Operation Christmas Child

Our friend Blake had us over last week to stuff shoe boxes for children overseas. Our husbands were together for work in California.

It was a great way to talk to the kids about other children not having as much as they do, and to give to other people.

Thanks for having us Blake! Dinner was delish, too!

All tuckered out

Harrison was being a little stinker the other night, so Joe sent him to his room. Not three minutes later, this is how we found him. All tuckered out. Giving up the nap has been hard on us all!

Brother, wake up.

Can you tell whose daddy dressed her for their walk? Tight shirt and leggins-great look.

See my muscles-arrrrrr

All Fancy

I took my happy self down to Jerry's Artarama and got this fame for $20. Now, my self done house portrait looks all fancy. I hung it in our room, and it looks great!

LJP

I am certain that all mothers melt when they look at candid close up pictures of their baby, but these pictures did me in. I was trying to get ready and Lillian was watching TV for about the first time ever and her beauty took my breath away. I am a sucker for those pouty lips and curls.

Bed Head

Good morning Don King

Harrison came downstairs all dressed for the day. Too bad it was super cold outside. Good try though, buddy.

I should note that Lillian never even took a passy. This is her doll passy. She is our little eclectic queen.

I am all ready with my spatula, banana, jewels, purse, and passy.

How can you resist me?

Finally

The kitchen nook before

The kitchen nook now!

The blue in the fabric really goes well with the new blue hallway stripes. See, I had a plan!

Back door before

Back door now. Silk is hard to photograph. This pic does not show all the cute details in the bunching and makes the colors look different. But, you get the idea.

Harrison made this at school and I think it is adorable. Whoo Whoo is ready for fall!

We have lived here just over five years, and pretty much the entire time I have been on the hunt for my ideal bay window fabric. I tend to be a little picky when I have something imagined in my head. Good thing I held out and waited until I found just the right fabric, seamstress, and hardware. I love these! And, she made the tabs Velcro so in case of a milk spill or something, I can remove them. They make the room look so much homier and cozy. I dream of the day when I can hire Emily Clark for such projects, but for now I am pretty pleased with myself! Just read her kitchen makeover blog. Shut the front door! I covet her taste.

Silly Bandz

Lillian had a ball going through Carly's jewelry. She sat for about half an hour putting on all the Silly Bandz. Back in the day, I loved me some jelly bracelets. Too bad you can't turn these into fake retainers like we used to do.

Saturday morning

Grandma sent Lillian this necklace in her care package and Lillian will not take them off. we have definitely entered the jewelry/purse phase!

Harrison loves to use the blower. He is all about some yard work. No lie, he blew off our entire driveway and sidewalk by himself.

Snuggling with daddy

I think we are officially back in the groove. I am caught up on laundry, the kids have adjusted to daylight savings, we are back in yard work mode, etc. It was nice to wake up and go for a family walk this morning. Joe is off to the NC State football game with his MSU buddies and I am hanging out around the 'hood. The weekends are so nice when we are all together.

Choo Choo

Here comes the choo choo train!

Everybody hold your ticket

Lillian is ready to go

Checking out the literature

Mama and her love bugs

Snack time

"TOO TOO tain"

Harrison was especially fond of the snack car

Arriving in Durham by the old tobacco buildings

Up to no good!

The inside of the station was just beautiful. It was fun to see all the old pictures of the train station

On Thursday, our wonderful friend Sandra and I took the kids to ride the Amtrak train from Raleigh to Durham. It took a little less than an hour, and was a super fun outing. I liked that the kids could roam around (and it was super clean.) Harrison and Lillian liked to look out of the window and made lots of new friends. The snack car was a HUGE hit as well. Once we arrived in Durham we went over to the Life and Science Museum for a few hours. The weather was just perfect and it was a day to remember. Thanks Sandra for all your help! We will have to do it again soon. Maybe this time we can go to Greensboro.