update on the resolutions...

-cant believe there is only one more day in the month of january. tomorrow is test day for my second bible verse. tara and i choose different verses this time. i have to say i havent spent as much time working on it as i did the first verse. this is going to be a hard thing to stick to, but probably the most important on my list of resolutions.
-i did get into garrets class to help out drilling kids on their site words. i LOVED it. they were so cute and it was really nice to spend some time with some other 5 year olds. i have to brag on garret a little bit and just say he is doing so good and learns so fast. but he has been having a tough time focusing on this work lately but when he does, he nails it.
-i also painted! i am still on a little high after that. it had been so long. i really need to keep it up. art is what makes me tick. i HAVE to do it in some form or another.
-i got to try out a class at the YMCA and had a great time. i met up with a friend there. the class was perfect for just getting started. i do feel sore but i was hoping i would.
-i didnt get a chance to send out any handmade cards but i did write a bunch of thank you notes after raelyns party, doest that count? not really.
so thats a little update on my resolutions. got lots of work to do...

my own baby....

here are some pictures of my own sweet baby playing babies. she is getting so grown up. 15 months now. she had her well check up the other day and is right on track and growing like a weed. 23 pounds. today i had such a ball watching her play, lugging those dolls around, putting them in the carseats and highchair. she was so sweet with them and loved giving them a bottle. since we have re-done raelyns room we have been playing up there a lot. the room is so big and has a lot of open space. it is nice for a change from always playing in our small living room.

baby clara

man it seems like everyone is having babies right now. i see all these cute brand new little babies and it makes me want another one. then i come back to reality with the screaming or crashing of one of my own three. :) so i got my baby fix yesterday spending some time with baby clara and her amazing family. amy and nathan have become really good friends of ours, we have been really blessed by their friendship. i loved my time with them yesterday. clara is just 2 weeks old and the sweetest little thing. brother hudson is so stinkin handsome. he is going to be a knock out when he gets older. so here are some of my pictures. all still just trying to figure out the camera. i still use the camera on automatic mode with no flash. i cant wait to get to my photography class and learn how to really use this thing. only one more week. this first one is my FAVORITE of the whole day.

big girl, so proud

lately i have been giving brenna a fork or spoon when we eat dinner. usually she tries it once or twice and then gives up, but tonight she totally got the hang of it and was so proud of herself too. she was so cute. each bite she took she got this cute little smirk. cant believe she is already 15 months old. she might just be left handed like her daddy too. we'll see...

crafty

realyn got some really fun crafty things for her birthday. a friend of mine made the super cute crayon holder and a little notebook with her initials on it. she is so talented. i just love the fabric she chose too.


and mom sent her a kit to make your own bouncy balls! how fun is that! here are some pics of the kids making theirs. i really tried to step back and let them do it. it seems like i am always controling their every moves so with art i really just try to let them loose, which means i also have to "loosen" up. they had a blast and i thought their bouncy balls turned out so cool!

camera workshop

when dave got me the new camera this christmas i was a bit overwhelmed and wanted to make sure i would learn to use the camera for all it could do. i had been interested in photography for awhile and i came across an incredible photography blog. Holritz Photography. A girl that i went to highschool with has an incredible blog too (www.richandheathersmith.com) and i found Holritz Photography though her. all that to say, i signed up for a photography workshop with amber holritz and i am sooooo excited. i think it is going to be pretty intense but i am so excited to learn from her. her work is amazing. so anyone out there in blog world that is reading this and wants to learn how to use their camera on manual mode should sign up. here is the address to her site and you can check out all the details. www.holritzphotography.com/..... sorry i dont know how to put those nifty links in my posts yet. ok so go check it out and come to a photography class with me. :)

east tn snow

yesterday all day long it snowed! it didnt accumulate to much but then it snowed last night too so when we got up this morning everything was pretty white. not a ton, but enough for the kids to want to go and have snow ball fights. i am such a party pooper when it come to the snow. i guess it is my florida blood. i just get so cold. yesterday the girls and i didnt go outside at all. garret got to play a little with dad while he worked out at the camp. today (no school again!) my kids werent going to let me get away with not going outside to play. so we bundled everyone up and headed out. it actually wasnt to bad. i guess i am just lazy, getting everyone ready go is a big job, seeing no one can put their own jacket on, zip it up, put shoes on and tie them, get gloves or mittens, and at hat all by themselves yet. anyway, we had a fun time. brenna was just checking evreything out, trying to figure out what it was, rae played for awhile and then her poor little hands and face were frozen, garret played forever. he doesnt feel the cold at all. he loved it. he collected snow for a snow man, made tons of snow balls, "Ice skated" and just had a good ol time. of course i had my camera out....

realyn trying to get garret with a snow ball

this is why her hands were frozen. it is hard to find water proof gloves for itty bitty hands


my parents gave the kids a tire swing for christmas. it has all their names painted on it.




you know the girl in willie wanka that turns into a blue berry......

garret doing his ice skating tricks

big girl room

before christmas we worked on transitioning raelyn into a big girl bed and new room. i love to redecorate, move furniture, paint walls, everything about it. well i never got around to posting pics so here are some i took today after i had some time to paint yesterday! it had been so long, like maybe a year. i really cant remember. i think the last thing i painted was for brennas nursery before she was born. i needed some inspiration so i went on etsy and looked through the art work. there was a watercolor artist that really inspired me for the piece in rae's room. the other was just me trying to work on the process not the product. i like the colors in it though. ok so here they are...