my cell phone rocks!

I'm thinking some of my favorite photos are on my cell phone. 

When my kids are being cute in Target.

When we are out to dinner.

When I am being really lazy.

That's when my cell phone rocks!

This is how Dylan plays in his sand box. He throws the toys out and covers himself with sand. Then walks in the house and gets sand everywhere...good times....ha

I sent out this package of vintage goodness. Do you like the cards I made? 

Profesh man...:)

I snagged this from the clearance rack at Target...so cute! I generally don't DO dresses, but with a jean jacket and flip flops I think this will be sooo sweet.

We have had some near 90 degree weather...so on Thursday I took the boys to the pool after school. Look at my little boy playing with our neighbor...I love how kids are shy when they meet someone new and then after  2 minutes are fast friends. 

This kid is trying WAY TO HARD to grow up WAY TO FAST! It kills me. 

Dear Dylan,

You are 3 years old. You don't have a job and you don't need a cell phone or briefcase.

Love,

mommy

My mom took the boys last night. Aaron and I went to a local casino for dinner. I had a burger that way yummy and spent an hour with that cold beer playing video poker...heavenly friends! 

Date night rocks!!

See cell phones are awesome...yet another reason I justify why I need one.

:)

april

xoxo

a collection and bloggy love

My bubba loves collections. He is boy who loves to find things and look at them, inspect them and research them. He has an entire library of books to go with this rock collection. My little scientist, who wants to be a dentist. hahaha

Being 10 means that you don't have little kid toys and posters on the walls. It means you ask for a futon couch for your room from ikea and you display your rock collection on the wall. I know this because he told me.  This change of his room kinda represents the chnage in him. He is growing up...and I'm not REALLY sure who told him he could do that...cause I'm pissed. hahaha

No really.

On a totally different note:
My fantastic friend Emily gave me an award! Sweet huh? 

the rules are as follows:

1.} Thank and link back to the blog that gave you your award

2.} Share seven things about yourself

3.} Award 5 great bloggers

4.} Contact the bloggers to let them know you've given them an award


Here are my 7 things about myself:


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


1. I loose EVERYTHING! Really, it drives my poor husband crazy. I loose keys, my cell phone, sunglasses and just about anything I get my hands on. Whenever we go to my in-laws or a neighbors house I always leave something behind. 


2. Now this is a little embarrassing. I am totally obsessed with vampires. I have ALWAYS had a fascination with vampire movies, stories and books. Is that weird? I can remember when Interview with a Vampire came out, I was in like junior high...I was hooked! I have read all the Twilight books, all 11 True Blood books and I read the first 3 Vampire diaries books but I did NOT enjoy them at all. The TV show is much better.


3. I came from a family of crafters and savers. My grandma would buy houses, fix them up and sell them when I was young. So we were always painting, planting flowers and fixing things up. We also shopped at thrift stores and garage sales growing up to save money, so I have a pretty good eye for things I like. My mom would embroider, sew and create things out of nothing, it was pretty cool. I learned at an early age that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have the things you want.


4. I also clip coupons. I generally save a third of my grocery bill each week.


5. I LOVE diet Pepsi. I am a caffeine addict, so I am always sipping on coffee or soda. Bad bad I know...


6. I love miracle whip. My dads side of the family loves it and I grew up with cheese and miracle whip sandwiches. Its my total comfort food.


7. I am a country girl stuck in the city. I think I was meant to live in the middle of no where and listen to country music all day. I love wide open spaces where their is nothing for miles around! 


Here are my 5 bloggers I am giving this award to (in no specific order) :


1.  Katie @ minivan diva
2. Rebekah @ bit of sunshine
3. michele @ hello lovely inc
4. vacuum in pearls
5. Molly June @ The Story of Us

Thanks again Emily..bloggy love is the best!!

april
xoxo

next stop.....russia

From this:

To this:

I read this post by AshleyAnn and I KNEW I had to send bracelets. Bracelets for orphan girls in Russia. Please read both blog postings, they are moving and inspirational.

 I always save my fabric scraps and I knew I had enough to wrap some plastic bracelets...so I headed to the dollar store and bought 3 packages of bracelets. People...that means I spent 3 bucks!!  Three bucks for this colorful fun goodness that will make someone smile in Russia.
So what has been on my heart? How such a small gesture has the possibility to make a big moment in someone elses' life. That's an awesome thing!
If you would like to send some bracelets check this out.

just me

april

xoxo

happy things

etsy/vintage love

There is just something about old things that I love. 

My husband tells me I am a 31 year old grandma.

Give me a quilt, cup of coffee, and a room full of old suitcases, globes, books and frames and I am a happy girl.

If that's wrong then I don't wanna be right! hahaha

I am loving my new camera. I am convinced that everything looks better through that lens. Truly amazing. I am trying to retake pictures of all my items in the shop, but that like takes forever. So these are a few. 

Are you loving the New Moon soundtrack? I am a sucker for anything vampire....I will talk more about that tomorrow though.

happy day friends!

april

xoxo

virtual coffee

If we were having coffee I would start by telling you how tired I am from Easter...STILL! I am going to need a few cups this morning...and probably this afternoon!

I would show you pictures from a last minute photo shoot of the boys. Do your kids enjoy having their pictures taken? Mine totally hate it, and I don't use the word very often if ever, but they do. Maybe because I have boys? I dunno...but it makes capturing those milestones really difficult when you are making deals, bribing and calming down kids who are having tantrums. Really. Dramatic.

I have to sell my soul to the devil to get them to agree to it..its sad...not my best mommy moments people.

