Beauty in Bloom

OKC 2012

It is almost 9 pm as I sit down to write this. Finally got the kids to bed. They were extra crazy tonight. Which made their momma extra crazy too.

I meant to post about this yesterday morning but the weekend kicked the life out of me. I am slowly recovering and I am currently drinking my final cup of coffee for the day. Who needs sleep anyway?

We made this trip to celebrate my baby brother Joshua who turned 30 on February 17th. A bunch of us traveled down to Oklahoma City....including my family, my dad and step-mom Leona, my brother Jake, his wife Vicky and son, my step-sister Steph and her three kids, my step-sister Cindy, her husband Mike and their 2 kids and my uncle Jeff and his wife Chrissie. A whole lotta people.

There was drama. There was cake. There was so much food. There was a lot of partying. Too much drinking for my liking...not by me or my husband. There was crying.  Lots of noise, but also lots of laughter. I think we even grew as a family. At least I hope.

Here are some highlights...

We got on the road at 6:30 am to meet my dad and the rest of the caravan at the Cracker Barrel for some stomach ache inducing breakfast.

Grandma Leona bought the girls whatever they wanted from the General Store. Liv is in this posing phase.

Finally got the honeybadgers on the road after multiple bathroom breaks. My dad was honeybadger #1. My uncle Jeff was honeybadger #2. We referred to them as honeybadgers all weekend because they do whatever they want. Much like the honeybadger.

LOVED the Love's gas stations I saw.

Passing the time playing Angry Birds on momma's phone.

Princess is playing her game. The tiara had candy in it. That was her choice from the General store.

Are we there YET?

We arrived Thursday evening. My step-sister Stephanie was already there and had prepared dinner for all of us. It was a nice surprise after such a long day on the road. It took us over 10 hours when the drive is only a little over 8 hours.

Friday. The birthday boy is 30. *Sigh* Time is a great storyteller. If I had more, I might tell some stories. I will spare my sweet brother. He is my favorite anyway. Shhhh...don't tell Jake.

My step-mom brought the cake down with her. Made by a friend.

All of the girls just love his girlfriend Ashley. Marry her please.

The boy and his girl.

Faith was fresh out of the hot tub to sing Happy Birthday.

Poor Faith. She couldn't handle all the noise. I think I snapped this photo at 1 am. Annie slept through it all. We should have stayed at the hotel with some of the others. I was trying to save money by staying with Josh. My bad.

Saturday.

Breakfast at Jimmy's Egg. A popular place down south. The food was egg-cellent!

Keeping busy before the bowling party. Fridge art for Uncle Josh.

Ashley put together a bowling party to include the kids in the whole weekend. She even sent us invites ahead of time. It was a Thor theme. Too funny!

After the party we went swimming at the hotel. The highlight of the weekend for my kids. They are like fish.

More game playing. These two get along so well, Annie & cousin Dylan. They are only 1 month apart.

Sunday.

A happy mom & dad. We could not wait to head home. Back to routines, our own bed and some PEACE. Lots of laughs on that drive home.

The weekend was overall a blast. I loved seeing my brother, but being around lots of family is hard. Especially when you do not share the same views on life. I do not want to go into detail because it doesn't matter why there was drama. My theory is that all families have it.
Even the Braverman's.

*********

Here is a video I took on the way home. The girls were so restless and being funny. It is a little slow at first but stick with it. If you are reading this and have never heard my voice and want to, you are in luck. HA! {pause my music on the sidebar too}

  

Confessions on apple pickin'

Every year, like most families in this country, we head to one of our local farms to pick some apples. We actually went two weekends ago, but I am just getting around to posting about it. You know...cause if it's not on the blog it didn't happen. Ha!

Confession: This yearly tradition always stresses me out. It's a mystery to me why I feel this way. I was a total crab that whole morning before we left. For some reason, I just wanted to stay home. Does this happen to anyone else? It's like I put stress on myself to make these memories with my kids and then take photos so I can prove we did things with them when they were little.

