i've had a few people ask why i changed blogs. basically i just wanted a new look and to do some new things with my pictures and stuff. i couldn't remember how to tweak the html code to get this blog the way i wanted, so i thought starting a new one would be easier. sorry if it has caused you any grief. but i am still glad that you are visiting me:) (oh, and the new one is still about the family.)

okay...i lied. i will now only be posting on my new blog so come and visit me there. see ya!

I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not, but I have a new blog. It is not a family blog, it's just more about me and what I love. You can visit if you like, or not, but I just thought it would be best to let you know. I will still be posting here, just not as much. The address is kissedbythesunblog.blogspot.com. :) Have a great day.

Today is Bryce's 2nd birthday! He is getting so big and he is so much fun. (You'll have to indulge me, there are a lot of pictures because he is just so darn cute:) It was a Spongebob day from morning to night and Bryce just couldn't get enough!

Spongebob from Gma Linda

Opening his present from mom and dad.

I think the face says it all:)

And tada...he got his own barn with animals that makes noise, so now he doesn't have to play with Kate's Dora house which makes dad crazy!

Let the party begin:) Spongebob hats and all!

Intently watching Spongebob.

The birthday cake.

It was yummy!

At the end of the day Bryce was still going strong with the Spongebob toys. What a fun day. He LOVED it!

We had a great valentine's day.

Pink heart shaped pancakes for breakfast,

A visit with Gma Linda, and Dave made yummy pot roast for dinner! I love when he cooks.

Then we had our traditional chocolate fondu. Here are some pics of what we ate. It was so so yummy and the kids loved it! Hope yours was great.

Thankful for all the love shown to us.

Thankful for good friends and family.

Sending you hugs and kisses. Happy Heart Day:)

L-O-V-E

PS (I copied this picture idea from Lisa Leonard - I thought the idea was so cute:))

What better way to spend a semi cold winter day than eating ice cream!

i love the little drips on their chins...

and the glow in their eyes...

and the fact that they each shared a bite with me:)



seeing them so happy warms my heart!

AND for my treat - I got to shopping just for me and buy a new shirt!!! They were THAT good!

what warms your heart this cold winter season?

Lisa Leonard is my absoulutly favortie jewelry designer - I have her "be still" necklace and I wear it ALL the time. She is having a fabulous giveaway on her blog. You can win this beautiful handcast pewter heart to hang anywhere in your home. It can also be personalized with your babies birthday...

your wedding date...

Or anything else you would like:) I love this idea to hang it on a photo. All you have to do to win is leave a comment on her blog. So go enter for your chance to win!

My little girl is growing up and usually I am fine with it. In fact I think it's great that she is getting more independent and can do things for herself....but, at about 6:00 tonight Kira decided that she was old enough to walk her friends home in the semi dark by herself and my inner mommy, the one that sees her kids as babies forever, came out and I had a momentary brain freeze - what should I do. The house is down the street and around the corner out of my sight and it's dark and she would be alone and yada, yada. But, she was so insistant, that I decided to let her do it - so off they went. It took me about 5 seconds to run and get my keys, jump in the car and start following them at a safe distance. By this point I realize that I am so pathetic, but I just can't let her go alone, so I keep following until they get around the corner and to her friends house. Then it happens. She turns around and sees me. CRAP! How do I explain this one. She rides up to the car on her scooter and shouts "MOM WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" So I say, I just wanted to give you a ride home because I thought your legs would be tired after riding your scooter so far:) She bought it, but told me she wanted to ride home herself, so I let her go as I follow after her. To give her a little sense of satisfaction I beat her home and let her come down the long straight road by herself - but you guessed it, I was hiding, secretly watching her until she got home safe!:) Isn't being a mom great!

Have any of you heard of the magazine "Seeing the Everyday"? My dad introduced it to me and even bought me my own subscription! (Thanks dad). Anyway, I LOVE IT! It has all of these great stories in it about paying attention to the small things, learning things from our parents and teaching things to our children and how important that all is in the scheme of things. It is a "good thing", to steal a line from Martha Stewart, and I just wanted to share.

