Today...

 

this guy...

 

 

turned 7! 

 

Happy Birthday Asher, we love you! 

the unexpected

So, I expected to be back blogging a little more this week but the unexpected happened.  A car accident{everyone is fine!}.  Just when I was getting into my back to school groove it was all interrupted with car shopping, and accident reports, and car buying, and in the end, a happy dance{let me be clear, the death of my minivan did not have me in tears}.

 

{proof...that I need a new car}

I'm a nervous cooker, which I think is better than a nervous eater although honestly someone has to eat it, and that's usually me.   Then it tastes better with a beer, oh jeez....I'm a nervous cooker, eater and drinker-yikes! So this accident had me a little jazzed up, and then deciding on whether or not to buy a new or used car had me a little fired up, I needed something to do with my hands.

 

I love the Smitten Kitchen.  Her cooking has transformed my recipe box.  Baked Feta is one recipe to keep for all your entertaining needs.  Read her post{here} for the following yummy treat.

{I'm in love with these colors.  This is what I will dream about making come February 1st when I'm just done with winter}

{I'm deeper in love after tasting it. This is what I'll dream of eating if I'm ever deserted on an island}

{Todd was head over heals in love when he laid his eyes on it.  Cheese....the car buying aphrodisiac for my husband}

 

*note* Smitten Kitchen uses some crazy cheese I have never heard of and will probably never find.  She suggested using feta as well.You can reheat this dish as needed and I am betting that it makes amazing left overs-if it could ever get that far.  Also, I'm not sure what she suggests serving it with but I tried pita chips, which were good, but I like toasted pita bread better.

a thousand pictures...

We are back from vacation.

School started today.

I have a nasty stomach flu.

In the past three days everyone has had the nasty stomach flu.

Here are pictures from Iowa.

We had a great time.

A thousand pictures, a few less words.

My head hurts.

 {the wedding}

{the groom}

 {my dates}

 {Uncle Ciro and Asher}

 {Aunt Kit and Sloan}

 {driving lessons from PaPa at the lake}

 {a visit with great grandma}

{ my precious nephew Matteo and the boys}

 {Aunt Meri!}

{Kansas City trip to Lego Land with Grandma and Grandpa Berry}

 {Iowa best friends}

 {the state fair}

{babies}

 {buddies}

 {I love myself some Iowa}

 {so does this wanna be farm boy}

 {high flyer}

 {20 year class reunion get-up}

 {what Todd did while we were gone}

{the car ride home}

{the surprise we found in the back yard when we arrived}

I'm going back to bed.

Catch up with you later this week.

waiting to exhale

I've hit a wall. 

There I said it. 

The last week and a half has been tough.

For lots of reasons.

It's the end of summer push.

We all need a major vacation.

It's rained nearly every day.

 Tisha, my Knoxville BFF and her family moved to Winston-Salem.

I miss her.

Every boy in my house has a attitude.

I'm bored.

I'm tired.

There's been too much time for this mom brain to dwell.

My mom reminds me that we all have times like this.

That a lull in the action,

down time,

laziness,

a moment of sadness,

it's just what happens before you pick yourself up again and start a new. 

I've taken in a big breath,

 I am gathering up the energy to end this summer with some sort of grace. 

There is a lot yet to come.

a much needed visit home

a wedding

my sisters

Becca and her kids

lots of memories yet to make. 

I'll exhale come September. 

Until then I cherish all the good.

Give myself permission to forget the bad.

{like this morning when I yelled my fool head off}

Pray for strength to face some loneliness.

Celebrate that God has His plan.

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to visit our friends Lance and Summer{and Kailey and Kara} in North Carolina.  We had a really wonderful time.  Their life, well...it doesn't suck{Lance's words exactly}.  They live on a beautiful lake and it seems as though it's a 24/7 vacation.  What fun we had!  The boys tubed and swam and slipped and slided their hearts out.  I tried surfing{behind a boat!} I almost did it, but then I swallowed half the lake and decided to wait until next summer to try again :)

So here is to making memories....

peeks

So I've been on a mad rearranging streak this summer.  You know, we've been here two years and I get itchy.  But really, it was just that we needed to use some spaces differently.  To me it is not really a challenge to live in a smaller home, but I do find that you have to take "inventory" of spaces more often.  We decided to flip the boy's bedrooms, get rid of our guest room{sorry guests} and then I stole the craft room from the kids to make it my own.  We are all able to spread out a little better, and don't worry guests, there is still a space for you but I won't lie-it's not as nice as my lovely pink guest room was. 

These are the sneak peeks.  Lots of work yet to do.  This fall I'll be able to make a little more progress on it all, but for now....

4th of july revisited

Wow, I've been away for a bit.  Lots happening, even some stuff worth blogging about, but summer is in full effect so we seem to be going at two very different speeds...lazy and busy. I'll get back to some routine, but for now here are some shots from yesterday. 

I love how close these people sit to each other.  For brothers who nearly kill one another every other minute of the day, there sure is a lot of love.  This is best friend sorta of sitting.  Makes my heart swell.

This was the first southern parade we had been to. While It was very much just like any ordinary parade, there was certainly a twist or two.  Like this one.  How many local parades have the Andy Griffith Show Reruns Fan Club in attendance.  It was pretty fun to see.

It was hot, two boys thought there wasn't enough candy thrown, Sloan thought the whole darn thing was great, but it's pretty easy to please a three year old :)

Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon with some sneak peeks of my rearranging marathon.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is it to steal hydrangeas from the yard of the vacant house up the street?

Note to self: plant a hydrangea bush next spring!