scott has an iphone.  he rubs it in constantly.  my phone is fine and does way more then necessary (really, all it NEEDS to do is make an emergency call, right?) but... it's not an "iphone".  one of the main differences between his phone and mine was the ability to use instagram.  until now...  i read/overheard/saw that they now make it for driods!  i was so excited that i instantly downloaded it and wasted most of the boys naptime trying to figure out how it works.  i think it's such a fun way for people to take/edit pictures and then dump them all in one place (on instagr.am or on their blog or whatev).  anyway... once downloaded, my phone decided to throw a royal fit.  no texts, no storage, no working... a no go.  so.  sadly... i had to delete wonderful instagr.am.  bummer.  i didn't really know how to use it anyway so i'm not out anything... and i think if i get more "storage" for my phone (did you know that you can upgrade the SD card in your cell phone... that's craziness!) then i'll reload it.  but for the time being... i thought i'd upload the pictures i did have on my phone.  ;)  (i had to delete them in order for my phone to work... so they need a place!)  **they range from this past week to this past FALL!

building sandcastles

sleepy bros

three amigos!

like father... like son

friends ;)

new baby kitties!

oh my... crazy clean kiddos!

quality time with daddy

such a BIG boy!

a lunch date with friends

sleepy boy

a new puppy!

making herself at home!

a new friendship

just like uncle matt!

three's a crowd

a sick boy (and a sick mama)

piggy back rides

ouch!  an extremely sore tooth!

dental surgery... yuck!

caught with his hand in

the cookie jar wipes container

smartie-pants

super crew!

just like papa

where mom grew up! (colorado)

homemade donuts!

a chilly morning... 

calls for a portable heater!

ready for mud

ready for basketball

watchin' the guys

all grown up, and no place to go

a sign of things to come???

"mom... look what jaron did!"

jaron is TWO!

i can't believe you are two today!
two years ago i wasn't quite sure i was ready to be the mommy to two little boys...
and now there are definitely days when i know i'm not ready.  

but THANKFUL!
i am very THANKFUL and HONORED to be your mommy!

you are such a joy.
a sweet little boy with an amazing smile and an incredible bear hug.
you wake up happy most every morning and are rarin' to go!

  

you are kind and smart... daring and 100% "boy".
you will climb on/over/under/through most anything and would jump off anything if we let you.
you are sure you can do anything your older brother can do...
and for the most part you are right.

  

you talk constantly and have the cutest laugh.
you are incredibly ticklish.
you do NOT like ketchup and make sure that everyone at the table is aware of that fact.
you are a picky eater and could definitely use some work in the area of "table manners".

  

you sing a mixed version of "Jesus loves me" and "away in a manger' most every day.
 you love trains, four wheeler rides, your blankie, and cuddling.
you use lots and lots of words...
but "no" seems to be a favorite these days
(i think you heard you were turning two). 

you are funny and love to be outside.
you like to do things "by myself" and are turning into quite the little man.
you make us smile.

you follow your big brother anywhere and everywhere... 

but stick up for yourself when necessary.  

you look up to him.  

the bond between the two of you is more then what i ever expected.

happy 2nd birthday!

things that i DO do...

this morning we talked about sarai/sarah (abraham's wife) and dug a little into her failures and triumphs as a wife, mommy, and ultimately as woman of Faith.  then i came home and read a couple of sweet comments about my organizational foes...  they were encouraging and i started thinking... you're right!  it's not going to be perfect and well... it doesn't have to be perfect.  i thought (more for my sake then anyone else's!) i should jot down a few things that i actually DO do when it comes to organization.  just to remind myself that even though it is so BLATANTLY obvious these days that i'm not perfect... i am trying.  ;)

things i do that work for our family...

the boys each have one of these shelves in their room for toys.  there are specific toys that go in each one.  for a (short) while i had little pictures taped to the back of the wall behind the shelf that showed WHAT when in each shelf.  i seem to have an issue with rearranging and every time i clean and vacuum their rooms... i ended up moving the shelf (so i could vacuum under the shelf).  this meant moving the pictures and ended up being a pain. i still have the pictures and should put them back up.  it worked and jace knew where his toys went (getting them there was a different story).

the boys each have a bucket in their room that contains shoes.  they aren't lined up in pairs, just tossed in.  but it's been wonderful!  even jaron picks his shoes up and says "in bucket" when i ask him where his shoes go.  PLUS... he even PUTS them there!

