sick day.

today was one of those days where i wish i could call my boss and tell him/her that i was too sick to come in. the kind of day that you just want to sit somewhere all day long with the remote, a box of tissues, blankets and pillows and fall in and out of sleep.
yep, i'm sick. i'm not generally a whiner [actually i hate whining and have a really low tolerance for it] but i just wanted to share that it sucks when you can't breathe out of your nose. plus, this really sets me back with my running schedule here.
ok, done whining. i need a new tissue.

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[chocolate] milk, does a body good :)

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When I think of Summer I can think of many times like this.

My parents backyard.

Kids running around, digging up mulch, pulling up the grass, swimming in the pool for hours,

 popsicles, sticky fingers, bbqs, laughing, crying, hiding, playing catch and chase,

 fighting, more laughing, looking for worms, twirling.

Fun.

Summer.

need.more.space.

Rob found this awesome, vintagey chair today. Got a great deal on it and I want it in my house. Sadly, I really don't have a place for it. He says I can "have it and use it for photos" until he sells it. Maybe I can hide it somewhere he can't find it so that someday I can maybe have a spot for it?? Unlikely. Boo.

And here's one with my other model that was more interested in eating dirt than helping me get a cute shot. Double boo. Good thing they are both cute.

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Beautiful day today. My model was in no mood.

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Lemons.

They say summer to me.

Fresh. Clean. Crisp.

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One more thing I will miss about summer. Walking around/running barefoot around the house and in the back yard & flip flops. These cute little chubby feet remind me of a great summer.

And can I just mention that we went sneaker shopping for my big boy and his feet grew two shoe sizes!

Sad, sad.

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Rainy day activities.

365-should i start back at 2?

Ok, seriously. I'm not a lover of photographing flowers. Please, don't get me wrong- I love them, appreciate them, even appreciate photos of them- it's just not my preference for shooting. But on a day like this [where it was raining and gloomy and a lazy Sunday afternoon kind of day] I made the best of it :) And hey, something about it still does remind me of summer.
And while I realize that I mentioned not blabbing for every single one of these, I decided I wanted to explain this one and since it's my blog I can ;)

dare I say, 365??

Ok, I know- my 365 project has been quite the ordeal, or maybe not. To say the least I have not been consistent- it's been interrupted, on some sort of hiatus, or just plain non-existent. I could come up with a zillion excuses but i'll spare you.
But I'm back at it. My friend Leah and I decided that we'd both give it a shot. And while I'm disappointed that I hadn't kept up with it to begin with, I won't whine about it and just get back on the wagon [again]. I still have several months until the year is up and maybe I won't feel like a complete failure if I can make it through until then (since it was[is] one of my goals for 2010).
This time I'm coming at it with some sort of plan/structure. Figure it'll help keep me focused and perhaps it'll be a better gage at my progress. Since I just got back from vacation and am seriously mourning the end of summer (sob, sob) this week i'm going to focus on things that remind me of Summer and everything that has made it special and memorable this year.
Here we go again :)

Song in my heart.

We just got back from an awesome vacation with my family. It was so much fun! It was super relaxing, lots of napping (already in withdrawal), great beach, lots of laughs and memories. As an added bonus, our friends Paul and Amy and their kids, came to spend a day with us there. It will probably be the last time we will see them for awhile. Paul is getting ready to go to tech school and then they will be moving to either New Mexico or Las Vegas. The good news about that is that we will have a new place to visit and friends to stay with.

During this trip to Virginia I realized just how much my littlest boy loves to sing/hum! I've noticed it before but while having this entire trip to relax and spend time together I was really able to notice it. It is the cutest thing, he wakes up singing, falls to sleep singing, sings while he plays, while we are in the car, while he's browsing through books, literally all of the time! On our [very, very long] drive home yesterday I was listening to him sing and thought about we should always have a song in our heart. I am so blessed, I have so many things to be thankful for and instead of worrying about all of the things that aren't or how things should be, I should be singing and thanking God for all of the things that ARE. Thank you Cartie for reminding me to keep a song in my heart, I <3 you.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.

 I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

super cool, super saving thrifty mom.

Have you ever met one or read about one? If you saw my coupon binder or even my previously separated coupons with my "to buy" list, you might be fooled to think I am one.

