Emily Lynn

Goodness, how we love this gorgeous girl. She is smart, witty, clever, sneaky, strong willed, busy, and beautiful. Everyone is blessed to know her, and she's only almost 4! And...she is a great big sister!

19 months

Yes, I am totally late on Kara's 19 month pictures. They should have been posted on Sept 7th- and yes, I think it's the 27th. But here they are, finally! Most all of these are running pictures- she didn't want to stand still for even a moment!!

The happiest of 19 month olds!

I'm Blogging....

I had a very fun Wildtree party last night at my friend Stacey's house. She has been a sweet friend for about 9 years. Afterwards, I stood in their kitchen until almost 11pm, talking life with she and her husband. They asked me some good, real life questions; the kind of questions that my friend Adrianne always asks me when we talk.  These questions aren't frivolous, "how are you?" questions, they are more specific. "What do you do for fun?" "What is your creative outlet?" Questions that make me look inside.

Stacey's husband said, "Ari, you should blog."
I said, "I do. Pictures of my kids so that my mom can see them."
"Have you ever read Jen Hatmaker?"
"No. But I've heard of her."
"Ari, you should blog," He said again.

So here I am. No pics of my adorable girls. Just a quick look at me, my heart, my mind, today.

This morning I read Proverbs 10:11 (today's the 10th, hence chapter 10).
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.... 

A fountain of life, huh? Are my words life giving? When I get so easily angered by my sweet children for acting like children and not adults, my words are not very beautiful. I picture these words like a quiet spring; a heavy rainstorm. Words that gently tell the truth, or strongly give nourishment to a burned out, tired friend.

Today, how can I make my mouth a fountain of life, even if I'm not feeling very righteous in the moment? 

Lord, fill me up with You so that my mouth overflows of Your goodness. I am ugly inside, I'm tired on the outside. But through You, I can give life to those around me.

Newborn pics

I went to see a dear friend today to take pics of her newborn daughter. This was a first for me, but I loved it and had a great time! Here is a little sneak peak of "Sugar Booger..."

Goodbye American Dream...

A few months ago, we made a change.

We said goodbye to the American dream....and got rid of our white picket fence!

 We loved how it looked, but needed a bit more privacy for our kids.

 So we got a new one!

It took a little adjusting too, but we love it and glad we said goodbye to the old, rotten, needed some paint white picket fence.

First Day of MDO 2013

Emily started back to Mother's Day Out last week, and so of course, I took a few pics of her!

(if my Photoshop skills were better, I'd take out the cords plugged into the wall below)

And of course, had to catch a few of the sisters together!

Love my girls!!

Emily was excited for school, went right into her new class, but wanted me to stay with her. 2nd day- she ran right in without me! That's my girl!