Is it wrong? ....

to laugh when I see pictures like this pop up in my camera?



Because if it's wrong, I don't want to be right.
This was a shot from a photo session last week and I loved it.

If you're in Central Kansas or Southwest Missouri and you'd like to book a session for pictures, just email me. (joshandbeki AT yahoo.com)
I'm starting to fill up a Fall schedule.
We'll be in Missouri this coming weekend!

I don't intentionally make babies cry at photo shoots.
Usually they like me and have fun.
But you can bet if they shed tears, I'm gonna grab pictures of it and giggle about them later.
Ha!
Is that so wrong?
(it only lasted a few seconds. Then she got happy.)

Weekend roundup.

A bunch of blather pulled together for one blog post.
(That's a good word, huh? Blather. I'm not even sure if I used it correctly.)

Yesterday we went to the park and The Baby posed himself in front of this tree.
His expressions were cracking me up!

'Sup?


How YOU doin'?


I always get told that people have no idea what I look like so I'm trying to make a better effort to put more pictures of myself here.
Even though I can't stand the way I look in pictures.
So here ya go. (note to self, lipstick is your friend. Use it next time.)


We made a new friend this week.


The Girl and The Baby made strawberries and chocolate syrup for all of you.
They put them in the shape of a flower.
And wanted to be sure I took a picture and shared.


Do you have any weekend plans?
I'm headed to a baby shower for a friend.
Oh! Maybe they'll have cake!
I've been craving cake lately.

Have a great weekend!

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the MckLinky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------


I tend to be a very selfish and stubborn person.
I want what I want, when I want it. That's not too much to ask, right?
I get frustrated when things don't go "my" way.
And for me, taking pictures of jewelry is usually a nightmare.
I only have one good window that get's a lot of sun and that is for a limited time of day.
But instead of getting frustrated at The Baby for driving his truck all over my jewelry, I stopped and realized what a blessing it is.

What a wonderful thing to have toys all over the house!
And really, will it kill me to wait for another time to take jewelry pictures? I think not.

Happy Fingerprint Friday!

You know what?

I'm in a good mood today. (full night's rest, lots of iced coffee, great weather... I'm a happy girl!)

So on a whim, let's do this - 20% rebate on any purchase in my shop!
I don't offer sales very often!

Just enter FALL20 when you checkout and I'll issue the refund through paypal.

Expires Sunday night, August 30.

Just because...

because we had a free evening while The Boy and The Man were out golfing.


because I have a thing for sun flare.



because I have a thing for rustic settings.



because I love yellow evening sun.


because she had on a shirt that we tie dyed over the summer.


because I love this blue door.


because he's stinking cute.


because I love photography.


because his spikey hair and shadow were irresistable.



No reason.
Just because.

Magic balls.

Over the weekend, I had a photo session out of town with a very large family.
It went well and I'll try to show pictures from it soon.
But the best part, for me, was the alone time.

Have I mentioned before that I love my kids? I do.
Crazy about them.
But I sooooo enjoy alone time too.

So after the photo session, I went to meet The Man who was playing in a golf tournament.
He played in 3 tournaments over the weekend. Crazy.

The golf course is out in the country, which just made me giggle.
I promise Kansas is not all hick-ified, but I did have to go down dirt roads to get there.

I took this one out my window while I was driving.


What was unusual about this golf tournament was that it was a night tournament.
They play with glow balls.

You don't even want to know all the jokes the guys came up with about their magic balls.
I swear, even grown men are still 12 years old sometimes.

The sunset was ridiculously gorgeous.


And then once the sun went down - this was all I could see.
Pitch black with random streaks of green or orange floating through the air.


They made me drive the golf cart. Yeah, not a smart move on the menfolk's part.
I couldn't see anything.
At one point they told me I was about 20 feet off the cart path. Oops!
There was lots of laughter, lots of screaming (because to a "12 yr old grown man", it's really fun to pop out from behind a tree and scare Beki - over and over), and lots of fun.


So, how was your weekend?

Yada yada yada...

Yes, I'm from the Seinfeld era. And that's what today's post is - just yada.

I've mentioned before that there is a foot picture drives a ridiculous amount of traffic to my blog. Ick, but whatever.

And funny enough, The Girl and I had the chance recently to actually do some foot modeling!
We modeled these barefoot sandals from Fancy Feet Jewelry.


Aren't they cool? I could totally see the bridesmaids wearing these at a beach wedding.
Or teen girls laying out at a beach or pool.
Or on a cruise.
As we were taking pictures, this "beach cruiser" drove by.


I like when women support other women, rather than compete with them.

A few other wonderful supportive ladies -
The BonaFide Life
Angie Warren
The Inspired Room
My friend, Gina
My friend, Julie at Joys Hope
Heather at Cookie Mondays (who did an amazing job of leading the fundraiser for Cora's Playground)
Kasey at Lola B's
Robynn at Robynn's Ravings
And this is just a handful of them that popped into my head.
There are so many amazing women out there!
And I'm blessed to be crossing paths with many of them daily through blogging, facebook, twitter, phone calls, emails, etc.

********
Did The Baby get measles? Chicken pox? Leprosy?
Nope. He decided to help his daddy stain some wood furniture in the basement.
And this is what he came upstairs looking like.
(yes, my bathroom walls are navy. The trim is bright white, and the fixtures are chrome. It looks so nice!)
He was pretty sure a bandaid would make all the stains go away.


********
Have a great weekend!

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the MckLinky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------

God showed us His passion for vivid colors the other day.
The sunset was completely orange and was so striking against my purple crepe myrtle.
I love how He changes it up all the time.
If we had orange sunsets every night, we'd stop noticing them.

