new shop item: full figure silhouettes

I've talked about doing this before, but then forgot and finally remembered. (Just a small glimpse in to how my mind works I suppose.) I never realized how much I would love doing full figure silhouettes. There's something just really rewarding about seeing the final outcome... I've offered profile silhouettes and pet silhouettes for a while now, so I'm not sure what took me so long to just jump on this bandwagon!

And while I haven't had the opportunity yet, I could see this being a really cool thing to do with newly married couples. Cute shot of them from their wedding with the date listed below. Um, yes, love this idea. (Brain: Remind yourself to find a photo from your wedding day and get on this. Stat.)

Anyway, new full figure silhouettes available here! Christmas IS less than six months away and I know for a fact that grandmas love these. You know, just FYI.

sweatery.

Y'all. This is probably my favorite word that Cayden says. And he's said it since he began talking. And there's no way, not even in a million years, that I'm going to correct it.

P.S. Sweatery = sweaty. Any time he gets hot, he's "sweatery." And each time, I smile big and die a little with laughter.

sweetly broken.

At the cross You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I am sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

- Jeremy Riddle (song here)

This post has been swirling around in my brain for over a month now. I wasn't quite sure how to word any of it – am still not quite sure how to word any of it. But I feel like it's something that should be shared. If only to encourage. Or to relate. Or to... I don't know. My heart is being pulled to share, so share I will.

I suppose it all starts with things I never thought I'd experience:
I never thought good friends of ours would deliver their sweet baby at 22 weeks. And I never imagined that we'd be at that little boy's funeral, with a casket that was much too small and all too real. I never imagined that we'd have to comfort those friends; I still don't know that we did everything we could to help them through that situation.

I also never imagined we'd make friends with a couple who would lose their four year old son to cancer. I never imagined going to that brave boy's memorial service and laughing and crying and praising and crying and feeling completely overwhelmed with love and life.

I never thought we would mourn for other friends who had complications with their pregnancy, or who dealt with years of infertility problems.

All things I never could have predicted impacting our life in some way or another. And yet they did. And all of these families that dealt with these things? Graceful, y'all. These women. Oh my goodness, they've taught me so many things. In the midst of all the heartache, they've taught me that God has never been so real. I'm not kidding when I say that all of these events have changed my life...

Which leads me to this: I never thought I would experience a miscarriage. I never thought that would happen to me since I'd had two perfect pregnancies. And I also never thought it would be something that my sister and I would have in common. (But can I say how glad I am? Having someone to talk to about this has been such a weird blessing.)

On the boys joint birthday party, Jeremy and were elated to find out that baby #3 was on its way!
And approximately a week and a half later, that dream was gone.

Y'all, I struggled. Hard. I didn't know what to do or say. I didn't know where to turn. Until one morning, I just crumbled. And I knew that this was bigger than me. Bigger than Jeremy. I turned to God. The way the women in those above stories taught me to. I laid it all out before Him and asked Him to take the burden of worry away from me. It wasn't easy. It still isn't easy. But one day? When we all get to Heaven, I trust that we'll get to meet this child that we never knew on Earth. And our family will be that much bigger. And that makes things a little bit easier. Not easy, but easier.

lunch date with the nugget.

Not this past weekend, but the one before that, Jeremy and I each took a boy and had a lunch date. I got the nugget this time, and after asking him what he wanted to eat (corndog!), we ended up at Steak & Shake. Also, did you know that kids eat free on the weekends as long as the adult spends $8? Yeah, me either, so that was a fun surprise!

So Sawyer had his mini corndogs and oranges, I had a delicious burger and fries (most of which went to Sawyer) and then we split a mint cookies and cream milkshake. But that wasn't even the best part! Getting to spend that one-on-one time with Sawyer was brilliant. I'm not exactly sure why Jeremy and I haven't done this before, but after meeting back up that afternoon, we both were so excited about the time we spent with the boys. Regular lunch dates with the boys on their own will now be in rotation!

And true, the conversation one can have with a two year old isn't all that stimulating, but Sawyer knew he had my undivided attention and that I would laugh or comment at everything he did or said. It was really great to connect with our littlest one without any other distractions around. Now? I can't wait to get Cayden alone to do the same thing!

slip & slide.

I remember loving our slip & slide when I was a wee child. The slide seemed to go on for days. And I'm pretty sure we lost count how many times we ripped the edges of our slide where it was pinned into the ground. It's plastic; just make some new holes and we'll keep sliding!

So when the boys received a slip & slide for their birthday from their Aunt Jenny, we couldn't wait to get them outside and sliding to their little hearts' desire. But, um, apparently running and sliding on your stomach isn't a natural thing. We figured Sawyer was too small to get it, but we thought for sure Cayden would dig it. I mean, the child loves running and falling to his knees to slide. Even after a demonstration from Jeremy, they couldn't quite grasp the whole run/slide/get sprayed with water fun. It ended up that Jeremy had to basically bowl them down the slide. And all of that was quite fun until someone got a face full of water. (::cough:: Cayden ::cough::)

So, while they aren't quite ready to slide down it themselves, they did enjoy walking all over it with the occasional for real slip (which tickled us to watch). We'll try it out again soon and maybe they'll figure out the whole run/slide/get sprayed with water thing. And they'll think it's just as cool as I did as a child.

(Also? Please to notice Sawyer drinking the water in that first photo. Perfection!)

practicing his shapes.

I'm not real sure when Cayden started learning all of his shapes, but I feel that it wasn't this early. Short of octagon (and he might know that one, who knows?), hexagon, etc., Sawyer seems to know all of his basic shapes. He sometimes gets square and rectangle confused, but I mean, who doesn't? Also? I don't think I've ever seen another child hit those shapes with such gusto (and accuracy!).

summer popsicles.

