Easter Bunny Pics 2012

life through my phone

If I had to pick only ONE reason that I love, love, love having an iPhone (splurge? yes.), it would be that I have a camera at my fingertips at all times. {and for this photography junkie, that matters:)} With the quick touch of a screen, I can easily capture all the little moments that make up each day. Little moments gather together to show a grand picture of a life that is abundantly, undeservedly blessed.

{snippets of life lately}

{my spunky, finicky tornado, Eli}

{the fun life. the yes life}

{my glue; stuck on me - Wesley}

The Tates take Fort Walton Beach, FL!!

Almost 8 years of marriage and we finally took our very first family vacation. Have we taken trips to see family and such? Yes. I'm talking about just the two of us (parents) with kids in tow, ready to make lots of outstanding memories with our kiddos - no other interruptions or plans but our own. Although we are in the throes of paying down debt, bills, and all kinds of other BLAH responsibilities, we both decided we needed to deliberately make a way to take a mini-vacation. The boys are growing up so fast and we want to seize our moments together.

Once we decided where we were going, I found a mom & pop hotel for a STEAL in Fort Walton Beach. We were literally ONE block from the most gorgeous beach. We didn't even fool with parking...just got up and walked each day. We ate out some, had take out in the hotel room, and the boys were thrilled to jump on the beds and watch as much cable as they wanted (no cable at home, so this was a treat). We threw rules out the window and just had the most amazing time together, our family of five. Laughter was the resounding theme each day and night.

Watching the sunset at the beach has to rank right up there some of the highest pleasures in life. There is no denying our Magnificent God when you witness something like this!!

My sweet caboose hung out with me on the beach, digging in the sand and very cautiously wading in the small waves. Over a week later, I'm still finding sand in this boy's curls. :)

This dude, like his daddy, was straight up IN HIS ZONE. He loved everything about the beach and was the first one in every day!! He and Joeie went WAY out,; I wonder what their conversations consisted of.

My sweet and crazy wild boys! I wouldn't trade a thing about them. There's just something special about being the only girl in the family. ;)

The bigs were laughing at Eli after a wave knocked him down. So mean. hehe:)

Looking for seashells was the highlight of the trip for Wesley. This picture reminds me of how fast time is moving.

{{from the trusty iPhone}}

I had to snap a picture before we got all dressed up for dinner one night. They are so handsome; glad they take after their daddy. :)

Mommy & Eli, enjoying our last day on the sand

My view was quite nice -- watching the 4 of them play, talk, giggle, etc while I relaxed

All in all - though traveling with kids can be exhausting - we had a GRAND time and have vowed to make this happen hopefully every year. It was so wonderful to connect as a family and just spend time together laughing & talking.

If you're not on Facebook and want to see the rest of our pictures, just click HERE. There was no way I could include them all in this post. :)

Who's 2?

A whole month off from blogging and what better time to jump back in than a special birthday boy turning TWO? We celebrated with a small, family-only party at home. Eli loves Elmo (and cars and Thomas the Train and plenty of other things....so I picked something and ran with it) so Elmo it was. I made the cupcakes from scratch and of course, all of our boys LOVE fruit, so I knew that was non-negotiable. :)

Joeie would try to light his candle, and as soon as he did, Eli would blow it out before we could sing to him. We tried about 5 times before he figured out to wait. His little face got so shy, which is TOTALLY not like him. :)

Eli was surrounded by those who love him the most -- grandparents, brothers, aunts & uncles.

His favorite gift was probably the simplest - a few Hot Wheel cars from Granny & Papaw

Joeie and I are truly blessed with such a loving family and healthy children. I praise God for the 24 months we've had with Eli and hope for many, many more.

Want to come back soon to do an in-depth update on all the boys are doing -- likes, dislikes, milestones, etc. :)

when you're too tired to blog with words...

you just post the cutest picture known to man...

january

Oh, hi, severely-abandoned blog. Let's see...what have we been up to?

a goose egg or few

mommy turned 30

jumped in a few rain puddles

dibble-dabbled in oodles of mischief (Eli, but of course)

we did a little flying

cut alotta fro

celebrated mi madre turning 53 - the 3 of us compiled a list of 53 reasons we love her!

spent a crazy amount of time intrigued by popcorn kernels

and succumbed to the ever-lurking asthma symptoms

So, there ya go, Blogger. An update on our lives through the lens of my iPhone. One day, I'll get better about dusting off the trusty ole Canon and taking more "real" pics. And maybe one day, I'll get back to blogging daily. {sigh}

2011 was good to me.

Here I sit, a week in to 2012, still blown away at the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ in 2011. It absolutely blew my mind! I established some of the most fantastic friendships in my team at work (and miss them to this day!). Cuttin' Corners was formed in the early part of the year and I began helping others learn how to save money. Truly loving the content of what I was teaching gave me a wonderful outlet to meet some fantastic ladies. My photography appointments kept coming and coming and coming this year. Our kids turned 9, 5 (Kindergarten!!), and 1 and continue to be happy and relatively healthy. I experienced an almost out-of-body worship experience with my favorite group, Hillsong. And to top it all off, God answered a 6-year prayer of mine: I was able to quit my job. As icing on the cake, Eli has not had to have one single breathing treatment since he's been home with me every day. Although there are a few days that are quite the opposite of a bed of roses, God's blessings are just way too monumental to focus on the thorns instead of the beautiful flowers. I stand with a mountaintop view with constant praise but my prayer is to be full of praise even when the storms come. The Bible promises that they will.

Quite honestly, I suck as a wife & mom some days. My family is loving and so forgiving - resilient despite my insufficiencies. I am abundantly thankful, hopeful for the 2012 horizon.

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas didn't include traveling or gobs of extended family. We stayed put and made the most of each other. Just the 5 of us. We enjoyed old traditions and made a couple of new ones. I'm always trying to find ways to make Christmas fresh & unique to our family. I am intentional about making memories that my children will reflect on with warm thoughts.

As we have for the past several years, we make it a huge point to keep the real reason in the forefront. Birthday cake for Our King is always part of the Christmas morning breakfast. Cake for breakfast, you say? Yep!

We started a new tradition of our boys all going shopping separately for one another and then doing all the wrapping independently. Christmas Eve is when they open gifts from one another. Nothing extravagant; just Dollar Tree for now. Perhaps when they get older and make their own money, they will branch out. The goal was to get their minds off themselves and thinking about how to serve their brothers through gifting.

Eli got both of his big brothers Silly Putty. Boo get Wesley a glow stick and Eli a wooden truck. Wesley got Boo a bag of Ring Pops and Eli some squeezable bath toys. It was a joy to watch our boys interact so enthusiastically with one another. So fun!

After the boys opened their gifts from one another, it was time to prepare for Santa's arrival and drift off into dreamland. We started the 3-gift rule a few years ago, and it has been one of the best decisions we've made in regards to the holidays. Not much stress and running around...not to mention, financially. Our boys have grown up with this and expect it. It is engrained in their minds -- Jesus got 3 gifts. YOU also get 3 gifts. (Not counting gifts from family, of course.)

{Clearly, matching Christmas PJs are not a priority for me. Oops.}

I think Wesley's favorite gift was the Diary of a Wimpy Kid paraphernalia.

Boo's was his iPod Touch!

And, well, Eli is easy to please. Thomas the Train plastic figures.

After our leisurely family morning, we headed to the Tate's home to spend the day with family and great eats.

Eli and I share the same sentiments about Christmas; sad that it's over.