Blue Eyed Babies

This week at...

...the theme is "Before and After"

It made me think about how easy my photo shoots of Merrick used to be. You know, back before he was climbing the siding on our house. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I took this picture of my Wildman, at about 3 months old:

At the time, I wouldn't have imagined having another "prop the wobbly kiddo up on the pillows" photo shoot 18 months later, with another hooligan in the picture. Merrick was so happy he got to hold Tirzah...he kept laughing instead of his usual *run and hide, mom has the camera out* routine. I'm so glad to have such "willing" subjects as I work on my photography obsession hobby. Hopefully in the last 18 months I've gotten a little better at it, and not just turned into my kids' own personal paparazzi. ;)

Sugar Induced Karaoke

Today we had a chance to head out with the students of 180 to go grab some ice cream at DQ.
Usually they are preoccupied after our meetings playing sports, but we convinced them this evening to do something else.

We had a great time, and they had too much sugar. Which led to too much singing in the Concord Clunker on the way home. :) But at least they're good moods were contagious...
We're really grateful for the fun times we get to spend with the students...and are looking forward to this next year with the *new* group of crazies. :)

Red Lobster Salad and Baked Potato

Back on my birthday, my in-laws had given us a gift card to Red Lobster. I am not a fan of seafood, but would go to Red Lobster any day just for their biscuits. :) Billy loves seafood, but we rarely actually have it. Usually when we go to Red Lobster I get a salad or chicken. *I did get a recipe for salmon that I'm going to try to make...I'm trying to be open-minded here ;)* Anyway...yesterday I decided to brave the fishy smells, random leggy crustaceans, and creatures with their tails still attached to use our gift card. Here is Merrick checking out the next customer's lunch, I mean lobsters:
And here are my two boys eating their shrimp while I try not to watch ;)

I really don't mind eating there...they do have good chicken and steak. :) What I could have done without was my two guys somehow managing to get their lunches all over me. I didn't even eat shrimp, butter, or ketchup, but from looking at my shirt no one would believe that. :)

KP Duty

I haven't had a lot of time to cook recently. I really enjoy it, but it's been one heck of a busy summer around here. *I really feel like we missed summer. I am secretly very openly jealous of all these people I know on Facebook/Blogger who have laid on beaches or taken naps. NAPS??? No fair ;)* So anyway...when I finally got around to doing some cooking earlier today I realized I didn't have anything interesting in the bread department to go with it. So I was in the process of making some extremely gourmet good ol' garlic toast. :) I had my back turned to Merrick, which is illegal in our house, while working on another part of dinner. I turned back around to find this:
Merrick was a little too hungry to wait for dinner to be finished apparently. So, of course, I let him keep eating our toast, using his best table manners, while I took pictures. :)

He wasn't too happy when I told him I needed to toast the toast, before we ate dinner...But...he distracted himself by *washing* the dishes. He may not have the best table manners, but he's not afraid of a little kitchen duty. ;)

Nasty Bug

As much as everyone knows I love bugs...I can't take credit for teaching him to say this, at least not on purpose. He found a bug on the bottom of his shoe while putting it on...and informed me that there was a *nasty bug* on his shoe. He still seems to like bugs, so I think he must have heard me or someone else refer to them as "nasty", and just assumed that was what they should be called. :)

Behind-The-Scenes

Saturday was "moving day" for my sister, Amanda. She is now a senior at LU, and is headed back up that way for the school year. It was great having her home for the summer, but we were glad for an excuse to take a trip back up to the 'Burg for the day. We have lots of good memories from our years living there. Everything from work, getting married, having our first baby, our first apartment, etc. Another fun memory, as anyone who went to Liberty can relate to, is Scaremare. I am a notorious chicken, so it took me awhile before I would dare set a toe in the Scaremare house. :)

My two sisters share my fears, as you can see in this picture of them hanging out on the porch of the house :)...

