friday night.

it's friday night.
ben's fast asleep and john took josh to the movies.
anna and i are sharing the couch.
her favorite movie is on.
pretzels are being nibbled.
blankets are being shared.
the living room is filled with a soft warm glow.

sometimes i forget anna is only seven years old.
she is talkative and funny.
she is smart and has a great memory.
she is sure of herself, confident and kind.
she is growing, maturing, changing every day.
and i'm the lucky one who gets to spend my friday night with her.

caught.

i snuck up on ben with my camera, while he was eating an oreo cookie.
he looked so cute with chocolate all over his sweet little mouth!
(check out those KILLER eyelashes!)

but when the camera shutter snapped, he caught me!

and that was that.

watercolors.

i found this etsy shop called DIMDI today and thought i would share.
it's full of beautiful watercolor paintings of animals.
have you ever tried to paint watercolors?
it is so HARD!

what is so neat, i think, is that you could have your pet's portrait painted too!
wouldn't that be a special gift?

oh i wish i had a beach house.
for many reasons really. :)
but i would love to hang that hermit crab painting somewhere!

eat.

now this is what a summer salad should look like!
made from leftover steak and corn, carrots, tomatos, greens and bleu cheese dressing.
YUM.

don't ya love my fancy plate and napkin?
it's hot, it's summer, fogeddaboutit!
now go eat!

the pool.

it's hot here in the deep south.
really hot.
so we have already made our first trip to the pool.

it's amazing how HAPPY the kiddos are when we are there.

the whining is minimal.
the smiles are everywhere.

and ben boy has turned into quite the water rat!
he cried and fussed when it was time to leave.

can't wait to spend many more afternoons there and pronto!

life.

the longer i live the more beautiful life becomes.

~frank lloyd wright

yesterday and today brought with them a few challenges, and i'm still sorting through my feelings about all of it.

but let me just say, God's love and guidance showed up in a big way to help ease my mind.

around every corner, there was yet another uplifting message, signs that we are on the right path.
that with obedience there is also peace.

obsessed.

with old blue books.
only shades of blue.
ok, sometimes i'll grab a khaki, brown or black book, but i'm obsessed by my beloved blue.
and never, ever, spend more than $2.
:)