We will Miss you little Rosie.

Our little Grey Rosie past away sometime last night. Mike found her in the street this morning. We dont know what happened except a car got her. We live in a cul-de-sac, so we can probably narrow it down to a few people who speed in and out of here. But I guess that is beside the point. She will be missed. Although she wasnt quite as a people kitty as her brother Doba, she was really sweet. She loved to sit on Mikes lap when he was at the computer, or right up under the screen. She had the softest grey fur I have ever felt in a cat. Felt more like a rabbit. And she remained very petite. Not like her brother who is big and fat. Funny because she was bigger than Doba when this picture was taken a year ago. The kids took the news pretty good. I was a reck when I had to tell them. I am sure Doba will be missing her soon. We will all miss you little Rosie.

"Lord, Make Me A Neat Freak"

...That is a phrase I have taped on my mirror. I try to pray that every morning to help me keep my house clean. Well, I must not be praying it lately...Because if you looked inside the red door of the pretty little house, you wouldn't use the word Neat! Oh man this is a constant inner battle with me. On one hand I am a Stay-At-Home Mom/Wife and should be able to keep a nice tidy house right? But on the other hand....I'm not neat by nature, I have two toddlers that are not neat by nature, and no energy to pretend I am neat by nature. But inside I can feel the inner turmoil of the mess creep in. I love how I feel when my house is spotless and fresh smelling (febreeze!!), but I just cant keep up. I find myself sinking into a mini-depressed state among the mess. And I am always making excuses when people stop by before I have had a chance to throw things in the closet. Most people that do drop by completely understand the stage of life I am in though...and could care less. I think it is mainly me that cares. Maybe Mike too, but he is totally supportive and knows it is a never ending battle with all the kids toys and endless piles of diapers!!! We keep saying , Some day we will have a clean house. But along with that...it will be a quiet one, which is sad. I just need to get to the place where I am fine with the mess for now...and enjoy the kids and all that comes along with them!! My question is...how do I get there? (and your saying right now..."stop blogging and get off your bootie and clean")

What a Stinker!

My little man, isn't he cute?! Well this little man is a typical little boy...loves hitting his big sister. So you can imagine it can be a challenge day to day trying to deal with how to get him to stop hitting her. Mind you Emery likes to push his buttons so he will hit her...then she comes crying to mommy. Well, today Emery comes crying to me because Ty hit her. She did in fact have a mark on her face and real tears...so I was inclined to believe her. However when I called Ty into the room and asked him if he hit her he said no. So now I was dealing with how to get him to admit it and have a talk about lying. I sat him down and asked again if he hit her...he said no so I gave him a reprimand about lying...he got a serious look on his face like he knew he was in trouble...then a grin and started to giggle in my face... This made me mad...so I once again reprimanded him about this being a serious talk and asked him again if he was lying... again he looked serious like he was understanding me...but then said no and started to giggle. Now I just sat there not knowing what to do. He stumped me. I knew he was lying...but I wasnt about to beat it out of him. Then he started giggling at me again. By this point I lost it!!! Turned my back to him...and started belly laughing. I couldnt help it. The little stinker got me big time!! I didnt want him to know I was laughing...but how could he not. Them Emery saw me...and we all started laughing. It reminded me of when I was little and my mom would get so frustrated with us...but some how my brother could get her to laugh.
Ty eventually admitted he hit her and apologized after putting him in Time Out. We'll see how I handle it the next time he tries the grin and giggle method.

Missed Photo Op!

This picture really doesnt apply to my post...but it is a cute one I wanted to share.
I am so bummed, today was Piper's first time in a swimming pool, I missed the photo opportunity, today was Ty's first time going down the big water slide with Daddy, I miss that too...and today Emery went under water, Missed it!!! This is why you should always take a camera with you at all times!! By the way Piper loved the water. We were in the pool for about 20 minutes and I spotted some POOP!!! No it wasnt any of my children....but they cleared the pool for probably an hour while they cleaned it with heavy chemicals. Gross! None the less we still had a blast. Hope all your weekends were fun too!

Garage Sale

I am exhausted! We had a garage sale today and for some reason it wiped me out. Well, that and the birthday party for a 3 year old. I am going to bed relatively early so we can start again tomorrow, selling may way outdated, way to small clothes.

Ta Ta, That's all the Wink I have for you today.

It's Official

Ty is now officially bigger than his big sister. When we were at Mike's work the other day we took the kids down to the clinic and had them measured. Ty is now 1/2 inches taller than Emery and 1 pound heavier. Big Boy!! Or little girl depending how you want to look at it. I get asked almost on a daily basis if they are twins or which one is oldest.
So the numbers are
Emery: 33 pds, 37 1/4 inches
Ty: 34 pds, 37 3/4 inches
Piper: 14 pds, not sure on the inces...

The {Simple} Things

Ribbon, Paper, Pretty Things...call it silly, but those things make me smile, brighten my day, and get my creative juices flowing!!! That is why I feel so blessed to be able to have a {little} business to make a {little} money for my family working with these simple pleasures.
Defining Details is an answer to a 2 1/2 year prayer. I am truely thankful for what I have been given.

