just the cutest clothes ever, that's all.

alright, so i think i figured out

how to do this shop style thing.

if you click on the picture, 

it'll take you straight to the gap website.

if you happen to purchase one of them,

i should get a little commision!?

since i post lots of clothes pics anyway,

i thought i'd try this and see how it works!

thanks in advance for the billions i'm about to make. ;)

orrrr, be really smart and sign up for an ebates account

and get cash back yo-self.

i've earned over $100 this year just on buysing stuff i normally do.

diapers, laundry detergent, etc.

here's my referral link.

(i'll probably win a trip to hawaii if you sign up through me. sike.)

ANYWAY! ONWARD!

page one:

alot of the things willow has are

from the boys section because

a) she likes them and b) we can pass them down to sutton.

the christmas light jammies!? PU-LEASE.

those sneaks would be so cool on both of them.

the wind breaker and plaid button up too.

willow hates jeans (or anything with lines she can feel)

but these skinny's are awesome.

pom pom slippers? mmhmm.

sutton is all about mittens and these are so cozy and warm.

nothing describes my kids much better than "happy". :)

and the bow tie!? so handsome in christmas pics!

page two:

more christmas jammies!

willow got these shoes and i love them because you know camo is a neutral. 

also, sutton will love these too when he grows into them.

this little top goes with all of our patterned leggings.

this chambray does too! or with a sparkly, poofy skirt. :)

sweats are my fave. these with those sneakers from page one!?

ditto for the camo ones. and the happy hat!!

i mean, come on. glitter is my favorite color and how beautiful would

this look in christmas card pictures!?

fleece lined jeans are just an act of kindness in the winter. so cozy .

suttons pushing the age where onesies are acceptable 

but i'm thinking this in christmas card pics would be so cute.

page three:

we homeschool, so denim is just a requirement. ;)

willow loves overalls and i like this style.

some good neutral boots.

another item that will be passed down.

i love the metallic of these. i'll be watching for these to go on sale!

this hat!!! the coolest.

bunny ear  shoes. okay. yeah.

THESE SANTA JAMMIES!

these may be our matching christmas jammies this year.

(the kids open jammies and we make hot cocoa and popcorn and go look at lights.)

these floral jammies are just perty.

willow calls these her hunting boots. :)

and they'll also go to sutton. ours don't have pink laces. ;)

alright, so happy shopping!

p.s. why is shopping for kids way more fun!?

trick or treat.

this was such a FUN year for halloween!

the rain kind of messed up the actually trick or treating

because our neighborhood didn't commit to switching night, 

so we only had a handful of houses with their lights on.

then on actual halloween, 

we were excited

to hand out candy and only had three little groups. :(

BUT, we had so many festivities to enjoy.

first up, the fall festival at my parents church.

our fun friends/neighbors joined us.

the big girls were does (supa original ;))

willow and sutton had to change last minute 

because it was hot but they were super cute.

willow was a "ballerina gymnast" 

complete with GLITTER hair!

and sutton was the cutest little pirate.

he really got into playing the games...and getting candy!

ice pop culture was there

and we got sweet potato and strawberry balsamic.

so stinkin good.

cutest little horse that willow found super comfy!

on friday, we trick or treated

and the girls were does again and the daddy's were hunters.

sutton was a lion and was SO CUTE.

he loved his costume and never tried to take

the little hood off.

once he got the hang of what we were doing,

we ran and squealed to the next house.

we had a big group and he'd push his little way to the front

to pick out his treats. :)

"do you like bubble guppies?" willow asks

the creepiest man ever. 

she loved this little runner rug and said it's like a wedding.

complete with her sword.

(she really wanted to be a mummy but her costume of strips of white sheets kept unraveling so she quickly decided to be a pirate princess!?)

i used to love getting home and sorting our candy

with my brother and sister. :)

sutton and i headed home before the rest 

so he could get to bed and i thought

his little stash was so precious.

THEN. on saturday, our neighborhood had a festival.

it was POURING rain so it was all inside the clubhouse.

shoulder to shoulder people which is kind of my nightmare.

(if someone were to run into me or bump me hard,

it could paralyze or kill me. soooo ya know. slightly nerve wracking)

about 30 minutes before, she asked if she could

be a pink gumball machine and i think it turned out so cute!

her little sign is just cardboard spray painted silver 

and i sprinkled glitter on it while still wet.

and then i used more cardboard and a brad to make a TURNING dispenser.

and then another piece of cardboard to make the little part

that lifts up to get your gumball.

she was all about that cotton candy during the cake walk.

we made ghost sugar cookies and chocolate chip

double "boo"zies with bone sprinkles

and she won a cupcake. 

sno biz was there too!

i threw a rosie the riveter costume together.

i love dressing up and i really love rosie.

she reminds me of ma olsen when she lead the other wives in doing the 

hard labor while the husbands were gone. ;)

and then we did this the rest of the day. pretty perfect. :)

thirty seconds in the life of sutton.

