Word on the Streets

iphone photos. . .

a few of the photos i have on my iphone lately. i love the one of jack and morgan waiting for their morning ride to school. that balloon was a gift from our neighbor and they kept themself so happy playing with it till their ride came. i love everything about that light! 

and then there is my little sam. i view him asleep in his carseat in the stroller when i walk in the mornings. it is just priceless. when i feed him he gets this funny look of fullness!!! his cheeks really are that big. and i took him to wppi convention at the mgm hotel in the bjorn carrier. he was the cutest thing to hit the convention floor! then there i am with jack and morgan on a saturday morning walk at the park. i love those boys beyond words!

 

52:8 romance

oh the lovely month of february! i had in my mind this kind of photo i wanted to take for this week's theme. i wanted rod and me bathed in backlight of the yummy las vegas sun. i had all these grand plans and my entire weekend went in a way that never lent us the time we would have needed to make that photo happen. so today on our sunday morning walk with the family we took a minute to take work together to take a photo of us with that yummy light. i ended up loving this photo. it says so much about our relationship. we are casual, not primped up. in fact, i had not even showered yet! my hair under a hat to keep my ears warm and the sunglasses i wear daily. rod in his sunglasses and hat and both of us in hoodies to keep us warm. i love that in his glasses you can see us both holding the camera out in front of us. it is teamwork that we are good at together. we function as a great team to get things done. i am beyond lucky that he loves me so much. there is so much about him that i love and it has nothing to do with what most people in vegas deem as "romantic". our "romantic" is a kind of "comfortableness". it lasts longer and is deeper than a night on the town. 

[go see: jenn, michelle, tracey, stacey, andrea, kristin, amanda, amanda, sara, rhonda, heather a, jessica, carla, rose, naomi, tracy, heidi, heather, janet, veronica]

52:7 body parts

i knew what i wanted to capture when i saw this week's theme. this is not what i fully had in my mind but only one of the images i wanted to collage of my little sam's body. this is his belly button and scar from his surgery that is now fading. the scar is a semi-circle upside down on the top side of his belly button. he was glued back together. i was hoping to also capture his hands and eyelashes and the hair on his ears and his foot and wrinkles. but i need another set of hands to help me do that as well as good light. so hoping this weekend to capture those. but this will do for now.

[go see: jenn, michelle, tracey, stacey, andrea, kristin, amanda, amanda, sara, rhonda, heather a, jessica, carla, rose, naomi, tracy, heidi, heather, janet, veronica]

valentine's day celebrations. . .

i woke this morning to a valentine card left on my computer. it was a great way to start this morning. then the cleaning ladies came bright and early to get the house all spit, spot and shiny clean for a valentine's luncheon i was hostessing. i got jack and morgan off to school with all the items they needed to celebrate in their classrooms. it is so much fun to send them off on days like today because of their excitement. morgan told met this morning that he wanted to give sophie draayer his little stuffed animal that he sleeps with as a valentine gift. i giggled and told him that was a very kind gesture but that we ought to find something a little less worn out! so then when i mentioned that i had two extra little mini bundt cakes that both he and jack could use to give both sophie and her sister ruby for valentine's both boys were convinced that cake was the right choice. i love that they wanted to give those cute girls (we carpool with them in the afternoons) each a valentine. they have good choice in girls!

i've been catching lunch spontaneously with some different ladies recently and then one of them had us to her house to show us how she makes bread. i took lunch there to eat for us while the bread was rising. the next thing you know, we started a little rotating ladies who lunch group. i wanted to do a valentine's party so i offered to do the lunch this week. we had 8 ladies come and each of them brought a little gift to share of something we "love". each woman went home with a special little something new to enjoy. we ate homemade tomato soup with fresh basil and parmesan cheese, fresh fruit, homemade flax seed crescant rolls, and pear, apple, candied pecan and goat cheese salad. it was wonderful! i had such a fun time. sam was an angel. he was awake for a good portion of it and then he went right to sleep for a good nap. it was such fun to be with women that i don't always get to see due to the busy-ness of life! i loved the feeling in our home--having so many happy ladies her.

when jack and morgan came home from school it was so fun going through all of their valentines. they enjoyed each little card and got excited over just cards that said, "to my friend, morgan." they sorted everything out and played with stickers and the toys they got. it was so fun to see their excitement. we then ran to piano and to drop off the girl's valentine's cakes. that made morgan feel so great. jack felt awesome being able to pass off some of his piano songs that he has been working on for a few weeks now. later we picked up our valentine's gift for rod. (we got him newly hemmed dress pants for work.)

tonight we had my parents and a couple friend of theirs who are in town visiting (the lukes from the africa mission) over for round two of what i served for lunch. it worked brilliantly to just reheat and retoss everything. we told valentine's jokes and ate well. it was a fun night!

