Twists and turns...

The last time I was here was December 9...

I took a little break.

A little voluntarily...a little not

Life has been happening.

Some twists...some turns.

A lot of ups...a few downs.

A little painful growing going on too.

Learning how life is precious.

Witnessing the truth of "He giveth and taketh away".

My new years resolution: To not live a day with any regrets.

So far: Im meeting my resolution :)

So, whats been going on recently?

All three babies had RSV- at once. whew!

Nathan- is ten months - crawling, pulling up, testing mammas authority :)

Natalie- potty trained in 5 days. FIVE. I am thrilled!

I turned 31..and love it

Philip is working hard but has been getting home early ... yay!

We ordered our saferoom for tornado season...a little less anxiety here.

With that said...here is something sweet to look at  :)

My little Valentines.

Oh they are sweet...

The girls made the sign :)

Love love love love

Our little bakers

It is definately Christmas time here.

Visions of sugar plums are dancing - and if you're lucky you can catch me doing a jig or two to Bing Crosby and friends Christmas tunes.

We are crafting crazy every day...

Rudolph definately makes his appearance on our TV screen everyday...

We watch "The Small One" and everytime..everytime...Brooklyn wants me to tell her why the donkey is carrying Mary to Bethlehem.

"Mommy...why is the donkey taking Mary to Bethlehem?"

She loves to hear the story of the birth of Jesus.

Melt me...just watch me turn to goo.

We made Christmas cookies one evening and they were soooo sweet.

I think we will do it again in a week or so.

I am so excited to have my Christmas baking buddies.

I think matching aprons will find their way under the tree this year :)

Check ya later...

Frank Sinatra is about to serenade me and a lovely fire is waiting for me :)

Nathan 7 month pics...

It has been way too long since I have been on here.

The days are getting away from me.

Guess I have a no brainer for a new years resolution :)

Here are the TWO pics I got for Nathans 7 month day.

He was very grumpy. Not happy.

Turns out...he had an ear infection and here I am sitting him out on a cool day

trying to get him to smile.

I actually like these pics though.

They are real life.

Who wants fakey fakey posey posey?

Melt my heart once again...have I mentioned how crazy in love I am with this

little guy?

:)

The Happy Day Project....

I am so excited to be a part of this project!

I want my blog to be used for the good of others.
One of my favorite bloggers Julie over at joyshope.com and her friend Jeanette at Life Rearranged
have teamed up for a really worthy challenge.

The Happy Day Project

She challenges us to do something good everyday for a week.

While I hope I do good everyday anyways...
Ive been praying that I would be inspired to make the holidays more meaningful...and not just for my kids.
I tend to make my world about my kids...which is fine in certain aspects.

I want to teach them to do good.
To love.
To give.
To enjoy spreading happiness to those around them.
To be selfless.

take the challenge with me :)

Check out the details at joyshope.com 

or just click on the icon above.

It is good to do good.

Its Biblical

Its right

Its good

Have a fabulous wonderful weekend :)

Nathan....6 month pic...how can this BE???

I just cannot bring myself to say my little baby boy is 6 months old.

 What in the world have I been doing for 6 months?

(Oh yeah...changing diapers, cooking, nursing, potty training....etc)

He is so handsome.

I took these last night.

The ones where he is sitting up were quick pics.

Philip would hold him, let go, I would take the pic, then P would catch him.

Little booger (talking about Nathan)

Ok so Philip can be a booger too.

He is weighing in at 21 lbs, 28 inches and he has a big head.

100 % on the charts for his head.

I dont mind.

Its the cutest little baby boy head I have ever seen!

he started eating solid foods this week...sweet potatoes.

Ill post those pics soon too.

Meanwhile...here is a little glimpse into picture time.

My favorites wouldnt upload, so I will try again when P gets home!

Oh he is so precious to me!

He does have a big head huh? haha!

He's a big boy!

Gotta protect his sisters :) 

comfort food...im a sucker

So when it turns cold I get in the mood for warm foods and sometimes they arent so healthy.
I was trying to figure out what to have for dinner last night and found some potatoes my mom gave me because she had too many.
free potatoes? I have to use them!
So I made this for dinner last night...easy on the budget too! YUMMO! :)

Easy potato soup

We dont eat a lot of white potatoes....and a major reason is because I do not like to peel them. And generally we like sweet potatoes better.

I take 5-6 potaoes the size of my fist. Scrub, peel and cut up into fairly large chunks.
Add some water (do not cover the potatoes completely) and bring to a boil.
Continue to cook for about 20 minutes
add 1 cup of milk
add 1/4 onion finely chopped
add lots of black pepper
dried parsley or chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional if you dont have either)
add 2-3 cloves minces garlic
add a little salt

conitnue to cook on medium for about 30 minutes.

Its fantastic. we love it and its comforting and warm and its a good healthier meal for the cooler days!

Hope you like it!

We are loving the weather today...cloudy with some rain and a cool breeze. Yay for fall!

Guest post at The Domestic Wannabe!

I am excited to be a part of the series "A Day in the Life" over at

http://www.thedomesticwannabe.blogspot.com/

Check out her awesome blog and be encouraged!