Wordless Wednesday: Fun at the Farm

A little over a month ago a very talented friend of mine did a photo shoot for me; the special occasion was my son's first birthday but we threw in some family shots and, of course, a few of my Li'l Diva! For those of you that don't know, my hubby was raised on a farm. I just had to do a farm theme (complete with the little red tractor AND the little red wagon!) as I knew he would love it. I just wish he could have been here to be a part of the shoot. Ah, such is the life of a military family!

Anyways, I have finally gotten around to putting the pictures on my computer. They are just way too adorable not to share even if I am rather late in doing so!

Love!

This just melts my heart every time!

My Handsome Little Man is ONE!!!!

Happy Little Family (minus Daddy)

My Beautiful Little Diva

Chasing after the kitty

Sweeties!

Swinging!

Little Country Boy!

So sweet...

Mr. Smiley on his Tractor!

Too Beautiful!

My New Love Affair

Pinterest, oh, Pinterest, how do I love thee! How my heart quickeneth at the thought of you and my visage doth glow at the sight of you. You hath filled a void in mine life that I did not know existed until you entered my life. When we are apart I await, with bated breath, our next encounter. You are, to me, better than all the websites in all of the World Wide Web. Even the great Facebook doth not hold a candle to your wonders. You hold my interests, my fascination, my heart, and much too much of my time. You are my hero and I, your most humble slave.

All kidding aside - Pinterest truly is my newest and fondest addiction. I first heard of it a few months back but, after seeing how many of my friends claimed addiction to it, I decided I didn't want to get "involved." No matter how much toting of what a wonderful website it was could make me give in; I already have my too-much-time-consuming addiction to Facebook, I so did not need another addiction!

And then a friend sent me an invitation. I debated just deleting the email but after seeing a super cute project she had done with her son and finding out that she got the idea from Pinterest, I decided I had to check it out for myself.

It was love at first sight

A virtual pinboard to share ideas and recipes and personal styles and decorating ideas and craft ideas and funny sayings and awesome pictures and so, so much more - all in these perfectly compartmentalized labeled personalized boards. A way for me to save the websites and pictures of things that I adore without putting a bookmark on my computer toolbar and having to worry about losing it.  ::Insert hysterical squealing here::

The best part? They have an app for that!!! Thank you, iPhone. Now, I can spend hours on my phone browsing my friends pins and searching for anything and everything I can think of.

My poor facebook account has taken a back seat as my time is suddenly consumed with pinning. Within two weeks of getting addicted joining Pinterest, I had both of my sisters on and loving it and my mom even asked me to send her an invite. It is merely too wonderful to resist!

And now, I'll have to ask you to please excuse me as I see that there are new pins that I am simply compelled to check out!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Wild Child's Moms Day Out

So today we, the Wild Childs Mom Daycare and Homeschool (ok, so I totally made that up), got several moms and kiddos together and went to a very hands-on children's museum, The Building for Kids and with 24 plus kids and 10 moms we were able to get in at an awesome discount. Total and absolute blast!

My silly Kiddos!

Playing around

Most of our group

Playing the nursery...with some rather "detailed" babies :-/

Going down the slide

Hiding in the Pumpkin

Happy, everyone???

Cousins :-)

Lunch Time!

My Beautiful Little Diva

They loved the falling balls!

Water Room!

They LOVE playing in the water!

One of the Favorite Rooms!

My oldest sister and my baby boy :-)

Sunday Confessions: The Dark Places of My Mind

There are few places so dark and mysterious as my mind. Traveling it is like trying to find your way through one of those life size mazes that I'm forever getting lost in. In the dark. With no map. And only a pen light to guide you.

For real. It's no wonder that my husband is always saying that he can't figure me out!

Anything that enters my mind is pretty much destined to get lost. It's a miracle when anything finds it's way out correctly.

Yesterday is a prime (and slightly embarrassing) example of this. I was so excited about a Girls Day Out that I was having with a couple of gal friends of mine that I've known since...well, forever, but haven't been able to see much over the last 10 years. Starbucks, pedicures and then lunch - all child-free!!!

I was terribly proud of myself for arriving at Starbucks not even a full five minutes late. This is an incredible feat for me as I am horrible at time management; usually I'm about ten to fifteen minutes behind schedule. I like to blame this on my children. I was even more pleased to see that I had arrived before my friends so they wouldn't even realize that I was late.

I rushed in, used the restroom, then stood in line, ordered my drink and waited. By this time it was almost 10 minutes past our agreed on meeting time and I hadn't heard from either of my friends. I started having a sinking feeling that I was at the wrong Starbucks. A quick check on my phone confirmed that I was supposed to be at the Murdock St. Starbucks and I was at the Koeller St. Starbucks. Whoops!