when we put the boys to bed to admired their little heart filled valentine's banners that they made with the kit my mom gave them as a valentine's day gift. they were so excited to make hearts and decrated them and attach them to that ribbon and hang on their beds. it was a fun idea for a gift this year!

i love the month of february. i've said it before and i just think that all the time during this month. it is just a short little burst of a month full of happy reasons to celebrate! today was full of people who matter to me and doing acts of service. i can go to bed happy feeling like what we all did today was show each other that we love them. 

sam at three months old this month:

valentine preparations are underway...

we are prepped this year for valentines a little early. it has been fun to shop for just a few new key items for the entry table to display a little valentine love. and the little message jars that we made last year are back again for another year's use. we start dropping i love you notes sectrely in them tomorrow night and will do so till the end of the month. i just have to make one for samuel to have for the upcoming years. 

the boy's valentines came off things i'd seen on pinterest. that has been a great resource for our valentines gifts! the teacher's valentine gifts this year are more like teacher appreciation gifts--my favorite water bottles stuffed with emergency vitamin drink packets to keep those teachers healthy and a little flag that says "thank you for quenching my thirst for knowledge!" i'm really hoping they like them. i would have like one when i was teaching. 

i've got a few friends who do lunch each week coming for a valentines luncheon party at my home on tuesday. i've not hosted anything at my home for too long and got excited about having a little valentine themed lunch. i think its gonna be a great next week for everyone in our house. lots of love will be spread by dropping in our glass jars little notes and patiently waiting for the recipients to find them and read them. february is also our wedding anniversary. it will be 12 years this february 19th! it is just one of my favorite months. it is short and sweetly packed with special days of celebrating the loves in our lives. 

52:6 quiet

i am a late bloomer. on the weekend i usually don't get to my computer for fun until friday night or saturday night after the children are in bed, i'm in my p.j.s, i've taken my make-up off, and the house is darkened and quiet. my google reader pops up with all of my fun photography acquaintences who are participating in the 52 week project this year. i look at everyone's photos for the week that they have posted on the due date: fridays. then on saturday i think about the theme of the week and grapple with what to do for my own photo. i told you...i'm a late bloomer. here it is saturday night and this is my image for quiet. it is just as i described: me, at my computer, saturday night after the children are in bed, i'm in my p.j.s, i've taken my make-up off, and the house is darkened and quiet.

[go see: jenn, michelle, tracey, stacey, andrea, kristin, amanda, amanda, sara, rhonda, heather a, jessica, carla, rose, naomi, tracy, heidi, heather, janet, veronica]

 

52:5 sleep

when it is the end of the day and my husband and i make ourselves comfortable on the couch to watch a movie and then somewhere in the middle of the movie i find myself falling asleep--i know that i should rather be here--in bed---sleeping! i do fine most days with sam as a baby but there are other days where if i go, go, go all day long after a night of even one waking up with sam, i tend to crave my bed at about 8:00 pm. this is a welcome place for my head to hit most nghts.

[go see: jenn, michelle, tracey, stacey, andrea, kristin, amanda, amanda, sara, rhonda, heather a, jessica, carla, rose, naomi, tracy, heidi, heather, janet, veronica]

when a two month old needs six month old onsies. . .

he looks something like this kiddo. sam is only two months and he is wearing six month onsies at this point. 

52:4 tired

each morning i drag my sleepy body out of bed to get jack and morgan off to school and sam changed, bathed and fed. then after jack and morgan are gone i ready myself for a long morning walk. i've been good so far at doing this each morning for the past few weeks and i've felt great after the walk. it is just getting my aching body up and moving in the morning that i find difficult. i am beyond tired in the mornings just before everyone wakes up. can you see it in my face? oh yes. this is raw! but it is real and real life for me in the mornings is tired right now!

[also see: jenn, michelle, heather, tracey, stacey, andrea, kristin, amanda, amanda, sara, rhonda, heather a, jessica, carla, rose, naomi, tracy, heidi, veronica]

two bugs in a rug. . .[morgan and sam]

morgan finds little ways to be near sam. today i found him reading to sam when he was doing his reading homework. sam seemed completely transfixed to listen and even appeared to be following along on the page. it was the cutest thing i'd seen that day and i was lucky enough to stealthily grab my camera. later morgan got sam on the couch with him and covered both of them in a blanket and called for me to come take a picture of "two bugs in a rug" as he called them. 

times like this, when he seeks out ways to be with sam make me over-joyed to have had sam. having sam was as much for rod and me to enjoy raising him as it was for both jack and morgan to have the happiness that comes from having siblings. sam will be someone for them that they cannot be for each other. he will be the different one--the one not like either of them but the one in whom both of them can develop a unique brotherly relationship. both jack and morgan independently will be able to have a close relationship with sam in their own way. i'm already seeing it happen at this very young age for sam. it makes me just swell with happiness.