Maybe

Maybe, I go on about us too much.
Maybe I really am like you know who,( Laura know's who I'm speaking of, but you don't have to worry 'cause it is none of you. It is this lady we know that can turn any conversation into one about her daughters. I don't know anyone like that personally! :)
Maybe you find me boastful,
But I just can't help myself, I love these two deeply. Seeing little moments like this when the sun hits us just right, makes me grin from ear to ear.
I hope you're grinning too.
Grace and peace and do scroll down b/c I did a lot of updating this evening.

Truly A Mystery

A couple of weeks ago me and my two favorites drove through the night, in the pouring rain, to get to a beautiful cabin in the woods and our dear friends. The beautiful cabin was nestled on the side of a mountain right between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN, at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I had never been to this part of the country before, but I have to say the whole experience was a mystery to me. The Great Smokies are truly one of God's greatest examples of beauty, but the amount of people and tack surrounding them takes away from the whole experience. It left me wondering what we've done to this natural beauty. Despite the fact that tourism threw up on the cities we still had a great time and saw through the neon lights to the beauty that is hidden behind them.

This first pic is us hiking up a trail with strollers...it's harder then it sounds

Oh these two...

And these two are probably the cutest kids I have ever seen

Here is our party, very good people I think

Sweet family that had a hand in my family becoming

Old friends, I'm particularly fond of the one on the right

Here we are on the Appalachian Trail, we debated on hiking to Maine but decided we should head back to the car and find her missing shoe first!

More old friends, I'm also particularly fond of the one not looking at the camera

What do you think is going on here? It looks suspicious

We've got ourselves a wild one.
I often look at Libby and see her father looking back at me, she looks so much like him. However, these next pictures are to show that she is mine. Although, those of you reading will most likely not recognize these pictures as a reflection of my life, there was a time when I preferred to be outside, just a little bit dirty, and always getting my feet wet. So seeing these pictures of her loving playing outside helps me remember just how much fun being a little girl was.

She was having so much fun

Running up and down, up and over the log,

I wish I knew what she was pointing at

She thought this was so funny!

She had no fear

If only I had stream and couple thousand rocks for her to play with

Look I washed my hands in the creek

She was filthy, from head to toe!

The Smokies are famous for black bear. Here is the only one we "saw." Black bear or stuffed animal in the tree placed by park rangers to attracted tourists? You be the judge. This lump of black in the tree was slightly anti-climactic for me.
Happy hunting.

The Kettle Is Black

Why isn't anybody updating?
Oh right, I'm not updating either. However, I'll have you know that when my life is so busy that I can't even think, I make time to stalk your blog and it is truly disappointing when there is nothing to see.
I don't know how it happened, but somewhere between, traveling to England, making Libby's Halloween costume, going to the mountains, seeing some great friends, eating turkey dinner, and to many things in between to mention, our dear autumn is on her way out and there are white twinkle lights outside my window.
Everyday, I marvel at how it is possible that just two years ago at this time I wondered if I would ever hold a baby in my arms, and last year at this time I was holding a tiny baby in my arms, and here I am today chasing a little girl around saying "no-no" about a hundred times or more a day.
Life has kept us very occupied and time keeps going with no indication of slowing down. However, I cling to her at times willing her to be so small that she needs me as much as she did when she was new, kissing her at least a thousand time a day or more. Sometimes I don't even know I'm doing it.
Sign, and tear, and a deep breath.
I'm back, and I am thinking about posting everyday in December, or at least until Christmas, like an advent calender... but don't keep your fingers crossed!
Twinkle, twinkle.

To Post Or Not To Post

Being on the go for about 2 1/2 weeks has forced me into a blog, facebook, computer strike, which is just what I needed. It was very cleansing and even though I would pop on and check things here and there, I had no time to post what we were up to.

So what, pray tell, have we been up to? A lot! We've been hiking, and playing, and visiting, and napping, and packing, and unpacking, and packing more, and now we are tired and just a bit under the weather. We're hunkered down at Babs and G-Dad's for the next few days, just dying to see our favorite Englishman and his hairy sidekick.

So for now, I'm off to tend to a runny nose and sicky cough....

Be thankful.

Dr. Seuss Take Over

I took no pictures of the Little this week. However, I did paint a nursery. My friend Jessi's thing 1 and thing 2 will be here in I'd say less than 7 -8 weeks. I painted these Dr. Seuss characters to make their nursery a little more Suessical...can't wait to see it all together with babies in it!



Have I ever mentioned that I love painting, it is what I do best. God gifted me with talent and I love using it, so if you have a project that you would like me to do...call me, comment me, whatever. It doesn't have to be giant Dr. Seuss characters, I do anything, really! See here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Buzzzzz Off

Remember that time I decided to make Gus a dog bed b/c it would be cheaper and then in the end realized that I spent more than I would have had I just bought the dog bed...
Well, I did it again. I spotted the yellow and black striped tights seen below at Gymboree months ago and a matching honey of a costume for Halloween. Then I spotted the price tag and decided I could make it myself. A few too many dollars later and a whole day ignoring my baby while stitching it, I realized I should have just bought it when I realized that I liked it.
Anyway, she was one sweet honey bee at home, but as soon as we arrived at our friend's Pumpkin Party she turned into a hornet and ruined the group photo...That's my girl!
Halloween was a barrel of soggy fun this year. Last year we were so impressed, for lack of a better word, at the effort that folks put into this holiday that we invited friends over to sit in the rain and watch it happen. To be honest the rain held off long enough for us to eat soup, dessert, and hand out all our candy.
Night well spent.



On a side note, have I mentioned that Libs is occasionally petrified of small dogs? Well, she is. Shrills of terror is what you hear if anything under 20lbs comes at her. The Winnie Pooh in the right of the photo crawled towards her and she cried like a Pomeranian was coming after her. She was shaking..literally.
I stole this photo from my friend Beth's blog. I had my camera but it was laying in the grass while I put on a side show to get the Little to smile. Apparently, I should not go into show business b/c it only made her cry harder.
Well, here's to all things pumpkin and rotting your teeth, till next year,
Happy Hauntings!