I called Jen telling her that she was going to laugh at me.

"Ok?" she said

"I'm here at Starbucks...I just came to the wrong one."

"Did you think that that was this weekend?"

::More of that sinking feeling:: "Umm...yes?"

"It's next weekend - I'm out of town helping decorate for a wedding right now."

Yeah... "You're really going to laugh at me then because I'm not only at the wrong Starbucks - I'm here at the wrong week!!!"


Needless to say, she did  laugh at me. And we got it clarified that next Saturday was our Girls Day Out! My poor feet are still pedicure-less but I greatly enjoyed my Starbucks White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha and a little unexpected alone time shopping!

And? I get to look forward to another Starbucks coffee and a pedicure and lunch with friends!!!

Wordless Wednesday: The Little Farmers

Today a few of us stay-at-home moms got together and went to The Little Farmer. By few I mean there were four moms with twelve kids all ages 6 and younger. The kids were 6 and under. We won't say how old the moms are!

Anyways, we fed the goats, played in the playground, ate apples, and just in general had fun!

The Little Farmer!

Getting ready to feed the goats

The Little Diva surprised me by LOVING feeding the goats

The goats loved being fed

If you look very closely, the Little Diva is behind the steering wheel!

Sitting in a really big chair - the Little Diva was not impressed

My handsome Smiley Monkey

This is my friend, Sarah...she's actually older than me. Mother of FOUR boys.
You'd never guess it, right?

Riding the tractors!

Such pretty pumpkins!

My favorite little pumpkins!

Eating an apple!

A chilly but fun day :-)

Wordless Wednesday: Mommy's Little Helper

Yesterday, I heard my two year old daughter in the kitchen singing "Clean up, clean up." Immediately I was concerned. It turned out I had good reason to be.

The Little Diva had found the Ajax under the kitchen sink, dumped it all over the floor, and was using a kleenex to "clean up."

The Little Diva using the Ajax to "clean up" the floor

Needless to say, the kitchen floor is now very clean. And the Ajax has found a new home on the top shelf of the pantry.

Showing Mommy her "messy" hands

All in a day's work for a mommy...but at least my Little Diva is helpful!

An Award Winning Smile

A couple months ago my sister told me about a little girl from her son's class that had just been diagnosed with cancer. I recognized her name as one of my nephew's little friends...a sweet, funny girl from all accounts. A precious child who had already had more health problems than seemed right or fair, yet still maintained an upbeat attitude.

Mercede

When I found out little Mercede's mom had started a Facebook account to keep people updated on her fight with leukemia I just had to add her. It was probably the best friend request I have ever made. Over and over I have been convicted and inspired by this amazing little girl. Looking through her pictures I was amazed to see that she was smiling in nearly every picture. A smile that was real...not just put on for the camera. At one time some people believed that having your picture taken captured a piece of your soul. Looking at the pictures of Mercede makes me believe it. A piece of who she is shines through in every picture. Sometimes she looks tired. But you can see the life and the courage and the joy emanating from those beautiful eyes.

Helping with Ice Cream Sundaes

Snuggled in her bed

Nothing inspired me or convicted me more than a recent update from her mom which read "A quote from Mercede today 'Mommy, if I ever win an award for anything, I want it to be for having the biggest smile of any kid that ever had cancer!'"

That quote stabbed at me. Yes, my life is difficult right now. My husband is deployed. I'm trying to balance a life as a single mom and yet not a single mom. To be a good wife from what feels like a million miles away. To keep my marriage strong. To just survive this next year. And it is so easy to get discouraged and complain. Too easy to have a "woe is me" attitude.

Here is a little girl who is in a fight for her life...trying to beat the odds against a disease that is raging through her small body trying to drain the life out of her. And her desire is to be known as the child with the biggest smile of any kid that has ever had cancer.

Mercede with her Dad

Kind of makes all my problems seem rather minuscule in comparison. Over and over, when I am having a bad day, those words come back to me, reminding me that there are people going through bigger struggles than I am and yet keeping a positive attitude. There is a little girl with big problems than mine who is still keeping a smile on her sweet face. It's shaming really. But inspiring.

When I messaged Mercede's mom asking for permission to use her pictures, she told me that people have told her that she is a strong mother but she attributes her strength to watching her daughter.

Here is a little girl who deserves our prayers. She deserves to beat the fight against cancer. She deserves to live. And she deserves that award for the biggest and most beautiful smile of any kid that ever had cancer!

An awarding winning smile!

**If you want to do something to help Mercede and her family, please consider helping them with their Light the Night Walk. And - of course- Pray, Pray, PRAY!!!**