It was 6:30 this morning when I woke up to the sound of two boys racing their cars down the hallway.  Yes, there was a small part of me that was a little annoyed. I had already decided the night before that I would skip my morning run in order to get my much needed rest. It had been a late night and I don’t function well on less than 7 hours of solid sleep. I was exhausted. And well, exhaustion + a hectic life = recipe for disaster.

I try to avoid that at all costs.

But as I lied there in bed, listening to the big sounds coming from small feet combined with the beautiful sound of laughter – the annoyance quickly wore off. Soon the hour didn’t matter and the sounds that would have normally been cringe worthy were now joyful noises to my ears. Joyful because I realized that it seemed like only yesterday that I had held them as tiny babies in my arms. Joyful because a larger part of me realized one will soon turn 5 and the other will soon turn 2. Joyful as I realized that someday those noises will be deeply missed. And while my boys might consider me to be a super hero mom – I’m not the type of hero who can turn back time.

I miss a lot of things from the baby stages and one day I’ll miss this stage too.

So I’m trying…really trying…to find delight in the little things, like…

• All the sounds little boys make. It’s amazing how they can mimic explosions and engine revving.
• Tripping over shoes that were left in the hallway by little feet that were anxious to play, and
• Cleaning up splatters of juice leftover from juice wars (because let’s face it, sometimes it IS tempting to squeeze the box and watch the juice squirt out…especially to little boys!)

I haven’t perfected it yet, but I AM trying to embrace the little things that would normally drive a person, suffering from a small case of OCD, mad.
I know finding delight in these things now won’t keep me from missing them one day. But I can find peace knowing that when I do look back, I’ll do so with joy instead of regret.

I had fun during this photo session!  This little girl, Haidyn, is so cute and she has a vibrant personality to boot!  Isn’t her mama beautiful too?

I’ve been so blessed to know this beautiful young lady!  She has such a beautiful heart and a loveliness about her all around.

Here’s a storyboard from a photo session I just finished with one of my favorite families!

We love kale chips!  It’s not only a healthy snack but it actually tastes pretty darn good too!  I’ve experimented with several flavors and we haven’t met one we haven’t liked.  There are so many recipe sites out there so I don’t usually post mine, but I figured this one is so good and so easy, it was worth the share!

• 1 bunch of Kale
• 1 tablespoon of Olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of seasoning  (I’ve tried White cheddar powder (popcorn seasoning), salt and vinegar powder, garlic powder, caramel powder, curry) – OR – 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

You’ll want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees and then wash your kale.  Next you’ll remove the leaves from the stems and break the leaves apart into bite size pieces (chip size) and place them into a bowl.  Mix your kale, oil and seasoning together until the kale is completely covered.  (Note:  Don’t use too much oil because the kale won’t get as crispy.  It should make a light cover and since bunches vary in size it’s important to just eye ball it!) (Another note:  Don’t go too wild with any seasoning that has a salt base, the kale really soaks up the flavor.)

Next, place your kale mix in a single layer, flat on a non-greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes (until Kale is completely crispy and has darker edges).

Let stand until cool and then devour!

Evan is definitely ready to be on the mend, but he still isn’t himself.  Thankfully, the rash in his throat isn’t as swollen as it once was so he is able to eat some solid foods.  He also slept through the night, which was heavenly!  He needed a good night of rest and frankly so did mommy and daddy!

We are still restricted to the house and he wants nothing more than to play outside.  The weather is gorgeous right now, so I’m doubly sad for him on that front.  However, I know it won’t be much longer and I’m still thankful that this is just a small bump in the road because it could be so much worse.  God is still good, ya’ll!

Thank you for your continued prayers – we need them!  Also please pray for Caden, that he can stay clear of getting this infection and that he can have some understanding of why mommy and Evan haven’t been able to spend as much time with him as we’d like.  We so appreciate everything so let me leave you with a small momentum…

Not even Coxsackie can kill his cuteness!

