show us your life -- where do you shop for kids?

Linking up with Kelly again this week for Show Us Your Life Friday. Today the topic is -- where do you shop for your kids clothes?

Ahahaha. Kelly...you couldn't have picked a better one for me!

I LOVE shopping, and I love dressing my girls in sweet little outfits.

I like my girls to look like little girls. I am NOT a fan of most outfits size 8 & up. 

I don't know what I'm going to do when they're older!

One of my favorite ways to shop are consignment shops, thrift stores, childrens clothing expos. 

There is an amazing consignment shop in my town where I have gotten several good smocked dresses at for $7 and under. THAT is a good price! She also sells bows & that means I'm there a LOT! 

I have found good things at Goodwill before, but it's few & far between. 

Childrens clothing expos are probably my favorite. We have one that comes to our area twice a year & I always load up. A few weeks ago I got three smocked bishop dresses, another boutique dress, and a ride-on toy for $45. You can't even buy ONE smocked bishop dress for that price, hardly!

One place I've recently found is the Monogram Exchange on Facebook. People sell their monogrammed kids clothes for decent prices. I haven't found anything there for Sara or June....YET. But I'm sure I will, and I'm sure I'll be completely excited!

I love Zulily. You have to sign up to use it -- if you want an invite, please let me know! I will send one to your e-mail. It's good to recommend it because for every recommendation, you get $15 credit when they make their first purchase. I think that's awesome!

I've seen lots of good sales on there. They start at 8am CST and 9am EST. The best things go first, so if you can catch it early, that's better. Yesterday I ordered June the sweetest little owl dress for $14.99! You can't even hardly find something for that price in Wal-Mart or Target. And it's free shipping!

I also love Totsy. Same exact concept as Zulily.

I love Facebook pages for kids clothes, too. Smockadot, SmockItToMe, Shrimp & Grits, Lolly Wolly Doodle, just to name a few.

Crazy 8 (a lower end version of Gymboree), Gymboree, Target, & Old Navy also have super cute things at really affordable prices.

These are just a few of my favorite places -- head on over to Kelly's Korner, link up & share yours!

happy FOURTH birthday, sara faith!

Happy Birthday, Sara Faith!

On September 29, 2007, God blessed us with our firstborn.

We named her Sara Faith. 

We chose Sara because of the Biblical story of Abraham and Sarah, where they had difficulty conceiving and waiting so long for their precious son, Isaac. We chose Faith because, well...

it took faith to get her here.

I went to the hospital around 8 pm on the night of the 28th because my vision was really blurred and I just felt weird. Within 30 minutes, I was admitted and started on Pitocin and Magnesium. It was a 26 hour labor, it was brutal, it was scary at times -- especially seconds before and after delivery. But God intervened, placed His hands over those doctors hands and put breath in her lungs.

About two hours after birth.

After a four day stay in the hospital, we brought our precious little girl home. 

After waiting my WHOLE life, I was FINALLY a mama. 

That's the only thing I've EVER wanted to be.

Dear Miss Sara,

The past four years have truly been the most wonderful of my life. You have shown me so many things. You have taught me compassion, you have brought silliness to my life, you have made me remember that life does not need to always be so serious. You have shown me what it is like to have unconditional love, and SO much love for someone. You healed my heart after so much grief and loss. Some days you make me want to beat my head into a concrete wall, but at the end of those days, when I look at you sleeping in your bed, snuggled up to your sister -- I know that I would not trade one fraction of a second of this life with you for anything in this entire world. 

I pray daily that you grow up to allow God to move and work in your life. I pray that you have a musical talent like me, or that you can fix anything with your hands like your daddy, or that you have your Mamaws dedication, or your Papaws kind heart, your Nana's way with words, your Grandma's love for her family, your Pop Pop's healthy way of life, or your Grandpa's sense of humor. But most of all, I pray that you are YOU, and that you never change that.

Love, Mama

 Mamaw holding Sara for the first time.

 Nana and Sara for the first time.

Meeting Grandpa and Grandma for the first time.

oh how pinteresting wednesday

I have long since fallen into the clean cut, well lined, beautiful depths of Pinterest.

And I haven't looked back since.

If you don't know what Pinterest is -- shoot me your e-mail and I will send you an invite.

