The adventures of Claire and Luke

Claire. Is. Funny.

2009-12-30T12:57:00.004-06:00

A few days ago I noticed that there were lots of mysterious recordings on our dvr. They are all titled "kill dust mites". Humm. I know that I didn't record them, and the only other possibility was that they where recorded from the upstairs remote. Luke has no clue how to do that, but his big sissy is very tech savvy. A few days passed, and I forgot about it... until last night. As I was folding laundry in our room I went to turn on something that I dvr'd and I was reminded of it. Jeff, Luke and Claire happened to be in the room too, so I started questioning them.
I turned on the mysterious program, and Claire eyes LIT UP. Here was our conversation...

Claire: "I love this show!!!"
Me: "What is it?"
Claire: "It's the Steam Pocket. It's a cleaning machine. You just use water, no chemicals!!!"
Me: "What is that guys name?" (referring to the infomercial host)
Claire: "Oh, that's Mark!"

I asked her several more questions, and she told me all about the product. She even tried to tell me that we should get one. HA!
Seriously! She has been watching infomercials when she wakes up in the morning. Apparently this is her favorite! She crack me up. Jeff and I could not stop laughing. I love this girl!

Papa Gerry and Nana Sara's house

2009-12-21T13:45:00.003-06:00

In November the kids and I went up to Colorado to visit my parent! We had ton's of fun playing outside, going to a candy factory, visiting with Oma... and on and on!

Uncle Gary and Aunt Kathy's house

2009-12-21T13:23:00.003-06:00

In October we went down south to see Jeff's Aunt and Uncle! We had so much fun going to the pumpkin patch, having a bonfire, and doing a lot of fishing!

Pictures

2009-10-14T13:59:00.002-05:00

Just a few pictures...

Claire and Luke sporting their COLTS gear!

This goofy guys loves his Sissy!!!

Claire and LaneHappy Fall! These are some brownies that I magically turned into pumpkins! YUM!

When life gives you lemons...

2009-09-30T11:43:00.004-05:00

Hi Friends! It has been a while since I posted, so I thought I would give you an update on the Turner clan! It has been a crazy few months, but God is good and He is so evident in our lives.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be
afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

1. On August 18 Jeff went in for some test results at the doctors office. He had been having some weird symptoms, so I insisted that he go in. After a few hours of being gone he called to tell me that he was being admitted to the hospital. I went into panic mode (easy for me to do!). Once again some WONDERFUL friends stepped in to watch the munchkins, and I headed to the hospital. We found out that Jeff has a tumor/ lesion IN his spinal cord. We still do not have a clear diagnosis of what it is, as biopsying it would entail removing vertebrae. So, after a week in the hospital, and a while at home, we are still waiting. Jeff will be having repeat MRI's for the next year or two. But, praise the Lord, the last MRI showed a small bit of shrinkage. Please pray for complete healing, peace and patience while we wait for a definitive answer.

2. Claire and Luke started preschool again. They absolutely LOVE their teachers and have already learned so much in just a few weeks. I am so thankful for our church and the preschool program that they provide.

3. Me, well, I have been trying to cope. Janis, Jeff's Mom, came to stay with us for almost a month. She was amazing. I have never met such a patient person... I hope someday I can be that way! And... slowly our routine is getting back to normal!

4. I have a new website! Check it out... http://www.prettypiecesofme.com/ . Kelly over at Fabulous K did an amazing job. You might want to start thinking about Christmas presents! ;)

Lot's of love, e

Claire and Luke on the first day of school!

My sweetest things...

2009-07-31T09:53:00.003-05:00

labeled

2009-07-23T15:31:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I feel labeled. Claire and Luke's mom. The short girl. I label myself sometimes... I tell myself I'm "THAT mom" you know the one, the one with too many rules for her kids. I used to tell myself I was "chubby". Well, you get the idea.
This old Lane Bryant add really made me sad. I think it set a president for our Grandmothers and Mothers that if they needed a bigger size they where not "regular". SO WHAT if you need a bigger size. Yeah, you might need to improve your health. Yeah, you might be better off in the long run if you lost a few pounds. However, how much you weigh and the number in the back of your jeans is irrelevant. 1 Samuel 16:7 says:

7 The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

This is one of my favorite scriptures. I think about it often, actually I think of it daily. I hope you are not discouraged by the way our Master has created you. He is a wonderful artist and we are all beautiful in His sight.

Decorating

2009-07-21T12:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I let Claire and Luke put a few things on the walls in their bedrooms. They thought it was SOO fun! Claire chose to hang her huge fish that she made for her preschool program, and a picture of her and Papa Gerry. Luke chose to hang a picture of him and Claire, and the giant life preserver that he made for his preschool program. Out of all the picture choices that I gave him here is the one he chose... He loves his Sissy VERY much!

Emily is like...

2009-07-16T13:57:00.004-05:00

Here is a fun one...
I usually don't participate in these, because honestly, I think they are annoying! However, this one was fun. Here are the instructions:
1. Go to Google 2. Type in "(your name) is like" - make sure it is in quotation marks 3. Write down the first 10 things that come up.
__________________________________________________________________

1. Emily is like my favourite name now ...
2. Emily is like the coolest person ever.
3. Emily is like }i{ DOODLES }i{.
4. Emily is like learning to ride a bicycle.
5. Emily is like a childhood friend to me.
6. Emily is like her old and worn down house, since the world changes ...
7. Emily is like all her women friends.
8. Emily is like a second mother to the pack as she cooks and cares for them on regular occasions, while being treated like part of the pack in return.
9. Emily is like Jane Austen manners-- ladylike with a biting and insightful wit, always, always, dressed for the occasion.
10. Emily is like, "we all sit down together, hold hands and sing Kumbaya," and I just cracked up.

___________________________________________________________________

Bonus points if you can tell me what book #8 comes from!

Manna

2009-07-12T11:17:00.003-05:00

Several months ago Claire and I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with a few of my roommates from school (love you girls!). Stephie and her daughter Sofia took Claire and I to a mother- daughter "pajamarama"! We had so much fun doing crafts, and having breakfast for dinner. The best part, and the part that Claire remembered most, was making manna bags.

A manna bag is a gallon zip lock bag filled with non-perishable foods. Our manna bag was filled with: a water bottle, apple sauce, cookies, peanut butter crackers, vienna sausage, a napkin, a spoon, and a note of encouragement made by Claire! The idea of this bag is to be able to keep it in your car and to be able to hand it to someone when you see it fit. A homeless person on the corner, someone that looks hungry...etc. In Matthew 25:34 it says

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed
by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I
was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited
me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after
me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

So, on with my story... Claire and I had the opportunity to give out one of our manna bags to a homeless man and it was a great experience for her! I in-turn thought that creating manna bags with our whole small group at Church would be such a great event! So, a few months later, we where able to have nine families participate! I have written before about how much our small group means to us...I am thankful for such a wonderful group of friends that are filled with compassion for community and family. It was so fun seeing all of our children filled with that same compassion!

Here are some pictures from the evening...

All of our munchkins holding a manna bag!
Amanda and Sydney

KJL with his Mommy!

since the last time...

2009-06-11T18:50:00.004-05:00

Let's catch up... by the way I have been dreading this post, so just bear with me. I will try to keep it short and to the point, but we all know that sometimes I am not capable of that. HA!

April... The month started out good. Our mom's came and we all had fun (see the last post). But, a few weeks into the month I started having a lot of seizures, a lot more than normal. I was tons sleepier than normal, even sleeping for hours during the day. Basically, I wasn't functioning well enough to take care of the kids. On April 14 (thankfully the Saturday before Easter) I woke up having back to back seizures. Jeff called around to our AMAZING friends to find places for the kids to go so that he could take me to the hospital. Anyway, once we got there I was taken back and given tons of meds and even given a picc line (OUCH). I was admitted and remained in the hospital for a week. They ran tons of test and no one seemed to be able to do anything for me. I was averaging about 15 seizures a day, and I was very drugged up. At the end of the week I was transferred to the Parkland Seizure Unit in Dallas. It was not a pleasant place to be, but after only 17 hours of being there I had a diagnosis. Without going into great detail I will tell you that I do not have Epilepsy, and we praise God for that!!! I do however have anxiety and stress induced seizures. We were reassured that I am not crazy, that these are are in-fact real seizures, and that this is just the way that my body handles stress and anxiety. I am now seeing new doctors and learning how to control the said issue... which is not as easy as one might think.

NOW, I want to thank all of you who have been sooo supportive of us.

Thanks to all of you that kept Claire and Luke. What a huge blessing to not have to worry about your children because they are in such loving homes!

Thank you to all of you that brought us food... it was all so good, and such a stress relief for me, Jeff, and our Moms!

Thanks to our parents who dropped everything to come here and just be with us.

Thank you to all of you who prayed. The Lord has been good to us.

Thank you to our friends who came to the hospital and sit with us, and listen to the craziness coming out of my mouth :)

Thank you for the flowers, the sweet Easter baskets for the kids, mowing our lawn, and even CLEANING MY WHOLE HOUSE!
We are so blessed!
So, there you go, that was our April... maybe I will get to May in a few days! Here are some Easter pictures of the kids compliments of my amazing friend that kept the munchkins over the whole entire Easter weekend! Thank you girls... you really don't know what that means to me!

Look what the Easter bunny brought the boys!!! KJ, Luke, and C-bug!

Luke got to stay w/ KJ and the L clan... thanks for treating him like family!!!!

BFF'S Gracie Claire and Claire! Claire stayed with the Aslin fam! Thanks :) !!!!

