Horsing Around

We dressed Evan up as a horse tonight, just because. We're trying out possible costume ideas. If Haley is Tinkerbell, we've decided Evan should be Peter Pan. But now she wants to be Snow White and SHE wants him to be Dopey. I don't know if we should really do that to Evan. He's such a cute horse though:) Too bad Haley was a cowgirl last year. Maybe we could squeeze one more year out of the costume.

Piano for Bebe

Just had to post this video so you know that the family piano is being used!

Little Pumpkins

We took our little pumpkins to the pumpkin patch today at the Dallas Arboretum. So beautiful! If it would have been 60 degrees instead of 90 it would have been the perfect day. We met our friends Josh and Cara and two of their kids there for a picnic and fun play-date. Although Haley was a little grumpy in the heat, the girls had fun chasing each other in the grass and attacking Jed with their dirty feet. It is a huge accomplishment for Haley to take her shoes off in the grass because a year ago she had to wear lace-up shoes with socks everywhere so that nothing dirty would touch her feet. What progress we've made. It is so wonderful to get together with friends and spend the morning outside together. Oh, and doesn't Evan look a little like Elvis in the picture above...check out that lip action!

Flower Power

Evan helped me do some yard work today. Oh, how helpful he is. He can dig, pull flower heads off and throw bark chips. He is sure to have a green thumb. He also discovered his sunglasses today and had fun taking them off and trying to put them back on!

'Ugs and Snuggles

For a squirmy little guy, there aren't often many hugs or snuggles to go around. Evan is always moving some part of his body. His little legs are swinging, his hands are reaching for things or his head is bopping from side to side. But I tell you what, when Evan sees his G-Daddy, he nestles his head right next to G-Daddy's and they snuggle. Evan can stay there for minutes which is truly a miracle if you've ever watched him for any length of time. Seconds in one spot is more likely to occur than minutes. But he snuggles up and just stays put. It is the sweetest thing ever. Now, Evan has started to call his snuggles, "'ugs" for hugs. I can ask for a hug and he'll snuggle up for a split second then push down to get back on the ground and go. But who wouldn't give anything for an Evan ug!

Colds and Cousin Crazies

You would never know that these cousins had colds or coughs. When Moses and Haley get together now it is a full-out, high energy, non-stop laughter and play. It is so fun to watch them run through the house laughing and chasing each other. They play dump trucks, pretend, chase, ball and more. It has gone from a quiet baby playtime to a toddler obstacle course at the Roseberry's house when everyone is in town. With Evan on the move and Milan starting to sit up, the play time is only just beginning. It may wear all the adults out, but it is awesome to see how cousins can get together and enjoy playing until they are pooped!

Out to the Park

We met our friends at Arbor Hills today. It was so nice in the shade, but hot in the sun. The kids took their bikes and trikes and we attempted a short loop. Haley discovered that she really liked Hannah's bike...that's why she isn't in the group shot. She was riding ahead in front of us and decided to add a bike to her growing Christmas list. I know, and it is only September.

On the way home she asked me, "How old were you at my age?" Then, she asked what kind of Birthday parties I had and I started naming a few and she said, "I sure wish I would have been there for your Birthdays. It would have been fun."Then she made note of the fact that I sure had a lot of Birthdays. Indeed. I actually got a little teary as I said I hope I was there to have fun with her on all her Birthdays to come until she's as old as me. Wow, how important it is to not miss a day of loving our kids. One day, she'll be 31 and I can only pray that we'll all be happy and healthy to celebrate together!

Circumstances & our hearts

It has been a crazy week at the Roseberry's house! Last week Evan came down with a tummy bug and we can't ever have the 24 hour bug at our house. It ALWAYS seems to last at least 5-7 days. Yuck. It truly is one of the hardest things I face as a mom b/c I have never been able to tolerate throwing up. In fact, it so traumatized me as a child that I can still remember almost everyone who threw-up at school starting in the 1st grade. Now that is a serious reason for me to start therapy.

The good news is that when it is your own children that are sick, God does somehow fill you with enough strength to get through it, but it isn't easy. Haley also ended up with a cold and full body rash at the same time and I really thought the plague had settled into our home.

After more than a week of illness and no sleep, I was really starting to feel sorry for myself. Why wouldn't God just stop the madness. He could take this yucky stuff away in a snap. It'd be nothing. But He didn't. And after a few days of wrestling with God about my circumstances in life, I finally came to the conclusion that God doesn't always change our circumstances, we instead allow Him to change our hearts.

Wow, how hard is that? I didn't even want to let Him change my attitude at first because I was so tired and frustrated I couldn't see how that would help me get through the day. But, little by little things started to improve. I can't always have a good night sleep or rested body. Yet, each day I am still called to be the best mom I can be devoted to loving these kids and helping them through the yucky times in life. I know, someday I'll wish this was the hardest part about being a mom.

