Managing the Martins

Poor Henry

2012-02-10T11:47:00.001-08:00

Sweet Henry has been sick since Wednesday :( He is running a high fever and coughing nonstop. The doctor says it is viral, so it just has to run its course. I feel so bad for him. He just lays on me, all cuddled up in blankets. He is definitely not himself!

But popsicles make everything a little bit better. And Toy Story 2, of course. We have watched that movie no less than 25 times since Wednesday. :) Get well soon Henry!

Sam has a reading challenge at school this month. He has to read 30 books with me. He is VERY excited about it, and really wanted to complete the entire challenge today. I had to talk him into letting us read just 6 books today and continue with more tomorrow. This kid LOVES school :) And I LOVE this kid!

Looking back...

2012-02-03T09:10:00.001-08:00

Being pregnant always makes me especially sentimental :) Sam turns 4 years old this month. It doesn't seem possible. On one hand, I can't remember life without him. But on the other hand, I feel like it was just yesterday that we brought that chunk-of-love home from the hospital!
I spent a few minutes looking back on Sam's life this morning and thought I would post a few pics. He is only 8 days old in the above picture. Oh, how fast I fell in love with that precious, chubby little baby!

2 weeks old

1.5 months old

1 year old and keeping me on my toes! He loved to take off his jammies and diaper at this age :)

2 years old. Handsome and LOVING his Tonka truck!

Here is one of Sam and Henry, when Sam was 2 and Henry was 7 months.

Sam at 3 years old. A new sand table for digging fun!

Oh my! This pictures cracks me up. Sam is 3 and Henry is 1.5

How the time has flown! Love this kid.

Other random updates:
Pregnancy is going GREAT right now!!!!!!! Wow, I didn't realize how bad I truly felt until I started feeling great again. I honestly forgot what it was like to not be nauseated. It makes life much easier to feel like myself :)
Today is Friday, so we have spent the morning at home, playing, cuddling, cooking, and enjoying each other :) I love these quiet mornings at home with the boys.
Have I mentioned that I CAN'T wait to find out what we are having!!!!! We should find out early March.
The painters are coming on Tuesday. I will post pictures next week!

So sweet.

2012-01-30T15:13:00.001-08:00

Sam just gave me a big hug around the tummy. Then he looked at me and said, "Your baby sure is growing, huh, Mommy."
Love it :)

And yes,, it sure it growing!

Nesting and other things...

2012-01-27T15:13:00.001-08:00

I am starting to feel so much better, finally! I am about to start my 14th week, and I am feeling the urge to nest!
We are looking at paint colors, making plans to move Henry into Sam's room, and wondering if we are having a "he" or a "she". :)
I will take lots of before and after pictures as we start decorating. This is going to be fun!!
YAY for the second trimester!!!!!

I had a doctor's appointment last Monday. Everything is checking out great so far! The sweet baby's heartbeat was 156 bpm. Such a wonderful sound :)

I will post a belly picture next week!

Miss A's Photo Session

2012-01-27T15:04:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted any of my photo sessions in so long! I don't like to post pictures that families might use for Christmas cards, those are more fun as a surprise in the mail! Now that it is the new year, I will be posting some of my sessions every now and then.
So, I thought I would post some pictures from this sweet 6-year old's session. Isn't she gorgeous!!! She made my job very easy. And she was so much fun to spend time with :)

12 weeks

2012-01-22T19:13:00.001-08:00

I wish I could say that at 12 weeks I am feeling great. But I am still fighting being nauseous in the mornings and evenings. It is okay though, I LOVE what comes from all this sickness :)
I am definitely showing, and I definitely can't wear my normal clothes. The third pops out quick!

Tonight Henry came up to me and gave me a big kiss right on the mouth. Then he leaned down and kissed my belly and said, "I kiss you baby too, Mommy."

Becky's

2012-01-22T19:05:00.001-08:00

I dropped Shana and her girls off at Becky's yesterday. And yes, Shana and I survived with our four kids in the car for a FOUR hour trip. It is hard to travel with kids!
We had to do our traditional pictures with all the kids together. I sure do love these kids!

And the picture from last April:

More highlights from Shana's visit

2012-01-22T18:33:00.001-08:00

Having Shana and her girls here for the week was SO MUCH FUN!!! I got to love on the adorable Grace (above). And also sweet Aylah (below).

One morning it was particularly beautiful, so we headed to the park!

Grace lounging :)

Henry hiding.

Aylah swinging.

Grace swinging.

And then came the fun with the leaves. These kids could have played in the leaves for hours!

Other highlights from the week that were not photographed: Shana and I cleaned out the ENTIRE playroom!! Toys were sorted, put away, packed away, put in piles to be donated, and thrown away. It took us all day, but the kids were having so much fun playing together, we took advantage!
We also took all of the kids to Braums, brought in Chick-fil-a, dragged the kids to Frisco Resale, cooked several meals, and hung out at Nesa's house.
The week flew by way too fast!
Shana, Aylah, and Grace--- WE MISS YOU ALREADY!!!

A cutie and her pancakes :)

2012-01-20T19:32:00.001-08:00

Gracie loved her chocolate chip pancakes. Love this girl!

They are growing up!

2012-01-20T19:24:00.001-08:00

Shana and her girls are here visiting for the week. I have lots of pictures to post. But for today, a little comparison picture. The above picture was taken this afternoon. The below picture was taken last March. I can't believe how much these kids have grown in under a year!

Our sweet boys.

2012-01-13T05:49:00.001-08:00

The boys are growing and changing fast. Henry is talking in full sentences, and I rarely have a hard time understanding him. He wants to do everything his big brother does, he loves his stuffed animals, he loves his sleep, and he will try any food you give him. He is strong willed beyond belief. There are many days that I am not even sure what to do with him. He requires a lot of discipline. He loves fiercely and he fights with all his might. He is strong willed to a T. I love Henry with all my might. I love it when he takes my face in his hands and says, "Love you Mama!" I love it when he cuddles in my lap and reads books with me. And I even love it when he shows his strong will. This kid is going to do big things in this world!

Oh Sam. How can he be turning 4 years old next month? It doesn't seem possible. Sam absolutely loves school and all things social. He asks me almost everyday to invite a friend over to play. And when I see him at school, he is always all smiles! He loves leggos right now. He is very mechanically minded and loves to build and create. Sam loves Henry so much, but they definitely fight a lot as well. Sam has been helping me plan his birthday party and he is so excited :) Our sweet Sam stole my heart about 4 years ago when I gazed into his eyes for the first time. He still holds my heart tight.

Love these two boys more than I can say!

More Christmas Celebration!