Claire and Luke... This little guy is NEVER serious!

Proud of her Easter basket!

Before Easter church w/ Claire Gracie Claire holding Molly, Sydney and Luke.

cowboys and cowgirls

2009-04-03T12:34:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago my very sweet husband flew my Mom and my Mother in Law down to visit us for a week! We had so much fun... during the visit we went to the Fort Worth Science and History Museum. It is under construction right now so the exhibits are small, but what do a 2 year old and a 4 year old know? Luke loved the space exhibit and Claire loved the grocery store exhibit! Before we left we went through the National Cowgirl Museum. The kids got to ride a bull and get a video taken, so without further ado... introducing my little cowboy and cowgirl! :)

Mr. Manners

2009-03-05T18:30:00.007-06:00

One of my greatest pet peeves in life is manners, especially at the dinner table. I really feel like there is NO reason in the world to chew with your mouth open... ever. So shoot me if you do and your OK with it... I'm not. I think it is gross. So, as a result, I have already taught Claire how to chew with her mouth closed, and now I am starting to teach Luke. For some reason though I think teaching Luke is going to be a little bit harder though. He is trying really hard and making a huge effort! I caught him on video trying his hardest. Not the most appetizing thing, but very funny. I especially found it funny when Claire started giving him tips... listen closely for them, I know they will make you laugh too!

Spoken to.

2009-02-27T14:47:00.003-06:00

This story is powerful. It looks long, but it really won't take you that long to read it... It is amazing to me what the the Lord could do with me if I would stop and listen...

The Old Man and The Hair Brush
Beth Moore
April 20, 2005
Knoxville Airport - waiting to board the plane: I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord.
I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you.
You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego...
I tried to keep from staring but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy grey hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long. Clean, but strangely out of place on an old man.
I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered reading somewhere that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere?.... There I sat trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh no, God please no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, "Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. 'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!"... There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, "Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane." Then I heard it..."I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair." The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, "God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm you're girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am on him. I am going to witness to this man." Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. "That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair." I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane, How am I suppose to brush his hair without a hairbrush?"... God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: "I will thoroughly finish you unto all good works." (2 Tim 3:7) I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man, and asked as demurely as possible, "Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?" He looked back at me and said, "What did you say?" "May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair? To which he responded in volume ten, "Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that. At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, "SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?" At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, "If you really want to." Are you kidding? OF course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush." "I have one in my bag," he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but I must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, "Sir, do you know my Jesus?" He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures. He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride." "She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior." He said, "You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself. What a mess I must be for my bride." Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, "That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?" I said, "Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!" And we got to share. I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way... all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.
John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
By Beth Moore In "Further Still"

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T22:42:00.002-06:00

Today was a relaxing day at home. Tonight was our usual Saturday night at church, in which we love! However, I have a quick and funny story to share... as we where walking the kids to class Luke saw one of his favorite friends KJL. Luke ran to him and started to pull his pants down to show off his new pull ups. I caught him before he could successfully complete the act, and I explained to him that we don't pull our pants down in public. I took Claire to class while Jeff took Luke. Later this evening Jeff told me that while he was standing in front of Luke's classroom trying to find his name tag, Luke DID in fact take his pants to his ankles! KJL got to see Luke's new Cars pull up, which Luke is VERY proud of! OBVIOUSLY. The part I wish you could have seen... Luke standing there with his little jeans around his ankles, in the middle of a crowded hall, with a shirt that said "Lover boy" across his chest. That boy makes me laugh and I love him so very much. Happy Valentines Day.

So blessed...

2009-02-04T14:23:00.003-06:00

That's how I am feeling today! I have always gotten what I have wanted in life. I guess you could call me "lucky", or "blessed", or if you are cynical, maybe you might call me "spoiled". I prefer the first two!

1. My first goal after leaving my parents was to complete a degree- Check!

2. I wanted to find a fabulous husband that would treat me with respect and love me forever- check, check! :)

3. I wanted kids, but not only that, I wanted to be a stay at home mom... mission accomplished!

4. I have always wanted to successful at my own business- semi check- UNTIL TODAY!!!!!

Today I had a meeting with the owner of The Funky Monkey in Keller, TX! It is the coolest, hippest boutique I have ever graced with my presence! :) SO... a few weeks ago Amanda and I were in there and the owner saw me wearing a piece of my jewelry. She asked about it. I told her I had made it. She asked to set up a meeting with me, and now MY jewelry is going to be sold in her boutique!!!! AMAZING!!!! So, now my number 4 goal is going to be checked off! YEAH! So... here is what will be sold in The Funky Monkey ... my new fine silver customized jewelery, and my photo pendants. All of these items will still be available in my etsy shop as well at THE FUNKY MONKEY!!!! Check out the website, it is so cute! By the way, thank you to all of my friends and family that have been so encouraging. You have all helped me build my confidence, and for that, I am so thankful! I love you!

a letter to Luke...

2009-01-25T10:23:00.005-06:00

Dearest Luke,

I would like to document that on January 17, 2009 you told your Dad and I that it was "yucky" to talk to girls on the phone. This conversation occurred after you refused to talk to both Nana Sara and Nana Janis on the phone.

I would like you to remember this conversation for later reference, especially when cute girls are calling our house at all hours of the night. I would also like you to remember this conversation when your phone privileges are in the balance... if that ever where to happen!

I love you sweet Luke, I think you are precious.

Love,
Mom

Christmas

2008-12-30T18:11:00.005-06:00

Our Christmas was so much fun! We are so fortunate to be able to spend Christmas with both sets of our parents. For the last few years we have all gone to my parents house in Colorado. We all get along great... I am so thankful for this! :)
We spent our time sledding and playing. The kids had a great time... of course getting showered with tons of attention! We attended the Christmas eve service at my parents church and Claire and Luke loved hearing my Dad do the children's sermon. Fun was had by all!
I hope your Christmas was just as great as ours!
Here are a few sledding picture for now. I have a ton of pictures to sort through, so brace yourself for an onslaught of pictures in the days to come! :)

All bundled up for some sledding fun!

I love my family!
Papa Gerry (my Dad) with Claire and Luke

Merry Christmas

2008-12-15T16:36:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Cutie

2008-12-13T14:33:00.003-06:00

Last night we went out to dinner, made cookies, played a game, and had a dance party! It was SO much fun! Here is a cute video of Luke showing off his moves! He gets them all from Jeff! Especially the bootie shaking! :) Make sure you turn up the volume, he sure is shaking his bootie to David Archuleta's "Crush"! I think that makes it even cuter! :)

And the winner is...

2008-12-13T12:15:00.003-06:00

Congratulations Kelli!!!! Email me at turner.ea@gmail.com . Let me know which pendant you would like, or if you would prefer a different quote! Happy Twilighting! :) Oh, and if you are at all curious, my favorite quote is the whole last page of Breaking Dawn!

Contest!!!!

2008-12-10T17:13:00.005-06:00

OK ladies!!! It's time for a contest! My first to be exact! You all know that i HEART Twilight, the movie, the books, the everything about it actually. No shame people! So, let's have a Twilight contest!!!

Here is the deal... I am tired of having no comments to read on my blog, so what better way to remedy the situation than to give away some Twilight bling? :) To enter, you must leave a comment with your name and your favorite quote from one of the books, or the movie (gasp, if you haven't read the books!)

Your prize? Well, see below! I have made some fabulous Twilight bling! If you aren't lucky enough to win on Saturday at noon, then you can see these cuties on my etsy site! I will randomly draw a name and post it here, then I will send the luck winner one pendant and chain of there choice! If you would rather have another quote, then by all means... it will be yours! :)

I can't wait to hear all of your favorite quotes... and most of all... I can't wait to see all of you Twilight junkies come out of hiding! No shame ladies! :)
Update: There is a potential for spoilers here, so just be aware of that when you open the comments!

I am second

2008-12-06T09:35:00.002-06:00

Have you heard of this website? Iamsecond.com. Jeff introduced it to me yesterday. It is AMAZING. You must go look at it. If you only have a few minutes, especially watch the Brian Welch video. It is powerful.
We have been discussing our own personal testimonies in small group, at church. This is so inspiring to me. These people are so honest.
Anyway, just wanted to share what had been shared with me. :)

Happy Birthday Claire!!!

2008-12-03T16:22:00.004-06:00

I can hardly believe that Claire is 4 today! It seems like she was so little just a few months ago. Now, she is so self sufficient. She can dress herself and buckle herself into her car seat. She can color a coloring page without going out of the lines. She knows the words to whole songs. One more... she is so sweet. She is a sweet loving little girl. She loves her friends and her family so much. And for that, I am so proud of her! I am so thankful everyday that God blessed Jeff and I with Claire! Happy 4th Birthday Claire!

Last night Claire got to take her two BFF's Kaylen and Gracie Claire to Chili's and Build a Bear for her Birthday. Then, they got to come back to our house for Claire's very first sleep over. To say the least, they had F-U-N!!!! :)

Here are a few pictures. I am a little sad that they didn't turn out better, but it's hard to capture that much fun in action! :)

Claire named her bunny "Ella".

Every bunny needs a bath, right?!

Claire, Gracie Claire, and Kaylen

Let's eat cake!!!

Sundays...

2008-11-16T12:03:00.003-06:00

Sunday's mean football at our house. Jeff likes to watch every possible game (sigh.). I can usually fill my time making something crafty! :)

I hope your having a relaxing Sunday too!

My pretty girl

Showing off their support for Daddy's game!

Even Bailey is enjoying the day!

Future fashionista...

