVE with the zoo and all animals in general. He has begged to go back numerous times since we went a few months ago. He especially loved this alligator that was sleeping about two inches from the glass wall. He would smash his face against the glass to see him even closer. He is definately all about the animals!

House Update

2010-06-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

SO, I have yet to take any pictures of the house, but I promise I will soon! I am heading to Canton with my sis tomorrow (YEA!) and will be looking for fab finds for photography props as well as for my fun new house. I am SUPER excited! What is not to love about acres and acres of unwanted junk that you can turn into TREASURE?! Anyway, there are still boxes to be unpacked, however they are strictly contained now within the garage. That is a marked improvement from yesterday. We have hauled four loads of 'junk' (could be treasure to you if you come to our garage sale) to my parent's house who have so willingly allowed us to do the garage sale at their house. You should see how much stuff we have for this sale, and we just had a garage sale THREE WEEKS AGO! Anyway, Joey trimmed the bushes in the backyard, cleaned the pool and found time to hang a mirror in our guest bathroom. The previous owners took the mirror...weird....but we now have one, so all is good. I arranged the garage/Jackson's playroom with all of his 'neccessities'. We set him up with a couch, a couple chairs, a tv and a little table to color. He loves 'his garage' as he calls it. We have a large rug out there and since it has a fan and ac connections (which we are still working on) it is going to be fantabulous! All of the garagey things (if its ok that I made up that word) is in the backyard where there is a storage shed for lawn equipment and also a second two story shed that the previous owner used to work out of. So, thats what has been going on. Once the boxes are gone and I have decorated some what I will take some pics. Hope you have a great day!

Internet

2010-06-03T12:43:00.001-07:00

We've Got Internet!!!

(this post is short and sweet) :)

Love It!

2010-06-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Well, first if all I have to say that I am sorry for the lack of updates on the new house. But I do have a few good excuses so let me just say that this post is being done from my phone since I don't hav Internet service yet. In fact they tell us even though it has already been over a week that it will be another two weeks before they can hook up service! Anyway, here are a few things to know about our family's new house. First, it is awesome!!! Why is it awesome you ask? Well, you don't know how many times I have walked around and said in my head that if I were going to do something in a house, I would have done it the same way the previous owners did. They
have done SO much work in this house! I absolutely love the windows. They are brand new and we just slide them open to the screen each morning and smell the amazing sweet scent if the Oleanders that are planted in the backyard. I LOVE the lights and fans! They are all on remotes and dimmers so we can adjust everything from the bed at night. We both love the custom cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms! I had no idea how much more I would like the high counters in the bathroom! Joey especially loves this! The kitchen is small for sure but because of the customization, they have made use of every square inch! We feel so blessed to be able to live in this awesome house and know that we will only continue to love it more as we get settled. These are only a few of the things I love, more to come soon. But right now my thumbs are in a cramp so I will stop for now. Thanks for reading!

Mustache Mania!!!!

2010-05-31T14:00:00.001-07:00

So, most of you reading this probably think this is crazy, however I have happened to fall in love with the mustache prop craze that is going on right now. Not sure why, but it makes me happy. I think it is cuz it makes me smile and laugh...especially at Joey's face in the last picture. Bahahahahah....I just looked at it again!

I Heart Faces Challenge 'Yellow'

2010-05-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was trying to figure out what would work for the 'yellow' themed challenge and then I remembered the yellow chair. How could I have forgotten this vintage gem? So, here it is, my sweet boy, a vintage chair and some cupcakes.

Check out the other entries here!

The Blue Couch

2010-05-22T20:03:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY took our own family pictures this weekend. We had a great time with Jess, Johnny and baby Gracie taking pictures and hanging out. These are just some of the pics that Jess took for us. I will be posting more that involved fake mustaches on a stick, so you DEFINATELY don't want to miss those! We hauled this AWESOME blue couch to a field in Fort Worth and just began snappin' pics. If you notice, Jackson has this orange lollipop for pretty much every picture because he was not a happy camper. The no nap, extreme heat, sugar high concoction was too much for my little man. The only time he wasn't mean muggin' the camera was with the candy. So, for pretty pictures' sake...just give the boy some sugar!
I MUST give a shout out to Darrell and Stephanie, friends of ours, that loaned us this swanky coach as a picture prop. You guys really are the best!!!

Plenty more to follow SOON!!!!!!

8 Days

2010-05-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

So....we officially are moving into our new house in...count 'em....8 days! I have already stalked my fav shops like Pier One, Anthropology, and Ikea. There are so many fun things that I just can't stand it! We are, however trying to be smart with our money, so the main things we are concentrating on is Jackson's room and the big things that we will need like a refrigerator. Its kind of a necessity. Anyway, we are planning the big move this weekend and we are hoping to be hitting the pool by Sunday afternoon. As of now, we are only painting two rooms, which makes us both VERY happy! After the MAJOR renovations the entire Kraus and Guild families did on the last house, this is a cake walk! I can't wait to get pictures up for you all once we have actually moved in and own the place. :)
We will keep everyone posted on the big move, so stay tuned!

2 and 1/2

2010-05-13T11:25:00.001-07:00

Oh, what to say about my sweet Jackson Boo? He is growing up very fast and seeming to gain personality by the bucketfuls! He is just such a little person now, not a baby. I know everyone talks about missing the baby stage and all that, but honestly I must say I am so happy growing in the stages that he grows. I am LOVING this stage he is in...minus the fits, tantrums and NO!'s that are very common these days. In honor of my little boy almost being 2 1/2 I thought I would blog about some 'favorites'. So, lets just get to it:

His Favorite Things To Do: playing at the park and playing games on the computer
His Favorite Places To Go: Chucky Cheese tops the list followed closely by anything outside involving water
His Favorite Foods: 'N&N's' (as he calls them), cookies, and cream of wheat
His Favorite Phrases: After someone sneezes.....'You don't sound so good.'
When I'm giving him something like M&Ms...'I sure hope we have enough!'
Before every nap....'No Momma its not nap time, its PLAY time!'
He also loves quoting the Bible verse I taught him, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." however, he follows it with '......so you don't have to be scared of that gorilla.' He isn't a fan of the gorillas right now.

Those are a few of his favorites for now. I'm sure there will be more to blog later. Thanks for reading.

Fun With Flowers

2010-05-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

So Joey and I were bored the other day and decided to take some pictures that we will hopefully be able to work into our new home decor. We set up a mini studio outside on the patio and created these shots. We thought they turned out pretty fun.

This one, we are hoping will look nice on one of the long walls in the living room. Through the magic of photoshop, we split the picture into three different canvases, the middle a 20X20 and the outside two 10X20. Hopefully it will look good when all done.

17 days until we get to create a unique space for our little family. We are super excited!

Did That Really Just Happen?

2010-05-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is a totally random blog but seriously blog worthy.

So I was walking down my parents driveway to go for a run today and there was this little kid who was walking home. He smiled and I smiled back and the next thing I know he started walking up my parents sidewalk toward me. He met me halfway to my parent's house and just walked right up to me. Not liking the personal space, I backed up. He took a step closer! Ok...kid is obviously confidant in talking with adults. I kinda did the lean away....
And this was the conversation that followed:

Kid: "So what's YOUR name?" First of all, I wish I could convey within this blog the cockiness in this kid's voice, secondly, why are you talking to complete strangers!
Me: 'Nicole....whats your name?'
Kid: 'Jason, I'm almost in middle school.'
Me: '....awesome?'
Kid: 'What are you doing right now?' He was like standin' there with his arms crossed doing like the "friends" 'How you doin?' head nod. He was like some weird man child.
This was about when I started looking around for either...
a.) his friends, because he was being dared...or
b.) Ashton Kutcher cause I was being punk'd
There was no one else around and I was getting really weirded out!
So, again.....back to the conversation:
Kid: 'What are you doing right now?'
Me: 'What are YOU doing right now?'
Kid: 'Walkin' home from school.'
Me: 'Oh how CUTE...you go to Highland Village Elementary School.' I was trying to use the 'awww, you're so whittle bitty' voice.
Kid: I'm almost in middle school!'
Me: '...awesome? Ok...well I better...' Kid cuts me off and says:
Kid: Look, I was wonderin', if you weren't doing anything, I live just down the street, you wanna go for a walk and talk?
Me: ..........................................(large eyes).................................(confusion)......................................'Um,no... but you have fun.' As I ran away.

....What?!
....Where?!
Where in the world is his momma?!
Did I REALLY just get hit on by a fifth grader?
AWKWARD!
This cougar thing has gone WAY too far!!!

He Must Not Have Heard Me

2010-05-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to blog for you the conversation my son had with another little boy at the Barnes and Noble kid area. It was great!

