Christmas baking at its best!

I always enjoy our tradition of Braden and I making cookies for Christmas, and this year was more fun than ever. He was so excited and did an awesome job of cutting the shapes and getting them to the pan in one piece. But when it came to decorating, I think he ate more M&Ms than he used! Oh well, it's about the sweets, I guess. And here is my little chef...cheesy smile and all!

Merry Christmas to us!

We got a nice little early Christmas surprise when my ultrasound was scheduled for yesterday. We had to be there at 8AM and that was no problem because I had been up since 4 excited about it all! The photo above is a profile of the baby's face...in case you couldn't tell. Those things are tricky to look at! And my instincts were right. They told me it was definitely a BOY! Of course I really wanted a girl, but I am still happy! Braden, however, is not too thrilled about it. He had his heart set on a sister and has told me he's not happy about this "brother" thing. Oh well, I suppose he'll just have to get used to it, right?

Welcome to the "Good Ship Potty!"

Oh boy.....You know how it is when your kid's been playing quietly a bit too long and you think you ought to go and check on him, but you don't? I had just mentioned to Thomas that he was being awfully quiet and he said " Oh...He's just playing in his ROOM!" No sooner had that been said, Braden comes running into the room whispering something. All I could catch was ..."Come look at what I made and DON'T TELL MOMMY!" They both go in there and Braden exclaims "IT'S MY POTTY SHIP!" Half a roll of toilet paper, I tell ya. And thank goodness it was just carefully balanced across the top and not inside. Oh yes...Quite the builder he is.
If there is ever an award for "toilet art", he's got it in the bag!

-M

The Pirate & the Princess

Well, here are my two favorite kiddos all dressed up for Halloween! We'd asked Marah to come over and trick-or-treat with Braden because we have a great neighborhood for it and they had so much fun together! Their buckets were filled to the TOP by the time they got back home. And I have heard nothing but "I WANT CANDY!" ever since!

-M

A Day at School

What an exciting day the kids had last Monday at school! A policeman AND firetruck showed up as this month's topic was Community Helpers. They really got a kick out of it all and I think they learned a lot too. Afterwards, we all went inside and I hung out there for a few minutes while Ms. Amy started class. I was glad that I did....I got a little sneak peek at what they do in there. Apparently, the "Silly Goose Game" is a favorite of theirs...And you can see why!


Amy is obviously a nut as I will use this picture for blackmail later. :-) But seriously, the kids love her. And they are really lucky to have a teacher so enthusiastic about her job. Not only does she do a great job teaching, but she knows how to get a little crazy with them too!

-M

My Abstract Artist!

Well, if you couldn't already tell, this is me....According to my soon to be 4-year-old! I just really get a kick out of his "artwork" lately. He builds things out of EVERYTHING. I mean, nothing is off limits...Blocks, paper, green peas! No matter what, he is always building. And very meticulous about it, I might add. It almost always has to be symmetrical and is usually complex. I'd like to think of it as his Pre-engineering days. I'm glad he enjoys creating so much. It might be silly, but Mommy and Daddy think it's pretty darn cool!

-M

My NEW baby!

I got a really nice surprise yesterday at the OBGYN when my Dr. said he was going to do an ultrasound! So here is the first picture of baby Laster #2. I know... it doesn't look like much, does it? The baby is between the two + signs. Teeny tiny thing, but it was very encouraging to be able to see the heartbeat! I was joking with Thomas, "Awww, honey. It looks like you!" And he was like, "What? A peanut head?" Oh yes, sweety, please do keep that sense of humor for those nights when the baby wakes us up at 2AM!!

-M

My baby's first day.....

of school!!!

Ok, so it's NOT Kindergarten, but it was definitely a big deal! We have decided to Homeschool and Monday was Braden's very first day of Preschool Co-op. It's just one day a week and lasts from 9 to 12:30. I had a TERRIBLE time leaving him...he had a blast! He cried when we had to leave. At home, he is learning his letters and how to write his name. He's very interested in how to spell things. And I usually spend most of the day answering questions about one thing or another. I'm so proud of my smart little boy!

A close call?

