speaking words of love

i know valentine's day is over and that it has been a little over a month that i posted.

life seems to be slipping by these days.

if you are still here reading this lil blog of mine,  i thank you for staying.

this valentine's day i decided to make my boys a heart banner.

one day while at my sister's house this past summer, i picked up one of her books on parenting. the author shared a story on how she decorated her children's rooms for valentine's day. She wrote words of encouragement to her children on hearts and posted them on their door. i thought to myself, what a great idea. far too often i forget to point out how wonderful i think they are. i know it, but do they?

i decided to make this heart banner for each of my boys.

i saw several similar ideas floating around on pinterest.

i chose words that describe qualities that i love about them and stamped them on the front of cut-out hearts. i used scrapbook paper i purchased at michael's.

on the back, i wrote selected bible verses to pray over each of my boys.

my little one especially liked it. he enjoyed reading the words and it also prompted a good conversation about the meaning of each bible verse. He looked forward to reading the new bible verse each day.

at first i thought that these banners might be a bit "girlie" for my boys, but i know that they felt encouraged and most of all loved. It is my hope that my boys learn that they are loved by God.

i just wanted to share with you an amazing book if you are a parent raising young children.

i admit at times parenting is hard! this book is a game changer. you should read it.

* disclaimer, i staged this picture and added the comforter and girlie pillows.

 by no means does my son's room look this girlie. my son would probably not be happy if he knew this was his bed.

give mom some time off during the day and this is what happens.

thanks for visiting.

carrots

 earlier this spring we planted carrots among other veggies.

we also planted tomatoes which were doing well until max got a taste of them.

 number two decided to harvest his carrots today.

he was excited to see the carrots.

riley is such a curious puppy.

we gave hime one to see what he would do.

i guess a carrot is a healthy treat for puppies.

number 2 shoot

i read somewhere that in order for your photography to get better you must practice.

practice by taking lots of pictures, like thousands of hours of shooting.

that is something that i need to do so i decided to have a mini shoot with number two.

i have to coax and bribe my children to let me take pictures of them.
number one said no.

number two agreed so there i went dragging my chair to the backyard.
this is what i got

only one overexposed picture with a half smile.

then it went downhill when he did not want the sun in his eyes
and this is what i got.

a blurry shot of a boy who wanted no more pictures taken.

 max was curious as to all the fuss going on.

this was probably the best shot i got. but then i also got this

 i guess he too did not want his picture taken.

it's not easy taking pictures of your own.

i hope i have better luck next time.

sneak peak

the other day i snuck these pictures of number two reading to the dogs

riley was underneath the bench licking his toes.

max was quite the listener.

i had to sneak these pictures through the french doors

 because the moment i take out my camera this guy

becomes camera shy and doesn't let me take any pictures, the dilemma of a mom-tog.

just wondering...do any of you have that problem?

even though these may not be the best shots..i love the moment they capture.

my sweet precious boy.

l.a. zoo trip

last week we took the boys to the los angeles zoo.

 it was a nice day, not too hot, but some of the animals were in hiding.

i guess i would rather be in the shade than in the hot sun.

i took my camera but it was a bit obtrusive and i didn't take very many pictures, it happens.

i think the zebra is such a beautiful animal. 

did you know that every zebra's stripes are different, no two are alike.

even chimps need prayer :)

i managed to get some good shots of this giraffe.

 love that tongue, didn't notice it until i uploaded my pictures :)

this old guy just looks so sad, i guess i would be too...just saying.

i wanted to get some shots of the elephants but every time we went to see them they were not there.
wonder where you hide elephants?

 finally a {semi decent} shot of my boys, all looking the same way.

it was a fun day. we enjoy spending time together as a family. summer's are great.

how's your summer coming so far?

thanks for stopping by.

watercolor fun

  

i love the color in this picture.

i want to have the boys work on creative fun projects this summer.

the challenge is being a girl, i tend to pick girlie projects.

but dad provides balance by having them work on rockets that they will soon launch together...

such a boy thing.

number two decided to paint a picture for his tata.

tata loves to go fishing. he drew a picture of his tata fishing at the pier.
i just love the bait detail..

i wish i would have taken a picture of the completed masterpiece but i didn't.

i just love to see what they come up with on their own.

now i am off to plan another fun craft for them to work on.

i am thinking a dinosaur garden. i really would like to make a fairy garden 

but again, i am a mother of boys, i need to come to grips with that.

i'll save all the girly-ness for my own projects.

i am looking forward to scouring the garden shops to find jurassic plants :)

wishing you a fun filled weekend,

thanks for stopping by.

new chucks

number 2 has been asking for new chucks. he loves them and will wear them out.

new shoes as a kid were so exciting.

i would even wear my new shoes out of the shoe store if my mom would let me.

it has been very difficult bloggin' these past few weeks

i just feel sadness when i see my blog and pictures of my charlie.

we miss him so much.

i love this picture with max's paws in the background.

there is so much going on and lots to share but when i sit down to write

i become overwhelmed with sadness.

i miss the little pitter patter of his paws on the wood floors as he ran in to the house.

i miss the kisses and attention he would give me when i would go into the backyard.

i miss the popping sound he would make when he played with his favorite green ball.

i just miss my charlie.

one thing that all this has reminded me of is to remember to live in the present,

enjoy the moment you have now

because as much as we fret over the future

we don't know if there will be a tomorrow.

wishing you a great weekend.

rainy day

rainy day today
enjoying staying in and doing some much needed cleaning and laundry.

my sister is moving in to her new house today.

i am home with four boys...oh my...
but i managed to catch them in a quiet moment.

wishing you a good weekend...i hope the rain lets up soon.

on spring {nap} break

caught this guy napping on what seems to be his new cozy place.

the boys and i are on spring break this week.

hubby went back to work :(

number two had a minor surgery today.

 when we got home, we all took a nap including the doggies.

i haven't much energy for anything else today but maybe this quick post.

i am just grateful to God that overall my boys are very healthy.

i pray for parents of sick children who have to endure the suffering 

and even sometimes the loss of a child.

God bless you and yours and may he keep you young and healthy.

want smore?

as number one said today "best day ever mom, i will never forget it" 

and number two affirmed his statement.

this is why

 they asked for something sweet and took out all the ingredients.

smores with ghiradelli chocolate caramel, looked delish!

but unfortunately, i did not have any.

{i type this as my mouth is watering looking at this yumminess}

i'd love to tell you that i roasted the marshmallows in the backyard fire pit, but i'd be lying to you.

we don't have a fire pit, but i used the next best thing, my viking stove.

best day ever, really? that simple?

sometimes it's the little things that mean the most.

best boys ever, i would say :)

lego attack

indy is on the lookout

protecting his tower from invaders

skeleton legos arrive for battle

storm troopers to the rescue

  command post ready

nothing like a{mandalorian}lego man to save the day.

legos have invaded my home for some time now.

i can't imagine my boys not playing with legos.

number one loves them and loves to create.

they are so great for a young child to build create, take apart and build again

number one spends hours creating.

all of these are his creations.

grateful for boys with such creative minds.