I think it's a sickness.

Called perfectionism perhaps? Wikipedia definition states:

Perfectionism, in psychology, is a belief that perfection can and should be attained. In its pathological form, perfectionism is a belief that work or output that is anything less than perfect is unacceptable. At such levels, this is considered an unhealthy belief, and psychologists typically refer to such individuals as maladaptive perfectionists.

Did you read the part about it being unhealty? Great.

I started out grumpy because I couldn't find anything cute for the girls to wear. How dumb is that? It just spiraled from there. As I type this I realize how pathetic this seems.

We drove to Eckert's in silence. It was a long ride. Once we arrived I thankfully started to break out of whatever it was that was making me a major hag.

Can I just say that my husband deserves a medal for dealing with me and my moods.

Daily.

Actually, my girls do too. The pictures show them having a great time. I guess I accomplished the goal after all.

 

Olivia loved this ride at first.

She doesn't look so sure in this one. 
 
 
 
 

Liv looked so tiny running around that big orchard. She kept wanting to eat the apples on the ground.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The girls favorite part about the whole experience, besides those money sucking rides, are eating the apples straight off the tree. They are so delicious and fresh! Love that!

Next year, I will be organized so I don't taint our memories with my crabbiness. I promise Bobby.

**********************

Yesterday, I was sad to read about the passing of Steve Jobs. I don't have anything brilliant to add about the kind of man he was, but I did read something pretty wonderful about the legacy he left behind.

If you want to read it, go here. I am new to Rachel's blog. She writes beautifully and has a heart for God. Thanks for sharing those wise words Rachel!

Have a great day everyone! One of my best friends is coming over to help me organize my craft room. That sentence make me nervous just typing it. It's gonna be a big job!

Staying hopeful,

Jen

Family photos 2011

Well I am finally getting around to sharing those family photos taken back in June. The session was a bit stressful since my 1 year old has a mind of her own and would only cooperate when SHE felt like it. I feel like we got some pretty good shots in spite of her attempts to bring the whole thing down! Good try Liv! Good try.

 A big thanks to Breathtaking Photography. Chantel does great work and I can't wait to use her for our Christmas card photos later this year. For some reason, I was not able to upload them one at a time so I made a collage instead. If you click on the collage it will open up in a larger window so that you are able to zoom in and see it better.

 

I had soooo much fun coordinating our outfits to go together but not be overly matchy. I think I was succesful. I am loving the turquoise!

As soon as I paint my living room these beautiful photos will be all over the walls. I need to get on it fast before I lose the motivation. I have big plans for this house but never seem to find the time to get it done. Sometimes having an Interior Design degree is a curse because I know whats out there and what is available to me BUT I will never afford it. I just need to get creative and GET OFF MY DUFF!

Have a beautiful day!

Sneak peak

Last friday we had our first ever family photo shoot. I have taken the girls to Sears and Penneys a handful of times, but never have we all been in one together.  I have to be honest and tell you that I hate having professional photos done. Hate it. It makes me crazy! Like Joan Crawford "No more wire hangers" crazy. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and it was only 65 degrees outside. 

The shoot started out a bit shaky because when we arrived at the location there was no ground that wasn't muddy for us to sit on. I started to get very nervous but ended up letting go and trusting that the photgrapher knew what she was doing.  
It proved to be a good decision because everything turned out great. Chantel with Breathtaking Photography is such a wonderfully sweet woman who is very talented. Love her.

I have seen the proofs and picked the final shots that I will receive but I can not share those until she is finished editing. I did receive a few sneak peaks that are finished and those are the ones I am sharing here. I will post more when I get them. BTW, look who has gray hair! Yikes! I have a lot. :(

This week has been crazy. The end of the school year always are. Our trip to Kansas last weekend was wonderful and I will post about that soon. I have been working on VBS decorations for 2 different churchs this week and spending some time with my girls who are all at home with me now. I love having Faith home. I miss her when she is at school. That is all.

