BPS ~ Sepia Tones (editing fun!)

It's Baby Picture Sunday.
Time to dig out your favorite old photos of your favorite babies in your life and share them :)
Come on! You know you wanna share them ;)
This week's theme:
Sepia Tones
Of course, I love the chance to dig through all of my old photos, look back through the years, and reminisce. Oh, the memories I have dug up!

OOOoooh! And I made it easy this week, didn't I?

I just LOVE playing with my photo editing programs and making my favorite baby pictures pretty in sepia tones... one of my favorite things to do :)

My 3 Oldest

My Middle 3

My 3 Babies

Now it's your turn. Be sure to sign in with MckLinky and don't forget to leave me a comment too :)

Theme for next week: Pretty as a Picture (have fun with it!)

6 Words

Emma & Will want to play...

Also Participating in Saturday Snapshot

Friday Fragments & Fotos

Ahhhh..Friday Fragments...
My opportunity to shove all the garbage that isn't worthy of any entire post into one big goofy post.
Who could ask for anything more????

The other day, Emma was looking through the Current catalog and came across this little lovely.
That's right, it's a pole dancer alarm clock!
AWESOME!
And, what does my adorable, sweet, innocent 3 year old say?
"Mommy, I want this for Christmas."
Of course she does!
What three year old wouldn't want this???

Will fell and bumped his head on the coffee table and had to get stitches on Saturday and today... he's getting them out. God help us!

I did something yesterday that I said I would NEVER, EVER do... I bought a sweater FOR.MY.DOG at Target in the $1 section. LOL I am officially "one of those people."

Lucille 2 (Arrested Development fans???)

For a few days now, I have been having AWFUL headaches and I was stumped as to what was causing it, until I actually sat down and thought about it for...seconds. I ran out of coffee and haven't had caffeine in days. Pretty sure I am having caffeine withdraw headaches. (I remedied that sucker with a vanilla caramel latte.)

I own a piece of the Berlin Wall. It's up at the PA house in a lock box. I'm positive that I had no clue just what it would mean to me 20 years later.... amazing that my 17 year old self thought to obtain it :)

Will's diet has been going really well. We've seen some great improvements with him, particularly the fact that he has finally realized that Emma exists and can be fun to play with :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Also pretty exciting for Will... he's been coming into the kitchen, going over to the cereal cabinet, pointing to the cereal he wants and either says," Num, Num." or "Eat. eat." Of course, he gets exactly what he wants ;)

Tonight I am celebratig my nephew Jake's 4th birthday and tomorrow I am celebrating my nephew Timmy's 1st birthday. (I am officially stating that I expect to gain 10lbs this weekend.)

My kids did a blog post about our trip to Washington DC. Check it out HERE.

And funny, but if you look at the above picture, that is what happens when you make sweatshirts at 3am the night before an event. That's right! It says " Who's Paying FO RIT?" For some reason, it makes me want to say, " Nizzle." LOL

Russ and I ended up laughing til we were crying over my mistake. haha

Finally, we have been in the NJ house for almost 2 weeks now and I miss the PA house. We moved everything there and now it's like being in an empty vacation home in NJ with nothing to do and the kids are all losing their minds. We return to PA on Sunday and I have NO plans to come back to NJ except to celebrate my friend Denise's boys 3rd birthday :)


Playing along with Half-Past Kissin' Time for Friday Fragments & Friday Foto Finish Fiesta

** And, don't forget Baby Picture Sunday this week.
Theme is : Sepia Tones

Thankful Thursday ~ A Way to Escape

We all get a little lost sometimes, don't we?
A little overwhelmed perhaps?
A lot of women, esp. moms, tend to just take everything on, out of guilt or necessity or just plain not having a choice and after a while, well, it can get to you.
And, it's gotten to me.
I suddenly have NO motivation to do anything and it's made me sick (or, that's what I am telling myself). I woke up yesterday with a fever and a headache and while I am certain it's not H1N1, I am not certain that it isn't just stress catching up with me.
Yes, that's right, I am stressed out. I can't really pinpoint what exactly has done it, but I am sure it's all the little things adding up.... and some big things too (one of Russ' dearest friends lost his long battle with cancer last week...).
Normally, when I am feeling lost, I turn to God, but this week, I didn't just step up my prayers, but I threw myself into reading and writing and working on the cookbook for Tuesday. And, turning to my friends.... real and bloggy buddies. I haven't really laid it out, haven't really said I needed support, and without me doing so, somehow HE led my friends to give me comforting words when they were most needed.
I know I will get through this stress and I know I am never alone and it's amazing how clear He sometimes makes His messages to me. I see and I know.
Our God is an AWESOME God. He Reigns.

And, just proof of one of the many ways He led my friends to support me .... (and see just how easily I am made happy as well? Sometimes it's not only the little things that bring us down, but the little things that lift us up too!)
Peta over at 7 Little Heads on 7 Little Beds gave me this lovely award....
The Gorgeous Blogger Award
In case you don't know Peta, she is my Aussie friend that exchanges delicious and wonderful treats from Australia with my family and in turn, we send them lovely American treats. (which reminds me, it's getting close to the holidays...)
Anyhoo...