2012-01-13T05:28:00.001-08:00

Grammy came into town to visit us for more Christmas celebration. The boys loved getting to have Christmas all over again :) I don't blame them!

The soon to be newlyweds!

Auntie Katie and Grammy

Sam gets some good cuddles from Uncle Jake.

There was lots of laughing and tickling that went on that morning :)

Time to OPEN!!

Katie and Jake got their first present off their wedding registry. So fun!

Grammy came up with a really fun basket for Duke and Brandi. She even wrote a poem to tell them about all the fun in their basket!

They loved it!

Terry also gave Katie a very special gift for her wedding. Her something borrowed is her Daddy's wedding band to tie in her wedding bouquet. Her something old is Terry's pearl earings that she wore in her wedding. I promised not to post the pictures of them crying during the exchange. It was such a precious moment though.

They boys love their Buzz Lightyear dolls.

Sam was thrilled that Grammy got the boys new paints.

They headed straight to the table to start painting :)

I didn't know Jake took this picture of the boys and I until I was going through the pictures on my camera. I am glad he captured this moment. The boys have been so cuddly lately! We love to get all snuggled up on the couch and watch a good movie. We were watching one of our favorites, Rio.

What a wonderful day with our sweet family!! Merry Christmas everyone!!

Big News from the Martin Family!!

2012-01-02T14:30:00.001-08:00

This is the newest little member of the Martin family!!!! We are beyond excited!! The quality isn't great because I took a picture of my sono picture with my iphone. But you can see the little babe in there.

And the next one was taken in 3-D. I was 9 weeks along when this was taken. I think it is amazing how you can see the baby's arms and legs. It just blows my mind how God creates life!

My belly is growing at a very rapid pace. They weren't kidding when they said that your belly pops out fast with the third pregnancy.
This was taken at 6 weeks.

And this is at 9.5 weeks.

The boys are so excited and interested in the fact that I am having a baby. I have so many funny stories that have happened over the last few weeks.

When I was first explaining to Sam about the baby in my tummy, he asked me if it was baby Jesus in my tummy. I told him it was not, that it was a new person that we had never met before. He then asked, "Is it baby me in your tummy?"
It is hard to explain all of this to an almost 4 year old!!

Henry asks me EVERY day. "Doctor get that baby out of your tummy Mommy?" I keep telling him it is going to be a long time before the baby comes. He still asks me every day.

I have been pretty GREEN over the last few weeks. Zofran is my best friend right now. When I am feeling especially bad I have to lay down. Henry will say to me, "Your tummy hurt Mommy? That baby make your tummy hurt?" :)

This morning we went out to breakfast as a family because Drew had the day off. I LOVE to eat out for breakfast. It was amazing. When we got home, we were all talking about how yummy the food was and how much we had eaten. I said my tummy was full of pancakes. Sam said, "your baby ate all those pankcakes, Mommy."

The stories go on and on :) I love how children try to make sense of the world. This is going to be a fun several months as we wait for baby #3 to arrive :)

I am due July 31st. So, hopefully shortly after Henry's third birthday we will be welcoming our baby into the world. My heart is so full!

Thank you God for this wonderful gift. There are no words to express our joy!

Christmas Morning

2012-01-02T12:18:00.001-08:00

We had two very excited boys on Christmas morning! Sam was up at 6:40, ready to go. And well, we had to wake Henry up at 7:00 so we could start opening. Little Henry loves his sleep :)

Henry's blower! He has been wanting one for a long time.

Sam's new mower that he has been wanting. He loves that it has a little gas can to pretend with.

Sweeties :)

It was kinda "present-madness" for awhile. We ended up waiting to open some of the presents later because the boys were so distracted with playing :) It made Christmas last a little bit longer though!

Ahhhhh, I love Christmas morning breakfast. Breakfast casserole (a Martin family tradition), coffee cake (a Goodwin family tradition), and a yummy fruit salad.

Then it was time for stockings!

What a wonderful and blessed Christmas! December always comes and goes much too quickly. But we truly had a wonderful time with friends and family this year!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T12:02:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve brought a house full of family and friends. We spent the day hanging out with Mimi, Papa, Uncle Jason, and Emily.

And of course, there was a game of Jenga :)

Henry is finally getting the hang of puzzles. He loves this new train puzzle that his cousins gave him.

He requested that I take a picture of him and his puzzle piece.

The boys helped me make our birthday cake for Jesus. They are great helpers!

Here is the family headed off to the Christmas Eve service at church.

After church we headed home for a delicious dinner. We had roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, fresh bread, and more!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday to our Savior. The boys were so excited.

Hanging out before bed.

We started a new tradition this year of doing Christmas Boxes through the month of December. It is a box you can purchase at Mardells, called What God Wants for Christmas. It has a story inside and 7 boxes that the kids get to open as you read the story. The boxes contain parts of the Nativity scene. The boys absolutely LOVED doing this every night. We did it one last time on Christmas Eve. It was amazing how the boys could tell the whole story by themselves.

Sam is showing Papa the last box that has a mirror in it. It reminds us that God was us to be His for Christmas :)

A short movie before bed and some good cuddles with Mimi and Papa.

Then we tucked the two little people in bed who were VERY excited about waking up to open presents!!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2012-01-02T11:16:00.001-08:00

More pre-Christmas fun!

2012-01-02T06:16:00.001-08:00

This Christmas the boys received their first Squinkies from Kennedy and Cambry for Christmas. They love them! They opened and closed them, lined them up, hid them, and wanted to sleep with them :)

Our sweet neighbor Lori invited us to join them on a trip to Northpark mall to see the train display. It was amazing! Sam was especially interested in all the intricate details. My mom was in town for the week so she got to come too. So fun!

Sam and Mimi looking all the trains. It was super crowded in there!

After the trains we, of course, had to enjoy some Chick fil a.
Abby Claire, Bella, Henry, and Sam.

And sweet Lori and Julia.

Christmas time is so much fun!

Sam's Christmas Party and Performance

2011-12-27T08:10:00.001-08:00

Daddy got to join us for Sam's Christmas party and performance at school. It was so much fun! They did a craft, played games, and decorated cookies.

Sam and his sweet teacher, Mrs. Jackson.

Sam loved showing Drew all around the classroom.

The performance was adorable. We have watched the video so many times. Sam was very animated and excited to be performing. He also yawned his way through Silent Night. We were cracking up :)

Santa Picture Comparison :)

2011-12-26T18:25:00.001-08:00

The boys did great when they got their picture taken with Santa this year!

A little flashback to last year:

Makes me laugh every time!

Riding the Polar Express!

