Scavenger Hunt Sunday July 31

I did it !!! Well kind of, there are a few pictures in here from the archives but I gotta do what I gotta do. I might say which ones but really it will be obvious by the stretch! So here are my entries for Scavenger Hunt Sunday over at Ramblings & Photos. Check out the other entries there.

Walking Empty Streets : So I wasn't walking and the streets weren't empty but it's Houston and it's hot and the streets are never empty so this is what I got. I certainly didn't imagine finding the Weiner Mobile in my rearview mirror !!!

Repeating Patterns : This is the climbing structure at The Houston Children's Museum, never go there in the summer !!! It was crazy, even for the most tolerant parents.

Floor : The floor in the gym before the 2nd basketball game of the day. I love to see the kids playing ball, it warms a mother's heart!!! Their dad and I fell in love over basketball games, GO ROCKETS !!

Then & Now : On the left was Then, Friday, when Tyler still had nice beautiful long bangs. Now, Yesterday when I came home from an errand, this is what he had done to himself. Ryan says he looks like an Umpaloompa, I tend to agree. But Lord have mercy that it was handsome Umpaloompa !!! I'll be posting more of this episode shortly .

Fingertips : That's Dylan with her come hither look, or with her attempt at a come here look. I'm scarred !!!or is it scared? Either one they are interchangeable in this instance!

So that's it for this Scavenger Hunt Sunday, head on over and visit Ramblings and Photos for more of the amazing entries! 

I Know

I know he is 10 and I know it's 108 outside but gosh I love this child. He was waiting with binoculars in hand and a long sleeve flannel on for the little girl across the street and her mom to come to dinner. Did I mention that the little girl is 18 months old?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday July 24

Wow Scavenger Hunt Sunday over at Ramblings & Photos, 2 weeks in a row for me, pretty good! I have taken a short hiatus from my camera. I haven't been feeling inspired and sometimes I actually dread carrying it around. Plus I'm loving my iphone and Instagr.am !!! So I really wanted to pick up the camera again this weekend and got some chances to do just that. Here are my entries for the week :

Music To My Ears :

I imagine when I stop hearing the car and the pow pow noises the music to my ears will stop as I know it. I love to hear them softly in their own worlds!

Hat :

OK Hats, I'd like to thank her for always being sooooo ready to get in front of the camera for me. I can't get Ryan to for anything. 

Clear : I just did a major kitchen reorg, mainly because I wanted to go The Container Store but also because we needed it, I haven't done any spring cleaning in years. So here are the CLEAR glass containers that I'm putting out to pasture. 

Out of This World : This apparently is the bus that takes the kids to Hogwarts. From my little fiery redheaded friend Thomas and his AMAZING Lego collection.

Sprinkles : A while back I saw something about taking pictures in a mason jar, so here are my sprinkles in a clear glass jar. I do love the reflection. (Looks kind of like a donut right) 

I enjoyed participating, to see some of the other great entries check out Rambling & Photos. 

Random

So I had several kind of random thoughts passing thru my brain today. Here is one. I happened to take the kids to the grocery with me this afternoon. While I kind of enjoy that most other people find it annoying to have kids in their way, taking up space they need to get thru, I mean really sometimes I feel the same way. But sometimes I really enjoy having them help because they really do help. Anyway what I kept thinking as lady after lady looked kind of put out with my kids, here it is the big thought, ready? I kept thinking wow do you realize that when you are 80 and in a retirement home these are the people that are going to be taking care of you. You will want their patience right, You won't want them to scowl at you or yell at you or hurt your feelings. My kids didn't notice how "in the way" they were at the store and I made every effort today to not make them feel like they were in the way, but wow other people were in a hurry and didn't really remember who they are messing with, their future!!!

He is our future.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday July 17

It's that time and I actually made it this week. It feels good, I really like to participate, it just doesn't always happen. So here are my entries for Scavenger Hunt Sunday over at  Ramblings and Photos.

 Black & White. So today in the shade it was close to 90, which really isn't that hot. The pool was actually invigorating, which at this time in the summer is unusual.

Reflections in Glass : This was tough, I had originally wanted something with the windshield in my car but it was dirty and I was resting today so that was a no go. I ended up really liking this kind of everyday picture because of the processing. 

Headlights : Muscle car for sure !!!

Seeing Double : HUH!!!!

Bare : Bare Feet get it??? 

I crack myself up. 

To see the rest of the fabulous entries check them out over at Ramblings & Photos.

Not Joking !!!

