10. )
9.) not really being one to over-bedazzle my baby, i shall say it’s fun for special occasions (i.e. easter) to dip into the magnetic earring aisle. and when she wears them, we all say *ooo-la-la* which makes her smile. and her eyes twinkle.
(thank you, julie b, for my beautiful dress!)
8.) …which reminds me…
a little pair we snatched up for her upcoming ladybug picnic birthday party which, thanks to a little spring break boredom, is completely planned and finished…
sneekity peekity:
7.) getting dressed up for easter. i love dressing up. and her up.
6.) the blossoms are slowly waking up on our magnolia tree…and i didn’t know until after i looked at this picture that there was a little friend on its petals.
5.) teaching her how to properly eat an oreo (an art, i tell you). i was in stitches the other day observing her put her valuable oreo-eating knowledge to the test. dunking for one. two. three full seconds and lifting up the dripping, milk-softened cookie in one fell swoop, satisfactorily smiling all the while.
4.) meeting this amazing family last week. two years ago, after traveling down many roads for a baby, they adopted a beautiful little girl. she was two weeks older than our lainey. and her name was laynie too. i heard about this family through my dad when, weeks after their little gift arrived, she had to undergo open-heart surgery. i followed their story over the following months as little laynie went through more surgeries. and my heart broke when i heard the news that their sweet laynie went to heaven last february. thankfully, they were blessed the following october with another beautiful little girl…sweet selah. i have looked forward to meeting them for quite some time now, and my heart is happy now having the opportunity to photograph them and all their love for this sweet new angel when they vacationed to florida last week.
tadd, jill & selah…you are all so beautiful in so many ways.
3.) spring break and all the wonderful gatherings of kindred spirits it brings. the blessing of not going anywhere is that we get to lounge. and have spontaneous waffle breakfasts. and pool party afternoons. and bathe our souls with the blessed company of those we love. too many pictures to go through of all our little gatherings this past week. so you’ll just have to close your eyes and imagine a picture of happiness.
2.) sophie. because, although she so obnoxiously barks when someone’s at the door…or when she thinks someone’s at the door…and occassionally makes our girl cry hard when she snatches her food…or pees lake-ish flooding puddles when overexcited…besides all that, she is pure love. she was made to be a kid dog. to be dragged around the house by a tight leash in the hands of a grouchy toddler. to lay protectively outside the door of a sleeping infant. to pant exhaustively with her head half-zipped in an overheated tent just to satisfy the whims of a girl she secretly loves.
aw, sophs…we love you.
1.)
feeling happy. and knowing that that happiness does not come from having everything just right. or surviving in this economy. or even a happy marriage or the blessing of kids. it’s just there, and it is a culmination of gratitude, creativity, love and awareness of good things. little things.
…enjoying the small, the great, the summer, the family things…and all the in between. ~k
there’s more than ten…because i didn’t even mention brown sugar poptarts or ruffled shirts or twice baked potatoes. having a *little sister* finally through brett or the “brink” of summer and icy pops in the freezer. ‘cuz i’m enjoying those too…but i know you have more…and i’m in the mood for a give-away. i will make a pair of sandals…like these ones i did for lainey’s birthday…for your little dear or a gift for a dear you know (they’re for girls, but i may be able to think of something boy-ish if need be)…in the appropriate size and colors…if you tell me five little things making you happy today in your comment.
~k
Hmmm, 5 things that make me happy today….
1. Spring Break, and snuggling with my smallest this morning while watching cartoons.
2. That my wonderful husband cleaned the oven last night, after a super smokey, smelly spill-over yesterday afternoon.
3. Thinking about packing for a vacation in a very few short days.
4. Meeting a Mrs. Kelle Hampton next week for a fabulous photo shoot:)
5. Having a wonderful family, being a mom, and a wife, and just…being.
in no particular order:
1. being home with jonah just cuz.
2. seeing friends and family over easter weekend.
3. having so much fun and being so busy we didnt even have time to pull the camera out. that one is a mixed blessing.
4. a long blog post like this one chock full of deliciousness.
5. the absence of snow.
Are the sandals available in a men’s 10 1/2? While I know some will laugh, I will wear them proudly on my rounds here at the hospital and hold my head up high.
1) Having three children I am incredibly proud of…as bright, witty, creative and growing individuals and cherished friends.
2) Having six grandchilren and an extremely precocious grand dog named Max who make me laugh with their antics, cry with their trials and fill my heart to overflowing with pure love.
3) Having work I find challenging and fulfilling–work I feel makes an imprint on humanity and makes a difference in eternity.
4) Having a home that is happy, slightly crazy, sometimes noisey but always a place that renews and restores my spirit.