2011-12-26T18:20:00.001-08:00

To start off December, we decided to head to Grapevine and ride the Polar Express. The boys were in heaven!

Before boarding the train, there is a show with singing and dancing.

Sam loves to cut a rug :)

After the show, we headed off to board the train. Sam loved getting to shake hands with the conductor.

Little boys + trains = true love.

What does Sam see?

The boys spot something of interest...

It is Santa!!

Santa took a picture with each family, and gave each child a bell. It was just like the movie, so cute.

Sam still loves to wear his bell :)

Riding the Polar Express was such a great way to kick off our Christmas festivities!

Family

2011-12-26T17:58:00.001-08:00

After Thanksgiving, Grammy and Aunt Sarah were in town for the funeral of Drew's grandparents. His sweet MaGran and Grandaddy went to heaven in the same week. They had been married 67 years. They will be so missed.

I love how Sam is sitting on Grammy's legs while he plays Memory. So sweet :)

Puzzle time for Henry.

Grandaddy and MaGran (Carl and Evelyn)
This picture was taken at Henry's first birthday party. They will be so missed!

Martin Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-16T14:59:00.001-08:00

I love my family so much!

Thanksgiving in the 'Ville

2011-12-15T18:16:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving week in Bartlesville with my family. We had such a great visit! There was lots of laughing, tickling, eating, and playing.

The boys absolutely loved having their Daddy around all week. They rode 4 wheelers, went on long walks, and played played played!

And Dylan is always a favorite!

Look at the delicious spread! I especially love that sippy cup in the picture :)

And following with tradition, we always celebrate my dad's birthday on Thanksgiving. Sam and Henry sure do love a good birthday celebration!

Uncle Jason bought Sam a Jenga game, and they loved playing together.

And this is my favorite picture from our trip. Sam was helping my grandmother, MawMaw, out to the car. It was absolutely the sweetest moment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*** I have finally caught up on all my photo editing and I am finished with my photography shoots for the season. So, I promise to get this neglected blog up to date!

Go Sharks!

2011-12-09T19:38:00.001-08:00

For the end of our soccer season, Coach Snook had a great party for the boys. There were Shark cupcakes, trophies, and bar-b-cue. Sam had a blast!

Sam has decided that he wants to play again in the Spring. We are so excited to be on Coach Snook's team again, he is amazing with the kids!

The whole team. Aren't they cute!

Halloween Celebrations

2011-11-08T19:36:00.001-08:00

Halloween means pumpkin carving!

Henry was more interested in putting stickers on his tummy :)

And Sam pretends he doesn't want me to take his picture.

Let's get on to the good stuff...

It was hilarious to see the boys' expressions while they were pulling out the pumpkin seeds. They thought it was pretty yucky!

Henry does this pose all the time when he gets excited. We can't explain it. It is extremely funny, and we think it is extremely cute :) We think he is trying to fly...

And.... the jack-o-lanterns turned out super cute!

And now, it is time for trick-or-treating! They boys LOVED it. They haven't quit talking about it. Henry loves to tell me the following statements: Hen-gry trick or treat Mommy. Hen-gry say TANK-YOU!! Hen-gry got candy Mommy. It yummy!

Makes me smile everytime :)

These are our sweet neighbor friends. We adore them!

Our sweet boys could have gone all night. They loved collecting all that candy. I can't blame them.

Examining their loot...

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Mimi and Papa come to visit!

2011-11-04T08:18:00.001-07:00

The first night Mimi and Papa arrived, we celebrated Mimi's birthday. The boys LOVE to celebrate a birthday :)

Lately my boys are loving making faces at the camera. I am a little nervous about getting our family pictures in a couple of weeks. Cheese!!

Deeee-lish! Happy Birthday Mimi!!!

Mimi and Papa brought Halloween treats for Sam and Henry. They were loving it!

We also went to the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch in Celina. It was a little crazy finding that place, but we had a blast when we got there! There was a petting zoo, a hay ride, and the kids got to choose their own pumpkins at the end.

Here come the silly faces again...

We had such a great time when Mimi and Papa visited! Love you guys!

Sonshine Academy Fall Festival

2011-11-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

Sonshine Academy has a Fall Festival the last school day before Halloween. It is such a blast! They bring in a petting zoo, pumpkin crafts, and carnival games. The kids rotate through the activities all day. I saw Sam several times throughout the day and he was all smiles!
The above picture is Sam and his precious teacher, Mrs. Jackson.

The petting zoo was Sam's favorite part, and Daddy even got to stop by for a little bit!

I can't even believe I am going to post this next picture,,, but it is quite hilarious. The teachers in my pod dressed up as crayons. Gotta love Mrs. Wright for putting these together for us! She is super creative.

If you are wondering why there are no pictures of Henry.. it is because he refused to wear his costume and I didn't get to make it to his side of school much that day. More pics of him to come on my Halloween post!

He keeps me on my toes.

2011-10-16T19:39:00.001-07:00

And I wouldn't change it for the world!

The State Fair

2011-10-16T13:04:00.001-07:00

The beginning of last week was rough. Both Sam and Henry were sick with strep throat, and Henry just seemed to keep getting sicker. A large dose of steroids later.. and he seemed to be on the mend. We all needed OUT of the house. So what did we decide to do?? We took a family trip to the State Fair of Texas! Isn't that what everyone does when their kids are healing from sickness?
Sam read a book on the way to the fair. Henry enjoyed looking out the window.

It was raining hard. The weather predicted it would stop, but this was what we saw when we arrived at the fair.

Literally 10 minutes later, the rain stopped and we headed inside!

And 20 minutes later the skies looked like this! What a beautiful day.

We started off at the petting zoo. I think the boys could have spent all day in there.

Next up, corndogs!!!

Food consumed by our family of four:
2 corn dogs
4 fried oreos
1 funnel cake
1 turkey leg
1 bag cotton candy
(I really should say, food consumed by Drew and I. The kids weren't much help. I went home with a tummy ache,,, but I didn't mind!)

The kids loved the fountain!

And we stopped off to see Big Tex.

The boys rode some fun rides.

Sam was so brave! He rode this roller coaster all by himself!

And we finished off the rides with a trip in the gondola. What a view!

We watched the dog show, too cute.

And the boys played in the Helping Hands Farm.

Sam milking the cow...

Henry milking the cow...

They wanted to take these tractors home with us :)

This was Sam, less than five minutes after leaving the fair.

Henry took a little bit longer,, but eventually gave in.

What a FUN day and what fun memories!!! Now, if I could just figure out how to make those fried oreos,, those were so delish!

Untitled

2011-10-16T12:29:00.001-07:00

Love this kid!

