{md update}

my appt with the eye doctor went well today. i do have a "birthmark" behind my left eye which is likely linked to the "blackness" i was seeing on a few of the previous eye exams. nothing to worry about. it has likely been there my entire life and due to the specific tests administered to me last week, just wasn't identified. on just caution alone, he will continue to see me every four months for about a year and a half or so. whew!

now back to eye doctor #1 to work on these not-so-lovely-focusing-problems i have developed.

thanks to everyone for their prayers! it's never good when you have an eye that will not stop twitching to find that something is behind it.....that shouldn't be. :) but, all is well!

{bugs}

i've got a sick little {handsome} guy :(

my mom is having back pain/kidney stone trouble again. hoping for a speedy recovery. i am certain evan is wishing that as well as nannie pat is a great playmate! he does not like these times without her....

billing and a report is due. today. actually last friday.

a session for tonight that will have to be rescheduled. and, it's not even raining.

ang can't come over due to the initial statement. do not want to pass on our sickness to little olivia and wipe out another family.

work-in at md's office. taking lots of hand sanitizer. and a very, very long wait.

but, in worrying about all of the above. that handsome little guy described, will need lots and lots of snuggling. there is always a positive.

{to: the moms}

no exclusion to the dads out there (philip), but i have a feeling this typically applies to the female gender. the one behind the camera snapping away.

i've mentioned this before, but, moms (and dads!) make sure you get in the pictures with your kids! this has hit particularly hard with david's passing reminding me of losing my own dad at a young age. and, after all the time that has lapsed.....i have two pictures of him with me. two. i would love to have albums full like i do of those with my grandpa. but, i don't.

being the one behind the camera in this household 99.9999999% of the time, i am in very few pictures recently. i have put off having my photog friends do it for pointless reasons, like....i want to lose weight. i said that, ahem, 5 years ago and continue to say it. do you think my kids will truly remember that i had another 10 to go? probably not.

not only am i to blame for that, but, also, for somewhat stopping to take snapshots. i have plenty of "portrait-type" stuff, and i do treasure those. but, i have almost come to a halt on the everyday things. the things i will forget. so, i am focusing (although, ha! my eyes will not focus very well right now!) so, see (pardon the pun!) do not wait until something unforseen happens to regret not being in pictures with your kiddos. make sure you get plenty of snapshots. and, actually develop them. fill albums and albums with them.

it is the above reasons i started my little adventure in photography, but, somehow got lost along the way and......stuck behind the wrong side of the lense.

i will have you know, that i am making contact today to have playful pictures taken with my boys. since scott's focusing abilities are likely worse than mine most of the time, i will have to recruit some assistance! but, i plan on filling albums again. what better way to remember the details than with visuals?

i could care less about that extra ten pounds right now. photog friends: you may want to avoid my calls!

{please pray}

for the david fritschie family. my heart is broken. so incrediably senseless.....

we love you bethany.......

{shopping list}

hey, guys! thank you so much for the sweet, sweet compliments on the room/furniture. i will be back soon with a shopping guide on where i got all of my finds!

{the big reveal}

i wasn't going to, but, since i live soooooooooooooooo far away from all of my friends. and, since, they aren't often in my neighborhood....unless they are in my yard; which isn't very often. and, since i am finally sort-of happy that the milk got spilled, otherwise, it may have been here another 12 years before i purchased anything different.....here is a peak of the new furniture (well, once I started adding the pics, it turned into a "virtual tour" of my living room!)

and, if i have to be perfectly honest. i do love it. really, really love it! so, thanks, evan. you actually pushed mommy over the hill (no reference to age there. just to clarify!) and toward the downhill slide. because truly, i hate making big purchases like this. so, i usually don't.

but seriously, i never knew just how uncomfortable the other furniture had become. although I had been told by both the father-in-law and a family friend. brutal honesty that i ignored. and, in defense, i likely didn't notice, because.... i am always here. ;) at the computer. not really joking on that one. but, that too is changing. notice the new desk area. a happy place! because i can actually work sitting up and be in the same room with my boys.

and, before you scroll down to see.........the credit for the new room actually goes to my friend heather! the furniture was delivered while i was at the ballfields. (surprise, surprise!) when i got home.......i got sick, because nothing fit right. at all. in a panic, at near 10 pm, i called her and she came to my rescue with her trusty pen and paper over the phone. she sketched it out and voila! i pushed and tugged on furniture until the wee hours of the morning. scott awoke to a different room. and, i literally had to move every piece of furniture per her plans. and, i could not love it more. all seating areas are facing each other. as large as i thought the room was, it seems even roomier in a weird way? and cozy at the same time?

so, evan, please forgive my tears when i scrubbed the carpet for the 18th time and almost passed out when that was solved and i realized it was also spilled in the sofa and, it was too far gone. i'll make up for that as we snuggle and read in our big chair.

the pictures are totally backwards, so I will provide notes....

and, remember, i like color. sorry.

here it is................

























the gigantic chair. the boys and i both fit. so comfy! scott finally got his leather couches. ;) the compromise. and, the rug that a got me for Christmas. now, my office floor is naked again. poor thing!

trust me, the zebra ottoman looks much better in real life. i promise! my old coffee table didn't work. plus, if you know evan........i did not need a sharp edge in the middle of the room. been there, done that. with both!

my new work area. i had it hidden away behind the other couch. heather recommended i move it. love it here. can actually see all of the "pretties". and, the laptop tucks nicely away.

tonia, this is the frame i told you about. no picture yet. hard to believe!

my very favorite part of the room....'my wall'. now that one, i actually copied from heather. i have no shame. none.

i've changed a few things since i took these. the best part, besides the furniture was that i "shopped" in the house. i'm just trying to avoid those empty places now. a few things to "tweak", but almost there.

this is looking down the foyer. so, the center of the room is now open, whereas, you used to see the back of a couch. now, it's the fireplace. would have never thought of that. if you couldhave seen it before i dialed her number......my placement was horrid. but, when i explained what i had done, she just sweetly suggested this.....

now, i just need some company! invitations are open. at least it no longer reeks of sour milk and is quite comfy. you no longer sink to the floor.

{floating}

not drowning, but floating. ;) glass kind-a-full-kinda gal! although with all of this stinkin', never-ending, days of Noah-type rain.....either would likely be appropriate.

i have lots to update! but, need to get through a couple more days. but, wanted to let you know (ahem, aunt J) that all is well. just, chaotic. you would be shocked if i wrote anything else.

be back soon!