Charlie Breeanna

She is just one amazing little girl. She makes me laugh. She makes me smile. She is the light of my life.
She says silly stuff like "momma, let me think really hard before I decide on my guess." " Heavenly father, You know me. You really know me." " I selected three that I would like to have." (What four, I mean five year old, says stuff like that?"
She says thank you to everyone for everything. She thanks me for clean underwear.





She loves mushrooms and green peppers. She has an amazing imagination. She loves her brother. She asks me questions that really make me think. She has the best laugh. And, she is MINE. Happy 5th Birthday baby girl.

FAith Sisters

LIfe has been crazy...but isn't it always?
Here are my last two faith sister's layouts.
the first one is by hobbies.


The second looks worse than it really is. I have a ton of friends but not one that I do things with on a regular basis. We are all so busy these days that I don't see anyone outside of how I know them. For example, I have friends at work that I only see when I am at work. I have friends at church that I only see when I am at church. This layout is all about that frustration. I am frustrated that I don't have a BFF. But then again, maybe this is the place where I am at this "time" in my life. Also, I am frustrated at all the people I see with "girls" nights or "girls" weekends. I just don't have a group of friends to do these kinds of things with. Maybe (hopefully) this is just a current season in my life and this will change.

The Princess, The Prince, and the Dragon

Here is our latest play date. I love how Dusty "gets" into his role. Do you see our lovely castle backdrop from Charlie's birthday last year. We have gotten a lot of use out of that sheet.

I need scrappy friends!!

I have this great space. I have tons of supplies. And, I can never seem to find a time for anyone to come over and play. I know it is just that life is so-oo-oo busy. I get that everyone has busy lives. I just wish I could find a group to help me find time to scrapbook. It is so hard to stay on task when it is just me. I get distracted by all the "to do's" that I have in the house. So, please Lord, send me someone to scrap with!

More Mud

I had a class Wednesday. When I called Dusty at lunch time to ask him a question he told me about his "mistake." "Honey, I sent the kids in the back yard." My first thought was "has the mud hole dried up." But I did not say anything but oh. There clothes are ruined but they are having a great time. I didn't realize it was muddy. My husband is very smart but not when it comes to long term planning. He just doesn't think about the future. We have an area in our back yard that is all dirt b/c the kids dig in it. I am okay with this but I have to remind myself of such hole when it rains. And it has been raining here a lot. Which is why I have not let the kids out. I don't want to clean up the mess. Doesn't this guy just look like a clay statue?




And this one here. He is taking a bath, a mud bath.


In this one you can see the mud dripping off of Charlie's skirt. And, that she is ankle deep in the mud. I don't think this mud hole will dry up anytime soon.


But this is the one that just makes me laugh. B is giving Charlie a bath. He is trying to wash her will mud. How funny is that? The best part about this story is this: My amazing husband took pictures, gave the kids a bath, mopped the floors, and cleaned the bathtub. Who cares that their clothes are still sitting on the back porch. I don't know that I could get them clean anyway.

Sweet husband!

Last night was a "normal" date night. Dinner and a play. Only, Dusty has a friend that comes into the Olive Garden. He wanted to "do something special" for Dusty so he gave him a Limousine for four hours. Who does stuff like that? We had a really nice driver named Carl to help us out for the evening. Carl picked us up at 6pm. He has Dr. Pepper chilling in the cooler and drove us to the Iguana Lounge. We split an appetizer for dinner. We had a mini taco plate: Chicken, fish, and beef. We also had the BEST salsa in the world. We ate two bowls while waiting for our tacos. Then we went to Carpenter Square Theater for a play. (Really we went to the Civic Center b/c CST flooded the first of June. Afterwards we came home. A great evening of fun.

Beating myself Up

Today was a good day and an Alexander day all rolled into one. If you don't know what an Alexander day is you must read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Today seemed to be one of those days that put me in tears and had me questioning if I was a good mom. ( I won't give you my whole story). I hate those days. I have really been struggling with my kids lately. I have the two best kids in the world. My four year old is so smart (I know everyone thinks their kid is smart). She asks questions like what is a slave and says that her babies are communicating when she has them close to each other. She is very curious. She is vivacious and full of life. And then there is B (23 months). He is funny. He is silly. He has the BEST laugh. He is persistent. He likes to figure things out. And yet these two great kids do not listen! Charlie, B it is lunch time come inside (7 times). Sit down in your chair (10 times). And still nothing... Do not throw food at the table. (food goes flying). It seems that my kids (great kids) just don't listen and especially to me. We went to D's parents today. His sister was there. Her kids always seem to mind and are quiet and still.


