Okla"HOME"

Prayers for Oklahoma

So, my head and heart are in Oklahoma right now.  The news about Moore has just been devastating.  I can't imagine being one of the parents looking for their child, not knowing if they are alive or not...heartbreaking.  I'm so thankful my family is safe and sound, but they are supposed to have more storms tonight and tomorrow, so I'm in fervent prayer for them and all of our friends.  

Our weekend was VERY low key.  I can't recall anything that would be worth writing about, other than heading over to David and Elizabeth's on Sunday evening.  We wanted to see the new swing David made and put up for Elizabeth's Mother's Day gift.  They have a plethora of swings over at their place and the kids and Mark had so much fun.  I, in my old age, can no longer stomach a swing.  Isn't that sad?  I used to be a huge roller coaster fan, and I can now hardly lay in a hammock!  

My little ragamuffin girl.  

Rosie tried their pedal-less bike...  

...for like 10 seconds before she decided she wasn't a fan.  I thought she looked pretty cute though.

That's my Kiki up in that swing.  

That thing is unreal, but the girls LOVED it. 

Do you see that little speck of a swing up there?  That's Rosie in there! 

Mark and Kiki on the rope swing.  

Kiki and Maryann 

Trying not to throw up on the swing:) 

  The kids had so much fun! 

I love all of their faces in this one.  

Tonight, after giving the girls baths, I came in Rosie's room to find the girls in her bed both reading "Goodnight Moon".  I almost cried.  I remember when we first bought that little bed and I told Mark that I couldn't wait to have two little girls reading together in it someday.  My dreams came true.  I feel so blessed.  

I wanted to show you this chair I picked up at Goodwill this weekend for $6.  I have the perfect place for this guy after I get him all painted.  I think I might make a chair cushion, as well.  Thought I'd show you the before and I'll be sure to show you the after.  

Heather Carvill Photography

So, Heather sent me the pictures she casually took at the Biltmore last week and I couldn't be more excited.  I just love them.  If you live in the Asheville area, I would definitely recommend her.  Here's a link to her website .  

Okay, see what I meant about some work to do...I have a few chins here, but I love the girls in it so much.  

I love Kiki's crinkle nose.  

These may be the first pictures of the three of us all smiling.  What an awesome Mother's Day gift! 

Let me shop in PEACE!

This has been a very long week.  I swear, it was three weeks crammed into one.  Do you ever have those?  Praise the Lord for the weekend.  Things are still getting worked out with the house situation.  I have to thank you all for your prayers, calls, texts and emails.  I really appreciate them.  I feel completely content with whatever happens and I couldn't have said that earlier this week.  I've really struggled with putting it all in God's hands, but as soon as I did, things have felt so much better.  It's been such a weight off my shoulders to not worry about it all 24/7.  

I went back to my exercise classes this week after a bit of a hiatus.  You know it's been too long when everyone claps when you walk in (hang head in shame).  I have to admit, it's been good to be back.  I can really feel that I've slowed down with my month off and I look forward to getting my endurance back.  We are doing family pictures (yes, the ones we were supposed to do in the fall) in June and I want to feel confident in them.  If we took them today, I would be wearing some form of a paper bag over my head and probably some sort of huge paper bag for my body.  It wouldn't be pretty.  Needless to say, I have a lot of work to do.  

I've said it here many times, but there's nothing quite as peaceful as grocery shopping sans kiddos.  It's heaven.  There can be hundreds of other people's babies having meltdowns all around me, and it won't phase me at all.  I just enjoy myself--taking my time down every aisle.  Reading labels and price checking--living it up, stay-at-home mom style.  So, Wednesday night, when I ran to the grocery store after Mark got home, I was expecting that kind of relaxation.  I can assure you, it didn't turn out that way.

My trip took a turn for the worse as soon as I stepped into the produce section and a man named Jim approached me.  It's really a long story and I'm pretty sure I would bore you to death if I shared all the cheesy details.  In fact, I don't totally understand what happened.  I'm so out of touch that I couldn't tell if I was getting hit on or if the man had a mental illness.  You know you've been out of the dating seen a long time when you can't figure that one out.  By outward appearances, the guy seemed normal, but it seemed a little fishy for him to keep trying to make conversation with an old mom like myself.  I swear he appeared out of nowhere around every corner with more "small talk".  By the time I had made it to the ethnic food aisle, I was pretty fed up with the whole situation.  I finally blurted out something completely awkward about my wonderful husband and I think he got the drift.  Then, I did what any normal girl would do.  I immediately got on the phone to call Kaylee to tell her all about it.  We don't get interesting things like this happening to us very often, and when they do, we have to share.  After many laughs over the fact that he was probably emotionally and mentally unstable, we came to the conclusion, that I've still got it...ha!   

