. 243/365 .

i seem to always be doing organizing of some kind.  i can get organized fast.  it's keeping it organized that i have a problem with.  right now, i'm working on our bathroom cabinet.  we have 2 bathrooms in our house, but the girls always end up in our bathroom, so we just made it into a family bathroom and the 2nd one is a guest bathroom.  i wanted everyone to have their own color towels and, after much debate, these are the 4 colors we decided on.  i love them.

. 242/365 .

we got new toothbrushes tonight.  i always buy them in a pack and make sure i open them so i can pick which one i want.  i especially like to buy a pack that has pink and purple so that mr. hill has to use one of those colors!  yes, i'm mean.  so here's my new one ...

ain't it cute?!?!  here's a closer look so you may be able to tell better why i love it so.

it's ORANGE. and SUPER cute!!  and very much blog worthy.  you're welcome.

. 241/365 .

i kept telling mr. hill that if he forgot his lunchbox at school, he had to take the dora lunchbox that we have.  we're making sure he takes his lunch every single day so he has something semi-healthy to eat, but how can we do that if he keeps forgetting to bring his lunchbox home?!  so dora goes ..

i'm pretty sure he enjoyed it.

. 240/365 .

karsyn is constantly writing something.  and now she is teaching mykah how to write her ABC's.  i really wanted to document a picture of how she writes these days.  she's pretty good.  we're working on the few letters that are backwards, but sometimes she'll write a word in reverse order and mirror image.  it's crazy!  she can also write upside down and you can read it. 

. what's in a name .

the girls are in the most fun stage that we've had so far.  they play well together (for the most part) and it's typically imaginary/pretend play.  they love dress up and they love pretending to be other people.  i really just wanted to write this post so i could always remember the names they came up with.

*mykah ALWAYS calls karsyn "mom" when they play.  that's how i know they're playing, actually.  if i hear "mooooom" from across the house, i know they aren't calling me.  they call me "mama".

*karsyn's favorite pretend name for other people has always been "maleigh".  sometimes it's "miley".  just depends on the day i guess. 

*today, the funniest name yet, was "scoopy".  i almost spit out my water when that name was shouted. 

i always thought they would pick names like sally, molly, lucy.  i don't know why.  just typical play names.  you know, names you see when you buy a new baby doll.  most of them come with simple names like that.  you never see "scoopy" printed on a doll box. 

they are constantly playing dress up.  school.  mom/dad.  sometimes there's a "pop" thrown in if there's a boy involved in the playing.  my favorite thing to do is sit back and listen to them.  sometimes you hear yourself in them and are taken back a bit.  and we've even had nights where they have been playing pretend so well that we let them play as long as they will.  it is hard to break it up.  recently the nice playtime has been few and far between with my girls, so the nice times they do have i want to last as long as possible. 

i'll surely miss these days.

. love the LORD .

it has always been top priority for us to raise our kids to love our God.  to know what He did for them.  to believe in Him.  to trust Him.  and to live their life as He did.  full of love, compassion, kindness, gentless, self control, prayer. 

we have struggled over the last 4 years with going to church.  sometimes we are just lazy, but the reasons usually involve having small children or frequently going out of town.  those are my excuses anyway.  we have tried to be diligent in attending church every week that we are home for a few months now and have succeeded.  the next step is to find a sunday school class to join.

all that being said, although we may not have attended church weekly, we still talked about God in our home.  prayed before meals.  read books about the real meaning of special holidays.  focused not on presents at Christmas, but on Jesus.  focused not on candy at Easter, but on Christ rising again.  they know those stories. they know that we pray before meals.  they know that we thank God when it rains.  they know that we sing praises.  and karsyn's very favorite ...

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

she sings it constantly.  she wants to hear it constantly.  and it makes my heart sing along.  sometimes we belt it out in the car, upon her request, and mykah is even learning the words.

one of the most precious things for a parent to hear is for their child(ren) to sing praises to the Lord.  i am in love with the fact that my kids know God.  my kids praise Him and are learning daily what it means to worship our Lord. 

. 239/365 .

this is before and after playing in the rain the other night.

with or without water, that hair is outta control.

and the first picture is so out of focus.  my bad.  sorry.

AND, before water she was so sweet.  after water, the monster comes out.  seriously.  like a whole 'nother kid.  the face says it all.  but that wet picture, is my mykah.  that is her attitude and personality all wrapped up into one shot.  she's a spitfire.  and i really don't think i'd have it any other way.

