my conversation with me

me:  i should probably write a post.  it's been awhile.
myself: what should we write about?
me: oh, i don't know.  i could tell them about how we made beaver sandwiches for lunch a couple of days ago.  there are some cute pics to go with that one.

myself: yeah, but there's no good story to go with the photos.  anything else?
me: well, speaking of food, i could tell them how my mom made muffins for the kids (just like she sweetly has the last bajillion times she's seen them), and when i opened the bag the other day, i found that someone (whose name starts with a "j" and rhymes with "sack") had eaten the tops off of each and every muffin -- and then closed the bag back up and put it away like i wasn't going to notice.
myself: that little guy is out of control.  does he have a tape worm or something?
me: OR, there's the gem that occurred earlier this week when jack decided he was going to try to fill the cup-holder on his little toy chair with pee (yes, as in urine).
myself: no, we better steer clear of that one.  for one, we don't want people thinking the kids have no decency.  and secondly, it's just nasty.
me: true.
myself: how about pictures of the kids playing outside?  don't we have any of those?

me: i've got some of the "poor man's playground", but i haven't edited them yet.  i'll have to do that post later.  i've been kind of limited on outdoor pictures recently because it's been so cold (which makes the static electricity inside totally out of control).

myself: wow.  she's going to love that one in a few years.  better go for something a little more flattering.
me: hmmm...i got it.  i took the kids up to samford the other day to scope out some session locations.  izzy thought she might get a scholarship if she wore her tutu and pranced across campus on her tippy-toes.  that was pretty cute.

myself: and remember how abby was totally in awe of the painting on the dome of divinity chapel? 

me: yeah, that was a fun day.  probably not blog material, though.  i'm thinking i should probably just hang it up for tonight and give it another go tomorrow.  anyway, maybe i'll have something better than the "potty chair" by then.

i never saw his face

he consumed my dreams last night.  every time i woke up, i was thinking of him.  i can almost feel him in my arms, and i can imagine what he looks like.  but i never saw his face.

maybe the call will come today.  maybe one day soon i will see him.

daddyday is still alive

i can't believe how long it's been since i did a daddyday post.  as a matter of fact, half of you reading this blog -- that would make three -- probably don't even know what daddyday is.  (you can click here for a brief history.)  i'll be tied up with sessions for a good bit of tomorrow, so i'm not really sure what the plan is for the rest of the lewis crew.  i would imagine it will have lots of "horseback riding"...

...probably some fine literature reading...

...and maybe even some "creative resting".

happy daddyday to you all!

wordless wednesday (ballet baby)

see the rest of the photos here.

it really stuck!

so it's pretty rare for there to be snow in alabama.  and the likelihood of having snow that actually sticks is right up there with me having the laundry folded and put away the same day i wash it.

it just doesn't happen.

but when we woke up on saturday morning, friday's fluffy white flakes were still on the ground.  so after a quick bite of breakfast, abby, jack, and i headed back outside for even more photographs playtime.  everything was going smoothly at first.  jack kicked snow and threw balls of it into the air...

and abby stuck with me as i took about 93 more photos of her.

to capture a good shot of the snow flying out of abby's hands, i needed to get higher with the camera so i climbed into one of the chairs on the deck.  just as i finished snapping these last two photos, the seat of the chair broke, and my leg (wearing only pajama pants and slippers, mind you) scraped past the jagged edges of the broken seat and down to the ground. 

OUCH!

i probably overreacted a bit -- yes it hurt, but i almost threw my camera over the edge of the deck on my way down  -- and that's all it took to send jack spiraling out of control (that and the blood running down my leg).  my dad has said since jack was a baby that he has the most pitiful crying face ever. 

we agree.

(answers to your questions:  1. that's josh working on my leg in the photos above.  2. yes, i absolutely did turn the camera around on the table and take blind shots of jack hoping to get one of his sad face.  3. and yes, in case you noticed it in the photos of jack at the top, the fallen tree is still propped up on the side of our deck.  and the other three fallen trees?  still laying in our yard.) 

for those of you who are counting, that's one more tree than we had down when i blogged about it way back in december.  (now i'm kind of embarrassed that it's been that long.  who knew?!?)

anyway, jack eventually settled down...

and i actually managed to get a few good shots before it was all said and done. 

isabel (as we know her)

i think we all have a touch of "home self" versus "out in public self".  you know what i'm talking about, don't you?  take me for example.  i walk around our house all day long with rubbie* in my hand, but i wouldn't dare go to church or stroll around the mall with it.  (*i'm still working up the courage to share rubbie with you, internet readers.)  and i love throwing on some jeans, tossing my hair in a ponytail, and hanging out around the house, but i would never think of going out in public looking like such a mess.

wait.  that's how i've left my house almost every single day for the last five years.  anyway, you get the picture. 

