{ from our playroom to yours }

are you getting ready to fill your bellies tomorrow and celebrate with the ones you love?

we are!! tomorrow we are celebrating with my side of the family and on sunday, we are celebrating with my hubby's side!

i hope each of you have a very happy thanksgiving and remember to count your blessings and let others that you love, know you love them!!!!

back to the playroom. . .
about a month ago, i dropped my punkin off at school and headed back home. my momma was in our driveway waiting when little man and i pulled in. she brought a huge bucket of items to help me put up the pottery barn wall map!!

here is the wall before

here's my momma brushing the paste onto the backs of the panels. we had a system. she pasted and "booked" the panels, and i placed them on the wall. teamwork!!!

here is little man playing behind his "work bench". . . .
here's a pic of mom and me. i told her as much as we are together. . .at least 2 times a week, we don't have any recent pics of just us!!!

here's a pic of the final product! i LOVE it!!!!! it's so fun to look at, and i know it will be used for years to come!

{ love, sweet, love }

everyday my boys and i talk about what we are thankful for. i'm sure you saw in a previous post we have a thanksgiving countdown calendar. i love using it to talk about numbers, days left to thanksgiving, and more importantly what we are grateful for!

well. the other night we were sitting at the table and i asked my three year old what he was thankful for................luckily, i had a pen and some index cards at the table! (thank you dear God).....

this is what he said.....while his little head was cocked sideways and he was staring at the ceiling trying to think of what to say.

• my juice cups


• our cabinets


• my room


• cardin's...........me want to go sometime, mommy.


• rhino [our teryx]


• pencils


• see saw


• mamaw


• mamaw hillard


• write lisa down and meagan and rhonda


• the table


• my daddy


• papaw


• brock


• jason


• write me down


• my mommy


• my belly button. . .write my belly button down mommy.

• cupcakes


• cake


• oranges [at this point, my index card was full ]


• get some more paper mommy


• christie, darin, austin, and colton


• kristy and colter


• write nanny and pappy down.


• write lyndsey down, write her mommy [which he already said above] and her daddy down


• write the tv down


• don't write santa down [he's scared to death of santa ]


• the moon


• the tractor


• daddy's new truck [if you only knew. . .a 19 year old rusted truck ]


• school


• my hands

at this point he was finished and ready to play.

have i mentioned lately how much i love this sweet family of mine?

{ another thanksgiving idea }

super fast and easy to make.

go to the dollar store and buy:

1. green foam wreath form

2. 2 strands of leafs.

next, find

1. some fabric you love

2. your hot glue gun

3. some pretty ribbon

4. some scissors

5. parchment paper

6. modge podge

7. and some flower wire

OK.....

here goes.

this only cost me 3 dollars plus tax, and it makes me smile to see it when i pull in my garage!

• i spray painted the foam wreath black.
• hot glued the flowers to the foam.
• placed my fabric bad side to bad side, and cut in the shape of a leaf.
• modge podged the leaf front and back. then, strategically placed the wire inside of the leaf shape.
• leave overnight on parchment paper.
• next morning, poke the wire with the fabric leafs into your wreath wherever you wish.
• place a pretty ribbon and top.

voila..........

gorgeousness!

(a view from the back)

close up...

not perfect, but so cute!

happy friday!

{ some quick portfolio shots }

for her modeling album.

i took a few shots the other night with this young lady. she's getting her portfolio together for a local agency. she's definitely beautiful and the camera loves her!

not for the portfolio. . .just glad to capture a genuine laugh! love those moments!

my favorite. it's great when animals cooperate with you during a shoot!

. . .

if you only knew!

{ little man's VINTAGE RACING ROOM }

i've mentioned before that little man's room is completely designed around these three pics.

my papaw used to drag race. his car was a blue 56 chevy. . .seen in the pics below. i really wanted both boys to have a "different" theme. something that could/would grow with them. so, when i learned about the pics of my papaw's, i knew that was were i would start.

(hint to you all. . .if you have OLD small poloroids or pictures, you can take a pic of the picture and then have the picture you took printed.) does that make sense?

i love his darker brown, and lighter brown stripes.

