I am here

I realize it's been ages since I shared on here last. Our days have been full....sometimes too full.

I have always wanted this to be a space of memories...I want this little blog to be a place where my children can see pictures and read stories and memories of what it was like to raise them. It just started feeling like another thing that I needed to do, and that's never any fun. I think the little break was a great thing.

So here is a little video from the past few months to sum up what has filled our days. You can make it bigger to get the full effect of how blessed I am to have such an amazing family :)

xoxoxoxo

she IS mine

Hi there! I am still here. It's been a while. I've been on a crazy-long, unintentional blogging hiatus that comes from having 4 kiddos, work, and school. There have been nights when I knew that writing would be freeing, or at least a helpful way to hold on to some of these moments that happen while raising children and navigating life. But sleep or kid-free time with my husband always won out. Not like anyone was just itching for me to post something :)

Right now, my husband and Tyler are fishing, as I woke slowly with Evie cuddled next to me, while Kaiti and Jack ate breakfast (it's awesome having a child that can poor cereal!) and watched Mr. Popper's Penguins. When I finally dragged my rear out of bed, I went downstairs to clean up some. Kaiti interrupted my vacuuming because she came to an important decision.


So the back story- Tyler and Kaiti both had all A's with one B+ each on their 3rd quarter report card- they were both bummed out that they got A/B honor roll and missed all A's by a plus. They were both student's of the month, but were still pouty because they didn't get all A's. Jeremiah and I told them that all A's and a B+ was great, especially since they moved to a new school in the middle of the term and worked hard to learn quickly.
That didn't help. They'd both had always gotten only A's in the past and they were bumming pretty heavily.




I told them that if they worked really hard and made any improvements on the next report card (their final report card for the year), we'd take them out on a sibling-free date to celebrate their hard work. I didn't promise a toy or money- I just said that if they worked even harder we would let them choose something to do where they didn't have to take into account their younger brother and sister. I said it one time, and neither Tyler or Kaiti ever mentioned that little promise again.

Until yesterday. They both did it- both pushed themselves a little harder and made all A's on their report cards. So, as I am vacuuming, Kaiti says "please mom. turn that off. this is important. I made my decision." (I had zero idea what she was talking about and I was somewhat prepared for her to tell me she was moving to Kansas by herself-- which, to be fair, I would have understood. ;)

Eyes wide as saucers, Kaiti laid it out."Okay I decided what I want to do for my special date for my hard work- I want to get my nails done, have soup at Panera, shop some at Target, listen to fun music in the car, get to hold Mr. Tray and Miss Rachel's baby, and then have a hippity-hop race with you in the park."


Depsite her light colored-straight hair, blue eyes, skinny-mininess,  and tall body, this conclusively proves that the girl is indeed mine. Also, I really should have been more specific when I said "special date".

what's the worst thing you could ask to borrow from a stranger?

I am nothing if not consistent.

When I wrote last night, I said that I'd probably be posting today because I am procrastination royalty and I knew I'd be dragging my behind on schoolwork. And here I am. Dragging my behind on schoolwork. And writing a blog post.

This post is probably going to be 

ONE HOT MESS.

because that is what my life is like right now. 

So the kids and I have either ebola or the flold- that combo of vomity, feverish germiness {flu} that then transcends to a coughing, snot-infested dimension {cold} of ick. The past couple bouts of tuberculosis sickness we caught left me without even a tummy rumble. Which is awesome because someone's got to be the one scrubbing the upchuck off the floor. I'm not surprised that I caught this one, though. Stress manifests itself in the body and try as I might to deal with it, I think I was run ragged enough for the germs to take over. This little virus we've caught took me down, and took me down quick. My voice is currently at 20%. A vast improvement from yesterdays 5%. I ordered Panera takeout for dinner yesterday and I ended up with an odd mix of food that I did not request. But because I could barely squeak out what I wanted I wasn't surprised- the guy who answered the phone apparently does not speak "flold". He DID manage to hear my request for a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup, though. Thank God, or I'd have had the mutha of all hissy fits once I got home and realized I didn't get my soup. Seriously. 

