As February Soon Dawns...

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. --Job 1:21

We've had a dreary, overcast morning filled with quiet playtime and extended wearing of pajamas. As I've gone about gathering, sorting, and washing laundry as well as editing a few photos here and there, my mind has been quiet and reflective. This upcoming month will be filled with some highs and lows, some celebrations and struggles -- and I can't help but think of the verse above in the book of Job. The Lord certainly does give and take away, yet He always remains the same. I am so very thankful for that.

Yesterday I was able to go to my cousin Anne's home to spend a little bit of time with her and her two children, Bella and Trey. Well, they're more like two sweet dogs, but as any dog owner knows, they really are children to you. Anne recently moved to the Houston area, so it's been fun to have her around more often (just ask Caleb - he has quite a crush on Anne!!).

Trey (on the left) was recently diagnosed with aggressive bone cancer. He's not long for this world, so we were very intentional yesterday in getting some "family" photos taken. I love how big sister Bella (on the right) has her paw on his forearm... and that the tennis ball made it into that particular photo. Trey is in his happy place when he's playing fetch -- even hobbling on three legs! Soon he'll be able to run freely again, although he will be greatly missed.
It looks like February will also bring with it another major surgery for my dad. He's got another ruptured disc in his neck, so Friday, February 11th he will have surgery to remove the ruptured disc and fuse some more vertebrae together. On the up-side, we're all thankful that he's "been there, done that" before, so everyone has an idea of what to expect. I know he's looking forward to feeling the relief from the pain that he experienced last May after his first surgery.

The down-side is that February 11th is my parents' 34th anniversary.

Looks like Mom will have a doped-up date that evening. ;) Good thing he's quite the happy guy when he comes out of surgery! He'll tell you all sorts of good stuff that he wouldn't ordinarily say while he's coming out of anesthesia! (love you, Pop!)

February also means that I have a little boy who will be turning 5 on the 13th. Lately I've been kidding him that he's allowed to have a birthday, but he's going to turn four again. I've told him that he's not allowed to turn five years old. Of course, he doesn't like hearing that but finds it oddly hilarious -- saying through giggles "Moooooommm, I'm not three, so I can't be four again!" or "Mooooommmm, you're still kidding with me!" or "Moooommm, I can't be four and in kindergarten!" Sheesh, child, let's not rush the kindergarten thing. August will be here far too soon!

Oh February. Sometimes it's a great thing you're the shortest month of the year. However, may you help us to remember to hold the ones we love tightly, and remember that the bad days always highlight the good days.

I Had a Spare Minute...

My home is strangely quiet right now. It might not stay that way for long, but I'm relishing the moment. I've got a Christian rock station out of Wichita, KS streaming on my computer, the windows open to air out the house (on January 28th), and one little boy soundly snoozing while the older two are out with Gram for a little while.

Ahhh.

The noise level will soon rise, though, and I will be ready for it. Ryan is going camping tonight with a group of his friends, so it's me and the boys until sometime tomorrow afternoon. My sweet friend Erin (whose hub Ryne is also going camping) will be coming over for dinner tonight, and she's offered to help with bath time and bedtime for the boys in exchange for watching a chick flick and eating dirt cake once they're in bed. Um, yes please!! I am so looking forward to that!!

Shifting gears...

Here's something I never do, but I keep going to these sites to ogle. I'm also "fans" of them on Facebook, so I'm frequently seeing the new products they have out and adding to my wish list. I thought I'd share with y'all some material things that have caught my eye -- either because they're just 'cool' or the company itself is something pretty incredible. None of these are necessities, but they're fun to ooh and ahh over!

--The Vintage Pearl. I love the custom, hand-stamped jewelry they have out. The chunky love necklace is and has been a favorite for a long time. I'd love to go to their shop in Tulsa, OK sometime. They seem like a fun group of ladies!

--The Organic Bloom. You have to see these exquisite custom frames! Right now, they only sell to professional photographers (and yes, I'm considering opening an account... but I want to be sure I'd have a market for them first! I'd probably end up hoarding all of them for myself, and that's probably not the best business decision.) This is another company in OK that would be fun to pop into for a visit!

--Red Letter Words. If anyone feels the need to gift a "Two are Better Than One" in brown to me, I won't turn it away. :) I love the simplicity of these products, and the message conveyed. So fun.

--Photojojo! Store. OK, these folks have the corner on the market for FUN photog gear and equipment, as well as little trinkets and gifts for the shutterbug in your life. Next on my wish list? A chalkboard speech bubble. I'm helping with portraits and photos at our church's annual Father-Daughter dance, and I think these might be just the trick to get some dads loosened up and having fun in a photo with their girl(s). I can only imagine some of the sentiments they might come up with... ;)

Anyone else have a small company that they're fans of that they'd like to share? Let me know!

iPhone Photos Unleashed...

When I'm typically hauling around three boys under age 5 and their odds-and-ends (two Leapsters, bear, puppy, monkey, sippy cups x3, diapers, wipes, Cheerios, etc.) I often leave Big Mama at home. (Big Mama is my little nickname for my camera, btw. I have hopes of one day having a Big Daddy, too -- the camera I'd love to 'upgrade' to if funds allow sometime this year!)

Leaving Big Mama behind has it's disadvantages, namely that I'm not always able to have the "great shots." However, I'm grateful to have a phone with a decent enough camera on it, so here's some fairly recent ones from the Little Camera...

Ryan and I went on a very fun, very relaxing date afternoon/evening just after Christmas. Above, we're testing out the reverse camera on the phone, and below you see the 'before' shot of our dessert -- cupcakes from Crave and drinks from $tarbucks. There is no 'after' shot. ;)

I finally got around to painting this firetruck for Toben's room. It's on three separate canvases, and I "copycatted" a triptich (triptych?) that I've been admiring by Pottery Barn Kids for quite some time now. It's not exact, but I really like how it turned out.
Caleb is such a great helper these days. Often, I don't really have a job for him to do when I'm cooking, but on this evening he helped me to scrub some red potatoes. You can see that the Littles wanted in on the action, too. If there's a stool out, he's up on it just like the big brothers!
Logan started a gymnastics class about two weeks ago. He absolutely LOVES it. I mean, if ever a little boy was supposed to be in gymnastics, it's Logan. Time will tell if it's something that will stick, but for now he's having a great time.
Last Friday and Saturday, Ryan kept the boys and I attended a youth conference with about 25 kids from our church. Worship, the speaker, and our discussions during break-out times were awesome ... I hope some lives were changed, as I know I've been challenged in areas of my own life.
Part of the conference included a concert by Christian hip-hop artist Tedashii. I am not a fan of hip-hop/rap music -- it never has interested me much -- but this guy was awesome. He had an amazing testimony, and you could tell that he had such a passion for Jesus and a passion for what he does.