So we walk up to the Thomas the Train table and there was a little boy there who was probably somewhere around 5 years old. Jackson walks right up to him and waves and says 'Hi, my name is Jackson!' The kid looks at him like he was crazy and just kept playing with his trains. That's when Jackson turned around to where I was sitting and said, 'He must not have heard me.' :)
I smile and try not to laugh, because he had OBVIOUSLY heard him and was doing his very best to ignore my child. But my son just persisted. He then grabbed one of the trains and tried to play ram the train with the kid, and again the child moved all of his trains to the other end of the track. Unfazed, Jackson takes his one train back down to where the kid was. He then noticed that the other child had about nine trains all hooked together so he pointed to his train and yelled, 'Wow! Your train is mas grande!' That's when this child really gave him a 'you are weird' look and just walked away. My Spanish speaking outgoing 2 year old was a little much for this kid. But don't worry, Jackson was unfazed by the boy and his apparent lack of hearing.

I love my sweet, outgoing, Spanish speaking, wonderful, big hearted boy!!!! He makes me laugh and he just makes me want to wrap him up in my arms and squeeze his cheeks off! I just can't even stand it.
I LOVE YOU JACKSON BOO!!!!!!!!

The Dale House Project

2010-04-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Please take time to here the heart of the Dale House Project.
Each year Dale House takes in hundreds of troubled young people. Most are referred by the Department of Human Services or the Division of Youth Corrections. Funding for the Project comes from government agencies who place children at Dale House and contributions from churches, civic organizations, and individuals.
Joey and I wanted to keep everyone updated on what was going on at the Dale House Project.
So please read below what Joey's great frined and staff member at the Dale House Project says

Today is april 21st, 17 kids live at dhp.

I think i will start with kind of a broad overview.

DHP is a home for kids age 16-20, most are 17,18, or 19. The kids are either here from department of youth corrections or department of human services (dyc or dhs). These kids are getting out of jail to come to dhp. and are moving from some type of foster home.
Each kid is about to be on their own.
They come to dhp to find a job and save 2 thousand dollars, an educational goal usually for community college, to complete lifeskills packets, and be involved in idividual therapy.
Therapy is around drug and alcohol abuse, family stuff, and other baggage life has given them.
The staff consists of eight training staff. They are called training staff because the training is ongoing and lasts all year.
The staff come here after graduating college, and agree to serve for a year.
They are divided into two teams.
Each team has a team leader.

The ts take graduate level classes at fuller seminary. They juggle this with a very intense schedule. As a staff member, we meet every monday and thursday mornings for devo and core. We come together on these days to share our hearts, our struggles and to read the word and pray during devo.
We lift the kids up, or i like to think sometimes, we lower them through the roof to the Savior.
We then have our core meeting, where we sit around a large round table and talk about each kid. This time is used to keep us on the same page with what each of these entrusted souls need from us.

We spend alot of time here pursuing realationships.
We have a saying "rules without relationships equals rebellion".
Tonight we have wednesday night family night. There will be one team on duty, plus all the permanent staff come as well. We will eat a big meal, buffet style, due to large numbers.
Residents fam and friends can also come on this night. We have a planned activity on these days.
Since today is earth day we will be planting flowers and such.
The kids won't necessarily like this but they dont really know what they like sometimes. We make it fun though. There is no telling what tonight will bring, some nights are pretty chill. some are not, either way i am certain both kind of nights are needed.

This is why we are raising money.
This is why we are climbing Pikes Peak.
This is the reason we are asking you to get involved.

If you are interested in learning more about the Dale House Project, or financially helping them, climbing with us, or praying specifically for needs, please contact me and I will help you make that happen.

Stay tuned for further updates from Ted. And, also stay tuned for updates on how Joey and my training for the climb is going.
Yikes!!!

The Longview Video

2010-04-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, sweet family. I put together a little mini video of our fabulous weekend together!! I love these because they are easy, fun and really capture some sweet and funny moments! Anyway, we had such a great time and hope this video captures that! Love you all!

Family Fun In Longview

2010-04-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

So, I needed to blog the funtivities we had in Longview a few weeks ago. We had such a great time with the family. And with my camera in tow, I tried to document all the fun that we were having. Come with me and lets experience the fun again through pictures!

This was actually the only picture of all three boys that I got where you could see all three faces. It was NOT easy!!!

This clarifies for you all WHY it wasn't easy! That would be cuz Jackson is a little afraid of Kingston, so he really didn't want to be sitting so close to him. Hence, the oldest cousin trying to help me out by yankin' him back in the picture. (please also note how, through all the madness, sweet Kingston is still in model mode!) :)

Speaking of sweet Kingston.....What a precious little family!!

All the boys. Notice my son again....anti photo! He will not look at me anymore when I have my camera.

Again....the one who wouldn't look....

And, yet again.....but check out Carson...I think he is ready for the beach!

Uh Oh, look out Carson, Kingston is one tough kid!

And this is where the insanity really happened! But, again please check out Kingston, STILL in model mode!

Sweet father son photo.

So sweet...momma and baby!

B..E..A...UTIFUL!

sweet cousins

Carson, with one of the two ducks he got for Easter!

Kingston and his momma and daddy...well their legs anyway.

Sweet Gran and Kingston photo

Another cute family pic.

Gran and Kingston lookin' at the ducks.

Beasch and Kingston hangin' out

Jackson and his best bud, Max. He LOVES this dog!!

The only pic I really got of Jackson with anyone 'holding' him. He's not into being held much.

And, I leave you with one that just melts my hear! Kingston, sweetie, don't you worry, I promise my son won't be scared of you forever and we will get plenty of these pics with you too!! :)

Hope you guys enjoyed this. I really loved reliving these sweet memories. I am working on the video so hopefully I will get that up here soon. I will send all the family a cd of pics and a dvd of the video soon. Love you!

The Water Hose

2010-04-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Fun in the water hose. Here are just a few sweet pics I took the other day while Jackson went to town in the water. By the way, this has become a daily thing that we do now. He loves water!!!

Gracie Rae

2010-04-09T08:48:00.001-07:00

I had to make a video of little Gracie, and her first few weeks of the world. Unfortunately it wasn't uploading to Blogger so I had to include a link instead, so click on the link below to see it. Hope you have as much fun watching it as I had creating it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIGjnzv83aQ

Easter Recap

2010-04-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

I was looking through all of my pictures of Easter and decided to put together a little fun movie slideshow of the festivities. Thanks Kranky for the idea! I love this new creative thing I can do with my pics!!!!
Take a look!

The Sprinklers

2010-04-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Joey, Jackson and I were enjoying a beautiful day outside last week when the neighbors turned on their sprinklers. Jackson wanted to get in them sooo bad but wasn't ready when it snuck up on him. Watch the video below for some sprinkler fun!

Highland Village Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Jackson's first easter egg hunt this year was done by the city of Highland Village at some baseball fields. They had the Easter Bunny, a fire truck and lots of eggs and candy. The hunt was right next to a great park, so after the egg hunt he got to see the ducks in the pond and play at the park. He had a blast!!

I asked Joey to take some pics of Jackson and I since I am always the one behind the camera, but as you can see, he was more interested in swinging his easter basket everywhere.

Here we are lined up at the 3 yr and under field. Lets just say sticking sixty 3 and unders in a field inches from eggs and making them wait 5 minutes was just plain CRUEL...for both the kids and their poor parents. Lots of melt downs.

And we're off!! He definately had the hunting part down and was actually double fisting it, so he was making me hold the basket. He's a smart kid.

In the end he got plenty of eggs with tons of candy and stickers and he even had picked up a prize egg, so he ended up winning some side walk chalk that we used when we got home. It was a good day.

Stay tuned for LOTS more Easter fun!

Jessica and Gracie

2010-03-31T17:03:00.001-07:00

Gracie.....

and her momma......

Now, I don't think I'm crazy in thinking that Gracie looks an awful lot like Jess. What do you think?

The Grapevine Mills Mall Experience

2010-03-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

When Jackson and I go to the Grapevine Mills Mall it really is an experience. There are certain things that HAVE to happen in order for the day to be complete for this little guy. The little trip begins with seeing the 'gater' which is a real life looking alligator that moves in a swampy thing and snaps his mouth and usually scares all the little children. Jackson seems fascinated by him and will ask to see him over and over. He has to throw money at him to try to get one in his mouth when he chomps. After this we go into the Rain Forrest Cafe store and play with all the animal toys they have. We never go actually into the cafe, because Joey, Jackson and I did that one time a few months ago and lets just say Jackson did NOT like the super loud gorilla. We had to leave before we had eaten because he was so scared. Well, after that we ride the train that is like a mini little train with four separate cars to ride in. The video below shows us going through the mall. After the train ride we have to make a stop at Anne's Pretzels where he gets a cinnamon sugar pretzel to eat while we make our way to the Barnes and Noble store where he plays with Thomas the Train and reads all the books. We usually ride the motorcycle ride they have there, make another round at the Rain Forrest, and then we can head home. Its exhausting but seeing Jackson having so much fun makes it all worth it!

