back to reality

this is where i've been (amelia island, florida)...

































and this is the view we had each day...

















and this is who i went with...

















to celebrate 10 great years of marriage...

and we relaxed (this is post massage!)...






















and we rode bikes...






















and we ate fantastic food...















and this pretty much sums up our trip....no worries, all relaxation and good times. (thanks for a wonderful time, r....it was the best!)

a giveaway!

my "real life" friend, jen, over at "lots of scotts" is giving away a new blog header...designed by me! head on over there and leave her a comment and you just might be the big winner! and if you have never read her blog, you are in for a real treat...she has triplets and she has such a gift of writing and bringing us along in her journey of life! go visit her!

he makes us laugh.

so his newest trick is this:

funny how we treat him like a dog and make him do his trick. all we have to say is "bud, do your eyes". and OH is it funny when he does it and he cracks himself up as well! and now that he knows that it makes us laugh, he does it all the time for us. what a "good boy"! arf!

another blog

after designing several blog headers recently, i decided i needed a business blog to make it more official! go here if you are interested in looking (as i know you are, right!? all 5 of you.) anyway, and keep me in mind if you want a new look on your own blog, ok!?

a lovely day

happy valentine's day. we've had an eventful day! here's a photo recap:

we saw "Cinderella" (the ballet) at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. it was evan's first time to the Fox...and the ballet for that matter. he really enjoyed it, although he was disappointed that Jack & Gus (the mice) were not there....and nobody talked on stage. but he loved the stars on the ceiling and the moving clouds. ella liked the ballet as well but was really hoping to see Lucifer the cat. i guess there's too much of the disney version being watched at our house!


then my kids experienced another first..."The Varsity"...another historical landmark in Atlanta. there's nothing like saying "i love you" with a plate of greasy food. yummy! here's ella (looks like) smoking her french fry sporting her varsity hat...and eating her "F.O." (for you non-Atlantans, that's "Frosted Orange").


and here's bud with his "naked dog" (literally!) and slurping his "F.O." with determination.

and here is ella with her cute valentine lollipop flowers that we made for her friends at school. they say "if flowers were friends, i'd pick you". they turned out cute and we had fun making them.

hope you all had a "LOVE"ly day as well!!

role reversal

as we were driving home tonight, the kids kept jibber-jabbering for our attention. ella was asking me to say words for her to spell while evan was playing the rhyming game (he says a word and tries to think of one that rhymes...sometimes he is successful and other times he comes up with things like "plane and grass...they rhyme mommy!"). SO, i got weary of the constant talking and told them i was tired. so my little buddy then said "you need to go to bed, mommy? i will tuck you in, ok!?" of course i said "sure, bud! you can tuck mommy in!"

he remembered.

when it was time for him to go to bed he sweetly told me it was time for him to tuck me in bed. and i let him. i crawled into bed (in my jeans), he pulled the covers up over me and gave me goodnight kisses. i then had to give him instructions to go crawl in his own bed and wait for daddy to come tuck him in. so i waited until daddy was done and his door was closed. and then i got up...making sure that he went to bed knowing he tucked me in for the night. i will surely have sweet dreams tonight!

thanks to my apple peeps

i have been without my computer for 5 days. you may or may not remember that this happened to me last year...around the same time! my mac was having the same issues last week where it would power off for no reason...and then not turn back on. unfortunately, it's out of warranty. so when i took my computer into the "shop", they told me i needed to call apple and beg them to fix this issue. it is a manufacturer defect in certain iMac models...to replace the logic board was going to cost me $800. so i put on my fighting gloves and called apple. i thought surely i was going to have to talk in my firm, mean voice to get what i wanted. to my surprise, they graciously said they would fix it for me (and i didn't have to get mean!). the lady even gave me her direct number in case i continue to have this problem in the future.

so i'm writing all this (and i know that NONE of you really care) to give props to Apple. I have always been a fan and was a little concerned that this little episode was going to weaken my loyalties. i'm happy to say that i was thrilled with their customer service and so thankful not to have to dish out lots of money.

another new look

i finally had the time to change my christmas header. just before february begins! yay! so maybe all the flowers mean something...like i'm ready for SPRING!? while i loved the snow and all...i just don't do winter. i really don't enjoy the cold (unlike my hubby).

anywho, some of you have asked about these headers i design for my blog. and i'm now offering my services to you. if you would like me to design a personal header to help spruce up your blog (for a small fee), just email me at rustyandkeri@gmail.com....i'd love to help you out!

brotherly love

while the kids were with me in the restroom at the store today, evan said such a sweet thing to his sister. nothing like sweet moments happening in the bathroom of all places. he came up behind her and wrapped his short arms around her and squeezed tight. and as he gave her a big hug, he said "you're my favorite best sister!". so how sweet is that? ella then turned around and hugged him right back and said he was her favorite best brother. sometimes they surprise me with their kindness towards each other...because they certainly have those not so pretty moments of selfishness and just plain meanness. such is life between siblings. but i pray that they will continue to be friends as the years go by! their friendship is a joy to watch!!