(after lunch)

momma, can i have a coin to throw in the fountain? 

(still has chicken in his mouth. he'll chew and chew and eventually spit it out. i spend a lot of time cleaning up chewed food. ;) )

throwing the coin! he's got a good arm. ;)

another one? (nope.)

okay, that's cool. 

maybe i can get one of these buttons 

off to throw in. 

(i'm obsessed with his hands and love

how he's holding them.)

sister made it to the top!

hey, i wanna do that!

made it. but i'm sooo sleepy i'm in a daze. 

daddy. :) 

look a bird! i wanna go see it!

my new sister.

when i woke up yesterday morning, 

i had no idea what a 

huge day it would be! 

for her whole life, 

we've been talking with willow

about Jesus. 

the love He has for us 

and the suffering He endured for us

so that we could be with Him 

in heaven one day. 

for about the past year or so, 

she's been saying that

she wants to ask Jesus into her heart

and as her momma,

i've prayed that we would know

when it was the right time and when 

her heart really understood. 

for the past several months, 

she's been asking very good 

and smart and tough questions 

about sin and the devil. 

i've watched her little heart break 

when she realized that her bad choices hurt God but that He loves 

her so much anyway. 

literally held her while she sobbed and told me she doesn't want the devil to think he's invited into our home because she made a bad choice.

that's a pretty clear picture 

for a little five year old to paint! 

because isn't that exactly how it is? 

we sin, satan welcomes himself in?

we've talked so much about forgiveness

and grace and mercy 

and heaven and unconditional 

everlasting love. 

some days it seemed like 

every 15 minutes, 

she was asking a 

whole new set of questions. 

it was wonderful!

and it was a lot. 

yesterday was different, 

and as she was talking, 

i just felt it was bigger. 

i got butterflies because it's 

the moment i've prayed for for as 

long as I've known about her. 

because it's not guaranteed 

that your child is going to 

want to follow in your footsteps

and give their lives to Jesus. 

i told her that when she felt like 

she could tell a stranger 

how they could be forgiven for 

their bad choices and 

go to heaven when they die,

she would be ready. 

we were on a walk around the neighborhood and looking for 

william and sutton so we could meet up

and run around and play 

and in her little stroller,

she said "mommy, i'm just sure

i'm ready!". 

so i had her tell me

what she would say if that man

over there asked her how

he could go to heaven 

and she explained it to me 

in the sweetest, most precious 

and real way and i knew. 

at the same time, we saw the boys

and willow ran and yelled

"daddy!! i'm ready to ask 

Jesus into my heart!!". 

so we knelt down right there on the

walking trail by the bay,

and my little girl said the most beautiful words to her SAVIOR!!! 

it was amazing and surreal. 

right after, she said 

"now i'm ready to be SANITIZED!!!". 

(aka baptized!)

she's loving the idea of now being 

my sister and daddy is her brother!

she's named everyone she can think

of and asked if they were her 

sister/brother too! 

(when nana asked her who told her about Jesus, she casually pointed at me with her thumb and said, "my sis". haha!) 

she's told so many people already! 

friends and strangers. 

most people have celebrated with her

but sadly some have brushed her off 

and that hurts. 

but this is her mission field now

and she is such a light.

she's on a mission to bring 

as many people to heaven 

with her that she can. 

that's what she says her plan is anyway  and i'm marching right along side of her

in the Lords army!  :)

{lately.}

1) he went up and down these two steps over and over.

2) took a break from playing with some other kids on the tire swing.

3) weeeeee. as soon as he starts sliding, he turns over on his tummy. :)

4) baby swing because sutton was. of course. ;)

5) love zooming in on this pic of my precious boy. i gave him another haircut today. it sho ain't easy but he still has both ears so...

6) sitting on the rocks IN the pond where the water normally is. it is so dried up! and ps, it's mating time for the ducks. ha! "momma look! the ducky is riding the other ducky's back!!"

7) cute and sweaty crew. willow had been pretending she was hiking on the other side of the hill. she also beat me in a race and said it's because she ate a banana and drank milk the other day.

8) he found a big stick to drag! that was tough work!

9) loooove when sutton runs to me!! his little face and legs and cheeks!!

1) this is our afternoon pretty much every single day. not sure how we'll survive when the cold weather comes! maybe it'll get supa cold and we can ice skate in the bay. ;) i'll even give lessons. ha! willow really is such a huge helper and loves to push all by herself.