. happy THREE-OH to the BFF .

happy 30th birthday to my sweetest friend ever. 

who knew that 17 years ago, a friendship that started out in junior high, would last until we were 30 years old.  {for the record, she is the one who is 30. i have a few months to spare.}  here we were, at the end of our senior year.  about to part ways.

and here we are now.  totally different people.  two different lives, two different states, but still very much the same friendship we've always had.

so, my dear friend, for your big birthday, here are 30 things i love about you ...

30.  ... that you turn 30 before me.  had to throw that in there.

29.  ... that you have the cutest little boy ever and are about to have a sweet little girl to hold.

28.  ... that you have a husband who rocks at making and fixing things.

27.  ... that you care so much about your family.

26.  ... that you'd do anything for the ones you love.

25. ... that we like the same things.  are easily entertained by the same things.  and have similar OCD tendencies.  only you understand those of mine.

24. ... that you like orange.  of course.

23. ... that you text me all day long.

22. ... that you can make a 25 minute phone conversation feel like just a few minutes long.

21. ... that we can have fun together with our families.

20. ... that you, too, have only one BFF.  me!

19. ... that you have your blonde moments, but can laugh at them while everyone else is laughing too.

18. ... that you are ever-so-creative when need be.

17. ... that you call on me for help and advice.

16. ... that you have lived all around the world.

15. ... that your parents treat us as their own.  and they have a pretty awesome pool too.

14. ... that you allow me to help you plan parties.

13. ... that you text me most when you are on the porcelain throne.

12. ... that you are actually more OCD that i have ever thought about being.

11. ... that you don't care when you visit and my house is a wreck.

10. ... that you allow your husband to pass gas in front of me.  'cause i'm use to it, you see.

9. ... that you allow me to take pictures of your family.

8. ... that you know me and you still like me.

7. ... that you drive 8 hours to see me at least twice a year if not more.

6. ... that you buy amazingly adorable things for my children.

5. ... that you don't hate me because i suck at buying gifts.

4. ... that you are allowing me to visit you next weekend instead of this weekend for your birthday.

3. ... that taking your family to church is so important to you.

2. ... that you love me anyway.

1. ... that you are 30 before i am.  did i already say that? 

well, i love YOU anyway.

thanks for always being you.

happy birthday.

. 238/365 .

for those of you who know me well, you know that when i find something that i actually really like, it quickly becomes an obsession.  VERY quickly.  so, my obsessions right now are ...

#1 catching up on my blog.  i've been at it off and on (more on than off) for 2 days.  blogging my rear off.  i'm having to go back and re-add some pictures (for 3 years past) and find pictures to add for the whole month of june.  it's crazy, but i can't stop.  {note: give it a few weeks and i'll probably stop blogging for a few weeks.  ha!}

#2 coffee.  Y'ALL.  seriously.  it's 11am as i'm typing this and i'm making me a 2nd cup.  that's HUGE for me.  it's only my 4th day to even be drinking coffee.  going a little overboard, but i found the perfect creamer for me and i love it.  skinny white chocolate mocha.  did you get the "skinny" part?  because it's important. 

#3 ...

drinks and candy.  two things i never settle on.  two things i change favorites of all the time.  i used to love diet coke.  now, not so much.  i used to love root beer.  now, not so much.  it comes and goes.  my taste buds change, i guess.  so this week i am in love with red hots. 

who knows what next weeks obsession will be.

. thankful thursday .

1.  most importantly we are thankful today for the rain.  it's been a long time coming and was so desperately needed.  i prayed the whole time we were outside in it.  the girls were dancing, i was taking pictures, and we were all saying thank you to Jesus for sending the rain. 

2.  coffee.  it's a newfound obsession of mine.  coffee. 2 packets of splenda. and lots of skinny white chocolate mocha creamer.  it's fabulous. 

3.  being home with my girls.  reality is, i must work.  i must bring home some sort of income.  but i knew the first minute i laid eyes on my first very sweet little girl that i was meant to be home with her.  since then, we have either managed to get by or i have worked.  having an in-home daycare has been perfect for us.  not only do i get to be with my girls all day, every day, but i also get to love on a few others as well.  i'm so very thankful for the opportunity to work from home!  my mom did it when i was little and i'm grateful to be in a position to do it too.

