boys and their toys

t.r.o.u.b.l.e

these two can find some trouble together! but truth be told. sometimes i just let them do it! if it means they are content and playing together nicely... it is worth it!!

next step: teach them that putting everything away is just as fun as getting it out in the first place!!

trouble i tell ya!!

a day in the life

this girl is full of joy!! that is one of the things i love the most about her. she has this huge, almost fake belly laugh that she lets out when she thinks something is hilarious... i hope she never loses that laugh! she makes me laugh several times a day and does some of the silliest things. we don't have many dress up clothes yet because she just didn't seem to be in that 'stage' yet. but we are now seeing the tutu and ranger hat make their appearance a few times a day. maybe a random necklace thrown in there every once and awhile for good measure! i love seeing her imagination blossom! so... here you have it... a day in the life of miss elliana grace! lovin' the tutu playing with sticks

going down slides

dancing... with the stars

special cousin time

and last but not least... reading... to her donkey... in a ranger hat! this girl has style!

hope your day is as joyfully random as our sweet elli's usually are!

homer

i think God places people in your life because He know you are going to need them. you going to need them to celebrate the joys of this life with. but you are also going to need them when it feels like your world is crumbling. homer was one of those people who was dropped into my life when i was about 5 years old. homer and his wife joyce lived 1/4 mile east and about a 1/2 north from my parents home. he and his wife would walk around the section everyday and would pass by our house. i remember a couple times that they would stop and sit on our front porch to chat before finishing their walk. joyce battled cancer and eventually passed away. homer became an even bigger part of our life after joyce was gone.

my mom became homer's walking partner and they would "solve all the problems of the world" on their walks. a lot of heart to hearts took place on those dirt roads. homer would attend our grandparents days in grade school, was present at our home many christmas mornings, celebrated every birthday with us. he was always so thoughtful in picking out gifts. i specifically remember a red floral dress that he chose for me because he thought it looked beautiful with my dark hair and eyes. he chose blue for my sister since she had blonde hair and blue eyes. one special birthday he took me on a date. we went out to dinner and then he took me to sam's club to pick out a special silver watch. homer was an avid collector. specifically he loved old cars, stamps, coins, antiques and war memorabila and the list goes on. one day he brought over bags and bags of stamps as he wanted to give my siblings and i the opportunity to share in his passion for stamp collecting. homer gave the biggest hugs... and i knew i would hear the words "oh honey" everytime i saw him . these are the things life is made of. the memories. homer gave us more opportunities to make special memories than i can list off. i'm just thankful.

homer passed away last sunday, april 3. he was 89 years and 11 months old. that sounds like a really long life, and it is... but i honestly thought homer would at least hit 100. he always seemed so young for his age. i'm thankful for the 23 years that i got to have him in my life... they will impact me for the rest of my days.

i guess the main thing i will take away from my experience with homer is the importance of holding onto those people that God plops in your lap. the relationship won't always be perfect, you won't always agree on everything, and sometimes you are going to need to love one another even when it doesn't feel good... but in the end you will come away blessed by that person, and hopefully you blessed them in some way also.

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!