Swinging!

Shiloh loves his baby swing!

For all the Mommies...

Our friend Kris sent over this interview and song from Plumb that he thought we would enjoy as parents. To tell you the truth, I've heard the song about a million times, and I've always liked it, but I've never really paid enough attention to the lyrics that I could have told you what it was about. Hearing her talk about the song made me appreciate it on a whole new level! The recorded version of the actual song is much smoother and nicer to listen to, but the explanation of the song's background on the video make it worth watching. Click the picture below to check it out!





You can hear the recorded version of the song by clicking here.

And here are the lyrics:

your baby blues
so full of wonder
your curley cues
your contageous smile
and as i watch
you start to grow up
all I can do is hold you tight

knowing clouds will rage and
storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms
rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms

story books are full of fairy tales
of kings and queens and the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
you'll someday see the truth from lies

when the clouds will rage and
storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms
rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms

Castles, they might crumble
dreams may not come true
but you are never all alone
'cause I will always
always love you

when the clouds will rage and
storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms
rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms
in my arms

................................................................................................................................................

I think these lyrics are especially nice, because not only does it tug at my mommy heartstrings to think of my kids being safe at this moment in my arms (Because sweet Shiloh is literally in my arms as I type this), but also it's nice to picture even us grownups being safe in God's arms, even as the storms race in and the waves crash all around. I'm glad Kris sent over that interview for us to check out. What a great way to start the week!

The week in pictures...

A few that Kori took in the yard:













...And a few that Jason took yesterday evening:








We are down south this weekend, showing off our new arrival in Mena and shooting a wedding in Hot Springs. It ought to be a great time! Have a good weekend everybody!

A little confused...

Taken at a recent wedding that Jason shot solo...





Something tells me he doesn't totally understand the whole "photo booth" concept! : )

Hi! Hi! Hi!

Norah comes into the office about 3,000 times a day to visit. That child cracks me up! She will run in at top speed, grin really big and say, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" Then she goes about her business of handing out lots of hugs and kisses and "helping" with the baby. : ) So cute!

Conversations with Bear: Getting Presidential

***Scene: Mama is nursing Shiloh while watching People's Court. Bear wanders in from playing Wii to see what we are up to. He quietly watches Judge Marilyn Milian mete out justice for several minutes before realizing that he has some questions...***

Bear: Who makes all the rules?
Mama: What do you mean?
Bear: You know. Like all the rules in our whole country. Who makes them?
Mama: Ummm... Well, it's kind of complicated. Different people, like in our legislature, the senators and representatives, and also kind of the President.
Bear: The PRESIDENT? He makes the rules?
Mama: Well, kind of.
Bear: But I thought you said being the President was a dangerous job.
Mama: Well, it is. Because some people might not like the rules that he makes and might want to kill him.
Bear: Well if the President just makes rules, then who kills the scary stuff?
Mama: Well, the Army and the Marines protect us, and they get all the bad guys.
Bear: No, not the bad guys, the other stuff that's scary.
Mama: What kind of stuff?
Bear: You know. Like bears and stuff. If the President doesn't kill them, then who does?
.......................................................................................................................
Good question, Buddy. Good question.

: )

Words of Wisdom

Several years ago, in some random moment of creative industriousness, I decided to take one of my picture inspiration boards that hang in the office and convert it into a "Words of Wisdom" board on which to display some of my favorite quotes. I must have been in a Coco Chanel sort of mood that day, because in addition to my usual suspects, many of the quotes were from the word-wise fashion maven. The rest are from a mixture of diverse sources that I feel pretty adequately reflect my personality! : )

Here are some selections from my "Words of Wisdom" board!
..............................................................................................................................................................................
"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but to be someone." -Coco Chanel

"She is clothed with strength and dignity: She can laugh at the days to come." - Proverbs 31:25

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

"Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door." - Coco Chanel

“If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.” - Jack Handy

"Stop eating so much!" -The Man Show

"In order to be irreplacable, one must always be different." - Coco Chanel

"After all... Tomorrow is another day." - Scarlett O'Hara

"If you go parachuting, and your parachute doesn't open, and your friends are all watching you fall, I think a funny gag would be to pretend you were swimming." - Jack Handy

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." - Coco Chanel

"...Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." - James 1:19

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." - Kate Moss

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
..............................................................................................................................................................................