The hardest part about being sick is this tiny shoebox of a home only has a shrinky-dinky standing shower in the master bathroom. No bath. Our house in Jacksonville has a super deep jetted tub. 

{moment of silence for the tub} 

When I get sick, I soak. It makes me right again. But with no bath, I had to go into the kids mini-sized bathtub and make do. What that basically means is that I was able to soak a third of my butt cheeks, half of my thighs, parts of my calves, and my heels in hot water. Not really what I was going for. But (HAHAHA) one third of my rear-end was very relaxed afterwards. 

And the other thing......our water heater is the size of a bumble bee's toenail (that's really small, okay? wait. do bumblebees have toenails? for the sake of this visualization, yes, they do). So hygiene maintenance is like a freakin olympic event here. I am shuffling naked booties in and out of the shower to ensure that none of us suffers hypothermia while trying to just to wash the day right out of our hair(s). Sigh. I wish you could see our cockamamie shower/bath routine.  Since you can''t, here's a transcript.....

"Jack, hurry, I still see bubbles in your hair! Scrub, buddy, scrub! This is no time for talking! Kaiti, get your pants off and be ready! Are you ready??? You don't seem ready! Tyler don't worry about your legs tonight, kiddo forget the feet, WE DON'T! HAVE! TIME!!!!!!!"

I just pretend like we are serious conservationists and we are choosing to save the planet, one gallon of water at a time. Four kids bathing in ten minutes...... where is my medal? (for real. where is it?)

If we ever happen to be invaded by deadly ants or grasshoppers the size of one's hand, I am screwed. Jack and Tyler have so many fake bugs strewn all over the house that I don't even give a second glance when I see creepy looking creatures on the floor, I just step over them. Maybe people who suffer from arachnophobia should try this as a form of treatment. If no one else has tried this technique, let it be known that I totally called it first. 

Okay. Before I tell you this I have to ask.....what is the worst thing you could ask to borrow from a person? 

A stranger? 

(After I told Jeremiah this story I asked him that, and we had a really fun contest thinking of the nastiest things you could ask to borrow from, and give back to, a stranger . actually, it wasn't a contest. it was just me. texting him nasty thing after nasty thing until my fingers could text no more.)

okay, so the story. About a week after Jeremiah left {of course, because this crap NEVER happens when there are 2 clear-thinking, capable adults in the home}, I was working on a paper and I hear Kaiti and Jack screaming and hear a gush of water. The downstairs toilet overflowed. A lot. I managed to stop the flow of water (and not the right way, because I am Shannon-- I shoved a ruler under that metal thing in the tank of the toilet to stop the water from filling) and used EVERY. SINGLE. TOWEL we own to clean up the mess. I ran to get the plunger when I realized we didn't have one. As an FYI, when you move to a new home, a plunger should always be on the list of things to buy immediately from Target.  So what do I do? I go to the next door neighbors house, a woman I had met only briefly and did not even know her name at the time,  and ask a complete stranger if I could please borrow her plunger. 

YEAH. 

I did that. 

So in an effort to thank her for letting my borrow her urine/feces stick a couple weeks ago, I decided to share my breakfast with her this morning. One, because Hallmark does not make a card that is fitting for the occasion, and two, because the breakfast was delicious and I felt it would adequately pay her back. Have you ever made Pioneer Woman's monkey muffins? Do it. Do it NOW. 

I had Kaiti run a plate over to her. I hope she liked them. I hope she rubbed her belly and elevated my status to Mother Theresa level. -they really are that good- 

Because later in the day I was really rethinking my kindness and wished I had just given her a pine cone or something instead of those precious monkey muffins. Ohhhhh. Monkey muffins.

In the past, I've shared stories about Kaiti and her adorable quirkiness. My {oldest} daughter is a nut. I'm a big fan of hers. The other night, before the ebola took over my body, I was making tacos for dinner when Kaiti came in to chat.

K: Mom, how come you don't ever roast any chickens?

Me: Way-ullllll........I'm a bit scared of the chicken. Why? Why are you asking me that and how do you know about roasting?

K: Every once in a while I get grumpy, and I'm just wondering if it's cause I don't have any roasty chickens?