2008-11-12T09:15:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Claire was singing quietly in the backseat. I thought I could hear what she was saying but I thought surely not! I thought I heard hear saying "Jimmy Choo". So, I asked her to sing louder. She did. Sure enough, she was singing one of the songs from my ipod that I must play to often (oops). "Sick of this dress and these Jimmy Choo's..."
She wanted to know what Jimmy Choo's were. I explained that they were shoes. She then asked if she could have some! I laughed, HARD! I told her that when I got some, she could have some! :) Look out Jeff! We have a fashionista on our hands. I knew I kept Harper's Bazaar on every in-table for a reason! :)

Halloween

2008-11-01T15:04:00.006-05:00

Claire and Luke had a great time dressing up this year! Claire was a fairy and Luke was a cowboy. Jeff took them up and down our cul de sac and that was just about the right amount of trick or treating for them! Bailey the beagle even wore a costume! She was a princess... and yes, I payed money for her costume! :) For some reason Jeff refused to take her with them trick or treating. So, I dressed her up anyway and stood in the yard with her! The kids loved it!

Me and my sweet girl! A fairy and a cowboy!

Nana Janis with Claire and Luke

The munchkins with their pumpkins... :)

Princess Bailey!

Did I mention?

2008-10-27T16:19:00.004-05:00

Two posts on one day! I know, I know! Amazing!!! I think I forgot to mention that my Dad is in Seminary now! He is going to Concordia to be a Lutheran Pastor. A month ago he was inducted in as a Vicar. Pretty cool huh!? Way to go Dad! Or is it Pastor Gerry now? :)

My Dad is on the top row, second from the left.

New pictures

2008-10-27T10:59:00.003-05:00

On Saturday our small group went shopping and bought a bunch of food for our food bank at church. Then we headed back to church and let all of the kids stock the shelves. They had a great time!
What's more fun than a rolling cart?

Big helpers!

Luke can't wait to be a big kid!

Future super model :)

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers for me! I get my EEG results on Thursday! Pray for good news!

Funny like his Daddy...

2008-09-30T23:40:00.004-05:00

Those of you that know Jeff know that he is pretty funny. He is always making jokes, or trying to. In the last few days, Luke has said some things that are too good not to share. I also want to document them for future use! :)

1. After dinner one night Luke came in and told me he had food in his mouth. I was some what confused. But, after more questioning I realized that he had something stuck in his tooth. He ended up yelling "Get it Mommy! I want you to get it so I can eat it!" GROSS. If your wondering if he ate it, he did. EWWW.

2. On Sunday Jeff was giving the kids a bath. When he was done I went upstairs to help put pj's on and get them ready for bed. I had Luke. As I was combing his hair I was telling him how HANDSOME he looked. He objected by saying...

"No Mommy, I NOT handsome!!! I FANCY!" While he said this he shook his little bottom and had his hands on his hips. Oh, my goodness... I almost died laughing!!!!

On another note, my parents have been in town for a few days. It has been such a fun visit! We went to the Japanese gardens today, so look out for some fun pictures of that soon. Also, this last weekend we took the kids to a business outing of sorts for Jeff's work. They had a family day at a local ranch... we even got our own REAL cowboy hats! SO FUN!

My cowboys

Claire petting the armadillo

One more thing... check out my Mom's new etsy site. I have also added a couple of new things to mine. I will be adding things frequently as we approach the holidays! I added this bag tonight...

Corduroy sunset

Cutie of the day...

2008-09-26T10:50:00.001-05:00

Catching up with pictures...

2008-09-15T17:57:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures to catch you up on what we have been doing. I am having a hard time organizing these photos, so they are in somewhat of a random order.

Luke riding his big boy bike! Luke on his first day of school
Picking out backpacks for school. What a task!
Walking in to school with Papa Dale.
First day of school
Claire and Uncle Michael
Papa and Luke
Because I have had so much help with the kids lately, I have had a lot of time to create some new things for my etsy shop! Here are a few of them. I am starting to feel more like my self. My migraines seem to be spacing out. Hopefully I am moving in the right direction!

One of the many...

2008-09-10T01:11:00.003-05:00

faces of Claire.

Absent

2008-09-08T22:49:00.002-05:00

I have been absent lately. From lots of things really... I haven't been blogging for lots of reasons, but mostly because I haven't felt like it. The last few month have been rough for me. I have literally not gone a day without the fear of getting a migraine. There have been a few good days here and there, but most days have been tough. My typical migraine medicine of choice has stopped working. So, all this to say, I have been pretty miserable. BUT! I finally got answers today!!! I wanted to blog about it, because so many of you have been concerned about me (thank you for that!)
Last week I had an MRI and today I went in for my results... I have abnormal thickening of my Sphenoid sinus. The sphenoid sinus is buried deep in the brain. Apparently, my SS is very infected, and swollen, creating pressure in my brain. (Frightening???Yes, I think so!) So, the doctor thinks that the pressure is building making my migraines worse and worse. Sooo, I am now on some medication to remedy the problem. Hopefully, it will work. I am also going to see a Neurologist in the coming weeks to make sure that the swelling is subsiding.
So, there you go. That is why I have been absent from class, blogs, phone calls, etc. I apologize. Hopefully I will return full force soon!
Love you all.
emily.

Powerful

2008-08-27T17:26:00.002-05:00

Please go watch this! Our church did cardboard testimonies a few weekends ago, and they are POWERFUL! GOD works in wonderful ways.
Here is the link.

Long hair and rainbows

2008-08-14T14:04:00.004-05:00

Claire is obsessed with having long hair. She thinks that everyone with long hair is beautiful. She wants her hair as long as possible... no matter what. Even though our daily hair routine starts and stops with screaming and tears, she still wants long hair. Today we were in Walmart and she saw a woman walk by. I did not see her right away, but Claire made her VERY evident to me. Claire started jumping up and down YELLING " Mommy, I want hair like THAT!!!" "LIKE HERS!!!" As I looked up, I saw a woman with hair that would have reached the ground if it would not have been wrapped around her waist. Yes, that's right folks, it was braided, and then threaded through her belt loops like a belt. So, my response to Claire you might ask? "Maybe when your older Claire, maybe when you older." I think I might have laughed a little too! I don't know why I am always amazed by the things I see and hear at that store... you would think I would walk in there looking for a story. Is it just me, or do you have fun times in that place too?!

On a side note, Claire and Luke love to say the prayers at every meal, and bed time. It is so sweet to hear them pray for all the things and people that are special to them. They never forget to mention Mommy, Daddy, Claire and Luke (usually several times each) they sometime throw in Shelby (the cat) and Bailey (the dog). Nana and Papa's always are included, and if Claire is in charge of the Prayer she always throws in something special... She talks about God, Jesus, and "Thank you for the rain and the beauuuutiful rainbow that God created!!!" While she says this line she throws her head back and arches her hand across the sky mimicking a rainbow. It is the sweetest thing... but it always makes Jeff and I laugh. She is SO dramatic and full of life! What a blessing we have been given!

Today Claire made a drawing of "The beauuuutiful world that God created" (that's how she says it!)
(clouds at the top, a rainbow, flowers, and grass... pretty good for a 3 year old!)

The last few weeks...

2008-07-28T15:42:00.006-05:00

I know, you expect more from me than this... but, the last few weeks have flown by. My Grandpa, Opa, went to live with Jesus almost two weeks ago. We are all missing him so much. We drove up to Colorado for the funeral, and to spend some time with my family. It was good to be there, but also very difficult. It was great to see that my Grandpa was loved by SO many people. Here are a few pictures from our Colorado trip...

Uncle Justin (my brother) with Claire and Luke

Me with my Grandma Elva (Oma)

Luke spent lots of time playing with bubbles outside! Papa Gerry taught Claire how to bounce and catch the ball!
All of the kids released balloons after the funeral. Claire said "I think Opa will catch my balloon in heaven." It was a very sweet time. (Thanks for the idea Becky!)

Since we have been back we have had lot's of great friend time. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the kids with there best buddies...

Claire and Luke, the best of friends, most of the time! :)
Claire, Luke, and Gracie Claire
Luke holding "Baby Bake" (Translation- Blake)
Luke and his best buddy KJL... How cute are these two?
Luke and Big buddy Ezra! Ezra teaches Luke how to do all the cool, fun things that big kids do!

This and that...

2008-07-08T13:52:00.006-05:00

1. I wanted to share my latest creation with you. It is entitled the "Honey bee bag". Check out more pictures on my etsy site.

2. Claire and Luke got to have a camp out in our bedroom a few nights ago. Our upstairs AC is broken, and won't be replaced until Saturday. They loved sleeping in there zebra tent!

3. Thank you for your prayers for my family. My Grandpa is still with us, but he is very weak.

4. We had a great Fourth of July! Our good friends Kelsey and Lisa had us over for a cook out! The kids went swimming, we did a lot of eating, and then went and saw some great fire works. Fun was had by all!

Fun with sparklers!

Claire and Kaylen love to play dress up!
Luke had a great time making a festive hat.
Are these kids cute or what!?
Luke participating in the silly face contest.
Mommy and Luke
Daddy and Luke
Just a bonus picture... my handsome little guy.

Sadness

2008-07-04T14:10:00.003-05:00

I got a call from my Mom this morning, letting me know what I have been dreading for weeks. My Grandpa, "Opa" took a turn for the worst this morning. They think he will leave us in the next day or two. I came out of my bedroom crying, Claire and Luke were very concerned. Claire started the following conversation (again). We have had this conversation SO many times in the last few weeks, but I think she keeps bringing it up so that I will understand... she gets it, but I don't think I do.

