laughfer's new favorite thing

Yep, yep...laughfer's new favorite thang ta do is to hold her little sis. Now the days are peppered with cries of "Hold auuudummm tooooooooooo!!" --- it really is so sweet, yet ya gotta watch out for "fierce hugging" or the contrary, "floppy arm syndrome" --- at least we know that Autumn is destined to grow into an extremely tolerant girl!!

once Bitten...

twice shy??? - no no, not that song!

I am talking about Bitten... Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line at Steve & Barry's.... such lovely stuff and soo incredibly affordable.
For those of you cats who haven't yet checked out the new Steve and Barry's out on Lee Hwy, you gotsta go! I picked up this neato new tee and headband for under 20 bucks.
In fact, they are closing out their winter apparel and everything - i mean everything - in the store is only $8.95... only 8.95... even running shoes and leather jackets... hmmm

i feel like such a consumption queen blathering away... but hey, I never buy much. It seems like every time I end up shopping all i see around me seems so frivolous and too expensive. So, when a good deal comes around I jump at it. Hence, my love for ye Steve and Barry's...

Check it out, kids!

many sides of Laughfer

Why is it that sometimes your kids seem soo inconsolable and yet at other times it only takes a flashlight and a dark room???

here we are after many a rounds of "rosies" (i.e. ring around the rosie!)

Green Holiday Bliss

Here are some sweet little pics from Green fam Christmas... i only posted the nicer ones of the giiiagantor lot that we took that day. (ya know I love the digital pic revolution and all, but what ever will we do with the ten bazillion photos that it yields? --- Does anyone really do photo albums anymore??)

Anyways, I think it is soo cool to be able to catch a little glimpse of wonder on the kiddies faces in these pics (and also to be able to glimpse a little bit of my momma's sweet heart - look how excited she is to watch the kids with their presents!).
Christmas is one of those wierd times where you see so much joy and wonder.... but you also see you kid melting down over a little plastic pony that is bound to a piece of cardboard with ten thousand little twist ties.... aah!

I must share with you the sweetest moment of the day though... Mister Juden was delving into his brand spankin' new pirate ship ensemble, but took a moment to tell Lindy that "He was the luckiest boy" since he got such a cool present. Such a sweet one!

Christmas with our little Fam

Yep , yep... it seems to be a bit hard to get back into the swing o things after all the holidays and celebrations. Somehow i can't really seem to get back on track.... what it is about the beginning of the year that does this?? I always think that as soon as the rays of light break on Jan. 1st, I will magically recieve this burst of big, awe inspiring energy that enables me to start new projects and routines that tie up all the loose ends that always seem to be left hanging at the end of my very full days.... hmmm.
This never seems to become a reality in my world... perhaps I just think that these radical changes happen to people at the beginning of the New Year b/c all you hear filtering thru your news, radio, etc. is talk of change and resolution. These messages seem to seep into my head and create unstoppable reflections and nostalgia for the past years joys, but also this desire to change it all. Perhaps it is merely a desire for redemption that could never be found at the end of my own resolve.

I don't mean to blather on about my own failures and shortcomings, but hey, I know they are murking around in us all, and come on, how helpful are we to one another without uttering some acknowledgement of them.

on another note... here are some pics from our little family Christmas morning. I will post some more of fun times with ye ol' extended families lata.... Bye now, cats!

Autumn, Autumn, Autumn

There is something so addictive about little new babies. I find myself pouring over our little Autumn's every feature... those tiny toes, the ever searching eyes, itty bitty nose and so many more... too many lovelies to count.

I am thankful to have the days at home with her to drink in that lovely baby smell and the soft toughs of newborn hair.

What a lucky girl i am!

Luminaries

Tuesday night the fam packed up and went over to Sheppard Hills for their annual Luminaries event. Each house in the neighborhood lines the street with brown bags with candles.

It is so beautiful to see these long meandering lines of lights and all the gorgeous Christmas decorations. For those of you who know this neighborhood, you know how beautiful the homes are under normal circumstances and I'm sure you can imagine how big and tasteful the houses are at Christmas time.

Lavender took it upon herself to inspect each and every brown bag. She promptly notified us of what kind of candle was inside... Shouts of "Red" "Little" and "big" accompanied us throughout our walk.

These pics don't really show how magical the evening was, but here they are nevertheless...

also, you cats gotta check out Autumn's little outfit... It is the cutest thing I've ever seen (thanks Leah & Kate!)!!!!!!!!!!!

