happy {22nd} birthday uncle chase!

today we are wishing uncle chase a very very happy 22nd birthday! thanks for being the fun uncle you are!

we love you!

to my little man...

jedidiah charles... today you are 1! it doesn't seem possible that it was a whole year ago that we met you for the first time! i remember being so surprised when i saw your full head of dark hair and how big you were! we feel in love with you the second we saw you! instantly we knew you were perfect for our family... at the same time... we were incredibly overwhelmed at God's goodness to us that He would choose to bless us with two precious, healthy babies, only 13 1/2 months apart!

this past year you have proven to us that boys and girls are just 'different' in every sense of the word. you just seem to find trouble a little easier than your sis every did. you keep us on our toes and we love every minute of it (for the most part)!

you have a very, very loud voice that fills a room, big boy hands and feet and have just been a big guy from the start! you try your hardest to keep up with you sister and are succeeding for the most part! you are taking lots of steps but still know you can get places quicker if you just crawl... and most of the time, quick is what you are after!

as tough as you try to be... you still like to cuddle, and get lots of loves from your mama. i'm good with that! keep them comin' because i know it won't be long and you just won't have enough time!

i cannot wait to see what is in store for you this next year. i can get wrapped up in the overwhelming feeling that this time is just slipping away too fast... but i truly do enjoy every step along the way. but time could slow down... just a little!

we love you so so so much! what a sweet little man you are... i'm blessed to be able to be your mama!

happy 1st birthday jed!

family pictures {2010}

once again, kim captured some precious photos for us on the bricks in downtown kearney! it was frigid cold out so we took breaks with the kids putting them in the warm car to warm up! i love being able to capture our family in this moment. to be able to freeze time in a picture so we can look back and remember these precious faces when they were almost 2 and almost 1. thanks kim for taking to time to shoot these pictures on a frigid november day! i love them!

she's 2

elliana grace... how did this happen?!? you're 2! i still remember so vividly the day you were born and now 2 years have passed. you are no longer the teeny tiny 6 lb 10 oz bundle that i thought would never grow out of newborn clothes. you are sweet with a little sassy, older but not too much bigger, protective sister, who loves elmo, going places, sunday school, singing, dancing, taking care of your babies, almost potty-trained, giving kisses and hugs when. you. feel. like.it, tough for a little girl

2 year old!
to say that you have brought a lot of joy to our home would be an understatement! we absolutely love you to pieces and cannot imagine our lives without you! you were the perfect fit for our family and came into our hearts and lives in the perfect time! we do not deserve you, yet God chose to let us raise you up and love you.

you are growing into a beautiful little girl and we are so thankful for you!

happy 2nd birthday sweet elliana! you're a blessing!

christmas {card} shopping

now that thanksgiving has come and gone ... christmas cards are right around the corner! i am already thinking about how to display the sweet photos and cards that we will recieve from family and friends this christmas season! i love seeing how families have grown, kids have changed and what events the past year has held for those we love so much! that also means that i need to get on the ball and decide what we are going to send to our loved ones this christmas season!
i absolutely love photo cards. i love the designs, love how they so tastefully display our photos and they are simple to design! as much as i love photo cards, i also love a great deal! shutterfly is an online photo company that i have used for various photo projects such as photo books, photo calendars and this year they are offering 50 free christmas cards to bloggers!

the folded cards are adorable... i love this one!a cheaper, but still very attractive option is the simple photo card
i love the look of a square card! this is one of my favorites!

well, there you have it! happy christmas {card} shopping! and thank you shutterfly for this great opportunity! i'm so excited to start designing!

thankful

praising and thanking the Lord for the many many undeserved blessings He has bestowed upon us this past year. we are thankful. "enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." psalm 100:4

a peacock and a monkey

last night our babies turned into an adorable peacock and the cutest little monkey ever! we had so much fun visiting people with these 2 little animals... here are our adventures...

we started the night off at the nursing home in holdrege... this hamburgar, dragon, peacock and monkey had to visit their great grandpa and his hundereds of friends! scary crew, huh?!?

great grandpa delford sharing the love

it did not take long for the hamburgar and peacock to figure out that all they had to do was hold up their bucket and ... SCORE... CANDY!!

we then visited great great uncle speedy... (learning how to ring the doorbell)

then nana and papa and great aunt laurie and uncle chuck

and back home to have chili and cinnamon rolls with friends!

it was a fun night! good bye october!