C: Mom, why are you sad?
E: I'm sad b/c Opa is very sick.
C: Will he get better?
E: No, He is going to live with Jesus soon.
C: Oh, but Jesus lives in my heart!
E: Yes, He does, but Opa can live in your heart too.
C: Don't be sad Mommy.

Kids really understand more than we give them credit for. Maybe I will learn something from her. Please keep my family in your prayers. We will probably making the trip up to Colorado sometime next week.

Walk with me...

2008-07-02T22:21:00.003-05:00

This post may get long. Lot's of things to talk about... a fabulous memory, Canada, and funny, funny Claire.

Let's start with the memory. Picture this... Me with a side ponytail and HUGE bangs. I was wearing my favorite NKOTB Joey t-shirt with a sweet ribbon t-shirt ring. I was with my Mom, and a few of my favorite friends from my girls scout troupe. The location? The NKOTB concert at Texas Stadium. I think I was in third or fourth grade. I can remember the noise and the heat like it was yesterday. I am actually sitting here smiling, because I can remember how truly ecstatic I was. Yes, we were screaming, and yes, I kept the paper fan that they were handing out. I even kept the ticket stubs, and collected streamers from the police line tape. I made a collage out of the whole thing.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, it's not because I am embarrassed, because you know YOU did it too! I'm telling you this because one of the new NKOTB songs is out, and it is GREAT (it's called "Summertime"). You must go to itunes and buy it. It will make you remember things that you only thought you wanted to forget! :) If you know me well enough, none of this should be surprising you. Girls, I can't wait to hear similar stories... comment away!

Next, lets talk about Canada. Jeff got to bring me along on a business related trip to Whistler, British Columbia. It was nothing but fabulous and amazing. I have never been to such a beautiful place. I spent lot's of time at the spa, and lot's of time reading. A much needed break. Jeff played golf, and we also got to go to the top of a glacier. Amazing. One night we went to a "rock and role" themed dinner. The entertainment was none other than "Loverboy". Don't remember him? He sings "Workin for the weekend" and "Almost paradise". It was hysterical and lot's of fun.

The golf course in Whistler.
Jeff and I on top of the glacier.
A view from the ski lift.
A black bear that we spotted on the way down... they were everywhere!

And now for my sweet Claire. She is getting to be such a big girl. After she wakes up from her nap she has been helping me create things. Her latest creation involves threading buttons onto a stick in color order. She calls her creation a "button stick". I hope she grows up to be a crafty little thing!

Claire making a "button stick".

Luke's new trick

2008-06-22T17:53:00.006-05:00

Fun with frosting...

2008-06-12T16:07:00.003-05:00

My friend Christi and I made a ton of petite fours (tiny cakes) today. It was SO much fun, and they turned out just the way we hoped the would! Martha Stewart helped us a little bit by providing us with the recipes. Claire, Luke, and Sheadon helped by crying (we got to take little breaks!). All in all, it was a very successful morning! I can't wait to go to Becky's baby shower tonight and see everyone else enjoy them!

Luke

2008-06-04T13:53:00.004-05:00

My sweet little guy is two now! Can you believe it? His birthday was May 25. That is also Mine and Jeff's anniversary (6 years!!!)! I love my two guys soooo much!

Nana Janis and Papa Dale were here for the events, if you can call them events! :)

I made cupcakes for Luke, and we opened presents. He loved every minute of it! For our anniversary we went to Central Market for dinner.... I love sitting on there patio! Then, we went and saw the new Indiana Jones movie. What a great night!

Other than that, our house has been one of disorder. After being gone for so long, and having company, I can't seem to get back to normal. Hopefully soon...

The morning of Luke's big day...
Happy Birthday Luke!!!!
Playing in the fun new sprinkler attachment!!!
Helping Pap Dale plant flowers
Coming soon: Pictures from our Colorado trip...

In Colorado...

2008-05-21T15:13:00.002-05:00

Hi. I am still in Colorado. The kids and I came up to visit my family for a while. My Grandpa (sometimes referred to as Opa on this blog) is very sick. It has been a hard visit. We will be coming home on Friday.
So many people have come by to see my Grandpa, and we have been able to see most of them too. Claire has had a great time showing off... A few days ago Claire and I had the following conversation...
C- Mom, did you see that guys ears???
E- What guy?
C- That guy with the thing in his nose!
(she was referring to a very good friend of the family who is on oxygen)
E- Oh, yeah. His name is Gene. That thing in his nose helps him breath better.
C- Oh, but did you see his ears?
E- What was different about them?
C- He had ROCKS in them!!!
E- ?????????
Jeff chimed in at this moment and clued me in to the fact that she was talking about his hearing aides!!!
We all had a good laugh over that one.

Pictures coming shortly...

My ladybug

2008-05-06T15:06:00.003-05:00

Claire did a great job in her first school program last night. They sang lots of cute songs about bugs. Claire got to wear a ladybug hat, and she looked too cute! I'm still working on the video... it's really hard to understand all of those sweet voices from far away.

Claire and her BFF Gracie Claire... How cute are they?
Luke and his Sissy...
Me and the kids... I was a little over enthusiastic about her performance, can you tell? :) It's rare that I get a picture with me and my munchkins.

On another note... go check out ZoeJo. My dear friend Sarah has a new design blog... very cool! She is a great artist and a very great friend... I'm proud of you Sarah! :)

How I spent my weekend...

2008-05-04T21:48:00.003-05:00

1. I have a cold. yuck.
2. Got up (against my will) on Saturday morning.
3. Headed to the laundry mat. (I haven't been to one since sophomore year at ACU.)
4. Spent $32 in quarters doing laundry. Folks, that is a huge, whopping, 17 loads of laundry!!!!! My dryer is broken... it is rumored to be fixed soon. ;)
5. Went to church. The worship was beyond amazing. Wow!
6. Woke up Sunday morning feeling a tad better.
7. Had lunch with my three favorite people.
8. Went shopping, BY MYSELF!!! It was fabulous! I spent tons of time trying on clothes, walking aimlessly around the Nordstrom's shoe department, and listening to the silence around me.
So, all in all, it was a great weekend... if only I could breath through my nose!
Tomorrow Claire has her first school program... anticipate some fun pictures and videos!!!

Fun with friends...

2008-04-30T14:43:00.005-05:00

We are so blessed to have wonderful friends all around us. You are all so important to us! I am on a mission to get pictures of the kids with all of their friends... look out, I'm coming at you with my camera!

With that said, here is a sweet picture of Claire and Blake.
My two new favorite pictures of the kids...

Baseball!

2008-04-26T09:40:00.003-05:00

Last night we had the opportunity to go to the Rangers game. Jeff got his firms seats for the night, always the best way to go to a game! :)

Last year we got to go and the kids lasted until the third inning. This year we made it to the fourth inning! Maybe one day we will be able to make it through the whole game!

The only bad thing about the night was the people sitting in front of us. They were the "kid loathing" type... you know the kind. Every time Claire or Luke would even brush by them the girl would turn around and give me a death look. Believe me, the kids were SO well behaved. Ugh... people like that can really get under my skin. They didn't ruin the game for us though... we had a GREAT time!

Luke loved watching the players "HIT BALL!!!"

Daddy and Claire (this is my new favorite picture!)

Luke giving Daddy hugs!

Having fun...

2008-04-24T11:07:00.005-05:00

I love spring time! It's so fun to be able to do things outside. Last weekend our small group had a garage sale to benefit a girl from our community. We raised over $700 dollars! It was a very fun time. Claire and her buddy Lael liked pretending that they were running a lemonade stand like the other (bigger) girls did. SO cute!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the zoo with Claire's BFF Gracie Claire. Luke and Sydney got to tag along too.

On a side note: If you still need a Mother's day gift, I am willing to extend my deadline! I have had several people ask me if I could squeeze them in... Just contact me through etsy :) Happy Thursday!

Just kidding...

2008-04-21T21:30:00.002-05:00

THE FUNNIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. I'm not kidding. When I saw this last Saturday I seriously thought I was going to pass out because I could not catch my breath.

Pictures

2008-04-21T08:43:00.006-05:00

Last Thursday we had a really nasty storm come through. When the weather man starts showing your neighborhood on the screen, it's hard to not get scared! Grapefruit sized hail was predicted...we only got golf ball/ quarter sized! Thank goodness. Here are some pics from shortly after we emerged from hiding!

Some new pictures of the kids and Bailey. Below: Claire showing off her new Earth day shirt.

The munchkins with Bailey. Not the best picture, but it shows you how big Bailey is getting. She really is a very small dog. I don't think she is going to be very big at all.
Last weekend we took the kids to play miniature golf. I'll admit it, I was sceptical! I didn't think that they would last the whole time. I was wrong. They LOVED every minute of it. Luke talks about golf constantly. He walks around the house yelling "Hit ball! Yea Wuke!!!"
Here are a few of the pictures from our outing... The next Trevor Immelman. Sweet munchkins

Music

2008-04-11T08:36:00.003-05:00

I just saw this you tube video on Britney's blog... I am going to hijack it for my own now.
This video proves that music is SO universal. It is ageless. I mentioned a few posts ago that I liked a song that a tween would like. I don't feel bad about it now.
Not only is Coldplay one of my favorite bands, but I almost cried when I heard this mans oxygen tank puffing into the microphone (reminds me of my Oma).
Apparently this choral group called "young at heart" covers tons of bands such as : Coldplay, The Ramones and even Sonic Youth! I LOVE IT!!!!!
Anyway, I hope this video makes you smile as much as I did! Happy Friday! PS look for the sweet older lady in the audience singing along. Precious!