(huntington beige and woodstock tan)

his rug was bought at big lots. i love big lots!

while building, i saw the chair below on craigslist in the free section! i knew it would be perfect in his room.

once i had emailed the gal, i realized it was stephanie bowling, of stephanie bowling photography in knoxville. she has two little boys as well and she is so nice!

see all the pillows below?

i have a thing for pillows!

i tea stained them to make them more vintage looking!

don't ask me where, but i saw these somewhere on the net, and saved them into my inspiration folder. about a month ago, i decided to go ahead and make them. i think they turned out quiet nice!


the frame came from hobby lobby. i bartered the suitcase at an antique store i used to work at during college. the tool chest, a yard sale for 30 dollars!




found the car fabric on ebay, and the check fabric and grossgrain at walmart. handed it over to my sweet momma with a "vision" and look what she created! she's so talented!



if you are local or somewhat local. . .there's this place called ETOWAH. it's about 20 minutes from Mayfield Dairy in Athens! they have all these salvage stores that buy mainly from target and k-mart. i LOVE to go!!! the lamp below came from one of those stores for 70 cents! YEP! and the shade from big lots!
the barn stars are from big lots. the red race car from world market and the other yellow car from hobby lobby. it is suppose to hold a photo, but as you can see, i haven't ordered one yet. the red tool box holder came out of a toolbox i bought at a yard sale. the toolbox is actually downstairs on the back of the toliet holding toliet paper, but i pulled the red tool holder out and put it in saw's room, and it looks perfect!



this is what is on top of his armoire in his room. more CHEAP suitcases. i found that green one in a set of three at an estate sale for ONE DOLLAR!!!

the armoire was a freebie from a buddy from church. she gave it to us, and we fixed it up and made it super sturdy and painted and distressed it!




the stop sign a cheapo from wal-mart's clearance section. i actually ran over it a few times, hit it with a hammer or two and put in a bucket full of peroxide and salt to "rust" it!

now, it's just right!!!!!



my sweet buddy used to own a store and they were going to throw this away because it was broken. anyways, i jumped at the chance to get it! nothing a little glue and a hammer wouldn't fix!


close up of the hobby lobby frame! five dollars!




world market race car! my favorite one in his room!

can you tell i LOVE old crates! so fun!

hope you've enjoyed the tour!!!!!

next up...........

the wall map mural!

{ so many blessings }

god has gave me.

i'm thankful for fun trips with my family to places like carver's apple orchard.

i'm so thankful to be a child of god! saved by jesus!

i'm so thankful for my husband. he is such a hard worker. whether it's on his job, working on our land or the cars. he's a wonderful daddy. our boys adore him, as do i.

i'm so thankful for my precious boys. what in the world would i do without them. thank you jesus for blessing me with just them. not any child, but them!!!!





i'm so thankful for my parents. they are godly parents. they both love the lord. what a blessing that they do, and that they are still married after all these years. i'm so blessed to have a momma that doesn't work. since she is the only person i have to keep my boys, i rely on her so much! she will never know what that means to me. and my dad. . .he can make just about anything i ask him to if he can find the time. i love them both so much!



i'm thankful for our home. . . .a roof above our heads and food in our refrigerator.

i'm thankful for my friends. i tried to list you all and tell why i was thankful for you, but i'm afraid i'll forget someone!

i'm thankful for water. i adore taking showers and enjoying a nice long bath.

i'm thankful for thrift stores and craigslist. most of my decor is a thrifty find!

i'm ever so thankful for my snuggly pillow. it has been used nightly since punkin' started to grow in my belly. . . .i couldn't imagine a good night's sleep without it.

i'm thankful for my snuggly pillow. i've used it every night since punkin' began to grow in my belly. i still use it and can't imagine a night without it!

i'm thankful god has given me a desire to cook. that's why i have this big ol' belly. maybe i shouldn't be thankful for that?

i'm thankful for this country. . .thankful that i can share with you just a few things that i'm so blessed to have and love!

i'm thankful for heaven. knowing that i'll have a mansion of my own one day makes me happy!

i'm thankful for our one little tv in our house. i'm thankful that my boys still go to bed early and i can relax at night and watch my favorite shows. (even though hubby and i went to bed last night at 8:30. . . .and i didn't even make it til my show came on at 9)

i'm thankful for you readers! even though i'm a lousy blog updater now that i've moved. . .and i'm sorry! i miss updating so bad. m internet card was over last month due to uploading on here, facebook, and online galleries. i didn't realize that it takes up so much of my available time to upload pics. i have. . .not just pulling your leg. . . got all the pics edited and resized for web for little man's room, etsy shoot, recent shoots, our mudroom, and the wall map downstairs!!! so, since i resized the pics, and they are on this computer now. . .i promise promise to get them up soon!