Amanda has recently started dating a guy who is in charge of the means of torture creative efforts in designing the rooms, sets, and ideas for Scaremare every year. I asked her how did she *a bigger chicken than I am* end up with the scariest guy in Virginia? :) We don't mind, though...and hope that her crazy siblings don't scare him. ;) Since Amanda now has the hook-up when it comes to *scary*...we got to take a tour of the house yesterday after moving her in. It was so cool to see the house behind-the-scenes, with the lights on, and not ready for visitors just yet. Funny thing is...it still scared the pants off of me. :) Here are a few pictures of the house.

I'm sure we'll be heading up that way with 180 in October...so you'll be seeing a bit more of these types of pictures...

...later on! :)

Home Sweet Home

There are lots of pictures, as anyone who knows me knows, of my hooligans. There just aren't many pictures of my hooligans with me. Since I'm the one always taking the pictures. There are times, however, that I manage to get at least part of me into a picture with one of them. Here is a picture of *us girls* earlier today:

The theme for the week at...

...was "Nostalgia". At first I decided

I was going to skip this week because I was too tired to feel the least bit creative. However, after piddling around with this picture of me and Tirzah...I realized it might be nostalgic, in a way, for her. No, I'm not pregnant anymore...but as Tirzah reminds us nearly every night when she cries for us to hold her, she seems a little homesick for where she used to be. She can be wailing and crying, and all I have to do is put her next to me and she's asleep. I think this is a bit of God's sense of humor getting back at me for complaining about how unsnuggly Merrick always was. I'm trying to get the joke through the sleep exhaustion. :)

For You formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
--Psalm 139:13-14--

Skin Photoshop Deep

I don't usually post a lot of serious stuff on my blog, stuff that I'm thinking/stewing about. I like to write about my hooligans, and our "family circus" that I love so much. :) I really like blogs like that, though...and that everyone has a different "blog style". Anyway...all that rambling just to say I had a video I wanted to share. I saw this all over facebook the last few days, and it really caught my attention:

Made me stop and think, just a bit. All those people that sometimes we are dying to look like, they don't even look like the people we are dying to look like. But there is Someone I definitely want to look like. Here's praying I don't have to "photoshop" my life to show His glory.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30

2 Heads Papi's are Better Than 1

I guess you can never have too much of a good thing...:)

Dumpster Diving

Earlier today Billy was working on taking out the trash. He had emptied the trash can in the bedroom, and when he came back to put the bag in this is what he found:

Apparently wearing trash cans on your head is an activity that Merrick enjoys. Later in the evening we caught him in my mom's kitchen trash can...thankfully minus the trash. :)

Not sure what all the fuss is about...I hope this doesn't become a hobby of his. I think the mountain furniture climbing and phone heisting are enough to keep him busy.
:)

Smile

Tirzah is smiling more and more lately. :) It's fun to start seeing her learn new things and watch her personality develop. I caught her smiling on video earlier today:

It Ain't Easy...

...Being Cheesy

Plumb

Your baby blues
So full of wonder
Your curly cues
Your contageous smile

And as I watch
You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight

Knowing clouds will rage

And storms will race in

But you will be safe in my arms

Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone

Because I will always
Always love you

Clouds will rage
And storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms--In high school I really like listening to Plumb. I was really excited to find a CD the lead singer had written for her children. It makes me all sappy and teary-eyed, but it's a really awesome CD. :) The above lyrics are from the song *In My Arms*.--

I Love Mondays

Yes, I said I love Mondays. Despite the craziness that comes with having 2 kids under 2...I love being able to stay home with them both. There's no such thing as a weekend for SAHM's...so I always laugh when I see everyone's "TGIF's" on Facebook. Our weekends are especially busy with Billy being a youth pastor. So...I look forward to our quiet fun Monday's. ;)

I mean...it's not all fun and games. Sometimes I'm knee deep in burp rags and dirty laundry, and it's great when my 2 double team me with dirty diapers and screaming matches. ;) There are days when taking a shower requires military-style strategy, and I think I may need to call the Coast Guard to get Merrick to stay out of the tub and toilet. *I've been working on this post for 3 hours...for example. I have to get up every .5 seconds.* But...I'd take it any day. I mean, who wouldn't want to play with this guy all day? ;)

This week at I Heart Faces the theme was Bubbles...so that inspired us to take a break from Merrick's busy schedule of toilet diving and furniture climbing for a few minutes. TGIMonday. :)