Gracie Rae Williams

2010-03-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

She is finally here!! She was born on March 24th at 5:27pm. She weighed 7lbs 7 ounces and measured 19 inches long. She was delivered by a c-section so at 5:00pm they took Jess and Johnny into surgery to get their baby girl. Momma and baby are doing great, and will be at the hospital for another two nights. What a blessing she has been already and she has only been here one day!! Stay tuned for billions upon billions of pics of this little princess!

Oh...So Beautiful!

2010-03-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

I LOVE taking photos of pregnant couples! They just have a sweet glow of love and happiness that comes through in the pictures. I had such a great time with this photo shoot with Alison and Bill. They are not only a gorgeous couple, but they were so sweet to allow us to move all their furniture around to set up our traveling studio. Thank you both for being so gracious and sweet to work with! We can't wait to meet baby London! So, here is a small peak of our session with this beautiful couple.

(Click the picture to view bigger)

THERE IS SNOW WAY IT IS SPRING!

2010-03-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Stepping outside on technically the first day of spring was a little like being in another world. Isn't spring suppose to usher in green and flowers and pretty weather? I guess it isn't just the basketball in March that is MADNESS!!!!! Jackson and I played for a little while out in the craziness, but then the wind nearly blew us away so we had to come inside. Now, I am enjoying it from afar inside my warm home with my two favorite boys, my furry slippers and a BIG cup of hot coffee.
Who knew so much Madness could be so peaceful?

The Orange Bunny

2010-03-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

In honor of Easter I thought I would post the Orange Bunny videos that I took when Jackson, Joey and I went for a quick errand to Kroger. He just fell in love with this inflatable bunny. I know I have sent these videos via phone, facebook and email, but just in case....here they are!

Sweet Friends

2010-03-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

How awesome it is to see wonderful friends! Jackson and I had the great opportunity to meet up with some friends of ours that have moved to Colorado this past year. We haven't seen them in a long time, so it was so special to be able to catch up for lunch. Julie and Ted and their two precious children, Tatum and Max are so great! They are such a sweet family and I miss them so much. I tried to take pics of Jackson and Tatum at the table, but this was all I could get.

Eyes

2010-03-12T16:47:00.001-08:00

It has been a long while since I have really tried to take some photos of my little man, so I thought I would post some today. I really focused on the eyes. I love his beautiful eyes but none of us can decide what color they are. They have this really grey color and then a light brown ring right in the middle. They don't seem to have a specific color, but a combo of the brown and blue. I can't hold him still long enough to take pictures when he is actually looking at me so these were the only ones out of a hundred that I got. I am going to try in the next few months to capture some more, and yes of course they will be on the blog so stay tuned.

This was when he spun around with my camera right in his face. Those eyes are sayin' 'what are you doing to me?'

He is such a little boy now! My baby is all grown up.

5 Fabulous Years

2010-03-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our 5th Anniversary, so in honor of this special day I thought I would blog some of my most favorite things about my sweet husband, Joey.

1. He knows who he is and isn't afraid to be it.
2. He can always make me laugh, even when I am mad at him and not wanting to.
3. He gives 100% in what he is doing, no matter what it is. (ok....maybe not in EVERYTHING, like running and physical stuff maybe like 50%)
4. He doesn't take himself too seriously. For those that know him the following explains completely: Uncle Eddie, Michael Phelps, 'Big' as in Rob and Big.
5. He is the BEST daddy to Jackson ever. He loves him and tells him often.
6. He is the BEST husband to me ever. He loves me and tells me often.
7. He is loved by everyone. People just gravitate toward him because he allows them to. Who he is just invites people to him.
8. He has never tried to change me. Even though we are quite different, he has celebrated that about our relationship and tells me often that he loves that I am not just like him.
9. He begs me to pursue my passions and my dreams, and though not very lucrative at the moment, I am living out one with my photography business right now!
10. He constantly points me to the love of Christ. He leads our family even though it may be scary and he is a true man of God that I am so proud of every day!
So, here are a few random pics of my sweet husband.

And...the best family picture ever!

Joey, I love you so much more than you will ever know! More than words can say!

I LOVE MY JOBS!

2010-03-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

I truly truly love what I do. First and foremost I love being Jackson's mom. Everyone says motherhood is the most rewarding thing in the world, but only until you go through it can you really understand what they are talking about. I love it so much. It is so hard, so fun, so challenging, so wonderful, so scary, all wrapped up in one. I enjoy the craziness and have come to embrace the unexpected in our house.

My second job of being a photographer is so great too! I really love it. It is so exciting getting to meet all kinds of great people who invite you into their world, even if its just for a little bit, to help capture moments in their lives they never want to forget. That to me is such a special gift and I LOVE it! I also love the creative outlet it offers me. The post processing, which I have come to find out is what many photographers loath, is actually one of my favorite things about being a photographer. It is putting the 'finishing touches' on a photograph. It is capturing a moment an emotion and then just giving it that extra 'umph' to make it really stand out, to make it really special.

So, here are a few of my favorite photographs we have taken recently.

Bedtime

2010-03-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

Well, bedtime at our house is really kinda crazy. It usually starts out with the three of us climbing on the bed near his crib and reading a few books. Well, let me back up. If momma is reading than we actually read the words on the page. If daddy and baby are reading than there is alot less actual words being spoken. Daddy likes to make up words, of which Jackson thinks is HILARIOUS! There is a lot of laughing and really the exact opposite of calming down. He usually makes daddy pretend he is sleeping so he can wake him up too. What is so great is to watch these two great buddies together. Jackson loves his daddy and although it usually takes a little more work for me once daddy actually leaves the room, it is WELL worth it to watch father and son bond. What a special thing to get to see each night. So, I thought I would share, yet again, two little mini videos of father and son at bed time.

Sweet Cooper

2010-03-03T19:17:00.001-08:00

So, I had to post a few of these pics we just took of sweet Cooper. We had the great opportunity of taking this beautiful family's pictures a few months ago, and were privelaged when they asked us to take baby Cooper's one year pics this week. I must first say that Cooper is such a happy child. He is a photographer's DREAM! He smiled alot and cooperated with everything we were trying to capture. Check out a few of our pictures. There are many more to come!

I'm ONE!!!

Fun with the balloon

Dress up pictures with Mom

Smash the cake pictures. Stay tuned for many more of these great pics. I love them!

Miracle

2010-02-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

So, if you haven't already seen this kid you HAVE to watch this video. This is a five year old little boy that has memorized Herb Brooks' pre-game speech from the famous 'miracle on ice' game from the 1980 Olympics. So, in honor of the Olympics, and in honor of cute kids across America, watch this great video. It is humorous and inspiring and makes me want to say Go USA!

We Love To Sing!

2010-02-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

My little boy loves to sing and I happened to catch him when he actually did it when I asked him to. He loves Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and he loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider, except he sings it the Wiggles way, which is Incy Wincy Spider.
Enjoy!

Jackson Boo 26 Months

2010-02-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Its another Jackson update blog.

He is officially 26 months and growing like crazy. Some major milestones recently has been the ditching of the paci and Jackson getting curious about the potty. He definitely understands the potty concept but isn't quite ready to try it out.
What else?
Well, he is just as social as ever (as long as momma is with him) and he loves to play outside. He makes up his own stories along the way and I usually can't keep up with him cause he runs EVERYWHERE! He has tons of energy and usually outlasts us all, mammaw included, which is extremely hard to do! If he isn't wanting to be outside at a park, riding his motorcycle (four wheeler) or running in the grass, than he wants to 'play games'. He loves all things technology. He loves remotes and computers and iphones especially. He knows how to get to the games on my phone and play the few I have. He also loves to play on my parents computer which is a touch screen. He continues to love spanish and has learned even more spanish words this past month...

Blanco- White
Aranas- Spiders
Culebras- Snakes
Cocodrilos- Crocodiles
Ayuda me- Help Me

Here is an example of one of his sentences this week..... 'Help me, Ayuda me. Momma watch out for Aranas, Culebras and Cocodrilos! Sad fact: the only reason we knew what in the world he was talking about was because we saw it on Diego.

Jackson keeps us on our toes, he keeps my heart breaking from how much I love him, and he constantly surprises us. We laugh alot and can't believe he is ours to love and enjoy. Here is a small video that I took from my new iphone video app. I LOVE VIDEO ON MY IPHONE! It is so easy to upload so expect many more videos in the future. Anywho, here is a short clip of him running around.

Amazon Baby!

2010-02-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

Its on Amazon baby!!!!!

Hello all. I wanted to throw this out there to the blogging world that my brother-in-laws amazing book, Jungle Sunrise is now on Amazon!! Woo...hoo! It is such an inspiring book with tons of adventure and romance. You really won't be able to put it down. If you haven't ordered it already, do it today. You won't be disappointed!

Also, he has a contest that he has started so for more info on that follow the link below.

New Contest to Win 2 FREE signed copies of my book, Jungle Sunrise. Follow this link for details:http://www.junglesunrise.com/

Johnny, we are so proud of you. We know this is your dream, and to be watching you live it out is so incredible. We want to support you any way that we can, and hope that there are many books to come!