4.  my home.  long story short, this is the 2nd time we've lived in this house.  we took a 1 year hiatus to a different house we thought we wanted and when this old house didn't sell, we decided to move back and i think that was the best decision we've ever made.  i'm actually making it a home.  and i'm loving it.  it's perfect for our family right now as it has 3 bedrooms and one big playroom. 

5.  did i say rain?

. 237/365 .

one of my favorites from "the great rain".  these two fight all day long, but moments like these make the bad ones disappear.  love that they are sisters.

. the great rain of 2011 .

it is what it is.  it hasn't hardly rained all year, so as soon as we saw it rolling in we danced and praised Jesus.  it was so cute to hear the girls say "thank you, Jesus, for the rain."  we made sure that's the first thing we talked about when it started drizzling.  no matter how much or how little He sends, we were going to thank Him for it. 

mr. hill and the girls watched it roll in.  it got real windy, like wizard of oz windy.  we seriously made izzy stay inside so she wouldn't be carried away.

the girls ran around like wild indians hyped up on something good.  it reminded me of the last time it snowed.  it was a huge ordeal.  everyone got their gear on and got so excited we could hardly contain ourselves.  seriously.  like snow.  you'd think we hadn't seen rain in 10 years.  it seems that way, i know.  the girls even rain inside to get their rain boots, which surprisingly they remembered they had AND they still fit.

the neighbors came and it was a great big rain party.  lots of dancing, laughing, smiling.  and then it happened ...

a miracle from God.  it rained. it poured.  there was thunder and lightening and it was the most beautiful thing i have since in a while.  the girls danced and ran like never before.  i sat in a dry spot and took pictures.  i almost wish i had been out there running with them, soaking it all in.

i really don't think the girls knew what to do at first.  especially when i said "we're going to play in the rain!"  karsyn kept running around like a crazy person saying "this is the best day everrrrrr!"  yes, you may say that we have watched the movie Tangled one too many times.  or four.  i dunno.  we watch it a lot. 

mykah really wasn't too sure.  they are deprived children and have never played in the rain before.  actually, i can't remember the last time it rained good like this.  and with her being a mere 2.5 years old, she may not remember rain.  ha!

i think they burned more calories than a biggest loser contestant.  seriously. 

and, being the hill girls that they are, they wanted to take their clothes off the moment they got wet.  wait!  that went downhill in one sentence.  what i meant was, both of my girls have always insisted on taking their clothes off when they get wet or dirty.  i don't mean past hill girls.  at least i don't think i do.  anyhoo ... moving right along.

i stopped taking pictures when the rain was coming down sideways and i no longer had a dry spot.  couldn't take a risk.  mr. hill isn't willing to buy me a new camera right now.  not even if my camera dies of natural causes.  can you even believe the gall?

and they loved every last minute of it.  right up until we almost got struck by lightening.  then, just like that, the party was over.  yes, there were tears.  very dramatic tears.  which led to bedtime.  yes, the rain party was their bath tonight.  seriously. 

so, thank you, sweet Jesus, for the rain you sent tonight.  we loved every minute and are so very thankful for your downpour of blessings.  you can send more whenever you want.  amen.

. freezer breakfast burritos .

mr. hill loves him some breakfast burritos.  actually, he likes breakfast, but rarely eats it because i don't cook it.  i know, bad wife award.  but i'm getting better.  actually, truth is, he gets himself up in just enough time to get ready and head out the door, so i thought making some freezer burritos would at least give him something quick to heat up and eat on the go. 

it all started out with the simplest of things.  eggs.  jimmy dean.  and potatoes.  i cooked them all, then mixed them together.  simple as that.  sadly, i cannot tell you how much i made.  we also had sausage and eggs for dinner, so i didn't count.

threw the mixture on some tortillas.  added some shredded cheese.

rolled 'em up and placed them on a cookie sheet.

not the prettiest, but i bet they taste yummy.  i ended up with 2 cookie sheets full, so that should last a few weeks anyway.  next time, i'll make more.  after they are all rolled, i put them in the freezer just like this for one hour.

you eyein' my stack-o-sauces up at the top?  actually, 2 of them are spaghetti sauce.  2 are chicken spaghetti.  the big one is taco meat.  and 1 bag of shredded pork. 

so after they freeze for one hour, i'll put them in freezer bags and call it a night.  and i have one happy mr. hill.  i even saved just a little extra for him to make him a taco to go in the morning.