It's seriously AMAZING!

Today I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple for "Oh how Pinteresting Wednesday" for the very first time! I'm excited to show ya'll some of my finds that I'm loving -- but I'm saving some of the best for a post next week -- they are for Sara's birthday party! 

Without further ado:

Source: etsy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

How CUTE is this Alabama wreath? You could totally do it in your favorite teams colors -- but this house will definitely be rocking the Crimson Tide colors. And maybe the Florida Gators colors. 

I guess I'll give in. 

Because we are a family divided & game days are SERIOUS around here!

Source: teachcraftlove.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I'm going to be making this veeeery soon. I love it! I want one for my front door -- but I think I may make one for the girls room first!

Source: oakridgerevival.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Isn't this the sweetest prayer ever? I need to remind myself of this more often than not. I plan on printing something like this off, framing it, and putting it somewhere in my home to remind myself daily.

Source: roost-home.blogspot.com via Sharin on Pinterest

I love this tree skirt. And it just so happens I'm going to be needing a new one this year.

Source: lilluna.com via Bridgett on Pinterest

I must be on a wreath kick here lately. I think I need to make this one for Halloween!

Don't forget to head on over to The Vintage Apple and link up! 

I hope ya'll have a wonderful Wednesday. It's storming here, so we will be spending it inside, doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms (you know -- the FUN stuff!) and things like that. June has speech therapy this afternoon...I'm not wanting to get out of the house in the rain for that, but I guess I will!

Please remain in prayer for my friends husband, SSG Jeremy Simon. I posted about them here. 

Further attempts to fly Jeremy home have been unsuccessful, so Erica is flying to Germany today to be with him. They are going to attempt to fly him to Walter Reed tomorrow.

Our military families make a great sacrifice to protect this country -- it's selfess and it's unexplainable. But when your loved one is critically injured while fighting that fight -- it's the worst thing in the world.

You don't have to support this war.

I don't.

But you CAN support our men & women fighting for your freedom to choose whether or not to support it.

dream ______ game

I saw this on a forum I'm a member of and thought it would be fun to share.

These are all things I'd have if I could have it just the way I wanted it.

 I'd love to see your responses, too!

Backyard view: 

via

I would love rolling cotton fields as far as the eye could see with a long dirt road leading down to my....

House:

via

old farmhouse surrounded by big red barns, horse corrals, etc. 

complete with rocking chairs all across the front porch

and mason jars with sweet tea waiting :)

Meal:

via

I love Mexican food. My favorite is carnitas with avocado & cilantro. 

I could eat it every single day -- and I'm not kidding!

I've been known to eat Mexican 3 or 4 times a week. ;)

Car:

via

I would die for a new Suburban like this. In black of course! They have sooo much room & are so comfortable! But...I will settle for a (gasp!) minivan. It's more in our budget. 

:(

Vacation Spot:

via

I looove the beach...and I would love to visit Jamaica!

What's your dream?

day in the life: friday, saturday and sunday

I was SO busy Friday! We woke up around 7:30 or so, I put the girls at the table with yogurt and pears, and started switching bedrooms. I moved a full size headboard & footboard, mattress set, real wood HEAVY dresser, and bookcase all by myself! Ya'll may be thinking....so what?! But if you know me, you'd know this is a big deal! For one, I always underestimate what I can do. But with a new job possibility for Michael that means he will be gone a year at a time -- I've decided to just suck it up & do it until I really can't do anymore. So. I moved all the furniture from the girls old bedroom to their new bedroom. Then shampooed the carpets. Then decorated. Then moved the chest of drawers from the old bedroom to the new playroom. I am SO happy to have two functioning rooms again instead of one junk room & one bedroom. It's so nice! The girls love having a room solely for their toys, and cleanup before bed last night was so easy! Sara has really been stepping up lately & cleaning up on her own. I guess the past 4 years of drilling into her that we clean up before meals & before bed is starting to take effect. I'm loving it!

We hung out the rest of the evening, played inside & outside, then went to bed around 9.

Anyway, without further ado...here are some pictures of the girls newly decorated bedroom.