Sweet Days with sweet girls

Here are some excerpts of my recent days.
There is just something so fun and charming about raising little girls... like putting up their hair in pigtails for the first time, or watching in awe at the leaves blowing through the sky for the first time.
We have had such lovely days as of late.... enjoying the thrill of a new baby and celebrating the holiday season with Christmas parades and advent calendars.

So fun to be a part of little one's first things!!! God is good and we are so blessed!

We have a Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep.... We are now a family of 4!!!!!!!!!
Miss Autumn Marie arrived on Wed. 11-21 to eagerly awaiting parents and friends.

Isn't she lovely???

I will spare you cats all the ugly details of labor and delivery... I'm sure you all wanted to know about that. Anyways, here are her stats.

Name: Autumn Marie
DOB : 11/21/07
Weight: 8lbs and 4 oz.
Length: 21 inches

And a few fun facts: She sports a full head of black hair and an uncanny resemblance to big sis, Lavender. You guys gotta check out Josher's bloggie and see "the Kring Baby template pics" HA!

Enjoy the pics... more later.

Induction Time!

Here it is Tuesday and I am 1 day past my due date. Yep Yep... everything seems to be swollen now, the blood pressure is up and I now do the "contraction waddle" as Josh Green hysterically imitates. It really is sooo funny that I couldn't even get mad at his imitation of me!!!
For all these reasons, Lorie (my midwife) has scheduled me an induction date for 5am ----- yes, 5am ----- tomorrow morning. So, for all you cats out there who have been wondering and wondering when this baby is going to show.... now we know!!! hoooray!

I know that my sweet hubbie, Joshers, will be ever thankful to see all my endless nesting activities come to a sudden halt. The 2 pics posted are products of such nesting urges. The first is a baby blanket my great grandma sewed for my dad... I thought it would look cute on the wall, so I put it on canvas via felt & lots of buttons, so I could enjoy its comical and charming ness. The other pic is of 2 snails (ma insists they are turtles - but, hey, whatev) that used to adorn my toddler swim suit when I was a wee one. It also was too cute to store away, so into the frame it goes. I think they look cute! Hopefully, these little girls of ours will think of these family mementos as treasures and not worn out relics... smile.

We will let ya know when this wee wittle girl gets here!!!!

Birds, Birds... everywhere Birds!

Hey all you crazy cats... I thought I would show off the results of my distracting myself from the oncoming LABOR & DELIVERY that is headed my way soon and very soon.... dunt dunt duuuuuuh.

Yes, yes.... my due date is monday the 19th and every night seems to be THE night with all the contractions and whatnot.... Augh... I am so weary of trying to anticipate when this new baby girl is coming that I have been a busy bee distracting myself as much as possible.

These 2 little bird works have already made their way to their prospective homes, but I thought I would show 'em anyways b.c. they turned out rather nice. I really like this family of 3 that went to live with my good friend, Jess. Hope you like it, Jess. I loved making it for you, my sweet.


As to all this birth business... We'll keep ya posted!

Halloween

Here's some snippets of our Halloween... Lavender and her good friend, Matthew scouted our new neighborhood in all their hallowed gear. Matthew sported the monkey suit, while Lavender was a "pile of leaves"... I'm sure she will appreciate the originality of the costume later in life... eh eh.
I think she looks more like a Keebler Elf than anything. So cute!!!

Nevertheless, the kiddos seemed to have a great time until they reached the "scary house" down the street. There was this dude slumped down on a porch chair with hair in his face, groaning into a microphone. Matthew was hip to this scary scene at once and Laughfer said she wanted to go to the house, but then completely lost it... Thankfully her daddy was there to make it all betta.

Hope you guys had a fun and safe Halloween!!! We sure did!

The dust has settled

The dust has settled after many many weeks of chaos and we find ourselves at the happy end of a very stressful house hunt. We are no longer Chickamaugians.... so weird!
So here is our new home... a mere 8 minutes away from our former residence. Isn't it soo cute??!!!! It may not be an expansive 8 acre homestead, but for us, it is paradise!
As soon as everything finds its place, we'll have an impromptu house warming celebration... if that doesn't happen soon, it might also be a "meet the new baby" party. heehee... fyi... we are at week 37 and some odd days.... we'll keep ya posted!