Just For You, Tyree

The other day, I walked in Bailey's room after she had her quiet time. I found this. I immediately thought, "Aunt Tyree would be proud of you." Aunt Tyree loved her Barbies growing up.

I loved how Bailey had set this up. Looks like a girlfriends lunch to me! It reminded me of Tyree and I having lunch. Tyree is more than a sister-in-law, she is a great friend. She is the one I can call up if I am in tears. She is the one I call for mommy advice. She is the one who will pray. She always has encouraging and truthful words.

So Tyree, this post is just for you!!! Just wanted to know how much I love ya! I wish we could have lunch together tomorrow.

Oh, Tyree is the taller one and I am the smaller one. She is like the big sister!

She gave it another try

I wanted to give an update from yesterday. I could not leave you thinking that my kids had a horrible time in the snow yesterday. Bailey prayed last night that she would have a better day in the snow.

This morning we bundled up again and gave it another try. They loved it. The smile on her face was priceless. We had so much fun! It was a great day.

Oh, I forgot to tell you yesterday that in the midst of all the crafts and playing, I did some major cleaning out. If you live near me and want to look through my stuff you are more than welcome. Everything is free! There is a brand new espresso machine and lots of home decor. Just let me know if you want to swing by the house once the snow melts. It will all be going to goodwill in about a week or so.

Have a great day!

A Full Day!

You may want to grab your beverage of choice and a snack for this post. It has been a busy day which means LOTS of pictures! I recently purchased (after I returned Aperture 2. Good product but not what I was looking for.) a 50mm 1.8 fixed lens. My sweet friend who loves her camera just as much as I do, talked me into this lens. I absolutely love using it inside. Today, I got to play around with it while the kids played inside.

So let's start the day. It started snowing last night. The kids were SO excited. I bought sleds yesterday and they were ready to go. We woke up to a winter wonderland. It continued to snow/rain/sleet this morning so we waited to go outside. The kids decided they wanted to paint. I had a cardboard package that we decided to turn into a puppet show theater.

We had paint EVERYWHERE......

including our hands, clothes, new chair covers (don't ask me why I did not take them off before they started painting). It was everywhere but the kids were having fun.

We bundled all up to go outside. I think it took us longer to bundle up than it did for us to play in the snow.

Camera lens change!

This little guy loved the sled. He had a smile from ear to ear.

The big guy loved it just as much.

This cautious little girl DID NOT like it. She was all disturbed because she got snow up her sleeve.

The sleet was coming down, kids were crying, snot was flying, frustration was building....it was time to go in the house. We were outside all of 30 minutes! Like I said it took longer to get dress.

Tears were still coming from the little female in the house. Just like a girl. She was just so sad. She finally said, "I am so sad because I thought it was going to be fun like last year. Can we still make snow ice cream?" Of course, we will make snow ice cream. It's a tradition!

Camera lens change!

Recipe: Clean snow (Daddy has taught them to NEVER eat yellow snow. ha)

milk

sugar

vanilla

Mix until it taste yummy

Already feeling better.

The puppet show is about the begin. Everyone take your seats.

There once was a bunny and the big giant tried to get the bunny but the bunny got away. The end.

I know, I know. This is a long post. Take one more sip of your beverage. This is the picture of the day!

I think I am ready for a nap! Stay Warm!

A Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy for some friends right now. I have a few friends who are in the midst of life's storms and are continuing to be a light for Christ. They have been such a witness of faith through their circumstances. My heart was extra heavy for them today.

Remember the Welcome Home Post. Please pray for this family. The daddy who came home to visit, recently had an abcess on his brain and had brain surgery. He was transported back to the states. My friend is with him while he is recovering. The hospital is not in the same state as we are so she is juggling between being with him and having her kids taken care of. Once again, I was reminded of the sacrifices that our military families make. She is truly being a light for Christ in the midst of this storm. I had tears in my eyes as I drove her little boy home from school today. What a sweet little guy. I just wanted to hug his neck and tell him everything is going to be ok. So please pray for this family.

"When the darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in." Psalm 112:4

All I want for Christmas is a Pink Guitar

There once was a little girl who went to visit Santa. She had been talking for weeks about visiting Santa and asking for a piggy bank. The sweet little girl's parents reminded her that Santa also likes to surprise little children. He likes to do his shopping early. Santa always brings the little girl 3 gifts just like the wise men did when Jesus was born. The little girl said she would ask Santa for a piggy bank and then let him surprise her. She talked to Santa while her parents stood to the side. She told her parents that she asked Santa for the piggy bank. Santa was on it! Piggy bank was ready to go in the bag.

Two days before Christmas the little girl surprised her mommy when all of a sudden she said that she also asked for a pink guitar. The mommy DID NOT KNOW that she had asked for a pink guitar. Earlier it had been all about the piggy bank. Santa was not sure if he could find a pink guitar at this late notice.

The little girl and her brother were so excited Christmas morning that they ran into the living room. The little girl yelled with excitement, "A piggy bank. I love it! But what about a pink guitar." With a sweet smile and sincere heart she looked at her mommy and said "I know we are to be thankful for whatever we get." The mommy was sad that "Santa" had let her down just a little. Deep down, the mommy knew that the little girl was just a little disappointed even though she did not show it.

Grandparents arrived for brunch and brought presents. The little girl shared with her Maw Maw that Santa did not bring a pink guitar but it was ok because Santa brought other things.

The grandmother was sad for her granddaughter and asked if she could find a pink guitar for her and give it to her later in the week.

The little girl traveled out of town for a few days. When she returned she went over to her grandparents to see her cousins. There was a big box with her name on it. She opened it up and there it was. She shouted with joy! Paw Paw had found a pink guitar for his granddaughter. He made it his mission to find a pink one. But instead of it being from Maw Maw and Paw Paw the guitar was from her cousins Emma and Truman.

That is the heart of a grandparent. They wanted her to have a guitar knowing the cousins would arrive with their instruments. However, instead of taking the credit they let the older cousins have all the credit. Uncle Brad tuned the guitar and gave her a lessons on how to hold it.

That my friends is the story of the pink guitar. Much "joyful" noise is being played in the house.

Effects

Ok, for all you out there (and there are so many of you who read my blog. Ha! I love ya'll!) who love your cameras and making your photos a little different, here is a post for you.

I have become a fan of some of the effects you can do with pictures. It is really easy and you don't need to purchase a thing. Yes, I know you can do several effects with photoshop and other editing programs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could do this with an on-line site called photobucket.com. I came across this site when I was trying to figure out how to post larger pictures on the blog. Remember this picture from 2 post ago? I was able to do this effect in less than 2 minutes. Really, it was easy. Photobucket has easy instructions here.

Get creative! Go for it! Have fun! Does not have to be perfect! Take risk!

Do you have any on-line editing sites that you enjoy using? I would love to hear.

Happy Editing!

Dreaming.....

While the weather has been FRIGID outside, I have been dreaming of summer. I love summer! Flip flops, sundresses, picnics on the beach, hearing giggles on the back porch are just a few of my favorites. The cool and crisp colors of summer makes me smile. So while I am sipping my hot cocoa, I am dreaming of sand between my toes.

Sweet Dreams!