taking a short break...

well, i thought i'd take a quick break from cleaning, and post a few pics i took of one of my girls, jodi. she's so fun to take pics of, and i love the way they turned out. so pure and simple. just refreshing.

our trip...

hi! i can't believe it's taken me so long to get a post up...but it's been a little crazy around here. there are fun, exciting projects in the works for the B family, and it's consuming most of our time.

anyway, j and i had an incredibly fantastic time on our little 10 year anniversary getaway. it was so nice to be alone, sleep in, ( well, our idea of sleeping in is 8am, since we're both earlybirds)...and just have a great time enjoying each others company.

seriously, he's my absolute favorite person, and i can't imagine spending the rest of my days with anyone but him.

well, it's getting to be time for my workout/training ( the 10K is coming on quick!!!), then it's on to schooling the kids and starting my deep fall cleaning. i'm hoping tonight to get a start on making the 4 sleep masks that have been ordered...gotta get on that...:)

have a happy day!

looking back...awww!

it's been 10 years already???

wow!!! i can't believe it's been 10 years already since we said "i do". i really don't remember much of life without him, but at the same time, it seems like just yesterday we were giddy with excitement about our wedding. when i think of all we've been through, all we've learned, all we've seen, and all we've done, i can't help but be so thankful that God brought us together. i wouldn't want to live and experience life with anyone else. j is and has been everything i've ever prayed for as a husband, best friend, father and spiritual leader of our home. he's a great provider for our family, he loves us with all of his being. we're his world. we've "grown up" together, and learned to encourage each other to grow and discover who we are individually, while still holding on to, and growing along side of one another. i have more fun with him, than with anyone else. he makes me laugh harder than anyone, he encourages me to be a better me, and do what i want to do, he makes me feel like i can do anything i set my mind to. he's supported me in everything i decide to dabble in. i'm sooo thankful for him, and for the relationship we have. after 10 years, i love him sooo much more than the day i married him, and i know it's not even an ounce of how much i will love him in another 10 years.

that being said...grrrr...he's driving me crazy! lol! he has planned a 10th anniversary trip, and he won't give me one single clue. not anything. he's been very vague on telling me how i should pack. nada. nothing. ziltch. he won't give me any hints...just that i'll have a blast. so, of course i set out snooping. he's covered his tracks. i've called the hotels i think he would've reserved for us, nothing. i've looked up airlines to see if we have reservations, again, nothing. then i find out that my uncle, who is in san fransisco, has something to do with it...i can't for the life of me figure out why he would be involved. my head is spiraling with thoughts, ideas, maybe's, and not one thing is making any sense. oh, and j said that we need to remember to bring binoculars. binoculars??? what on earth? i told him he would not be a happy camper if he stuck me in a tree somewhere deer hunting, and called that an "anniversary trip". ;) he assures me that i'm going to love it, and that we'll have so much fun. i've told him from day one that i hate surprises. i only like them if i don't even know one is being planned. i loathe them when someone tells me they have a surprise for me, and i have to wait. patience is not one of my virtues, he knows this, and is loving watching me squirm.

anyway, he promised to tell me tonight after church. of course, i don't know if we're leaving tonight or in the morning...just another detail he won't let me in on...

don't get me wrong, i love that he's put so much thought and work into this, i really do appreciate it, but being the control freak that i am, it's hard for me to stand by and let someone have total control of planning. that's my job. lol! i am excited, but a little nervous too. i'm excited to have him all to myself for 5 days ( well, i think it's 5 days...who knows???), and the kids are excited to get to hang out with grandma and papa. j has big plans, the kids have big plans with the grand-parentals, and i have no clue about any of it. i'm completely out of control...and i don't like it.

regardless of where we go, what we do, or how we spend the next several days, i'll love the many new memories i will make with him. i'll love that newlywed feeling we still have after all this time. and i'll love and delight in the fact that i get to wake up next to this man for the rest of my life. that just might be the highlight of my trip.

the perfect end-of-summer weekend

what a great holiday weekend! we left early friday afternoon and headed down to our lakehouse for the long weekend. we were able for the first time all summer to just relax and have no plans whatsoever! it was so nice to wake up early, workout w/ j, come back, have j make breakfast, relax, read, go for a bike ride, and when it got hot, take the boat out. we didn't want to come home. the slow pace was such a refreshing change from our normal fast-paced lifestyle. saturday i got the kids dressed and headed out to this little house that is painted the prettiest color of a seafoam green. they have a shed in back and i used it ( with permission, of course) as a backdrop for some really cute pics of the kids. in fact, they're my newest favorites. i've been "tinkering" with them ever since. ;) i love that the lakehouse has become a sort of refuge for us. somewhere to go when we need to disconnect from our everyday life, and connect with eachother. i love the slow paced lifestyle it brings. i love the memories we make there. i love that every single part of that house j built. it's priceless to us. i love that the kids, when they are grown with kids of their own, can go there and have many, many memories to share, and many new memories to make with their children.

enough of the sappy-ness. but seriously. what a great weekend. i'm so blessed.

cute, cute, cute!

popdeluxe.net is one of my most fav places online to visit. they have so many darling items! i love these matchstick gardens though! what a great stocking stuffer or hostess gift!

stripes~

this is one of the most precious bunnys i've ever seen. it's on my daughters christmas list this year. i'm so going to get it for her, simply because it'll look so cute in her room! click below to visit apartment48.com

sweet journaling...

i love to journal, and i especially like journaling in girly, cute, spiffy journals. well, this little one caught my attention, and will be my next journal purchase. love the little birds! and it's made of recycled paper, so it's not only good for you, but for the enviornment as well! click on the web addy below to browse...

run, gigi, run!

as some of you know, i've been working out 2 hours a day religiously for quite a while now, and have become addicted to it. it has been one of my goals to work up to running in a marathon...well, i've decided i'm ready. thanks to my good friend kelly, i will be running in the st. johns hospital sunshine run. it's a 10K marathon for the burn center in springfield. i'm soooo PuMpEd!!! today i've started my "official training". i'm going to be alot more strict with myself, workout a bit more and a bit harder. i'm very excited, and i'll keep you updated!

a necessary indulgance

i couldn't start posting all of my favorite girly twirly things without starting off with this little gal. i found this product about 2 years ago, and have used it daily ever since. a girl by the name of sara happ made this little concoction in her apartment kitchen, and it's now being sold by the masses! what's so great about it, you ask? it's fabulous! it sloughs off all of the chapping on your lips. it makes them smooth, kissable, and gives them a bit of natural color, since it revves 'em up a bit. not only that, but the first time i ordered it, i was plum giddy to see that it came in this sweet little box tied with a bow. for a girl thats all about packaging and thrives off visual content, it made me feel like i was given a present. i love it. great packaging, it smells terrific (brown sugar is my fav), and bonus! it really does work. click below to visit the website.