Flowers--I suppose my yard is still changing each day and the snow comes, then melts or blows away, and then comes again. And, of course, there are a few more deer droppings each day, too. But I miss the beautiful changes that go on in the summer months.
College Life--I moved away from Laramie about 6 years ago, and I have missed it ever since! This is where I found lasting friendship, got an education, met and married my husband, had my first baby, lived in awesome little dumps also known as cheap apartments, and watched TONS of Cowboy/Cowgirl sporting events! Those were good times.
T.--To respect his privacy, I'll simply refer to this kid as "T". "T" came into our lives 5 years ago, first as a student in Tony's middle school Special Ed. classroom. The very next summer, he did a life skills summer school program on our ranch, spending 60 hours with Tony (and our family) that summer. Soon after that, Tony and I became respite care providers, and his time spent with us increased greatly. He even lived with us for a couple weeks at a time on two different occasions as his family dealt with some trials. We had a bedroom for him, and he was here often. Our entire family grew to love this kid--his tickling, his singing and dancing, his "You're crazy!", and his smile. This summer he moved away unexpectedly and I didn't even get to say goodbye. We hope to see him again sometime, but every time I drive by his house, my eyes fill with tears. We had a lot of good times with "T". Some of my favorite memories with him are going to state basketball, the county fair (a few times), and Lagoon this past summer.
Pregnancy--Okay, okay, I know some of you would like to throw something at the computer screen right now (Holly?)--but as the time goes on, I do actually miss the miracle of having a little baby growing inside me. I'm sure it helps that I've had very smooth, sickness-free pregnancies. And as much as I enjoy a flat stomach as well, I'm kinda missing this little bump!
Digital Scrapbooking--I'm about a year and a half behind on this, and it's something I enjoy doing! I need to quit missing it and just get in gear and get on it again!
Sullivan--His birthday is coming up soon, and I've been thinking of him so much lately. I know that two years will be over quickly, but lately it feels like he's already been gone so long and it's been less than 6 months! He's such a good kid, and I really miss him!
Sunny, Sandy Beaches--Luckily, I'll get to enjoy them again in a little over a month! I'm getting so excited!
She really is a pretty girl when you can see her eyes, Mom!
Their music teacher, Mr. Dobbins, has worked really hard to teach the kids concert etiquette, and part of that is looking at the director and not looking around the auditorium during the performance. Boy did Connor do a good job of that! Mr. Dobbins was directing from the side of the stage over by the piano so that he wouldn't block anybody's view of their child, so we saw a lot of the SIDE of Connor' super-concentrated singing face. It was a cute show!
So, of course, the paint colors look just a little different in all these photos, but basically, the bottom is a bubble-gum pink and the top is a warm yellow (not a NEON yellow like it looks in some of these pictures).
I built both of these book shelves using plans from 
It's hard to believe that my baby is 2!! Mariah is such a fun girl. She's always making us laugh and I just can't get enough of her chubby cheeks and belly. She's starting to talk more, even though I can't understand her half of the time (which, of course, is a major cause of frustration for both of us). We've also been busy this month working on potty training. She is very capable, but not sure she wants to do it EVERY time yet (another cause of frustraion for me). Despite the typical frustrations of having a 2-year-old around, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this little girl!!