5) Having passions that propel me, sensitivities that–while sometimes a pain to live with–tender me to what really matters on this journey we call life, and a rich heritage of values taught, visions caught and victories fought that continue to light my way.
OK, the photo of Lainey in light blue, with earings and her little hand by her throat looks like she is channeling for some old British woman….maybe Minerva Simpson…and she is saying, “Have you tasted the petis fours at Drummond’s Tea House–they are quite utterly divine!”
1. My little 2 1/2 yr AG in her cute little halter tops for Summer
2. My little 2 1/4 yr EE in his matching shorts & hats
3. Spring in full force with windows open and snow on the mountain tops
4. The thought of people helping us with our fundraiser to adopt again
5. Having family coming to visit in a few short weeks.
poppa r’s comment makes me want to cry…it is beautiful, loving.
he adores you guys! love that guy.
oh yeah…rik’s #5…i sooo get that one.
ditto on lainey and her earrings with hand by throat. i so love that photo.
love what you wrote about specific things not making you happy. SOOOO TRUE. i so agree. it’s all about not putting ‘all of your eggs in one basket!” happiness is all around us…free for the taking!!!!lol…i’ll stop, i’m in a tylenol cold trance.
1. tylenol mulit-symptom daytime.
2. box of mac & cheese in the pantry made my kids pretty happy today…which makes me happy!
3. feeling love for so many people…seeing and focusing on the good stuff.
4. my bouganvilla trees,lush and and pink and blowing in the wind behind my house.
5. healthy babies, healthy family, healthy friends!
xoxoxoxo
lainey’s shoes are adorable! can’t wait for the lainey-bug picnic! btw, white/red gingham rocks!
oooh, I love when you do this!(squealing with delight!) Top 5 of the day…
1. surprising vinny at his office having lunch with my leah bug and her daddy.
2. Squeals of mamamama, and eeeoooohhh in the backseat when stuck in traffic
3. a curled up bug in her crib for an afternoon nap
4. letting Leah pick numbers for the lotto in the grocery store
5. my sweet and obnoxious puppies that I am so thankful, for more than ever, since watching Marley and Me
and a 6…. blogs like yours that ask us to list fun stuff like this, I can see how the little things are so important 🙂
Oh I LOVE when you ask us to do this!
1. Listening to Crisilee sing at the top of her lungs “Carry on my wayward son” thanks to “rock band”..but she really sings it well and doesn’t hold back.
2.Learning patience better every day with my daughters…I am trying to work at that more. And I smile when I do it.
3. Making chocolate chip waffles and hearing my kids ooh and ahh over them.
4. Hearing Sophie tell me she’s sorry. It’s very hard for her, but she’s doing it more and more lately and it just warms me to hear her own up to her mistakes.
5. Hearing Darby ask to watch “Cooby Doo”
1. putting my girls in coordinated easter dresses … and matching hair buns. and having a not-seen often family member say over and over … they are so incredibly beautiful … i cannot take my eyes off them. which was good, because then i didn’t feel as silly doing the same thing. (how did i make them?? crazy.)
2. old paint coming off of the wood floors in stella’s bedroom … rather easily.
3. birthday parties.
4. cora turning 2 … but telling everyone that she’s gonna be 3.
5. stella and i going to the same school next year.
(AND my four day work week … next year).
who was it again, who told you to go dark? chocolate brown? oh, don’t ever go back….it is exquisite. model-esque.
and that one of lainey with her hand at her throat….you couldn’t capture that shot again if you tried a million times. THE BOMB.
and without further ado…
1. growth
2. feeling strong, really strong
3. monday – friday, baby!
4. a hopeful future
5. YOU.
xoxo
okay…the thing about these posts where i make you write something…is that i get my e-mails to my phone and all throughout the day, as i’m standing in line at target, waiting for my car to fill up with gas, sitting outside watching lainey play…my phone will beep and i’ll smile as i read these little things that you all love. and when i slide my phone back into my pocket, my day is a wee bit better. so, thank you.
I think it is “…thank you so.” Where you place the “so” so changes everything.
Coming home from a not-so-good day at work and finding this …
1) A giveaway on ETST
2) Comments on my blog
3) Dinner prepared by my love
4) Sweet-smelling kiddos
and
5) Knowing it’s only five more sleeps and then we’re off … on v.a.c.a.t.i.o.n with a wonderful family I am so proud to call mine!
Kelle, I LOVE these posts! Looking forward to next week …
so many things make me happy. to only name 5 is crazy!
1)laughter. my own laughter spilling out of my gut uncontrollably.
2)my kids laughing. genuine heartfelt laughter.
3)routine. daily routine gives me comfort and happiness.
