spring grouping: inspiration and my version

Here is my version.

Cost: $3.00

I already had most of this on hand- including the nests and moss!- I got two rabbits and one "fleur de lis" type statue at the dollar store and sprayed them silver.

And here was my inspiration...

a little inspiration

During part of my morning "off" I headed over to a local place, Christmas Point, to have some coffee and read for awhile. And then I headed into their store to check out their spring-y home decor they just pulled out...I got a few ideas.

This chair, though very expensive, was beautiful! I loved the colors of the leaf pattern and it was extremely comfy! The perfect reading chair....

And then I saw this little spring grouping and liked the mix of plants and figurines, etc. I was inspired to come home and begin working on my own as I already have a two tiered metal stand...I'll post a picture once I finish.

And then I saw these pails painted with chalkboard paint...

they may also be in my crafting future.

valentines

These are the valentines Ben handed out in his preschool class this week...he did such a great job writing his name 14 times! He loved giving them out and had particular colored frogs set aside for particular friends...including a blue one for himself!

we found mice in the house...

This morning a few little mice were found running around our house...

kids gone wild

Just in case you get a rose-colored perspective of my life

based on the "highlights reel" that usually get posted online...

check this out.

Monday was not a good day.

My kids know how to lock doors...

and well, bad things happen behind locked doors.

These events all happened on the same day...

within about 20mins time frame.

My kids work fast and furious!

[note: the baskets at the top of the picture

had been nicely filled with folded clothes before the mayhem began]

beauty.

After being away from real winters for many years, it has been nice to see the beauty in this winter back in Minnesota. Not to say I enjoy the bitter cold wind but, it is nice to see the little details of winter beauty.

...like frosted trees...

...and the pointy edged frost on a window...

The pictures don't capture just how breath-taking some of these moments of beauty can be...I am so thankful for how God thought of the smallest details in creation.

our "weekend"

It's kinda funny, our weekends aren't really everyone else's weekend. You see Saturdays are our Mondays...confusing, I know. This particular "weekend" we went down to "the cities" to visit family. It was a great time! Abi-girl crashed on the drive back home.

We had breakfast at Carol's with my grandparents

...always a great time!

a night out

We went out with my parents the other night to a restaurant downtown and then on to a concert at Orchestra Hall...it was a great night and we loved laughing and eating and spending time with my parents sans kiddos!

It was however a very bitter cold night, which made for a very icy run from the restaurant to Orchestra Hall. Let just say I didn't feel my legs for quite a while!

1st haircut

My baby girl got her first haircut - a la Auntie Shannon (aka Master Stylist) this weekend! She sat so nice and she looks all grown up now... (small tear...boo hoo hoo).

I did hold her chin so there weren't any major mishaps with the haircutting!

Thank you Auntie Shannon!

valentine photo shoot

Took a little time this afternoon to take a few photos of the kids.

I needed a couple shots to order pictures to update a couple of frames I have around the house!

I had a few "props" to keep them interested in staying in one spot for more than 30 seconds...one was a basket full of these plastic hearts.

And I have a large piece of black fleece that I hung over the back of a arm chair upstairs in front of our windows to take the shots with the black background. Abi didn't really cooperate too well with this portion but Ben was coming up with all kinds of different "smiles" (ie. dino smile, superhero smile, sneaky smile etc.)

and finally a sweet hug between siblings...

burning bush

Today (because Saturdays are like my Mondays)...we read a story about the second part of the life of Moses (you know burning bush, plagues of Egypt, and leading God's people out of Egypt) and then we made our own "burning bush" out of toilet paper tubes and red tissue paper. I love saving household things to be recycled into crafts for the kids!