bright and beautiful

That for which I'm thankful...that makes my life brighter and more beautiful...

131. those to whom I'm related and a cousin reunion


132. the shadows dancing on the ceiling from the fire on the hearth and sleeping next to said fire

133. laundry to fold...it means I have clothes to wear
134. thoughtful gifts that show how much I am loved by others
135. finding my camera in a a field of snow (thanks Gretchen!)
136. riding a sled behind a farm truck

137. not having to be responsible for a week (no cooking, no laundry, no cleaning, etc...) while on our honeymoon
138. having to say "What are we going to do now?" while on vacation....such a glorious feeling!

139. Christmas gifts that turn out exactly how I was wanting them to

140. food that is artfully arranged (note: we probably had more pictures from our cruise of the food we ate than of ourselves or the scenery)

141. a husband who understands and "gets" me
142. an annual Christmas gift from a good friend--Mary Englebreit calendar
143. Joey the cat who is easily ammused by a twisty tie for half an hour
144. That my biggest problem is that I spilled candle wax all over my carpet and it bothers me every time I walk by (as opposed to hunger, no shelter, dirty water, no job, human trafficking/slavery, etc...)
145. watching Westerns featuring John Wayne with my dad

Where did my favorite month go?

It's no secret that October is my favorite month...at least as far as "non-school related" items are concerned (the yummy smells, the changing season, it's now our anniversary month, the world just seems at it's best then, etc...). But good grief Charlie Brown, as far as school is concerned, good luck staying sane :) This would explain my pictorial absence as of recently. So here goes in order to catch myself up...

Week of Oct. 22


# 1-4 Went to Parkville on a Saturday and just sat under a tree at English Landing Park. It was lovely. I read a book that wasn't school related just for fun!


#5 pretty tree at St. Therese Church and School#6- I made Pecan Bars (pretty much like pecan pie in a delightful little square)
#7 Made chocolate chip pumpkin cookies#8 Joey looking especially adorable-keeping the blanket warm :)

#9 Joey inspects the grocery bags when I get home from the grocery store. We call him "Inspector #37."
Week of Oct. 29
#10 My friend Brooke told me about this...but make sure you throw it out before 2 weeks (it got all squishy and leaked gross pumpkin juices all over my husband. Yuck!)
#11 Went to see the the little monkey pants at MNU-she was in the Homecoming Court. It was fun times! #12 Pumpkin Pie Dip (very yummy with apple slices-especially Granny Smith, gingersnaps, or pretzel sticks)

#13 I made butternut-carrot squash soup, put it in a bread bowl, and put roasted pumpkin seeds on top! (This was a day I didn't have school so I actually had some time :)
#14 Bob gives it 2 thumbs up!
#15 Went home to Bolivar, came down with strep throat, and saw my girls Katie and Tara in their Halloween costume finery:) I can't believe how fast they're growing up!

Week of Nov. 5
#15 -17 Some favorite fall cards I made...#18-19 Bob sent me flowers at school for our 13 month anniversary...just to surprise me:) It was very thoughtful and made my day! My kids made sure they "oohed" and "aahed" appropriately :)

video-my sister in the homecoming court and her escort Taylor (they were hilarious...I would expect no less).

Have your (wedding) cake and eat it too...

So this is way overdue, but here are a few "snapshots" from the past (almost) month.

Week of Sept. 24



#1-3 I love decorating for seasons...but obviously this one is my favorite! #4 The moon and "cotton-candy pink" sky as i was leaving for school one morning


Week of Oct. 1

#5 Okay, I admit I'm ridiculous, but joey the cat really looks so innocent and sweet here... (By looking, you wouldn't think he's be capable of eating a stryofoam plate or attacking my aloe plant)
#6-10 I love my drive to and from school...true, it would be nice if I lived 10 minutes from school (when I Bolivar I lived 5 minutes and that was a little too close). I love the fields, the mist in the mornings, and shadows on the country roads on my way home.

Week of Oct. 8
#11 stir fry I made-Bob loves bell peppers, hence the abundance!

#12-13 Our anniversary weekend-we ate at Lidia's near Union Station-I highly recommend it!
#14 Went to English Landing Park in Parkville on Sunday ... love that place! Some of my more vibrant childhood memories are from here.#15 The secret to a great tasting top-tier of your wedding cake a year later is to get people in charge of your cake table who will wrap the cake in 10-15 layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. It seriously was as good as the first time...a year ago! Yum-chocolate and raspberry!

Week of Oct. 15#16-17 I arranged some flowers (use the word "arranged" very loosely) for my friend Sasha who just had a baby and wanted to bring her some fall festiveness. I kept one for us (and Joey ate some of the leaves while I was gone). Silly, silly animal. I think he threw it up later, but don't feel bad for him.




#18-19 We went to the pumpkin patch (in Gardner, KS) and it was fun times. It's a little funny going to a place with all of these really cute families and I feel a little out of place-just the two of us, but it's still so much fun! Maybe we'll be a cute family like that one day (I'll point and say "Look at that cute baby!" and my husband will say something like "Yeah, but we don't want one...they spit up and make big messes." ).
#20 Joey mesmerized by the water in the sink...it doesn't take much for him to be entertained.