Crazy fun cousins

If only they lived closer together. Shana and Ronnie came through Frisco on their way home from vacation and Max and Evan got to play for a bit. They were so cute. Mostly, they just shared spit as they slobbered on toys, but they had a good time doing just that:)

It wasn't as easy at a year to capture the Birthday boys still on the chair. Max especially wanted to escape and explore all the new toys at our house. Regardless they were precious and we enjoyed spending a few minutes with cousin Max! You would never know they are related. Max with his gorgeous golden skin and Evan with beautiful white hair they couldn't look more different.

They are going to be double trouble together because their personalities are so different yet they are both clever and will be able to come up with all kinds of ideas between their two bright minds. We better watch out. Haley better enjoy being the bigger one now before those two cute monkeys are really on the move! What fun these boys will have growing up together being only 2 days apart. Happy First Birthday Cousins!

Bumbleberry Ink

Who would have thought that I would start my own business this week, but I think it is official. I bought the domain name for www.bumbleberryink.com. I haven't posted anything on the website yet, but hope to have it up in a couple of weeks.

What is Bumbleberry Ink? It is my newest creative outlet making Christmas cards (and possibly birth announcements, etc). I designed our last couple of year's Christmas cards and had a few requests from friends to do theirs. Well, one thing has led to another and I am making tons of cards and getting ready to put them up on the website for this fall.

If you have any requests or ideas, I welcome all input. I am hoping to keep prices as low as $0.80 per card including shipping. I really want to make cards fresh, fun and affordable for people.

You'll see lots of bold colors and funky graphics. I'm still playing around with things but here are some of my currents favorites.

I'll send a mass email out when designs are online. Wow...I can't believe I'm really doing this:)

Disneyworld

It's true, Haley is spending 4 days at Disney World this week with Bebe and Papa. My parents told her a year ago that when she could keep her pull-up dry and sleep in a big girl bed, they would take her to Disney and she NEVER forgot.

Each time she'd wake up from a nap and have dry pants, she would say, "It's time to go to Disney World".

Being a woman of her word, my mom booked the trip for this September and we met them at the airport on Wednesday and they flew first class to Florida. My mom LOVES Disney and was really looking for any great excuse to head back there and she has met her match. Haley appears to have as much Disney enthusiasm as my mom could hope for. They started at Wild Kingdom then spent a day at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. She has had lunch with the Little Einsteins and had her picture with almost all of the princesses....which is the highlight of her life. She couldn't wait to see Cinderella's castle in person.

The best thing about being 3 at Disney World is that you still believe in the magic surrounding everything. She lives in a fantasy world and plays pretend everyday so it isn't any stretch to think that all these characters really live in Florida and that princesses really do live in big castles. Fairytales do come true and our lives are living proof that what God has in store for us is so much more than we could have ever hoped for or imagined. I hope she never forgets to dream big and live a life full of splendor!

PS- And yes, according to Bebe's wishes, I packed the appropriate Disney character shirts and princess light up shoes for there trip.

Spiderman

If only I would have had my camera handy the other night when Evan became Spiderman. Jed was out of town and I decided that it would be a good idea to take dinner to a friend from church who had a knee replacement. They were so kind to let us stay and eat with them since it was getting late and the kids were hungry. They have older grandkids and were sweet to let us stay. As I was packing up to head home, I looked up and Evan had climbed up onto their entertainment console and was clinging to the side of their flat screen tv like Spiderman. I couldn't believe my eyes. Who was this kid? He was totally unaware of any danger and thrilled to be so close to the brilliant colors on the screen. Oh boy, do I have my work cut out for me!

Dirt Digger

You'd think by the title that we saw a dirt digger today by the side of the road. But no, we are the dirt diggers. Haley could never stand to have her hands dirty and would NEVER have dug in the wet dirt like this, and certainly NEVER would have eaten the mud. Haley took one look at him and said, "run for your lives". That is a common saying at our house these days. Whether Evan is swinging a toy golf club or just a book, it is surely more safe to just get out of the way then try to reason with a one year old.

First Day of School

Today is Haley's first day of preschool. She has class from 8:30 till 2:30. Mom thinks it is a long day for a 3 year old. But, Haley was brave and mostly excited about school. As we drove closer to the school, she got a little more quiet. I asked her what she was thinking about and she said she didn't know. I'm sure I wouldn't know what to think either.

She did take Evan by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes before we got in the car and said, "Evan today is NOT my day off. You are going to have fun playing by yourself or with Mommy today." She's so funny. She is trying to make sure Evan is taken care of today since she won't be there to help out. I'm glad we got that straightened out. As you can see in the pictures, her backpack, which is one of the smallest they make, is almost as big as she is. And, she is carrying her adorable sleep mat from Aunt Karen. Gigi got her a cute back to school outfit and her new disney princess lunchbox is tucked nicely inside her backpack with blankie.

We've been over the details about school and she's asked lots of questions like, "If I sit with Ms. Leslie at chapel, where are you going to sit? Do you think we'll get to sing our ABC's?" I know she's gonna have a great time and enjoy all the new friendships and time learning new things at school. I even made it without crying. I just kept telling myself I had to be strong for her sake. That's how it all begins, right? I can't believe my little girl is out in the world today without me. So this is why everyone tells us to enjoy them while they are little because they will be heading off into the world soon enough:)