Really I'm not joking. I did not take this picture but today on a fairly busy street near my house I thought I was having a hallucination. First I drove by, quickly because we were late for a basketball game, someone actually hitchhiking. Now I know not that out there but it had been along time since I had seen anything like that. Then within a minute I came across a man riding one of these bikes on the same road, really have you ever???? I thought there was something wrong with me. At first I thought he was riding a unicycle, but then as we got closer I saw the true craziness. Interesting day!!! 

Gavins 9th Birthday

Yes my nephew turned 9 last weekend. Time is flying by. It's funny, I was thining about the birth order of all the kids and cousins and it seems to me like all my kids come between 6 weeks and 1 year after all their cousins. Ellie is 6 weeks older than Ryan, Gavin is barely a year older than Dylan and Sophie is 9 months older and Liam is 9 months younger that Tyler. Thanks heavens that baby Tristan is in a world of his own, no babies to close in either direction. I made myself nervous for a second. Anyway here are some pics of the celebration. It was a ball.

The birthday boy himself, he had a good time, I think.

His mother, who apparently can't read. All that education and she fails miserably, maybe she had some misplaced aggression? Who knows  but she truly enjoyed this. Next time we need to find her bumper boats!!!

 Two of my boys, Tyler had so much fun. I love seeing this, my hearts swells and tears come to my eyes.
Then I start laughing so hard I  have to run to the bathroom. The joys of motherhood.

Happy Birthday big boy, the traditional ice cream sandwich cake with army men all over. Last year there were red sprinkles signifying a little blood fro the army dudes. Love you Gavin !!!

A Little Horsing Around!

OK alot of horsing around. The kids took a lesson while visiting their Oma and I went along for the sweat fest! It was so amazing to see them around these huge animals that I'm so terrified of. I mean really my hands broke out in a sweat, dripping almost when we first approached the barn. Ryan is a natural and Dylan is a natural talker, especially when she gets nervous. Anyway here they are.

This was such a sweet horse, so gentle and so old. Something like 18. 

Ryan loves animals and loves taking care of them. he is so very patient. 

Dylan did her entire lesson while talking a mile a minute. The teacher was so patient with her, kindly redirecting her focus. If only I could be that patient. 

There is the whole follow thru with riding. I mean the horse has to be groomed and fed some treats for a job done well. 

Ryan did most of the grooming on his horse while the teacher assisted. I'd love to find a teacher like this around here. 

She was teaching him how to control the horse with his body language and breathing. When he looked down and let out a deep breather the horse came right to him. It really was amazing. 

On My Mind

This was the scripture that we looked at in church today. For some reason it struck me, I am not letting Christ live through me, I am fighting it at every turn. It would be so much easier to turn my life over to Him and choose those things that would be pleasing to God but for some reason I'm compelled to make other choices. Like to yell at my kids when I could very calmly speak to them, to get frustrated with almost anyone, especially those I love. This life is not about me and if I could live with a servants heart, I can only imagine. 

I think the reason this comes up now is I have been really distracted and let things really distract me from what my focus should be. I feel sometimes like I'm a juggler trying to juggle all these different people and needs and wants. It should be rather simple, maybe. 

The mission trip that went to Rwanda returned and had things to share, so very moving. They talked about the genocide and how something like 80% of the people there are under the age of 25 !!! They are rebuilding everything, from their laws to the courts, the schools and the communities. The part that made me cry like a baby was when the young man speaking talked about the act of actually going over there to serve. He said that he initially thought it was very expensive and the what good would he do, he could just send money. Then he put it all in perspective for me. He said if there was a genocide here would I want those people to help my orphaned children by sending them money or would I like them to help by giving them a hug. WOW moment for me, when I can relate in a personal way it's so powerful. So while I know that those kids do need financial sponsors no matter what, they also need to know love, His Love and that would mean physically touching them and smiling with them and spending time with them! I don't know where this leaves me or how I will change this but I feel like I must. 

Thanks For Coming !!!

So lately I have been involved with some birthday parties, which I think is so much fun!!! My nephew is having a go-cart party next weekend and his sister wanted to do something for the invitations. Since they were already out we decided to do something for thank you cards instead. So the girls got going and made this little car out of a box and then we got the fan out and well we tried our best. I love how it turned out. 

Happy Birthday Gavin !!!

This is the card I made for Dylans thank you notes. It came from a picture we took at her party. I also love how these came out. Currently I'm looking for where I fit in in terms of my photos. Do I want to do some stylized photos, which I really love. Do I want to do just parties? School portraits? Portraits? Newborns? Kids? Families? I'm at a loss and searching.......