The bed was given to us a few weeks after we got married, when we lived in England. Originally, it was a four poster bed with a floral design on the headboard, but we removed the posters and painted it all a creamy white. We added finials that we purchased from Home Depot to finish the look. The bedding is from Target -- when we first bought it, we thought Sara was going to be in a twin bed. After we decided to keep the full, I just kept the bedding & worked with it.
The dresser belonged to my older sister 30 years ago! Her daughter used it for about 5 years, then they passed it on to us. It was a Christmas-y green color, but I painted it the same creamy white as the bed. We changed out the handles but I hate them, so I'll be replacing them soon.

Yes, I know the picture above the bed does not match the decor at all.
It was in my husbands room when he was tiny & then in his grandparents home.
His grandfather passed away last January, so it's just a way of remembering him.

Meet Benjamin! This little bear is very special to me. When Michael & I were dating in the summer of 2005, we took a little trip down to Devon, England (the beach).  He bought me this little bear as a surprise and I have held on to it ever since. I love it!

**************

Saturday I set my alarm for 6:00.
Yes, I know I'm crazy. But I had tons of cleaning to do!
This greeted me when I stumbled walked into the living room:

Such a spoiled baby he is. Please note: that pillow does not belong on the couch. I have no idea how he got it up there....it belongs on the chair so I'm guessing Homer moved it? It's his favorite pillow.
I told ya'll he was spoiled!

Then I had myself a few of these:

 Then got started on my to-do list. Somehow, with Michael's help, I finished everything before our neighbors arrived that evening. We grilled pork chops, ribs, & boudin, and I made lima beans, greens, & mashed potatoes to go with it. We all made s'mores over the fire for dessert.
Of course, we watched the Alabama vs. Arkansas game (ROLL TIDE!! That's the way to do it!)
and the Gators game. We had so much fun!

*************

Sunday morning we went to church. I meant to get pictures of us before we headed out, but didn't manage to make it happen. The rest of the day Sunday we relaxed...played, watched ball games, etc. We had leftovers from the cookout & just had a good old time doing absolutely nothing!


Here are some random pictures from over the weekend:

 Daddy watching TV... replays of the Auburn game I think?

 CJ haaates having his picture taken, so he resorted to looking like a doofus while I took it. 
TOLD YA I'd put it on here, CJ! TOLD YA!

Daddy & Allie (my youngest sister)

Kayla (another sister) & June.
June just loves her Aunt Kayla to rock her to sleep!

 Told ya'll he was spoiled!

I walked into the living room last night after laying June down & found this. 
Doesn't get much sweeter!


I hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend!
We sure did!

prayers needed for a soldier -- PLEASE!

Erica, Brooklyn, Jackson, and Jeremy

One of the first friends I met here at Fort Benning was Erica. At the time, she was an Army wife & mama to Jackson, who wasn't even two years old yet. 

Since then, the Army has moved them to New York, they've added a second child, Brooklyn, and her husband was recently deployed.

Last Tuesday, Erica got a phone call saying that Jeremy had been injured and was in critical condition. To make a long story short, a gunshot went through his forearm, into his abdomen and damaged his kidney enough that it had to be removed. There was also damage to his liver. He was flown to Germany on Thursday and is now waiting to become stable enough to fly to Washington DC. 

However. Jeremy has developed what the doctors suspect is pneumonia and sepsis.

This could delay his travel to DC and hinder his recovery.

These BDUs are specifically for deployment.

I get a sick feeling in my stomach every single time I see them.

I am asking you to PLEASE pray for healing for Jeremy. To be wounded in war is one thing -- but this is the third time Jeremy has been injured. He even has a Purple Heart. Please pray for him and for peace and comfort for Erica as she waits for her husband to come home. Pray even for little things, like that the children are calm, that they don't try her nerves, that someone brings her supper, that someone offers to cut her grass, etc. 

What can seem SO small can sometimes be SO big.

It hit you without any warning, the storm of your life had begun.
Seeing no hope in the distance, you're frightened with nowhere to run.
You cried out for help from the Savior
You know that you can't give up now
Because you've prayed all night
You've held on with all of your might
Child, your cries have awoken the Master


Praying for the Simon family.

show us your life -- favorite places to shop

I'm a big fan of reading Kelly's Korner each week for her Show Us Your Life series. 

This week, she's talking about favorite places to shop.

Helllooooo.....this is right up my alley!

Or it was until Sara was born & I came a SAHM. 