2011-10-15T20:15:00.001-07:00

Poor Sick Babies

2011-10-08T18:52:00.001-07:00

It all started with Sam getting strep throat,,, AGAIN. This is the second time in a month. Then, Henry went down. Sam is doing okay, but today was rough for poor Henry. You know when Henry decides to lay on his napmat,, something is very WRONG!

I ended up taking Henry back to the doctor today because he was wheezing and running such a high fever. Poor kid has croup on top of his strep throat. He is just miserable.

Sam seems to be on the mend. Praise the Lord for antibiotics! He took it pretty easy today, but definitely seemed better than yesterday.

You know it is bad when he won't even touch his Chick-fil-a.

Get well soon sweet baby boys!

Two fun sneak peeks!

2011-09-30T10:30:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday was such fun! I did two sessions for two adorable little guys. Both boys are celebrating birthdays. My first little guy is turning 2. He was serious, and adorable :)

And this precious baby boy is turning 1. I used to teach public school with his Mommy, and it was so fun to get to see her and her sweet family. Baby boys just melt my heart!

Our trip to B'ville

2011-09-25T13:30:00.001-07:00

I drove the boys up to Bartlesville last weekend while Drew traveled to Florida. It was quite a drive with the kiddos by myself,,, but we made it! And we had a great visit.

Every trip to Bartlesville involves digging in the rocks of course.

And Henry's favorite part of the trip is getting to see Dylan! He still tells me, "Hen-gry's Dylan kitty." He has adopted Dylan in his heart :)

Riding fourwheelers to the creek is always a blast too! The weather in Bartlesville was a little chilly which was nice!

Sweet Henry and his Mimi.

Sam's favorite part of the trip,,, getting to control Papa's dumptruck!

He could not be smiling any BIGGER!!!

And to finish off our trip, we had popcorn and a movie! It was the perfect weekend visit. We love you Mimi and Papa!!!

Sweet boy and his rest time.

2011-09-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

Future Goalie...

2011-09-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the world, John David!!

2011-09-22T18:46:00.001-07:00

This precious angel is just two weeks old. He melted my heart! Congratulations Micheal, Jilinda, and big sis Lydia!

Beautiful Lydia! I can't get over those gorgeous blue eyes!!

Mama and her son. So sweet.

Being so adorable is exhausting!

Little man of God :)

2011-09-22T14:19:00.001-07:00

Sam goes to cubbies at church on Wednesday nights. I am amazed at how much he is learning! It is really neat to hear him talking about the Bible. And sometimes our conversations crack me up! Last night was one of those times...

Me- Sam, what did you learn at cubbies tonight?

S- God made Adam and Eve!

Me- Wow Sam, that is neat. Do you remember where they lived?

S- In the garden!

Me- And what did God tell them about the garden?

S- not to eat the apples from the tree.

Me- Then what happened? Did they eat the apples and make God sad?

S- Yes. (long pause) Mama, do we not eat apples?

Me- no, we can eat apples. God just told them not to eat from that particular tree. Adam and Eve sinned because they didn't trust God. They disobeyed God.

S- Mama, we will just eat our apples from the store!

Baby James

2011-09-14T12:51:00.001-07:00

Guess who came to see us today? Baby James :) Henry was so excited!

Sam's first soccer game

2011-09-11T19:33:00.001-07:00

Imagine this... it is 7:45am, and we are arriving at the soccer fields for our 8:00am soccer game. That morning Sam had cried hysterically when he had to put on his uniform because he, "just wanted to wear jammies!!" And he was not too sure about the whole idea of playing soccer.

The entire first half of the game, Sam hung close to Daddy and refused to step foot on the field. We tried all kinds of bribes to get him to play. He was not having it. He preferred to watch from the sidelines.

Let me just say how wonderful Sam's coach is. He had come over and tried to convince Sam to come in the game several times. Well, at half time, he came over and picked Sam up and put him on his hip and walked onto the field. This was all Sam needed to feel secure and ready to play.

Henry cheered Sam on. "Go Sammy!"

In no time, Sam was playing some serious soccer.

He got to throw the ball in.

And then,,, he got the ball, dribbled it all the way down the field,,, and,,,

scored a GOAL!!!!! I didn't get great pictures of it because I was so busy cheering and going nuts :)

Sam then proceeded to score another goal later in the game. He did such a great job! We were beyond proud :) I think I was mostly proud that he got up the courage to do something that was new for him and that he was feeling uncomfortable about.

And the end of the game, everyone formed a tunnel and all the players ran through. Go Sam go!!!!

There was a team snack after the game. Notice who now has a new best friend? Sam leaned on Coach's leg and enjoyed his snack :)

Go Sharks!!!

Every soccer star needs a celebratory ice cream cone!

And every soccer star needs a nap. Bless his little heart, Sam was exhausted!

What a fun day! I LOVE these precious "firsts"!

Rise and Shine

2011-09-09T09:12:00.001-07:00

Our sweet baby boy is a good sleeper. He is a lover of stuffed animals. And he is fond of cuddling with his mommy and daddy.
He was not too excited about me taking his pictures first thing in the morning.

I was working on an assignment for a photography class I am taking, and I thought Henry would be the perfect subject. I am not sure he would agree :)

Meet the teacher and 2nd day of school...

2011-09-08T14:30:00.001-07:00

Sam has the sweetest teacher this year. Her name is Mrs. Jackson and we love her!

And Henry's teacher is wonderful as well! We call her Mrs. K for short, and she is precious.

I didn't manage to get any pictures on the first day of school, because it is a little crazy getting all three of us out the door in the morning. But I DID take 2nd day of school pictures :) The boys were being super silly, and I was just using my point and shoot camera so the quality isn't great, but you get the idea. They are adorable, at least I think they are :) And Sam just looks so old in these pictures. Sniff sniff.

P Family Sneak Peek

2011-08-31T19:43:00.001-07:00

Wow, isn't this the most gorgeous little girl! I had so much fun photographing the P family last weekend. They were so much fun, and had so much energy! Enjoy the little sneak peek into their session.

Yummm, delicious!

2011-08-29T06:11:00.001-07:00

Sam says so many funny things each day. I have been trying to remember some of them for the blog. Here are just a few :)

Sam was at Academy Sports with Drew and he looked up at him and said, "This place is amazing!"

Sam will come up with a great plan of all the things we should do in a day, he will list them all out, then look at me and say, "That be an idea mommy?"

He is a backseat driver, "Green light, go mommy!"

Yesterday he really wanted to paint. I told him we would paint in about 15 minutes. He then said, "But mommy, I'm starving to paint!"

He likes to call Henry "Hen-ro".