we have a smaller house.  we've tried to use most every inch well.  i don't feel like we have a ton of clutter... but we do have stuff and that stuff takes up room!  our office/craft room is in jaron's closet (a 3'x4' closet).  we have one regular bar hung in each of the boys' closets and then a second bar hung up in the "extra space" at the top of the closet.  we hang winter coats and etc. up there.  it gets a bit musty in the summer heat... but it works for now!  it's an attempt at being organized and using what we have well.  ;)

obviously there is always room for improvement...  and i'll keep working at it.  i might just not be as gung-ho as i once anticipated.  who knows... maybe in a few months i'll have some real motivation to get stuff together!  ;)

uncle brian was wanting a couple pictures of the boys testing out their christmas gift.  the weather has been crazy-nice the last few weeks so we've actually been able to use it some.  who knew!  i'm looking forward to spring when they can spend even more time on it... they LOVE it, it burns off energy, it doesn't make a mess, it's outside... and they're caged in!  doesn't get much better then that!  ;)

organization... schmorganization

since my last "organization" post...
i made a list.
put some laundry away.
organized and reorganized the dishwasher like 400 times.
picked up 7 gazillion toys (we do NOT need this many toys!!!).
took jace to the dentist... twice!
did a little yelling... some crying.
decided that organizing is for the birds and will.never.happen at this stage of life.
threw up my hands...
and sat on the couch wishing i could eat some chocolate chip cookie dough.

any suggestions???

so um... 1995 called and... well... i answered

i follow Flower Patch Farmgirl's blog... if you don't... you should!  Anyway... she did this cute post today (well, yesterday) and I thought I'd do it too.  I don't know why... guess I'm a follower.  ;)  You should be too!

current guilty pleasure:  mmm...  a peach margarita sounds yummy!  i can't think of anything... if i'd watched every episode of Khloe and Lamar or something like that, i guess i could write that here

current nail color:  i just took my (toe)nail polish off this morning, jace took one look at my toes and said, "i don't like your toes mom, they are NOT pretty... you need to fix them!"  pedicure anyone?

current playlist: she had Leeland- The Great Awakening listed and i've actually been listening to it since my grandpa's funeral (we played Pages, it was such a good fit to honor my Grandpa)

current read: John McArthur's 12 Extraordinary Women (i also have One Thousand Gifts and Grace Based Parenting sitting on my bedside table... I should read less blogs and more books!)

current drink:  ice water


current food: umm... humm....


current favorite show:   don't have one... maybe i'm not SO interesting

current wish list: cute pair of these

current needs: a date night with my hubby 

current triumphs:  

current bane of my existence:  laundry

current celebrity crush: Tim Tebow ;)

current indulgence: chocolate covered coffee beans (scott brought home a whole bag, what a sweetie!)

current blessing:  a hardworking hubby, even if we are missin' him a bit these days

current outfit: AE sweatpants, tanktop (i know... smokin' hot!)

current excitement:  notta... got.to.get.out.more


current mood: exhausted
 
current link: i dunno... going to have to think on this one

it's been almost three months since i've posted a thing!  it seems like it's not even worth it to keep a blog if i'm not going to post...  what's the point?  humph.  maybe i should add "blogging more" to my list of new year's resolutions goals "things i think sound like a good idea but probably won't do" list.  ;)

anywho... that wasn't the point of this post.  i think that blogs are a nice place to organize thoughts so that's what i'm going to use this one for... and maybe a few posts on my stinkin' adorable boys!  ;)  who knows... maybe it'll become a habit.

since christmas i've been thinking a lot about things that i want to change.  ways that our family operates, habits we have (and don't have), being intentional about certain areas, and getting our focus straight.  scott and i have talked some about this and even though we are on the same page and he agrees... i still feel like it's kind of my "responsibility" to get the ball rolling.

i'm going to take some baby steps, get myself organized, seek some wisdom from other ladies who've gone before me, and hopefully by this time next year... i will feel a bit more "under control".

one area i want to tackle is ORGANIZATION...

a friend of mine is currently doing the 40 Day Bag Challenge (it's from the Clover Lane Blog... you can find it HERE and more stuff on organization HERE) and trying to get reorganized and do a little de-cluttering.  my mom is doing the same thing but she's doing this 15 Day Clutter-Free Challenge.  with the beginning of a new year it seems fitting and i think i'm going to jump on board (doing maybe a little of both).  so... to keep me accountable, i'm going to try to post my "progress".  aren't you excited?!?  don't feel like you have to follow along... like i mentioned before... i think this is a nice place to organize my thoughts... so that's what i'm going to do.

oh... and if my "friend" decides to blog about her 40 Day Bag Challenge... i'll link up here (hint, hint!) ;)

**does anyone else find it incredibly intimidating to hit the "publish post" button... maybe that's why i NEVER post... that bright orange button is screaming "everyone is going to read this, think you're a whack-job, wonder why you're not organizing instead of blogging, ha!  no... honestly... no one is reading this... they won't even see your part about the orange button b/c they've already clicked off, uhh booorrring!"

OH CRIPES... maybe lacking a little in the confidence area... EEK!  GOTTA GET A GRIP!