Christmas Time Photo Shoot

cassie & i took pictures of the kids

(cassie's are the good ones...)

chelsie - 21 years

gavin - 15 years

masyn - 7 1/2 years

nolan - almost 3 years

evyn - 10 months

All My Children

with all my kids under the same roof and dressed in their sunday best {except nolan} i MADE them {sinking heels, infectious eyeballs and all} gather for a group photo...

funny conversation that morning...
masyn, "sissy, you look pretty"
sissy, "thanks masyn."

masyn, "you look like a grown up"
sissy & me *chuckle*

yes. sissy, you do look like a grown up. when did THAT happen and how come no one asked if it was ok with me?!

Summer '09

because i'm so behind on my posts,
i'm takin' the easy route...

here's our summer in a nutshell...

1. much time was spent getting sissy ready to move. bob taught her 'car essentials' and let's just say changing the tires took longer than it should. right puter!

2. i spent a lot of time making lists and more lists, losing lists, and finally getting a notebook to contain my lists of all the things she would need in her new place. so far i haven't heard that we forgot anything so that's a good sign.

3. bob became a gardner, who knew! in addition to the fabulous square foot gardens he planted in the backyard (which was suppose to be bub's duty to god project...ahem!!!) he also planted pumpkin, watermelon, and several sunflowers in the front yard which have now turned into a forest! he's so proud!!! (rightfully so, honey!!! the pumpkins are huge, yes i looked at them today.)

4. speaking of bob and his garden, he is harvesting his first radishes! yum!

5. my step mom took my sister and i and our girls to go see wicked. if you haven't seen it, you must! if you can't, read the book. but let me warn you...the book is 'r' rated. the play is not, but there were a few parts in the book where i just skipped some paragraphs. but don't let that deter you, it is a FABULOUS story!!! you'll LOVE it!

and last but CERTAINLY not least!

6. the little princess learned to swim! finally. i've tried for the last couple summers to take swim lessons and have met with so much resistance that i gave in. this year she had no choice. we had a few moments before we got there, but once we did she was great and was swimming in two days! way to go bug!

hope your summer was a good one!

Oh Happy Day

here at the isa home. i love when my kids are happy. nothing gives me greater joy than seeing pure joy radiate from the faces of my children.

today was a great day!

first (and i don't have a picture, sigh...) sissy faxed her application in and paid her deposit on an apartment in utah. her official move in date is may 5th. she is SO excited to be going away to college and being on her own. i am very excited for her, but at the same time my heart is heavy. my mind is racing...what haven't i taught her...what will she need...i need to put a recipe book together...i need to make lists. ahhhhh!

puter, if you read this...i love you and i know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what and where you need to be going. i know you'll be successful in all the things you put your mind to. you are talented and strong and you are great! focus and stay the course!

ok, now that i got that off my chest...let me share with you the reason for the happy smile on bub's face.

if you don't already know, bub loves nothing more than to ride motorcycles. he has been since he was 3. for a long time now he has wanted to go from his current yz80 to a yz125, but he needed to grow alittle and save a lot. well, he grew a lot and saved some and somehow he found a great deal on craigs list. long story short. the bike needed a ton of work, the parts (ok the engine)finally came in and bob stayed up until 3 am last night(well, this morning) to get all 600 pieces put together and running. the sound of the engine running put a smile on bub's face that i'm not sure i've ever seen before. i heard him say as he was going to bed, "this was a great day!"

it's been a good day, a very good day.

goodnight all.

It's Picture Time

again!!! every year we gather the kids (mine & my sister's) to take christmas pictures. the kids dread it (well, all but the little princess) every year i have to tell bub. "the more you cooperate, the faster we'll be done", when will he learn??? this year i bribed then with jamba juice. it worked pretty well. here are a few of my favorite photos from this year's photo bonanza.

love, love, LOVE this one of Mackenzie and the little princess...i think i'll blow it up HUGE!

my 2 favorite girls in the whole wide world!

i think this is one of my favorite all time pictures of the little princess. it captures a very common, thoughtful look.

this one reminds me of an ad. bub is getting taller and taller. isn't mackenzie beautiful!

not sure why, but i really liked this one.

ok, she is so stinkin' cute.

an even though brandon HATES to have his picture taken, i got some good shots. thanks for being patient brandon!

how can you not love a baby

and finally...we got our yearly picture.

merry christmas!

