MM: He Lost It!!!

1. The Artist Within

Being around Sailor Studio all the time, my boys have started letting out their creative side... Ty will spend an hour on one picture, and then spend another hour telling you about all the little details of his artwork.

Nolan kinda rushes through the drawing part... He's more focused on the selling.

A customer came in the other day and smiling, said, "So which artist did this piece?"

 

It took me a second to figure out which one she was talking about...

Not only did Nolan tack it on the wall under my grandmother's paintings, he also made sure people knew it was for sale. 

I guess 4 and 17 cents is the going price for a Nolan Mark original ;)

Speaking of fun at work- the boys looooooove going to my aunt and uncle's cabinet shop.  Since it is mostly family working- there are always interesting things going on in the warehouse:

Like box RVs driven by a scooter ....

Held together by a piece of painter's tape...

and destroyed 3 seconds later... ;)

3. MILESTONES:

My eldest (by two minutes) lost his first tooth this week!! 

AHHHHHHHHH! 

How do I have kids old enough to be losing teeth??? 

Do you know what this means?

No more cutie pie baby face... This marks the beginning of that gawky, (hilarious) big kid stage. Before I know it their voices will be cracking and they'll be studying for their learner's permit... ugh. 

Nolan, not to be outdone by Ty, decided he would be a big kid too this week and took his training wheels off his bike (actually... one kinda fell off and he realized hey, I don't need these things).

It took him literally 5 minutes without them before he was riding full speed down the driveway on his own... didn't surprise me a bit. 

When that boy decides he wants to do something- he does it.  
So proud of him... Tear :') 

3. Sunday Snapshots:

Church,  football, 

strongest dude contest,

 

foosball,

world's longest fries,

(Okay seriously... this has to be some kind of record.)

and cousins making memories :)

Never a dull moment around here!

Happy Monday y'all!

MM: Xmen and Pinterest

1:Confession

I do not have a knack for decorating... my house has looked the same since we moved in almost 5 years ago. Case in point, the boys/guest bathroom still has these hanging up:

The twins are almost 6... and oh yeah, we do have another child that is already 3. Sorry Reese! 

I went to FOUR stores yesterday looking for some kind of new decor for the boys bathroom. I came home with 2 packs of ornaments and a red decorative plate???

... told you, the worst.

So anyway, we are planning on having the twin's bday party at our house again this year, so we have a deadline to get this house updated. We already rearranged some furniture- now for the decor. 

These prints I bought at an art show by John R. Duke will be my inspiration for the living room:

 Love the colors! (and with red couches there is only so much we can do ;)

  

Horrible waste of space....

I am searching for cool mantle ideas- getting rid of my sorry attempt at abstract ;)

And I need something new for these shelves:

We rearranged our bedroom and need something for over the headboard... I won't even tell you the husband's ideas- let's just say there were some creative slogans thrown around ;)

So all this dreaded decorating stuff has lead me to this:

2: Pinteresting

Pinterest did not appeal to me at first... like I really need another thing to do online. But, since I started looking for decorating inspiration, I am loving it. All these pictures are in one place instead of a folder on my computer that I have to search for... awesome.

I don't have a lot of stuff, but here are my boards so far 
(if you're into that sorta thing)

3. XMEN- Bilsland Style

Playing dress up and pretend is one of the boys' favorite games, so I look at Halloween as an extension of that... they just get to play dress up with a million other kids.


Reese LOVED his costume. He got to wear it 3 days in a row, and he was still upset when he had to take it off.  Goose and I haven't dressed up in about 4 years, but thanks to my friend Jessie's costume party, we had an excuse ;)

My little Pyro, Ice Man, and Beast:

 With Mama Storm and Daddy Wolverine :) 

(and I finally got some pics with my new camera- LOVE!)

 4. Palmer

My new niece will be here any day... Praying for a smooth and healthy delivery! Can't wait to meet her!  :)



Happy Monday y'all!!

FFT: "You're Mine Fravorite"

Homeschooling is quickly becoming one of my favorite things.

Why?

Because I get to listen to silly breakfast and 

lunch conversations between brothers...

 

where they discuss hard hitting issues like how 

many goldfish they could eat or which

imaginary friends are celebrating birthdays that day.

(did I mention they are up to 7 now?)

  I get to watch their eyes light up when they finally "get" it!

When they work so hard on a picture and want 
 to explain every detail,

I am right there to listen.

Nolan tried several times to draw a fish and he was so proud when he finally got it to look right.
He kinda takes after goose when
it comes to art, meaning it isn't exactly one of his favorite things ;)

I get to teach them about Jesus and other life lessons along

with their school work, and I get to reward them when they are 

doing their best...

(I guess Nolan decided he deserved an extra sticker that day ;)  

...and sometimes in those rare moments when no one is looking,

I catch the boys being kind and helping one another learn,

then congratulating each other on a job well done.

And after lessons are finished, if they are cranky and

feeling cooped-up, I can give them a break.

 

I can watch them race down the driveway, laugh and play, 

and just enjoy being kids.

  
I have become more grateful for the gift of these moments.

________________________________________

I know home-schooling isn't for everyone, and I was sooo 

nervous at first, but I really feel like we made the right decision for our family. I am looking forward to the rest of the year! :)

Oh, and this!

Future Favorites:

I am looking forward to my new camera becoming one of my favorite things!

 Can not tell you how excited I am!! 

 After my old camera died, I have been using my phone camera which is notsogood (you can tell I'm sure, my blog has seriously suffered).

We just bought the Nikon D3100 (after going back and forth between Canon and Nikon for months). It finally came down to price, and Costco had this camera with an added zoom lens and case on sale for $150 less than the Canon Rebel T2i.  The reviews say they are about the same, quality-wise, so we went with the best deal. I think it counts as my next 5 Christmas and birthday presents, but it's worth it to me.

Haven't really tested it out yet, but my goal is to learn how to use this camera the right way (ya know, reading the manual and everything ;) So if you know of any great web tutorials or photo blogs, feel free to share! 

Have a happy Friday y'all :) 


 First time linking up with Rachel today over at Finding Joy