Me: Well, I doubt it, because then your brothers would be really grumpy, and so would Evie. And look at Jack- that goof ball is incapable of grumpy.

K: You should probably learn how to make roasty chicken. I think you should know that. Just in case.......

----her "just in case" sounded ominous enough that I was googling 'how do you roast a chicken' later that night----

that's all for now folks. on to the picture portion of our post.


this boy. never a dull moment around these parts.



and this bad-hair-day baby girl is just like the kiddo above her.


no jackets. sleeveless shirts on the first day of March. thank goodness.


the aquarium in Virginia Beach is neato.



if you couldn't see our legs, you'd really think we all got swallowed.




one, they could do this all day. two, that purse she is wearing is from last century and I have no idea how she found it.
three, this was on trip number eight.



taken .3 seconds before she tossed her fork and settled for her hand.



oh boy. he had just misbehaved and I asked him to talk to me. then he did this.


playing 'I bet I can make you laugh'. she's a pro.


I promise there were no little babies being deprived of their swing while she did this.



monkey muffins. delicious.


the crux of who they are in one little photo.




if I had a hobby, this is what it would be.



watching the sun make it's exit from our front porch.

my dad

An update on my dad.

A few weeks ago, I shared what was going on with my Dad and asked for prayers. Thank you for praying for him.

I do have some good news, it's just not as good as I'd like it to be.

My Dad is still in the ICU at UCSF. Shortly after I shared what was going on, I got a call early in the morning from my dad's girlfriend Bev saying that his condition had worsened rather quickly. Based on what she said, I knew I had to get to the hospital- that I could not wait any longer. Jeremiah had been granted a brief time away the squadron in San Diego, so he was home if I needed to go. I did. I flew out to San Francisco, met my sister at the airport, and we went to the ICU to be with my Dad.

He didn't look good. He was heavily sedated, had a vent in, and several tubes and wires lay angled across his body and face. It was really hard. Even with the amount of sedation he was under you could still see his body start to tremor and spasm, and his face would turn purple, his heart monitors would go off, and it was clear he was in a great deal of pain.  The entire week was up and down. We had tremendous hope at one moment, and then hours later it would be dashed by results of a scan or test. We would see one area improve while another started to fail. I stayed for a week but had to come home.

It tore me apart leaving him. And I didn't want to leave my sister either.

It was so good to be with my sister again and spend time with her family. 
I missed my kids so much- that was the only time I had ever been away from them, except to have another baby. But I really felt like I needed to be with my Dad. 


*I wrote this post, but realized I left out one important thing. I also felt like I needed to fly out to be there for my sister. She had been at my Dad's bedside for a week by the time I got there. And she continues to go up as much as she can. She weathered the worst of it and saw my Dad in very bad shape. So what I saw, while it looked awful, was nothing compared to what she saw before I arrived. 

The neurologists officially diagnosed my dad with Stiff Man's Syndrome with the extreme subset of PERM, which stands for progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus. The condition is very rare and we were told that he has the most aggressive case that's ever been noted. So. They attempted all known forms of treatment (there is no cure), and tried some treatments that they knew were incredible long shots. None of them worked like they had hoped.

He is now on a more experimental type of steroid treatment. And he is sort of responding- however, the spasms and tremors are still occurring, as is the pain and other symptoms, just not to such a severe extent. The steroids are causing another host of issues. He is extremely disoriented. He thinks he is at war and has been acting volatile, agitated and confused- all typical effects of treatment. He is mixing in truth/factual memory with fiction. Apparently for the past two days he has been asking for Jeremiah nonstop- he thinks he is in danger and is waiting for Jeremiah to rescue him. It is heartbreaking to hear. We just want him better. I miss the Dad I knew when my Mom was alive. He was happy and funny and witty and would play Scrabble with me until 3 in the morning. I don't think I will be getting that Dad back. Even if they figure out a way to control the spasms, it will come at a significant cost. Could you please keep praying? 

This has been so hard. For so many reasons. We have had a very rough couple of years. Struggles and issues and sadness and tears. I love my Dad. He's the man I measured everyone else against. Above all of the noise and the clamor that have permeated the last few years, I still hear the whisper of love. I love my Dad. And I want this all to be better. I want my Dad back and I want my babies to have their Grandpa Bill again. But mostly, I want him to have peace. 