Here is "WHY" they started this magazine:
"Why SEEING THE EVERYDAY?
Because our lives are the sum of each moment and interaction.
Each day we work, eat, laugh, teach, play, read, remember...
and work at it all again the next day.
Because within daily rituals we find opportunity to build relationships,
develop character, find joy for the price of our time.
Because the most common rituals are manifest plainly in homes.
It's where we share, teach, grow, learn, serve, give our best without praise or fanfare.
So we pay tribute to fathers and mothers who have sacrificed self for the good of their children. That perhaps we might each find the poetry within life's daily prose.
To all who SEE THE EVERYDAY."

I love that! Hope you have a great day.

Heart Attack Fun! Yesterday for FHE we talked about loving others and then we wrote what we loved about each other on foam hearts and taped them all over the kitchen. The kids LOVED it! Their favorite part was hearing all the great things about each of them. I think we'll make it a tradition. What are your Valentine's Day traditions?

I found a new quote that I needed to share -
it is by Howard Thurman and it says,

"Don't ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive, and go do that.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

Basically follow your dreams, develop your talents and share them...Isn't that amazing. Living in my world tainted with depression, I have come to learn that very few things make me feel alive anymore, but, when I do find something, I hold onto it because it is in those moments that I feel worthwhile again and like I have something small of myself to share. One of the small things that brings me alive are beautiful words - quotes that inspire - and this inspired me, I'm hoping it inspires you too:)

Valentine's just wouldn't be Valentine's without a sweet gift from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Guy, and this year was no exception. Today we got a "semi" visit from them - we have been very sick at our house with ear infections, fevers and coughs, so they just stayed on the front porch - but what a better way to celebrate a sick week than with a special visit and valentine treat. We got some cute shirts... (Kate loves her BEE shirt)

Some fun treats and an adorable book,

and a special treat from grandpa - STRAWBERRIES!!! He sure knows what we like:)

My favortie thing though was when Kira said "Grandma really loves us:)" Yes she does! And we know you do too Grandpa.

Hey! Can you believe that this is my 200th post?! I am so excited and you are in for a big treat:) Just kidding. I just thought I'd bring you up to date on my latest projects. For a long time I have been wanting to beadboard the kids bathroom and I've had beadboard just sitting behind the toilet. Well, I decided that it was time to glue that baby to the wall. So here are the before pics... I started by ripping the wierd countertop off of the wall - that was really fun. Then I started putting up the board. Then I put up the molding and painted it all "swiss coffee" a beautiful white color. It took a lot more time than I originally thought it would, but I loved (almost) every minute! These pictures are maybe in order. You can decide!

After doing the beadboard, I painted the cabinets the same color because I hate the oak color that they were...

Here is the best picture I have of the almost finished project. I still need to put knobs on the doors and drawers and replace the faucet and the countertop, etc....but it is "done" for now...

After I finished all of the above, I knew that I needed a new light for the space so I ran to my friendly neighborhood walmart and found a great deal on a new light. So here is the before...

and here is the after. Much better don't you think:)

My next project was finding a spot for a home office. I have been wanting a space to put all the "officy" stuff in the house, but there is just nowhere to put it. So I got this great idea from another blog to put it in my linen closet. Yea!! Now I have an office and I love it to pieces. I even painted it a light blue. Dave, as always was sceptical, but I think I now have him convinced that it is a good idea. Here is the finished product.

Sorry they are not the best pics but I couldn't get far enough away to take one all together.

Oh yeah - I forgot - Before Disneyland I painted one wall in my kitchen into...you'll never guess...a huge chalkboard! (That is the picture at the top of this post because I couldn't get it to move.) What can I say. I was bored one day and thought it would be fun. Again, Dave was not a huge fan at first, but once again I think he is coming over to my side, and the kids LOVE it. So do their friends. It's a hit!