Friday, May 27, 2011

Snakes!!!

  
      
Ryan found this very poisonous, Copperhead snake
in our backyard today.
On the walkway...  
On the pathway to the shed....
Precisely where the kids play..... INNOCENTLY!!!!!!!!

Aaaaahhhhh! 

What are we going to do???!
In the 5 years that we have lived in this house, we have found (and KILLED) approximately 10-15 baby snakes, 
(one of which meandered into the house).
  
This one was almost 2 feet long!!!
(Ohhhh....  I sure hope it didn't reproduce.)

Thank God for our dog, Dixie!
She must have killed it for us, as there was a large section missing from it's body, and it was clearly no longer alive.
What a great protector, she is!!! 

Taylor was not at all happy about posing for this picture with our newfound foe!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Things I love..........

Aside from the obvious things I love, such as
my family, God, his son Jesus,
air, food, and shelter....  
There are some things that literally seem
to feed my soul.
Here are some, (but certainly not all), of these things I love:

The smell of a newborn baby's hair;

The sound of a young child's uncontrollable giggles;

My hands in the soil as I garden;

Cooking an elaborately "fancy" meal;

A really good glass of wine
(to go with the meal... dry, red only);

To spend time in nature, soaking in God's artistry;

I love physical exercise, particularly if I'm outside, someplace remote; 

Working on a project with my husband,
(We are such an awesome team!);

Cleaning....  I know, that's weird...  I love the results;

Decorating, which usually happens
at the very same time as cleaning; 

Watching my kids connect with each other;

Shopping...  I really hate this one...
it's so cliche, and seems materialistic, but I just love to look at,
(and sometimes purchase), beautiful things;

Art...  museums, symphony, performances, ect.... 
I appreciate and soak in any kind of art;

Watching my kids develop and grow into
who they will become...
(I'm not one of those moms that wish
they'd stay little forever);

Volunteering... it makes me happy
to help other people;

I cherish the way it sounds outside
when there is freshly fallen snow on the ground...
when all the hustle and bustle ceases, and all is still;

I am honored that God trusted us to raise a child with Down Syndrome...
she uniquely, and wonderfully feeds my soul; 

To cuddle up in our over-sized chair with my son,
and read separately...  silently...  side-by-side;

I melt when my daughter grabs my head, pulls it down, and kisses my forehead;

I adore the friends I have made throughout the years...
the true ones...  the REAL ones...
the ones that love me no matter what;

I love learning, growing and becoming "better"...
a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, a better daughter, a better housekeeper, a better gardener, a better cook, a better person.
I have so many things to love!!!

So.......  What feeds YOUR soul?












Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Baking Party!



For Lexi's 6th Birthday party, she wanted a baking party.
On the menu to prepare: Cupcakes and Sugar Cookies!
 
The girls helped mix the frosting (all 5 colors!), mix the cupcake batter, pour it into the pans, roll and cut the cookies,
and of course....
decorate them all!!!
 
Can you see the frosting ring around her mouth? 
She just couldn't refrain from sampling the goods.
 
Lexi's Kindergarten teacher Ms. Moore joined in on the fun.
It was amazing.... She never left Lexi's side. 

They have built such an incredible relationship, that she offered to tutor Lexi after school next year,
because "she would miss her so much".
I think it's very sweet!!!

SPRINKLES!!!
 
All the girls were able to decorate 6 cupcakes and as many cookies as they wanted.
4 of the cupcakes were placed in a take-home bakery box,
complete with a bow to take home.
The other 2 were added to a cake board to become Lexi's birthday cake.
In my opinion...
It turned out adorable!!!
 
As something extra to do, the kids played 
"Pin the Candle on the Cake".
I love watching their excitement over being blindfolded to paste something on a sign.
I wish we could bottle that kind of simple joy!
 
Party favors: A personalized apron, a baker's hat, their own cake bag with various decorating tips, a recipe, a set of mini spatulas, their decorated cupcakes and cookies, and finally...
A baking box filled with baking themed favors such as:
a blank "recipe book", stickers, lip gloss, and body glitter.

(What more does a girl need???)

I was surprised about one thing though...
After decorating all these treats, 

they hardly wanted to eat any!!!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Easter 2011

The Easter Bunny visited our house, and once again....... he made a HUGE mess!!!

Taylor loves to ponder about what the Easter Bunny's footprints will look like. One year he placed stickers to create a trail, one year he left white stuff in his path, and for the past two years, he has left these muddy footprints EVERYWHERE!




Taylor made sure to tell Lexi not to eat the jelly beans, because "they are actually bunny poop!". (Thanks to the movie "Hop".)
I didn't care... Hehe.


We were blessed to have lots of family staying with us over the holiday week, though I didn't manage to get any pictures of them.

Nor did I get any pictures of the kids hunting for eggs.

(I was in severe back pain this day!... I had a difficult time functioning at all.)

To make matters worse, I took these pictures with my phone, which turned out to be really low-quality. There's always next year to capture some really sweet memories. Sigh....