Terrific Tuesdays

Tuesdays are terrific in the Junk house because they are our "chill-out" days.   It is the only day of the week that we don't have to go anywhere or do anything, and the kids and I love it.  Today the kids wanted to paint, I usually find every excuse in the book to not let them do it, because I know what it entails.....a big huge mess!  But  today I went along with it, and you know what?  It wasn't bad at all.  I actually had fun watching them create their little masterpieces.  I was so proud of the job they did, that I wanted to share it with you.

Here Avery is painting her butterfly, apple tree, flower, sky, and sun painting.  She also did color by numbers for the first time today.  I know I am biased, but I think she does pretty good for a 5 year-old (way better than her 32 year-old mom could do).

And here Deacon is creating... Oh, wait, I forgot what he told me it was,  but I think it is just grand!

And don't think I would leave this bundle of joy out.  She is starting to get rolls, and I just love it!

*I got the idea of Terrific Tuesdays from a friend of mine that does a weekly post called Wordless Wednesdays.  I thought it was genius, so I decided to do something similar.  You can see her blog here

White Family Reunion

 This past weekend we had a family reunion with my dad's side of the family.  We had such a fun, fun, fun time.  A big thank you to my cousin Daryl who set it all up.  He was able to rent the middle school out, so we could all fit in one place.  We ate lots of delicious food,  played cards, played in the gym, told the "remember when" stories, hugged, laughed, and had such a wonderful time.  It is so nice to be able to reconnect with family, like the good ol days!

She's turning 3 today!

Amelia is turning 3 months old today.  My how time flies!  Thank you to my good friend Ryan who took these pictures yesterday (during her son's birthday party!).  Didn't she do a good job?  She has become a very good photographer.

What Amelia is doing:

She's smiling

She's cooing

She's constantly moving when she is awake

She is sleeping through the night (50% of the time)

She's batting at things

She is so alert and loves taking everything in

We are 100% completely in love with her, and couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Happy 3 month birthday Amelia!

A little getaway

This past weekend we went on a little family getaway.  

 

On Friday the kids and I went with Aaron to Springfield.  While he attended his business appointments, I hung out with the 3 kiddos.  I have never really traveled around Springfield much, so I used the GPS to get me to my favorite store-Target.  It said there was one just 4 miles away; not too bad, right?  Wrong!  I never knew driving 4 miles could take so long, I think I could've run faster!  On top of that, Amelia was done with being in the car, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs during the entire trip there and back.  By the end of it I was ready to start screaming too!

When Aaron was done with his appointments, we went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house that live there.  We had a wonderful visit full of good conversation, good food, fun toys to play with, and beautiful paintings to look at (my uncle is an amazing artist, he let the kids each pick out a painting to take home- thank you Uncle John).  We planned on staying at a hotel, but we were having such a good time that we accepted their invitation for us to stay there. 

On Saturday we thought we might drive on to Branson to see what we could see.  FYI, there is not much going on there, during the middle of January.  One place that was open was Ripley's Believe It or Not.  The entry fee was $13.95 for adults, and $8.95 for children - ouch! (the value/money trade-off was questionable for me)  I was excited to see all the cool stuff inside, I mean for that price it ought to be full of amazing things right?  Yes, there were some cool things, so here are a few of them...

Minus the few screaming/crying episodes that Amelia had in the car, and the early 2 a.m. wake-up call Avery and Deacon gave us on Saturday morning, we had a great time.  It was wonderful just being together as a family.

Where's Waldo

I'm sure you all remember this goofy looking man:  Waldo!  
 

 I used to love looking for him when I was a kid.  Just like everything else that comes back around, so did Waldo.  And of course I was a sucker for it (there are market geniuses out there).  I had to buy a book for Avery, and one for Deacon, and guess what?  The kids loved it, it kept them occupied in the car for 2 hours during our little trip this weekend.  It was wonderful not hearing, "Can we watch a movie?, when are we going to be there?, I'm bored."  For 2 of the 31/2 hours it was peaceful, except for the occasional "I found Waldo!"

Crinkly

Birthday conversations with my 5 year-old:

Avery:  Mom, how old are you going to be tomorrow?

Me: 32

Avery: So does that mean you are going to be fatter tomorrow?

Me:  Lord, I hope not.

Avery:  Then are you going to be taller tomorrow?

Me:  No, I have stopped growing taller a long time ago.

Avery:  Oh, I know.  You are going to turn all crinkly tomorrow. 

Me:  You mean wrinkly?

Avery: Yes, because you are getting old.

Me:  Yes, I am getting older, but I hope I'm not going to get "all crinkly" just yet.

Avery:  Oh.

Then, just like that she goes on to something else, leaving me sitting there thinking about how old I am getting, but you know what?  It beats the alternative, even if I am getting "all crinkly."

Help please!

Help please!!
Attention all you decorators out there!  I am at a loss as to what to do with the fireplace we have.  Our house was built in the 80's, and so well, it is very 80's!  Originally we were going to put a flat screen up there, but have recently decided against it, and so now I am at square 1.  Our colors in the room are: yellows, greens, reds, and chocolate brown.  Our house is very rustic and lodgey (if that's even a word), when I look at the fireplace area now, it looks like deer antlers should be hanging up!  However, that is just not my decorating style.  I would love to brighten it up, but I can't paint it because of the wood ceiling. Does anyone have any suggestions or know of any good websites to go to for decorating or fixing up a mantle area?  I desperately need your help!  Thank you!