Happy Fall!

i'm also thankful for the gorgeous colors of fall!

{ what do you want posted }

next??

leave me a message and tell me which one.

1. little man's vintage racing room?

2. the mudroom???

3. or the wall map mural in playroom???

{ buddies, buddies, buddies }

two of my buddies came in last weekend, and we had a fabulous time. tiring time, but fabulous. i used to work with these chicks at my old school.

when i first met kristy, my long dark headed chicka, i introduced myself to her when she was moving her stuff into her classroom. i quickly noticed a picture she had placed on a bookshelf of her and her hubby on their wedding day! her wedding dress was the same as mine! as we talked, we realized that we both have rods in our back and part of our hip bone is gone. instant friends.

then, there's ginger, my shorter-haired chicka. i love her taste! she always looks so adorable in whatever she wears!

only wish we could make our target runs together once again. . .

we now would be towing 5 kids with us!!!

here are some pics of our weekend!

ginger, kristy, and me

if only i could photoshop myself in this pic.
oh miss mia kate.
you are plum gorgeous.

wish i could kiss those cheeks right now!



is she singing or yawning?
he he he





looking out my front door

















and mr. boyce.
you are too cute!

and mr. colter.

your eyes are as blue as the ocean.

{ 10 on tuesday }

1. without pics again.................i do have tons to share, but i wasn't going to post anything, but just decided spur of the moment!

2. check out TALES FROM BLOGGERITAVILLE. she featured the boys' bathroom yesterday!!!!

3. i have t-minus 2.5 days until by buddy arrives from mississippi. . . .therefore, i have been. . .

4. making a shelf and hooks in my mudroom. the pic below is my inspiration. . . .i LOVE it. i've had that pic saved for months and months. i, too, have a church pew in our mudroom so, i had to make a shelf with black hooks and a holder up top for pictures!!!!!

5. i ordered many many new pics of the boys to go in the house! i have so many frames hanging, but nothing inside of them. i also went through tons of my old frames, and took them outside and spray painted them black so that my shelf will look similar to the one above. as soon as the pics arrive, i'll take a pic and post it!!! i've walked out there several times this evening just to admire it!!! i can't wait for UPS to get here!!!!! getting pics of my boys is like christmas to me! i put the wiggles in or laurie berkner or imagination movers and seclude myself to the kitchen island so i can get the pics in the frames!!!!

6. my SWEET momma......did i mention how precious she is?? my sweet momma came here today after i dropped punkin off at mother's day out this morning to help me hang my pottery barn wall map mural in the playroom...............finally.................i'm so happy with it!!!! i love it so much. mom asked me if she thought i would get tired of it, and i can't imagine getting tired of it! i told her the grandkids could even use it one day! this pic came from pottery barn and has been sitting so patiently in my inspiration folder as well!

7. i shouldn't be on here right now. i set down to make something in word and here i am playing. i was planning on typing the word BLESSINGS in a font i love to copy onto a thanksgiving banner for my thanksgiving mantle. my mantle is complete, but i have to add my b-l-e-s-s-i-n-g-s to my leafs and i'll post a pic!

8. i hope you all don't get aggrivated at me for saying i'll do that and them completely forget to post it. . .i will try my best to. . . .as i sit here typing this, i'm looking around the room to see what i can type next. . . .

9. my little man's room is done for now. . .so, i need to take pics of his room and post. did you think punkins' room was cute??? wait until you see this one. it was completely designed around 3 pictures that were taken in the 50's of my papaw's race car. my papaw used to drag race. i know those pics won't mean anything to my little man for quiet some time, but his room just make me smile inside everytime i enter. . . .even when he's crying at 6:30 to get out of bed because of this silly time change. . .and to beat it all...........this crazy full moon that is making my kids WILD!!!

10. am i finally at 10??? my meal planning was going so good, but this week, my chalkboard in my kitchen is empty, and i have no clue what i'll cook for supper tomorrow night? NOT GOOD! i'm very structured and i like to have many things planned out. . .i better go decide what's going on tomorrow before i wake up to two monkeys, oh, i meant sweet sweet boys!!!!

11. number 11, just because i can...........................we got a rain barrell this week and i love it. please please don't hate me if you are from TN, but i wish it would rain----gasp-----just so my barrell will be filled with water!!!!!