Now I'm all about finding sales & affordable (read: cheap as possible) clothes that are still quality & trendy.

In the fall & winter, I looove boots & cardigans. That is basically my wardrobe staple in the colder months. Also...being a mom of two under 4 years, I end up in "easy clothes" a good part of the time. Each year I make an effort to purchase new yoga pants & nice t-shirts so that I don't entirely look like a slob. ;) I love Target for that.

Probably my favorite store ever in the whole wide world is Ann Taylor Loft. Or Forever 21. And Target. Okay, three favorite stores in the whole world wide.

Unfortunately, I will not be adding to my winter wardrobe unless I lose so much weight that it becomes a necessity. I kind of hope that will happen....but not really, because we are saving every single penny we can for a minivan.
I guess I'm really an adult now! 

I will be back later tonight with the "day in the life" post -- I know I am boring ya'll to death & honestly, I'm a little bored myself! But TONIGHT my friends...tonight I will have something very awesome to show ya'll!

Ta-ta for now!

day in the life: thursday

Well, I'm gonna be honest here.

Today definitely wins the most boring day every in the history of the O'Neill household award.

Last night was awful again. The girls slept through the night (in my bed) but Homer woke me up at 2:30 & at 4:30 to potty. I'm very, very thankful he doesn't go in the house (because that dog poops and pees like a horse!) but I wish I did not have to get up so often with him. I limit his water after 8ish and he eats around 7. I don't know what else to do. Suggestions?

We had cereal for breakfast this morning. I was seriously dragging. I drank two huge cups of coffee, pried my eyelids open with toothpicks, and sat down to write out Sara's birthday party invites. Up until two weeks ago, she wanted a mermaid birthday party. Then she changed her mind to princesses. Luckily, I found these super cute invites at Target for a really great price -- I think I paid $4 for 8 or 10 -- and they are not cartoon-y. She loves them!

We spent the day playing, doing laundry, cleaned up a few times, and June took a fitful nap this afternoon. She woke up three times during it. I think they are both coming down with colds. :(

I cooked a huge batch of taco soup this afternoon & took some to a friend. She works in the office where June goes for therapy & her son broke his hip playing football a few days ago. He had surgery & is now thankfully resting at home, so I decided to bring them supper. I made enough for us, too...& I even had enough for tomorrow night, as well! Yay for not having to cook so much!

Told ya'll we were boring today. ;)

day in the life: wednesday

Edited because I still need for ya'll to pray on my special prayer request. I hope that I can tell you soon what's going on, but just know that it is a VERY special request. This person is very dear to us, very sick, and very in need of a healing like I know that God we serve is capable of! Also -- one of my good friends, Erica, got the dreaded phone call a couple of days ago that brought the news that her husband had been injured while deployed. I'm not sure where he was exactly, but he was shot in the abdomen. He ended up having to have one of his kidneys removed and the last I heard (yesterday) was that he was sedated and awaiting transfer to Germany. From there they will fly him back to the States. His wife and two small children (Jackson and Brooklyn) are stationed in New York. And their family is in Kansas. ALL the thoughts and prayers you could spare would be greatly appreciated by this Godly family! This man already has one Purple Heart, if I'm not mistaken. Let's pray this soldier comes home soon and will be completely healthy again soon!

Happy Wednesday, ya'll! 

Last night was a rough one around here. Both girls were up a few times & ended up in our bed (after two or three nights of sleeping through the night in their bed!), which makes for some very uncomfortable & fitful sleep. Around 4:30 Homer (the not-so-sweet 5 month old lab/hound dog mix we adopted a couple months ago) woke me up by barking very, VERY loudly in my ear. I guess he really had to go potty! 

We finally got up for the day around 7 or so. The girls chose oatmeal for breakfast, and this meant June ended up needing a bath before we ever even left the house. That girl is independent as the Fourth of July & she will NOT let you feed her. She has to feed herself! Took Michael to work, then came home. Played for a little while. The girls LOVE to read books, so that's what we pretty much did the rest of the morning. They had pb&j's with pears for lunch. 

Mmmm...I love pears!

I finally got them down for a nap around 1:00. I took that quiet time and paid some bills, cleared my e-mail inbox out (900+ messages....ridiculous!), did some other work online & before I knew it, it was time to wake them up & get them ready because June had speech therapy at 3:30. 

