this kid right here...

meet hunter.  

hunter lives in kansas.

hunter's mom is my oldest dearest friend, beth.  

beth and i have been friends for nearly 27 years.

27.

years.

if you know me at all, you know children terrify me.  

this child...this child,however, makes me love.  

a lot.

when i first saw him in his mom's belly, i cried.

when i first met him, i cried.

when i saw him roll over for the first time, i cried.

when i saw him crawl for the first time, i cried.

he's now a walking babbling little goose.

be still my heart.

sorry my cat scratched your face dude.  you moved on from the paw swat pretty quickly.  kudos sir. kudos.

//

let drool run down your chin. play with a bag of peppers. bounce back quickly.

christmas decorations (a month late)

my very first christmas tree since moving from kansas 5 years ago.  thanks j for being so eager to put this up with me.  i'll keep you.

//

make a night of it.  use your slow cooker.  have fun.

sometimes...

sometimes he wears just the right thing.  sometimes i can't seem to take my eyes off of him.  sometimes he's so handsome i can hardly stand it.  and when he wears these pants.....sigh..

//

find something new.  take a photo.  enjoy your meal.

a short love letter to // my family

dear family-

i love you.  a lot.

the end.

//

thanks for always making me so damn happy.

//

be with the ones you love most.

fun times // holiday

i love the holidays.  i love the holidays so much that i took nearly 2 months off from blogging so i could enjoy them.  deciding to spend more time focusing on those that mean most to me was wonderful.  we had fun.

//

i'm happiest when i'm with all of them.

//

buy a puppy.  whistle a little song.  be content. 

the surprise of a life time

early last year we began to hatch a beautiful plan:  

get the entire family together for thanksgiving.

do not tell the grandparents.

how we managed to get nearly 25 people and 7 cars up my grandparents driveway without them noticing cannot be explained.  we were sneaky.  we were lucky.  we could hardly believe that it all worked out perfectly.  

thanks to my cousin, elle, over at this omazing life for the video.  i still cry every time i watch it.

//

love what you have.  rejoyce.  light a candle.

date night // tattered cover

my favorite date destination of all time.

//

he sure is handsome.

//

browse.  write a poem.  enjoy their company.