But the truth is that I'm a long ways from being this super cool, super saving thrifty mom. As a matter of fact my binder had been neglected for so long that when trying to find and organize my newest coupons I came across all of these

{gasp} expired coupons.

Please, don't get me wrong. I'm a believer. I have seen the savings rack up and have smiled with pride when showing my hubby my savings. But I have been weary in this department- perhaps it's the summer lull, all of the times we have cooked out at my parents and I haven't had to cook, maybe i've just been lazy?

But I haven't given up. I choose to coupon :)

*for inspiration and couponing made easy check out Hip2Save

Before [& After]

Isn't it crazy how time flies? How much things change in a short amount of time? Where you end up vs how you thought that things would go? I've been thinking about this lately- well kind of since our 7 year wedding anniversary just went by last week.

Seven years ago we were young. We had big dreams and hopes and we were carefree. We didn't exactly know where God would lead us and we were ok with that. We had fun, stayed up late, hung out with friends whenever, and I could eat whatever I wanted and didn't need to worry about excercise.

We were blessed to work with an amazing group of students and leaders for five years. Had some good times, trips, late nights, & memories. I'd get carded for seeing a rated R movie and get asked out by some of the teens that visited youth group.

In 2006 we had Braden. Our lives changed. I could not have imagined loving someone so much. Our focus suddenly shifted. There was so much more to think about. I couldn't imagine life without that little guy.

Then in 2009 we gave Braden the best gift ever, a brother, Carter.

When I was pregnant with Carter I worried (and sometimes cried) that I wouldn't be able to love him as much as I loved Braden. I couldn't imagine what it would be like- to be the mom of two, how I would handle all of the everyday things, whether we would like him as much (it's kind of sad to admit), whether Braden would love him. Much to my relief (and i'm sure now to yours) I loved him immediately. As soon as I saw him I knew that he belonged to us, he was part of our family, he was perfect. I instantly couldn't imagine life without Carter as part of us.

And now in 2010,we're not quite as young, I don't get carded for R rated movies, I don't usually choose to stay up too late because I know my boy will be up by 6am, it's a little harder to be spontaneous, my house is sometimes messy, I usually have laundry to wash or fold or both, I can't always remember the last time I got to pee [or be in the bathroom alone!], we made choices/moves that we couldn't have anticipated, vacation doesn't mean sleeping in/laying out but getting up early and finding crabs and building sandcastles- but I can't imagine life any other way. I am blessed and priviledged to be able to stay home with my boys. Thanks to my hard working husband who works so that I can stay home.

Seven years ago I could never have imagined this life I lead now. A life where I love Rob more than I did then and where we get to love and raise these two boys together- with all of the bumps and bruises that come our way.

Family Photos.

It had been about two years since we last had our family pictures taken. Braden was not quite two years old and I was pregnant with Carter. I think that these photos were way over due!

Our friend Leah decided to take on the Casey's for family photos this past Saturday. It was so fun! But for anyone that has kids you can understand what a challenge family photos can be. Especially when you have two boys- one of which is almost a  year and a half and always on the go. They did pretty well but we had to come up with some pretty creative ways of keeping their attention!

I [kind of] obsessed about what we would all wear...I think it was a combination of it having been so long since we had pictures taken and of my photography hobby that has me looking at photography websites and blogs on a regular basis! I wanted things to be just right and I feel like my hard work paid off! The boys were their super cute selves in their matching purple button downs- gosh I love them.

Thank you Leah Spina, can't wait until next time!

Summer=Popscicles

When I think of our summer days a picture like this comes to mind. Not too many summer days have gone by around here where we haven't had a popscicle to help cool off. This summers quickly ending and these kiddos are getting way too big!

suitcase, stool, & roses

It's been awhile! Just a quick post about some random things. I have been wanting to get a cool, old, hard suitcase that I could use for pics (mostly because I was wanting it for photos of my baby niece that is due in November) and Rob scooped one up for me last week at an estate sale. Then last Saturday I went to a couple of estate sales and found an older stool that I also thought I could use for photos- and the best part is that I got it for $1. I could possibly get addicted to going to sales and finding neat things that I could use for photo ops...hm.

Isn't she cute? You'll have to excuse the laundry basket.

Thought about spray painting it but I kind of like the weird greenish color and all of the dents, gives it some personality.

Monday Rob and I celebrated 7 years of marriage! Time flies.