it's friday.

Just say "cheeeeeeeese!"

TGIF! Enjoy your weekend!

first haircut.

I took Reagan for her first real haircut today. She is such a priss and diva, so she was just eating it up being the center of attention. Plus, we play beauty shop at home so she was an expert client! ;  )

Look at this face! This is before the haircut began.

She's loving it, and being so still and following Amber's directions.

Such concentration. It's tough getting pampered! ; )

All done! I asked her if she liked it, and she said, "I beautiful!"

 

Beautiful as ever! A sweet little bob!

Look familiar? This is me at about the same age.

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. ~Song of Solomon 4:7

mad for the movies.

Not "mad" as in a terrible-twos mad or you-took-my-toy mad or you-hit-me mad, but "mad" as in MADagascar 2.

I took the kiddos, along with my SIL Jaime and niece Jaicey, to see it.

Our local theater runs a Thursday special for movie admission, popcorn and a drink all for $2! And since there are a million kids in there, no one seems to mind when your 5 year old starts doing a LOUD snorting laugh during a quiet part or when your 2.5 year old keeps changing seats every three minutes...  ;  )

It was a fun experience for both Easton and Reagan, and I hope to take them back sometime soon!

Easton.

Easton has such a special place in my heart. As our first born and only son, he paved the way for how Johnathan and I are as parents. When he was born, we knew God had made a perfect little person for us to learn on how to be caring, teaching, patient, resourceful, fun, silly, loving parents.

He, in our eyes, is perfect. He has his own set of challenges, but we do our best to turn them into opportunities. He can be a rough and tumble wrestler or a sensitive and caring little daddy.

He is so intelligent in the words he uses and with the ideas in his head, but he never fears at asking questions or turning to us for help and advice.

He is gets frustrated with the little things at times, but finds humor in the little things all the time. His laugh is infectious, and he loves laughing at himself.

He gets his feelings hurt really easy, but all it takes is a hug and kiss...or some ice cream to cheer him up!

I pray that as our little man starts kindergarten in two weeks that he flourishes and grows this year into an even more perfect little person. He has been asking ALL summer when he gets to go to "big school," so I know he's excited and ready to start...or just ready to get away from his little sisters! ;  )

We are going to go pick out his school supplies next week so it just makes it all very real for me. Our little guy is growing up, and we won't ever be able to get this time back. He will always be my little baby boy, and we are so blessed that he is in our lives!

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.~Proverbs 22:6

six-month smiles.

Six months from now I hope to have a smile that's a little less crooked. I got my six-month smiles braces yesterday, and it's going to get some getting used to. Fortunately, I'm not in pain; Unfortunately, I AM STARVING. They put these blocks on my molars that keep me from biting down completely so I don't knock off the braces. But, it's so hard to chew or eat! I've managed to eat eggs this morning and yogurt for lunch. 

Can you see them? Hopefully not that well. That's the point.

I hope I can kiss Johnathan when he gets home...

Is it December yet? 

Mexican cheeeeeeeese!

I just had to share this video. It just reminds me how fun my Dad was as a parent, and how even more fun he is as a Poppa to my kids!

Just a quick caption for ya, this was at a Mexican restaurant last week. My dad and Reagan are dancing to the restaurant's music playing, not realizing I am filming it, and then they stop at the both time to say "cheese" because they think I am taking a picture! Long caption, but it is just such a cute video to me!

Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere...~Psalm 84:10

"dog"-gone great!

Remember this little ole' stool that I blogged about a few weeks ago...my mystery project that was going to be "dog"-gone great! Well, it is!

I went from this unused stool that I never propped my big feet on...

to this fully-functioning dog bowl station.

Itn't puuurrrrrty!?! ;  ) Who would've thunk you could get that from a stool...me, of course!

Wanna make your own. Here's the breakdown:

Forewarning, there are a gazillion pics included for this tutorial, even though this project is easy-schmeezy!

Start with a stool, antique or not.

Gently pry off fabric covering with a flat head screwddriver.

Peel back fabric layer to discover nasty mold. Ewww.... And then put on thick hospital gloves to keep you from catching some kind of weird disease.

Ask the kitty to come on over and give her opinion about paint color options. ;  )

Take an extreme closeup pic of the beautiful nailheads that held the fabric on, which you later discover can't be reused because they are so old...they just break apart. :  (

Once you get the fabric off, gently pry off the top and get a feel for what you are working with...

a cracked top. No bueno in this case. Make a home depot trip for a new board top.

Annnnnnndddd...after your trip to Home Depot, in which they cut the boards for you, check out how it's going to fit. 

Attach with a hand held staple gun and penny nails...not staples.

Measure where you want your dog bowls to sit and trace the outer rim for both bowls.

Using your husband's power drill or using your husband's power to drill... 

drill two pilot holes for your jig saw.

 

Use your jig saw to cut two larger holes...

that are about a 1/2 inch smaller than the circle you traced.

Take note of the the huge mess you created in the yard for this one project!

Forget to take pics of yourself painting the dog bowl station... .... .......... ......

.........

and here you have it!

Surprise! (Like you didn't see it in the beginning of this post...)

A dog bowl station!

It's "dog"-gone great, isn't it!?!

Macie loves it, so that's all that matters!

Can't you just see the excitement in her eyes. Yeah, me too! ;  )

The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.~Psalm 145:9

book worm.

Books. Books. And more books. During my grandmom's estate sale this weekend, I picked out a dozen or so books that had belonged to her and my late grandfather. I didn't select them based on content, even though most are very interesting, but I picked out the ones that were coordinated in color to my living room.

Yellows. Greens. Aquas. Greys. Blues.

I used some to elevate a plant on one of our end tables.

And the rest went on our tv bookshelves.

Books are so easy to use as a decorating element. And using them in my living room is even much more meaningful to me because of their history.


Comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.~2 Thessalonians 2:17