Sunday, Evan spiked a fever and he wasn’t up for eating anything.  We figured he was just teething again, just getting his two-year molars (which deep down I was already sure he had, but even I can be wrong!)  We rolled with it.

One restless night, several doses of Tylenol and a very noticeable (popped up overnight) rash around the mouth later… we figured it was probably time to call the pediatrician.

For a moment I thought we were over reacting.  It’s been a little cooler out and the rash was most noticeably around his mouth (I’m thinking it’s just a simple case of wind burn from all the slobbering and what not.)  But inevitably when a child is hurting and there seems to be little you can do, sometimes it helps to have some medical reassurance.   So off to the pediatricians we went.  I was optimistic that we’d be in and out with a confirmation that it’s all just normal.

But that’s not what happened.  By the time we met with the pediatrician the rash had spread to both hands and feet, as well as his diaper area.  The poor thing looked miserable!

An hour later we got confirmation that our poor Evan was suffering from a form of Coxsackie virus (hand, foot, and mouth virus) as well as a double ear infection!  In addition, the pediatrician showed me the rash that was also in his throat.  He wasn’t teething at all…he was in pain from the bumps/rash.  Not our proudest parenting moment but we live and learn, don’t we?  So anyhows, we were told it was mildly contagious but it’s most common in children under five and that it would go away on its own.

So Evan is being quarantined.  Mommy gets the honors of supervision until this virus runs its course and I’m so not complaining! I’m honestly thankful it wasn’t anything worse, even though it is still scary.  Other than the ear infection (which he’s getting antibiotics for) there really is nothing we can do to ease his discomfort except to just be here when he needs to be held and loved on and who can really complain about that?!?!

We had another eventful halloween!  The boys had a blast (for the most part) and it’s always nice to connect with people around the neighborhood.

Evan was a little fussy at first, but once we visited a few houses and he caught on that he was getting candy, he perked right up!  I think he made a cute Charlie Brown.  What do you think?

Caden loves Iron man and he was stoked to dress up as him this year!  I think he pulled it off quite well too!  As for daddy, well let’s just say Caden tugged on his heartstrings enough that he caved and bought a mask.

We hope you had a fantastic (really wanted to put “fangtastic” here) halloween!  We sure did!

Each Halloween I try to include something crafty to give away with our treat bags. In the past it’s mostly been the typical decorated candy (like ghost lollipops) or hand crafted bracelets and such. This year I got an idea to include something a little different – Halloween bird treats. They are super cute, easy to make and most importantly a perfect little treat for God’s creatures. These cute bird treats can be hung right on a tree branch, bush or planter and the birds love them (squirrels too!)

If you missed this for Halloween, try it out as fall décor. A batch makes between 16-25 treats and you can decorate your tree with several of them!

You’ll need:

• ¾ cup All-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. Light corn syrup
• 4 cups bird seed
• ½ cup water
• Cookie cutters (use the shapes you desire)
• Wax paper
• String, yarn or package ribbon
• Straw

Mix the flour, corn syrup, bird seed and water into a large bowl. Once mixed, spread out a workable amount (a few treats worth) onto the wax paper. I used a rubber spatula to spread the mixture and flatten it. Once flat, take your cookie cutters* and start creating your shapes.

I placed my cutters and then moved it to an open space, using my spatula to flatten the mixture inside the cutter again.

Once the shape has taken place, take a straw and push it into the mixture, creating a nice clean hole. Remove the cookie cutter and repeat.

*NOTE* I sprayed my cookie cutters with spray oil so that mixture didn’t stick. I also lightly sprayed the wax paper so that the mixture would transfer to the drying areas easier (since it can’t be picked up.) 

Allow the shapes to dry overnight (turn over once stable, if able). Once dry, all that’s left is to string them and then hang them (or bag them as we did.) The dried treats are easy to work with, more durable than one would think and they really do turn out quite cute!

I totally didn’t expect to walk into the restroom to see this little nugget…