  

It's an unwritten rule around our house to never change clothes around Kiki.  She's the queen of goosing and does a lot of grabbing and tickling anything she can get her hands on.  Even Rosie knows it's not wise. She's been goosed, groped and de-pantsed more times than I can count.  Please rest assured, I do get onto her and tell her that's a big no-no, but she gets such a kick out of it, that it's hard not to laugh/squeal (depending on who's end it's being done to).  She lives on our laughter, so that's a huge incentive for her to keep it up.   

Today, I unknowingly walked right into her trap.  I stepped out of the shower and realized she had taken my towel and put it across the room.  I hopped out and went to retrieve it.  As I was bending down, I immediately felt a cold little hand start probing my butt.  I whipped around, completely surprised by the sneak attack.  She seemed shocked to see me completely nude and without missing a beat, she pointed at me and started dying laughing.  This is a 22-month-old making fun of my naked body.  Oh, yeah, I totally still got it.  

What a day!

Last night, I got a text from my friend Heather inviting us to meet at the Biltmore this morning to walk and enjoy the beautiful day.  It sounded great, so we got up early and headed out.  Heather is a professional photographer and she brought her camera along to take pictures of the girls.  I was so excited.  I brought my camera along, too, to try and learn from the master.  The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time.  We finished our time with a picnic by the lake, which couldn't have been a more serene setting.  It really was magical!  I can't wait to see her pictures, but for now I'll share some of mine.  

Flashback

I thought it was imperative that you see this picture of my youngest, that I took last week when I went to get her up from her nap.  I really don't know where this kid came from.  Well, obviously she came straight out of the 80's.  She can be so sweet one minute and then the next minute, she goes all Pat Benatar on me.  Priceless! 

Putting it in Perspective

Oh, friends.  Things aren't good.  I'm so sad today.  We found out some good news yesterday and then we found out some really crummy news.  Good news first...we found out that we got the house that we just love!  Yay, right?!  Well, then we found out that our house didn't appraise for what we sold it for and we don't have the money to lower the price and put the amount we need for a down payment on the new house.  The official appraisal hasn't come in yet, but it's not looking good.  We are praying for a miracle.  It would have to be a pretty big miracle and I know that God's in the practice of miracles, but it feels pretty ridiculous getting worked up about a house, when I have other friends that are worried about their babies in the NICU and their husbands losing their jobs.  My problems don't even compare. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective.  I have two healthy babies and precious, supportive family, Mark has a wonderful job that he loves, we have absolutely amazing friends, we live in a home in a beautiful state and I get to stay home with my girls.  It doesn't get much better.  Just breathe, Steph!

Prayers are appreciated, all the same:)!  Love you guys!

I'm a Mother Lover

My Mother's Day has been absolutely perfect.  I really couldn't have asked for a better day.  It started out amazing with one of my favorite things, FOOD.  Mark made me this delicious breakfast...

He is such a good cook! (A smoothie, mango and pineapple (my two favorite fruits), potatoes, veggie sausage links, and a breakfast sandwich.)  I was so stuffed after.  

How cute is this?!  

After breakfast we decided to do another one of my favorite things...go on a little drive.  We got a little carried away and it ended up being a mega drive.  We found places we never knew existed.  The girls weren't as impressed with the drive as we were, and started getting a little stir crazy in the car, so we headed to a park where we played and then walked the trail.  

She looks happy, but she was getting pretty testy at this point in the drive.

Beyond ready to get out of her seat. 

Park time! 

Kiki spent most of the time chasing ducks.  

She loves her some "quacks".  

She also loves her some daddy! 

Rosie spent her time collecting sticks.  Her plan is to build Kiki a guitar.  

After the park, we came home to feed and nap the girls, and Mark sent me out on an afternoon of shopping--shopping all by myself.  I know!!!  What a treat!  

After I got home and the girls woke up, we packed up our bikes and decided to go to the Biltmore to ride.  It was gorgeous and the perfect end to the day.  The girls loved it!  

It's always fun to see the house!  It's incredible!

A beautiful afternoon at the Biltmore.  

Kiki kept undoing the cover and sticking herself and her baby out the opening while we were riding.  She's such a daredevil! 

Just peaking out.  I loved hearing them giggle and laugh while we rode along.  

We stopped to see the sheep.  The babies are so cute! 

How amazing is this view!  I can't wait to go back. 

My honey and Me 

Halfway through our ride, we stopped at Antler Hill Village to hear the live music and let the girls play. 

After our ride, we were pretty famished, so we stopped for a quick bite.  When we got home, we put the girls to bed and now we are just catching up on some Saturday Night Live.  Does it get any better than Kristen Wiig?  I love that girl.  

Sorry this was a pretty boring post, but I wanted to share about my wonderful day!  I really hope to catch up soon, with all the goings on around here.  Life has been pretty crazy! 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you lovely mommas out there!  I have been blessed by having so many amazing women in my life.  My mom is the sweetest, most thoughtful person I know and the very best friend a girl could have.  She's taught me how to be a mom to my babies and I'm forever thankful.  Don't know what I'd do with out her.   I'm also so thankful for my wonderful mother-in-law.  She's one-in-a-million!  

My momma and me, circa 1980