Gracie Rae's Baby Shower

2010-02-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

What an amazing thing to celebrate the arrival of a little creation of God's, especially when that little creation is your precious niece! I can't wait to meet little Gracie Rae, and I can't wait to share in the amazing process of motherhood with my sister. She is going to be such a great mother, and I can't wait to watch it. What a neat time when friends and family gather to celebrate with a new mom. We had a great time celebrating this time in Jess' life! Here are a few pictures from the shower. Sorry for the lack of people, I only really took pics of the details before everyone got there and then my camera was not in my hand the rest of the time. If any of you that were at the shower wouldn't mind sending me a few pics of the crowd that would be great and I will pass those on to Jess. Thanks again for celebrating with us!

Here was Jess' diaper cake, her real cake, and the baby food jar favors filled with bath salts.

These were the flowers that Virginia and my mom did. Aren't they so talented!!!!

These were the petit fours that Jess and I made the night before. I really wanted to monogram the letter G on them, but ended up just doing squiggles cause I realized it was much harder than I thought it would be.

Speaking of Gracie, if you guys haven't heard, my sis has started a blog for her, so make sure you bookmark it
www.gracieraewilliams.blogspot.com

Pizza Party!

2010-02-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

Surprise! My great friend, Bonnie decided to surprise Jess and came all the way from Washington DC to be at her baby shower! I know, it was awesome! Anyway, we have had so much fun with her here the past few days. She even got to participate in our Valentines Day Pizza Cook Off. We decided that it was going to be boys vs girls and so Bonnie became part of our team a.k.a.
Team Awesome! I wanted to show you some pictures I took of Bonnie coming through the door surprising Jess. It was great!

And here are some pics from the pizza night. I just want to point out that first of all the boys made five pizzas! If it was based on number of pizzas created then they would have won, however it was not based on that fact. The two things we judged were taste and appearance. I didn't really get pics of the boys' pizzas because they were BORING! The girls team on the other hand had a theme.....The Winter Olympics!!!!

Check out our Olympics inspired creations.

The flag....

USA! USA! USA! USA!

You know what else, they were even GREEK pizzas! Get it Greece...Olympics.....oh my gosh we SO WON!!!!!

Kids Again

2010-02-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

What is it about snow that turns 30 YEAR OLDS into kids again?
What is even better is a whole field full of perfect snow. I felt like we were in Colorado or something. It was amazing! I forced Jess to take some maternity pictures (coming soon) and decided we needed some sister shots too. Check out a few of my favs.
What I have realized is that we never just take the normal standing posed picture.
Its always a circus, but its always fun!

I will post pictures of the Yoda Snowman we made soon. You definitely don't want to miss it cause he was awesome!!!!

Its The Big One

2010-02-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

So, I'm 30.

When I was younger I thought it would be a little more monumental of a thing than what I feel today. I don't know, maybe it is because I truly have never been more joyful that I really feel as though thirty just slipped up on me while I skipped along this great life I have. You know whats funny, is that I'm sitting here praising God for covering my birthday in beautiful snow and wondering out loud how I could be so blessed.

Whats really funny is that there have been better financial times in my life. I have had less responsibility and craziness. I have even had success where I kinda felt on top of the world, but as I sit here, on the other side of 30 and think about my life, I would not change today for anything. I am blessed not because of whether or not I am going through a trial, and certainly not because of what I possess. I have so much to be thankful for and I have Jesus to thank for that. I do feel joyful, not always happy which is much different. I feel like life though unpredictable and crazy is always going to be unpredictable and crazy, but I finally feel a sense of peace in letting go of these things and giving control to the One who needs to have it. There is so much freedom in finding peace in chaos and putting my trust in Jesus who can never fail me.

I have a fantastic husband who makes me laugh constantly and who looks at life the way I do. I have a beautiful baby boy who melts my heart and who can make me cry with his sweet voice.

'Momma, I wuv you sooooooo much!'

Yes, I am 30, and I am BLESSED.

Crazy Day....Crazy Cool.

2010-02-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

So, it was a super crazy day.

To catch you up to speed, we are trying to down size and trade our car in for something else. So, the day started with Joey, Jackson and me hopping in our car and heading to a used car lot in Arlington yesterday morning. Well, you know how there is a slight judgement out there about used car salesmen? Well, it was totally confirmed for us during our little experience. We make it all the way to Arlington, after having called the guy about a specific car before we came. He said, sure I will have the car here and we can meet around 10am. We show up at 10am. No salesman to be found. Come to find out, he took the car to an auction about an hour before we were suppose to meet with him. What the..! Seriously?! We drove all the way out there and the car we were interested in isn't even there? Oh...but the sweet people there tried to convince us we needed a car that was close to double what we were wanting to pay. Great. Thanks for nothin'! Back to Flower Mound we went in the same car that we started in.

Well, our car situation actually got a little more interesting a few hours later when Joey called a dealership in Longview that he had done business with before. They said they have a car that is pretty much exactly what we were trying to buy in Arlington, except its actually nicer, and they are interested in buying our car as well! Woo...Hoo! Though we haven't seen the car in person we have seen pictures and decided to go for it. The car transaction is going to take place this Saturday when Joey goes to Longview.

Yea! Car situation down.....now on to a place to live.

So, now that I have updated you on our car situation, I wanted to update you on the video we posted a few days ago. Well, we submitted the video and were just hoping for a comment from Donald Miller, but he went one further and sent an email to Joey today!!! How cool is that. It was a personalized email thanking him for his video and asking for his address so he can send him a free copy of his book. Yeah! I can feel it, they are gonna be friends yet. You just wait and see.

Our Story

2010-02-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

If you have read my blog you may have remembered me mentioning the book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. Well, since Joey cyber stalks Donald Miller on Twitter, he knew immediately that he wanted to participate when he saw this challenge on his website.

The funny thing was that we had already discussed this story together weeks earlier and had already planned it and have been working out to prepare. This video was just perfect time to put our vision on record. No going back now!

If we are going to be really honest, there were really a couple reasons we created this video....
First, we really wanted to win the 1000.00 prize money to give to the Dale House in Colorado.
Second, we wanted to have this adventure creatively documented for us to keep
and,
Thirdly, and more far-fetched, Joey and Johnny just KNOW that if Donald Miller (Don, as Joey calls him) could just hang out with them for like one hour they would all be great friends, so they are inviting him on this adventure with us
So, with these things in mind, Jess, Johnny, Joey and I became film producers overnight. We had Johnny's old camera, a black backdrop, and a light.
I guess all that is left to say is....ROLL TAPE!

A Fourteener! from Jonathan Williams on Vimeo.

Stay tuned for more information if you would like to be apart of this story!

Go Buy Jungle Sunrise!!!!

2010-02-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Johnny's book is now available to order. He is such a talented and amazing writer and it really shows in his debut novel,
Jungle Sunrise! It really is filled with action, suspense, drama, romance, all the yummy stuff that makes for a great fiction novel! Please get a copy and get one for a friend because you will NOT be disapointed! We are trying our hardest for this book to make the New York Times Bestseller's list because first of all it will REALLY help Johnny, but more importantly, because it deserves to be there. It really is a wonderful book! The website that you can now order from is called www.junglesunrise.com
You can just click HERE if you want to purchase it now.

Johnny, we are soooooo proud of you, and are so excited to help support you in this amazing adventure!!!!!
Below is what you can read on the website about the book and about Johnny. I thought I would post it here for anyone interested in reading more about this amazing story and this amazing author!

Please Read

2010-02-01T09:23:00.001-08:00

Amazing story in the New York Times about Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village church where Joey and I attend. It really is amazing to watch this self-proclaimed former Agnostic pouring out love for Jesus during the midst of stage 3 brain cancer. This article really gives some details into what happened and how this amazing family is coping. Please read it and pray for continued peace for Matt, his wife and three young children.

Click here to read the article.

Laughing is Medicine

2010-01-29T06:21:00.001-08:00

Uncle Kranky, thanks for sending this picture to me. It made me laugh!

There is always some idiot that spoils your holiday snaps.....

No Habla Espanol.

2010-01-24T15:43:00.000-08:00

So, my sweet two year old has had a few funny Spanish speaking incidents within the last week that I thought I would share. I knew he could count to ten in Spanish, but had no idea that he was picking up so much other stuff from Diego and Dora.
The first funny moment came after my mother bought him three little plastic frogs. He was holding them and I asked him what their names were. He grabbed the blue one and said his name is 'Azul' which is blue in Spanish. Then he grabbed the yellow frog and said his name was 'marillo', which 'amarillo' is yellow in Spanish! I just couldn't believe that he knew those colors!
The second funny story happened a few days later when we were playing in my car. Joey and I sit in the car with him while he pushes all the buttons and 'drives' the car. Joey had opened his passenger side door for some air and Jackson said, 'Daddy close the door.' Joey tried to explain something about him being claustrophobic,but Jackson just looked at him like he hadn't obviously stated his request correctly. So, Jackson put his hands out wide and slowly brought them together and said, 'Daddy, Cierra', which means close! He even did the hand motion for it! Joey just looked at him and asked me, 'What did he just say to me?' I explained and we both just lost it! My Spanish is definitely not good, so I think soon we're not going to be able to communicate with our toddler!

