Two of my favorite things

Julian came running inside the other day shouting rainbow mama look!! When I saw this outside of course I took a picture but then we just sat there a looked at it for a while...thanking God for keeping His promises and for reminding us of who He is.

Friends are certainly the flowers that grow in the garden of life.

Toddlers rock

Gooz always climbs in with Coop to take a nap...he can be so sweet.
It got really quite the other day which led me to begin searching and this is what I found... atleast they were both in there together.

Favorite horse hands down.

A little song for you
Jess K

Jess K

Jumpy things at church!
Jess K

Touch a Truck

I had a feeling the boys would like this free event in Chattanooga where you go and get in a bunch of trucks but I had really never thought of how many different types of trucks there are... Fed Ex, UPS, Mail, Dairy, Ambulance, Fire trucks, Rescue, moving, street sweepers, transfer, ice cream, haulers, etc just to name a few. It was really funny to watch Julian looking around like he thought he was in heaven... he just stood there for a minute trying to decide which one he wanted to drive... then getting in them all like he owned them!

Taste Testers

You know the boys never really know what they are going to get and since I am low on art projects right now I have been trying out some creativity in the kitchen... the latest being broiled figs with goat cheese which I think I enjoyed a little more than they did.

funny

I can't help but post this from a fellow blogger because she totally relates to food the way I do at times and she is just funny!
Has anyone ever been to a Red Robin?
Yesterday was my first time and let me just say... I think I'm in love.
First of all... they had televisions everywhere playing football. Heaven.
Secondly... the burgers are the size of Rhode Island (I mean, it was as if I was holding Rhode Island with all of it's Rhode Islanders in my hands preparing to eat them all). People have told me in the past that I have a big mouth, but I think I may have sprained my jaw opening my mouth so big to eat the darn thing. I didn't even have one of the specialty burgers-like the one with the kitchen sink on top. I am a center line type of eater... I don't stray to far away from normal. Cheeseburger-yes, Cheeseburger with goat cheese, onion rings, confetti and frog legs-no.
Lastly... their fries come in a "bottomless basket." When the waiter told me that, I could have swore I heard my hips get wider and my butt add a few cellulite dents to it. These aren't your regular skinny, greasy fries either... these are steak fries, with a really yummy seasoning salt on top that cries out for you to throw your manners aside and suck on every last one of your fingers after each bite just to get every bit of salt that you can. Who cares about water gain... these are BOTTOMLESS FRIES!
After leaving I told the kids how much I loved of this place. I praised it as if Jesus himself were our waiter... and they give you a balloon when you leave!
Then I told them that we are NEVER coming back!
How Red Robin expects me to stay my normal 10lbs overweight is beyond me. If I made Red Robin a regular in our eating circle, I would be 50lbs. overweight by Christmas. The bottomless fries alone would cause me to have to ride around in a motorized cart at Target.

Words of Wisdom

There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another's wounds. Let's remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness. ~Henri Nouwen

Homeless

I just finished reading the amazing true story titled "Same Kind of Different as Me." I feel humbled and responsible in a way that I haven't before. I have had to repent of judging others, thinking they should just get a job and wondering why they just couldn't get it together instead of wanting to know their story and their heart and realizing it is only by the grace of God that I wasn't born into a family riddled with tragedy, placing me in the same exact position as them. A couple of the gems from this book:

"You never know whose eyes God is watching you through"

"The truth is, whether we are rich or poor or something in between, this earth ain't no final restin place. So, in a way, we is all homeless-just workin our way toward home."

You have been told what is good and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do what is right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.- Micah 6:8

Thank God for Brothers

A sweet smooch
Never lacking expression

My sweet baby... how I am loving getting to know you as you grow and change.

ART

This is for my cousin Cam who asked me quite sometime ago to post my recent projects. The first is a table I amde the week I turned 30 to represent the past three decades... the first is a little girl swinging pictured here.


This is the first mosaic I made with a beach theme using some of the shells Damien and I collected on our honeymoon.

And this is my first attempt at decoupage over a mirror I painted.

Doctor Justin

Julian now knows what he wants to be when he grows up... a doctor like Uncle Josh and Uncle Justin. After his first few weeks in med school JD came home and tried out all that he has learned so far on everyone in the family and apparently we all passed so I am grateful for that. Thanks for inspiring the little ones baby bro.

Playing hard

Once you slide down a skate board ramp the normal slide kind of looses its appeal.

Future Olympians

These guys were so into it... They would pretend that they were divers only their boards were the couch and their pool a pile of pillows on the floor but hey you gotta start somewhere!

Visit with Aunt Court and Big Chris

What a thrill to know that these guys are going to have a little buddy to play with the next time they see Aunt Court and Big Chris. There are people in the world you see who you just pray will be fruitful and multiple and we can't say that about everyone let's be honest... without any hesitation I tell you the world is a better place because this woman and her husband are in it... so congrats... can't wait to meet Baby Nichols!