. 236/365 .

mykah did some artwork while i was changing a few diapers.

i honestly thought she was hiding.  she hides under the table all the time.  or lays down under there with izzy.  i didn't even know she had a marker.  or where she got it from. 

and she said "mommy.  i sowy i colored your chairs."  underneath the extreme cuteness, she's a monster, people.  a monster.  but the cuteness wins again and my arms will be sore from scrubbing 'cause this stuff ain't coming off easy!

. dresser fixer upper .

i stole took this dresser off of my mother-in-law's hands a while back and it's just been sitting in a room waiting for it's turn to be fixed up and used.  when i decided to redo the girls' bedroom, i just KNEW the dresser would be perfect.  and i KNEW, because of my love for all things white, including socks and undies, that this dresser would be bright white too.  and because of my track record for not taking before pictures, why start now.  so, trust me, this thing had seen better days.  it was a cream color, but had been moved from place to place and looked dirty.  a quick spray of ultra white paint and she shined like never before!
when i first started fixing up this dresser, i took off all the knobs.  i think the MIL had changed them out once before, but they still weren't what i wanted for my girls' room.  now, the top two drawers had holes for two long handles each and the other four drawers had holes for one handle each.  because i'm lazy and didn't want to look for the perfect handles because i wanted to save money and drawer pulls can get expensive, i opted for a low cost way to add handles to the drawers.  insert these ...

yep.  scissors and a $2.50 roll of mango colored grosgrain ribbon.  the ribbon looks pretty fuschia-ish / hot pink here, but, trust me, it's a coral-mango color.  orangy-pink.  ok, enough already.  you get the point.  here's a semi-before picture.  it's already been painted and put in the room (which it fits perfectly between the new beds.  that's another post.)

i just cut strips the length i wanted and tied knots. easy peasy.  here's a horrible shot of the actual handle part.

and here's what the inside looks like.  frayed and all.

and the whole dresser after all handles were installed.

cute?  and the ribbon perfectly matches the girls' bed sheets.  i think it's the perfect touch.  now, you may be wondering what we're using the dresser for since the girls have all their clothes in the closet.  i gave each girl a top drawer for their "junk".  ok, so they haven't quite got to where they want to keep "treasures", but i know the day will come that they will want to just put something that they have found in a safe spot, and now they have that.  the top drawer is their junk drawer.  we all need one, right?  the two middle drawers are currently empty because i haven't decided what to put in them.  the bottom drawers look like this ...

this is where we keep our barbies and all their junk accessories.  oh, and their cars in their own parking garages.  this is just an easy way for them to be picked up.  pull the drawer out and throw it all in.  i'm all about simple these days and the girls are learning how exactly to pick up their things.  it's a win win.

. 235/365 .

my morning cup-o-joe.

he's my new best friend.  no, he's not replacing you, jasey.  but he does wake me up in the morning.  and we know how you and mornings go.  i love you.

SO ... my favorite man and i decided it was time.  i've always wanted to be a coffee drinker and i'm going to make it happen this time.  day two and i'm loving it.  i actually look forward to it.  ok, so some honesty here, i am not IN love with it just yet, but i look foward to it and i sip on my one little cup for an hour.  sometimes it'll require reheating, but i'm ok with that.  it just feels good to grab my new white coffee mug and get to drinking. 

now, i knew if i was going to drink coffee, that'd it would have to have lots of the good stuff in it.  it couldn't taste like coffee.  so i put a few packets of splenda and some skinny white chocolate mocha creamer.  yumm-O. 

it may be because i'm nearing the big three-oh!  i'm just preparing myself for adulthood.  guess it's time to grow up.

. words to remember .

tonight, on our way to gymnastics, the girls were chatting away in the back seat.  i swear the conversation never stops!  karsyn said "mykah, before you get married, you can do one of these things."  i had NO idea where she was going with this!!!  she said "you can take pictures.  you can lay on the porch and take pictures.  or ... climb a tree.  before you get married you need to do that."

i could not make this stuff up. 

. {karsyn} august 22nd .

