Imperfections...

This is my favorite night of the year...

...Sunday School pageant.

 

I love it so much cause this is what it is really about,

celebrating with our families the true meaning of Christmas.

 

I love the imperfection.

 

Rocco the donkey was singing too loud, and dancing away.

 

 

 

And the suspense...will my other donkey say his line?

 

 

He did.

 

I even love the photo shoot after with the cousins

& trying to get everyone to look the same way.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday school is such an important part of our kids' lives.

 

I am soooooooo thankful for the amount of time

their teachers pour into my children.

 

Bible stories spill out of my kids all week,

as things we do at home trigger memories

of what they learned in Sunday School,

& my heart leaps with joy when they know things

I didn't teach them...about God.

 

That's why buying teacher gifts is one of

my favorite things to buy each year.

 

I like to get them something I would want.

 

This year...

 

journals.

 

 

We will let them choose the one that speaks to them.

 

 

 

(this one is a planner)

 

Each teacher is so different.

 

But I want each one to know how much I appreciate the time it takes away from their families...to bless mine.

 

The cards are simple card stock,

not anything pretty that you'll see on Pinterest.

 

Just hand cut trees,

 

 

 

The message is simple & handwritten.

 

 

 

And even though it's not much...

 

 

I hope they know how much they are loved.

Teachers.

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

BTW the lil' trees are in high demand

if you have a pack of little boys.

 

 

 

Oh & here is a little blooper reel from my picture taking :)

 

Kit

 

& then  Roo.

 

 

 

 

Roo

 

and while I was taking the picture of the stack...

I was lying on the floor with Kit sitting on my back :)

 

But it's all good cause if he wasn't there...he was here:

 

 

 

 

I'll have it forever...

October 2009 was when I started blogging...

started by accident really...

I wanted to help my sister figure out how to do it.

 

Here I am, 4 years later, with so many memories recorded that I could just sit hear reading our lives with a box of Kleenex. 
If my friend Shelby was here...she'd supply the Kleenex.

 

Here we were,

Rocco was just a babe.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, he's the BIG brother.

Teaching the lil' guys everything he knows. 

He's always smiling, and constantly talking our ears off.
 

 

He's helpful & joyful.

 

So much I didn't know about him back then.

& Bo

 

 

I didn't know he would be the perfect combination of

STRENGTH & SWEETNESS.   

Instead of picking me flowers...

"Mom!!!  Come outside!  I picked you a tree!"

 

 

I didn't know that he'd be fussy about how his hair looked.

I didn't know how he would stick his chest out & stand up extra tall with twinkling eyes when he was proud of himself.

I just didn't know.

 

 

I knew Annie the best when I started blogging.

I know every inch of her heart...cause she's me.

But I didn't know she'd end up touching

people's hearts, reaching many in a magazine

& in just a few short years she'd have her own blog.

 

 

I didn't know what a little lady she'd be.

 

 

Back then...

I had NO IDEA I'd have 5 kids.

 

I'm still in shock.

 

& I didn't know how quickly time would fly.

 

 

Since their childhood is slipping away far faster

than this Mama's heart can handle I knew it was time

 to get some pictures by my favorite photographer, 

Joyful Girl Photography.  

I knew she'd be able to capture their childhood. 

 

And she did :)

 

Thanks Jessie for giving me a little bit of their childhood...forever.
(Now I need that Kleenex again )

(The slideshow shows up in my comp but not on my phone or ipads sorry!)

It's Just Perfect!!!!

I don't know if I should admit this but...

..sometimes when we are just living life...

 

I hear it in a blog post.

And when we were carving pumpkins...

 

I knew it was happening,

I heard our lives in a story

 & ran around snapping pictures to complete our book.

 

So here is our story...

 

Rocco's Pumpkin

As told by Mom

 

Rocco wanted a Pumpkin.

 

So, he went to the pumpkin patch with his family.

 

 

 

He ran through the straw maze,

 

 

danced in the corn,

 

 

and even gathered up enough courage to hug the scary witch.

 

But, the best part of all was that Rocco got his pumpkin.

 

A BIG,

 

orange,

 

heavy pumpkin.

 

And he took it home.

 

All the kids drew out faces for their pumpkins

 

 

Then, they scooped out the cold slimy guts.

 

They toasted up the seeds until they turned brown & crunchy.

 

 

Rocco nibbled on the seeds while he waited for

his turn to have Mom carve HIS pumpkin.

 

And when it was finished

he sat back and looked at it.

 

He liked it!

 

 

Until...

 

He saw the other pumpkins.

 

When Annie's pumpkin was done he said,

"I wish my pumpkin had teeth like Annie's!"

 

But his mom said, "No Rocco, your pumpkin is just perfect."

 

Then, when he saw Bo's pumpkin he said,

"I wish my pumpkin had a scary mouth like Bo's!"

 

 

But his mom said, "No Rocco, your pumpkin is just perfect."

 

And when he saw Roo's pumpkin he said,

"I wish my pumpkin had ears like Roo's!"

 

 

and he held some ears up to his pumpkin.

 

 

But his mom said, "No Rocco, your pumpkin is perfect."

 

Then, his mom put some candles into his pumpkin.

She told Rocco to follow her.

She carried it into the bathroom,

shut the door,

and turned out the lights.

 

Finally. Rocco smiled, and said, "It's just perfect!"

 

True Story.

 

 

 

You might be wondering, "Where is Kit's pumpkin? 

But he didn't need one...because he is one.

 

 

I am going to turn this into a hard covered book

for Rocco for Christmas.

 

I can hardly wait!

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Please do not use any part of this story or photos. 

I don't usually care...but this feels like a part of me.

Thanks!

They are Magical...

Little boys are magical.

 

They can turn anything a different color.
 

(purple nail polish in my sink)

 

They can turn ANY object into 2 objects.

 

(I loved those glasses)

 

 And in 2 seconds flat,

they love to turn Grandpa Cuddles...

 

 

 

 ...into Grandma Cuddles.

 

(They found "My drawer" this week.)

 

But the most magical thing they do is make me smile!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Only boys would insist they need a helmet to rake.)

 

If you need a smile get over here.

I've got lotsa little boys who give free smiles.

 

(Yes, I just made up lotsa...but that's how many I have!)