oh the drama...

So I thought I would sneak in a quick post before halloween comes and goes.   For those of you who have girls you know what I am talking about, it is seriously, completely. different. than having boys.  Murphy takes after his daddy, laid back until you mess with his food or his sleep.  Madden, on the other hand is not laid back unless you are dealing with a nap or food-well let me take that back she wants breakfast on her plate and ready to eat when her feet hit the floor in the morning. 
We have a little saying around here, "if tink's not happy no one's happy."  She goes from 0-maniac in about 2 seconds then turns around bats her eyes and waves (like royalty) and says Hiiiiiiiiii (all of her words are either a song or have atleast 5 syllables).  To sum her up she's drama-I'm sure she comes by it honestly, but we haven't quite put our finger on who she gets it from (HA. HA.)
Anyway, both babies went for a haircut this week and in these pictures behold....the difference between boys and girls.

all's well until we actually sit in the chair...

it's over and she has a sucker...just fine now

Someone seriously hurt her feelings...but who?

"and that's how its done"

this is how he got the name 'joy" seriously? I could eat that face up!

Madden is already "over it", not going to lie murphy's not far behind, but really, who wants to sit in wet hay?

showing off her moves in the new raincoat...which she will decide she hates in about 2 minutes

The little details...

A good friend and I were talking this week and the topic of God's sovereignty came up.  It's an amazing HUGE concept to me, and one that is comforting beyond belief.  The way things have unfolded in my life and the way God has orchestrated things "just so" is just miraculous.  There's no other word for it.  Then we moved on to the topic of how His timing is not the same as ours (thank goodness, right?) I love the phrase..."God's never late but rarely early." Another thing Clay said this week which I just loved was that "sometimes we look to God when we feel our foundations are shaken, when sometimes its God who is shaking our foundations."
I look at the little details in my life and how 5 minutes with someone might make a difference in their life or how reading one more book, might mean we are a minute late for something but it might mean that the babies go to bed all the more certain of where our hearts are. 
Anyway, there's no real reason for this post other than the awe I feel when I think about how much we are loved and the grace we have all received.  Please keep Clay's mom in your prayers this week, she is one special lady and one very special Mimi.  Here are a few pictures of our "little details", I think about how we can sometimes focus on the wrong little details, but sometimes the little things are orchestrated just so we see something in a different way, or we are kind of "forced' to stop and enjoy a cupcake (even if it is carrot cake).

The picture we finally ended up with after several attempts for the twochics site! Tink just woke up and was not happy about the photo shoot-as we say "if tink's not happy no one is..."

Failed attempt...momma is singing about the spider again, and we all look crazy! Fortunately most of those frames are no longer in our living room...YAY!

Just having a snack in the sunshine...of course we can't enjoy the same kind of snack, bunnies for murphy and scooby snacks for tink.

dancing with skipper WITH a juke box, really does it get any better???

NEW SHOES for everyone!  And boy did those little paws look precious walking around in them!

Gigis...I know they look right at home don't they?  Can this count as a serving of carrots?

We are Big my baby can read fans...here is our plug that it works...she "reads" the menu and even orders for herself (it is right side up right?) he he he...such a big girl.

By the way, we are on our way to having to seek help for our addiction to Gigi's, I threw away an empty box the other night, and both children screamed and cried such that Clay suggested we might not make Gigi's one of the little details of our day quite so often...we'll see, I'm not making any promises.

If I'm being honest...

I have to tell you the reason why I make picture frames is because of how much I love pictures.  I am crazy about pictures of family and friends-I mean this is one area of my life where I can honestly say I may be a bit OCD.  I admit this having just ordered the babies' pictures from sept 10-October 10, yes I have switched from the weekly order to a monthly purchase...when the little white package arrives at our door, I promptly open them up and date each and every picture.  Then I go through them and select the perfect photos for each baby's album, the remaining pictures are then, placed neatly in a white box labeled with the corresponding date for this particular group of pictures.
NUTS, YES.  I know this though...and for some reason I continue on with this craziness in the midst of the chaos that comes with chasing a 1 and 2 year old.  You can bet there will be documentation of this insane time in our lives, these smiles will be neatly placed in albums and boxes for us to remember the little things and the special times we've had with our two little ones.

Bird's Eye View

So I was thinking about how weird it is that I have a picture of both of my children in the same spot BOTH using binoculars.  The more I thought about it, I realized our family ( or a lot of the family) for some odd reason really, really, REALLY like binoculars...very strange, I know.
I remember when I was little and my grandfather would watch the game with binoculars and every once in a while I would get to peak through them as if it was the only thing holding me back from "really getting what was going on down on the field."
A few years ago, I realized that my dad would always show up to games with 2 or 3 pairs of the much sought after visual aids AND I have often seen my brother with a pair of his own...where do they come from?  Is there a collection I don't know about?  Aren't they kind of pricey???? 
So a few weeks ago, we took the kids to swim and low and behold there were CC and Skipper BOTH on the back porch with their own pair, searching for a baby bird, or maybe it was their friend the frog that they have as a pet...you can really never tell with them (it might have even been their, lobster from a year or so ago)...but anyway, as I watched my baby pick up the binoculars last night just like it was second nature, I just about fell over.  I can't explain it, how did she know how to use them?  Why is this genetic... and how long has this been going on?  So I had to share a picture of the babies inspecting what's going on down on the field....there are some other recent pictures as well...an even one with the first lady of football, Coach Porter's wife.
I guess its just little moments like this, that remind me that these are such special times, and that there is no denying the DNA around here...theses babies are mine-the way they take to a good pair of binoculars says it all.

The "Situation"

No not Mike, from "jersey shore", but Madden (tink) from right here in Germantown.  Madden and Murphy are quite a sight wherever we go.  We are always taking up too much space, running into things with our double stroller, and leaving a huge mess as our trail.  Needless to say we get lots of attention wherever we go, and Tink is convinced the situation is pretty much- always. all. about. her.
Hence, we have started calling her "the situation".  Here are some pictures of the babies from the past few weeks, as you can see we are eating up every last minute of summer...and leaving a mess while we're at it.  It seems like the babies are everywhere these days-and although its quite "a situation" we are so thankful for these special times together.

1+1 = 7?

First there were 2, well actually there were three (Clay, Pierre and me), then there were four (enter Daisy) and now 6 years later...well there are 7.

Clay, Murphy, Madden, Daisy, Paddington, Sawyer and me. Tomorrow is our 6th anniversary. It's hard to believe how much your life can change in 6 years. Happy Happy Anniversary Clay!


p.s. I was so sad that I didnt have a picture of Pierre on the computer-ughh!  But for those of you who didnt meet that little black and white cranky crooked nose, bad knee chihuahua, he was wonderful...may he rest in peace.