I wanted to take some really great creative pictures with balloons or little bunnies and my 10 year old looked at me like I was crazy...haven't they seen the blogs? Uggg so frustrating. So we made a deal to go to party city and pick up a few props that we all liked...because I CAN force them to go..but I cant for them to smile and have fun...there has to be a mutual agreement to great pictures. So we ended up with lollipops and 80's Kanye West glasses...duh doesn't that SCREAM Easter? I was desperate!

This is what I got...they actually had a lot of fun...and I am so happy with the pictures even though they aren't what I expected....

Do you have any tricks for pictures? Or am I a lone ranger? 

Can you pour me another cup please? I really need it.

Thanks.

april

xoxo

lovely family

 Easter was fantastic and LOVELY this year. Church was amazing and inspirational. Then we went to my husbands grandmothers house. Oh my, can you say great food? Because it was....these are the only days I totally allow myself to indulge in the creamy, cheesy goodness. There was mac and cheese, green bean casserole, ham, potato salad and cake....hello? How could I pass that stuff up? Geez I love food more than the average bear! As you can tell from the pictures below we are pointing to a belly...yes my sister-n-law is pregnant!! She just started showing and we wooped it up while taking pictures of her little belly....

I'm sure you noticed all the pretty ladies? These are all my husbands cousins...a family of girls I tell you! They are crazy and silly and make me laugh.

Did you have good weather? Hunt for eggs? We did, as well as trespass into the neighbors yard to get a ball Dylan kicked over the fence...woops don't tell anyone!

This was the best family pic I got this year....um ya well at least its funny. It pretty much sums up the day...we were silly and goofy. I tried taking a cute picture in the backyard but every time I got everyone together the sun would go behind a cloud...so I never got one...and then OF COURSE as we are walking to our car the sun came pouring overhead! So the house in the background of this picture is a strangers house. I don't know them, and hopefully they didn't see us sitting on their front lawn...I know, trespassing again!
I hope you all had a meaningful day friends, filled with the Lord and love!
Mine was lovely lovely!

april

xoxo

He is risen

{source}

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." Matthew 28:1-10

Happy Easter friends!

april

xoxo

saturday snapshot

This is how the Orozco's 

do spring photos....

 word.

Happy Easter.

april

xoxo

on my heart

Rejoice friends

its Good Friday

and this is on my heart

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[and] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 

april

xoxo

my frat boy

This boy is crazy...my frat boy who doesn't want to eat dinner or go to bed. He is fearless in EVERY sense of the word, and he has a charming personality that can win anyone over. The Lord truly blessed me when Dylan was born. This picture fits him perfectly, see Dylan really thinks he is a super cool adult who can do whatever he wants. 

Take note of:

1. His dads sunglasses

2. His dads clipboard

3. Pretending to do very important work by the way he is holding the pencil

4. And did you see that smile in the first picture? Its dangerous. 

Thank you frat boy,

mommy loves you.

xoxo

ugly is cool

 I know beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...and what one person thinks is great may NOT be the case for another. Over the years I have learned that if I am the beholder, I usually stand ALONE.  I walk a very fine line sometime between vintage lovely and vintage ugly. I have a love for ugly..no really, I can find the gaudiest (is that a word?) necklace or shirt and think it is the best thing ever. I have always been like this. Its a gift. In high school I can remember buying a crocheted yellowish gold short sleeve sweater and all my friends looking at me like I lost my mind. I thought it was great! To be honest, if I had it today, I would still wear it. I'm not always "in" with what everyone else is wearing, and when I try, I look even worse. I march to the beat of my own drum, and these pictures will totally prove it.

I bought this kitchen peg-shelf-thing like 8 months ago and posted it in my etsy shop. Once again, I though it was a super cute find and it would snagged up in a matter of days....um.not.the.case.

The poor thing has gotten no love what-so-ever! Sad huh...

 Well I thought to my self that if it wasnt going to sell then I was going to hang it up in my house. The ugly haters would have to deal with it right? hahaha  Exit orange and brown 70's colors and hello RED!!!

Now I love it even more..and to be honest I have no idea if the haters will like it. We will see how my luckiest husband ever likes it..??  He pretty much goes with the flow and lets me decorate the way I like...pretty great huh?
So I suggest that if you like the ugly buy it and hang it up! Dont worry about what everyone else has on their blog, be yourself. Ugly is cool. :)

april

xoxo

virtual coffee

If we were having coffee this morning I would tell you that I'm not feeling well. A major cold swept through our house and now I have it. Yuk for reals!

So I am sitting here with the lights out, TV on and globe lit up. Isn't it a great globe? My mom and Kaleb found it at a garage sale a few months ago. I love it.

I love these pictures of Dylan pointing to all the places he says he lives..

"mom I live here in the jungle"

"mom my friend is a lion and he lives here"

such imagination!

I think having a globe out on dislay is a great reminder of the world around us. The great big world that exists outside of my four walls.

Do you have any globes in your house? Or maybe just a favorite special thing?
I would love to hear about that...

Thank you for coffee friend... :)

april

xoxo

lots of random lovely monday

This weekend was awesome. Filled with family, friends, sunshine and good food. I couldn't choose just one thing that was lovely...

So I decided to show you some of my favorites.

Here is me and my Dilly boy.

Here is a collection of children's books I picked up at a garage sale for 3 bucks!! How can you pass up the 50's versions of Alice in Wonderland, Robinsons Crusoe and Treasure Island? Kaleb and I plan to read every.single.one.

I am starting with Alice in Wonderland tonight!

I have a new love for vintage kids books...I CANT say no!!!

Look at all this crafty goodness!

I spray painted a towel rack for my kitchen red...because it was total 70's orange and brown!!

A banner in my kitchen..loves.

Oh...and those fabric flowers are from ME man!!! I made them!! So proud of myself...hahahaha

What did you do this weekend? 

Tell me ALL about it!!

:)

april

xoxo