Sweet Cooper

2010-01-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

We had the best time taking pictures of this precious family! We grew up with Jennifer and felt so grateful that she asked us to take family pictures. They have such an amazing little boy, Cooper. He was all grins the entire time we were there, and made the photo shoot that much more fun. We really had a great time catching up with a long time friend. Check out some of the pictures from the shoot.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-20T08:14:00.001-08:00

So I had to post these pictures for all the world to see! Joey a.k.a Uncle Eddie paid us all a visit over Christmas. It was one part funny, one part scary and a dash of crazy! If you couldn't tell by these two crazy pics that we had a blast in Longview celebrating Jesus' birth. We had so much fun and I am hoping to get a video up here if I can figure it out. Anywho, Joey you are a trooper and I love you for all your craziness and your willingness to 'put it all out there' ....literally!

If this isn't a scary pic...I don't know what is.

Its Time For More Senior Portraits

2010-01-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

We are running some specials for our senior portraits for the next few months. This is the flier that we will be sending out to the seniors in our area. What do you think? I need some feedback. Does it catch your attention? Just thought I would get some opinions. Hope you all have a great MLK day!

Deserted Island

2010-01-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

I just got inspired to do this game after watching The Office the other day. It was the one where Ryan burned his pita and the fire department was called so they all played the desert island game where they had to choose what they would bring if they were on a deserted island. Anyway, I thought it would be fun, so here we go.....
I would love to hear your desert island picks as well!
If you could only bring 3 book to the island what would they be?

The Bible by: God
Jungle Sunrise by: Jonathan Williams
Dear John by: Nicholas Sparks

Now I explain. The first one is pretty self explanatory. It is a must have and the only must have for me.
The second is the book my incredibly talented brother in law wrote. It will be out in stores in March, so seriously you HAVE to read it. It is action/adventure/romance and just amazing all wrapped up into one book! Go Here to check it out.

(Johnny, what did you think about that plug?)
The last one is just the latest of the Nicholas Sparks books I have read and it is a 'just get lost in a sweet romance' type book . Never gets old.

If you could only bring 5 movies to the island what would they be?

Oceans Eleven

Sixteen Candles
Grease

Gladiator

Christmas Vacation

I will explain. I love Ocean's Eleven which I never get tired of. Sixteen Candles is just a classic. Grease, what is not to love about a love story where everyone spontaneously breaks into song and dance. Gladiator, cause I needed an action movie and it is awesome. And Christmas Vacation because though it is a christmas movie, it is probably my favorite comedy. And, it wouldn't hurt to try to feel the christmas spirit year round since I am stuck out in the middle of nowhere.

Well, these are the only things I can think of right now, but I will try to think of some more cause this game is fun. Let me know what your picks would be.

Sweet Sisters

2010-01-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

Just look at these beautiful girls!!! I have to say first of all that Jess and I had the best time taking pictures of these sweet girls. They both were so great! The baby, Paelyn was so happy and gave us almost 30 full minutes of that precious smile before nap time. And, don't get me started on Brittan, who is eight and going on twenty eight! She was a doll! She had chosen a few outfit changes and had 'the model pose' down to an art. I think we could have taken pictures of these two girls for another three hours, but we forced ourselves to turn the cameras off. Thanks Toi for opening up your home and sharing your sweet girls with us!

Expectations

2010-01-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

Do you know which country is the happiest country in the world? (according to a recent study)

Denmark.

You know who is scarily close to the bottom of the list?

Us

This just got me thinking why this is.

I am reading a book by Donald Miller called A Million Miles in A Thousand Years, and it actually mentions this fact. I had heard this from my friend, Carrie a while ago because she has been living there for a few years playing professional soccer. I actually had the great pleasure of meeting up with her and Jess at Starbucks last weekend. We hadn't seen her in over two years and it was LONG overdue. We were able to catch up and just be together, which was so great. She is one of those friends that though life keeps you from seeing each other but once every few years, you can pick right up, like you had spoken the day before.
We got on the subject of Denmark and she told us about how the country just seemed content with being simple. The homes were simple, even the wealthier ones, the way they decorated was modest, and she said people just didn't have 'stuff' to have 'stuff'. Materialism wasn't a huge problem there. She said even the kids she coached in soccer were simple. No one wants to 'stand out' even as a super star. They are content being simple and not having to have tons of attention. Sounds quite different from our culture.
Donald Miller, in his book says the '60 minutes' special he watched, said that not only did the British university find out who was the happiest country but they even found out why. 'They ruled out financial status, physical health, and even social freedom, and they landed on a single characteristic of the Danes that allowed them such contentment. The reason Danes are so happy is this: They have low expectations.'
'There is something in Denmark's culture that allows them to look at life realistically. They don't expect products to fulfill them or relationships to end all of their problems.'
Donald Miller thinks that maybe we are so low on the happy scale because our culture screams at us that we need this and that, and if you only had 'this' THEN you would be happy. 'THIS' will make you 'whole'. This spouse, this job, these 'things' will finally get you there. And so we buy it, or trade in our spouse for a younger one, or we make more money, only to come to the realization that it didn't work.
Could it be possible that WE aren't doing it right and someone else might be able to teach this great nation something?
Something to think about.

Gotta Get That Boom Boom Pow

2010-01-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I would list some of the things my two year old has said to me in the past 24 hours:

'Gotta get that boom boom pow!' Thanks Jeff for this one. He loves to sing this into his microphone....ALL the time!

'I rode a blue train' We went to Grapevine Mills Mall where they have a life size train that they take kids on.

'That big gorilla scary you!' which means 'that gorilla scared me!' Again, a Grapevine Mills mall experience

'I play drums like Johnny do's!' Thanks aunt Jess and Johnny for the drum set....you know what they say about paybacks!!!!!

'Daddy tooted!' He loves to yell this into the microphone and whenever he can really, even when Joey is no where around.

And just thought I would post a fun picture from a year ago. This is probably my favorite picture I have taken of Jackson. I love it!

Favorite Things He says:
'I miss you so much!' when you come home and he hasn't seen you in awhile, with his arms out running at you.
'twinkle twinkle star like a diamond in sky' He sings so sweetly!
'God....wuv you....Amen.' Oh...melt my heart!
He is such a chatter box and I love it!

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

There is something about beginnings that give you hope to do what you maybe couldn't do before. There is something about a new year, or decade for that matter that evokes this sense that we can make some needed changes in our lives. So, like you have probably done as well, I created a list of a few things that I really wanted 2010 to include. My list started out very superficial as most of my resolutions tend to be,
lose 10lbs
drink more water
find more time to read
Well, as I was creating my list and really thinking about what I REALLY wanted, I realized that what I truly desired is to put more quality in the time that I have. If there is one thing that the Lord is teaching Joey and I, and really the body of The Village church is that no matter what happens in life, God is working it ALL for his glory and our freedom and joy. For those that don't know the story, our lead pastor Matt Chandler found out on Thanksgiving day that he has a brain tumor. The way that he and his precious family has battled this with so much praise and worship has been so encouraging.
So these are the things on my list that I REALLY hope 2010 will be defined by
Spending more time in prayer with my husband (not because we are SUPPOSE to, but because we NEED him
Serving in The Village church (not because we are SUPPOSE to, but to be connected as the body of Christ
Spending more time just 'being' (not having to finish a to do list, not having to always be busy, not missing the little things my baby does because I am too worried about life.
Resting in His freedom (not getting caught up in fear and worry, but as Matt Chandler has done, no matter what comes in 2010 rest in the freedoms Christ has for me

Happy 2010!!!!

White Christmas

2009-12-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

A white christmas in Texas? Well, it happened! We could'nt believe how much it snowed Christmas eve and the fury with which it did. The snow was swirling around and the wind so crazy that it was actually hard to be outside. Then, we woke up on Christmas morning to a sunny white christmas! It was awesome! I don't know who enjoyed it more because Jackson, Joey and I played like crazy. We sledded down a small hill in our yard, had a snowball fight and a 6'5 Joey made the largest snow angel I had ever seen!

The amount of snow was incredible!

Check out the size of that elf! And when did they start wearing camo??

This was christmas day. Beautiful!

Sledding on a box down the hill.

This was what Jackson liked to do most. Just lay flat on his back in the snow. It was hilarious, because when he wanted up he couldn't because he had so many clothes on. It was just like that kid in a Christmas Story. Too funny!

Stay tuned for more merriment. I will be posting about christmas soon!

He's HOW OLD???!!!