Self promotion...

2008-04-10T10:46:00.002-05:00

If you need a gift for Mother's day, please let me know asap. I will take custom orders until April 20th. If you have no clue what I am talking about, go click on my etsy site! I am adding pewter settings to my shop. I know my Mom LOVES wearing her grand kids around her neck! :)
OK, enough already... I promise to post some pictures next time!

Conversation of the day...

2008-04-09T14:24:00.005-05:00

I promise this won't become a pattern, but I needed to share this conversation with you. It is fresh in my mind, and I wish it were not! This morning I took the kids to Walmart to do my grocery shopping. When I have an extensive shopping trip ahead of me, I get the kids happy meals and let them eat lunch while I shop. It makes my world just a tad easier! Anyway, today's HM toys were a pirate ship and a princess crown. You would have thought we won the lottery. The kids did a great job during our time there, but then came the check out line.
So, here is the conversation that followed... (between Me, Claire, and the Odd Check Out Guy)

C- "MOM, MY BOTTOM HURTS!!!" (imagine this in a LOUD three year old voice!)
E- "Claire, please use your quiet voice, that's not something we say loudly!"
OCOG- "Did she say her bum hurts?"
E- (awkward laugh) "yes."
OCOG- "Oh, 'cause mine does too, but probably for different reasons!"

WHAT????? Are you kidding me! I then proceeded to try to ignore him. I turned my attention to Luke. I said...
"Luke, don't drop your SHIP."
OCOG says...
"Did you just say SH** in front of your kid?!"
me...
"NO, COULD I PLEASE PAY NOW!"

I have never wanted to leave Walmart so badly in my whole life... and that is saying a lot!!! Oh, wait, this incident might rally some competition. Wow, why do I continue to go there, why?

On a side not... did you read Pioneer Woman today (it is titled "My brother, my filter)? Go read it, make sure to click on the link at the bottom of today's post. I promise you will laugh out loud. I sure did!!!

Gum

2008-04-08T14:51:00.002-05:00

While I was putting Claire in her car seat today this is the conversation that took place...

C- "Mom, can I have some gum?"
E- "Yes, but I need you to wait until we get to the store."
C- "But Mommmy (whine, whine, whine), I want gum NOW!
E- "Is that a nice way to ask me?"
C- "No, but Mom, I am weally cute, and I have a smiwey face on today!"

How do you keep a straight face when they give you answers like that?! I didn't give in though! She was given gum as soon as we got to the store!

Jeff's version of funny...

2008-03-30T22:00:00.003-05:00

Today we took the kids to Lowe's. We let them use there Easter money to pick out all kinds of beautiful flowers. They love to garden. I let them dig in the dirt, pull the plants apart, and water the plants when we are done. Yeah, it creates a huge mess, but the have SO much fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. I will try to take some tomorrow. They are very proud of there flowers.

So, on to "Jeff's version of funny"... As we were pulling into a parking spot at Lowe's, this was the conversation that took place:

Jeff- "Wow, this van really is easy to drive!"
Me- (rolling my eyes) "Yeah, I guess it has that going for it."
Jeff- "And it's easy to get the kids in and out!"
Me- "But it's not very cool."
-pause-
Jeff- "Hey, you know, you're a lot like this van!"
Me- (rolling my eyes more) "Why is that?"
Jeff- "Well, you're not very cool, you're easy to drive, and you're easy to get kids in and out of!"
Me- (mouth hanging open) "thanks, dude... i love you too."

Later, I explained that getting kids out of anyone is NOT easy. I felt like I needed to emphasise that to him. Also, by "easy to drive" I think he meant I'm easy going! Come on, get your mind out of the gutter! :) If you don't know Jeff... rest assured, this is his version of funny. Ha. Ha.

Confessions and all things fabulous...

2008-03-27T22:54:00.002-05:00

Confession number one: I heard a Jonas Brothers song on the radio tonight. I liked it. Yup, that's right I liked the same song that all those 12 year old girls like. I admit it, OK? If you are surprised by his confession you must not know me that well! :)

Confession number two: While driving along the highway tonight I saw some bluebonnets. They are just now blooming here in God's country (J/K). So here is the confession part... I have never taken pictures in bluebonnets... I know, it's almost a sin. I have lived in these parts since elementary school. We will be taking bluebonnet pictures this year.

Confession number three: While watching the Bachelor this week I had several moments when I broke out into nervous laughter. Mind you, I was ALONE in the room. I am SO not into being embarrassed. I was totally embarrassed by those silly "singing" girls this week. I couldn't handle it anymore- I had to fast forward the recording. In college, my roommates would go into the "Bean" (the cafeteria) and find the biggest football player they could. They would have him stand on a chair and yell my name. MORTIFIED. That is the only word I can think of. MORTIFIED.

OK, well I hope you had some laughs on my behalf. Now, go over to Fabulous K and read what she wrote about me. She named me "designer of the week"! It's a pretty big deal, she has quite a following! Thanks Kelly!
I also wanted to answer a question about the pendants too... If you want a custom pendant, with a picture or a word, go to my etsy site. I created a custom listing that gives you an opportunity to design your own. Just email me through etsy... it's that easy!

Easter with Nana

2008-03-25T14:20:00.001-05:00

Jeff's Mom, Nana Janis, left today. She was able to visit for almost a week! We had a great time playing and shopping! Unfortunately, on Easter eve, Luke caught some kind of stomach bug. He was then successful passing it to me and Nana. Yuck. We spent all of Easter in our PJ's. Luke is still pretty sick, and I am recovering. We have been hit really hard with sickness this season, especially me and Luke. I am anxious to get rid of all of this sickness.

In an attempt to spend some time outside today, Claire, Luke and I planted a few flowers. The kids received an Easter package in the mail from Nana Sara last week. These boots, that they are wearing in the picture, were part of the surprises. Luke wants to wear them everywhere... cute little guy!

I have enjoyed looking at every ones cute Easter pictures. Mine didn't turn out so well. I am in the process of fixing them up... I will post them soon. Making up for our not so great Easter pictures are our AMAZING Storyteller Photography pictures! You can view them by clicking on the above link and using my email address as your password. It will take you to our slideshow... And, here is a great opportunity for all of you blog- stalkers out there!!! Leave me a comment and I will email you the password! I would love to hear from you, and I would hate for you to miss these pictures!

To do...

2008-03-17T18:03:00.005-05:00

1. Write a to do list.

2. Think of the millions of thing that I have to get done before we have company.

3. Explain to C and L that Yes, Mommy has chores to do.

4. Accept that I will probably not get it all done.

Sigh.

In other news: Luke is getting to be such a big boy! He has been successful on the potty several times! He is saying sentences! "OK momma, I won't do that!" I love that one!

Claire and I went to Abilene this weekend. We stayed in a "Hometel" with four of my dearest friends for ACU. We shopped, we ate, and we went to a fabulous princess party for sweet Sofia! A fun time was had by all! Claire was amazing. She took a total of NO naps, and she was still an angel! For Sofie's birthday I made her and Claire matching dolls. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them together. :(

Pretending to sleep in the hotel...

Claire's "Quaire doll". (this is not an original idea... I adapted the template from Black Apple, which I downloaded from Martha Stewart!) You should check this girl out... she is amazing! She has an etsy site linked on her blog.
P.S. I added a few new pendants to my etsy site! --->

Being fierce, snow, and storytelling...

2008-03-08T14:20:00.006-06:00

1. Christian won Project Runway. I was not a fan in the beginning but he grew on me. He is "fierce, fabulous, and flawless"! If I was 8 feet tall I would totally wear all of his line, feathers and all!

2. The snow was great. I'm glad we don't have it all of the time though. It is hard lugging 2 kids and a puppy in and out of the car when it is that icy. Bailey had her second puppy check up on Wednesday. She did great, no going into shock this time. While we were in the pet store I let Luke play with my keys. Bad move. He pushed all of the buttons. When we got back to the car, all of my doors were open and the inside of my car was icy. Nice.

The view from our house...

Claire took care of Bailey after she came home from the vet...

3. Claire is really in to making up stories. See the video below... In this video she is telling a story about two elephants that have "stuck boo-boo's". In the end she tells me that Jesus told her the story. Apparently, Jesus is standing by our refrigerator and dancing. I wish I had the mind of a three year old, her mind is so vivid.

Things to be happy about...

2008-03-03T20:04:00.002-06:00

1. After spending three hours cleaning my bathroom and bedroom today, I think I will be able to sleep really well tonight!
2. Claire declared my beef stew "D-wicious"!!
3. IT IS SNOWING!!! It is also sticking... LOVE IT!!

Serious question...

2008-02-27T21:53:00.002-06:00

I have a question for all of my readers out there. I really do want your opinion. I have some very intellectual friends, and I KNOW you read my blog... so I better get some comments! However, I don't want this to turn into a nasty blog debate. You've seen them, you know what I am talking about.

I recently was exposed to a situation that I am trying to understand... Let's say you have the opportunity to help someone in need. It could be monetarily or through a service that you provide. The only stipulation is that you must receive permission and approval. The "rules" are put into place for tax and legal reasons and they are totally legitimate. Jesus instructed us to help the widows and orphans (those in need). What does He think of society's "rules" that have been put in place?

