got caught.

i have a goal to be done with my Christmas shopping this year before Thanksgiving.

i bought the first thing yesterday. breck didn't have a clue. last stop was to drop something off at courtney's. (they live next to us.) & as we climbed back in the truck breck looked in the back and said mom! there's my bike!

dang.

so i came up with a clever little story.. and let me tell ya he is so excited those darn elves tricked us. haha..

(he's on the phone with his little cousin lala.. telling her all about it.)

happy pirates.

on the drive home.

feeding time.

the boys helped donna feed her bunny. for at least 20 mins.. poor bunny probably got a tummy ache from all the clovers.
notice merr's apron? he borrowed it from donna. yea he loved it and did not want to take it off.

friday night football..

a disappointing loss.

the 1st of october..

marks the real beginning of fall. (to me) to celebrate the arrival of this beautiful season we:

started with a little of this..

then went to gather apples that had fallen from the horrible gusty winds we've had..

we ate a few..

and made a wish..

then ended our 1st fall day with nothing else then a game of falls official sport.

it was a good day.

i can dream..

i love to take a drive and look at houses.
so i of course loved north carolina. so many beautiful homes and buildings. i could have driven around all day every day for our entire vacation and been completely content.. there were so many charming places to see.
i saw this one and fell in love. it was actually a model home for a subdivision called "the cottages" so we were able to take a look inside. wonderful floor plan. the most perfect upstairs layout. yes i loved it and wanted to buy it there on the spot. (but it had just gone under contract 2-3 days before. dang.)


then we took a look at another subdivision by the same company and i found this one.
even more love.
this is my house. the colors were absolutely gorgeous. it's all in the details. if you click on the picture you can see the shingle siding on the 1st and 3rd stories, then board and bat siding on the 2nd. i love that. the brackets on the 2nd story under the roof. the deep chocolate double front door. the beautiful windows. did you see how they are trimmed? the combination of metal and shingle roofing. the pretty porch. the perfect colors that compliment each other so well. they even have the plantation shutters on the windows on the inside. i love those also. the most perfect garage doors.
unfortunately this was someones home. i didn't think they'd like us to barge in and take a look around. especially after we had driven by multiple times. they probably thought we were stalking out the place.
o but i love it.

and now i am off to bed.

dreaming of beautiful cottages..

and planning how to add on to mine to give it that sweet, cozy cottage feel.

which is your favorite?

terribly happy.

have you read her blog?

i love the happy lists.. here and here..

this is mine..

1. these boys.

2. waking to an overcast sky.

3. a cut and color. um bangs.. yes i did!

4. when merrik grabs my face..then gives a quick kiss to each cheek, lips, then chin.

5. him

6. fresh peaches.

7. the office starts TONIGHT.

8. laundry washed, folded and put away. whew.

9. the phone call from timmy saying he is on his way home.

10. the crispness in the air. i've worn a sweater all day.

11. dinner date with the husband. all by ourselves.

12. freshly bathed and lotioned kids. mmm

13. sweet notes from my nieces.

14. um, have you seen these faces?

15. Glee.

16. just swept floors.

What's on your list?

marker.

timmy called and needed me to e-mail him something. so i ran into the office for a few minutes. this is what i found when i came out.

merrik's masterpiece.

done in marker.

luckily a long warm shower and a good soaking and it all came out.

o he was so proud.

picture of the day..

(i wish you could see their smiles, but it was taken with my phone's camera.. it was so sweet)