When he thinks I am teasing him he says, "That's just kidding me mommy!"

And in a conversation with Drew he said, "That's impossible!"

It is so fun to watch his vocabulary expand, and for him to get his words almost in context :)

And some funny Henry memories:

He calls his belly button a "baby-button."

He carries around a baby doll and pats it on the bottom saying, "Shhh shhhhh."

If he sees a picture of a puppy in a magazine, he likes to tear it out and carry it around with him all day.

If I tell him he has to keep his snack on the tile,, he will scoot his bottom as close as possible to the carpet and eat there. And of course he has a mischievous smirk on his face the whole time :)

When I am holding him before putting him in his crib, he will squeeze me tight and say, "I got you Mommy!" Now, that just melts a Mommy's heart.

(These pictures are courtesy of a fabulous party favor we got at a birthday party this weekend. Yummy suckers!)

Baby A Sneak Peek

2011-08-24T10:19:00.001-07:00

I had so much fun taking pictures of this precious 6 week old! He is adorably handsome, and SO happy!

Sweet Baby James

2011-08-23T12:04:00.001-07:00

Sweet baby James is just 7 days old in these pictures. Isn't he gorgeous?!?!?! Congratulations Chad and Jackie!

Milestones!

2011-08-16T08:54:00.001-07:00

We have hit some big milestones at the Martin household in the last couple of weeks. Henry is now officially potty trained. (This was his idea, not mine.) Why is he growing up so fast??? Lily came over to play, and she was showing off her new potty skills. And that was it for Henry. He said, "Hen-gry underwear please Mommy." And we haven't looked back since. He has had a few accidents, but overall he has it down pat!

And my sweet Sam has started to drop his afternoon nap. He was having such a hard time falling asleep at night. We just decided that his 3 hour nap every afternoon probably needed to stop :) So, I have been getting some special one-on-one time with him in the afternoons. He loves doing project after project. And he does pretty good working independently so that I can get housework done too.

I love this picture of Henry wearing his new shoes :) He was working so hard to get that tape out!

Sweet boys, I love these two so much. :)

Conversations

2011-08-06T19:38:00.001-07:00

I never want to forget the simple conversations I have with our babies. Hearing their voices and thoughts always makes me smile.

While I was rocking Henry tonight:
me: Do you want me to sing?
H: Yes, Jesus Loves Me.
me: singing song...
H: medicine Hen-gry's face
me: yes, Mama put medicine on your face tonight.
me: singing again...
H: no Jesus song.... Shhhhh song.
( Sometimes when he is upset, I will shh, shh, shh. Mommies, you know what I am talking about. Well, tonight he wanted me to "shhhh" him for his song.) For some reason, this just melted my heart. :)
So I patted his little bottom and shh'ed him for quite awhile before putting him to bed. I loved every minute of it.

Conversation with Sam. And you need to know that Sam waits in his bed in the mornings until his clock says 7:00.

Me: Hey Sam, are you ready to get up?
S: Yes Mommy! My clock is a 7!!
Me: Okay Sam, be really quiet though, your cousins are still asleep, and Grammy is asleep, and Auntie Sarah,, everyone is still sleeping.
S: Mommy,, their clock isn't a 7 yet??

Love it!

Cousins = Best Friends

2011-08-06T07:29:00.001-07:00

Grown-up's Night Out!

2011-08-06T07:08:00.001-07:00

The guys went with us too :) They just weren't in the fun picture. And Duke and Brandi met us there. We had SUCH a great night!
Mrs. Scott babysat all four boys for us, and they had a great time with her.
Gotta love a grown-up night out!

Presents from Grammy!

2011-08-06T07:04:00.001-07:00

We did a little celebration for Henry's birthday with Grammy. She got Henry an AWESOME trash truck! All four of the boys played with this truck non-stop last week. Henry loves referring to it as, "MY trashtruck!" :)

Sam got a special present from Grammy too. A collection of animals. Love it!

THANKS Grammy!!!!

Main Event

2011-08-06T06:52:00.001-07:00

We did SO much last week! We went to a water park called Hawaiian Falls, went swimming and out on the lake, and we also went to Main Event. Main Event is a huge, in-door bowling, put-put, ropes course, laser tag, game, adventure place. I am sorry these pictures are not great, it was super dark in this place. But we had so much fun!!

This picture makes me smile :)

Sarah and Jack braved the ropes course. They did great!

What a fun time, we will definitely be going back to this place!

Family Dinner

2011-08-06T06:39:00.001-07:00

Drew cooked a big family dinner for everyone last week. Yummy! He had lots of great helpers too :)

Davis was a great onion chopper! Look how red his eyes were from the smell.

Cheese cannelloni, fresh bread, salad, and peach cobbler. Deee-lish!

And every good day ends with a nice wrestling match. love it!

Family Visit!

2011-08-04T13:38:00.001-07:00

Last week was so much fun! Grammy, Aunt Sarah, cousin Jack, and cousin Davis all came for a visit! WOW!! We had a wonderful week! We spent the first weekend on the lake enjoying Uncle Duke's boat. This was Sam and Henry's first time on the boat,,, and I think they are hooked :)

Jack, Davis, and Robert jumped right in!

Grammy and Aunt Katie had the cutest hats :)

Sam was in heaven the entire day! My boys just couldn't get enough of their Auntie Sarah!

And have I mentioned that these two are getting MARRIED!! Oh my goodness,, I am so excited!

Henry was a pretty big fan of the lake too! I honestly thought he might be scared. But whatever Sam tried,, Henry wanted to try as well. He was a pro on the jet ski!

Sam, why are you growing up so fast!?!?! Sweet boys :)

Henry crashed on the boat ride home. I loved the snuggles.

Henry and Grammy, so sweet.

And Sam and Daddy caught a lizard!

Playing with animals on the stairs before bed.. what a wonderful day!

Best of Friends

2011-07-22T06:45:00.001-07:00

Our Trip to the Zoo

2011-07-21T16:47:00.001-07:00

I am so glad Nesa and Chrissy invited us to join them for a trip to the zoo! Sam and Henry were in heaven the entire day!

The kids did a great job of staying together and listening to instructions. Don't you love how Henry decided he should wear his rain boots to the zoo? Love it :)

The kids were anxiously awaiting our train ride. This was a huge highlight of the day! Too bad it was kinda short.

All aboard!!

Then we found this great place to splash in the water and cool off. It was HOT as you can imagine, so the kids didn't think twice about getting drenched.

And at the end of our day, we met this guy. Isn't it crazy how close the kids could get!?! Too cool!

What a great day!

Cooking with Daddy

2011-07-21T13:59:00.001-07:00

They boys helped Daddy make homemade pasta. Yum!