Having an accountant for a husband has enlightened me on how necessary these things are. Jeff explained to me tonight that these "rules" are put in place to protect the organization, and maybe even the giver. He also indicated that someone may be more likely to give to a non profit that is set up as a charitable organization for tax purposes. This may indicate that the non profit would be more responsible, better organized, and perhaps better positioned to help people in need. I do understand that we live in a fallen world, everything is not as easy as our Maker intended it to be. I am fascinated by things like "tax credits" and "tax deductions". However, I still have a hard time understanding why people would be motivated to give to a charitable organization just to lower their taxes. What if we just gave or helped out of sheer joy, the same joy that Jesus felt when he forgave the prostitute, or fed thousands?

I know that we can never totally understand everything that was written in the Bible, and that God didn't intend for us to understand everything. It is also ridiculous for me to think that I will every truly comprehend "giving selflessly with no ulterior motives". What do you believe? How do you think Jesus intended us to give?

I know, I know... you usually come to my blog for a light read, maybe even just the pictures! I do have deep thoughts...occasionally! :)

Pendants

2008-02-23T10:59:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pendants that I have made so far. I am still learning how to perfect the resin. So far, I love working with this stuff! It is very tedious and time consuming. It is a huge test of my patience... I don't like waiting!

Resin and Chapel

2008-02-20T20:43:00.002-06:00

Those two things have nothing to do with each other. I'll start with resin. You probably don't care, but I am very excited about a new medium that I have found. It is basically epoxy, but you can pour it into molds and make great jewelery. I have made several pieces so far, when I have them perfected I will post pictures. I have cast several pendants with pictures of children in them... If you have sent us a photo card lately, I might have used it! Who doesn't love to wear jewelery with there kids on it or in it?
On to chapel... this is Claire's new favorite game. She stands on the fire place and pretends that she is leading chapel. She leads songs, says prayers, and asks the pretend "children" questions about Jesus. I'm super glad that she is going to school now. Remember the day she went for the first time? I was ridiculous to be so anxious!!! Tonight she was even teaching Luke how to pray... pretty much the sweetest thing I have ever seen. She ended the lesson by shoving him off of the fire place because he wasn't listening to her! Oh, come quickly bedtime...

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T11:20:00.002-06:00

I love this day... I think everyday should be Valentines Day! OK, moving on...
Here is a funny story for you. Yesterday, I was busy trying to get the house in order. I seem to spend everyday doing that, it never seems to get finished. Anyway, Bailey needed to go outside, so I let her out. I don't recall ever letting her in. So, I went out back and frantically searched for her. I started to panic because she was no where to be found. I went out front to look for her, I screamed her name. I think I almost had an anxiety attack! We have only had her for a few weeks, and I had already lost her!!! I went inside and contemplated calling Jeff to tell him what was happening. Right when I picked up the phone to dial I looked into the living room. There she was, curled up by Luke's blanket. She was fast asleep... she probably never heard me calling her name! So, needless to say, I felt the sudden urge to go get her micro-chipped and tagged!
Seriously, I might be losing my mind! I found pot holders in the refrigerator this morning. I immediately thought to blame it on Claire. Unfortunately, the sweet thing can't reach that high! Ugh! I guess it was me!
Just thought I would get all of that out. Does confessing your scatter brained craziness help it to go away?! I hope so!

They love this dog!!! Thankfully, she puts up with them loving her!

...by emily on ETSY!!!!

2008-02-11T15:36:00.000-06:00

Yea!!! I finally have an etsy shop! People, this is SO FUN! Please go visit my shop (often). I will add new things as I finish them. Etsy is amazing... if you haven't seen it, be careful! You might become addicted! It is a great place for artsy crafty people to sell there stuff.

http://www.byemily.etsy.com/

PS a HUGE shout out to my very talented friend Sarah. She designed my etsy banner for me!!! Sarah is a big up and coming artist in Dallas... check out her blog! She has a gallery opening soon!

Fun, fun, and more fun...

2008-02-04T14:58:00.000-06:00

Last week we had the opportunity to have some old college friends come and stay with us for a few nights. We had so much fun. To say the least, the kids had a blast together!!! Here are just a few of my favorites! Claire, Luke and Sophie.

Future ACU roommates! Claire and Sophie!

Every once in a while I like to write about Jeff... Do you know how amazing he is? Well, let me tell you about him! He is a great father, and my BEST friend! He is constantly making me laugh... he can make just about anybody laugh. I love that about him! Anyway... I am very proud of you Jeff. I love you! Claire took this picture of her Daddy a few weeks ago. It is a little fuzzy, but I love it!

All you ETSY lovers- watch out! I will be opening my ETSY shop very soon! :)

Drama queen

2008-02-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not talking about Me, or Claire... I'm talking about Bailey, the dog! On Thursday I took her to the vet for her 9 week puppy vaccinations. Routine, no big deal. Yeah, right! They gave her two shots and then I started asking some questions. After the vet stepped out of the room, Bailey started throwing up. I stuck my head out of the door to ask if it was normal. The vet came running in the room, and just as she got there Bailey passed out and started convulsing. Apparently, she was in anaphylactic shock because she is allergic to the vaccines. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Not only do I have two highly allergic children, but now I have a highly allergic dog!!! They revived her and gave her IV meds and fluids. They watched her for a while and then we were able to go pick her up. Drama.

Yesterday I let Claire take the dog outside to play. I went to the other room and was gone for only a few minutes. When I came back to check on them, this is what I found... (I'm still not sure how Claire got her into the swing!)
Claire assumed that BABY swings could be used for baby dogs, as well as baby humans. We had a long talk about why this was not acceptable. Can you tell how much she loves this little puppy? Don't worry, I won't let Bailey get injured!

Lastly, how FABULOUS is my new blog header!!!! Kelly at Fabulous K designs made it for me... go check her blog out!

Her name is...

2008-01-30T16:19:00.000-06:00

OK, so we finally reached a decision. Her name is Bailey. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met. She slept on Claire's lap this morning for a whole hour. Then she let Claire carry her around for the rest of the morning. SO sweet.

New best friend...

2008-01-28T10:33:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we got a puppy!!! She is a pure bread miniature beagle and she is super sweet. She is eight weeks old and only weighs five pounds. Claire and Luke adore her! We are still trying to come up with the perfect name... suggestions are welcome!How could you not LOVE her floppy ears?

Learning a new trick...

2008-01-16T15:22:00.000-06:00

Claire is FINALLY potty trained. Hopefully I have not spoken to soon! Apparently, princess pull-ups are magical and did the trick! However, I might add that having a toddler who is very proud of her newly learned trick can be quite embarrassing!

Yesterday, we went to lunch with some friends. Claire announced that she needed to use it (not in those exact words!). So I got up and took her... she went, and then I proceeded with the "GOOD JOB, I'm SOOO proud of you" speech. She runs out of the bathroom yelling "Benj, Peyton, I tee-teed, I TEE-TEED!!!" Most everyone smiled and laughed, but there were a few odd looks thrown my way. OK, that one wasn't so bad... today's incident was almost to much to deal with. I took the kids on a shopping quest to find pants that Claire could pull on and off by herself. No pesky buttons and snaps. We are in the store and Claire yells "MOM, THE POOP IS COMING OUT!!!" ! Oh, my goodness, what do you say or do in that situation? We ran to the bathroom. I guess that's all you can do.

I hope I haven't grossed anyone out! I'm trying to find humor in all of this!

Have I mentioned that we are taking Claire to the audiologist on Friday. She failed her hearing test at her 3 year check up. Maybe that's why she seems to be yelling so much! :)

We are SO proud of you princess Claire!

Perspective

2008-01-12T11:12:00.000-06:00

Have you read the blog "confessions of a cf husband"? If not, please go read about this amazing woman. She has CF. The same thing that Claire was tested for last month. Thankfully, Claire will not have to endure what this woman has gone through. This week Patricia had an emergency c-section to deliver a 25 week old baby. The babies name is Gwyneth. My words are not eloquent enough to describe to you the courage that this family has. Not only are they courageous, the husband and there whole family have an amazing perspective on there situation. He is not sad, he is rejoicing in the miracles that God has blessed his family with. This situation is such a huge reminder to me that God gives us free will to choose what attitude we are going to have about the situations that he puts in our lives. Think about that. I sure have.
Please pray for this family... I don't know them, but I know that God hears all of our prayers.

Story time with Claire...

2008-01-09T14:20:00.000-06:00

I am taking a break from cleaning our office. When I say "clean", I mean CLEAN! It is jam packed with all of the stuff that we don't know what to do with... oh, and all of my craft stuff! It is an intimidating task, but it needs to be done. Mostly I want it done because my parents gave me that dress form I have been wanting for Christmas! (Thanks Mom and Dad!) I need a place to put it... a place were I will be able to use it! Anyway...

I wanted to post this video of Claire reading. I'm sure it is obvious to most of you, but Claire is only three, and is not really "reading"... she knows this one by heart!

Her favorite book is "Hey wake up" by Sandra Boynton. If you haven't read any of her books, they are a must for all small children! So with that said... here is Claire's reading debut!

More pictures

2008-01-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

I meant to post these pictures a while back (before Christmas!). These were taken at our life group Christmas party. I think these pictures do a great job at showing Claire and Luke's real personalities!

Claire and Baby Blake... Claire adores babies, and baby dolls. She would have been content holding Blake for hours. So sweet!
This one makes me laugh. Luke is kicked back relaxing, and Claire is cramming cookies into her mouth! Usually it is the other way around!

Say Cheeeese!!

2008-01-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

Pictures from Christmas: We are blessed to be able to spend Christmas with BOTH of our families at the same time! Let me tell you... the kids LOVE every minute of it!

Luke and Opa (my Grandpa, Claire and Luke's Great Grandpa)
Luke wearing Opa's hat.
C and L got new big kid chairs from Opa and Oma.