So that's it for now. 

I have a feeling I'll be procrastinating tomorrow. I have a marketing simulation to work on and a finance test to study for. Which means I will probably be blogging first. That's how bad my procrastination is. When I know I am going to have so much to work on tomorrow, and I am saying I will likely be blogging before I even open a book. Awesome. 

And because I like to post with pictures and don't want to be full of gloom and sadness, here you go.

my dad needs prayers

hi all. I thought I would come on here to ask for prayer and answer questions for those that are praying with me.

my dad is very sick and in the hospital right now. doctors still don't know what is causing it- in fact, several times, his situation has been compared to a house episode. 

it started, the serious part, this past weekend. he went to the doctors for a follow-up appointment on diabetes. 

{a couple weeks ago he started experiencing a lot of frightening symptoms- dizziness, light-headedness, thirst, and felt like his heart was beating out of his skin. he went in to the doctor then and his blood sugar level was at 600. he should be between 100 and 125. 600 is a very high glucose level and could be very dangerous. they immediately started him on a regimen to lower it, and he stayed in the hospital then. he was released the next day, and had all sorts of follow-up procedures scheduled. he followed the strict diet they outlined and began insulin.}

fast forward to this past weekend. he was having some troubling symptoms again, went in to the doctor, was admitted to the hospital, treated, and then released. 

I last spoke to him on Saturday, as did my sister, and despite being discharged, his symptoms still seemed to be present.

somewhere in the next 24 hours things took a sharp turn for the worst. he lost consciousness and started having seizure-like spasms. he was writhing in pain, and, from what I understand, started becoming incoherent. he was taken to the hospital and admitted.

the spasms/seizures continued, he became more agitated, and his coherency continued to slip away. at some point, he lost all feeling in his legs and was unable to move them or respond to touch. they tested him for strokes- his brain function looked and continues to look normal. his heart also looks fine. and the neurological exam showed no tumors or blockages. they observed that his spasms are not seizures and they do not know what is going on or why they are continuing. and he is in a great deal of pain. also, he started hallucinating. he believed he was back fighting in vietnam yesterday. in the brief moments he is conscious, he calls out in pain and sounds to be very confused. in trying to manage his pain and figure out the cause, they worried that some of the medication was making the hallucinations worse. so they removed certain meds, and the hallucinations appear to have decreased- but the pain has intensified.

for the first time this afternoon I was able to talk to him on the phone and tell him how much I love him. and it completely broke my heart. bev, his girlfriend, has been with him the entire time. my sister drove up last night when things got worse. 

the doctors have said that right now they don't think his life is in immediate danger, but they really don't know what is going on. they do know that his potassium and magnesium levels are very very low and that could be causing a lot of this. but they do not understand what is making those levels so low, as he is obviously being given those intravenously. 

right now I just want to be there. but since Jeremiah is gone and I don't have any family nearby and am in a new city, I'd have to take all of my kids with me- and everyone is firm in that my kids should not see him like this; and I doubt they would even be able to. not to mention it would be crazy expensive to fly the 5 of us out on last minute notice (though my sister has graciously offered to get our tickets). if jeremiah were here right now, I would already be there with my dad, holding his hand. but my husband is not here, so I am trying to wait for information from bet, the doctors, and my sister to decide what to do. if it gets any worse, we are going, and I will figure all the rest out later. 

so I am asking you to pray. pray that his pain be eased, pray that the doctors figure out what is causing all of this, pray that his magnesium and potassium levels will pick up.

thank you. I will post an update as soon as I am able to. 

overwhelmed

this happened, last week. 

again. 

new city. new home. new school. new people. 

minus one.

minus my favorite.

I love my husband and I believe in what he does and that he was meant to do it.

but man.....

this 

is 

getting 

old.

Today was beautiful. It has been pretty chilly up here since we arrived- at least, to me it was chilly. I came from 74 degree weather, so anything below 60 feels very cold to me. I am a total wimp when it comes to cold. I break out the Uggs and sweaters when the thermostat gets to 68. And it has been in the 50s and low 60s since we arrived. But not today. 