Henry's Birthday

2011-07-21T13:52:00.001-07:00

We had a great day on Henry's birthday. He absolutely loved having a day all about him! We started the day off with chocolate chip pancakes at Auntie Nesa's house. Wasn't it sweet of Nesa to make Henry pancakes! Henry loved blowing out his candle.

Mmmmmm! Delicious!

Henry loved pushing Lily in the stroller :)

But he got so frustrated when he couldn't put his legs in.

This was not what I had in mind, Mama!

On the evening of Henry's birthday, we had a little pool party. We decided to keep it small this time, and it turned out to be a perfect evening!

Sam sure does love Uncle Jake :)

Henry picked out this cake, and was so proud of himself.

So proud to be the center of attention and to get to blow out his candles!

Yummo!

Henry's favorite part was opening his presents. I didn't realize that he doesn't have a lot of toys that he can call his own. Well, now he does! He was pretty sweet about sharing with Sam too.

Pure joy when he opened this police car from Kennedy and Cambry!

Why do they make these things so hard to get out of the box??

Look at this huge present from the Franks family!

Yay! A basketball goal!

My three boys play basketball non-stop now. This was the perfect gift :)

Aunt Katie gave Henry his very own tool box!

What a perfect day, celebrating our perfect baby boy! Happy 2nd birthday Henry!! We love you!!!!

Adventures with Mimi and Papa

2011-07-21T12:54:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are the pictures from the boy's stay at Mimi and Papa's house. They had so much fun! I am so glad my mom takes lots of pictures, so I can see what they have been up to.
No trip to Bartlesville is complete without a trip to Lowes and Atwoods. And of course,, you MUST try on the coon skin cap :)

Sam,, in fork-lift heaven.

Peek-a-boo Henry!

After his nap, Henry enjoyed chilling in this rocker. Love the bed head :)

B'ville has a new spray park, how fun!

A little toy time before bed.

Yummm! Peanut butter toast!

And a trip to Woolaroc!

And one last picture of Henry with his buddy, Dylan. Henry is totally going to be the kid who begs us for a pet when he gets older :)

Mimi and Papa, we can't thank you enough for giving us a couple of days off! We appreciate it so much. And we loved looking through all of the pictures. The boys had an amazing time!

Happy 2nd Birthday Henry!

2011-07-15T11:22:00.001-07:00

I always love taking a walk down memory lane on birthdays. The time flies so quickly, and it is nice to take a moment and remember. This picture was taken the first moment I laid eyes on Henry Andrew. It was love at first sight!

When Sam first met Henry, he didn't really know what to think. He was 16 months old :) It has been neat to see the bond between these two brothers grow. If one brother is not around, the other brother is looking and constantly asking where he is. They fight a lot, don't get me wrong. But they have a unique bond, and truly love each other.

Love this sweet boy.

Henry at 5 months old. All smiles!

Henry's first birthday. The curly mullet was in full effect :)

Henry at 18 months. He loves to be silly.

And my sweet 2 year old.

Dear Henry,
Happy birthday! We love you so much! We are looking forward to another wonderful year of watching you grow and learn. XOXO
--Daddy and Mama

Henry's 2 year well visit

2011-07-14T12:54:00.001-07:00

Henry had his 2 Year well visit today at the doctor. It went great, and Henry checked out wonderfully.

Here are his stats:
weight 24 lbs 14 oz (10-25%)
height: 34 inches (50%)
head: 19.3 inches (75%)

I can really tell he has grown! He is seeming so much longer, and can now wear Sam's 2T hand-me-downs.

Henry, tomorrow is the big day! You will be two years old! You are so excited about the Lightning McQueen cake that you picked out :) You are talking a LOT, which is so much fun. You are starting to go on the potty at least a few times a day. You are still very strong willed, and you can throw a BIG TIME fit if you want to. You love to take a few books or toys to bed with you, and you are a great sleeper. You love to go swimming. You are fearless! You do NOT like to ride rides. No merry-go-rounds for you. You also love to play with all kinds of transportation right now. You tell me everything that you see while we are driving in the car :) Your favorite is the gas truck.
I love you Henry Andrew!

The birthday boy.

2011-07-13T19:15:00.001-07:00

My parents kept the boys for a few days this week. It was wonderful! They boys had a blast, and Drew and I enjoyed a few days to re-group, clean, and enjoy the peace and quiet. But I sure was ready to see my baby boys today when I went to meet my parents!!
My mom always does a great job of taking pictures when they have the boys. This is one of my favorites :) Henry loves my parent's cat, Dylan. I will post more pictures from their visit with Mimi and Papa tomorrow.
Sweet Henry, how can it be possible that you are turning two!?!?!

Henry's B'day,, B'ville Style

2011-07-12T11:46:00.001-07:00

Since Mimi and Papa won't be here on Henry's actual birthday, we decided to have an early celebration in Bartlesville. Happy birthday to my sweet baby boy! I sure do love this kid.

And this is an attempt at a picture with my babies. Haha :)

My family. My cup runneth over.

My bro and his sweet gal.

I was so glad that my grandma got to come over and celebrate with us.

Birthday brunch underway!

The guest of honor.

Henry was very excited to blow out the candles!

Unfortunately, when he couldn't get the last one out,, he decided to use his hand. Ouch! It all happened so fast, we didn't have time to stop him from gabbing the burning candle. Thankfully, he only cried for a couple of seconds and was then fine and eating cake.

Yummmmmm!!!!!

Mimi and Papa got Henry the coolest tricycle!!

Mommy and Daddy planned ahead and got Sam one too. Now both boys have their own source of transportation, and they are loving it :)

It was HOT!!! I just love these pictures of Sam and Uncle Jason. Sam's little red cheeks melt my heart.

I loved getting to spend the weekend with these two as well. They make me smile :)

It was a GREAT birthday celebration for an amazing little guy!! Thanks Mimi and Papa for the wonderful weekend!! We are so blessed.

Our trip to B'ville

2011-07-12T11:08:00.001-07:00

We took a weekend trip to Bartlesville to visit my parents and celebrate Henry's 2nd birthday with them. We had such a great time! We spent one morning taking the boys on their first fishing trip. Papa bought them both "Cars" fishing poles, and we headed to the pond at 7:00 am. The boys had so much fun! It was such a beautiful morning.

It wasn't long before Sam and Papa caught their first fish!!

Sweet Emily joined us on the fishing trip. The boys adore her :)

Then Daddy and Papa caught some REALLY big fish!

I love living where we do. But I also love being able to go visit my parents and see this. Seeing God's beautiful creation always takes my breath away.