Let it be known that I LOVE the center that she goes to for all her therapies. I love the girls that work there. I love how they love June and they really communicate and connect with her so well.

But (there's always a but, isn't there?) -- I just don't feel like June connects very well with her speech therapist. She's new, she & I had a rocky start, and June WILL. NOT. talk with her. Not even make any sounds at all. But she babbles 24/7 at home & with the other therapists. If she doesn't start improving in the next couple of weeks, I think we're going to have to consider another option. I hate, hate, haaaaaaate decisions like this! I wish someone could just make the perfect decisions for me. 

After speech was over, we drove to post & picked Michael up. We had to drop by the Commissary on the way out to pick up a few things, and holy goodness -- 

I will NEVER go there at 5 pm on a weekday again! 

It took us 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot and I am NOT joking!

When we got home, the neighbors were all sitting outside & we joined them for a little while. I came on in and made supper -- chicken tikka masala with white rice for Michael & I, and grilled cheese and ravioli for the girls. They SCARFED their food down. I usually don't make two meals, but I really had been craving some good Indian food & it was just too spicy for the little ones. I am of the mind that I'm a mother & a wife, NOT a short order cook! My nephew HATES when I say that (he is as picky as they come!)

I bathed the girls and then we went back out to visit some more. Let me just tell ya'll, I ADORE our neighborhood. We are a small subdivision that is only 4 years old, and there are a LOT of undeveloped lots out here. Out of 28ish lots, only 9 lots have homes. And we are all military! I love it. Lots of support that way. There are many children and they all kind of just congregate outside in the driveways and play until the sun goes down. Right now we are the "cool" parents because our kids just got a trampoline (major thanks to Scott & Julie for gifting it to us, and to Steve for bringing it up here!) and they think that is just the most awesome thing in the whole wide world!

Ahhhh.....to be a kid again!

The night ended with Michael trying to put the kids to bed while I cleaned most of the kitchen. He couldn't get them down, so I took over & when I came out, he had finished the kitchen, mopped the floor, cleaned the highchair & kitchen table, AND made sweet tea! Fellas, that is most definitely the clearest way straight to a womans heart. Think I'm joking? Do something small like that around your home & see how good of a mood it puts your wife in!

This picture has absolutely NOTHING to do with what we did today, but I found it on a picture CD & I love it. This is my Uncle Sonny (that just had the 65th birthday -- I blogged about that) & his granddaughter, Tiffany. This is the sweetest thing ever!

day in the life: tuesday (and outside fall decor)

Before I even tell you what went on with our day, I'm going to ask for thoughts & prayers again. Someone special in our lives is very sick and I hate to see our loved ones hurting. But we know that our God is a God who heals and takes away sickness -- we have faith!

Our day started like this:

Sorry for the blur...it wasn't like she was screaming or anything.

June Claire is teething. And that means June Claire is not a happy child right now. Honestly, she screamed like this most of the day. Even with doses of Motrin, she still screamed. It's safe to say I had a raging, exhausted small headache by the time her daddy got home.

We got up & ate breakfast. This morning they both chose cereal and bananas. Lucky me -- that meant I was able to get dressed in peace since June can eat cereal on her own. Then the girls got dressed & we headed outside. It was wonderfully cool here today, so I turned off the A/C and threw open the windows & doors. They played while I spray painted a few projects and planted some flowers. Our flowerbed is HUGE and in desperate need of a biiiiig weeding, but I can only do so much each day or my back will give out again. I can tell after the past few days that it is about to go, so I will be taking it easy for a little while. It'll get weeded one day. :) Anyway, here is what my front door looks like, all decorated for fall:

I LOVE this little pumpkin thing! It's actually pretty large & is made out of a wrought iron type material. It's early to have something like this out, but I liked it so much I couldn't help it. I can't wait to stick a candle in it come October 1!

A shot with my little scarecrow people.

Fresh flowers that I planted last night...

I'm going to get more mums to fill it out, I think. It's kind of skimpy!

My front door desperately needs a new coat of paint. I'm thinking we're going with red, but I don't know how it will look with our brick. I kind of want a yellow door....suggestions, please!

