mixed up mantle

i have always wanted a house with a mantle. though we have lived in 6 houses, there has only been one mantle. now that i have one.. i can't go back. when we move to jax, should there be no mantle... i will have to find a DIY project to make one myself! it's just the focal point of the room. sometimes it has family photos on it. sometimes it's simple with candles. but honestly i think i like the seasonal versions best. pottery barn worthy.. but with out the price. so it started like this. but it needed something.


i like to use some stuff i already have, but a trip to Micheal's i.s usually in order to add a little something, in this case - sparkle :)


here's the sparkle... Love it!!





its never really done. it changes all the time. i like to tweak till i'm happy with it. i think i'm done with my fall mantle now :) the last tweak was added today- it's probably a permanent fixture. i LOVE our new family photo!

today is... blessings

When Matt is on a trip Garrett takes his job as "man of the house" very seriously. He naturally is protective of me, it's sweet. So he tries to help and with his "very mature 7 year old" voice he reminds Addie to take her plate to the counter. She follows her big brother's lead. He picks Micah up when he starts crying and sings him the little song he made up. Micah giggles :) He gathered the trash & took out tonight. Sometimes I am shocked by how much he has grown up.

After a somewhat challenging interaction with Addison.. ok fine.. she pooped her pants again and i'm just over it. there. I throw some chicken nuggets in the microwave and sit down to stop the crying by feeding Micah rice cereal and a new favorite.. carrots. I wasn't really paying much attention to what Garrett was doing up at the counter until he asked if he could use "a sharp knife". Ok, attention goes to him. and i ask what he's doing. He simply says "i thought I would make a salad to go with the chickie nuggets. Can i use a sharp knife to cut carrots?" So, I smile and say "of course".

He mixed a bowl of lettuce, carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes with ranch dressing and served all three of us. Dinner became calm and chatty. Addie successfully moved passed her tears to laugh with Garrett. Micah ate the Entire container of carrots and rice cereal.

Big brother had some extra reading and snuggle time tonight. :) Sometimes the biggest blessings come from sweet 7 year old boys who just love their mama. and i am always good with that.

today is.. blogging for dummies

so i'm encouraged by comments on here and facebook :) thanks guys! now i need some help. point me in the right direction so i can figure out how to 1. up load my pics. 2. up load other sites 3. write a little bio about me ;)

i take a lot of pics with my phone... is there a good way to upload them?

ok .. those 3 things should be good. I'll work on it, but will gladly take helpful tips!

Today is... a first

True or False? I have often thought about starting a blog.. true. But as i have rationalized before What makes for the FIRST post? What is important enough, crafty enough, a cute enough picture of the kiddos, etc. The answer didn't fit nicely into a box. No one could give me the go ahead. Still though, I thought about it. Sometimes even composing posts in my head (silly, i know) when I want to share what my darling 3 have done or said. when we craft. when i want to remember a moment (shocker, i don't journal). or on the off chance i have a profound thought. I'm not witty. i don't spell well or use correct punctuation. I don't have the God given ability to write like my friend Danielle. or the heartfelt passion of my friend Julie. or the blog know how like Aubrey (if i did, their names would be highlighted and you could check out their blogs! baby steps). still though i keep thinking .. i want to try this out. so we'll see. it may be a flop. I don't want to feel like it's one more thing i have to do, but rather something i want to do.

Today is... another day that just didn't go the way i had hoped. it wasn't a bad day at all. just one that if i sat back and analyzed what i accomplished.. i would be disappointed. i got spit up on for the first time before 9 and throughout the day he added to that perfume. the poor guy is teething so he also smeared saliva and snot all over my shirt and hair. not going to lie, i felt pretty gross tonight. So I'm not sure why I chose to start this tonight. It certainly isn't the wrap up of a stellar day. Nothing truly fabulous happened. unless i count the breakfast i shared with friends. the little bit of crafting i did during Micah's nap. Addie running to me when i picked her up at preschool to show me the "bat hat" she made while proudly proclaiming "bat starts with b! and even banana starts with b!" or the dinner i didn't have to cook because my husband brought it home for me. or the chuckles i had listening to addie sing when she didn't know i could hear and watching her dance when she didn't know i could see her. seeing the pride in garrett's eyes after football practice as he told me of a hit he took that landed him on his back and he got "right back up!" or when garrett told me tonight that he was going to look up Jesus first when he gets to heaven so he can ask all his questions... further stating that he knew the streets would be gold but he didn't know how he was going to know which house belonged to Jesus. or when Micah finally fell asleep (at 10:20!) .. in my arms. :)

yes, today is... normal. but it is good.