4)a loud “woohoo!” when someone does doesn’t worth yelling praise!
5)getting a card in the mail from a friend. nothing is better than snail mail.
1. That my husband is coming home tonight after being away all weekend hiking
2. That my daughter is as sweet as sugar
3. That I found your blog through Kelly H and can snatch all you wonderful ideas for things to do with my daughter
4. That I bought tickets today for all three of us to go home to New Zealand to spend christmas with my family….agggghhhh summer christmas, how I miss thee
5. That that French dude is on Dancing with the Stars
Justine & Lola
1. A heart-filling vacation with a bundle of people who I am honored to know.
2. Being home after a heart-filling vacation.
3. When Margot says new words. Like she has said them all along. In Portland, a couple said, and, what’s your name? and I went to answer and she said, Margot.
4. My first niece or nephew coming into the world this summer. I think he’s a boy. I felt him kick me hard in Portland.
5. Paige and Arann’s marriage. They actually aren’t officially married because they will wed in a state that endorses marriage for everyone regardless of sexual orientation. The whole shebang was inspiring. And I am so so happy for them.
I was brushing my teeth and realized I have more to say. I just got carried away with my five. I love #2. A lot. And, your sister is so right on. You are gorgeous as a brunette. And, you are one of the greatest dresser-uppers of all time. That shirt is beautiful.
your blog is so fun kelle!!!
5 things…
-watching my Bayley learn to pick up cheerios with her little sausage fingers and then mash them in her mouth (most spilling on the carpet)…i’m obsessed….too cute!!
-using a brand new mac lipstick (kinda like writing with a never used crayon, oh i like that too!!)
-curling up on our oh so comfy couch with a cup of coffee and the new pottery barn catalogues
-a trip to wholefoods, because i love grocery shopping and i really love going with bayley
-about to go to bed and crawl in next to a precious little (10 months old tomorrow) baby girl who will wrap her tiny arms around mine and rest her feet on my belly….heavenly
oh, and knowing that my husband will be home for the next 3 years-no deployments, yay!!!
1. A fresh new haircut and color that makes you feel like a new person.
2. Feeling that even though my family just went through a tradegy and I could never imagine going through what brother went through, I feel closer than ever to my them right now.
3. The fact that we all leave for FLORIDA in 4 days and its a needed getaway.
4. Engagement pictures next week by a fabulous photographer 🙂 and some family pictures too 🙂
5. The fact that I am coming to a close on my grad school and looking forward to a great SUMMER filled with family and friends!
1) Looking at my pictures from vacation.
2) Having my coffee catching up on the blog world….seeing what everyone has been up to.
3) Reflecting on our family vacation thinking about what wonderful PEOPLE my children are becoming. How beautiful they are and how much love I feel for them( sorry I always get a little sappy after vacation)
4)Last night….thats all I’m saying
5)Last but not least…..your freakin hair! It seriously was making me smile when looking at these pictures!
Words cannot express my thanks and appreciation to you kelle for the amazing glimpses of our pictures so far! This week has been really hard knowing that Laynie’s birthday is drawing near and I miss her sooo much. I cling to your pictures of your Lainey, of all her adventures, her pure innocence…children are such a gift from God. I absolutely love the ladybug things. I hope to get our family together on that weekend of her birthday and have a party for Laynie. Last year we released balloons with messages for our angel and it was really neat so hopefully we can do that again. I love that you love every moment of Lainey’s life, the small things! That is what it is all about. Thanks again for capturing our second miracle – hopefully we can do it again in the future! – Jill Gerst
Jill and Tadd…you have been precious to us since first God connected us…and then, to share “Laynie” love was a delightful and mystical gift from our Lord. Her exquisite smile in the midst of her little journey of struggle and suffering whispered of God’s promise and peace. I am sure, when others who know nothing of your little Laynie Angel, see one of those balloons rising buoyant in the sky, probably thinks, “Oh, a little girl lost her balloon.” But we know, “A little balloon lost it’s little girl.” You will be in our hearts and prayers through this time. Your Laynie and your strong faith through her life and loss, makes the promise of Easter louder and more real. Hug babies everywhere, make every step of their journey filled with joy–you surely did! (Kelle, sorry to use your blog for such messages, but then, it’s a good place for hurts and hopes to meet!) Selah means “so be it.” Your second gift tells us “the heart stretched out by sorrow, God later fills with joy.” Selah has a big sister who lives in heaven.
So true about happiness!
1. Being home with Skye over spring break
2. Florida…the beaches, weather, beauty
3. My mother living so close and for being my friend
4. Spending a weekend in Naples at a hotel with my husband and Skye for our anniversary
5. Skye’s smile and wonderful personality