well izzy has a "home personality" and an "out in public personality".  when we leave our house, she changes from a bit of a goofball to little miss stoic.  really, unless she's in a place where feels completely at home, you'll be hard-pressed to even get her to crack a smile.  so lest any of you mistakenly think poor isabel doesn't have much of a fun side, here are a few photos i snapped of her this weekend.

my favorite photo came when she proceeded to play one of her favorite games -- "i'm a giant" -- with the goggles on.  is this supposed to be some sort of construction monster?

i suppose this is the wacky side of izzy.  stay tuned for the sweet.  ;-)

snow bunnies

as i promised earlier today, i got lots of pics when the kids and i went out to play in the snow.  it had only been going for an hour or so when we got out there, and as beautiful as it was then, i'm kind of wishing we had waited until later this afternoon to play out there.  after many more hours of heavy snowfall, all i can see when i look out my window is white.  GORGEOUS!

anyway, considering we live in the land of a thousand degrees, i suppose i shouldn't complain about how little snow there was when we first went out -- especially since the last time we even saw snow was over eleven months ago!  last year, isabel had to stay inside and keep josh company while i took the big two out to play.  but this was her year, and i couldn't wait to see what she thought of the white stuff.

ok, so maybe she wasn't quite as into it as i had hoped.  but after a little yardwork, she was feeling lots better about her time outside.

by the way, these are just the teaser photos.  click here to see the real goodies!  giggles and fun were shared by all.

our anniversary, sort of

last night as we were getting ready to hit the hay, josh said to me, "so, you know what tomorrow is, right?"  i thought for a second and wondered if maybe josh had a big meeting scheduled.  does somebody have a doctor's appointment?  is it valentine's day already?  (clearly, i'm not very good at dates.)

realizing that my blank stare answered his question with a resounding "nope, no clue", josh reminded me of what happened one year ago today -- an early-morning event that we termed THE FALL.  since this post is going to be one big conglomeration of flashbacks, i won't rehash too much of the story here, but suffice it to say that as soon as he said those words, i had a mixed reaction of extreme emotions.  part of me thought i was going to throw up on the keyboard while the rest of me felt a little warm-and-fuzzy as i thought back to some of the memories we made during that trial.

life as we had known it changed a bit, but we managed to cope pretty well.  in fact, it didn't take long until we were even able to get a few laughs out of the whole ordeal (here's my favorite, but this one and this one were pretty good, too).  and there's no doubt that we found so much to be thankful for.  we were ministered to in countless ways over those few months through our family and friends.  talk about seeing the body of christ in action!!

well, i'd love to stay and write more, but the snow is pouring down outside, and the kids are dying to get out in the white stuff.  i need to get everybody bundled up and grab my camera because you know we're not going outside to play in the snow without getting pictures (just check out last year's "big snow"!)

oh, and i promise to post a picture or two later (this will be isabel's first venture into snow...we'll see how it goes!)

wordless wednesday (animal control)

double the fun

when two sisters have six children in five years, the logistics of getting the families together can get a little hairy.  we've tried the eating-out-together-after-church thing, but we're pretty limited on where our crew can agree on and/or fit.  chipotle (also referred to in our family as heaven) worked well during the summer when we could eat outside, but apparently the person in charge of restaurant design has two kids or less because he thought it was a good idea to bolt all of the four-top tables indoors to the floor.  jason's deli is always an option, but then bethany finds herself forced into eating green things like lettuce and broccoli, and she's just not into that.  we've tried sit-down mexican restaurants as well, but i just can't justify paying $30 for our family to eat greasy cheese. 
so recently we've been on the domino's take-out plan.  we take turns picking up a couple of $5.99 pizzas, and then our families are free to eat, chat, run, and play in the privacy of our own home.  (and besides, at what restaurant can you settle in for a little post-meal guitar lesson?)

bethany and i have also settled into a nice routine lately that lets us get the kids together during the week to play.  on wednesdays, bethany drives her crew to our house for playtime and lunch.  we chat, the kids play, and after we eat, our group heads to ballet, and she runs to publix to steal her weekly groceries (i've officially been replaced as the "coupon queen".  publix actually paid her $.53 to buy her groceries not long ago!)  here are a few shots i got the other day of the girls when they were all cuddling on the couch...

 

then, of course, i really wanted to get a few of jack and brayden.  notice how all the girls sat perfectly still and made pretty faces at the camera?  now check out the boys (too bad you can't hear the laughing and craziness that was going on in these shots)...

the boys may have won the "wild" contest, but emma certainly won the "precious" one.

 

both of our families were able to get together with our parents this past weekend to enjoy some time visiting and eating (of course!).  i'm in the process of revamping how i shoot, so i brought my camera along to get some practice in with the kiddies before my next session.  much to my surprise, the boys were playing quietly with the cars, trucks, and trains.

but i found a lot more action happening with the girls.  things are always more exciting when ice cream is involved...

  

  

 

what's that, bethany?  wish you could see some more photos of your girls?  well you're in luck!!  click here to check out some sweetness from our visit with mom and dad over the weekend.  ;-)