. closet organization .

the girls closet was in desperate need of some love and mykah's sad little cheapo dresser was in need of a trash truck to pick it up.  poor dresser.  i actually ended up reusing it in the playroom for a changing table, but it has still seen better days. 

ok, let's get to the point here.  here's the girls closet after.  silly me forgot to take before pictures.  i never think of that till after the fact. 

they have always had their own side of the closet.  karsyn with hot pink hangers.  mykah with light pink.  i wanted them to each have their own space for their clothes without having two big dressers in the room.  we just don't have space for that.  especially not now with their two new beds in the room.  so we bought this 9 cube organizer at lowe's and it's perfect.  karsyn's clothes are in the pink cubes, mykah's in green.  and there is one extra pink one where we keep swimsuits and sunglasses.

the came labeling.  i wanted them to have durable, but not permanet labels.  i want to be able to move around, change up, and add to what we already have.  truth be told, their room actually stays picked up.  i am definitely a mom who makes them have a picked up room before bed at night.  their clothes are always in their place.  i constantly go through things and weed out what we don't need or what's too small.  i made the labels in microsoft publisher, cut them out, and laminated them.  i used ribbon to tie them to the handles of the cubes.

finding clip art that was suitable was the hardest part.  (ps.  be VERY careful when searching for underwear or panty clip art.  just trust me.)  each girl has her own panty drawer, sock drawer, pajama drawer (labeled with moon and stars), shorts, and then there is a swimsuit drawer.  i chose to do pictures so that they can put away their own clothes and so they know what goes where.  and, IT WORKS!  they now put away their own laundry all by themselves.  i do the hanging clothes.

and then they both have a shoe bucket next to their "dresser".  so easy.  they know where things go.  they know where to find what they want.  and this mama is happy!  one big thing that helps keep this organized though is that we have a big playroom separate from their bedroom.  so we don't have toys to organize in here. it's strictly for beds and clothes.  they do have a small desk that i'll blog about later. 

. 234/365 .

i am attempting a new schedule for myself right now, complete with waking up early in the morning to have my quiet time, coffee time with my honey, and blog.  i've been an on again off again blogger, and i'm hoping this will keep me more on schedule with things.  plus, i like the quiet!!

. 233/365 .

very few times can you find me on the other side of the camera, but because i bought a new dress and it matched the girls, i decided why not.  so here we are before church today!  not too shabby. 

. 232/365 .

my sweet girl loves to play with these peg boards and rubber bands.  it's been a great tool to learn to spell and write letters.

. 231/365 .

this little guy took up residence in our front yard the other day.  i had the sprinkler on and he was having a grand ol' time splashing in a little pudding that accumulated in a small ditch we have in the yard.  he splashed the entire time the sprinkler was going.  i wanted to keep it going just to keep the little birdie happy.  i'm sure he needed some relief from the heat!

. 230/365 .

here's my dining room chalkboard right now.  it's my motto at this time of my life.  our life.  our home.  i'm trying to keep it simple.  i've always been a "less is more" kind of person, but had way too much clutter hiding in places.  i'm working on that and trying to have as little as possible around the house.  it's hard to do, but very much possible. 

. 229/365 .

my poppy made me this shelf and i absolutely love it.  it fits so great in my kitchen and gives me a place to store small things like nail clippers, extra keys, chapstick, and who knows what else i already have stored away.  decorating it is a work in progress though!  i did add the glass knobs, which are my favorite, along with bibles that belonged to both of our grandparents. 

. 228/365 .

aren't my flowers pretty?  my sweet girl picked them out herself from the dollar store and insisted they go in my kitchen.  honestly, i REALLY like them.  i have no pink in there, but it touches up my neutral kitchen just perfectly.  and reminds me of her.  which makes me smile.

. 227/365 .

this isn't a very good picture.  at all.  but i love the flower that shows up when the rolls are rising before they get baked. 

. 226/365 .

this is our life these days.  i always wanted my girls to LOVE something.  to pick one kind of toy or collection, anything to really enjoy.  right now, that thing is barbies.  we play them every single day and they end up all over the bedroom.  it has also become the one thing that i can take away when they are fighting, not listening, etc. that they actually care about.

. 225/365 .

meet the newest resident in our neighborhood.  no, i will not claim him (or her.  we're not sure and i refuse to look.).  we'll call him and he.  he acts like a boy sometimes.  and not very lady like, using my front flower bed as his litter box.  we call him "part time".  mainly because we think he has another family somewhere else.  he's way too friendly with small children to be a stray.  he comes and goes.  does as he pleases.  and i'd like to think he is keeping the snakes away.  that's the only reason i haven't chased him off yet.  plus, the neighbors on either side of us feed him.  so i have no choice but to accept him for who he is.

. 224/365 .

this just makes me happy.

. 223/365 .

i caught karsyn being a little sneaky ...  caught red handed ...

she was starving apparently.  and, she's definitely my girl because she prefers salty snacks over sweets.  mykah goes head first into the cake and chocolate.