Pretty soon, Sam was fishing all by himself, and even reeled in a fish! He was so proud :)

Henry liked fishing with his Daddy :) But his interest didn't last long. Mostly he just liked to walk around, eating his apple, and watching the fish we had caught swim around in the bucket.

I think the boys are hooked. I am sure we will be fishing again very soon!

It's Henry's birthday week!!

2011-07-11T13:44:00.001-07:00

Awe, this picture just melts my heart. This was taken when Henry was just a few weeks old. Henry was such a sweet baby. He was a GREAT sleeper, and a great cuddler.

And here is Henry at one year old. He was walking and really starting to show us his personality. He is a strong willed, smart, funny, sweet, loving little guy!

Henry, I can't believe you are going to be TWO years old on Friday! You amaze me every single day. I love you with ALL of my heart. You have grown so much, my sweet baby boy!

Baby C Sneak Peek

2011-07-11T07:54:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, I love to photograph babies :) This little guy is 9 months old, and was so much fun! I wanted to post a little sneak peek for his sweet Mama. Don't you just want to squeeze him!?!

Gotta watch them like a hawk!

2011-07-06T18:39:00.001-07:00

What started as this.

Turned into this...

At least they were washing the dishes, right??

A Work in Progress

2011-07-06T18:33:00.001-07:00

Henry sometimes shows interest in potty training. And we embrace it of course. This day he did pretty good,, and I just think his toosh looks cute :)

Jackie's baby shower

2011-07-02T12:30:00.001-07:00

I got to help host a baby shower for this beautiful lady. Baby James will be here mid-August!! We can't wait :) Here are some highlights from the shower. We had the best time!

And I just had to share this picture of my little flirt. He couldn't take his eyes off Jackie's adorable niece.

What we have been up to...

2011-06-27T14:42:00.001-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posting this summer. The days fly by very quickly right now! Summer got off to a very busy start. We had a week of VBS, then a week of sickness. Henry had a fever virus, Sam had strep throat, and now I have a horrible cold. This isn't supposed to happen in June!

The boys are ALWAYS busy doing something :) And it usually involves a mess.

Yes, Sam and Henry dumped a lot of toys all over the stairs today. And they had a blast doing it, of course :)

And let's take this moment to talk a little bit about Henry. He turns 2 years old in just a couple of weeks. Sniff sniff.
He still has a VERY strong will. I would even dare to say, it gets stronger every day. I tend to feel very protective of him, like he is going to be misunderstood. He can throw a very crazy fit when he gets frustrated. He likes to do things himself, and has a hard time asking for help. We are working on it though! He definitely knows "time-out" very well. He is a very good talker, and this is a blessing. He also gets frustrated when we can't understand him :) He says three word phrases very well. These are two I hear a lot:
Henry have it.
Henry do it.
But for all the strong willed fit throwing,, there is also a very tender side to Henry. He will crawl into my lap and cuddle and read books for long stretches of time. He loves to say prayers with me. And he laughs really hard and tells me that he is funny, a lot :) He also adores his big brother. He likes to do whatever Sam is doing.
The boys fight a lot. But they are also starting to play together for longer stretches. They have long conversations with each other. Sam can always understand what Henry is saying. Sometimes he has to let us know because we can't understand.

And now a little bit about Sam...
He was SO sick with strep throat last week :( On the way to the doctor he held a bowl in his lap and threw up the whole way. Poor kid. And he also threw up on his swimming teacher when he first started getting sick. I felt horrible about that! (Sorry Erin!!) We had some long nights. He was usually up from about 2-4:30 am,, and he would look at me and say, "Let's just get up, Mommy. I am not tired anymore." Poor kid had such a high fever he just couldn't sleep.
I am so glad he is feeling better now. He is back to his old self :)
Sam's swimming lessons are going great! (Except for that throwing-up part, of course...) He is getting more comfortable in the water with each lesson. He is not a big fan of putting his whole face in the water, but we are working on it. He actually gets excited about going to the pool now. And he loves to wear his puddle-jumper.

Both of the boys have a lot of "boy" coming out in them right now. We don't watch any sword fighting or karate shows on tv. But somehow the boys have decided to run around the house swinging their invisible swords and karate kicking the air. They don't sit still for long. There is no crafting or coloring going on at my house. Constant movement, building, wrestling, chasing, hiding, and screaming happens daily. It is definitely exhausting,, but in a good way. They are our precious boys. I love them.
And I promise to do better at posting!

Happy Monday!

B Family Sneak Peek

2011-06-25T19:22:00.001-07:00

I had so much fun with the B Family last weekend! It was such a WINDY day, but we still managed to get some great pictures. Enjoy the little sneak-peek into their session :)

Mimi Visits!

2011-06-15T18:45:00.001-07:00

Mimi came and visited us for a whole week, and we had so much fun! There was lots of reading and cuddling for the first few days :)

And we went swimming too. Sam is pretty scared of the big pool. But after working with him one morning, he started to get much more comfortable. He even floated with his Puddle Jumper all by himself. Swimming lessons start next week, and I am hoping that he will be a little more warmed-up to the water now.

And I seriously can't resist this cutie! He is pretty brave in the water too.

We also went to cousin-Reid's birthday party at the fire station while Mimi was in town. It was so much fun! The kids got to see a fireman in all his gear, then they got to try it on too. There was also a tour of the fire station and the fire trucks. Sam was seriously in heaven. :)

Papa came into town this weekend to pick up Mimi, and we had a blast hanging out with him too! I unfortunately didn't take a single picture.
We love you Mimi and Papa! Come again soon!

Bed Head

2011-06-03T18:30:00.001-07:00

My little guy has been napping a tiny bit better over the last week. For months, he has only been napping about 45 minutes to an hour each day. For the last week, he has been napping over 2 hours. Woo hoo!
The sign of a great nap..... bed head!! :)

S and H

2011-06-01T19:53:00.001-07:00

Samuel Paul (almost 3.5 years old)

Henry Andrew (almost 2 years old)

Our trip to visit the H Family

2011-06-01T13:51:00.001-07:00

We got to see our wonderful friends, the H Family, last weekend. The first thing on the agenda,, playing in the water! The kids had a blast :)

Notice poor Henry. He was really pouting about having to share the water hose.

More pouting. It is hard being 22 months old! :)

One thing that definitely made Henry smile,,, sliding into Miss A's chair! She looks thrilled to have him there :)

Love this sweet girl!

And I can't get enough of this precious little boy!

A night out for the grown-ups was just what we needed! We met up with the Franks family for dinner. It was wonderful.

And of course, a group photo of the kids. What a wonderful little bunch we have!

