Milestones!

Lilly is registered for school! And Parker is walking!! I can't believe time has passed so quickly and the kids are growing up so fast! It's so amazing to me to see how much changes over the course of just a few short years. I must say - there have been trials (as every parent knows that raising a child is no easy feat) but I would not trade it for anything in the world! I have the two most amazing children that a mother could ask for and anyone who knows them knows just how blessed we are.

Freeze Frame

I've done it - I've bought a new camera. I've always wanted a 'semi-pro' camera but I've never really known why. But after having kids, the answer to the why comes to realization - if I don't freeze my beautiful kids into photographs, I'll miss so many milestones that I'll want to remember later. And while I'd very much like to just have a professional photographer follow me around day to day and photograph my kids - for free - it's just not going to happen (no matter how hard I cross my fingers or wish!) So, here it is - the Nikon D3100 D-SLR camera. On my lap. Resting after taking a few shots of Parker, Legend, and some honey bees outside. :o)

I hope to learn how to use this darn thing soon...there's so much potential for some fantastic pictures and I haven't the slightest clue about how to do anything besides focus the lense and engage the shutter...

I'm going to go read the manual some more now - until next time.

Cleaning out the closet

The weekend is here...after the last three days of sitting in court for jury duty (just to get released as an alternate at 4pm on the last day of the trial), I'm feeling pretty relieved that I'm at home doing housework! This weekend is reserved for cleaning out the closet. Clothes, shoes, items no longer of relevance in our lives...simply cleaning out all of the clutter. I encourage others to do so, too!

I also encourage the cleansing and re-organization of one's life and the priorities that they have placed. It's always good to set priorities but they do no good (and sometimes more harm) if those priorities aren't revisited periodically - are my priorities as important and relevant as they were yesterday? Last week? A year ago? As my family grows, I've come to pay more attention to priorities. I've learned that my priorities are not the same as those of others - and I've learned that others expect you to make their priorities your own. Sadly enough, some of those others I speak of have not yet met that time in their life where they look at the big picture and decide what's important and what's not. And this is not to say that we all don't sometimes have those moments where we don't see the big picture. What's important to me today is my wonderful, beautiful husband, my spunky, curly-haired daughter, and my pushy, porky, chipped-tooth son. Our happiness comes second to none and we're proud to say that we will reserve whatever it is that we need to in order to preserve and continue to pursue the things that make us happy.

Anyone else care to do some spring cleaning with me this weekend? It is actually quite refreshing.

Jury Duty

I've never been selected for jury duty before and, to be quite honest, it's really stressing me out! Not the jury duty part...the part where I have to miss work and not knowing when I'll be finished with jury duty. And if I get finished early (as in before my work shift usually ends), do I go back to work? What if it's really close to my normal shift-end...will I have to waste time to drive to work just to turn around and leave? So many questions...hence the anxiety that I'm feeling. Not to mention, I was briefly informed that the particular courthouse that I have to appear at tomorrow is typically for civil cases - can we say boring? Let's hope something interesting happens tomorrow. At least I can have SOME excitement in my day by having lunch with Alice & Deanna.

On a more fun note - Parker has taken up beatboxing...he beatboxes to the songs on the radio, he beatboxes with Tony, he beatboxes by himself, he beatboxes on cue....he beatboxes all of the time. And the irony is the two sounds he makes when he beatboxes sound like he's saying "Pah-Kah"...or Parker. Go figure - we say his name enough that it only makes sense that he puts his name into song.

Well, I'm off to go lay in bed and stress more about juty duty...wish me luck.

Welcoming new things!

Well, here we are. After a super busy weekend running the kids all over town, I find myself crash-landed on my couch with the dog. I'm thinking about my grandmother's surprise birthday party yesterday and I'm sort of bummed that we couldn't make it (as she lives in Oregon). Then I begin to think about my sister-in-law's baby shower scheduled in June and start to wonder how I can work finances - and time - around so that I can attend (she lives in Arkansas). And then I snap back to reality and have realized that my house definitely looks like I've been gone all weekend and is rather neglected - should I ever leave the house again? Ha! 

As I write here, I'm waiting for a 'sneak-peek' of Parker's "Parker Turns One" pictures from his photoshoot yesterday morning. I still can't believe the kids are growing up so fast!...which may be the root cause for this blog being created - so those of you who don't see the wild children on a regular basis can watch them grow. But in the meantime, I suppose I could start on some housework so we can get out of the house -- it's a beautiful 77 degree and sunny day out today. And wouldn't you know it - Parker's 'sneak-peek' has been published (Courtesy of AM Photography in Phoenix, AZ)...

 Well, I suppose I should go show the star his new pictures and plan my day out with the kiddos.

Back to reality - and the dishes.