Wordless Wednesday ~ Now you see him . . .

. . . now you don't!



Happy 4th, only 2 weeks late! :c)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Measure of a Man

WW ~ A Place Like Heaven

This shot is extra special because it's not only a part of Wordless Wednesday, but also a part of It's 4 The Kids, an organization that my friend, Michelle B. began. Michelle is an amazing writer and artist. She has an incredible gift of illustration. You can see some of her work here, here, and here is a book she is publishing called Macy-Sue LaRue.

Anyway, this is by no means a sales pitch for her, but a shout out to her for her artistic gifts that I really adore. And these gifts are going to gift so many, specifically sick children with cancer.

Michelle's inspiration for all this began with a total stranger . . . Julian . . . "King Julian" they call him. Julian was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma during this 3rd year of life and just a few months ago Julian earned his wings in Heaven at the age of 4-1/2. He fought hard. And it was Julian who inspired Michelle so much that she had people all over the world aware of the situation and praying for Julian. He was such a fighter and such a beautiful little boy. No child deserves to go through what he did. Instead of just watching these little people fight for their innocent lives, we must do something to help them. And we can! We can raise money to fight the fight against pediatric cancer. And because of Michelle, this is more possible than ever.

(Take time to read about Julian's fight here and his descent with wings here and here.)

At It's 4 The Kids, we can make a difference. Artists from all over are selling their artwork, either at a set price or as a donation. I am one of those selling the photo above. I don't have a price on it. It's purely a donation cost, and 75% of it will go towards It's 4 The Kids. Please donate. Please please please.


Here's a little about how 4 The Kids came about. I hope you check it out. I urge you to check it out. This organization is so strong on her heart, as it is mine. Because of Michelle's passion for Julian and all other children suffering, she has made a huge impact on people like myself. Please allow her to make an impact on you. Visit It's 4 The Kids. Let's make a difference.

If you are an artist and would like to donate artwork, please contact Michelle at It's 4 The Kids.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Red meets green

A fresh bright red pedicure and bright green uncut grass to run my tootsies through. Not much gets better than that!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday ~ Running Into Springtime

My baby girl (who is no longer a baby) is running into her 3rd spring as quickly as she can looking for new discoveries and adventures all around her. It's exciting for mommy, but at the same time, so bittersweet. They grow up so fast . . .

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Munchkins (and me) in March

I knew that once Easter Sunday came, my kids would not want their pictures taken. I just knew it. And yep, that was the case. So days before Easter I found them happy, carefree and excited about getting their pictures taken. So we quickly did a couple. They sure are growing up.

Wordless Wednesday ~ in writing

{I added some new pictures and items to my blog called "Grandma's Diary" which you really must check out. One of them being this pay stub. It left me very speechless as I can imagine it will you. It is a stub of my grandfather's when he was 18 or 19 years old. He worked 78 hours for . . . well, click on it and you'll see for how much pay. 63 years later, it's hard for us to imagine working so hard for so long each week for such little pay, and as an educated person! It makes me respect him even more, and I didn't think I could gain any more respect for a man I already had so so much respect for. Missing you and loving you always, grandpa.}

WW ~ "You make my life so much fun . . . "

. . . we're going to be friends forever . . .
{click on pic to see 'em larger}

Wordless Wednesday ~ morning lovin'

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday ~ Better late than never . . .

Last Friday was this mommy's very first ever field trip; and as a chaperone. It was really fun but I have to say I won't volunteer for one of those again for a while ;c)

There were so so so many people there -- we went to a pumpkin patch with hundreds of other kids doing the same thing -- so our kids, being some of the smallest, kinda just blended in. It was hard keeping track of them and having had Maia with us, it made it even more hectic. Bless my friend, Nikki, who went as a chaperone with her 8-month old daughter and 2-year old son! We did have a great time, though, especially Noah and Maia. The kids (all of them) were so so so good and the day was perfect for them.

The best thing for me was seeing my son interact with his friends. He is definitely a follower and was almost always at the back of the pack of boys, but was always willing to keep up and always had a big smile on his face doing so. I can still hear him saying "wait for me, guys!!". It was so sweet! And to see him run through the patch in search of the perfect pumpkin, that was so memorable, too. He'd say "Look at this one, guys!". He is just the proudest little guy and has such a big heart for his friends. As a mother, you love to see that. It just grabs at my heart.