Today it was beautiful outside. 

Ironic, because I have been a ball of sadness as we prepare to say goodbye to Jeremiah. Rather than wallow in my misery and eat 18 snickers, I decided to join the little ones in the backyard and soak up the suns rays. I realized I had yet to take any pictures of the backyard (or front yard, or inside of the house either) so I grabbed my camera and click clicked until it was time to leave for the bus.....which could not come soon enough. Today was a little better than yesterday, but I am still suffering from bus-anxiety.

Here are some pictures of what the back of the house looks like. As small and unprivate as the backyard is, I really like it. And we have the only great big tree in our backyard and I am thinking that is going to come in super handy in the hot summer months. 

This is the view from the garage entrance. I ended up moving the kids little table once I started taking pictures. That little table used to reside in our kitchen, but like I have said over and over, our house is very small.



Our house is one of ten brick town homes on the edge of the base. Jeremiah and I were very nervous about being "attached" to people on both sides because we tend to be a little noisy. But we have been amazed at how little we hear. Either the insulation is super or our neighbors have taken vows of silence. (Although, I should probably ask them how loud we are.....)



Oh, and we are only partially attached to the home you see on the left, because we are on the end we jut out some. Not sure why that matters exactly, just felt like sharing.



We are going to be planting grass in the spring because the kids have been tracking muddy feet and I am going to lose my mind. I really am not a fan of carpet y'all.



This is our little patio. I like it. I like sitting up here and watching the kids make noises that rival the sounds of the jets  and helos flying overhead. I can't wait until it is springtime and I can have my coffee out here and watch the kids play.



The view from our back walkway- the trunk of that lovely old tree.



I know you can't see the other shoe, but it is a red croc that belongs to his sister.



This little slide makes her all kinds of happy.



See.



As I was peeking through the viewfinder, it dawned on me how big she has gotten. My sweet bald baby has enough hair to clip. Her chubby little fingers can hold a spork to shovel spoonfuls sporkfuls of mashed potatoes into her chubby cheeks. And she can climb up the slide all by herself and claps at me (her way of saying BACK OFF CHICA!) if I try to help her. So forgive the picture overload. I just want to document her lovely little chin dimple, perfectly pink little pucker, and the wispy pieces of golden hair I have been waiting to see grow.



Hello sweet thing. I adore you.



I love how she knows I am watching her and snapping away, just waiting to get a shot of her beautiful eyes staring back at me, and she does this. her thought bubble: "not gonna look at you. not gonna. see. still not looking."



Then she did this. And it makes my love grow even bigger for her. She is quirky and silly and sweet and willful and beautiful and cuddly. And somewhere during our big moving experience she crossed the halfway point between 1 and 2. My sweet baby girl is growing up. In case you couldn't tell.

Hi. I moved.

It's been a little while since I have written last. And ay yi yi  have we been busy. The short version goes like this: painted the house, scrubbed everything down, kids said goodbye to their school and classmates, took mini trip to Orlando to visit Legoland and Seaworld before we bid the Sunshine State adieu, movers came, loaded our things, said goodbye to our amazing friends, loaded up 2 cars with 4 kids, 2 adults, 2 fish, 1 dog, 1 cat, and 1 frog and made our way to our new home. I feel like I could fill a thousand pages with the stories from the past couple weeks. But because I have reaction paper that needs to be done, I am just going to talk about today.

This morning was to be my kid's first time as "bus riders" to school. They have ridden buses to school field trips, but never rode it to get to school. To say I was hesitant to let them ride would be the understatement of the century. I honestly kept trying to talk them out of it. "Isn't it fun rock out to music on the way to school?" "You don't ever have to worry about who to sit with in my car......." "I'll give you a lollipop if you ride with me!!!" 

Nothing worked. 

Apparently riding the bus is a Very Big Deal, y'all. Jeremiah and I talked about it and agreed to let them try it out. If anything even remotely not-good happens, sayonara bus! The reality is, it really is convenient- the bus stops on our street of only ten houses. It takes us ten seconds to get to the bus stop from my front porch. I won't have to wake the littles up and bundle them tight in the mornings. But mostly, the kids were crazy giddy to ride the bus. 

