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| So I did something this past weekend that I said I would never do. Not ever! OK maybe it was two things; no three. Ya' know my life is an entire episode of things I said I would never do, eat, try etc. so just bare with me. So in the past I have ALWAYS worn a two piece bathing suit. (see previous posts where I describe looking like a baked potato in a one piece suit) I think it has something to do with me having a short torso. You know, boobs want to meet stomach somewhere in the middle and without serious push up support it's just an ugly tragic sight. Ha! So back to God getting a hold of my heart....... God really started to convict me about modesty and what that might look like to the two girls I am raising. I don't think there is anything wrong per say about wearing a two piece it's just that when I started to see it through my pre teens eyes it burdened my heart. I started to think to myself,"Self, would you walk around the beach in your bra and underwear?" Well of course not! But really if were being honest it is the same thing as far as exposure goes.And I just wanted to set a standard for my girls and for our home so I decided....gulp.....to find a one piece for our up coming vacation. See that price tag above? Yup' after all the sales and discounts $38! Do you just want to die?!?!! |
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| And so this picture would now bring us to the second thing I said I would not do and that is buy a white suit. I have this reoccurring dream of getting out of the Caribbean Sea, whipping my hear through the air and strolling over to the palm tree where Dan is sitting with.....ooppsss wrong dream. My bad. But I always imagined white would be a no go due to the ach-umm see through qualities it might hold. But alas I went to the Tommy Bahama outlet with my mom this weekend and theirs are double lined AND have a strap around the neck to hold the girls up. SCORE! The third I wouldn't do you ask? Oh ya' that's try on bathing suits in January when it is literally freagin' 22 degrees at our house. The upside? There was nobody else anywhere near the suits or the dressing rooms so we had free reign. Although the sales lady did seem mildly annoyed with me when I started walking around the store to get more suits with just my jeans and tank and bare feet. Whaaaat? Look, I can either try on suits which is a Zumba work out all on it's own or I can put my boots on 200 times to go back into the store. So I'm not judging you if you wear a two piece it's just my own heart. Honestly, I have been working out so hard and so I kept looking at the two piece suits and sighing but then I realized I can skip a few work outs, lay on the beach and let my gut be free to exhale. LOL! |
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| We are blessed to have almost an acre of property out behind our house that has nothing but room to run for the kids and dog. The girls and their friends decided a couple of weekends ago to start tearing down an old gazebo on the property so Dan could build them a fort this summer. They have been pulling weeds, hauling wood up to the house to make piles and thinking of ways to earn money to add some fun touches to the area. They want to plant flowers and have curtains etc. It's fun because they went on line and did all the research on how much the wood etc. will cost and they are making cookies this weekend to sell to the neighbors. And you thought home school kids weren't brilliant. ;) |
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| We bought the girls this Popsicle maker from William Sonoma and tried it out today for the first time. We figured it was almost a heat wave with temperatures reaching 50. ;) |
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| If you have one or two kids then this is super fun and easy. If you have more (Andrea) you would need the bigger one that makes 3-4 at a time. But it was expensive and I'm cheap. So the single server it was. You just put the stick in, pour whatever juice you want, wait a few minutes and...... |
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| you have an apple juice Popsicle. My daughter did not want to cooperate even for blogging sake |
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| But nobody not nobody can escape the new camera. Have a blessed week! |
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| I know, I know you just didn't get enough Christmas and New Year cheer in my last post so a part two was highly necessary. Or it could just be that I am in denial that we start back to school, dance, circus and just plain insanity in less than 48 hours. Sigh......raise your hand if you think we should all just move to a deserted tropical island and be bored and dumb. HA! We did get to do lots of fun things over our break and spend time with people we love. Every year we try to get a photo of all the kid cousins in height order. The youngest member was not having it this year.....I remember when that was my little Ry who didn't want to stand in the line...now she's 5th back in line. Go RY! ;) |
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| Dan's aunt and uncle hosted the cousins party down in Santa Ana this year and it was super fun. Not to mention the vegan chili they made. YUM! It's always good to hang out with everyone and catch up. |
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| For years I have had a dream about writing a book. At first I thought maybe it would be about infertility and adoption. Then possibly marriage and how God has given me a heavy heart for our marriages to honor him. But more recently I am thinking the title will be" Raising Ryanne." I mean the kid gives me lots of material. For example......how she got the glove stuck in her braces......sigh. Yes Raising Ryanne it will be. ;) |
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| We got some snow last weekend and drove to the hills behind our house to let the girls and dog run. Here Ryanne is saying,"I am sorry Mr. Snowman but the time has come that I must rip your head off and throw it at those unsuspecting boys across the field. You've been a good snowman and I promise it's nothing personal." |
