I Warned Him!

He just couldn't keep his hands off my M&Ms!

A Murderer Among Us

I remember a tragic time in my youth.

I remember the pain, the sadness, the FEATHERS.

Sadly, my kids got to relive a horrible experience that I had when I was just their age.

The experience of having your beloved family dog destroy all of the family poultry.

Oh, she looks innocent & cute, playing in the snow a couple of months ago.

But don't be fooled, folks. This is a wolf in loveable dog clothing.

Bad Daisy!

Huge Changes

So here's a VERY quick overview of the last 2 weeks at our house.

(and the reason I haven't been blogging)

#1- This picture illustrates why we had to buy a Suburban.

Because you can't yank 15 foot trees out of the ground with a minivan!

That's Mama in there workin' the 4 wheel drive. Yee haw!

#2- Now that the trees over the septic tank are gone, by all means break out a tractor & take care of the rest of the shrubbery.#3- Make sure to include the kiddos. They're awfully good help.

#4- Sadly dig out the trees that didn't survive our 8 degree nights last winter. :(

Mama got to drive the tractor to help Daddy pull out all of those HUGE tap roots. :)

#5- Once you have a clean slate you can start building it back up!#6- Bring in the heavy equipment & let's get this done!#7- I'll spare you the boring details, but we started Monday with this:

#8- And by lunch on Tuesday we had this!

#9- Now I have 3 kiddos that look happy like this:

(Ignore Jack. He rarely looks happy when there's a camera pointed in his direction. Trust me, he's happy.)

#10- We've also planted 3 new trees to replace the ones we lost, worked on my new flower beds, revived our dingy grass, & have started on the next project- a coop for our newest family members-Do you see the family resemblance?

Needless to say, I think I'll go take a nap.

Photography With A 2 Year-Old

(Insert BIG sigh here.)

I try to tell myself "It's worth it, It's worth it."

Someday I'll look back on this & be glad that I proved I was there.

So this is as good as it gets!

And just because I'm so behind, here are the kids' beautiful Easter outfits, courtesy of Nana. (Finally!)

Thank You!!

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Binky!!

Look at me!

I have a new skill.

And when the thumb alone won't cut it, I've got some pretty sweet toes, too. (He's actually asleep in there!)

I've never had a baby that didn't love a binky, so this is SOOOO captivating for me.

Although it's totally strange to find him conked out wherever he happened to be laying when he got tired.

It must be exhausting to be so adorable.

The Frankster is 5!!!

I absolutely can't believe it!!! Today my Mother's Day was made even better because we celebrated Frank's big #5!! Every time I think there's no way I could love him more, he goes & does something even more sweet & amazing. Like being totally cool when we had to cancel his birthday party this weekend when a little girl that was staying with us got sick. That is totally Frank.

He is an angel & I just want to eat him up!

Happy Birthday my big little man!

Where Have We Been?

Is it May already?

I can't believe that I've basically been absent for 6 weeks. That's how long it's been since I was able to go to volleyball, anyways. Sickness (a lot of sickness), a travelling Daddy, and TONS of projects have combined to keep me away from the blog.
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So here's a quick rundown of what's been goin' on to get ya'll up to speed.
We've been spending a lot of time watching TV since Mommy was sick for so long. Boo!
Experimented with the Build-a-Bear costumes.
Played with Grandma & Grandpa.
And just practiced being super cute.
("Mom! I'm dressed like springtime!!" Explanation: The butterfly shirt is on top of the flower pants because butterflies land ON TOP of flowers in the garden. The blue socks are there to represent the blue sky. I don't know where she gets this stuff!)
It's been super exhausting.Oh, did I mention that we also potty-trained the 2 year old? YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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We've also had the computer die, someome compromise our bank account, and had the car break down. Seriously folks, this list all happened just this weekend.
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So once I get the photo software back up & running, I'll have lots more pics to share.
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And just a teaser, there's been a LOT of changes around the Merriman house. Some involving tractors. Exciting!