my desk.

happy halloween!

i have been meaning to post this for a long while.

and today is the day!

we have a great office space at home 

but i never use it because it's in our converted garage. 

so B got me a desk.

and not just any desk but 

the.

most.

incredible.

desk i could ever want. 

oh, he is my love.

do you know that when B and i were dating 

and while i was in college, 

he mailed me a cassette tape. 

(yes, remember those?) 

without a label on it.

and when i played it, 

this song came on. 

and on our very first new year's, 

he created a beach in one room of our apartment 

(with a heater and tropical music) 

and snow in the other 

(with scarves and mittens and 

hundreds and hundreds and hundreds 

of packing peanuts all over the floor. 

i even found some when we moved out of that apartment, years later).

he has beautifully coached me through three labors 

(even though he felt useless during all of them).

he lived with me at the hospital for 44 days.

he lives life with me.

the real life. 

the nitty gritty

with the way ups and the way downs.

he stays by my side through it all.

he lets me go on some fun adventures. 

he encourages me 

and always points me to the cross 

and to a closer relationship with Jesus. 

he loves me. 

that he does.

and he found this

amazing,

amazing desk on ebay, 

drove an hour each way that night 

to pick it up

and then completely repainted this beauty

in two of my most favorite colors.

Let the word of Christ 

dwell in you richly 

as you teach and admonish one another 

with all wisdom, 

and as you sing psalms, 

hymns and spiritual songs 

with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16

1576. watching a leaf fall from a tree

1577. errands without complaining kids

1578. a quick trip to the pharmacy 

1579. a wonderful different library we visited

1580. library books

up, up and away.

a little while ago,

B and i took the kids to the small local amusement park.

we had some free tickets from a coloring contest the kids won

and so we told them something they will 

probably never hear us say ever again:

"you can ride on every single ride that you want to."

and you know what?

they did.

and B got in on some of that fun action, too.

L was not as excited as the big kids.

actually, he was completely terrified.

the sounds, 

the lack of space around us

and seeing things he has never seen before

put him over the edge.

so, B and i took turns hanging with the bigs

while taking L to quieter locations.

it was the first time that we have really had to do 

something like that with him. 

somehow, i volunteered to go on the ferris wheel with the bigs.

what was i thinking?

i am afraid of heights!

while i was way, way up there,

i remembered a story that when i was a little girl,

i convinced my grandpa to take me on a ferris wheel 

and after one time around,

i made him stop the ride and let me off.

so, i knew that stopping the ride and getting off was a possibility.

that reassured me.

slightly.

but after going around a couple of times

and knowing i was probably not going to die

(although i did remember that we once visited 

the pier and watched the fire department 

practice rescuing people from this same ferris wheel.)

we enjoyed ourselves.

my main job was reminding K to stay on her tushie

and reassuring D that his hat was probably not going to fly off.

boy, are my kids different from each other.

we got to see B and L 

from way, way up there.

and i think he enjoyed himself from a distance.

it was such a  lovely day to be there.

and the kids?

oh, those kids had the best day.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, 

continue to live in him, 

rooted and built up in him, 

strengthened in the faith as you were taught, 

and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7

1571. sharing a churro

1572. the warmth a scarf brings

1573. neighbors to lean on 

1574. the perfect amount of time

1575. everyone sleeping until 7am

picture me {im}perfectly.life is hard

oh, life.

right now, life is hard.

(the head-spinning, weekly, color-coded calendar)

it's wild and 

busy and 

tiring. 

actually, it's exhausting. 

(the never ever ending to-do list)

but as much as i long for 

what life was like or

will be like, 

just not in the now,

(as my pastor just reminded me in a recent sermon)

i will be in my life at that time. 

i will be there. 

my sinful,

never satisfied nature. 

it will be there, too.

and when i am finally there, 

in the future, 

i will probably be longing for how life is right now.

check out sam's beautiful blog 

that she linked up last week

and her incredible words of wisdom

about social media.

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 

1571. homemade cookies

1572. with milk

1573. cancelling our "work night"

1574. watching D love to learn to play the keyboard

1575. finding the kids at the kitchen table, dressed for the day

oh ramona.

oh how i wish 

i could just curl up in a magazine 

and take a nap like ramona.

check back in tomorrow for a 

picture me {im}perfectly post.