And then there was Maia. She was at the very end of the pack as a straggler. She so wants to be in preschool like her big brother. She calls all the other kids her "friends" (however, it sounds like "fends"). She and her little boyfriend, Isaac, who is also (just turned) 2, had the very best time trying to keep up with the fun, very busy, inquisitive preschoolers.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Here's to many more chaperoning trips ~ I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing??This will be one of my favorite memories. Watching him run and run and run. The pumpkin fields seemed to be endless and were like Heaven on Earth for a child who loves to run and explore.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Fields of Gold

Wordless Wednesday ~ A (wordful) tribute to VW's

VW's are fabulous. And they have my name written all over them. (Literally!) I. Love. Volkswagons. Oh yes I do!

It all started when I was little and my childhood friend's dad called me "V-Dub". It was when I was of driving age, that I realized just how darn cute those vehicles were. So I dreamed and dreamed of getting a VW. Too expensive. Until a co-worker of mine was selling one of hers (yes, she had two). I snatched it up even though I really couldn't afford it. Luckily we did just fine with the payments and I had "Green" for 3 more years.

(So as I mentioned in my previous post about the new mommy wheels I have acquired, I thought I would post some pictures as a tribute of when I got rid of my first VW, "Green" back 4 years ago. (Yes, I am as corny as they come!))

September of 2003 I was pregnant . . . very pregnant . . . and about to burst any day. I knew I would be giving birth soon and knew that the baby could not come home in a tiny VW convertible. Yeah, it was possible, but not very likely if my 6'4" hubby were to ride home with us ;) So, sadly I got rid of "Green", who was a very good friend. But I drove away with a new Indigo Blue Passat, so very quickly I wasn't missing "Green" so much anymore.
Right after we washed her for the last time, I pose hugely pregnant before heading to the dealership.And here she is . . . so cute, don't you agree? I bought her in '00 the summer after we were married.Neil drove us to the dealership and I (as geeky as I am) snapped self-portraits of my belly. Oh my lands, is it huge or what?! I sure loved being pregnant, but I'm really thankful I'll never be this big again!By the time it was time to drive away, it was dark out. I shot this picture right before we hopped in the new car and drove away. There's "Green" on the right and the new VW on the left.
And, with talk about birth so much lately here at my blog, and since I was 9 months pregnant when we got the "family car", I can't not post a picture or two of the new little dootle-bug we named "Noah". This one was taken when he was 6 weeks old. Aren't we a cute little family?My boy, soaking up some window rays. He wasn't like this very often. He was colic for 8-1/2 months. I don't miss those days.And finally, me and my boy.

While I really loved my VW's and really like this new van (I still can't believe I have a van!), nothing, absolutely nothing, is more precious or more valuable or more beautiful than my children. And if a van accomodates them and works for us, then it's all worth it. It's even worth being "uncool" :c)

I think I'm going to still keep my license plate. Whatcha think?

Wordless Wednesday . . . TRULY wordless

Wordless Wednesday ~ Yummy!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Barbies Revisited

Wordless Wednesday ~ "Just like old times"

It's been so long, I almost forgot about Wordless Wednesday! So, here I am a month later, and I'm ready to get back into it. I miss the WW girls! Happy WW to you all. It's nice to be back.


The not-so-wordless part:

This is Sami and Noah running across the street together hand-in-hand (we gave them permission). Sam is Noah's dearest friend who moved far far away last summer, and this was their first reunion since they moved. It was like time had not separated them at all. It was bittersweet for me. I had hoped they would milk it all for all it's worth, and I think they very much did so. They were hand-in-hand a lot, and it was the best thing ever seeing it as a mommy and as a friend to Sami's mother, Alexis, who I also got to spend some amazing time with. I miss her so much, but visits do happen (yay!), and those visits are always so special! I know we'll never not be in touch or not be seeing each other, but I still really cherish the times. You realize when people move away whose friendships really were rare and special because effort then has to be made. Our friendship is definitely one of those, and I hope will continue to be between Noah & Sami also. It will be interesting to see as time goes on, how they react to each other. The holding hands stage isn't going to last long. I have a feeling next time it will be "eewww, gross, she's a girl!" kinda thing. But inside my heart, I'm hoping not.

I also have to mention that 5 Minutes for Mom has another great giveaway! I found it on their last day! Yay!!! The way Noah loves milk, I really really do hope I win! And if you've made it this far, be sure to check out Horizon organics. Every time we go to Starbucks Noah asks me for their milk. He loves loves loves it and I finally did try it and wow, is it good! It's so sweet! Happy contest-ing!

Wordless Wednesday ~ I love you, cousin

Wordless Wednesday ~ "Friendships"