Where Has The Time Gone?

Today I took the girls to the farm to get their pictures in the daffodils. I do it every year. It is amazing how much they have changed. I thought I would do a little comparison.

Here is Kinnison the first year.

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

I just can't believe how fast time goes by.

Welcome Emerson Ruley

I am pleased to announce the birth of my beautiful niece. We are about 99.9% sure her name will be Emerson Lynn Ruley. Emerson made her entrance into this world at 2:23 p.m on March 5, 2009. She weighed 7lbs4oz and was 20 inches long. Ty was very excited to finally meet her.

I didn't think that she looked anything like Ty when he was born, but I think there might be a resemblance.

Barrel of Monkeys Pottery

My friend Mindy is opening a shop on Main Street in Prairie Grove. The name of it is "Barrel of Monkeys Pottery". It is an adorable boutique where you can paint your own pottery! She even does parties there! She will also be featuring baby/kid items that her friends have made. There will be pillowcase dresses, burp cloths, tutus, bows, hats and more! I am personally going to make and sell hair bows, pacifier clips and diaper cakes. I am working on some new projects as well. I will post pictures when I get them mastered. :)

I truly hope that the shop is a success. Spread the word!

Here are some of the items I will have for sell in her shop.

Quick Update

Kimber took her first steps tonight! She has been able to pull up and walk around while holding on to things for a couple months. But, tonight she took her first steps by herself! I can't believe how fast time goes by. Even though last year was difficult, I miss it. My babies are growing up too fast.

Spring Fever

The temperature was 71 degrees today! Too bad I couldn't enjoy it. I am in desperate need for a break from school. The warm weather gets me excited. I can't wait for flowers, flip flops, and most of all I can't wait for garden veggies. YUM! Garden season is a busy time for us. Working in the garden is very time consuming. We also can, freeze and pickle veggies. We have lived off of our garden all winter. Luke goes overboard. He has over 400 plants in the window. But, his garden last year fed us and most of my family. When the time comes I will post my favorite recipes. We make dill pickles. We make salsa, rotel and juice tomatoes. We make strawberry jam. We even made three different kinds of pickled okra. The most time consuming and the most rewarding will be Grandma Veda's frozen corn. It is the most amazing corn I have ever eaten. Had I known how much time, effort and love she put into each quart, I probably wouldn't have eaten as much as I did when we went to visit. It is hard work. But, it will be something I do every year.

Luke has been building me a flower bed. I should have taken before photos. But, I didn't. When I get it finished I will post some photos. I can't wait. We needed some landscaping to make our barn a home. :)

My Monet Part II

Kinnison's Bird
(Awesome!)

Kimber is a smart girl as well! I was doing some homework and heard Kinnison yell, "Kimber is using that for a cupholder." She had her sippy cup stuck in Kinnison's boot!

This is how Kimber gives kisses. I had to post a picture. She looks like a baby bird!

Happy Birthday Kimber!

Yesterday I stayed home because Kinnison & Kimber were both sick. Kinnison was throwing up and they both had 101 temperature. We went ahead and had the party, even though they still weren't feeling well tonight. My mom cooked some really good food. We got a fabulous cake from Rick's Bakery. Kimber wasn't really a fan of eating the cake. Her daddy stuck her hand in the icing and she started screaming. She couldn't really open presents, so some of her friends and family helped her out. They all had fun. She got a lot of really great presents. THANK YOU to everyone who shared Kimber's special day. I am still in disbelief that Kimber is one. I wish I could freeze time. I don't want my babies to grow up.

Here are some photos:

And here is the montage I made her for her birthday.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sisters Are Great Part II

For Christmas we got the girls a foam doll dress up set. It is like paper dolls. But, these are made of foam and they stick to the side of the tub. Kinnison loves to dress them up in different clothes. Kimber tries to eat them. Anyway, when we go to get the girls out of the tub, this is what we find:

Kinnison likes to stick the dolls and their clothes on Kimber. Kimber thinks it is funny.

Bittersweet

Valentine's Day is a fun day. It is filled with love, flowers and more importantly, chocolate. I have always enjoyed Valentine's Day....up until 3 years ago. The first baby I miscarried was due February 14, 2007. So, tomorrow Luke and I will watch a movie, I will devour an entire cookie cake, and I will be thinking of our sweet baby.

We're Back!

After 15 days, we finally have power. WHEW! It was a long, hard two weeks. Ozark Electric said it was the biggest power outage in their history. They were 97% restored on Sunday. So, we were in the last 3%! The ice storm was horrible The damage is extensive. I won't go on my rant about how long it took to be declared a disaster area. It looks like a tornado hit. Speaking of tornado, we are under a tornado watch tonight.

I tried to keep an upbeat attitude. I am appreciative of those who are working diligently to restore power. However, I did complain. I had more than one breakdown. It was horrible. Luke and I both work full time. We have two small kids. I am taking 12 hours of ONLINE classes. Typically I do 2-3 loads of laundry a day. There were days we didn't bathe. The kids didn't get a bath every night. There were days we didn't wash dishes and clothes. I hope I never have to start or fill up another generator in my life. I am sick of flipping breakers. I refuse to do homework while using a lantern! Boiling water, lighting candles, folding blankets, washing my hair in the sink.....it is exhausting! I am thankful that we have electricity now. However, I am sad for those who still don't have power. I hope we never go through this again. I'm not sure I will ever catch up.

I will continue to pray for the people who don't have power and the men and women who are working hard to restore it. I am thankful for the kind people who offered to let me shower at their house or use their washer and dryer. We appreciate you!

Here are some more photos

We have tons of cleanup to do. It will takes months. I hope we can move forward and put the Ice Storm of 2009 behind us. It has been a horrible two weeks. Koko, you will be missed. We love you.