The bus arrives on our street at 8:50. School starts at 9:30 (crazy late!!!) but the kids are all provided a free breakfast, if they'd like, that they take back to the class to have. They arrive at school at about 5 after 9, I am told. So at 8:48, I peeked out and saw the bus heading our way. The kids and I walked down and said hi to all the neighbor kids. 

{I know I have not mentioned much about it, but we are living on the base- in the only actual on-base housing. Our street is totally removed from the hustle and bustle of the base- the ten homes really are the only thing back here. I like that. There is a park right next to us, too, and lots of trees which make for a shady, quiet street. And because all 10 homes are all 4 bedrooms, you have to have at least 2 or 3 kids to even live here. So between the ten homes, there are about 25 kids. About half of them are all attending the same school my kids do- and the school is small. They have less than 240 students. From what we came from, that is super duper small! So some of the little kids that live on our street are in the same classes as my kids.}

Back to the bus stop. I asked them for the 962nd time if they were sure they wanted to ride the bus, and Kaiti shot me daggers and said with such exasperation- "MOMMMM, I am a BUS RIDER." Can't blame a mom for trying, right? 

I watched them climb up and I waved until my arm went started tingling. I was chatting with one of my neighbors, but was mostly watching to make sure the driver's hands never slipped from the ten-and-two-o'clock positions. And then I watched him drive away with half of my offspring and fought the urge to try and jump on his bumper. I hurried up my porch steps and told Jeremiah I was going to  get in the car and follow them to make sure they made it to school okay. He intervened. And got me a paper bag to breathe into.

I promise I am not really this crazy mom. If anything, I'm probably too lax. But we are in a new city, the kids are going to a new school, and I don't know the bus driver from Adam. His make might even be Adam, for all I know. I freak out when even our parent's drive our kids around- which has happened maybe three or four times. So. There it is. Go ahead and judge it if you must, but I admit, I have some control issues. 

School ends at 3:55 and the bus is supposed to drop off at our stop at 4:05. I was at the bus stop at 3:35. Just standing there, about fifteen feet from my front door, peering down the street, waiting to hear the sounds of the wheels on the bus chugging down my quiet little {new} street.


Jeremiah came out and took the littles to the park, which is conveniently right next to the bus stop, as I stood. My feet would not move me from my spot. 

I announced when it was 3:55. And then 4:00. And then at 4:04 I yelled out "One minute!!!" to Jeremiah. I am pretty sure he rolled his eyes at me, but I couldn't tell because I did not want to avert my gaze for fear of missing the bus. 4:05 came. No bus. Then 4:06, 4:07, panic, 4:08, why did I let them ride the freakin bus???, 4:09, serious heart palpitations and some sweat developing on forehead and under arms, 4:10 about to flipping SCREA--- WAIT! I see it!!!! I see the bus.



Oh thank you God, for giving my kids back to me. 

I had a little speech I planned on giving the bus driver about what tardiness does to an anxious mother, but I forgot all about it the second I say my girl bounding down the steps, followed closely by her brother!

Huge hugs, and then I asked them a million questions about their first day. And you know the first thing they said???

"The bus was so much fun!!!! I can't wait to ride it again!!!!"

Well, crap. I have to do this all over again tomorrow. I'm going to need some  chill pills and some heavy-duty deodorant to keep the bus routine going folks.



Happy Bus Riding Monday friends! Hope your day was less sweaty than mine!

a group project you want to be a part of. (really!)

I start dry-heaving when I hear the term group-project. Serious. I am more like a 'just give it all to me and I will email you when I am done' kind of girl. I would really just rather do things myself than rely on others. That is probably not awesome of me. But there it is. 

If any of you happen to interview me for a job at some point in life, I will probably deny ever having said this and blame that statement on a potent mixture of two chai latte k-cups and a 800mg ibuprofen. I am pretty positive that dangerous combo can result in some crazy talk.

Anyway.

Group projects- cannot stand them. For eight thousand reasons. HOWEVER. Every once in a while, something comes along that makes you want to change your beliefs.

