so what's new?! it's giveaway time...

Here are some new necklaces I just listed in my shop... you may recognize a few of them from the show I did...



1. everytime a bell rings an angel gets her wings
2. dream and follow your heart
3. diamond initial
4. i carried you (inspired by Footprints)

Want one?

Just leave a comment saying which one you would like and why and I will randomly pick a number and give one away!!!

my twins...

I get asked pretty often if Jonah and Tessa are twins...





they're just 20 months apart { Tessa was a BIG surprise baby!!! }

Jonah is a bit short for his age and Tessa is slightly taller than average, so sizewise there isn't much difference...





they get along so well, they play the silliest games and make each other laugh and giggle, like 2 peas in a pod...



I pray they stay this close forever... :)

the birthday girl, part 2...

party time...



we opened presents...



we ate cupcakes (chocolate on chocolate, of course)...



we hung out with our bffs...



it was a fun birthday weekend...

remembering...

Tessa Grace, 2 months old...



7 months old...



1 year...



1 1/2 years...



2 years...



3 years...



and now she is 4 years old...



How did that happen so fast...?

the birthday girl, part 1...

We had a fun day together as a family followed by a small family party...







These pics aren't too bad considering I didn't use a flash :) I'm sure there's a better way to edit them, I just don't know how yet!

A present from Grandma E, her very own camera...



Tomorrow is the fun "Little Mermaid" friend party!!! Which reminds me, I have cupcakes to make...

my assistant...

Whew, what a busy week! Ryan was out of town on biz for most of it, and then the boys had parent teacher conferences and fall break!

I tried to get a little bit of work done, although that's always a challenge when Ryan is gone.

I must say that I have the cutest little assistant who likes to sit in her bouncer next to my chair and play and talk to me while occassionally looking up at me with one of her big gummy grins...






Today is Tessa's birthday!!! She turns...



More pics to come!

frost yourself...

This launch was inspired by the movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"!

Beautiful faceted swarovski crystals wire wrapped in sterling silver and hung on handcrafted sterling ear wires.

Starting LOW.

Find them here!

the monkey test...

I read a great tip on the Mom Shots blog today and HAD to try it out!

This question was asked: How do you get those little rugrats to look at you so you can get those great eye contact shots?

The answer: Tell them there is a (insert item of choice) in your camera and ask if they could see it.

I chose a monkey.

After I chose a monkey I realized I should have chosen something else, because we like to tease our kids and call them monkeys. So when I asked if they saw the monkey they just said "yes, I see ME". And they probably could in the reflection of the lens. So their attention wasn't held with the game as long as I would have liked!

I tried it out on each kid individually...

Tessa did okay, but didn't last long. Grandma E had called a little bit prior to the picture taking and asked if she wanted to spend the night with her. Tessa's reply was to run upstairs, stuff her backpack full of "necessities" and then wear the backpack for the rest of the day waiting for it to be "time" to go to Grandma's... hence, the pink backpack.

I caught her "looking for the monkey"...



But she looked for the monkey until she "caught on" and thought I was just meaning her.

Next I tried Caleb. Who is 7 and much harder to trick than a 3 year old...



he caught on and was done with the game pretty quick... so these are "I'm only looking toward the camera because you are my mom and have the power to take away privledges if I don't" looks... but I kinda like them :)





Then there is Jonah. Sweet Jonah, who will do whatever I ask with a grin on his face...



he totally caught on but he just didn't care...



he even tried getting his soccerball in on the action...



Great tip, though!

I think it would work much better for me on someone else's kids :)

2 for 1...

I got this fun idea from Tonya (thanks Tonya!)

I bought a pair of women's knee high socks that were so cute, even have little pom poms on the tops...



then I cut the feet off, giving Tessa a cute pair of thigh highs, fun with a skirt or a dress...



and I got a matching pair of socks...



For $3 from Wal-Mart :)

thank you grandpa d...

for putting my new toy together today...



I'm having so much fun with it...



big gummy smooches,

eden

downtown...

Today we had a free morning... no soccer games to attend on account of Fall Break for the public schools, so we went to our favorite donut place for breakfast...



and then I drug my family around downtown Tulsa looking for fun spots to shoot...



Jonah is by FAR the easiest one to work with...



except his eyes are SUPER sensitive and I got alot of squinting pictures...



Ryan played football with the kids not taking pics in a parking lot...





I took about 200 pics and these are my favorites... I still have so much to learn! But it's fun- for me at least!

Thanks for indulging me today you guys!

knittin mama hats...

Eden got a couple of new hats...





Sara from the etsy shop knitsbyknittinmama and I traded jewels for hats...





Her quality is amazing and she has SO many adorable hats, I HIGHLY recommend her...



We love them Sara, thank you!



Eden is hard to take pics smiling pictures of...



She will be just grinning from ear to ear at me, but as soon as the camera goes up I get this:



"what's that thing on your face?"



but every once in awhile I get lucky...