Claire, Nana Janis and Nana Sara playing "London Bridges!"

Can't remember what was SO exciting in this picture! It's cute though!
Cutest Santa EVER!

On another note... yesterday I got to hang out with my oldest friend Katie. We went to the same schools growing up and have stayed close the whole time! I am thankful for you Katie! Here are some pictures from our day. We were supposed to go to the zoo, but because of the cold temps Claire chose to eat at Chilis and go to the "pat" store (pet store). Fun was had by all! :)

Claire loves corn on the cob!
Rosy cheeks
Always posing for the camera!
Claire and Katie

While I was gone...

2007-12-27T16:32:00.000-06:00

Can you guess what Jeff bought me while I was gone?

Yup, that's what I will be driving now. I'm OK with it, really, I am. Plus... who doesn't LOVE those Peyton Manning commercials?

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T21:10:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Turner's!!! We hope you had a blessed day.

Update...

2007-12-14T10:03:00.000-06:00

1. We made it to Colorado. The snow is amazing... it is snowing as I type! Claire is SO antsy to go build a snowman!

2. We haven't gotten her results back yet. But when we do I will let you all know.

3. I have decided to open an Etsy store. When it is up and running, believe me, you will all know! It will have some of the fore mentioned Granny clutches on it, as well as some new creations!

Here are some pictures from my parents backyard...

Granny Clutch

2007-12-10T22:06:00.000-06:00

This is my newest creation. I am titling it "Granny" because it is hand crocheted with quilted yo-yo's for decoration (you know, all those things that "Granny" did in her spare time). It's almost vintage chic, but a little kitchy too! It's probably not a design that everyone will like... who knows. Just thought I would throw it out there for you to see.

Happy Birthday Claire!

2007-12-03T08:48:00.000-06:00

Hi! Luke here...Guess what? Today is my sissy's Birthday! I love her SOO much! She helps me learn new words, and she even let's me play with her big kid toys! She shows me how to make funny faces, and she plays with me all day long! My favorite thing to do with my sissy is to chase her around the house while we take turns seeing who can yell the loudest! Sometimes, when I eat all of my snack before sissy finishes hers, she lets me share with her! Happy Birthday Sissy!

Happy Birthday Claire... we love you so much! You are such a blessing. We could not have asked for a sweeter, more caring daughter...

My picks...

2007-11-28T14:50:00.000-06:00

Do you LOVE, love, love, Project Runway as much as I do?!!! I wish I could be on it...maybe some day. I think my "cool" factor would have to increase by many points before they would let me on! My favorites so far are Jack, Christian and Chris. I'm not that impressed with any of the girls yet. Anyway... in the spirit of fashion, and Christmas (the gift side of it), this is what I want for Christmas:

bobbi blu flats Isn't this Coach pretty?

I have always wanted a dress form!

What do you want for Christmas, and who are you picking to win Project Runway?

Thanksgiving fun...

2007-11-26T15:03:00.000-06:00

We went to Indiana for Thanksgiving and spent a week with Jeff's parents. Fun was had by all! I have a ton of great pictures, so instead of writing about it I will let the pictures do the talking. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We got to celebrate Papa Dale's 60th Birthday!

We spent time with our good friends Frank and Andrea and there three sweet boys... This is a picture of Claire and Josiah looking at there horses.

We were able to go to the Indianapolis Children's Museum! It is SO fun, even for Mom and Dad!

Claire learning about T-Rex.

Luke and Claire digging for dinosaur bones!

Dressing up like a real dinosaur!
and driving a race car...

We also got to enjoy the really cool weather and the beautiful trees changing colors! Wow, I forget how ugly Texas can be in the fall... being in Indy was a huge reminder.

Luke and Rumpus (Uncle Micheal's dog).

Nana Janis and Papa Dale also had a small Birthday party for Claire before we left. She had so much fun opening presents and eating cup cakes!

I could probably add more, but I will save some for later. I am so Thankful for all of our family and friends. God has truly blessed us with lots of people that care for us.

No words to describe this one...

2007-11-15T20:56:00.000-06:00

This morning I took Claire to school, just like every Thursday morning. The only difference today was that I was driving Jeff's car... mine was in the shop. So, we are driving down the highway and Claire opens her door! I almost had a heart attack. There was no where to pull over so I had to drive very carefully, as to not make the door swing all the way open. Claire was very shocked that pulling such a tiny lever could cause Mommy to react so dramatically!!! After I yelled for a while (yes, I yelled! You would have too!) she said "Mommy, it wasn't me, it was Charlie!" Charlie is Claire's imaginary friend (it's a girl!). Well, don't you worry... Charlie and Claire will never open a car door ever again!

Here are some cute pictures of Claire and her buddies. I seem to take a lot of pictures when they are all together... mostly because they are down right fun to watch and I want to catch it all on film!

Who knew candy sticks and rocking chairs could be SO much fun?

Claire and "Benjum"

losing my mind...

2007-11-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you for all of the encouraging comments about my lack of sleep. For some odd reason I actually slept last night... maybe God knew that Claire and Luke would drive me over the edge today if I didn't get just a little bit more sleep than usual!

We had a fun weekend. We had planned a short trip to see Jeff's Uncle and Aunt, but we had to cancel at the last minute. Claire cannot shake this recent asthma flare up... it made me nervous to travel with her like that. So instead we stayed here and went to the park. This particular park is right next to the lake. Claire loved just looking out into the water... she was looking for alligators. Funny right? When we pulled up to the park there was a warning sign stating that alligators had been spotted around the area! WHAT! We played cautiously.

One of the many faces of Claire...

Well, I guess I should elaborate on the title I chose today... I feel like I am losing my mind because I cannot get ANYTHING accomplished (any "Amen's" from my Mommy friends???).

Things I need to get done:

1. Laundry- we are leaving Friday for our Thanksgiving trip.

2. Decorations- I am decorating a table at our Women's Renewal at church tomorrow night.

3. Bathe- Please tell me that there are other Mom's out there that don't get to shower until nap time?!!

I won't go on, because I'm sure you don't really care...

This is a video of Luke singing. I ask him to sing this song at least 10 times a day because I think it is just down right CUTE. He LOVES Elmo. So, here is Luke's big singing debut! (La, la,la,la, Elmo's World...)

Sleep, who needs it?

2007-11-07T14:59:00.000-06:00

I do. I don't sleep well...ever. Here is my nightly routine: wash my face, brush my teeth, pop a couple benedryl, get in bed, read, put my ultra deluxe memory foam sleep mask on, plug my ipod into the mask... pray that I can fall asleep before Jeff starts snoring. I do this EVERY night. Most nights it takes me a good hour and a half to two hours to fall asleep. Needless to say, I get very bitter if someone wakes me up in the middle of the night. Lately I have been blaming EVERYTHING on my lack of sleep. I want to work out, but I am SO tired. I want to get more done around the house, I want to take the kids on walks... blah blah blah. So, "My question is" (that's Claire's favorite thing to say right now!) how do you fall asleep quickly? If you are an expert sleeper, clue me in, because I feel like I am going to pass out as I type!

Not much is going on at our house at the moment. Claire and Luke are really starting to enjoy playing together. Most of the time it is pleasant, but there are occasional arguments. Last weekend our small group came over for dinner... we had a great time. I glanced out the window and saw all of the kids lined up on the playhouse porch eating there dessert. It was priceless. They are all such sweet kids. Claire gets very excited when her friends come over, this made it very hard to get her to look at me in the picture. She is mesmerized by "big" kids.

Kaylen, Payton, Ezra, Claire, Allen, and Benjamin (Luke and Anastasia were inside).

One more Luke story before I go... Today Luke was literally begging for a "nack" (snack). He seemed really hungry, so I gave in. Before I would give it to him I told him that he had to give me a hug and a kiss. He kept telling me no, but finally gave in. After he put two and two together he kept giving me hugs and kisses all morning! What a little stinker... he sure is smart!

Claire, Luke and Daddy watching football and having a "nack".

Fall Festival

2007-11-01T11:06:00.000-05:00

Last night we all went to the fall festival at our church. The kids had a great time! Claire and Luke especially liked the petting zoo. As you can see from this picture, Luke was not thrilled about his costume. Maybe it was the fact that he went as a bumble bee. Or, maybe it was because his Mommy made him wear his sisters leggings? At least he lasted long enough to take a few pictures with his "sis" and his best buddy KJL.
The story behind the bumble bee is this: It was supposed to be Claire's costume, but after she threw a huge fit it became Luke's costume. Next year he will be bigger than her and I don't think there will be any swapping costumes! :)
Just for fun, here are some old pictures...
This is a picture from Halloween 2005... Indian princess Claire

This is Halloween 2006... Luke as Peyton Manning
Claire as a Colts cheerleader

Quote of the day...

2007-10-30T18:03:00.000-05:00

Claire: Who's coming over to our house?
Mommy: No one, why?
Claire: Because you are cleaning the kitchen!
Mommy: Oh.

Maybe that should be a HUGE hint to me.
Today has been a VERY long day... maybe tomorrow I will have the patience left in my being to post pictures. Until then, have a good night.
E

Hey, over here!!!