2009-12-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

What a birthday party! Here is a picture of both of my boys on their actual birthday, at good old Chucky Cheese. Thats where they wanted to go. Ok, so maybe just the two year old wanted to go and the big kid just went and made the best of it. I sure love these boys and think it is pretty special that they share the same birthday. My hubby turned 30 this year and in honor of that I took him away for some rest and relaxation. We went for a great weekend to South Lake. Not too far away I know, but far enough. My parents were gracious enough to watch Jackson while we went. Can I just say that I LOVE shopping there. It really has amazing shops and restaraunts, not too mention a movie theater and hotel right in the same complex. We ate at a great restaraunt there called Trulucks. Joey even received a complemetary piece of carrot cake the size of his head for his birthday. It was fantastic! He found a few fun things to buy and also got a hair cut and massage. We watched a movie, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, and finished the night with coffee from Starbucks. We had a great time! This is a special happy birthday shout out to the greatest, sweetest, most thoughtful and awesome 30 year old that I know!

Crazy Cool

2009-12-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

This is Charles Collins

This is some of his gold records. Impressive huh?!

Whats crazy is this is only a portion of this drummer's accomplishments. He actually has 12 platinum and 15 gold records to his credit. Whats even CRAZIER are the artists he has played with:
Elton John
Aretha Franklin
The Jacksons!!!!
The Temptations
Lou Rawls
and so on and so on.......
He even has some drum heads on his walls signed by all 5 Jacksons, Elton John, and Lou Rawls. So Cool!
Jess and I went to high school with his son and had the honor of taking some professional pictures of him to use for his marketing material for an upcoming promotional event. We had a blast hanging out at his awesome studio and we even got a private concert. Well, ok it was a very mini drum session, but it was AWESOME!

And, finally if you need a really last minute cool christmas gift this is a coffee table book that just came out featuring drummers from all over the world. Charles was featured as one of the 500 drummers.

Thanks Charles for sharing so much of your history and talent with us we had a blast!

12 Days of Christmas (Update) #2

2009-12-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

So, as promised, I will continue to reveal the 12 gifts my sweet and thoughtful husband got for me. I have opened 8 gifts already, so I thought it was time for the second update. Now, I must throw in here that he is a GREAT listener, because everything I have received I have told him, usually in passing, that I liked.

5. Sleep shirt from Victoria Secret- these are the best! And my sweet husband remembered this from like 4 months ago when I drug him through the store while we were shopping one day.
6. Lip Gloss- another in passing thing that I mentioned that I wanted.
7. Another sleep shirt from Victoria Secret- Can't have too many!
8. Twilight the movie- and of course this makes sense, since I heart TWILIGHT! Yes, I'm 15 years old and I don't care! But you wanna know something, I'm not Team Jacob, or even Team Edward like all of America...I am
TEAM JOEY!!!!!!
Whose with me?....I thought I would make shirts, maybe have a life-size poster made like they did with Robert Pattinson, so he can "watch you" at night. Side Note: Thats just creepy! I get the whole Twilight craze, cause well, I've jumped on that wagon, but I stop at a large wall decal of a vampire to stare at me at night. Weird!
So, maybe the poster is out, but what about shirts of Joey's mug on it, here, in case you can't visualize it I thought I would help you out. What do you think?

I thought the mustache mullet combo from two halloweens ago could work. What do you think?

I thought we could also do a holiday one as well.

Robert Pattinson watch out!!!!! There is a new guy in town and his name is S..E...X...Y!! Holla!!!

Christmas Party

2009-12-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

First of all I must send a quite heartfelt THANK YOU SO MUCH out to Darrell and Stephanie for sooooo many many things that would take like 8 blogs (maybe more) to list, but for now I will just stick with the christmas party. It was such a fun time and we were so happy to be apart. First of all, we got to get all dressed up, which in my world is like every other YEAR. That was so fun. Second, we got to hang out with ADULTS, again for me this is rare. And lastly we met at a fantastic restaraunt with AMAZING food. We hung out at The Silver Fox and had a 4 hour dinner! It doesn't get much better than that. We ate ALOT and laughed ALOT too. What a fun group of people Joey gets to work with! No wonder he loves his job. Anyway, thanks again Stephanie and Darrell for everything, we are so thankful to have you in our lives.

Check out my $4.00 cowboy boots! My mom found them at one of her re-sale shops! I know....my own bargain hunter.

12 Days of Christmas (Update)

2009-12-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

In case you all were wondering what I have received for the 12 days of christmas so far this is what it is:

1. A Devotional book that we have been going through together each morning. (the gift that keeps on giving)
2. A gift certificate for a manicure from my favorite place in the Highland Village Shopping Center
3. Two scarfs from Old Navy. I 'heart' scarfs and wear them ALL the time!
4. Starbucks giftcard. Because I am addicted to vanilla non fat lattes.

Thats what I have gotten so far. Isn't he the best?! I love you JOEY!!!!

2

2009-12-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, my sweet little baby boy just turned two, so I guess that means he is a little boy now. All I know is that he is growing up sooooooo fast! We had a blast with him this past sunday, celebrating this precious baby's b-day. The theme was jungle animals because well, he likes anything from the jungle. Here are my attempts at jungle animal cupcakes.
My zebra attempt

The lion

The monkey (my favorite)

Eating the monkey cupcake

can't beat the chocolate face!

Darrell checkin' out the food

Rudy and Trent watchin' the Cowboy game

My little birthday boy in his jersey with the game on

Jackson playing with his buddy Grant

And the picture summing up the TWO's for us. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!

What a great day! We had a great time celebrating Jackson's birthday. He is a fire ball for sure, but truely an amazingly sweet and loving little boy. Thanks Jackson for being who you are!!!!

The 12 Days of Christmas

2009-12-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

On the first day of christmas my true love gave to me.....
So, this post could have been titled 'sweet amazing husband', but I went with the classic christmas song instead. This post is really about my sweet amazing husband though. He really is super wonderful, even though he is such a LIAR! Ok, let me explain. First of all, we had started out talking about saving our money and getting Jackson gifts, but only getting each other one gift for christmas because neither of us really needed anything. So what do I do, being the sweet wife who LISTENS..I got Joey one gift wrapped it and placed it nicely under the tree. So, I checked and yes I had only one gift under the tree from my precious husband as well, so he had listened.....or so I thought! Dun...dun...duh! I was just minding my business cleaning my room when I ran across a huge stack of presents!!!! Curious I look to see who they are for...............they are for ME!!! I had stumbled upon a pile of loot ALL FOR ME! What happened to one gift hubby? huh? I knew they were from Joey because of the wrapping job.
Side Note:
Why can't boys wrap gifts? I once got a gift from a friend (who is a boy) who wrapped a gift for me with an Albertson's paper grocery bag and duck tape! Anywho, I am getting side tracked.
So, my sweet husband, although he didn't follow our christmas rules, totally made up for it by explaining the pile of gifts. He said there was only one present under the tree because that was the only one that I was going to open up on christmas morning, but that starting today, I was going to get a present a day (12 in all) until Christmas! I know!!!!!! How sweet is that!!! So, I gave up feeling guilty about his little lonely gift under the tree and decided to just go with it....
BRING ON THE PRESENTS BABY!
Side Note:
Another great plus about this little surprise Joey is doing for me is that everyday since he told me about his little plan, he has belted out 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' song without fail. I woke up to it this morning.
And on a totally unrelated note, here are a few pics of Jackson in the sled in front of my parents house with Rudolph. He loves to play with 'Woodoff'

Merry Christmas everybody!!!!!

Its A Girl!

2009-12-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

So, as most of you already know my sister and Johnny are having a precious baby girl!!! Yea!! We can not wait for her to come. This blog is long overdo, but abiding by the blogging etiquete I couldn't post it on my blog until Jess and Johnny announced it on their website first. So, really what I am saying is if there is anyone to blame here for how late this blog is, it is Johnny. Oh, I forgive you man its not like your busy or anything! he he..... We are so thrilled for you both and know that yall are going to make AMAZING parents!

They have also chosen the name and if you haven't heard, her name is gonna be Gracie Rae How precious, right?!
I just love this picture (not mine), and can just imagine little Gracie Rae in this same tutu. I have actually made a few tutus for her already, so I am ready! Come on Gracie!!!

25 Days of Chocolate

2009-12-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

So this post really could have gone in the last one, but I forgot about it, so why not spotlight it in its very own little post. Well, my mother got Jackson an advent calendar, the kind that you open the little window and pop out some fun christmas shaped piece of cheap chocolate. Anywho, Jackson is crazy over these 'chocates' (as he calls them). This is where it gets funny. He knows he only gets one a day until Jesus' birthday and so he will literally wake up in the morning now and say 'chocate' first thing! When I do give it to him, instead of doing what I would think he would do and that is inhale it in one bite, he doesn't. Its like he doesn't want to eat it cause than it will be over. In fact as I sit at our kitchen table to type this, he is carrying his chocolate piece around saying things like, 'come on chocate lets play' and putting it in the back of his truck to take it for a ride. He is dancing with it to The Wiggles and gives it 'big huggies'!!!! Oh my, this has to be my favorite thing about December so far. It is hilarious! He has been carrying it around with him for the last 40 minutes! No telling how much longer he will save it. I just asked him if he was going to eat it and he licked it and said 'yum, good chocate!' At that rate it will be Easter before he's finished! Oh....so much fun!