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| Ans so it was that the snowman lost his life thanks to the 3ft. dynamo. |
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| Love black and white! |
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| Could someone explain to me again how this sweet little fat baby that used to hang on my every word is rounding the corner to being a teenager? We were out to dinner the other night and as she walked by this table full of boys roughly her age; every single one of them whipped their heads around to look at her. This has never happened before. I started crying hysterically and went for their throats. Bail was expensive but it was worth it. Actually I got home and called the convent.She could be a nun right? |
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| If you sit on our back patio for just a few minutes right as the sun is setting....... |
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| You get to watch God do this............. |
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| And this. So good. |
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| I Heart my new camera. I love it so much I'm giving you the bird. Get it? Sorry. |
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| For New Year's Eve we had some friends over and played girls against guys in trivia pursuit. We won't talk about who won.....the boys. But they cheated. We only lost by one. Whatever. |
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| The ten kids played games and ran around outside in the warm 32 degrees weather. Brrrr..... |
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| We lit up the fire outside and made smores. Yum! I had sugar over load. |
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| NEWS FLASH: YOU ARE A DOG! NOT A KITTEN! NOT A LITTLE LAP DOG! BUT A BIG DOG! A 6FT. 140lb. DOG! |
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| This is your hair on New Year's Eve recovery |
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| Enough with the birds......I can't help it. My zoom is soooo fun. |
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| Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We had a house full of people all week and though it was SOOOO FUN I am exhausted. I got a new camera for Christmas which I am super stoked about. Am I to old to say stoked? Ya' I thought so. So with a new Canon Power shot SX50 in hand I spent all of Christmas day stalking everyone begging for photos. |
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| I was getting used to all the fun settings and the zoom which seriously from across the house will zoom right up your nose. Ha! This is Dan's sister and my sweet niece AJ. |
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| My brother and his girlfriend..... |
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| My sweet Ry with all her freckles...... |
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| The sun setting off our back patio......I never ever get sick of this view...... |
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| Nobody was safe from my zoom. My nephew Nate (I mean Batman) watching cartoons the day after Christmas. He was actually waiting for me to make pancakes and eggs......;) |
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| I love how on this camera you can set it to all these different color choices.....this is Dan's mom and Ry. |
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| My sweet little niece who is 8 months old. We had a house full of kids. 6 to be exact. If you don't count my brother that is. Ha! |
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| This is where we put all the sweet Christmas cards people sent us. If you are on here never fear we DO NOT throw them away. In fact we have a bulletin board in our laundry room where we tack up your pictures so we can pray for you when we see your smiling faces. We rotate them out every year and it's so fun to see all the kids change and grow and see your sweet families as we come and go throughout our day. |
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| This is a Dane on recovery after Christmas........I'm pretty sure after 6 kids, 3 other dogs visiting and all the presents she will never be the same. ;) |
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| Dan didn't like this picture. I took it from across the house. He has been off for almost a week and hasn't shaved. I just thought he looked so handsome and rugged. Sorry honey, I like it so it got posted. Those dimples.......sigh.....they still get me after 18 years. I seriously just want to grab his face and.....OK stopping. LOL! |
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| Today is day 5 of the photo challenge and you guessed it; it's Santa! We don't celebrate Santa in our home with the girls. Never really even thought much of it except we wanted the focus to be on Jesus. We didn't take them to the mall to see Santa, never addressed packages to the girls from him or really said anything one way or another. Then when they were really little someone asked them what they were asking Santa for that Christmas and one little toddler said,"Santa? Oh no I don't believe in Santa. My daddy works to get me presents at Christmas." And that was that. Ha! I only have a couple Santa statues around the house and this is my favorite because he's old and rustic looking. |
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| This Santa I hand painted for Dan the first year we were dating. It has the date 1995 hand painted on the back. He has survived a couple of moves, kids, dogs and I think he still looks pretty good. I hope if your reading this and you still believe in Santa that you know he IS real and you should believe he comes down the chimney and leaves you presents. Heck, otherwise if you don't believe you get underwear right? ;) Oh, Oh wait! That reminds me of a funny story about the girls. Once when someone asked why our girls believe in the tooth fairy but not Santa (I think it was Morgan) said,"because hellooo, like a fat man in a red suit could really fit down the chimney of every kid in the world in one night duh!" But yet a little fairy can carry all that money and fly through the house leaving with your teeth? Hmmmmm....Kids!THEY ARE THE BEST!! |