2007-10-23T14:58:00.000-05:00

So, Sunday night was the annual Hot Dog Banquet at church. One word: precious. The evening is used as a tool to teach all of the children about missions and missionaries. The evening began with a feast of hot dogs. Next, we split into groups and went from station to station learning all about each country and there specific needs. Claire was FABULOUS! She sat and listened the whole time. I was impressed... I think there were six or seven stations! After that event was over we headed back to our table to hear some Q and A from the missionaries and some really cute kiddos. After each missionary was interviewed the child would pray over him or her. My favorite prayer: "Dear Lord, please help ___ to not get poisoned". It was hysterical, yet SO sweet. Then came the best part... the song. Claire wanted to be in the "Hot Dog Choir" and I really thought it was something she could handle. When the music started Claire started turning around to see what all of the kids were doing behind her. I kept whispering "Hey, Claire, turn around... sing, hey over here... Claire!!!" To no avail, she had her back to the audience most of the time. Oh, well... I guess I could have dressed her up in a pretty dress. She might have stood there with her skirt over her head instead! In case you think I am exaggerating (which, if you know me... then it is entirely possible!) here is the video.

Her little friend Benjamin is the cutie in the striped shirt that comes in and out of the picture on the video. If you listen carefully you will hear him say "I've got something for ya!" He then jumps off the stage and brings his Mom a booger! (We had a great laugh over that one!) Basically, the whole thing was hysterical! I just love these kids. Here is a picture of Benjamin, Claire and Payton at the end of the evening.

Wow.

2007-10-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

In our small group at church we are talking about how we can show Christ to the people around us. Sometimes this means using words, and sometimes words are not necessary. I have been thinking a lot about this topic, and I randomly ran across this short video online. I have not seen it any where else, and it is worth your time. I hope it inspires you to think about how you wear Christ for all the world to see...
The Simple Truths of Service inspired by Johnny the bagger.

Creativity

2007-10-17T22:41:00.001-05:00

I had a very long conversation with one of my old roommates about creativity yesterday. Creativity can be discouraging. I love, love, love to make things... but if it doesn't turn out exactly the way it looked in my head, then I get discouraged. Anyway, I have been feeling this a lot lately about my projects. So, in light of others feeling the same way I am, I want to give some "shout outs" to my very creative friends... here it goes! (click on there names and check out there talent!)

Sarah Maxwell English- This girl is on her way to being a famous artist. No joke people. Right now she is designing children's clothing for JC Penny. Check out her work- amazing. I am very proud to call her my friend!
Sarah Carpenter- A very sweet friend, and a fellow stay at home Mom. Sarah and I share sewing and crafting as our hobbies. She is starting a new business selling Burpies and cute wall letters!
Sara Harrow (my Mom!)- Well, you might have already noticed the embroidery on the dresses that I make... My Mom has a great business in Colorado called By Faith Alone. She does custom embroidery and also has an etiquette column in Northern Colorado Women's magazine.
Andrea Spiceland- I met Andrea when I married Jeff. She and her husband are Jeff's long time friends! Andrea is creative in a different kind of way. She is very wise... right now on her blog she is teaching others how to save money. She does a better job than I could do talking about it, so go over and check it out! (this is one area of creativity that I am seriously lacking! :) )
Kelly- We have never met, but I know for sure that she is a great girl! Kelly is starting a new business designing blogs. I have mentioned her before in a previous post... but now she has an official site that you can go visit! She is also giving away a free header, so hurry up and leave her a comment so she will choose you... that's how I go this cute page! :)

So, if you know someone that you want to add to my list, leave a comment so that we can all enjoy there work! Don't be modest... add yourself! :)

play time

2007-10-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

On Sunday night the kids and I went to church for small group (Jeff was at the Cowboys game). All of the women in our group met and had dinner while the kids played in there classes. I am very blessed to have such wonderful friends... we had a great time talking! After we picked the kids up we let them play in our churches new play area. It is HUGE. The play "area" is a two story jungle gym structure with a giant twirly slide attached. It has been finished for a few weeks now but Claire has been ultra cautious of it. She has not been able to go above the first level, but on Sunday night her sweet friend Payton helped her go all the way to the top and slide down the slide. He was so encouraging... he kept saying "your really doing a good job Claire, you can do it!" She was very excited about her accomplishment! She couldn't wait to tell her Daddy what she had done! Luke was feeling a little left out, so I decided to take him all the way to the top and slide down with him! Wow, what a work out that was!!! He loved every second of it! All of the other girls in my group did the slide too... I've got some pretty funny pictures girls! :)
Here are a few pictures... the last one is random. Claire likes to pretend that Luke is her baby. He plays along. I wonder how long that will last? :)

Mommy and Luke coming down the slide

Claire and Payton Claire pushing her "baby" around the house.

Luke

2007-10-12T17:55:00.001-05:00

Luke's surgery went well! Thank you for all of your prayers. More later...

calm (part 2)

2007-10-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

Calm yet... NO. Luke and I had our normal Thursday morning while Claire was at school. He took a short nap, we played, and then we ate lunch. After lunch we played some more, but he was acting funny. He kept licking me, licking his arm, licking the couch. At times Claire likes to pretend she is a cat, this includes pretending to give herself a bath, cat style. Luke loves to imitate his big sister, so I just assumed he was licking everything because he was also pretending to be a cat. I was wrong. This went on for an hour. Finally, we got in the car to go pick up Claire . I was putting Luke in his car seat and I saw a flash of something on his tongue. It was a FIRE ANT!!! It was latched on to the tip of his tongue, and it was thrashing around. I tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't let go. Finally, after many attempts I succeeded. Poor Luke, his tongue is swollen, and so is his cheek. He is even drooling! The weird thing is, that he never cried! I think I would have been screaming if that had happened to me... Anyway, he is fine... but I am still not calm.
Some thoughts that are going through my head: How did he get a fire ant in his mouth? Where did this fire ant come from... we never went outside! There are lots more thoughts, but I won't bore you.

On to Claire... Every time she comes home from school, she complains about a certain girl. It's always the same girl, let's call her "E". "E pushed me." "E hit me." "E threw a rock at me." Today's complaint was "E hurt my lip." Normally I just listen and then discuss with her what we do when others are not nice to us, but today she really did have a mark on her lip. Here is the funny thing: There is no child by the name of "E" in her class. Does the so called child exist, or has Claire made up an imaginary bully? So, all you Moms out there... What would you do? Would you ignore it? Would you say something? I am apprehensive to say anything because I don't want to be one of "those" moms that will tell anyone that her child is perfect. Believe me, Claire has her moments! :) So, speak up Mom's I really do want to know what you would do.

calm

2007-10-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

This piece is by Alyson Fox... I found it on my friend Sarah's blog.
I'm not calm. So, this is a great reminder for me today.

My blog...

2007-10-09T14:02:00.000-05:00

Do you LOVE it? I do! Kelly made me a new header! She is a friend of a friend of a friend... we have never met, and she made me a header that really fits me! You should go check her blog out! She also did Allison M.'s new blog look! THANKS Kelly!!!

In other news... Luke is having surgery on Friday. He will be having his sinus passages cleaned out and also having tubes put in. The poor little guy just can't get over those ear infections. Hopefully this surgery will help!

Tonight Jeff and I are going to dinner with some of our awesome friends... just adults, NO kids. Can you believe it? I am SOO excited I can hardly contain myself! Claire and Luke are SO excited too, because they get to play with KJL! It's a win- win situation! :)

Also, thank you so much for all of your sweet comments about my cake! You really made my day! :)

I will leave you with a picture of Luke wearing Claire's sunglasses... he thought he was pretty funny!

Eat your cake.

2007-10-06T09:34:00.000-05:00

I think I have a new hobby (like I needed another one)! I made this cake for a friends baby shower. It came out way better than I expected... I can't wait to make another one!

Silly girl...

2007-10-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

I have noticed that Claire is beginning to learn tricks from other kids. She most recently has learned how to make silly faces. While Dale and Janis were here visiting Claire, Daddy and Papa Dale had a silly face contest. It was beyond funny... I laughed so hard. Unfortunately I didn't catch any of Papa's funny faces on camera, but we did catch Daddy and Claire. So who do you think is funnier? (Isn't Jeff a good sport?!)

To much to write about...

2007-10-01T15:14:00.000-05:00

Well, when you wait to long to blog, it seems like there is to much to write down. I will try my best to condense it all.

Claire- Last week at school, Claire got the "star of the week" award for "praising God" in chapel! I am SOO proud of her. Next week Luke and I get to go to chapel with her and see her in action... can't wait!

Luke- The little guy is STILL having ear problems. We are taking him to the ENT tomorrow. Luke is also saying a ton of new words... Diego, bubbles, balloon, nana, papa, touch down, football. And just yesterday he learned how to sign "more"!

Besides all of the fun kid stuff, we have been really busy. Our air conditioner got replaced on Wednesday. On Saturday we all went down the the Stock Yards to see the daily cattle drive. Claire and Luke loved seeing all of the steers, cowboys and even an Indian!

Nana, Papa, Claire, Luke and Jeff with the Indian.
Mommy, Daddy, Claire and Luke (the steers name was Pecos Bill) :)
Claire wants to go to Billy Bobs!
Luke just wants to see the horses!

That's hot!

2007-09-25T17:02:00.003-05:00

Not much to post about... just a few quick things.

1. Our air conditioner died (again, but this time it could not be resuscitated). It's hot. It has been hot for 5 days now. We are getting a new one tomorrow.
2. Claire and Luke LOVE having Nana and Papa here.
3. Luke can say "touch down" while throwing his hands in the air. SO cute!

...more later.

Luke

2007-09-20T23:15:00.000-05:00

I am having a lot of fun with little Luke on Thursdays. Today we went to Target, played, he took a nap, and then we ate lunch. At lunch we made faces back and forth until he was laughing so hard that he was having trouble eating! He is the sweetest...