The LORD gave them rest on every side, 

just as he had sworn to their forefathers. 

Not one of their enemies withstood them; 

the LORD handed all their enemies over to them.

Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; 

every one was fulfilled.

Joshua 21:44-45

1566. robot D

1567. the creativity of my husband

1568. an afternoon together

1569. crisp, cool mornings

1570. collecting leaves

not a sneak peek.

here are some more photos 

from the little shoot i did 

with my cousin and her husband.

(for the sneak peek, click here)

the little pumpkin.

they're having a boy

and his name is a secret!

we kept our names secret with D and K 

but named L when i was hospitalized at 29 weeks.

i loved keeping the two names a surprise .

the happy momma-to-be.

my favorite photo from the day.

hands down.

and a nice little thank you to the sailor 

who's boat made it into this shot. 

so far, every single shoot i have done at the beach 

has had an incredible sunset.

what a precious and memorable gift from God.

reflection shots are some of my favs.

and that blue hue of the water just gives me goosebumps.

this might also be my favorite photo of the shoot.

it's so hard to decide.

us girls.

the end.

I will be like the dew to Israel; 

he will blossom like a lily. 

Hosea 14:5

1561. the dew on the grass

1562. reading at the park with D

1563. coffee after breakfast. 

not as breakfast.

1564. doing puzzles with the bigs

1565. the opportunity to be creative

my girl.

as i mentioned earlier this week,

this girl has been very celebrated. 

it is really fun having boys.

just as it is really fun having a girl.

some days, i don't think she could 

possibly wear any more pink.

or purple.

or have more sparkles on her shoes. 

The LORD replied,

“My Presence will go with you,

and I will give you rest.”

Exodus 33:14

1556. sparkly shoes

1557. dinner before 6pm

1558. box creations

1559. all three easily going to sleep

1560. the chance to edit photos

picture me {im}perfectly.not ever early

i have this problem.

it's a pretty major one.

it effects my children.

it effects others. 

my husband: always early.

me: always late.

everywhere i go.

i am late.

i don't know how i do it.

i try.

i really do try to leave my house when i should.

but it never happens.

there's always one thing i forgot to pack up

or bring 

or do.

and then, just like that, we are late.

"tk421 why aren't you at your post?"

i have no idea why (or if) this is funny.

B saw this photo and told me to write that.

and i also have no idea 

why K is wearing D's underwear. 

moving along...

i have plenty of friends who arrive early everywhere they go.

and i wonder what i am doing wrong.

i did grow up in a house where 

when my brother was six, 

he asked what the word 

"early" 

meant.

honest.

he had never heard that word.

head on over to natalie's blog

to be reminded of what 

completely trusting God looks like. 

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 


Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. 
Let nothing move you. 
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, 
because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58


1551. the reminder to love. today.
1552. sweet baby M, born yesterday
1553. tj's mini ice cream cones
1554. a night filled with laundry and my to-do list
1555. skinny ties

a sneak peek.

if you're anything like me,

you're probably already thinking about 

the holiday card that you are going to send out. 

well, look no further. 

my uber creative sister,

also known as Aunt WW

(pictured above in her yellow sparrows dress) 

has her own graphic design company called

five sparrows design studio. 

click here to check out her new shop

and to see all of her designs.

(she is also available for fully custom designs!)

i had the privilege and honor to

take some photos of a 

cousin of mine, 

her husband

and her pregnant belly

at the beach

over the weekend.

(thanks to B who held down the fort...

a lot this past weekend.)

and the weather did not disappoint.

no it did not. 

here is how the end of the day looked.

glorious.

absolutely glorious.

here's a little sneak peek at the shoot...

doesn't she have one of the cutest baby bumps you've ever seen?

and she only has a little over a month left.

i know.

totally jealous.

i can't wait for J to experience 

the absolute joys of motherhood.

i think she and her husband, P are fully prepared 

(well, as much as a new parent can be).

and i know that the little guy is going to 

transform their world.

can't wait to grab some more photos of this family 

after he arrives!

1546. enough time

1547. a list on a monday

1548. clothes being cleaned while i run all over the place

1549. friends who can bring D home from school

1550. snacks in the car