Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Eleanor Jude




Last week I had the privilege of spending a few hours taking precious baby El's photo and chattin' up her mama, Brandi. This little one is so sweet, the pics I took could not capture all the cuteness. Brandi and her husband Joe are old friends of ours. This season for them has been such a joy for me to be a part of. All the newness, surprise, and delight a firstborn brings.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

New Love

Yes, we are gamblin' fools. Yahtzee has become a new found family obsession. We were re-introduced to this on a double date with our good friends Jayson and Nicole. Last week Nicole sent me these dice in the mail. I had been complaining about our 2nd hand, chipped up dice during a Yahtzee rematch we had with them. I was so pumped when I opened them up, you would have thought it was a check or refund of some sort. Thanks Jayson and Nicole! As a side note, we don't really bet on the games, it is just pride on the line.

Pathetic

This lone tulip is the only Spring that has sprung in our yard. Sad. Four boys produce a lot of mud, sweat, & giggles but they murder my flowers. We will give the garden another go this year. For some reason that I am sure has to do with food, they will respect the boundaries of the garden. Flowers, in the words of Parker, "I have no use for." So with the exception of the extravagent bouquets of dandelions, which are in rich supply at our house, there will be no flowers for mom. Nothing really beats the sticky clump of weeds your 4 year old hands you, "I picked these for you Mom!," anyway.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Perfect Friend...


...if you don't mind the fur, the smell, and of course the poop scoop. You will find a friend, my only female companion in this house of boys, always loyal and prone to fits of joy.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Celebrating Smallness

I was exploring the vast realms of the blog world today and feeling a bit small about my own. And then I looked at this...

Monday, April 6, 2009

Sweet Reflections...thanks Kylee.





Last fall, I experienced the best sense of community I have known in years. On Wednesdays I was invited to gather with a group at Matt's cousin Lindsey's house. We would share snacks and watch Project Runway. In that group I got to know Kylee, she is an absolutely stunning young lady with so much class. She is the type that always makes me aware of how loud-mouthed I am, Kenley really brough it out of me too! I have dearly missed this time with sweet friends in the last months, hurry up Lifetime and air the next season! I have been following Kylee's blog and always find it restful. She has a great talent with words and the images they provoke. (her blog is wheelturning.blogspot.com) These following thoughts were prompted by her.


Grubby little hands with my heart buried deep inside.

Collin is at that place in life where nothing is resistible for his tiny hands. They are always marked by the grit and grime of his adventures and latest indulgences. Mud pies, dog fuzz, strawberry juice...the good stuff of our days.

Pancakes with a friend.

Aden has a true pleasure in a mid-morning plate full of pancakes. As he requests his 6th one, he smiles through syrup and butter and says, "I love you." Does it get better than this?

Running free.

Kaleb has long lived in the shadow of an over-achiever brother. On a Saturday front yard race, he was first to finish. He swaggered with pride and a readiness to perform this feat again. He is at a season when his body can do more than he is aware of, where growing strength and youthful clumsiness start to balance again. Happy discovering little man.

Ready.

Ready to debate, ready to reason, ready to challenge. I delight in this Ivy League Professor trapped in a 9 year old body.