Our Version of Perfection.

Our family pictures. 350 pictures of ...
Eli blasting some evil villains ...
Or being less than super thrilled with his weapons being restrained ... and Joshua is offering little support (notice the shoulder shrugging) ...
Or being super distracted by the laces on his shoes ...
Which I later removed ...

And then they just gave up entirely and pretended to be "dead" Lego Heroes. Who were still talking? And could still hear me. So strange.

And to think I'm going to attempt retakes? Perhaps I should just frame one of the ones above. I mean really ... it's far more realistic of our every day existence than trying for perfection???!!!

Yellow and Gray.

My dearest Michelle is having a baby! And I am over the moon with excitement. You see ... Michelle is an only child ... and that automatically makes me an honorary aunt. A self-appointed role that I intend to be most excellent at.

I have been waiting to fulfill my duties for quite some time. I'm not one to rush anyone into a lifetime of mommy-hood ... but I was anxiously anticipating the call. And when it happened ... my brain kicked into shower planning high gear. However, there was one glitch. This dear, sweet friend of mine ... who LOVES details (think ... used to be a news reporter) and shopping decided NOT TO FIND OUT THE SEX OF THEIR BABY??!!!! I warned her of the impending loot of green and yellow that was about to come her direction and begged her to show me the ultrasound video ... but alas ... I was left to guess ...
And quickly ditched my plans of pink and blue ... and head into the world of the unknown ... a baby shower theme of Yellow and Gray.
My first project was making hairpins ... so darling and so easy. (If you manage to keep the glue off your fingers!)
And any event worth having must include some of my most favorite birds ... this time wearing their yellow and gray as a centerpiece. In split peas. Which are not yellow ... hmmm?
Loving the fruit and sliced lemons from Michelle's friends ...
And the yellow flowers ... from Martha Stewart in the Marshalls clearance section for 75 cents!
IKEA had these funky coasters (or were they Christmas ornaments?) for 25 cents a bag ... and M's mom put together some fabulous floral arrangements ...
We opted out of games and went the craft direction. Took me weeks to figure out what to make for the baby. Something that might actually get used in the months ... years to come.
I sewed the alphabet and numbers onto "bean bags" and the gals stuffed them and sewed them closed at the shower ... the idea was to have an old fashioned quilting party ... where the gals could sew and chat ... turned out just how I wanted!And Michelle received a wonderful selection of children's books. Think I might have to head over to her house and snag a few of these for our own collection.
It was so fun to plan and create for this shower and to have such a fun morning of fellowship and love ... I can't wait to meet this little one. And shower HIM (just putting my guess out there) with loads of love! And make HIM a really cute quilt!

And Michelle was a recap of the shower on her blog ... if you want to see more of the action ...

The Mound.

For the past year, our backyard has been in need of some serious LOVE. SERIOUS LOVE. Envision ginormous rocks ... dead plants ... brown ... dirt ... weeds. The only bit of beauty came in the pool ... but even that was tainted by the ugliness that surrounded it.

So ... we avoided the backyard. And spent LOADS of time in the front. And that's really what people in Mayberry do anyways ... we're front porch people. But ... eventually the mess of a backyard could not be avoided any longer.

So ... back in the fall ... the palm trees were cut down. And then the ginormous rocks were removed. All 12 tons of them! And then a new drip line was added ... and plants were ordered ... and then ... THIS ARRIVED!
TWELVE TONS OF NEW ... much smaller ... rock!
The boys LOVED it! They loved the dump truck that delivered it ... and the HUGE pile that was left behind ...
Even Miss "I Want To Be A Big Kid" ... couldn't stay out of the mess ...
There was climbing ...
And jumping ...
Attempts to stand ...
Brilliant ideas like taking the "roller" all the way to the top ...
Or flying into the mound at full speed ...
And shorts ... that reflect all the fun ... and will never be the same ... even after THREE rounds of soaking. But such is life. Sometimes it's worth sacrificing a good pair of shorts for all sorts of fun memories!

And as for the yard ... it is looking better. Well. It actually couldn't have looked much worse. I just need to find two trees ... and hang some fun lights ... and make some cute pillows ... and we'll be ready for all sorts of pool parties!!!! Do I have any takers??

March Madness.

All of the sudden, life has become CRAZY around these parts. Some of us have taken to eating real people food ... and love stalking their big bro's graham crackers ... with the hopes of getting a small taste.

Some of us have decided that life might be better as a baby and have tried to revert. (He assures me daily that "I not want to get big." I totally agree!)

Some of us have achieved huge milestones and have written, illustrated and published their first book!

And on top of all that fun ... the rest of our days are spent chasing this little JETBUG ... who has crawling skills like nothing have I ever seen and her real frustration in life is that she hugely desires to be BIG!

It is hours upon hours of complete and utter chaos. And I'm guessing that someday I'll look at my quiet house ... with my children in school all day and wish this chaos back. You think?

Our Little Free Spirit.

This is how Eli Bennett woke from his nap the other day ... frazzled hair, ketchup on the shirt he had already worn for over 24 hours but declined to change, no pants (or as he'd like to say ... "I just in my under-roos!"),
Socks that already had holes in them (even though this was the first time he'd worn them) and carrying Lego Hero pieces in his mouth ... because his hands were full.

He totally beats to his own drum and we love him to pieces!!!

Lizzy Lu.

She is full of spunk and wonder.

Volume and strength.

Her eyes melt my heart and I utter thanks MANY times a day...

That God allowed me to be the mom of a daughter.

In His grace and mercy, He healed my heart above and beyond my wildest dreams.

She is the perfect addition ...

And a daily reminder of God's goodness ...

It's not all perfection. (She drools. And screams. And refuses to eat the gourmet food I try to cram down her pipes. She is into EVERYTHING. Loves dropping things over and over and over again and holds her breath and turns the color of a firetruck).

But it is darn close.

Mascar.

Last week, the "Mascars" were in town. Ben was planning on going to the race ... but the boys were planning on staying home with me. Well ... Ben came home Saturday with a big surprise! He was able to get his credentials early and take the boys up close. SUPER CLOSE!
Ben first made a trip to grab some ear protection. Last time the boys went to the race, they used earplugs and apparently parenting children wearing earplugs while you are wearing earplugs is difficult. I haven't tried it yet ... but I can imagine it was entertaining!
The boys went up in the Cheerios pit box ...
Pretended they were big time racers ...

Saw their favorite driver and car ...
Checked out the tires ...
And had the TIME OF THEIR LIVES!

Joshua prayed the other night that next time, he could meet Jimmy and maybe Jimmy would come over for dinner. I love that they think "superstars" are just normal people with great talent ... a perspective that I hope continues!!