"Slap me silly & call me cowboy!"

This delightful little quote was from my youngest boy - obviously the joker of our family.

He is constantly coming up with the funniest things.

I have no idea where he got this one from. 

A movie most likely.

Or he took a movie quote and altered it to suit his little Creidey-bear needs. (That's what we call him - Creidey-bear. ;-) 

But the funny thing about my little Creide is that he has the best timing. 

That is what makes it so funny. 

The delivery. 

I am so thankful for this boy and his sweet heart. 

His quick wit does his mamma good. 

So, the next time you hear someone say, "Slap me silly & call me cowboy!" - think of my little Creide and I am sure he will bring an even bigger smile to your face. 

Here are some pics I found from one year ago this month where he was a "cowboy". 

It is actually a ladies hat that he found in some high end tourist shop in Ouray. 

But I couldn't resist snapping a couple of shots before I made him put it back JUST where he found it completely unharmed. :-) 

Photo of the Day: {daddy's hand}

[kearyn & daddy]

When I see pictures like this my heart can't help but to skip a beat.
For I know the time we have with our daughter as a 'little' is ever so brief.

It convicts my heart even more to cherish each day.
And to never, not even one second of it, wish my days away.

{mitch+audra} ~ est. 7.31.2010

Today is my little sister and brother-in-laws 2 year anniversary. 

It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years already.

I love seeing their happiness and joy....

....as they build their life together. 

Happy Anniversary Mitch and Audra.  

Love you two. 

Photo of the Day: {birth order}

{birth.order.6.2012}

My children constantly make me laugh. If I would have tried to intentionally get them to walk this way there is no way it would have worked out.

Someone would have been complaining about how it is not fair that they were born after another person and would have wanted to petition God for a "re-do". Ultimately, at least one of them would have ended up in tears.

Yet, I look up and there they are. In their birth order. Perfectly spaced. Not one complaint. Not one tear.

Birthday Celebration Part 2: Floating the River

My husband is one of kind that is for sure. (Those of you who know him are probably shaking your head in agreement.) First, he loves me on a whole other level that I didn't even know was possible. I feel so very blessed by this man each and every day. So, things like my birthday and our anniversary - he seems to take great joy in because it is another opportunity to show me his love. And it really is amazing.

My hubby does not like to do the ordinary. In fact, if it is something that he thinks would be expected he won't do it. For example, roses on Valentine's Day. That would be a big no-no in his world. Instead, this last year he wrote this giant note out on poster board using different kinds of candy.

Back to my birthday.... He always tries to think of creative and original things to do and this year was no different.

This year he announced that he was taking me to float the river on my birthday. It sounded like fun. I love the outdoors just as much as he does. Okay, not in the survivor man, drop me off in the middle of no-where with only a pocket knife and I will walk 20 miles type of way but in the ohhh, isn't that lake so pretty and look at that butterfly type of way. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to make myself out to be a girly-girl because that is certainly one thing that I am not. But there is still a bit of an extreme between what my husband enjoys out of the wilderness and what I enjoy out of the wilderness. (As you can probably tell by the photos I take.)

Anyway, so we are on our way to float the river. We get on the river and this transformation began to happen in my heart. First of all, it was so stinking quiet! I don't get quiet. I have four children - quiet does not exist. Then there was the fun of working together rowing, avoiding being sucked under and dying, that kind of thing. Just kidding. There was rowing together but it was all pretty mild and not life threatening in any way.

Then, there was the picnic lunch. He was so sweet. He packed all of our favorites and we sat under a big tree just off the river and actually had adult conversation and, again, we just enjoyed the quiet. It was amazing and truly a moment I will cherish in my heart for the rest of my life.

On the river again, we made our way the rest of the way down. Almost to the end a friend of ours went by with a group of people and they all yelled happy birthday to me. It was sweet.

We finally go to the end and I swam in the river for a few minutes until my mom picked us and the boat up. It was amazing and definitely one of the very best birthday expenses I have had in 33 years. Thank you Jason for arranging it all and to my family for providing all the extra stuff like dropping off, picking up, and babysitting. Love you all!

These were just a few pics I took/had taken. I didn't take my camera with me because I was afraid it would get wet. I really wish I would have once we were on the river because there were some really amazing photo opportunities....maybe next time.

[the.beginning]



[the.end]

Photo Series: {Mountain Rain}

A couple of weeks ago we spent a Saturday at one of the lakes we are so fortunate to live by.
We got their early.
And at about 2:30pm the rain kindly signaled our departure.

Here are some photos I took of the rain after we left.
{The beauty of mountain rain.}

Photo of the Day: {center.stage}

Photo of the Day: {Beautiful Reflection}

I love this little girl.

Of course, as her mama, I think she is beautiful.

Inside and out.

I love her joy.

It radiates from her. 

A reflection of her {Creator}. 