Mine are CRAZY!!! (And please don't think that I don't love this about them but somedays --like today-- it just leaves me beating myself up) At Dusty's mom's today she allowed us to play cards with grandpa. Thank you for that. She was "watching" the kids. They began playing in the mud. Okay, they were having fun! A LOT Of fun. I guess I can' t get too mad even though both kids have used all their clean clothes already. This will be the second time they have had to change clothes today. They are covered. I grabbed my camera and headed outside to capture their joy only to have Charlie throw mud at me. So, here is my dilemma. I begin to get frustrated with the fact that my kids have not listened all day and now, she was disrespectful and threw mud at me. None of the other kids threw mud on thier parents, just mine. Dusty on the other hand sees this as a great thing. "Amy, this tells me that you play with her. I don't think she is being disrespectful at all."



I really wish I could agree with him. I really wish I were not at the point today that I cried and beat myself up b/c my kids don't listen and Charlie threw mud at me. But on a good note, don't those three just look like they are having the BEST time.

Scrappy stuff

Here is my DT layout for Faith sisters. I made this for my room instead of a layout for my book.


I am not good at remembering to be consistent w/ details. I know this about myself and so when I had my kids I was determined not to have a "baby book" that would be empty w/ the exception of sporadic entries. Instead I have a journal for each child. A journal that I write in randomly. I might write what they did that day, a top 10 things list that I love about them, some of their favorites or things they are saying at the time. I knew that with the randomness of me, I could handle this. I was talking about this with a friend. She said it was a great idea and that she needed to get some journals for each of the kids. I surprised her last Sunday w/ one for each of her three kids and an extra for the one they are beginning the adoption process on. I know it seems silly, but I just love doing stuff like this.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had the best day! Dusty took the day off to spend with me. He wanted it to be perfect. It was! While Dusty made breakfast, scrambled eggs and toast (my favorite) the kids and I cuddled on the couch and watched nick jr. Who cares what we watched. We just had a great time cuddling. We ate breakfast as a family and then cleaned up together. While I went to pick up the babysitter. Dusty cleaned the kitchen. Darby came and sat w/ the kids while we went to the Mall for Chinese. Yes, I LOVE the orange chicken from the Chinese place in the food court at the Quail Springs Mall. We got Orange Julius for the ride home. The kids and I went to a Stephen Fite concert (He is one of my favorite kids musicians.) at the library while Dusty mopped the floors and baked cakes (and snacks for later) and made dinner. We ate meatloaf for dinner and lemon cake with lemon icing for dessert. And then I headed out to my "room". I had three amazing women over: Susan, Kristen, and Laurie. (I am sad that none of the pictures turned out) They prayed for me: Me as a mom, Me as a wife, Me as a friend, Me as a teacher, Me. It was one of the most amazing things I have been a part of. I am so thankful that the Lord has put prayer on my heart. And, I prayed for each of them, my friends. I pray that God will continue to work with them in my life. I pray that as this year goes by I will have the chance to get to know each of them a little better. And then after our pray time, we ate yummy fruit stuff (Hawaiian Delight from Pamper Chef w/ different fruit), brownies, and Crystal light peach tea and played Imagine If while we visited. When they left Dusty and I cuddled on the couch and watched Deadliest Catch. It was the perfect day full of life and blessings from the Lord. The perfect birthday. Hello 33 I am ready for the amazing blessings that the Lord has for me.

father's day (yes, late)

We went to Dusty's parents for Father's Day. We had a wonderful meal. Dusty wanted to go "shooting" with his dad. It's got to be a boy thing. I just don't get the "fun" of taking a gun and shooting a roll of toilet paper. While the guys were shooting him mom, the kids, and I were in the front room visiting. We did not clear the table from dinner.



We found a sweet little monster who helped himself to the bowl of cool whip.





I just LOVE this cheesy grin.

I know that I have not said so in a while...But I LOVE this little girl. She said one night (june 22nd) in the car when we were driving home, "Mom, do you have a stencil." I told her I did and that after I put B to bed I would get it for her, but she would have to wait. We talked a little bit about what kind of stencil she wanted and through this conversation I realized we were not talking about the same thing. "Mom, you can be my stencil. You can sit so still and I can draw you."
"Charlie, you mean a model"
And so, I sat and she drew. "Mom, can you look this way?
Turn your arm like this.
Hold still.
Let me measure you leg. Yes, yes, mine needs to be longer.
Let me see your eyes. No, take off your glasses. Yes, You have green eyes."
She spent an hour drawing me. I don't think it is the mommy in me. I don't think it is the teacher in me. But, I think this is the BEST picture I have ever seen.


"Oh, mommy, I almost forgot your freckles. Hold still so that I can count them..1 2 3 4 .....36 hundred .Can I just pretend that I counted them all that high? It is too many for me to count.
I LOVE this little girl.