December Love

2009-12-02T06:16:00.001-08:00

So, in these short 5 days of December I have found many things that we have done that I have loved. Here are things in these first 5 days of Christmas that we have already done that I have really cherished!

1. Decorating the christmas tree with a little christmas music, mainly Louis Armstrong

in honor of decorating christmas trees I thought I would post a picture of this amazingly awesome tree near flower mound. It is about 15 minutes from my parent's house down a long winding road with few lights. All of a sudden out of literally no wear there is this tree that lights of the sky!!! I wish you could see the magnitude of this tree, but it is HUGE! And the entire thing is covered in lights!! It really is amazing!!!

This second picture kind of gives you a better idea of how big the tree is with the house in the background. It is AMAZING!

2. Waking up to a winter wonderland, with a cup of coffee in my hand
Most of you probably experienced the snow also, but I had to blog about it! How cool was that!!! Jackson was clueless about it not to mention he was sick so we experienced snow from a distance. I hope we get some more.
Ok...so our house didn't look quite like this, but cool pic huh?

aahhhhhh...doesn't this make you just want to curl up by the fire with a blanket and a good book?

3.Reading Jackson, The Night Before Christmas book
He still doesn't really get the whole Santa thing, but he does understand that there are presents under the tree and he wants to open them. He just throws them and hopes they pop open. We've been working on this.

4. Making a fire in the fireplace
We've had a few in the fireplace already and they just make everyone happier. Give me that cup of coffee and book and now we are really happy!

5. Decorating ornaments with Jackson
We have been crafting together lately and coloring ornaments and playing with glitter has been very interesting to say the least. We have had a great time though.

6. Shopping...shopping...shopping!!! I love all kinds, the actual getting all bundled up and braving the crazies who want to fight you for a closer parking spot and also the kind where you stay in your pjs surfing the net finding great deals that just magically appear on your doorstep in a few days. Its all just so exciting!!!

And lastly I leave you with a great christmas photo that just makes me happy.

So, thank you to all the fellow photographers out there whose photos I stole to make this blog happen. And all of you do the things that make you happy this holiday season! Merry Christmas!!!

Thankful.

2009-12-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am so thankful for so many things! We were so excited to spend thanksgiving with all of our family. We had an early thanksgiving with mom and dad and Jess and Johnny the weekend before thanksgiving that had lots of turkey, dressing, and a fun golf game. We had a great time just hanging out and remembering the many blessings in our lives. We also were able to go up to Longview on thanksgiving to spend a few days with more family.
It was a bittersweet day, having to deal with a death in the family of a dear uncle of my mother in law. But, one of the blessings that came from the visitation and funeral was the large number of people that came to show their love for him and his family. He was a loved man who touched many lives and for that I am thankful. Joey spoke very highly of him saying that he was such a rock within the family.
We celebrated the thanksgiving day with turkey, ham, and a billion yummy casseroles that we got to eat on for the next few days. I love good food!!! Oh, and I didn't mention the desserts! Between the two thanksgivings we had
apple pie
pecan pie
pound cake
more apple pie
banana cream pie
gingerbread cookies
more pecan pie

It was a wonderful holiday! Thanks to all our family who just made our holiday so special!!! We are so blessed.

What are you thankful for?

The Sneak Peek!

2009-11-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics that I have worked on of my precious friend Sarah from her amazing Austin wedding. Thanks Sarah for allowing us to be apart of this special day! We love you girl!

I promise more to come soon!

Crafty Wonderful!

2009-11-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few iphone pics of our craft fair booth. You can't really see them, but we are turning our art into pendants! They did really well at the show!!!!

So, as you all already know, I love to craft and I love to be around others who do as well. I have found such a fun outlet...craft fairs!!!! I had such a great time meeting people and talking with fellow crafters who create all kinds of fun stuff. There were jewelry makers, christmas crafters, flower arrangers, baby clothing makers, and so many more! I couldn't get enough of it. I think Jess and I were up and about mingling as much as we were at our booth selling. Sidenote: 'thanks Johnny for picking up the slack there.' Anywho, it was like I HAD to find out each of their stories and why they loved making the specific thing they did and if they had an etsy store and blah blah blah... The day flew by, we sold quite a bit of stuff and we handed out a billion business cards, ok slight exaggeration. We did, however have a blast and, we are so excited for our final craft fair of the season in a few weeks!!! If you are in the denton area, we will be at the high school with our fun crafties along with about 177 other vendors!!!

Bring it!

2009-11-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

So, as some of you know Joey and I joined LA Fitness about a month ago during our resolve to remain fit and happy. It has been going well for us. We have been going on average 4 days a week and have really loved being able to workout together, and Jackson has LOVED the kids center. In fact there are plenty of times that I have to drag him (literally) out of the room! Ok, well I have been purposely avoiding this one machine with all of my might for the last 4 weeks. The dreaded, the awful...duh...duh..duh...

The Stair Master,
(shrieks of horror are being heard all over the blogging community....or maybe I'm the only one hearing the theme to Jaws, but at any rate...I digress..)
The Stair Master, or as I have lovingly nicknamed it, Satan, has loomed at the club taunting me. Now, the last time that I have been near one of these machines was right out of college, and since the big 30 is looming in the near distance I can say it has been close to 8 years since our last meeting. So, it found its way back into my life and let me tell you, it aint no joke! Joey decided to throw out a little challenge today,
'Who can stay on it the longest'. Well, give me a good challenge any day and I am gonna take it, so I told him, 'Bring it!'
Doesn't it just look evil?

Lets just say, I SURVIVED! I am here blogging to all of you nice people. I thought at some point I might not make it, but I did and WOW I am paying for it right now.
20 minutes, 80 flights, 2,400 stairs....I'm tired, but triumphant!
I leave you with the only piece of inspiration that I could think of to adequately explain how I feel...

da...da..dun....da..da..dun........

BRRRRRRR......Its Cold In Here...

2009-11-16T17:57:00.000-08:00

...there must be some Torros in the atmosphere; I said Ohey Ohey Oh...Ice Ice Ice. Its from Bring it On. If you haven't seen it I'm sorry. If you have seen it, I'm also sorry. Lame intro, but catchy little cheer wouldn't you say? Ok, how amazing was the coldness today?! It felt like the first real winter day!!! I bundled Jackson up in his winter clothes and we went outside to 'brave' the elements. We did all the things today that make me love this cold weather. We got a fire going in the fire place, we drank hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows, and we fixed a big pot of chili for dinner. If all that doesn't scream winter wonderland I don't know what does. It was a great day. I had to post a few pics of my little one all bundled up. Please excuse the awful iphone pics, but I can not for the life of me take a picture from my phone that isn't blurry. If anyone could give me a quick tutorial I would be so greatful. Anywho, doesn't the second picture remind you of the little boy in A Christmas Story who falls down and can't get back up? I laugh everytime I look at this picture. He just looks so uncomfortable. Oh, anywho, enjoy these few pics. And enjoy this cold weather!!!!

I Heart _______ ?

2009-11-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

Another I heart post and this one is going to be strictly dedicated to a website that i have fallen in love with!
ETSY
So, Jess and I opened a store there under Raspberry Rain Images with some of our artwork. It really has been so cool meeting people on there and learning about the craft business. We have really liked tapping into the craft fair arena. We did well at a craft fair last weekend and have already booked another one in early December. The networking ALONE was fantastic! We met and talked with a ton of people about getting pictures taken. Anywho, I thought I would give you a little taste of the ETSY world which is a website designated strictly for all things homemade or vintage. It really is great for one-of-a-kind gifts and unique quirky goodies. I decided instead of overwhelming you with tons, that I would show you some of the fun things out there, and do it by color. So....here goes....
PURPLE
I have a love affair for all things purple lately, and these things only fuel my fire!!!

ORANGE
I have always loved orange and for anyone that didn't already know this fun fact, I once owned a house with a living room where we painted the floors bright orange. Not as tacky as you would have thought. I digress....
How adorable is that little baby beanie!!! I love orange!!!

Now, I must turn my attention a little from color to individual sellers. These sellers on etsy are amazing and I heart them all!!!
First, All The Numbers She makes the most amazing peasant dresses!!! She also makes DARLING upcycled ruffle dresses from boy's vintage button up tuxedo shirts...too cute!

Second, Belle & Boo, makes the 100% cutest prints EVER!!! I heart seriously every single print in her store. Here are a few of her sweet christmas prints. She also has christmas cards that are way cute!

Last but not least is Morelle She creates handmade leather purses. They are awesome!!! If I could I would have everyone of these bags. They are yummy!!!!

