morgan {senior pictures}

This could be one of my favorite Senior photo shoots to date.  

Morgan and her mom, Michelle, came all the way from Kansas so that I could do her shoot!

She is beautiful.  

Seriously.

Inside and out.  

They are headed back to Kansas today and I promised to give a quick sneak peek...

Enjoy!

Such a fun shoot.  Thanks for coming, ladies!

Lots more to come!

2010 {collage}

Working on organizing photos and putting together a yearly collage.  

Here is our 2010 in review.

What a year.

It was fun to reminisce a little.

Busy weekend coming up with two photo shoots and a "to-do list" a mile long.

Happy Weekend!

peek-a-boo

We're still here.

So busy...but still here.

The past month and a half has looked a little like this:

-sweet friend from kansas visits

-swim lessons

-soccer camp

-rodeo

-INDEPENDENCE DAY!

-lots of backyard fun

-chipping away at updating the new house

-photo shoots

-trip to Nebraska

-tears and tantrums that accompany a teething 1 year old & a testing 3 year old.

-friends, family, and summer goodness

Needless to say, I haven't been blogging.

But I miss it.

And I have hundreds of darling pictures (don't worry, I won't be showing them all) that go along with all of these things...well, with the exception of the tears and tantrums.

I never actually get around to printing my pictures or doing anything with the thousands that I take, so I really should keep up on this little ol' blog...if for no other reason, to try and make some sense of all the happenings that wind up on my camera...and then my external hard drive :)

I'm not gonna be the cool blog or the blog that gives lots of inspiration and awesome crafty ideas. I'm finally ok with that. I'm just gonna work on documenting my kiddos, the happenings of our lives, and the things that make my heart happy.

So, I'll be working on getting caught up...

and once I am (sometime next year) I am going to try to post at least a picture a day.

Sounds like a lofty goal (for me, at least) but I'm going for it.

check ya later.

remembering grandpa

This Father's Day took a really unexpected turn.

We were celebrating Michael and the amazing father that he is to our boys when I got a call from my sister saying that my grandpa had taken a turn for the worse.

She said I needed to get in the car and go...right then.

I prayed I would make it in time to see him one last time and talk with him.

He was unresponsive when I got there but still with us.

Family surrounded him and he was not alone.

So very thankful for that.

He was just shy of turning 88.

We are going to miss him terribly.

And somehow I am full of regrets about how we should have made more time....

He was such a wonderful grandpa.

Funny...really, really, really funny.

Genuine.

Tender.

An amazing story teller.

Did I mention he was funny?

Oh, and he cussed like a sailor.

But I know he had Jesus in his heart and I have hope that I will see him again.

No matter what the age and how prepared we think we are...

It's just never easy.

He will be greatly missed.

Gramps,

So thankful you have shed the pains that crippled your body and you are dancing with grandma on the golden streets of heaven.

I can hear the laughter now.

What a blessing and joy you were to me and to my boys.

You will not soon be forgotten.

All my love.

i heart summer...

fill the pool, run around in a diaper, eat watermelon, play outside all day...

SUMMER!

It's finally here!

And we have been l.o.v.i.n.g. it...

does a heart LOTS of good.

chaos.

Gotta love it.

And the only post worthy of following my nice tidy kitchen :)

so we moved.

I'm pretty sure you know this.

And I'm pretty sure you know that I stink at keeping this blog up while other BIG things are happening...like moving, unpacking, and getting settled...with two busy little boys in tow.

We've been living here a little over a month now.

We love it...

and yet it still totally overwhelms me.

I used to be a quick settler...get in and get it done.

This time? Not so much.

But for now, let's pretend that we have every box unpacked and everything in its place.

I'll give you a little glimpse of the only room I bothered to clean up kitchen with some "awe" inspiring before and after photos....

drum roll please...

Here is our gorgeous kitchen prior to some updating.

(please note the BABY on the counter! Can't believe how fast Tanner is growing!)

Feast your eyes...

The pictures really don't do it justice. It really was a beauty.

And now for the AFTER photos....





Pretty amazing, huh?

We had a pretty stinkin' awesome cabinet guy come all the way from Kansas to install the custom cabinets...

the custom cabinets that he made.

HE would be Matt Beverlin...and HE is incredible.

Seriously.

I kept introducing him to people as "my best friend's little brother"...

and then it dawned on me...

that kind of makes him sound like he is 12 and making boxes for me in the garage with his dad's nail gun.

In reality, He does have a name... and he is a grown man...with a beautiful wife and two adorable children...

and he is UBBER talented with a business that I KNOW will be incredibly successful.

Matt truly has a gift.

BUT... he is still like a little brother to me and I am just sooooo soooo stinkin proud of him.

So that is the kitchen remodel in a nut shell.

I have so much to update on this blog that I like to avoid it all together.

Slowly but surely I will return and get my act together...

until then, I'm going to go sit and stare at my kitchen...

instead of unpacking and organizing all the other rooms in my house :)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!