This is the view from our back deck on Tuesday. A freak storm that hit the night before the Hurricane Katrina storm was to get to us caused major flooding. This photo is not the water at it's peak! A couple of hours after that, it covered the road and we were literally trapped in our neighborhood! We were actually afraid that it might get up high enough to get to our house. We were just not sure what to expect at this point...after all, we thought this itself was impossible. After a LOT of praying that night, we woke up the next morning to find the water receded drastically! It's definitely an event I won't soon forget! I'm just glad we aren't dealing with what is going on in New Orleans at the moment. We have a lot of blessings in our lives and this makes me quite mindful of them.

-M

The small things

So I'm sitting at my desk typing away and in the background Braden is playing with stickers and paper. I am, of course, a happy camper if he can stay entertained for a few minutes while I check e-mail and browse around and such. I turn around to see this (see above). SO you're thinking what's the big deal, right? Well, I thought it was totally cute! He had made a little card and propped it up right beside mine. This tells me 3 things:

1. He knows Mommy is a card maker.
2. Creativity runs in the family. (wink wink)
3. He is trying to be like ME.

Now what bigger compliment can you get than that?!

-M

Impromptu Field Trip!

We just had the most super cool day today! Thomas had to fly out to Arkansas this morning (which he does quite often) when I was struck with the best idea....We'd go watch him take off at the airport! I don't know why I never thought of it before, but it was really fun! We always tell Braden "Daddy had to fly on the airplane today" and today he really got to see it. To tell the truth, I think it was as much fun for me as it was him!

So after the plane was out of sight, we decided to go into the little office building and check things out...A little exploring, if you will. Inside, we met this man who actually invited us to go sit in one of his airplanes! (He teaches a flight school there.)














Braden was in Heaven as he pretended to fly that plane...Steering, pushing buttons, flipping switches. The guy was just more than happy to answer all of Braden's questions about how everything worked and even told us he would take us up sometime.
Maybe he can go up with Thomas someday, but it won't be with ME as I am chicken to fly!

Anyway, it was just a really fun morning. We got a neat opportunity and both of us learned a little about something new!

-M

New Fun with Old Friends

I spent Saturday afternoon with some of my old friends from High School. We try to get together about once a year to catch up. This time Tammy hosted the party at her house. She was a great hostess... And besides that, she let her house be invaded by all of our kids! I've known these girls for like 20-25 years. Gosh, now that makes me feel REALLY old! It was fun talking about old times and new ones too. Seems like we've done a pretty good job of not losing track of each other over the past 13 years. Hope that doesn't change. Ya hear me, ladies? :-)

Everyone loves a rainbow!

And what makes them so special is the fact that you rarely see one! I captured this one this evening after a rainstorm. Just a beautiful reminder of God's love. Sometimes we just need reminding, don't we?

-M

What inspires me

I absolutely LOVE to create things...when I have the time!
There is so much that inspires me. I mean, no, I don't
always totally come up with designs from my head.
Sometimes I do, but quite often I take bits and pieces of
inspiration from here and there and before you know it, they
transform into something I am proud of. (Usually!)
I suppose that's what creating is all about!

So here is my latest! And to those of you who visit my blog and
come to my classes, here is a little sneak peek of what we'll be
making on Friday! I know I can't wait to get mine filled up
with Summer pictures!

-M

Let's play!

You know, sometimes you just have to forget about all the things that need to be done and go to the playground! That can be so hard for me to do sometimes because it seems my head is always spinning with thoughts of needing to do this or that.

I know he's not going to be 3 1/2 forever. I need to have fun now. That is my priority. I mean, look at the smile on his face....













You couldn't buy that with a million dollars!

Fun with Photos!

I got the opportunity to take some shots at Sue's Farm. (That's Thomas's boss) She has an incredible place! She was hosting a party and asked me to come down and take some pictures of the whole set up. It was so much fun! The center attraction was a "bar" made out of a canoe. Too cute. It was beautifully decorated and a fun place to be, but I couldn't help but also notice all of the natural beauty surrounding me!


















-M

Getting started...

I've spent plenty of time reading other people's blogs in the past couple of months and finally decided it was time to try my hand at it! Just thought I'd start out with a cute picture of...who else? My sweet boy and his favorite playmate, his cousin Marah. She came over to spend the day last week and they had fun together. Hoping to get the chance to get her over here a few more times before the summer ends because she starts Kindergarten this year! How time flies...