Are you picturing that Friends episode where Phoebe is debating canceling her plans with Joey? Or am I the only one who relates even the most minute details of my life to something I saw on Friends? No, I am pretty sure y'all are remembering that part of the episode, too. but just in case.....

 I think Shannon means "queen of digression" in Latin. Okay. So the group project thing. If you are on Instagram, chances are, this is old news. So ignore this and go back and watch the Friends clip again. On twitter and instagram, there's a fun 'group project' running wild called Photo-A-Day. I believe part of the task was conjured up by Fat Mum Slim. The idea is to take a picture every day (and she provided the list of photo projects for january) and share them on social sites, like twitter and instagram. And it is oodles of fun. I know it may not sound like any big whoop, but it's fun to see people's different takes on things and what they are capturing. Here is the January 'assignment', in case you want to get in on the group action fun......and you TOTALLY should!!

image credit

Here are my photos taken so far:


Day 1: Me! I had just put Evie in her bed, so it's dark and grainy-- just the way I like pictures of myself ;)


Day 2: Breakfast: caramel frappucino light = love in a cup


Day 3: Something I Adore. Him. And even more so when he is laughing at me.


Day 4: Letterbox. Doesn't get much sexier than this.


Day 5: Something I wore. These socks. And what my littles were wearing was cute enough to get them in.

I am not sure what the deal is for February- I am sure twitterworld will fill me in. Or I will just make up my own. That could get reallllllly interesting. So get on instagram folks, and get some of this fun.

Oh, and the best part for me is that the photo-a-day project leads me into another project! I read about Project Life last year, but it was the end of January and I thought I was too late to try it out. And I am not a scrapbooker. At all. I am a great starter, so-so middler, and not terribly wonderful finisher. And if the project doesn't go like I envision, I throw in the towel (hello, purchased cricut machine I used one day, got frustrated with, swore at, and put back in the box to never use again. seriously, my not-at-all-cheap paper kept ripping whenever I tried to remove it from that dang sticky mat. how is that fun?)

But Project Life is different. My take on Project Life- it's a scrapbooking system designed for people who are either dabbling, don't have a lot of time, are just starting, don't want to sell a kidney for scrapbooking supplies, or just like the simplicity of a system already laid out. I am a member of each of those demographics. We are a good fit, this Project Life system and I.

I talked to my cousin, Amber, did some research online, and decided I was ready to take the scrapbooking plunge- if for no other reason than to get my pictures out of boxes and into something lovely we could flip through. My package of wonderful arrived on my doorstep today (seriously, the UPS dude must be THE most well-received man in town. I always greet him with a big, goofy smile!) And I am in love. I ordered some prints from snapfish so I could get going on it- right now I am working on December.

I know hard-core scrappers would cringe at what I have got going so far, because it is super basic. But I will hold my 1/3 completed, unadorned, 5th-grade-handwriting scrapbook page high and I will say

"I will not go quietly into the night! 
I will not vanish without a fight! 
I'm going to live on! 
I'm going to SURVIVE! 
Today, I celebrate my PATHETIC SCRAPBOOK PAGE!!"

-I may have seen Independence Day more times than I can rationally explain-

This is what I love about Project Life so far:
-the journaling cards-- I can write!
-the design of the paper
-the photo pockets have different layouts so I am not committed to one
-it is so easy to use
-tons and tons of room to put your own spin on this
-it's cute, and that makes it so fun!

If you have ever scrapbooked, I'd love to hear tips or check out what you've done. And if you are in on the photo-a-day fun, let me know!!! You can join me on instagram my name is: shannonleighn

And just for number-twos and teethes (the pg version of that saying I don't quite understand) here's a little present for you. But instead of Mr. Pullman, picture me, Shannon, standing on 17 scrapbooks. Feel free to fist pump me at the end-- go ahead-- put yourself in the crowd scene!



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On a serious note, some good friends of ours need your prayers once again. Their little boy is facing some serious health issues-again, and I would love you to join me in prayer for Drew! Please lift him up and wrap this amazing family in prayer. This little guy is tough as nails and has already endured so much in his little life- let's call out to God on his behalf! Thank you!!!!

Happy New Year!!!