Sunflowers don't grow in Kansas.

At least not in my yard.

Earlier this year I planted sunflower seeds, hoping to get some big gorgeous blooms.
When we first moved into this home, there were sunflowers in the yard and a certain male head of the household, who shall remain nameless, cut them down and killed them.
Because he didn't like them.
Ahem...

So I planted some. And you know what I got?
This.


One sad little flower about 3 feet tall.
So sad, in fact, that I felt the need to write the name on the wall for fear no one would know what it was.

So please take a moment, and enjoy the one speck of yellow sunshine in my yard with me.



Stop snickering. You're hurting it's little bitty feelings.

(Come join the Hooked On party and the Beautiful Life party.!)

Once upon a time...

I did a little thing on my blog called the Love List.
I just featured products, designers, and companies that I loved.

No strings attached.

I thought I was unique.
Turns out I'm not. As I began to explore blogland, facebook, and twitter, I learned that there are thousands of "mommy bloggers" out there who do a similar thing.

But, generally, they are compensated for their product mentions, which is perfectly fine. It probably makes them smarter than me. I'm not.
Never was.

So I drifted away from the Love List and took my blog a different direction to set myself away from the pack.

But today, I want to go back to it.
**These companies didn't pay me to talk about their products. These are just things I love.

First up is Burts Bees Lip Shimmers.
Is it a lipstick? Lip balm? Breath freshener? Yes. To all of the above. LOVE these!


Also on my lips daily, is Bare Minerals Buxom lips. LOVE!! Love, love love. That's all I have to say about that. Love.


This Fragrance Collection soy candle in Currants and Acai that I received from Glade is just perfect! It's fresh and crisp and fruity, and has 3 wicks, which I love. Even the packaging was great. Thank you Glade!! (okay, that one wasn't compensated, but they really did send me a free candle for a potential blog mention. And I really love it so they get their mention!)


Olay Regenerist Daily Thermal Mini-peel. It's a lot to say, but boy does it work!
I'll admit that I'm too lazy to use it daily. Ugh. But when I do, even a few times a week, I see a huge difference in my skin!


Basil Lime spray by Red Leaf. They call it a room spray. I call it an everything spray. Yes, I'll admit to spritzing it in the air, and then walking through the mist. What?! My skin didn't melt off so it must be okay. And it smells that good.


Have you tried Mabel's Lables? They are awesome! They stick to absolutely everything. Use them on sippy cups, backpacks, or what about your dish you take to a potluck supper? They even withstand the dishwasher, microwave, UV Rays and yes, children.


Apparently I'm also a fan of wrinkled fabric and bad lighting, as seen in several of the above photos.
So there are a few of the things I love. What about you?
What are some things you're hooked on?

At this moment

I wish I could stop time.

I love every single thing about The Baby right now.
I want to hang on to this forever.


I love the way he sleeps in his big boy bed now.
I love the way he puts S's in almost all of his words.
(watersmelon, buttersfly, dinners, rains out dehrs (rain out there), lubs you mommas, Mickeys Mouse Clubshouse)


I love that a rainshower is cause to put on boots (on the wrong feet) and go splash in puddles regardless if he's wearing any pants.

I love how much he loves trains and asks 30 times a day to see a "train coming?!"

I love the way he bats his eyelashes and flirts with strangers at church or the store.


I love the way he always has to eat marshmallows in pairs. One alone is never right. He must have one for each hand. And he loves marshmallows!

I love the way he rarely says I or Me, but refers to himself in the third person.

I love how he hugs so tight and doesn't let go until I force him to. I hate doing that, but after 5 minutes of a bear hug, sometimes I really do have to get on with other things.


When the phone rings he runs full speed screaming, "I dot it!!!"


I love how he drives the dining room chairs (all 6 of them) around the house pretending they're trains. Okay, I don't really love that, but I know it's something I'll look back on and laugh.

When we go grocery shopping, he yells "Choo Choooooo!!!" so loud it echos through The WalMarts and causes strangers to come see what is going on at my cart. People always laugh and think it's hilarious.

I love when he gets excited about something how his eyes sparkle and he nods his head while he's telling someone about it. "See dat, mommas?!"

He knows a little "pweeeease" will get him anything he wants. "Mommas, ice cweams pweeease..."


At this moment I love this child so much it hurts.
I want to hold on to this moment for just a little bit longer.

Sharp Shoes.

Did you happen to notice these shoes the other day on the New Shoes post?


The Boy was hoping you would.
He is crazy proud of them.
We made them.


I was jealous of inspired by Laura's daughter's new shoes.
So I decided we could make our own.

Every year WalMart has these canvas sneakers for $6 each. We've bought them for 4 or 5 years in a row.
And wouldn't you know that this year they are nowhere to be found.

I looked at every WalMart and Target in a 40 mile radius and they can't be bought.
I could buy more expensive ones for $14 or so, but I knew we were going to be coloring on them with Sharpies and I didn't trust my art skills that much.

But funny enough, I had an extra pair sitting here at the house, brand new.
Last year I'd accidentally bought 2 pairs for The Girl. She only wore one.
And they were the right size for The Boy for this school year.
So he's the only one who ended up with Sharp Shoes.
(if I find some in The Girl's size, I'll bling them up like the Twinkle Toes Laura's daughter has.)



I just went at them with a Sharpie marker and then let The Boy color them in.
When they were done, we did spray them with a coat of clear sealant, to help the color hold better.

He could not wait to wear them to school.
And I think he even slept in them last night.
Sharp shoes. Cool, huh?

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the MckLinky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------


We had the chance to hang out with friends the other day at the lake.
And I just kept thinking about the value of true friends!
We are so blessed.
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
—Proverbs 18:24