Savannah took her first steps last night. It was a special moment! She is ready to become the mobile Determinator. (That's her nickname, well, one of them anyway).

Another neat happening: We are getting EXCITED here at our house because Carson (my 20 year old brother) is coming tomorrow to stay with us for the whole summer! Kate is ready and waiting in eager expectation. She pretty much thinks Carson hung the moon.

We made a sign this morning!

We love you Carson and can't wait to see you tomorrow and spend endless hours with you this summer, getting to know you better and be with you and enjoy you!!!!!!!!!!!

Another thing worth noting for me, yesterday, I was given a special gift. Both girls climbed up into my lap and we were reading. I got tired of reading so I put the book down and began to sing. My usual tunes, but over and over and pretty soon, both thumb suckers were happily asleep in my arms. It was the first time I've held them while asleep and was logged in my brain as one of the most shimmering moments of a stay at home mommy's life.

Also, Kate wanted to brush and dry my hair last night too. It was pretty cute. Michael grabbed the camera as she gave me a running commentary on how to "make it really pretty, okay?"

These are the days... the best days of my life.

Home Sick....

Look at this pitiful face!! Doesn't it say...
"Hold me mom, I am sick!"

We've been a bit under the weather...Each week, when we go to church and put the kids in the nursery, the following Tuesday they come down with a cold!! It is sometimes easy to get discouraged- at times you feel cut off from the rest of the world! We miss church, and the fellowship that church brings.

I read a very encouraging blog from another mom about this. So, for all my young mom friends click here.




http://theeastmanchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/04/one-of-our-best-friends.html





Here's a funny little happening I had to share:





Freshly diapered from their baths I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, and I was thinking to myself, " how nice, the girls are playing together in their room so quietly." That thought turned into..."man, they are really quiet." To...."GIRLSSS!!!"


This is what I found.








What is that white stuff you ask?


That, my friends, is Desitin. (To all my friends without children....that's) DIAPER CREAM and it ain't called 'cream' for no reason. It is an oily mess under water...so, bathtime number 2 took a bit longer.






You can't really tell from the pictures, but Kate had laid it on thick. She used like half a bottle of the desitin on Savannah. She looked like the Austrailan aboriginals we visited in Australia!

And the funniest part, Savannah was standing there, very still, letting her do it! She is so cute. Wanting to take part in everything sister does. Kate has even started telling us what Savannah is trying to say.

And, last night before bed, Kate said, "Mommy, tell me a verse."

So, while praying for a verse to give her on the spot, I remembered the one I am memorizing. Remain in me and you will bear much fruit. So I recited it to her.

She looked at me and said, "yeah, fruit cocktail!"

My two cuties...

Today I noticed that I had Savannah in an outfit that I remembered Kate having a cute picture in- so I fished it out, we grabbed the camera, and took a pic of SJ!

It was fun noting the similarities and differences!

Savannah is 9 months today and.... Kate is 11 months in this picture.







Of course, it wasn't without it's challenges...here is the progression for your enjoymjent.

piece of art today

A Full Heart

There are days where my heart feels so full, I fear I might burst.

I had a wonderful Mother's day. My children, my husband...God, you have given me more than I could've ever ever asked or imagine.

You are a God who keeps your promises.

Conch-queored

I have a need. It has been there for as long as I can remember. A need to create and make something...a do-it-yourself kinda need.

Well, we just moved and have settled in and I was looking at the bare wall in front of me one night and I wanted to "fill" it up with something....something discreet, yet tasteful. Beachy, yet not tacky- you know?



I checked the mail and found a magazine with a $400 print inside of a conch shell. It was pretty, and tasteful, discreet and not tacky. This was it! Yet, $400 bucks- you have to be kidding me.




At Michael's (craft store, not my husbands house) I got the cheap little acrylic paints and some fancy brushes ($2.99) and my powder brush (yes, for makeup), and off I went into a new tangent.







I will paint that shell.


Not without help of course...from this little cutie.










First, I drew it on with pencil. (I had to darken the picture so you could see the sketch lines).












Then, I started shadowing. Personally, I find the first stages of paintings the hardest.

And I start to think...can I really pull this off? My confidence is taking a huge dive here.

But after days and hours and hours of stroking...and good little children napping....

and stroking some more...


and some more.....

just to get it right (right meaning, better than the last stroke).....

a few more.....

This is what I came up with. I am my own worst critic and at some point, you have to decide, I am done. So, for now. Here is the conch.

I have conch-queored.

Dedicated to my sister...Shelley. Hee Hee.

oh yea...up and rolling

We are back in bih 'niss....that's right folks...
back in bih' niss....surfing the web, connected, online...up and running...
back in business.

=)

Off to Tennessee

It has been a long and grueling 2 weeks of teething and packing, (Savannah did the teething, we did the packing) but now...

VACATION TIME!

We are headed to TN in the morning, 5 am sharp.... and we are so excited! We couldn't move tomorrow if we wanted to, so this (previously planned) vacation is a much needed blessing from God.

C-ya soon family!!!

Bloggiebatical

Hi faithful readers,

It is time for a bloggiebatical.

I need a break from my documenting - but for a good reason!!

Firstly, at the end of the month, grammy and grampy are flying us home to visit!! We are really excited...Kate has been walking around saying, "I'm going on a plane to see my grandma, and my little Shelley and my little Keith." That's verbatum.
So cute!

Secondly....

We are moving...relocating, getting the heck outta here, hitting the road jack, making a move, out like Clout, getting a new address, breaking free, making a change,.... you get the point.
And life is not allowing much room for sitting around thinking about what I am going to write about. I just found icecream in the refrigerator today..if that tells you anything about the craziness of my life.

With that said- here are some videos of my kiddos (the smartest in the world, or my small world that is!)and they will have to last you for awhile.

This is not staged. One afternoon the girls were playing together on the bed and Savannah rolled the ball to Kate every time. These are the parts I caught on camera. Enjoy and we'll update you on our crazy life in uh, about 10 years.... hee hee!