Friday Photo Journal - Weekly Linky

Happy Friday friends! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. If you weren't celebrating Christmas, I hope you had a great week. It was a whirlwind for us and went by so quickly! We were very blessed to spend time with family and we had a wonderful celebration. We are so thankful to everyone who worked so hard to make it special!  I haven't had time to really process all the photos I took, so I just threw some into a collage to share a peek at our holiday. The kids were so excited and witnessing their joy was the best gift of all!

How was your week?

Thank you so much for stopping in! Have a fun weekend! :)

Project 366 Rewind July 23

Happy Monday friends! Another week of summer has slipped by and it's time for another rewind. 

Here is my line up from last week's family fun.

It was hot and humid most days. We spent more time cooling off in the sprinkler. 

For the boys, that means wrestling, of course. 

I might have seen this face a time or two.

I played with my extension tubes and took some flower macros:

Also caught the family chillin' on the couch. I love how Little Miss is mimicking her daddy ;)

Ha! I discovered the reason my counter tops are always covered in fingerprints. 

As usual, I chased the kids with my camera as they played outdoors.

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And I practiced more portraits with my big girl. 

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 What have you been up to?

Linking up with Gina and Sarah today for:

Wordless Wednesday

2 Months Old

Sweet, personified.

For more Wednesday fun be sure to visit these fabulous blogs:
5 Minutes for Mom
Wordless Wednesday HQ

Quotable Sunday - On Parenting and Kids

Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.
-Plato

The beauty of “spacing” children many years apart lies in the fact that parents have time to learn the mistakes that were made with the older ones—which permits them to make exactly the opposite mistakes with the younger ones.
-Sydney J Harris "Leaving the Surface"

The persons hardest to convince that they're at the retirement age are children at bedtime.
-Shannon Fife

The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached to someone who isn't getting enough sleep.
-John Fiebig

Children are gleeful barbarians.
-Joseph Morgenstern, 1968

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?
-Ed Dussault

In general, my children refuse to eat anything that hasn't danced on television. -Erma Bombeck

No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids.
-Bill Cosby

If your kids are giving you a headache, follow the directions on the aspirin bottle, especially the part that says, "keep away from children."
-Susan Savannah

I love to play hide and seek with my kid, but some days my goal is to find a hiding place where he can't find me until after high school.
-Unknown

A child is a curly dimpled lunatic.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it.
-Jerry Seinfeld

Thanks for stopping by today! Your comments always brighten my day :)
For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Wordless Wednesday

It looks like the Tooth Fairy will have an extra stop this evening...


Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun!
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot

Quotable Sunday

Each year the days seem to pass by a little more quickly. Perhaps, it's having children, perhaps it's getting older, perhaps it's a lack of sleep...but, whatever the reason, it seems more important than ever to live now, enjoy each moment and make the most of each day. Time, especially with the ones we love, seems to pass all to quickly.

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us. ~Michael Cibenko

Don't let the past steal your present. ~Cherralea Morgen

There is no distance on this earth as far away as yesterday. ~Robert Nathan, So Love Returns

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present. ~Jan Glidewell

Would you keep a chive on your tooth just because you enjoyed last night's potato? ~From the television show Boston Common

I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future. ~David Gerrold

No man is rich enough to buy back his past. ~Oscar Wilde

Living the past is a dull and lonely business; looking back strains the neck muscles, causing you to bump into people not going your way. ~Edna Ferber

The past is never there when you try to go back. It exists, but only in memory. To pretend otherwise is to invite a mess. ~Chris Cobbs

Waste not fresh tears over old griefs. ~Euripides, Alexander

The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post. ~L. Thomas Holdcroft

I need neither future nor past, but to learn to take today not too fast. ~Jeb Dickerson, www.howtomatter.co

For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Kate McRae

Look at this beautiful soul. She's gorgeous isn't she? This photo reminds me of a country music video. Her face is so beautiful and sweet, yet wise and almost haunting.
This is Kate McRae. She was recently diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumor and she and her family need your prayers. Please read her story. Learn more about her family and what's happening now.
Please pass this story on. Hug your babies tight.

Parenting Advice

I thought this was a lovely post by Pamela over at PMKU and I wanted to share it here. It rings so true!

1. After you give birth be careful when you stand. You're insides will feel like they are going to fall out. This too shall pass.
2. At some point your child will hate you, cuss under their breath (possibly) and even wish they had different parents. Develop thick skin this too shall pass.
3. You're son will know everything at age 8 and your daughter will know everything at age 12. When they do leave your house with all their knowledge you have to begin to let go. You will morn their absence and they will change into people you don't know, until they become parents.
4. You have to have a grab bag of discipline tactics. You have to change it up a bit to keep them on their toes. They will at some point disappoint you even when they know better.
5. Beware of the grandparents! In their eyes your child will be a saint, no matter what. Their discipline days are over and they have nothing left but hugs and kisses. Get use to it because you will become chopped liver when they are around.
6. Are you ready to consider someone else before you no matter what? Are you ready to give up your "me" time? Are you ready for the avalanche of new finances? Are you ready to protect and serve like a cop? lol
7. Just make it through the first 3 months and you will start to feel human again. You might possibly get sleep, a shower and a change of clean clothes.
8. You are the single most important role model and everything you do and say has an impact. The saying of "Do as I say not as I do" NEVER works.
9. You will sound just like your parents so get ready to deal with it when some of those famous phrases come flying out of your mouth.
10. Prepare to call and apologize to your parents every single day or if you are really lucky and you were a "non trouble" kid then thank them every day.
11. You're going to mess up. Be ready to admit to your child when you are wrong. Admit it if you lie, it's best to put the truth out there.
12. They are going to lie to you. They just want to avoid trouble. Careful how you phrase your questions and you might be able to decrease those lies.
13. Always keep a level of respect between you. They should never be on your level and you shouldn't try to be their best friend. Friendly yes, but they don't need to know all of your adult problems. They can't handle it nor should they have to.

You can also visit Pamela at her site Happy Panda.