Who Commands the Lions?

They call the Lions the King of the Beast...but who do they report too?
I know that it can be very hard for people to see God's miracles with all the pain in the world. But this STORY, to me is a perfect example of how God is still very much in control of his amazing creations. (just click on the word story above)

A Parental Moment

Sometimes no matter how naughty they are being...you just have to stop and enjoy the moment. After several times of telling Ty to get into his bed...I stomped down the hall for yet another stern warning...only to see my little man streaming out of his sister's room with a bucket stuck on his head. I couldn't help the laughter. These are the times rule are set aside so a moment of pure enjoyment isn't lost.

Annual Family Photo Shoot.

We have a tradition in our family of taking family photos on Fathers day every year...we have done this since emery was a baby. Thought I would share my favorites.
This one makes me laugh. We were trying to get Ty to look at the camera...we told him to try to find himself in the lense...this is the result. We got quite a laugh.

Mommy and kids

Baby Love 

Piper 

Happy Girl 

Big Boy~Big Eyes 

My Favorite Photo 

Emery 

The Girls 

silly guys 

The Annual Family Photo 

Happy Father's Day Mike!

I can honestly say Mike, you are an awesome dad! Your kids absolutely adore you and look up to you. Like the lady at Wal-mart said the other day, "I am a lucky lady to have a dad that is so involved in the kids lives and such a help".

I did a little interview today with the kids about their daddy:

Me: What do you love about Daddy?
Emery: Um, I like playing with daddy.
Ty: I love God...(not sure he understood the question...but still a great answer)
Piper: Whaaa. (Everything)

Me: What do you like to play with Daddy?
Emery: I like to play princess with Daddy.
Ty: I like daddies red game (hand held texas hold'm game)
Piper: aaheaa (roll on the ground)

Me: Where to do you like to go with Daddy?
Emery: Ace and Walmart
Ty: Walmart
Piper: eyyehh (anywhere in the front pack, usually walmart)

Me: How does daddy make you laugh?
Emery: When he tickles me.
Ty: Daddy tickles
Piper: bwaahh...(real answer, when he says Boo!!)

I love you Mike!

(the above picture was taken last father's day...we take family pictures every year on this day. I will post today's for you soon)

New Samples Are UP!

Just a quick post to let you all know Mike updated my portfolio with some of my new samples. There are new samples in all four categories, weddings, babies, stationary and special events. Just click on this link it will take you there, Defining Details Designs.

My little Prince.

Ty today told me he was a King...I told him he was my prince. Daddy was the king...he didnt believe me. This layout I did tonight as a sample for Cassandra's Daisy Bucket Kit. She took these pictures of Ty one day. He's in his favorite spot behind the couch cushions. It was pretty surprising he even let her take them. You never know what your going to get from this little guy day to day, or minute by minute...he's has many facets to his little personality. And what a big personality it is!

The Winkywat!

It just dawned on me that only a few select people will understand the title of my blog "wink". So I thought I would share. My nickname as a child was winkywat, winky, wink. Some in my family still call me that 30 years later. I am not exatly sure how old I was in this picture. I am thinking it may have been taken in pre-school, so probably about four. Crazy to think that this wink has a little wink about this age of her own.

A Surprise for Mommy!

I was up-stairs doing some laundry this morning. The kids were down stairs playing nicely with each other. I heard Emery call for me to come down. "We have a surprise for you mommy". I was a little nervous to see what unfolding down there. I came into the kitchen to two sweet little voices saying "surprise" and then start singing Happy Birthday to me. (no it's not my b-day). They had found all the left over cups from last nights Small Group meeting at our house, filled them up with water and placed them on the table like it was a cake. They then pretended to blow out the candles on this imaginary cake. How cute and sweet of them. About 5 minutes later the cups got thrown away because mommy's surprise turned into a water fight.

She's Almost There.

Okay...so she wasnt very happy, but she was trying really hard to roll over last night and I wanted to capture the moment. She didnt quite make it, I picked her up to stop the screaming. What a mean mommy I am.

An Emeryism and Tyism

I like to call the funny things my kids say Emeryisms or Tyism.
This morning as Mike was making breakfast the kids made a couple funny comments I wanted to share.
Emeryism:
Emery; "I want cheese, I want cheese"
Dad: There's something missing in what your saying
Emery: Huh?
Dad: What rhymes with Cheese?
Emery: Crackers!!

Tyism
Said in his cute low voice
"Daddy, I like Cougar Butter"
I instantly knew he was talking about the cougar gold cheese he was eating out of the big can!
It made daddy proud.

Three Months

PIPER AT THREE MONTHS.

I decided to try to take Piper's three month pictures myself instead of taking her to a studio. I only got a few good ones, because she was a little wiggly. Mike is going to touch up the background and then we can send them to get printed. Much cheaper than a studio. This picture is pretty sweet. She looks like she is trying to decide if she is going to break out in a smile or not.

She usually is smiling. She has turned out to be such a sweet, happy baby, after her first six weeks of trying to decide if she liked us or not. What a blessing!