Terrible Speller

Happy Birthday America! Wow, when I realized how old our country is … it hits me … we are a very young nation (compared to like China and other countries!)

I’ve been listening to Neil Diamond’s Coming to America and Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA the past couple of days and I have to admit, I got emotional singing along with the songs. My kids have grown to love them as well. It’s like Christmas music to me … you can’t have a July 4th without some Neil Diamond.

We spent the day at the pool with my man’s local family.

Hope you had a fun and safe 4th!

A wet kid

A bunch of wet kids and a loving patient Poppy

Chicken fights.

Can’t have a cook out without corn! Sweet brother and sister sharing an ear!

If my house had a voice it would be screaming at me, “I desperately need to be CLEANED!” Thankfully it doesn’t and thankfully yesterday I had nothing scheduled but to clean my home. Being in town, out of town, in town, hanging with friends, out of town again, board meetings, home school events, pictures, editing pictures … my house was completely neglected. I still need to focus on my car, I am dreading that one, and organize my dining room but with the help of a 300 piece puzzle and review math sheets to keep the kids busy … I accomplished a ton yesterday. I didn’t even email a single person or talk on the phone … I was so in the cleaning zone! Hopefully I will be driven again today and knock the rest of the stuff out!

Indoor portraits - ones with lighting and backdrops - is something I definitely need more practice on. Thankfully my sister in-law volunteered her pregnant self to allow me to get more familiar with it all.

She’s scheduled to have a baby girl July 15th. I can’t wait to meet my new niece!

Seeing this tummy gives me mixed feelings … I wish I could experience it all over again but then again I don’t miss being so big and uncomfortable!

In the end, my 3 year old niece had to ham it up. This child is a trip! I love this little spitfire!

We spent the weekend at my mom’s to help her host a baby shower for my cousin. I had an amazing time with my mom.

My grandmother was there and I was able to snap a quick pic of my girls and her. When my youngest was only a few months old we moved in next door to my grandmother. We lived there for 3 years. It was such a blessing.

Isn’t it obvious that my girls adore her.

when I just can’t get enough kisses from those sweet tender lips of my 4 year old … and I always just need one more perfect hug from my 6 year old … and that smile from my 8 year old seems to melt me again and again … and looking at my hubby amazes me that God designed all his great looks for my pleasure (at 34 he is still one fine piece of eye candy!)

That was my day.

Yes, we were “targetting” tonight. If you were there, I am sure you were totally aware of our presence. Two moms leisurely shopping with 6 kids laughing hysterically hogging the aisles with two shopping carts and paying no attention or concern to anyone else around them. We were quite the scene. All the girls picked out matching hoody jackets and at $3.24, we just couldn’t say no. Then the belts were on clearance, and don’t forget we have to look at the shoes. My #1 was even wanting to shop the clearance racks where we found him a rad jacket for $4.74. Once we cleared the registers all the kids insisted that they gear up with all their new stuff. It’s was so cute. The heat was 99 degrees outside but the jackets were going on no matter what. Next we hit the local Steak -N- Shake where I tried to capture the love that all 6 of them share. (My #1 is especially fond of my friend’s youngest) I love this family so much. Every time we are with them it’s so hard to break away.

Have I mentioned just how much I love my friends that surround me on a weekly basis? I am so happy with where we live. Here’s a little sweet piece of love that fell asleep on a concrete picnic bench during one of our home school park outings. She’s so adorable. I’ve enjoyed watching her grow and change this past year.

The dog was outside allllllll day. Elliot was over so she stayed in the backyard. Even when the kids went to bed she still wasn’t in the house. Not once did they ask about her, desire to pet her, miss her … nothing.

This isn’t good. Today really made me realize … I don’t think they really like her anymore.

home … and home never ever EVER felt so good.

For the past week and a half I was the wardrobe assistant for an internet commercial that a close friend of ours was directing. You’d never believe just how much goes into making the advertisements you and I see on a daily basis. I worked my tail off. I loved to the production part of it, dressing people, helping on set. The shopping part was crazy and staying organized was a huge challenge. Say you have 14 outfits that are needed for the commercial. That means in actuality you need at least 70 outfits, meaning you have 5 or so options for each character in case the client changes it’s mind about the wardrobe or something doesn’t work. Plus you have to work in fittings for the actors and then shop more or exchange things that are already bought. Things are never concrete until the character is on set, well that is untrue. We had a guy outfitted and then when they were ready to say action the client asked that the actor change into jeans. We never bought jeans for him. It was never discussed as an option. Luckily the guy wore jeans to the set and they ended up working out fine. Otherwise you hold everything up while you run out and buy more options.

So … that is it. I learned a ton and I am so thankful I got to work with my close friend Aaron. He’s a great guy for giving me a shot.

Now that I am back in the real world, I just can’t seem to get enough of my man and the kids. Elliot is with us today and that makes my day even better! I am dying to take some photos. I miss my camera! The one thing I am slow to want to get back to normal on is cooking and doing the dishes. Oh, and laundry too.

that is where I have been.

5:45 am Wednesday morning I rolled out of the drive way in my husband’s little Honda heading for big Atlanta to work on a job I knew very little about. A close friend of ours asked me to come help with a commercial he was shooting. He was very vague with what he expected from me but my curiosity and desire for the money he was offering meant I was on board for whatever he wanted to throw my way. Shortly after I arrived, I met the crew and got direction on my position for the next few days. It seemed like chaos and I felt so unfit for the position I had to step alone outside and say out loud, “I am just a stay at home mom who home schools her kids, what the heck am I doing here?”

I am home for the weekend, but next week I will be on again for four more days. So far it’s been an unforgettable experience. I am learning so so much! Who knew so many things had to happen and come together to advertise the products that we encounter on a daily basis.

It’s neat to see how perfectly God wrote this adventure into my life. I am just too tired (physically) to expand on this more. But I do have to write that being away from my little family and having other priorities have taught me just how precious my time is with my man and my kids. There are zero words that could accurately express just how thankful I am to be able - on a daily basis - invest the majority of my time into their precious lives.

Every minute I spent with them today seemed heavenly.