Here are the rules:
By accepting this award I am required to tell you six things about myself that you don't know and then award it to six other gorgeous bloggers.

1. Probably not a shocker, but I was a serious "goody-goody" in highschool and Russ was a "bad boy".... to the point where my favorite English teacher actually tried to convince me to break up with him.
2. I hate to shave my legs and dread the summer because of it. LOL
3. I have serious sleep issues and stay up most nights until well past 3am, which then means I have lots of trouble waking up in the morning.
4. It takes EVERY fiber in my being not to completely lose my mind and not go on a writing rampage on my blog about our government. (probably not a shocker either)
5. I haven't worn my engagement ring in THREE years because the diamond fell out of the setting and it needs to be repaired and I just have been to busy to bother.
6. I LOVE the new TV show "V"

Now 6 of the Gorgeous bloggers in my life...
Nancy @ Zimmer Zoo
Shar @ Double the Adventure
Monica @ Jonas Family, Life w/Twin Boys
Cat @ Juggling Act of Life
Alisha @ Beautiful Days
Barb @ My Sweet Life

Today I am so thankful for :
my friends. I am 100% certain that each and every one of them were sent to me from Him.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." ~ John 15:12-15

If you would like to share why you are thankful today, please visit Lynn & Laurie and Elyse at Following Him sign up :)

Way Back & Wordful Whens-day ~ Yearly Pics

Every year since Emma & Will were born, my sister Missy and I have gotten together in November to have our babies' portraits taken together (and to also have their yearly pics taken as well). This year proved to be a bit more difficult, as all 3 of the little kiddies are now quite active, absolutely stubborn & just plain difficult sometimes. So.... we decided that I would attempt to take their pictures instead and honestly, considering we saved a FORTUNE, I think they turned out pretty well.

Jake, Will & Emma 2009

I also thought it might be fun to share the adorable photos from the past 3 years too.

Emma, Jake & Will 2008

Emma, Jake & Will 2007

Will, Jake & Emma 2006

It's just amazing how much they have grown!

For more stories, head over to 7 Clown Circus for Wordful Wednesday and for more pictures, head over to Twinfatuation for Way Back Whens-day :)
Fun, fun, fun for EVERYONE!

Twos-day ~ There's Nothing Like the Fall...

....to bring out the happiness in children....









And there's nothing like 2 babies giving cuddles to warm my heart :)

Please make sure you sign in with MckLinky and don't forget to leave me a comment too :)

M6 ~ Grand Opening at the YMCA

Time to share your child's artwork again!
It's Magic Marker Monday!
ok, and call me crazy, go ahead, I dare you! Call me crazy!
But, it's also ...
Makes My Monday!
So, nothing better than taking two things that make me happy, my kids and artwork, and combining them to play along in two of my favorite bloggy memes...
Featured Artist:
Emma & Will
The town where my parents now live recently opened a YMCA and we attended their grand opening celebration with my parents, my siblings and our kids.
There were lots of fun things for the kids to do and lots of yummy snacks to eat.
But, the one thing that actually kept both Emma and Will busy was coloring in the toddler room.

It's not a big surprise to see Emma pick up crayons and color in a picture...
but, Will...
that is quite another thing!

He didn't color perfectly and he ate way more crayons then he decorated the picture, but still... it's a start and that Makes My Monday :)

Don't forget to head to 5MFSN to see who else is playing along for Magic Marker Monday and be sure to head to Twinfatuation to see what's Making everyone's Mondays :)

BPS ~ Mommy's Little Helper (or not)

It's Baby Picture Sunday.
Time to dig out your favorite old photos of your favorite babies in your life and share them :)
Come on! You know you wanna share them ;)
This week's theme:
Mommy's Little Helper

Will Got a Boo Boo
Of course, I love the chance to dig through all of my old photos, look back through the years, and reminisce. Oh, the memories I have dug up!

Ok, change of plans for this mama. I had planned on searching and finding cute pics of the kids helping me out, but instead, Will spent Saturday afternoon in the ER getting stitches, his first ever.
He was climbing on his daddy on the couch, just playing, and he fell off the couch right into the corner of our coffee table, hit his forehead and the massive bleeding started.
And the panic.
It's official. My kids take after me when injuries occur. ALL of them went straight into panic mode, including poor Keith who started crying hysterically :(
Thankfully Russ sort-of keeps it together in times of injury and he was able to some-what calm Will down and put some pressure on the wound. In the meantime, I found the insurance card and Stephanie & Russ went out the door and to the ER with poor Will.....
where he was apparently the life of the party :)

He came home with 3 stitches and in a happy mood. (Russ says his hair looks like Jack Nicholson)
Here's Johnny!

(ok, I know he looks sweet and not creepy like Jack Nicholson)

Now it's your turn. (show me your Mother's Helpers) Be sure to sign in with MckLinky and don't forget to leave me a comment too :)

Theme for next week: Sepia Tones