Cayden begged for Avengers popsicles when we went to the grocery store last weekend. Since he's four, and listening problems seem to be the usual for his age, we told him if he had a good week, we'd go back and get them. He was extremely worried that they wouldn't have any when we went back. He even went as far to ask the bagger boy about his beloved Avengers popsicles. The kid was maybe 15? And was completely confused, so I reassured Cayden that, "Yes! This guy will definitely make sure that a box of Avengers popsicles is saved just for you." Dude picked up on what I was saying at that point and totally went along with it. (Just one of many reasons we love our local Publix. They rock.)

So, as the photos show, Cayden had a good week and got his popsicles. They were a fun after nap treat on Saturday. Both boys threw a small fit (ok, fine, Sawyer threw a big one) about taking off their shirts, but once they realized what was going on, all was well. And yes, the colors do stain the skin for a short time. Cayden had blue drips down his belly (SPIDERMAN!) and naturally, Sawyer had green (HULK SMASH!).

the black belt of alabama: a photographic essay.

You guys, I'm so excited to share this project with you. It's not my project, but some good friends of ours. Seriously. Watch the video and check out what Tom and Jennifer are trying to accomplish. I've known Tom for about 12 years (omg, for real? That long?), and Jennifer for almost as long. Since they've moved cross-country twice in the last decade, we don't get to see them all that often, but when we do, it's awesome. (Itty bitty Cayden in that link, btw.)

Anyway, these two are some of the coolest people I have ever known and talent just oozes from them. Sorry, oozes is a gross word, but for real, talent just emanates from them. We have a couple of Tom's prints hanging in our home. And we have a postcard that Jennifer mailed to us that she made hanging on our refrigerator. Talent, these two have it.

This book will, no doubt, be something people will treasure for a lifetime. If you live in Alabama, have family/friends in Alabama or have ever even passed through Alabama, I guarantee you'll be blown away by the beauty they can capture in photos. Please consider helping to fund this project. Even if it's just a few bucks. And also? Think of how easy this could make your Christmas gift giving this year. Easy, with a capital E.

sawyer turns two.

Well, I mean, it happened over a week ago, but it did happen and this little post proves it! We actually had a great day. Sawyer's actual birthday was on a Saturday, so all day was about him. And while we did have the camera with us all day, there were several moments we forgot to capture. Like breakfast. And donuts. And chocolate milk. And so much energy between two littles!

But that breakfast gave us the energy to get through the day. Next stop on the birthday train was the theatre. Cayden's been to the movies several times (his first time right before Sawyer was born), but this was Sawyer's first trip. We weren't entirely sure how the nugget would do, but it turned out great. We went to see Monsters University (really cute!) and for the first forty-five minutes, Sawyer inhaled popcorn and Sprite and completely content sitting in his seat. After he was done with his snack, he stood in front of his chair leaning on the row in front of us (no one seated there) and was totally okay with standing and watching the movie. Success!

Both boys passed out on the way back to the house, but after nap, we were back at it. We headed to the pool for a couple of hours. The boys swam and jumped from the side of the pool and just had a really great time. (Seriously, membership to the YMCA is worth it just for pool access for us.) We cleaned up and headed over to Nana and Pop's for dinner and more presents. Oh, and cake. Which is the only thing Sawyer asked for on his birthday.

Trying two's, here we come!

fourth of july, 2013 style.

We had a great, but wet Fourth of July around these parts. Our plans to take the boys to pool were a no-go, but we still managed to have an awesome day. We started the morning off with a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then headed a little bit north to Jeremy's parents house. We hung out there and tried to grill out in between the rain showers. I ate so much food at lunch that I didn't think I could possibly want dinner... No worries, I still ate dinner.

We got back home around 4:30ish, madly cleaned our house and my parents came over around six-ish for another cookout. We did manage to get everything grilled at our place (thanks to having a covered porch). We all ate more than we should have again, but still, so good!

A neighbor and his friends spend a ridiculous amount of money on fireworks every year, so we were lucky to just walk out our back door to see them. Before the big show, we had a little fun with our own fireworks and sparklers. Cayden was a little timid with the sparklers; Sawyer would have held the part that was on fire if we had let him. And y'all, I wish I had recorded Sawyer's reaction to one of the fireworks that Jeremy set off. It's one of those that you light and it just annoyingly makes loud noises for about ten seconds in the road. Sawyer was all excited and then his face turned to horror as he ran back toward me. So cute and sad and hilarious all at once.

Overall? We had a great holiday. The boys' reaction to the fireworks show was more than we could have hoped for. And despite Sawyer's expression in most of the photos, I promise he was enjoying himself. Good memories for sure...

cayden's convos

While Jeremy was in mid-prayer one night right before bed.
Cayden: Pee-you!!!
Jeremy: Yeah, I know, my breath stinks.
Cayden: Daddy, I gotta get away from your breath.

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Randomly in the car one day.
Cayden: BANANAPANTS!!!!
Us: Um, what?
Cayden: I'm funny.

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After the boys were in bed, Cayden called out, so I went in their room.
Cayden: Is daddy in time out?
Me: Yep, he sure is.
Cayden: Is he wearing clothes?
Me: O_o

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After asking me to help him put on his Spiderman costume, he disappeared to our room.
Me: Cayden, I need you to get out of mommy & daddy's room.
Cayden: Ok, but I was just looking in the mirror. I'll go to Sawyer's room instead.

After checking out his reflection, he comes bounding back in the family room.
Cayden: Mommy?
Me: Yeah, bud?
Cayden: I look awesome.