Well, hope you decide to go check etsy out because I really think you won't be dissapointed.

Halloween '09

2009-11-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know I am behind on my posts but at least the next big holiday hasn't happened yet. I am only a few weeks behind, so I will start with halloween and then kick off another one of my 'what I heart' posts. This rant is in case anyone really cares. But really I know you guys have more to worry about then my blog, so I will just get on with it.
We couldn't decide what Jackson should be for halloween this year. Ok, let me be honest, I wanted him to be cuddly again like last year. Oh, the precious polar bear. We decided he should be something he was really in to, which meant momma was out of luck with cuddly, cause he is obsessed with all things icky and slimey! So, we all three agreed on an alligator. It was so great going to neighbors houses and watching him walk up their sidewalk, knock on their door and say 'twicky tweat'! He then would just walk right into all of their houses. When he got to Darrell and Stephanie's house, he ran inside, ditched his 'loot' and started climbing up and down their stairs. He didn't quite get the whole point to this day, but it was so much fun!!!
First, here is a picture of what my sweet baby looked like in his precious costume.

Next, here is the picture displaying how small his 2-3T costume was on him. He couldn't wear it with the feet because it was way too short. Hence the red converse wearing alligator. It works.

I dusted off my crafty bakery hat and decided to get a little festive for the occasion. This was my attempt at spider web cupcakes.

This was a overview of some of the fun decor. We spider webbed this antique candle holder my mom had and then I found this super fabulous black lace table cloth at Party City. Isn't it super fun?!!! The flowers had black spiders on them too. Spooky!!!!! Thanks Stephanie for the spiders. By the time I hit the stores (the day of halloween...he he) they were all out. Go figure. Anyway, thats what great neighbors do, they come through for you in the clutch.

Brownie chocolate chip cookie bars. Yummy!!!!!

We had a great time eating yummy food and hanging out with friends.
And, you know what, I think Jackson still looks cuddly don't you think?!

We hope your halloween was full of candy and craziness like ours! And, I apologize for not having video to post, but if you really knew what it took for me to get it up here you would understand. It really was cute, so I will do my BEST to get it up at somepoint before next halloween. That is as good as I can do I'm sorry.
We have TONS going on in these next few months, so hopefully I will get it all up here. Just send me a nasty email if I fall behind. Have a great day!!!

More To Say

2009-11-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, since I don't hardly ever put video up to the blog, I thought I would just tape Jackson being Jackson so you can see what this 22 month old is up to. He really is like this ALL the time. When we walk in to get him in the morning he says "huggie...missed you...mornin' punkin'..." and then he starts in on how a "gator" climbed some mountain or went over a "draw bridge". The things he learns from Go Diego Go is amazing. Anywho, he is extremely imaginative and fun, so I thought I should capture a little of it on video.
Be listening for the shout outs to:
Nan, Beasch, Boo, Beeper, Kingston, Jeff, Sissy, Diggy, Darrell, 'Stephie', and June Bug (June June). Jess and Johnny I don't know where the video clip went that had yall in there, but I lost it somewhere in the mahem of putting these together. But, I wanted you to know that I asked what was in Aunt Jess' belly and he said 'baby kiss it'! I promised next time we saw yall that he could kiss your belly. Anywho, sorry the videos are long, but the editing takes so long, so watch when you have a few minutes.
Also, you may want to pause the video to allow it to buffer because they both are pretty long. Enjoy!!!

This is a video that we shot one morning when he wanted to be in a "fort". He wants us to put a blanket over his crib and he wants all his 'friends' in with him and then he just plays. It really is so fun!

Halloween pics and video to come!!!! Hope you all had a great Halloween!!!!

I Heart _______ ?

2009-10-28T06:26:00.001-07:00

Alright, so it is time for another "what I heart" post.
The second thing I 'heart' is....
2. Decorating

We haven't had a house for a while now, well at least not one we are living in and it really has shown me how much I enjoy creating a fun place to live in. Don't get me wrong, my parent's house is great and they are so gracious to us ALL the time, but there is something about being able to create a space that is unique to your family. I miss being able to decorate. He would probably deny it, but Joey is GREAT at decorating too. He really does have good taste. Anywho, since I can't decorate in real life, I thought what better than a little virtual decorating that is 100% FREE!
Well, let me first start out by saying that I can not tell you how much I like the following stores:
Z Gallerie
Pottery Barn
Crate and Barrel
Ikea
Pier 1
I could probably go on, but these are my favorites! I can't tell you how fun this was to not look at prices and create fun rooms for my non exist ant house. Anywho, lets get started!
I love love grey and purple!! Hence this living room! This amazing print is from Z Gallerie, along with the Connor sofa and these awesome purple vases. If you want cool modern and amazing then check out the Z Gallerie, it won't disappoint. These awesome pillows are from inhabit which is a great new place I found online. This great tufted grey chair is from Crate and Barrel and can I just say that I have a love affair with all things tufted. Hence the sofa and chair that I picked.

The candle chandelier is amazing!! I have loved it from afar for years. It is pretty pricey at $899.00 from Restoration Hardware !!! This fabulous artwork is from Altered Abbey on etsy. You should check etsy out it is all handmade goods. But, don't get me started on etsy yet cause thats comin' in another post. Alrighty, moving along...I love these vintage napkins that have a recipe on them. They are also from etsy. And, here I go again with etsy. Ok, check out this awesome tufted black chair from Pier 1. Who doesn't love the Pier 1? I will take one of everything PLEASE! These wonderfully unique square plates are from macy's. Don't ya just wanna eat something fun on them. They are fun huh? Ok, if those aren't your style you have to love these great monogrammed coffee/tea cups. Adorable!!!! In all this mayhem I forgot where I found them, but they are so cool huh?

So, these are a few of the fun things I found on my hunt for some great personality for a house I will have someday. Hope you find some fun things that you can use to put a splash of your personality into your home.

I Heart _______ ?

2009-10-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I would take a small break from the usual Jackson posts to post something a little different. I thought I would dip into my soul a little bit and make a list of things that I think are awesome. What are the things that I find awesome? In case you were ever curious I will be posting some things in the next few weeks that find super great. Lets get started!

So, the first thing I 'heart' is.....

1. Fall. Ok, I have this love affair with all things autumn. Maybe because I was born a yankee and its still in my blood, but there is something special about this time of year when the weather changes from ridiculously HOT to cold! There are plenty of things that remind me of this time of year and that add to the love I have. Here are a few you may like too.
I love the fun things that make the house smell super fabulous like the following:

The candle and reed diffuser are from one of my favorite places, Bath and Body Works and the yummy vanilla candles are from another of my fav places, the great, the wonderful, Pier One. Check them out they are fabulous!

Another thing about autumn that I LOVE are the fun clothes that you get to start wearing. I love jackets and scarfs!!! They are so fun!
Here are some that I found that I think are super cute!
The fun Orange Old Navy jacket is soooooo fun! My favorite scarf I own is this Fossil one that Joey got me last year, and these Frye boots are so great, they are already on my christmas list. (Oh come on you know you already have your christmas list too)

Another fun thing about fall is FOOTBALL!!! I love watching football this time of year. I don't really need to pay close attention to everything about the game, I just love it in the background. It makes me feel good. And how cool is the new stadium?!

Lets get straight to the yummy desserts that I adore during this fun season. Ok, who am I kidding I love these desserts any time of year. These are two of my favorite recipes!
Snickerdoodles! Nuf said.

Apple Pie. This is the best topped with Blue Bell!

So, this is one of the many things I find awesome. Hope you enjoy this season and the many fun things it has to offer.

Pumpkin Carving Time!

2009-10-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

This post is a follow up to the last post about the pumpkin patch adventure. After we got the perfect pumpkin we went home and had some fun carving it. Here are some pictures to tell the story.
Here he is getting the 'icky' out of the pumpkin

He was great with it until he was finished and realized that his hands were sticky. One thing about Jackson is he HATES anything to be on his hands. He will roll in mud, but if it gets on his hands he comes to me to wipe it off. The next pictures explain it better.

Thats when daddy gave him the spoon to work with. It was much better.

We gave him a black marker and he drew all over it before Joey cut this awesome face into it.

Happy Halloween everybody!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch Precious

2009-10-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

It was jackson's first pumpkin patch experience and he had so much fun! He LOVES 'punkins' and when he saw all of them in a huge field he ran around like a crazy kid. He was so happy, he even ran right over to some random woman, grabbed her finger and said, 'come on' and started dragging her around. It was hilarious. I rescued the poor lady and was then drug around everywhere. He had to see and play with EVERYTHING!
Here he is climbing up a hay pile that he called a 'mountain'.

I was trying to get some family photos with Jackson, but he was WAY too busy with everything else.

I finally slowed him down enough to request a kiss.

We climbed to the top of the 'mountain'

Jackson and his daddy by the wagon

Jackson with his pumpkin

Stay tuned for the pumpkin carving good time we had with the new pumpkin we got!