. my family tree .

i am a slow decorator.  very.  s. l. o. w. 

as in .. we have lived here for 2 months and there is nothing on the walls.  i definitely want this house to feel and looked lived in.  at our old house, we lived there for 4 years and never hung anything up.  that's how horrible i am at decision making and decorating.  i change my mind so often that i have a hard time finding things i absolutely love and want to keep around forever.  



i saw this online and re-created it to fit my family.  and i'm in love.

i actually just finished it and haven't printed it, but i KNOW without a doubt that tonight i am going to find a frame and sit it on my mantle.  i {big puffy heart} my little family tree.  forever and ever.  and it will always be present in my home.

. thankful thursday .

today i am thankful for ..



1. sweet baby kisses ...

2. for rainy weather.

3. for mr. hill who understands when i need a night off.

4. for my sweet, curly headed girl who talks so gently to her sister (sometimes).

5. for moments of quiet in the afternoons when all 6 kiddos are sleeping.

6. really big sonic drinks, of course. 

7. but my current addiction is chicken express half-and-half sweet tea.

8. juice plus supplements.  they keep me going.

9. a garage to park my car that doesn't work.

10. cleaning supplies.  although if i used them more often i may be more thankful. 

11. washable markers.  and magic erasers.  i think my dining table may be more thankful for those two.

12. because i have to have an even number.  i'm so very thankful for a God who loves me for me and continues to bless me daily and provide prospective in my sometimes cloudy world.

. miss attitude .

you know.  sweet baby?  that girl has attitude.  whew.  we only THOUGHT she was going to be the good. quiet. go with the flow. child.  boy were we wrong.  she is sweet, but packs a punch in those cute little cheeks of her.  speaking of cheeks ...

this seems to be sweet baby's game of choice this week.  she very much enjoys playing with the potty chair and putting on and taking off panties.  all day.  she knows the phrase "pee pee in the potty" and knows where to go.  somehow it gets mixed up and she pees on the floor under the dining table, but whatever.  we're working on it. 

no, it was not my idea.  this is all on her own.  she's 19 months old and has a stronger will than i've ever seen.  she knows what she wants and will get it, one way or another.  so this is her attempt to put on the panties by herself ...

looks like a mini-skirt to me.  and a rear-view.

yep.  that's how we roll here. 



ok, so i do teach my children how to properly put on their clothing, but apparently sweet baby missed that class.  and she refuses the help.  and i refuse to fight that fight.  so this is how she wears them.

. another first .

today was the biggest first so far for my sweet girl.  in the past 2 weeks we have gone to the dentist, gotten her ears pierced, and started dance class.  today?!?  preschool.  just saying it sends my heart fluttering.  maybe that's a small heart attack just at the thought of my baby going to preschool?  could be.



so we started a new tradition today too.  the famous first-day-of-school-picture-at-the-front-door-holding-a-sign ...

how big does she look?!?!?  no, i didn't cry, but now i might.  her little nobby knees and all send me into a tizzy.  AND ... i always knew my children were beautiful, but check this out ...

be still my beating heart.  my sweet girl was super excited about her first day of school.  we got her a new backpack (the day before, but that doesn't matter) and a special new outfit to wear to support her love of all things heart shaped (the night before, but that doesn't matter either).

and we were good to go.  all set.  she was ready to show her friends her earrings and her backpack.

and she did great.  someone else, on the other hand ...

nah.  i was fist bumping the teacher and raising the roof all the way home.  ok, not to that extreme, but i was excited for my sweet girl and the opportunity she has to be going to preschool.  she was so big going in.  walked right on in.  hugged her teacher, who by the way is a-mazing, if i do say so myself.

and then she went to coloring.  kissed me good-bye.  she did mention to me "daddy told me to tell you that you couldn't go back to your car."  after a quick explanation that i'd be right back, she went right on doing her thing.

and, actually, when i when to pick her up, she was apparently having a blast with her little friend.  she saw me and said "MOMMY?!?!" along with a rather ugly look.  i was obviously not wanted, but she changed her tone real quick and ran to me.  i'm so thankful that she is in this preschool and has my sweet friend, Jamee, as her teacher.  what a blessed year it is going to be.

. she dances .

when i first told karsyn that she was going to be doing dance classes her very first comment was "that teacher cannot teach me how to dance.  i already know how."  so when today rolled around, i was very curious to see how it would go.  once again, to my surprise, the little turkey let me take her pictures.  she's finally coming around.

she did great, of course.  surprisingly, the teacher assistant was a sweet friend of ours who karsyn adores, so that helped the situation.  and ... she followed the directions given to her.  turns out, she didn't really know ALL there is to know about being a ballerina. 

she did great and i'm so proud of her.  tomorrow is her first day of preschool.  she's just growing up way too fast.  next week, i think we'll do piano lessons, choir, soccer, and sign her up for college classes.  when does the madness end?

. let the games begin .

i actually did decorate my dining room chalkboard for the aggie game saturday.  believe it or not.  and we had "gig 'em aggies" lessons at dinner that night.  seriously.

. she can't be big .

i'm trying to refuse the fact that karsyn is getting big.  i know she's still 3, but 4 is in our near future.  i have been very very excited about 4.  like pumping my fist excited that i can see 4 coming soon.  at the same time, i'm still trying to hold on to 3.  especially when she decides she wants to do this ...

look closely.  yep.  that's an earring.  she actually does have another on the other ear.  we're not that weird.  today, was girl time.  just me and my big girl.  we went to the mall to find her some new shoes for preschool that starts wednesday.  we passed a few stores that do piercings and actually had people sitting in the chairs ready to be pierced themselves.  she said, quite confidently, "i wanna do that today."  so we did. 



i know sometimes people make a big deal about getting their ears pierced, but its never been a big deal for us.  i did call Mr. Hill to let him know what we were doing first and then we proceeded.  she was SO big.  she didn't cry at all.  didn't even flinch.  she picked out her very first pair.  of course, i tried to coherse her to pick the diamonds.  apparently a 3 year old doesn't know that "diamonds are a girls best friend".  this is what she picked ...

hello kitty.  HELLO?!?!?  yes, i've always been anti-character-supporters, but i caved and let her pick out what she wanted.  and she stands proud showing them to everyone she sees.  after that, we headed to get matching tattoos.  kidding.