End of Summer.

So it is cooler now and the weather is better to spend more time outside.

They don't have a sandbox so they found a sandy dirt pile at the end of our walkway where the dirt settled. Thank goodness we are in nc and the dirt is sandy in some places. I guess we do have red clay dirt too, but thank goodness this is sandy.  I don't care as long as they are having fun. I enjoy watching them play.

Shovels, dirt, tractors, buckets. What more do u need!

She might be dainty and soft spoken, but the girl loves dirt and a sand.

James, he loves his dump trucks and taught his sissy how to load dirt and dump it to make a pile.
This is the best part of life watching my kids be happy, play , and grow.

Featured Photobook on Shutterfly

I made this book for Samantha on shutterfly and posted it to the public gallery.  It is now a featured album! Very exciting.

Click here to view this photo book.

Pictures of Me... and a Little of Me Messing Around With My Camera.

Well, I got a lot of work done today that I have been wanting to do.  Then I took a shower and got myself cleaned up and dressed. Put my game face on. The kids were at grandma's today.  I was getting ready to pick up my keys and walk out the door.  Well.....  My camera was sitting on the chair beside the door and I picked it up.  I decided I'm always taking pictures of everyone and everything else and I wanted to take some pictures of myself. I was the only one home, so I put up a mirror on the balcony of our house and messed around with my camera. 






I look a little pissed in some of them.  Ha Ha!  It is kindof hard taking pictures of yourself, LOL!  It was fun though.  I took a gazillion of them.  Then I tried doing a little color splash on photobucket, I could sit for hours and mess with pictures.



Later I went to eat pizza at grandma and grandpa's with the kids.  James just had to spend the night.  So, Sam and I left and went for a drive in the country close by our house.  I of course had my camera with me and took some pics.
This is one of my fav's, I guess because of the coloring in it. I color splashed this one too. It was taken at an abandon farm house. I know, I know. It's just an old rusty tank, but there was just something about it that caught my eye.

The sun was setting and this beautiful barn caught my eye too!

I drive by this old building all of the time and always think to myself, "I wish I had my camera." I had my camera this time!


I love this time of year.  Everything is just sooo beautiful.  I drive by these places all of the time.  Until I had my camera and started paying attention, I never realized exactly how beautiful it really was.  I LOVE living in the country.  I knew we lived in beautiful country, but WOW!

Forces of Nature.

Besides my kids and my husband, I would have to say that nature is one of my favorite things to relish in life.  The beauty of it draws me in like an addiction.  I can't get enough. 

The contrasting palette of color outside my front door just pulls me in.  It doesn't matter what I am doing, I will stop and take it all in.  We often sit on the front porch swing and enjoy the view and sounds of nature.  The deep deciduous and evergreen trees mixed with the contrasting tones of earth and the beauty of foliage and blooms as though an artist swirled his canvas with an array of colors. On this canvas called Earth, the artist's name as many believe is God.  That beauty brings such a peace and warmth to my soul. At times, I feel as though I can see beauty in things that others don't see.




The path to my Heaven on Earth......

This path leads to an organic masterpiece spaced out just to our liking.  It leads to the vegetation awaiting to be harvested and enjoyed.  We planted it as a family and the kids learned that the plants need sunshine and water to grow.  It was a great teaching experience.  So here are some products of our labor......






Knowing that I can grow these remarkable beauties from the earth just blows me away at times.  It is just amazing how God planned that out.  For me to get to teach my kids something new makes me feel like I am doing what I am suppose to in life and creating memories for them. While doing that I get to enjoy the many loves in my life.

Birthday Bash!

So, I decided to take my camera to my nieces birthday party.  Riley turned 4 today.  Her party was at the park on Saturday this past weekend, so the kids had a blast.


Everyone enjoyed the Thomas Cake!

James enjoyed strawberry pie and playing with Emma. Samantha and Emma played with Daisy.






James just had to help Riley open her presents and help her play with them too!  Riley wanted a Spiderman bicycle.



Feeding the ducks was a huge highlight of the party!


Here come Daddy and Sammy to join in on the feeding frenzy!  I love this picture!


Wow! Huge step! Sammy usually cries and avoids Uncle Steve.


The crowd dwindled during the feeding of the ducks.  After the feeding frenzy, we visited for a few more minutes and everyone packed up and went home.  It was a good time.  It's all about the kids!  If the kids have a good time, so does everyone else. 

Memorial Day!

So we didn't go anywhere special to celebrate Memorial Day.  We enjoyed it from our own back yard.  We didn't have anyone over or anything, it was just us.  Sometimes I like it like that.  I haven't gotten to spend an entire day with Jamie in a long while.  We just did what we wanted to do.  We did drop the kids off at my parents for a few hours earlier in the day. My parents love it when the kids come over and play. Jamie and I went and got lunch and went to the mall, just the 2 of us.  We spent lots of money which is always fun, right?  I bought new curtains for my living room with beautiful earth tones to match our rustic house. Then we went by the store and got ribeye steaks and potatoes. 

James wanted to spend the night with maw-maw and paw-paw.  So we went and picked up Sam and went back home and began marinating our feast.  I love the feeling of "cooking out".  It is just a relaxing atmosphere. There is absolutely nothing like enjoying food and your favorite beverage.   I also enjoyed my new brightly colored cushions I bought too!

Need I say more!

Summertime Fun. The Joys of Life (cont'd)

Even though it is not quite Summer yet, we are getting started early.  It felt like summer yesterday when we were making these. There is nothing like trying new things.  My mom gave me these popsicle trays.  You can put whatever liquid you want to in them to make popsicles.  It is pretty neat.  We used Welch's Peach Medley and Cherry Juice.  They tasted really yummy.  I love coming up with things that the kids really enjoy. That always makes my day.  Just another memory added to the book of memories I have enjoyed thus far.

James absolutely enjoyed pouring the juice into the molds.  If I wouldn't have let him do it, it would've been a battle.  You know, the battle of the toddler who has his mind set on something and doesn't give up until he has his way.  No harm done.  Put down some paper towels and go for it.  It's nothing a little soap and water can't fix anyways.