Here is one more sneak...

 
I wish she would have left her hair alone, but look at those eyes!!!

 Love.

Sorry if you are reading this and you have already seen these on Facebook. :) 

Also, who is going to the NKOTBSB concert this summer? Me, that's who!

Don't make fun. You know you want to.

KC trip & American Girl!

 (Faith got Chrissa's hair braided at the salon)

This past weekend we went to visit some dear friends in Atchison, KS. About 45 minutes north of Kansas City, KS. Recently our friends, The Rush's tore our hearts out and moved 5 hours away! Real upset about this and I am not sure I will ever get used to it! Heather is the one I measure a persons character against....If she doesn't like you, then there is something wrong....with you! Now what will I do girl?  Thanks alot! Hailey, their daughter, was one of Faith's best friends, and she is missed greatly. Their son Ben is a hoot and I will miss his sense of adventure, whom he gets from his Mom. Wayne is Heathers husband and I will miss giving him a hard time. Anyway, a couple of Heathers other friends and their kids went over to KC to surprise her. We pulled up honking our horns and she came out of her house crying. She was sooo surprised! The weekend was wonderful and I regret not getting any of our time with Heather and her family captured on camera. I did however remember to take photos at American Girl Place. Enjoy!

 

The ride home....... 
 
 
We can't wait to go back!
 

Happy Birthday Mom!

 

Happy Birthday to a pretty fantastic Mom!

You are smart,

creative,

pretty,

overbearing, (had to put that one in there!)

always there for me,

and so much more! 

Thank you for everything you do for us Mom! We love you so much!

(You can't be mad at me for this pic because you never let me take any!)

Happy Birthday to Aunt Kay too!
 
(my moms twin, who is equally awesome)

Happy Easter

 
Today was spent worshiping our risen king! We even threw in an easter egg hunt and dinner with family. I just love dressing these two up in the same outfits. Watch out Olivia, you are next!

 
 
 

 I just love the action shots, don't you? They look so serious about their egg hunting!
 

Easter fun

It's Easter season and you know what that means...Egg dying, easter egg hunts, decorations, church services, dressing up in cute dresses, and time spent with our family.  Every year Grandma Dianne joins us to dye eggs.  It's kind of a big deal. She is an expert really.

 

 
 

Our redeemer lives! Jesus has risen! This is by far my MOST favorite holiday. I love every. single. thing. about it! I am so thankful for an awesome savior :)

Happy 28th Birthday!

  
  (Josh & Kaitlin)

I look at you sometimes and I can't recognize you. Who is this man that is supposed to be my little brother? Wasn't I just beating you up not that long ago? (forgive me for that would ya?) Why did you have to move away? Come back please. Ok, I know you can't, but I will never stop asking. Never stop being my little brother who is a peacemaker, lender of money, sweet soul, and of course, a comedian!

We miss you.

And LOVE you!

Happy Birthday!

Love-Bobby, Jenny, Faith, Annabel & Olivia
  

My little Valentines

You have no idea what I went through just to get this one picture. I think its pretty decent considering the fifteen others that weren't good enough. This was my attempt at taking a photo of all three girls for my mom. Here are some of the outakes......

You get the idea. Funny faces, sleeping baby, or big cheeses. All cute, but not frameworthy. So there you go mom.....a semi-frameworthy photo. Ok, so I am the anal one, not her. She once took all her grandkids to get there pictures taken and they were covered in dog hair. From her dogs, not mine. Anyway, today is Valentines Day. We had a rough start this morning, but I am confident that the day will end great. As I type, the girls and my hubby are all curled up on the couch watching the Olympics, and later my husband is taking me to the movies. We are going to see Valentines Day on Valentines Day.  Looks like a great movie. I guess we'll see.

Happy Valentines Day to my sweet girls and my WONDERFUL husband!

I LOVE YOU!! 

Ps...Thank you for my cards and chocolate.