{ senior 2010 }

if i've never mentioned it before, i LOVE shooting seniors! they are one of my favorite subjects to shoot. it's especially nice if it isn't bitter cold outside and super dark! that's a plus. we'll the sun decided not to be seen on this afternoon, it was so chilly, and it got dark really quick on us but we made it through!!!!

here is miss K! she's a real sweetheart!!!

my fav jump shot ever!

i couldn't decide between black and white or color. . .loved them both!

{ good grief this is a bunch of pics }

so. . . . .

i've had so many people wondering what in the world the boys were going to be for halloween.

i had decided they were going to be mario and luigi, but honestly, they would have had NO CLUE who they were. maybe next year......huh? i figure by next year, punkin' will be a bit more assertive and tell me who/what he wants to be and he won't allow me to decide.

so..........this year, i decided to do something fun that would make me smile for years to come.

without further ado, here is charlie brown and snoopy!

BEWARE. . .picture overload!

so out of focus, but i still LOVE it! mamaw playing in the leaves with the boys!

GOOD GRIEF that was a bunch of pics!

we wish you all a safe and fun costume day!

{ golfin' up some fun }

i ADORE this family. i've been photographing them for three years now, and they are so much fun! this sweet family owns NIOKA GREEN STORE.

if you are a KNOXVILLIAN, then you should stop into the southern market in west knoxville to check out their merchandise!

here's some of my favs from their session.....we only had about 70 images to chose from!

{ mini-sessions }

i'm so far behind. it seems i type that on this blog way too much!

i was going to do these last week and honestly, the week came and went and i didn't even advertise for them!!!

SO..............here they are with the exception of the date...........

the NEW DATE IS:

NOVEMBER 10

{ i'm back }

for a super quick post and a 10 on tuesday...(that includes no pics)

1. i turned 30 recently. . . .it was such a crazy day. don't ask. i started typing it, and it was so insane, i just stopped and erased it all!

2. my boys are sick and have been for quite a long time. our doctor's office must be tired of seeing us in there all the time.

3. does this crazy swine flu not scare you all to death? no, my boys don't have it, but hearing about it on the news everynight is so scary. are any of you all getting the vaccine for your child/children?

4. huge meteor shower tonight from 1am-6am.

5. i'm about half finished with their halloween costumes. put some more details on little man's costume today. yes, i'm still keeping it a secret! once i do their pics, i'll post them......

6. i have pics to share with you from an etsy shoot.

7. we went to the imagination movers in knoxville last week and punkin' had a blast. scott patted him on the head!

8. one of my dearest buddies is coming to stay with us soon...........all the way from mississippi, and i'd like to accomplish several more things in the house before she arrives. can i do it? the way it looks, i don't think so. she may have to come in and help me do them when she gets here....he he he!

9. our dog is getting huge and she LOVES to nibble.........especially my boys!

10. i'm starting to work on changing the flashing pics up top...hopefully......all of my boys!

ok......pics to come in next post!! i'm sorry this post was boring. it is so hard to edit downstairs, put on the jump drive (which is never where it is suppose to be) bring it up here, sign on, etc .. . . . .i was used to having unlimited access to the internet...now, i'm typing this quick post while i'm not online, and i'm going to sign on really fast and post it and sign off! when i actually upload pics it takes forever!

ok. enough silliness.....have a fab night and enjoy the shooting stars!

{ somebody shtop me.... }

as jim carrey says in the mask.

evidently, i'm in a movie quoting mood today AND a blog posting mood. i'm trying to clean off my jump drive.

here is what sawyer's costume WAS. i borrowed it from a buddy and i'm working on transforming it into something else:

here are two shots of me and the boys. i really don't know how you photogs out there get SUCH AMAZING shots taken by yourself of you and your kiddos. mine NEVER turn out.

finally, here is a pic that i adore. hopefully it will be in my living room soon. this shot was taken at our old house, right before we moved. instead of having cattle as next door neighbors, now we have horses.

i LOVE our new house. i told my sweet momma today, that every day i wake up and feel like i'm living in a dream....................BUT..............i miss the old house. i miss us being cramped up with one another so tight in a little farmhouse less than 1000 square feet. i think about the memories of our first supper in the floor of the kitchen with no furniture, our honeymoon period, struggling with infertility, being pregnant, bringing the boys home from the hospital, nursing them in this one chair in the living room.........................every single memory of "us" being married up until 2 months ago.............that's almost 8 years of memories!

anyways, i could tell you thousands and thousands of memories, but i'd hate to bore you. . .i'm just so so thankful for my sweet jesus and what he has done for me.