And now,,, some flashback photos from exactly one year ago. Our babies have grown!

I think these two have changed the most!

Thanks so much for having us, H Family! We love you!!

Group Picture

2011-06-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

Well, it is not really a group. Just our two little boys. But it is so hard to get a picture of the two of them together. They really love to bug each other :)
In the second picture, I told Sam to give Henry a hug, and Henry was not too excited about that idea.

Sam's bunk beds arrived today, and the boys were THRILLED! Henry was so bummed that he had to sleep in his crib during nap time. But he cannot be trusted in a room where he can climb to the top of something. That kid has no fear!
Sam went right to sleep on the top bunk. I went to check on him, and he looks so big.
Now it is time to finally decorate and paint his room. I am excited to get started. And hopefully in about a year, we can put the boys in the room together. Nothing like a little brotherly bonding, right??!!

My baby

2011-05-31T21:06:00.001-07:00

I love that I got to snap a few pictures of sweet Sam sleeping.

He is so funny, and he is definitely growing up. He used to insist on wearing jammies to take a nap. Lately, he has insisted on sleeping in his underwear. Funny boy :)

We have traveled a lot this month. On the trips, the boys shared a room a couple of times, and it was definitely interesting! There was lots of laughing and a lack of falling asleep. But overall, it went pretty good.

Sam still falls asleep with his favorite toys nearby. He is a great sleeper, but somewhat of an early riser. We tell him he has to wait until his clock has a 7. This works some days, and some days it does not.

Sam's new bunk bed should be delivered sometime tomorrow. He is so excited, and says he wants to sleep on the top bunk! I am interested to see if he will actually be able to fall asleep in his new bed. I will post pictures when we get it set up.

Have I mentioned how much I love this little sleeping beauty??!!

Our Babies.

2011-05-11T14:33:00.001-07:00

We love these boys so much. They are lovers of all things dirty. They love transportation, digging, scooping, building, running, jumping, chasing, wrestling, and cuddling. Sweet baby boys.

And for some reason, Sam just looks so grown-up in the picture below. Time is flying by so quickly. But we do our best to cherish every moment!

Mother's Day in Tulsa

2011-05-11T14:19:00.001-07:00

This picture really sums up my Mother's Day. Joy. My three boys just bring me pure joy. I can't believe this is my life.
Thank you God, for giving me these good and perfect gifts.

We spent Mother's Day in Tulsa with Drew's cousins. We always have so much fun getting all of the kids together!
Morgan, Gracie, Sam, Henry, Nathan, and Thomas (above)

And a picture of my precious family.

We had a wonderful brunch at the Country Club, then headed back to Aunt Kev's to play all afternoon. When you see the pictures below, you will see that my boys were absolutely in heaven all day!

Sam drove this tractor and the blue car all day long. All. day. long.

Dinner time!

Thanks for having us! Wow! What a wonderful Mother's Day. We love you guys!

Mother's Day in Bartlesville

2011-05-11T13:52:00.001-07:00

We made a quick trip to Bartlesville this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day. Our boys were in heaven! We spent Saturday in Bartlesville doing so many fun outdoors activities. Then Sunday, we headed to Tulsa to see Drew's cousins. (pictures from Sunday to come.)
As you can see from above, Drew and Jason had some fun dirtbiking on Saturday.

Sam, Henry, Papa, and I spent the morning on the four-wheeler.

Isn't my husband handsome? :)

The boys had so much fun seeing all the animals on the farm.

And of course, playing in the creek!

And riding the tractor :)

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet mom! I am beyond blessed!

I loved getting to meet sweet Emily. The boys adore her. She brought bubbles, and they were in heaven!

I will leave you with this cutie.

We had such a wonderful time in Bartlesville! Thanks Mimi and Papa! We love you!!

Loving Photography.

2011-05-11T12:39:00.001-07:00

Sweet Haley just turned 3 years old, and precious Lily just turned one. I had so much fun with these two little girls!

And this little guy is Reeves. Those blue eyes are amazing!

Reeves' Mama is so beautiful!

Rachel and Logan. These two are great buddies with my boys. So sweet.

And I got to take pictures of five cousins. They were so much fun! They surprised their grandma with a picture of the five of them for Mother's Day.

I have had so much fun over the last month taking Spring pictures. And I have been studying and learning a lot! My goal is to save enough money to take some classes soon. I think what I love most about photography, is getting to take a moment and be in awe of the beauty God creates in each person. God is so good, and His beauty amazes me.

Weiler Family Photos

2011-05-11T10:42:00.001-07:00

The Weiler's are sweet friends of ours. I had so much fun capturing them in action last week. Could this family be any more beautiful?? It was hard to pick my favorites!

Just a smidge...

2011-05-01T16:52:00.001-07:00

Here are some examples of recent conversations with Sam.

Sam: Mommy, can I please have some candy?
Me: No, Sam. Not right now.
Sam: Please Mommy! Can I please have some candy, just a smidge?

Sam: Mommy, can I please play outside?
Me: No, Sam. It is time to take a bath.
Sam: Please Mommy! Can I please play outside, just a smidge??

Sam: Mommy, can I buy this puzzle?
Me: No, Sam. We aren't buying anything today.
Sam: Please Mommy, can I please buy the puzzle? Just a smidge?

You get the point :) Everything is, "just a smidge", right now. It is too funny! Drew and I have been wondering where he got this phrase, and today we heard it in his movie and figured it out. This kid just cracks me up.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

We had such a beautiful Easter today. We woke up early and headed for the 8:00 service at church, I taught at 9:15, then family and friends headed to our house at 11:00. We had Easter egg hunts, a delicious lunch, Easter egg dying, and LOTS of candy :)
I feel so very blessed. It was a perfect day!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Matthew 28:1-9

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

Happy Easter!!!

Oh Henry.

2011-04-22T19:16:00.001-07:00

Oh my sweet Henry,
You are my precious, strong-willed child. I could write a novel about how you fight for your ideas and your way. You cried through your entire nap today because you wanted to come "downstairs" with Mama. Then, when naptime was over, I let you get up. You smiled from ear to ear and said, "downstairs, Mama, movie." I think in your world, you won. So, of course we cuddled and watched a movie. You would prefer if I would just rock you to sleep and then let you snooze in my arms. You would prefer if Mommy and Daddy were home and by your side at all times. You would prefer if you could choose exactly what toys to play with, and if you didn't have to share with big brother.

But Henry, you have the sweetest most precious heart. You are strong-willed, but you are a lover and a cuddler.

I know God is going to do so much with your passion, baby boy. I know that whatever you do in life, you are going to do it full force ahead.

You are my love.