rock stars

daddy was playing guitar. evan runs downstairs. and then we see him climbing up the steps with his guitar. with a huge grin on his face. he wants to be just like daddy. he already looks just like daddy...so he has that going for him already. now he doesn't quite sound like daddy when he plays his little guitar...it is a joyful noise. they had a little jimmy jam session right here...with me as their audience. and in between taking pictures, i was reading blogs and discovered this. i told evan to come look at it and he said "andwoo needs to come over and play guitar wit us!!". (i warned you about the joyful noise, i like to blame it on the out of tune guitar...and please ignore the redneck voice you hear coming out of my mouth. what was that!?)

hello snow. we're glad you're here. part 2

so when i wrote "to be continued" on my last post, i was planning on posting these photos of our fun in the snow the following day (thursday). the snow was quite slushy and melted pretty quickly.
i can't remember what he was pouting about here...but i still want to kiss that little face even when its pouty. :)

so i didn't know then that we were going to get MORE SNOW!! it has been snowing all day today! we went out earlier today to play in it. we have great plans to build a snowman later...we'll see how that goes!

hello snow. we're glad you're here.

it started at 6:00 tonight. the kids and i had a blast playing outside as the snow was falling.

by the time daddy got home after 7pm...it was covering the ground! it was the perfect snow for snowballs. we had so much fun.

after all the squeals of delight and little cold noses outside....we are enjoying the peaceful calm winter wonderland from inside our warm house. "good night snow. i will see you tomorrow!" (evan said this before bed!)

.....to be continued!

finally, something to blog about!

i know, i've been the slacker on this whole bloggy thing lately. not starting the new year off well in this category. so this isn't all too exciting...but i thought it was funny. i walked into ella's room tonight to make sure she was all covered and this is what i saw:
laying sideways against the wall with her head propped up by her hand and arm. she was sound asleep and didn't even move after i took 2 pictures of her with the bright flash shining in her face. she is laying there as if to say "i'm so over this whole sleeping thing." or she fell asleep thinking, "ho hum...i guess i'll try and fall asleep now"... and forgot to lay down on the pillow. i'm sure she will get a good giggle when i show her the picture tomorrow. but until then...

sweet dreams my pnut.

(oh and i promise i will change my christmas blog header. some day.)

christmas highlights

the new bike. all he does is push the pedals backwards...
which means he doesn't go very far. :)
the new scooter. she has graduated to the "2 wheeled scooter" and is very proud!

too bad santa didn't bring them new iPods to go with their new headphones!
how unthoughtful of him.

blowing out the candle for Jesus' birthday.

watch out Bob the Builder...check out these skills!

my fam.

the crazy cousins.

my big fat extended family christmas....and christmas at starbucks

every year since i can remember, my mom's side of the family all get together for christmas eve. we now do it on the weekend before christmas since it got too hard for all of us to make it on christmas eve. anyway, we eat lasagna every year, we talk and laugh and catch up, and all the grandkids exchange gifts and the adults exchange white elephant gifts. i guess i should now say the GREAT-grandkids exchange gifts...b/c i'm one of the grandkids and we are all grown up now! my 87 year old gramma was there last night...she is great-gramma ("GG" is what they call her) to 23 great grandchildren!! here are most of them all together last night! it was a miracle to get this picture!! i love these family times together and am so glad that my kids get this chance to be around all their cousins!


then today we met my in-laws for lunch. they live 2 hours away so we decided to meet them halfway so we could exchange gifts. we ate a yummy lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went to Starbucks to open gifts! r's mom even brought brownies for the birthday boy (r's b-day is tomorrow). we had a nice time visiting with everyone...

ella and her uncle ryan

hallelujah! she got a webkins!! AND a backpack for her webkins puppy!

grandpa and evan trying to fix his reindeer gun...
they make it look like it might be a difficult job!

brothers.

the whole gang at our "starbucks christmas" :)

my new favorite christmas tradition

when i started blogging last year, i came across a few blogs who talked about their "Jesse Tree" during the christmas season. I had no idea what that was but it was rather intriguing. i took the time to read up about it and decided that this was the perfect tradition to start for my own family. the concept of the Jesse Tree is based on Isaiah 11:1, and the prophecy that the Savior would come from "the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." each night we read a story from the Bible and we hang an ornament on the tree that represents the story we just read. the last ornament we hang is on December 25 for the birth of Christ.



for the ornaments, i found the icons here and we use some of their devotions. i printed out the icons, bought round wooden circles from Michaels, used carbon paper to trace them onto the circles, and then ella and i painted them. it was a fun activity for us to do together! on the back side of each ornament, i have written which day it is for and what the icon represents. i also wrote down which scripture we are to read or what page to read from the bible story book.