Photo Series: {Rainy Day Fun}

I have so enjoyed selecting my "Photos of the Day" and I am thankful to all of you for hanging in there with me and actually looking at the photos. It has been a great opportunity to post some of those heart favorite photos or even just some random photos without the pressure of the writing.

The "Photos of the Day" have been great. But sometimes you can't just pick one photo to represent the full memory and sometimes collages just don't work either. So, this time a am doing a photo series.

If you all share my same hometown you know that we received a huge amount of rain this past week, which was such a blessing for some wildfires in our state. It doesn't rain super hard like it did here very often so it was neat to see the kids' reactions.

That day also marked some downtown festivities so the boys actually got to play in the rain, in the middle of Main St. How cool is that! So, that is what these photos are from. I also wanted to note that these were completely impromptu. They receive no direction from me whatsoever. I was simply hiding under and overhang snapping away. I hope you enjoy.

Photo of the Day: {Puppy Love}

This is our boy Gauge. Isn't he sweet. :-)

Photo of the Day: {Downtown Cross}

Photo of the Day: {kissing fish}

{kissing fish}

I am not really sure how this all transpired and I am pretty sure I do not want to know. Just in case you are wondering, Creide didn't actually kiss the fish - at least I don't think he did.

Photo of the Day: {daddy & his boy}

[jason.and.creide*july.4.2012]

Photo of the Day: {unexpected beauty}

I am definitely a "stop and smell the roses" type of girl and I think I always have been. I remember taking walks with my grandma in the mountains and her telling me about certain wild flowers. Or my grandad pointing out a tree and being able to tell me the exact name of it - even though they always looked the same to me. 


I always spent a lot of time with my grandma in her garden too. We would plant, water, and weed continually. She is a quiet lady so if there was any talking it was usually done by me. But I remember the quiet moments and just admiring the plants. 


She also had a ton of roses at the house they lived in when I was growing up. She can make anything grow. She would bring home these half-dead plants from the store she worked at and I swear within a couple of weeks they would be blooming like no other. 


To this day I love to garden and I love roses and lilacs especially because that was what was at my grandma's house. Although, I have grown to love all flowers. I am blessed to have both roses and lilacs at the house we live in now - a gift from the previous owners. 


The other day I was walking in the front of my house admiring the roses. There is a pink rose bush that smells especially delightful. Cale was out with me and I told him to smell one of the roses. He did. His reaction made me smile. He said, "Oh mom, this smells soooo good." Yep. I passed it on to the next generation. 


Anyway, I am so off course here it isn't even funny but I promise it does all relate.... I think. 


 I think my "stop and smell the roses" attitude irritates people from time to time. When they have a hurry up and go attitude and I am off smelling flowers it tends to be of some annoyance. Fortunately, my husband tolerates me well. Most of the time he is super patient with me unless I am making him late to meet someone and then he gently nudges me a long. 


 However, he does get a kick out of me and the photos I take. I am ALWAYS taking pictures of the flowers at whatever location we are at. I could be in a giant parking lot with a weed growing up through a crack and I will be taking a picture of it. When my time is done here on this earth whoever gets the job of sifting through my photos will think I am nuts. Oh well. It could be worse and maybe, just maybe, they will see the same unexpected beauty I so often find.

Photo of the Day: {happy 4th of july}

Photo of the Day: {Boy Things}

Having 3 boys in our house has been such a blessing. I have truly loved it. They have a wonderful role model in their daddy, who teaches them all kinds of cool boy things that I do not pretend to understand. But it works and we have joy.

These are just some of the boy things we have done so far this summer. They had to be carefully documented.....Proud moments indeed.

Photo of the Day: {Ninja Moves}

All I have to say is I wish my ninja moves were this good. :-) This little man makes us laugh every day. What a gift he is.

Happy Monday.

Photo of the Day: {The Foot of the Cross}

 I have to be honest...I love this photo - my daughter playing at the foot of the cross. It is this mama's prayer that each of my children are always able to find their way here and receive the comfort that it brings.

Happy Sunday.

Photo of the Day: {Freezing Time}

Do you ever wish you could freeze time? Sometimes I do and it mostly revolves around my children. You know the moment I am talking about... the one where you look down at them and see their sweet little smiles, their chubby little hands, or hear something cute that they just said. These moments melt my heart and I simply cherish them.

I say to myself, "I DO NOT want to forget this." 

They are precious to me and I am so blessed to be given so many. However, I think one of my worst fears is that I will forget. So, I randomly take photos like this one. Ones that if you looked through the thousands of photos on my computer that you would have no idea why I took them, who they are, or what the person was doing. But I do. And when I look at them the memory floods back to me and brings a smile to my face - and heart.

This picture is of my daughters toes. They will be this small and carefree for just a short time. A blink of an eye in all eternity. But I do not want to forget them for even one second.

 So, this is my way of {freezing time}. What's yours?

Photo of the Day: {My Girl}