After spending the morning outside, we came back in for lunch. Today we had grilled cheese & carrots & hummus. Well, they did. I made a moss-covered monogram, wrapped up another little decorating project, and washed a load of clothes & got them hung out on the line while the girls ate. June took a WONDERFUL 3 hour nap and I got SO much accomplished! Our living room and dining room were wrecked because we had gotten a new rug and were trying different furniture placements to see what worked best. We ended up going with almost exactly the original placement. ;) But I took that opportunity to redecorate it all, and I love the way it turned out! I will post pictures of that tomorrow.

When June Claire woke from her nap, Sara went in there to talk to her until I could get in there and a couple minutes later -- this is what I found:

Sara's pretending she's asleep. :) Honestly, they were so happy in there that I took that time to sweep & dust mop my living room & dining room floors. 

Hey, gotta take the opportunity when it smacks me in the face!

After I finished that, June pretty much fell apart and we spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch having some cuddle time. I think she cried for about 3 hours straight. :( Daddy came home & gave me a break while I cooked supper (lemon tilapia, brown rice & steamed veggies), then he bathed them & we got them down to bed right at 7. She was exhausted & was out within just a few minutes.

That's our Tuesday! I hope I'm not boring ya'll to death with this, haha. I just think it will be neat to look back when the girls are much older & remember what our days were like. I hope ya'll had a great day -- see ya'll tomorrow with pics of my fall decor inside!

day in the life: monday

Happy Monday ya'll! I have been thinking about doing a Day in the Life series for a few weeks ago. I decided I'd start today & go through Sunday. I think it will be cool to look back in a few years & see what our daily life was like when the girls were little....so I'll be documenting this week starting today & ending Sunday. I will go ahead & say that this is not really a "normal" week -- it's super busy & we have company coming this weekend. But still, here goes nothing!

This morning I woke up EXTREMELY tired. I stayed up until 4 am last night cleaning, doing laundry, & taking every single thing out of the junk room (more on why I was doing that later).  June woke up at 7, but laid back down with me until 8:30. I am SO thankful for the past two nights -- the girls usually sleep with us in our bed, but Sunday night we put them down in their own room & they slept ALL NIGHT until 6 am, then this morning June slept til 7 & Sara until 8:30! Hallelujah! Sunday night I felt SO refreshed to have a whole nights sleep, uninterrupted!

This morning I took June to OT & PT from 9:30-10:30. She was NOT having it & cried pretty much the whole time she was there. Afterwards, we ran some errands. Goodwill, Target, Hobby Lobby, and Ross were on the agenda for today. I had some returns to make & I scored some great fall decorating things for cheeeeeap! Can't wait to show them to you tomorrow when some of the projects are done. :) Came home, crashed for an hour or so, then went to eat dinner & to Wal-Mart. I wanted to get some mums & I needed spray paint. We came home and I planted some of my mums & started painting a couple projects. Hopefully you'll get to see those tomorrow!

Basically today was pure running around, with a little shut eye squeezed in. Not very exciting, I'm afraid.  My computer is acting janked up so I can't even post any lovely cell pictures for you guys today!

Before I wrap this up, I want to ask for prayers for a special request in our lives right now. I won't go into detail -- but thoughts & prayers are definitely appreciated. I know God can and will work it out to His glory and in His perfect time!

old friends & busy hands

Last night the girls & I went to be in service at a campmeeting in the church I grew up in. I haven't been back there for church in about 7 or so years I think -- I know I haven't been back since I got married nearly 6 years ago. It was WONDERFUL! Bro. Glenn Vollrath preached. The Vollraths/Preskitts have a deep history in that little church there. Glenn's wife is Ruth, and her parents pastored there for about 16 years, I believe. Almost all of her growing up time. Her mother taught Sunday School and Kindergarden to myself & most of the other children there, and her father was Principal over the church school & a wonderful, wonderful man. I remember many times praying in the altar and them coming to kneel and pray beside me. I remember Bro. Preskitt would lay hands on us and press our faces sooo hard into the altar that we would just about break our noses. Haha...good times! Anywho -- I got to visit with friends I haven't seen in YEARS, and I am so happy to report that no one has changed a bit. It was like we just saw each other yesterday! Heard a good message preached about keeping your standard and experiences current so that we can pass them along to our children. Our children don't need to know the "experiences of yesterday", they need to know the experiences of TODAY! Watched a dear, sweet friend of mine get a good blessing from the Lord, and she testified & it touched my heart. Love it! We stayed so late visiting after church that we didn't ge home and in the bed til about 12:30. My girls slept til 8:45 this morning, which is really 9:45 our time at home (we're at my mom's). That's unheard of!

