Anna has an announcement...






:) We will welcome baby Torbett #2 in November.
(tears and grins of happiness abound)
My heart could not be more thankful, or expectant,
or just plain happy.

Look closely...

 Anna is into all things busy!
She keeps my mind challenged on how to teach her, play with her, and have fun in new ways!
This day we built a tunnel :)
Brett is such a good daddy. This day, instead of looking closely at the bubble marks on the ground I chose to look closely at Anna's fascination, Brett's love and delight in his daughter, and the fact that the floor could be cleaned any 'ol day. This was a moment to be shared!
 Something I tried with Anna Ruth was letting her play with bowls, cups, and other things in different sized bowls of water. She splashed some and then quickly dumped the water on herself.
It provided a bit of discovery and fun for her though!
 You know what they say..."One man's trash is another man's 
treasure!"
I am almost always the "other man's treasure" part of that quote!
Momma and Daddy gave me these shutters...I spray-painted them and decorated with them on the mantle!
I am enjoying how bright and cheery it looks.
Anna loves her swing in the yard! Thanks Uncle Jack and Dada for hanging it up for her!
Sometimes I measure myself up to other people and think "how do they do it?" I see picture perfect homes, hair and makeup, bodies, kids, etc. not realizing there are less than picture-perfect moments in these homes too.
For example, while my mantle might look pretty and decorated, the rest of the house looked liked the picture above. A mess! 
While I might always look and sound happy and cheerful, that isn't always the case!
My choosing to see the rosy side isn't a naive viewpoint. I know there are real hurts, real loneliness, real stress and exhaustion.
But, I pray for God to give me new eye-sight. 
Sometimes I'm obedient and I look closely to see the beautiful in things..
other times I'm disobedient and just plain grumpy.
I'm so glad God's love for me IS picture-perfect.
Nothing can ruin it!
I want to look closely at THAT.

Color Changes Everything

 Anna Ruth's sweet cousin, Kyla, wanted to gift her with this grocery cart.
 Brett had the idea to let her go for a spin around the house in it.
She loves it. :)
 We went to one of Anna's playgroup friend's birthday parties this weekend!
This is the special boy and his beautiful mama.

 The decor was so, so cute! It was a rubber ducky theme.
Anna Ruth got to try two goldfish crackers for the first time.

 We can't believe all of our babies are at the stage of first birthdays!
This playgroup has been such a blessing to us.
Going from socializing at work every day to being at home was quite a change for me.
I love to socialize. :)
I'm so thankful one of the girls in the group from church took the time to be friendly to me and invited me to this group. I look forward to time with these girls every week!

Being friendly matters.
I've noticed lately how when I'm willing to get out of my comfort zone and talk to new people,
and make the effort to talk, text, and be pro-active with relationships,
friendships happen. :)
 We stayed home this weekend to work on some landscaping projects.
Soon we'll have a neat, native stone step in front of the house!
Brett is a master at this stuff.
So patient, fitting each piece together just so.
There are lots of creative ways Anna Ruth found to entertain herself on the front porch.
My country gal  had dirt galore under her fingernails.
The sign of a good day. :)
Color changes everything.
:)

Sparkle

Anna Ruth and I had fun at home today.
She took extreme joy in unrolling two balls of yarn. :)
Just like a little kitten.
 As soon as the rain stopped we headed outside to walk, observe, breathe deep, and bask in the lovely sunshine and water droplets!




The air always feels cleaner...and the trees, grass, and fences just sparkle after a good bath.

adore

 This weather tickles my fancy.
I adore it.....perfect for daydreaming, playing, inspiration, eating fresh, grilling...
I could go on and on and on... :)
 We love time on the giant front porch.
Anna put a dead wasp in her mouth out there this week.
My girl is curious and country. :0
 I have successfully added bunting to three rooms in the house now. :)
Anna's room got some bunting last week-along with two giant pics and a Katie Daisy print..
 I strung up some scrapbook paper and inspiring magazine photos in my craft room.
Do people still get inspired beyond the computer and tear pages out of mags?
I sure hope so.
I do. :)
 We had Thai Chicken Pizza with homemade crust last week.
 Anna is VERY much into feeding herself lately....
she's apparently too big for eating out of a spoon from her baby food container-ha!
Last week she ate avocado bites, corn, peas, and deer taco meat.
 Sometimes we have friendly visitors at the house..
 I also strung up bunting in the dining room. :)
I immediately said "If it's too much I'll take it down" to Brett..
of course I got to keep it up.
There's almost never a situation of "too much" in my world.



 We went on a field trip to the library last week and got some puzzles to "work"!
Anna can crawl forward, get in a sit up position on her own, and pull up to standing...all as of last week! 
 Everybody needs some colorful treats.








 Today we took the most inspiring/fun trip to Westwood Gardens! Inspiration is truly EVERYWHERE.
How gorgeous are these tomato cages?
My mind sees things through patterns, color, and fun! And projects and creativity. :)

 I played with the camera while Brett was in Lowe's.....


and we came home to work on the landscaping at our house.
SO. much fun! 
Janice and Jack came to join us too. :)
..
progress pics soon!

I am currently loving the magic of our yard/land...so many sights and sounds..birds galore, and even saw a raccoon crossing the meadow last week!
I'm also loving staying outside 'till bedtime..
country skies with night time stars,
and my country life.

I've got a new blog! Come see. :)

Room for the Rosy  is my new blog. I hope you'll come see.