I realize that this is a bizarre mixture of quotes, but they were the ones that struck me at the time, and aside from perhaps the Jack Handy ones, I think all of them are pretty useful! : )

My favorite one is still the last one. I heard that quote on an air freshener commercial when I was at a very impressionable time in my life. I had just finished high school, and I was on my way to college at the ripe old age of 17. (Which, incidentally, was not the best idea in retrospect, but I suppose you live and learn!) Somehow this quote struck me, and I wrote it down and have carried it in the back of my mind ever since.

Unfortunately, when I first heard the quote, I was in no position to adequately envision the path I wanted my life to take, so I just took the quote to mean that instead of going to class, I should wander around the Honors College stomping grounds at the University of Central Arkansas writing cryptic things in my journal and hanging around with a crew of charmingly witty pseudo-hippies who shared my passion for deep philosophical thinking, midnight Waffle House runs and also not going to class. Like I said, going to college at 17 is probably not the best idea!

So when I realized that I had NO idea what I was doing at college (turns out there's not a degree track for bad poetry and playing spades in the lobby of your dorm at all hours of the night), I took the quote to mean that I should live the life I was currently imagining, which unfortunately for my poor mother and any chance she had at maintaining her sanity while attempting to guide me into a productive adult existence, involved moving to Colorado and spending my days snowboarding and my nights hoping to track down free wine coolers. Clearly that went well. ; )

10 years and about a million well-intentioned mistakes later, I feel like I'm finally starting to actually "get" that quote, and along with it, to get my life figured out a little. I think the main problem is that all along, I was going very confidently in the direction of my dreams, perhaps a little too confidently, but that I had no idea what sort of life I'd imagined. And now I know.

I know that I want to be a good wife, a good mother, and to bring joy to the people around me. I know that I want to be financially secure and professionally the best in my field. I know that I want to stay in good shape so that I am able to meet any physcial challege that life throws my way (and also to introduce my children to the joys of extreme sports!) I want to fill my life with beautiful images from my camera, beautiful memories for my family and a beautifully clean and organized house. I know that I will not do these things perfectly, and I am okay with that.

Because Scarlett O'Hara was right. Tomorrow really is another day. And every day is a new chance to try. A new chance to go confidently in the direction of my dreams and live the life I've imagined. Especially now that I know what sort of life that is!

Summer Fun!

It's funny how now matter how hot it is outside, once school starts, it seems like the days of summer are behind us. We still have our fair share of outdoor activities (the kids went tubing this weekend, and we had a backyard water fight yesterday evening, for example), but somehow once school starts, it's just not the same. Still fun, but definitely not the same!

The day before school started back, we decided to make one last-ditch effort to eke all the fun we could out of our last little slice of summer vacation, so it was off to the Springdale Aquatic Center! If you've never been there and you live in the area, you'll have to check it out next year. We usually just go to the athletic club pool, because it is included in our membership, but every now and then it is a treat to visit the Aquatic Center. The kids love it! Here are a few pictures Jason grabbed with a disposable underwater camera.


















I'm already looking forward to next summer, when I'll be able to swim a little more! Between the bedrest and then being postpartum (when you don't go swimming for a variety of reasons, the whole "bathing suit" issue not being the least of them!), I felt like my summer got cut short this year! It was worth it though. This little guy is so precious!

Kru is 2!!

We had such a fun time attending Kru's 2nd birthday party yesterday evening! His mama, my friend Sarah, planned a luau for him, and the kids all had a blast! Between the bubble machine, the sand and water table and the giant slide, we were all thoroughly entertained. Here are some pictures I snapped when I wasn't busy nursing Shiloh and keeping Norah from injuring herself!





















Now I guess I had better get serious about some party planning myself. Bear and Norah's birthdays will be here before you know it!