An Unexpected

email came from betty today. she asked if i had delved further into the domestic diva's blog. i hadn't. a little embarrassed, i must say, that i was only searching for gift ideas and looked no further. please go back to her blog and read about her beautiful daughter who is desperately looking for a kidney donor. it's a reminder to me to open my eyes beyond my current focus and see that we are directed by the hands of the Lord. we may not able to donate a kidney but we can send are thoughts and prayers to this young lady and maybe, just maybe, someone who can help will and her life will be saved. today, as we take part of whatever activity we are involved in, let us remember to look beyond what we are looking at and see why we are looking. happy sunday!

Carving Pumpkins

this picture almost didn't exist. did halloween sneak up on anyone else , like it has on me? i woke up this morning and realized, crap, tomorrow is halloween. thank goodness for sissy, she called and said, "can we carve pumpkins tonight?" ummm, hello...forgot about carving pumpkins. what kind of mother am i??? thanks sissy for saving me!!! so here's the masterpieces. sissy designed her own pumpkin, bub went political on us and carved "yes on 8" and the princess (really "bob") carved monsters from a pattern. hope tomorrow is fabulous!

The First Day of School...

couldn't have gone better. the alarm went off at 6:30 and about 7:05 i reluctantly rolled out of bed. bub had already showered and was watching tv. (btw, he was watching max & ruby)the little princess woke shortly after i did, and shortly after that queenie rose from her beauty sleep. i made cinnamon rolls and a really cute take on the egg and toast idea. the little princess was happy to see a heart shaped egg in the middle of her toast. at 8:15 we got in the car and took bub to school (7th grade!). we came home and put the hannah montana backpack together. sissy left for her second year in college (2 down, 1 left). the all important lunch came next. the little princess really wants to stay and have lunch at school so we put a lunch together. at her request, we packed grapes, watermelon, goldfish and apple juice. why no sandwich you ask, because i was told "that's for a different day". i took out my trusted cookie cutters and made heart and flower shaped watermelon and boy was that a hit. i was told that i was a sweet mommy and that i'm a good cooker. what a compliment!!! i love that the simple things make her happiest. 9:10 came quick and we headed out the door. dressed in her pick and the backpack securely placed we got in the car. she reminded me that we hadn't had our prayer so we took a moment for the Lord. when i was finished with the prayer i turned to look at her and she was wiping her eyes. she said, "that made me cry". i smiled and said "me too". we shared a moment that i won't forget and soon i was walking with her into kindergarten. blessed with the knowledge that a heavenly father loves her and the strength she was given at birth, i know that she'll be great, monkey bars and all.

the little princess

mrs. fuqua, "the prettiest teacher"

Sorry Queenie,

sissy, putterbug, darling daughter. i just got busted for posting bub's pictures and not hers. so without any further adoo (how do you spell that?) here's a little bit about sissy.

a high school teacher wrote in her yearbook, "your pretty enough to marry any man you want, but smart enough not to have to." i love that, it's perfect and dead on. she's obviously gorgeous, but if you were to take the physical beauty from her what would you have? you'd have beauty. she's strong, funny, talented and every bit as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out. she is outgoing and witty, and will make you laugh when you feel like screaming. she really could be anything she wanted to be if she put her mind to it. she loves to love and is easy to love right back. her smile makes everything right and her eyes say it all. she's the perfect blend of tomboy and girlie girl and can play a pretty darn good game of softball. her heart is always in the right place, her mind is keen and her spirit is brightly lit. She's a keeper.