{ safely }

he's home sweet home to us...
and boy are we ever glad about that.

{ blue }

( this picture was painted by our

Grannie Annie... isn't is darling? )

{ in good company }

Typically I don't do so well with David being gone for nights on end. I am usually a downright wimp about it. If not for the cheery little girl you see pictured on the left I'm afraid I wouldn't ammount to much more than a weepy, moping, puddle of tears. Fortunately sunshine and smiles follow her around all day long. So we are making it through each day, minus the Man of the House. Not that we don't miss him. Cause we do. Terribly so. It's just that at the same time, I am so glad to have my very own little girl to keep me singing and laughing all the day long.

And here are some of my recent favorite tib-bits of her that I want to be sure to jot down, so I never forget...

Like the way she says flop-flip instead of flip-flop

Or how when I ask her the color of something it is always, often without even looking, red first and if I say no, then it is pink. always.

I love how she cops out half way through the ABCs...once we get to " M " she then insists..."all done, Mommy, all done! "

Hearing her say "dear Jesus..." all by herslef tonight, for the first time

Then I woke up the other morning to her soft little pats and a " hi pretty Mama " (which of course her Dad taught her to say )

How well she has gotten at talking on the phone and when she tells her daddy " I miss you."

The phrase " stinky toes " which she picked up somewhere and says randomly throughout the day. That and " soggy bottom, " referring of course, to a wet diaper.

How every unfamiliar noise, is a " squeaky mouse "

She is really into copying anything and everything we say right now...And other day she was copying Auntie Roo. It went something like this:

A.R. : I

Annabelle: I

A.R. : am

Annabelle: am

A.R: going

Annabelle: going

A.R. : to

Annabelle (shouts with confindence ) : THREE!

Tonight after hearing me talk to her Daddy, who is currently unable to come home because the roads have been closed, on account of a really awful winter storm, she came up to me and said shaking her head gravely, "awww...poor daddy."

Her favorite toy is " Mr Socks " All day long it's " Mr. Socks this and Mr. Socks that, as if he were just another member of the family.

When she says " oh no, Annabelle made a mess! " and tries her little baby best to clean it up.

She is curled up into a little ball on my lap as I type this, sound asleep. And this feeling sweeps through me, that's more of an ache than anything else.

( with her Mr. Socks )

A Week of Color...

For the details on how to play along...go and visit my amazing and precious friend, Fairlight.

Will be making colorful additions to this post everyday for the rest of the week...

Tuesday - Yellow

Monday- Pink

Sunday- White

It's no small thing to be loved by such a great man...

This card:

Inspired by the following:

The idea for this valentine came after a couple minutes of pondering how entirely and well loved I am, every day of my life, by this amazing man.

family resemblance

{ Uncle Daniel and his carbon copy of a niece }

This is Uncle Daniel. He is not usually this grumpy looking. In fact he is really quite a nice fellow. And my word, does this picture ever crack me up. I predict it is destined to become a family classic and talked about for years to come. And is it just me or do they with the dead serious glare and the identical hair curling up at their ears, look alike? Uncle Daniel and Uncle Tommy Jay, who is also a really nice guy, came to visit us last week, and unlike the unfriendly vibe the above picture gives off, they had her in stitches half the time and all get along grandly. We even found her snug as a bug, inbetween the uncles at 4 am in the morning when David went into the guestroom/nursery in the morning to check on her because we hadn't heard peep from her all night. Apparently she had woke up sometime in the middle of the night and called out for Mommy, who was sound asleep in the next room over. Uncle Daniel (who, like the rest of her uncles, is a softy) went and got her and she fell right back to sleep cuddled between he and Uncle Tommy Jay until morning. Super sweet.

{ and a Daddy and Uncle who play tea party,
now if thats serisouly not the cuest thing you have ever seen?}

{ a goodbye kiss for the much adored Unlce Tommy Jay }

wedding talk...

Our best friends are getting married this June. And we all get to be in the wedding. David is the Best Man, I am a bridesmaid and Annibelle's, under one condition, is the flower girl. The condition being, that since she is only going to be two, there is absolutely no way to predict what she will do. We will not be held responsible for the outcome. They agreed to take the risk.

As you can see from the above picture, they are a darling couple, oh so in love with not only eachother, but the idea of spending the rest of their lives together as man and wife. And we can hardly wait for them to get started, knowing first hand, the happiness that lies ahead.

Ever since the evening they suprised us, with glowing faces, stary eyes and gigantic smiles, with their happy news, excited to show off her most amazing, custom designed ring, Anna and I have spent hours & hours, heads together, sprawled out on the living room floor, into the wee hours of the morning, in a sea of magazine clippings...brainstorming, in search of some solid inspirational ideas to build the details of this wedding around...

Here's some of what they've decided on so far

• location: outdoors, preferably out in the middle of a enormous grassy meadow


• color scheme: robins egg blue with orange accents...inspired by a favorite tie of the Groom.


• the bride is going to wear a wreath of fresh daisies in her hair


• flowers will include blue and white wildflowers and orange ranunculous


• table settings, sprouting green grass in barnwood boxes, river rocks adorned in writing with beautiful words like: cherish, beloved, adore, etc.


• serving: dinner menu is yet to be decided upon but at the request of the groom, there will be ice cream cake

{ example of the wedding colors }

So on with planning, and shopping, and preparations...as the ancipation mounts.

Snapshots...

{ a winter wonderland }

{ watching Baby Einstien on the train }

{ dancing with Grandpa Roland, in the kitchen }

{ our little pink snow bunny }

{ this is about the closest we came to finding a "hill" to sled "down" }

{ Grandpa Roland showing Annabelle one of the many cats that live in the garage }

{ rosy cheeks }

{ four generations }

{ hugging the candy machine at the train station, on the way home }