i came up with my own order for the stories and pieced together the different ones (found from different jesse tree websites) i thought were important to include. i also went here for more ideas... and when we can, we read from "The Big Picture Story Bible". so each night through December, we read the story or scripture, ask a few simple questions to the kids, and pray a simple prayer when we are done. then the kids take turns hanging that ornament on our small tree. so far, the kids have seemed to enjoy it. and what i love about it is that as they grow older and hear these stories each year, they will hopefully (eventually) be able to see how Jesus is woven into each of these stories. God's redemptive plan is revealed all through the Old Testament and they will be learning how this plan ultimately leads us to the coming of Christ and why we celebrate Christmas.

i love this new tradition. if you want more information on the Jesse Tree or how to make your own ornaments, go here, here, here, or here. there are lots of other websites...these were the most helpful to me. you can also go here if you would like to purchase ornaments.

tis the season

our time the past week has been filled with all things christmas. tuesday we had our community group family christmas party. the kids made crafts and exchanged ornaments. lots of fun. on thursday i took the kids to the Pink Pig for the first time. for those of you who are wondering what the heck is the pink pig...well it's been an Atlanta tradition since the mid 1950s. it began as a ride that took you around the infamous Rich's christmas tree. today, they have a new ride and it's in a tent in the parking lot. not quite the same as i remember as a child! but the kids knew no different and thought it was fun. we went with my niece's and nephew and evan was the only one who wouldn't ride it.



next, ella's christmas program at school. they had a lessons & carols type program. she sang "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night" with her class. there were times when we just chuckled...because they set their own tempo since they sang it a cappella. they all did a great job and it was a sweet time.

saturday ella and i went to the nutcracker with some friends. it was the first time she has seen the whole ballet. one of her little friends from school had a couple small parts. she actually sat through the whole thing in amazement and we talked a lot about our favorite parts later. one of her favorite parts was when the rat king died...she kept saying, "he was just pretend dying, right mommy?"


our kids are in this position at least once a day....because at least once a day (sometimes twice) they watch "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas" that i recorded from the Disney channel. they LOVE this movie and obviously ask to watch it all the time. i guess i can deem it a holiday tradition in our house now!

i'm definitely getting old.

evan and i were at the mall today trying to get a little christmas shopping done. i told my sister i would go to a certain store to buy a couple gifts for her....she needed a couple t-shirts for my teenage cousins. i won't say what store it is...but it starts with an H and is similar to Abercrombie & Fitch. :)

first problem, there are 2 steps up to get into the store. i had evan in a stroller today with shopping bags hanging from the stroller. he got out, walked up the steps and got back in...only to come to 2 more steps going down into the store. ugh. then, walking around the dark store, i felt very intimidated! it was a little scary finding my way around the crammed together shelves and racks of clothing. and getting a stroller through the dark maze was very challenging! and then i wondered if i was dressed cool enough to be in that store! i'm over 15 years past my teenage prime and i certainly felt it!! there is no way my butt would even attempt to fit in their jeans! so once we got to the register, i could barely hear the guy working there because the music was so freakin loud! i REALLY felt like my parents then...especially when my dad used to call the music i like "a racket!" don't get me wrong, i actually liked the music they were playing...but i don't like it when it's so loud that i can't think straight...or hear what someone is saying! so then i thought i would buy my other cousin a gift card. once i took a glimpse of the photos they had printed on their gift cards, i said no way!! one was of a couple practically making out and the other was of some hot guy with no shirt on. a little too sexy for my 16 yr old cousin!! by this point...i was thinking to myself "i'm so old!!" i know i used to enjoy shopping in stores like that...but those days are long gone!! i know my sister would have freaked out in there! and don't get me started on their marketing....the imagery they use is ridiculous...especially knowing that their audience is so young. ok, enough about said store.

everything under a $1 store

i know of a store where you can get some great deals. the girl who works there is super cute in her home depot apron and pink high heels. she works really hard and loves her store, "toys r us" she calls it. everything is priced under a $1...although they look more expensive since she used the dollar sign instead of the cent sign. you can choose from cups, wrapping paper, combs, beach ball, hair clips, musical toys, books, jewelry and many more items! when you are done shopping, she swipes a credit card for you on her cool purple cash register (what have i taught her!?). good thing this store is in my living room...such easy access and convenience!!

pray pray pray

i must admit...my prayer life stinks. but when i keep hearing about these stories of sick little ones, it takes me to my knees. yesterday we heard of a little 3 yr old boy who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. this family goes to the church we used to attend and we have several mutual friends. joseph had surgery yesterday and they were only able to remove 1/3 of the tumor. please pray for them...their blog is: http://www.prayforjoseph.blogspot.com/

a friend of ours from college has a 5 mo. old son who just had his 2nd heart operation. pray for elliot...http://jabulanijonny.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/heading-back-to.html

and then there's my cousin, josh...who is still enduring and persevering through life with a brain tumor. we got to see him over thanksgiving...it breaks my heart to see this 15 yr old boy now in a wheel chair and hooked up to tubes. but they have seen slow improvements and we know God is at work. please pray for josh. http://prayforjoshua.com/

satan would like nothing more than to see these kinds of things cause unbelief. it does just make me question so many things. why these sweet children? i can only pray that through whatever happens with each of these situations, that He would be glorified somehow and that it would cause us to look to Jesus.