My someday craft room.

Some day I'll have a craft room.

There will be white shelves full of paper; every color of the rainbow. And more.

There will be 10 jars of buttons. Old and new. In every color of the rainbow.

I'll make a kids craft table; complete with never ending drawing paper.

A book shelf will be in there. Stacked high with stories for all ages.

And a comfy, brightly patterned chair for reading in the evening. Which means I need a side table and a lamp to go with it.

There will be a desk for my computer and printer; for days of blogging, editing photos and of course graphic design work.

Maybe R will have a telescope by then. I can imagine it would go in here too.

Some day I'll have a craft room.

The walls will have one-of-a- kind art work by E and M.

And one of these neat art boards to clip artwork to that I can switch often.

I'll be the decorator and the inspirer in the craft room. Everyone will be welcome.

Someday.

Our weekend in photos

Telling our story through photographs is something I look forward too. I am finding that I am reaching for my digital camera more often (instead of the phone) to take photos, which has so many advantages. The quality of the photos is better, I am staying organized in the process; deleting photos as I go and I don't miss the moment waiting for the camera app to open on the phone. The best part: I am always smiling from ear to ear as I look back on a weeks worth of photos.  

Wearing Mama's hat and boots.

Hanging out on the kitchen floor.

This girl loves hats!

Gearing up for sunshine!

Reading on the kitchen floor. Again.

R went running in the 19 degree weather. 

Happy Birthday Sister!

Thanks for looking back on another weekend with us. 

Keep Loving. 

A holiday/December/Christmas to-do list.

Happy December 1st! Now that the Christmas month is here I feel the need to make my holiday/December/Christmas to-do list! 

1. I want to take E sledding with M and R. I don't so much want to spend that much time outside but I really want to see E ride down a snow covered hill with her big sis and Daddy. 

2. Family photos. I am way way behind in this department and desperately want family photos taken while E is still little. 

3. I WILL send out Christmas cards this year and if I work extra hard at it they will include our family photos! 

4. Go on 1 date with R. Dinner at a nice restaurant, good food and wine to accompany a great conversation sounds perfect right about now. 

5. I would like to do at least 2 Christmas crafts with M. My Pinterest boards are too full of ideas waiting to be taken advantage of!

6. Watch my FAVORITE Christmas movies: White Christmas, Sound of Music and Miracle on 34th Street. + a couple more. 

7. Make Christmas candies; peanut butter balls, chocolate covered pretzels, peppermint bark…

8. Celebrate Christmas with my loves, my parents and siblings, nieces and nephew. 

I might add to my list but this morning I think that this list completed would make a pretty darn good December.

A squeal, a hug, a too short day.

Lately, days seem too short. When I first looked at the clock today it was already 1:00 pm and I somehow forgot to eat lunch. Or I didn't want to take the time to leave my desk because I was too excited about the tasks at hand. Is that ridiculous? I enjoy working. Wait...FINALLY! I ENJOY WORKING. It has been way to long since I could wholeheartedly say, I love getting up in the morning and going to work.

And then when 5:00 sneaks up on me I can't wait to hop in my car and drive to pick up E. I look forward to seeing her little face and how suprised she is to finally see me. I either receive the O face or a little squeal before she comes toddling over to climb into my hug.

Then I scoot on over to get R @ 5:30. Everyday it seems like even longer that I haven't heard his voice or hugged him too. I look forward to our exchange of, "How was work?" Working in the same field has definitely changed our conversations, which R was excited about. We are on the same page even more so than before. It's nice.

Evenings zoom by as well. Dinner, dishes, bath time, play time (which I am trying to incorporate something new into every evening), bed time and then finally time to relax. At this point I have a hard time keeping my eyes open. Sadly, I fall asleep before the movie introduction even ends.

The past week I have been preparing for a holiday market that is at the end of the month. There for I can't wait to get home and crochet. I am still brainstorming a creative set up and display for my handmade things. However, I finally decided on a design for tags! I printed them in a bright lime green color. I'll be posting photos soon! (I can't ruin the surprise before the market.) More details to come on that as well!

So, that's my here and now, especially because our days are so here and now. It really pushes us to take care of the important things right away and make time for the important people and things too.

Keep loving.

Crazy, Busy, drive all over God's green Earth day.

Whatever Wacky Wednesday seems to fit perfectly for today. It's usually my crazy, busy, drive all over God's green Earth day but this week Ryan is taking vacation time so their wasn't as much running for me. However, the crazy and busy part still seems to apply. 

As I've said before I love my schedule and my routine. Well, this week is NOT a routine week at all. We started off the week by camping (I'll be sure to write about our fun filled 2 day camp trip) and the rest is history. Maybe we are all stuck in vacation mode, even though not everyone in the house has the week off. 

I can't seem to catch up and get back on track. I'm loving a change of pace but I can't seem to find a spare minute in my day to relax, write or even pee. I've been doing dishes, chasing after Edee, folding the endless truck loads of laundry and, and, and....

Can I pretty please just...sleep?....

On a more positive note:

Maddi is staying with us all week. It has been great so far. She always wants to know: What are we doing today? What is the weather going to be like? What should I wear? She makes her bed every morning and didn't complain once about taking a shower tonight. I'm proud of her good habits and positive attitude. Today we even made a chore list; followed by a wish list. She is saving her money earned for a sewing machine first. I love that she likes to go go go; like her Dad. They both (and Edee) keep me going.

Speaking of go, go, go: Edee is almost walking. She now stands up from a sitting position and then claps. She knows she is doing something good, especially when we all get very excited and clap too. She will also take 2-3 steps before she leans in any random direction. I give her a couple days and watch out world!

This weekend will prove to be another busy couple days. One of Ryan's close friends is getting married and Ryan is a part of the wedding party. Rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception all take place Friday and Saturday. It should be a beautiful occasion. I'm looking forward to seeing Adam marry his sweet fiancé Erica.


Keep your eyes open for camping trip details and photos.
And keep loving.

Five photo Friday

Just some of my favorites from the week. 

Sharing. 

Edee and Cooper share toys now. 

Tree house

Papa Steve is building the Hepplers a fun place to play.

Story time.

I came out of the bedroom to find this.

Cool Baby. 

She is obsessed with beads these days. 

Chubby Cheeks

Mouth full of crackers.

Hope you enjoyed! Have a great weekend!

Keep loving.