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Five Finds Friday (some photos & what Otto thinks about fruit cups)
This week has been full. But you already know that. And here we are again —- Friday! FUNNY First, from a former “funny” entry, I’ve had such a good time hearing your thoughts and comments about my brother Danny’s fishing video. My framily member Maggie said her two year old son is addicted to watching Danny catch that big one. He has a new video up here and he’ll probably have a few more this week. He got a little distracted this week from fishing videos because he became a GRANDPA! What? How can the majority of my siblings and I be grandparents already?? Now, on…
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Five Finds Friday (22) (buffs & cute hairstyles for my girls & extra photos)
FUNNY What my ten-year-old reads for pleasure. Some kids outgrow their mom in height by the sixth grade. My kid is going to outgrow his mom in brains by the sixth grade. FASHIONABLE Probably because of my die hard, long term commitment to the television show Survivor, I was introduced years ago to the buff. The buff is headwear that serves many many purposes. Some use it as a headband. Some use it as a beanie. Some as a neck warmer. Few use it as a tube top. I use it as my favorite head wrap for camping, sleep too late to shower days and just don’t feel like dealing…
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The Texas Tally
Sometimes when we get together we end up counting things that happen – and we can barely keep up. $20.26 spent on candy at Mom and Pop’s Candy Store. 4,321 times that 8 children asked, “Can we have another piece of candy?” 13,241 steps Emma took today according to her FitBit. 6 times Emma told the kids, “Just one more picture.” 1 batch of delicious cake-like brownies Mosely made from scratch. 4 nights in a row that Jurassic Park has been on television. 18 times that Miller said, “No – you may not kiss me.” 13 door bell rings from neighbors wanting to play. 9 meatballs consumed by Bergen at…
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Texas ya’ll.
Texas is hot. It’s also in a different time zone. (But of course everyone knows that – right?) And it’s home to one of my favorite families and my favorite Emma. We have eight kids all together here and we are enjoying the high volume chattering and the endless snack consumption and the book reading and good times. We’ve been using incentives to encourage them to clean up – like offering them tokens that they can later exchange to buy popcorn with toppings for movie night. The boys ended their baseball seasons this weekend and we were able to watch a couple of games and see Colton wear his official…
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texas wins.
Last weekend the kids and I spent two days in Charlotte. In December we drove there for a birthday party. I can’t even begin to recount the number of Charlotte-bound drives our Suburban has made over the past five years of living in South Carolina. The spotting of the giant peach water tower is always our half way mark. But after this week, I won’t be heading that way so much. I’m not going to say I’ll miss the drive on highway 85. But, if you could hear the depths of my sighs right now, you’d know how much I’m going to miss my destination. Emma and her family are…
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the porch.
My family lived in three different houses when I was growing up. The first one I don’t even remember. The second one I loved. It had a long front porch. The third one is where I spent most of my childhood years and all of my teenage years. When we moved in, it had a small front porch. By the time my parents were finished remodeling the old farmhouse, it had a grand front porch that ran the entire length of the house. My mom and dad would sit out there in the early morning together. Then they’d sit out there again in the cool of the evening. A porch…
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a change of pace.
There’s been a lot of talking going on in our house the last few days. And I’m almost weary of words. (Can you believe that?) But what I’m not weary of – and what I feel like focusing on anyway – is something else. The simple beautiful. I needs me some of that. When Emma was here for a visit with her boys last week she brought her camera. (Because she’s an incredible professional. Paper Story Photo & Design, friends. That’s where it’s at.) And while I wasn’t looking and while she wasn’t nursing her newborn son, she must have snapped some photos of our new old home. All I…
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Friday.
This weekend we’re just gazing upon sweet Miller. And making our little toys into safari creatures with our friends. And sharing a lot of hugs. That is all.
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Change of plans
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Introducing . . .
I wish there was a way that I could get paid to tell people about all the things that I already like. Is that possible? Well, anyway, until it is – I guess I’ll just keep doing it for free. There’s just so many things that I like – so many people, so many shoes, so many craft ideas, so many blogs – you know. And here’s what I like right now . . . Emma’s new business name. Of course you already know I love Emma. And you already know I love Emma’s photographs. (They’re everywhere on this blog. The photo at the top and every really great shot…
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second annual.
Last year, same weekend actually, Emma and Julie and Mandy and our families all enjoyed a bit of a fall adventure together. We decided it was too good of a time to not repeat. Mandy couldn’t join us this year but Kate could. Five of our children joined us. Julie brought four of her five. Emma has two. Kate brought five of her six. 5 + 4 + 2 + 5 = 16. 16 kids + 3 adults = barely organized chaos. Actually, the truth is – it wasn’t as crazy as it appears. The kids played together beautifully. And we filled our weekend to the hilt with non-stop activity.…
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Name This Photo. Win a Silly Prize.
Growing up, my parents used to always receive this farming magazine in the mail called Farm & Ranch Living. My brothers and I loved the pictures of other farms and of kids who kind of looked like us – wearing overalls and plowing fields and lifting hay bales and feeding calves. And there was this one well-known photograph that seemed to always be featured on their back cover. Man, that magazine exploited this photo to the extreme. There were mugs, hats, t-shirts, calendars, shellacked wood pieces, clocks, bed sheets and car wraps featuring these two little farmers. (Alright – I never saw a bed sheet. Or a car wrap. But…
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distraction #42
I am too sick and too tired to be clever. Our home looks a bit like a war zone and we are its casualties. I am grateful to a couple of good friends who stopped by the house with beverages and soups and so many others who have made kind offers. While we rest and get better, just take a look at these shots of our little Wilde Fox of an Otto. Marvel with me at how handsome he is. Admire what a fantastic photographer Emma is and how she captures his quirky little looks. And notice how much Otto adores his hat made by Aunt Sarah. Seriously. He has…