Couldn't get any pictures of miss June, but I did get these of Sara before we left. I had put curlers in her hair early yesterday morning & took them out just before we left for church. The curl had just about fell out within 30 minutes. She just has bone straight hair I guess, I hate that for her! June Claire was all over the place. Someone asked me if she was busy and I thought that is such a good way to describe it! Last night she did probably the best she's ever done in church. I didn't have to break out the Cheerios til altar call, haha, and that's good for us!

Today we don't have a whole lot to do. I have to head home in a couple hours so we can get everything cleaned up because...

 Daddy is coming home tonight!!

Sara is soooo excited! I have to go pick him up this evening & she can NOT wait!

Hope ya'll have a wonderful Saturday!

the devil dog

Let me just recap the past 24 hours for you.

We spent a few days in my hometown with my little sister and dad. Our last night there, I put the girls in the bath. Got to talking to Allie (my sister) and when I turned around, I realized June had pooped in the tub.  GROSS! Got both girls out and put them on the rug with their towels. Turned around to (gag) unclog the bathtub (by the way -- wet paper towels offer very little barrier to things, especially of the disgusting variety), heard splashing. My heart sank. Turned around, and yep -- Miss June was happily splashing away in the toilet. That her sister had just peed in.

Finally got the bathtub Cloroxed, got them showered (which they screamed through), and got them in bed. I was exhausted out of my mind a little tired, so I went to bed with them. 

At, like, 8:30.

Yesterday, we drove home. I decided to stop at Winn-Dixie and grab milk & dog food, both of which we desperately needed at the house. This meant the dogs would be with me, in the car -- but I didn't figure that was such a horrible thing, because it was just going to be a quick trip.

EXCEPT.

Houdini, the crazy devil dog sweet dog that is otherwise known as Delaney, jumped out of the car. IN THE WINN DIXIE PARKING LOT. If you know us, you know that Laney will NOT come back for love or money once she is out, running free. That dog is like a rebellious child, carefree, letting the wind whip through her hair, while everyone runs screaming behind her like wild banshees. She figures out how to unlock EVERYTHING so she can get outside with no leash. We can not trust her AT ALL. 

So, here we are, Winn-Dixie parking lot on a VERY busy main highway at 4:30 pm. 

Picture this:

Me, a somewhat-young mama with messy hair in a ponytail, looking frazzled as all get out. I have one toddler on my hip who is screaming because everyone else is screaming. I have one 3 year old who is screaming, with tears running down her face, that her precious and beloved Laney is going to get run over or snatched. Honestly, at this point -- I would've GIVEN her away. We run all over the parking lot calling that dog and by the time I ran a circle around the parking lot, I lost sight of her. Gave up, came back to the car, and.....

She was sitting so prettily beside the back door waiting on us.

Trust me, she only LOOKS sweet!

puppy love (and a cell phone picture dump)

Sweetest picture ever! These two play so well together and have to be close even when they're sleeping. (And yes, it is a tight squeeze to have two kids in carseats + two 40 pound dogs in a Ford Fusion!)

 

The othe day, we took the girls over to play with the train table at Barnes & Noble.

 I went to change June's diaper & came back to find this. Like father, like daughter!

June loves doing things with her hands. She will sit for quite a bit and try to put her high chair buckle together. I think she's going to grow up & do something with her hands, like her daddy!

Earlier that same day, I found Sara having a tea party with her baby. She was having a good old time!

This is probably my favorite. She won't be this little for long. :(

 

I am so glad we have cell phones! I love being able to whip mine out & take a "Kodak moment" picture. I know ya'll are probably sick of seeing crappy cell phone picture.

I will get a new, REAL, camera very soon, I promise!

 

I hope ya'll have a great day! We don't have a whole lot planned. June has speech therapy this afternoon & then I have a date with the weeds in my flowerbed this evening. Let's hope it's a nice one!