Jayden

He hates to take pictures - I hope this is just a phase... Cause he's got such a great face.
We love this kid so much. He's one of the best and hardest things we will ever get in life.

Norah's Birthday

Norah turned 8 years old last week! It seems so unreal - she's my baby, yet this big person, too...
This girl loves to cook with me and style herself, and she's pretty good at both! She's incredibly smart. I know when she gets a bad grade, it's because she just wasn't interested in being tested that day. She's ornery and stubborn - strong and speaks her mind. We are blessed and honored to be this girl's parents!

Begin, Again...

Somewhere along the line of space and time, life gets so busy.  We long for the days of less to do and more of nothing.  I look at these sweet faces and blog posts and moments captured for all time and wonder why I stopped.  Is it really easier to post in Facebook or Instagram?  No - it isn't.  And it is quite mean of FB to not keep all of your posts at your fingertips.  They hide them and keep them from you. 
So, I'll begin, again.  At the point in life when things are blowing by so fast - before my eyes - and I want to reach out - and yank it back - or yell with fists in the air, STOP! 
I'll start with nothing much, just a statement that I will start again.  I'll show off my wonderful kids and my cute husband.  I'll tell you about the things we do and the places we go and the moments we can't get back.  Because I miss it.  I miss my own life. 

Character Parade

 Each year, the kids' school has a Character Parade.  Grades K-4 are assigned a book genre and then they choose a character in a book in that genre to dress up as.  Then, they parade around the halls showing off how cute they are.  The fifth graders had Colonial Day that day.  

So, they were dressed in colonial attire and costumes.  

 I made Jayden's costume out of these items.  He already had a pirate belt from a Capt Jack Sparrow costume he had one year and we splurged on a new pirate hat at some Halloween store.  

Grace's class dressed as Fairy Tale characters.  

Luckily, my mom had made a Little Red Riding Hood costume one year for Norah - 

and even more luckily, it fit!

Tappin' Away

 Norah is at a new dance school this year.  During the hour she dances, she does both ballet and tap.  

Tap is a new dance for her and she loves it!  

As a special Halloween treat, the little girls tap danced to 'Monster Mash' and wore their costumes for the event.  It was so cute.  As you will see in the pictures, Norah is very unsure of all the parents watching her.  She won't crack a smile for any of the pictures!  

 Norah wanted to be a 'Mermaid' for Halloween this year.  

I made the costume - and it turned out pretty cute!

Afterwards, the girls had a little party.  She still wouldn't smile.  

A New Look

 I had a new project recently...  I blame it on Pinterest.  That website makes me feel so crafty, I have to get it out somehow.  So, I conquered the girls room.  It was really one of those rooms that made me always so frustrated.  No matter what I did, I could not adjust it to what I liked.  I decided to just start over.  So I painted 3 of the 4 walls a neutral and the 4th wall I striped out.

 These are some bulletin boards the girls and I made.  Grace has a pink one, too.  With a "G" on it - she was just at school when I took this picture and she hadn't created it yet!

 My friend, Tiffany, made the 'SISTERS RULE' board for the girls.  

 The bunk beds are new and give us so much space.

We call the space below the window a 'reading area'.  I'm on the lookout for floor pillows on the cheap!