married to an artist

being married to such a talented man comes with a lot of perks, and here are just a couple of them:

the kitchen picture he painted for me last winter...



and the newest addition to my growing collection of all things sunflower (painted on old barn wood)...



i love them.
and i really love him.

kitchen pictures

a few pictures i just downloaded from my camera from the past week, and i noticed that they all happened to be taken in the kitchen, on separate occasions.

kate's enjoyed playing with my pumpkins, aka the mystery squash that i planted in june.


i always thought that queen anne's lace looked like a weed, but for some reason, i have been noticing it more this year and appreciating it for the flower that it is. and then i got a close up look at it the other evening, and i think it has the most beautiful pattern of tiny flowers!


the kids enjoyed a messy ice cream treat earlier this week, while jesse considered the combination of a carrot and a grape eaten at the same time. his verdict: nasty texture with a mango flavor. he must have been bored.

i'm in shock

i just wanted to mark this monumental day with a post.

both of my kids ate dinner tonight.

and if that isn't amazing enough, it was meatballs and green beans. (daddy and i had meatball subs, but i thought that was a little too advanced for the kids' little mouths, so i gave them the bread and the meatballs seperate).

we celebrated with [fruit juice] popsicles.

oh what a splendid evening this has turned out to be!!

our PA excursion

my grandma, Lucy McLane, passed away last week and is now feasting in Paradise with her Savior. she was the sweetest woman i have ever met. she was kind, thoughtful, joyful, and always thought of others before herself. she was a woman who loved the Lord and it was evident in everything she did and said. she was married to pap-pap for almost 70 years! she will be dearly missed.

jesse and the kids and i travelled to pittsburgh for the weekend to attend the funeral service and we also had time to squeeze in some much-needed family visits.

our niece, Jezze Grace, was born on july 8, 2010, and jesse and i were anxiously awaiting a chance to meet her. we were able to spend an entire day of our trip visiting with josh and heidi and jezze in clarion, pa. she is more adorable than her pictures and has the cutest little ears and legs!


we spent time holding her and changing diapers and trying to get a good cousin picture for memories' sake. let's just say, jezze behaved the best, jacob did great doing the job he was given (sit there very still and hold jezze...do NOT drop her), and kate was a busy little beaver and would not sit still or look at the camera. typical.


friday night was the family visitation for grandma's funeral, and saturday afternoon was the service. it was good to see the mclane family, and also some old friends who came to visit. jesse was asked to be a pall bearer for grandma's casket, which presented him the opportunity to purchase his first suit jacket. yes, almost 31 years old and just now owning his first suit jacket. a monumental occasion, if you ask me. jesse seemed neither happy or sad. men!

sunday afternoon we spent at aunt brianne and uncle kevin's new pool. the kids loved it. we all had an enjoyable, restful afternoon.


uncle kevin offered tractor rides to the kids, which kate was happy to oblige, and jacob was quick to turn down. still waiting for him to get over this fear of tractors with their engine on. he much prefers tractors when they are turned off and sitting still.


monday we hung out with gammie. we took the kids to trinity christian school to play on the playground. not only is this the school where my mom and dale work, but it's also where jesse and i first met, and later started dating (on my 17th birthday, to be exact). it was weird to be on that playground and back in the school hallways (to see the new exercise facility).


the afternoon was spent playing in the pool and relaxing at pappy and gammie's house.

a visit from grandpa dennis

we don't get to see grandpa dennis that often, so when he comes to town it is a special treat for everyone. he flew in from colorado earlier this month for a weekend trip. besides time spent playing, hugging, and visiting, this visit was busy with swing-set building. jesse and grandpa spent most of the day saturday and the evening on sunday constructing a home-made swing-set for the kids.
the look on the kids faces when they got to test the finished product= priceless!


highlight of my weekend? going to trader joe's with my dad and a very well-behaved jacob, and finishing off the afternoon with an iced caramel macchiato from starbucks. :o)

we also spent some time visiting with my aunt sarah, who had come from colorado and was taking a 5 week training course in dayton. she drove down for the day to visit the creation museum and was able to join us for dinner. it was nice to see her and catch up! and jacob LOVED her car. :o)