2) willows legs got tired so sutt took a turn. lots of stops along the way to look at bugs...and sticks...and to wave at every car that goes by. i love it.

3) willow calls this "our friendly bench" and we stop at it every time.

4) the water is getting really chilly so we spend a lot of the time on the deck watching for alligators. we saw one on this day and it was so cool to watch it actually moving!

5) she found "an alligator tooth"! she threw it into the water because "it's probably looking for it".

6) little miracle boy. 

7) we love peaches! and snack time is oh so important when swimming! ;)

8) we like to thaw out by running around the tennis court.

9) we were playing follow the leader and i was leading and started doing lunges. i looked back and he was doing them and it was HILARIOUS. by the time i ran to get my phone, he had moved on to downward dog.

1) the art museum downtown has a cute story time once a month and this was our second time going. nana drove us this time! my cute little ones and their backpacks. we found them at walmart for $5 and they both love wearing theirs. and i love loading them down with diapers and snacks. ;)

2) willow and finley had gone WAY too long without seeing each other.

3) listening intently to the story. ;)

4) after the story, we move to the art room and get to do something based on what the book was about. this time was watercolors and dots.

5) painting a big dot that "momma RUINED AND IT WAS MY MASTERPIECE" because it crumpled as it dried and that's obvi my fault. she later apologized. 

because she knows what's best for her. ;)

6) another day, another peach. we played in the water afterwards.

7) putting their feet in the fountain was a big deal. :)

8) swinging and snacking. i love these walls!

9) nana to everyone. :)

this watermelon has been willow and daddy's special project.

they planted the seeds and we were all sooo excited to see an itty bitty watermelon growing!!

she said she learned how to be very patient.

this will go down in history as the worlds most expensive watermelon

because we had approximately zero rain this summer

so we had to water this thing every day. a lot.

when they cut it open, it looked so gross inside like a pumpkin but

the kids ate it up and loved it!

there's another one on the vine that i'm assuming won't really make it this season

but we plan on doing more next year!

it was fun to watch it grow. :)

that's our life lately! pretty stinkin awesome. :)

things and stuff.

up first:

just some things on my fall closet list and maybe you want them on yours too. :)

this floral maxi dress speaks to me.

unfortunately w HATES floral, 

(he says it reminds him of a teacher he had. whatev.) 

so i don't wear much of it but maybe one of you could wear this for me? 

i got this red plaid poncho in the mail yesterday and

i'll probably just go ahead and set up camp and live in it.

and because you'll most likely want a more professional picture,

here's the one i sent my sis when i got it in the mail.

(disregard the socks. i wear them almost always at home when i'm freezing.)

i got this dreamy white dress too and i'll be getting alot of wear out of it fo sure.

it's really cute with the booties (still can't get over that this is a fashion word) below!

look! i already wore it to church AND to lunch

and only managed to get one spot on it!

(if you're unsure about sizing,

i am always a small in tops and dresses

and it's true to size at f21. 

same for shoes. always a 7.)

these lace up booties. 

i buy a lot of my shoes (especially trendier ones) at f21 and they really do

hold up and are very comfy!

so, i have a bralette like this that's by free people.

it was $20 and i wear it alllll the time. 

it's so comfortable and i love how

delicate it looks. 

(delicate. hahaha.)

i am shocked that this one is wayyyy better and it's so stinkin cheap!!

these cute little crochet trimmed socks are cute with the booties above.

dying over this suede fringe jacket.

i love suede. 

and i love fringe even more.

now for some home things.

willow and i were sick last week and every time i'm sick,
i get into this major cleaning/nesting mode.
the thought of lingering germs is just ugh.

soooo, i went ahead and started decorating for fall.
we really didn't have any fall decor
so we went to walmart and hobby lobby for supplies.


first up was this thankful banner for the mantle.
i drew and cut out the letters
and laid them on pieces of burlap (from a roll).
then i spray painted over them with white.
after i took the letters off,
i went around them with a metallic gold sharpie so they would show up better.
then i used spray adhesive on the ends of white feathers
and sprinkled extra fine glitter on them.
errrrything is better with glitter!
i hot glued it all onto twine and then just clothes pinned it up to the window.
the pumpkins are from walmart.

next, was the wreath for the front door.
i got this plain wreath at walmart for under $5.
then glued on the artificial mums (i just pulled the tops off of the stems).
i cut the little triangles from a roll of burlap
and hot glued them onto the twine.
i got these little wooden letters in a bag
and used spray adhesive before sprinkling them with
extra fine glitter.
them just hot glued those onto the burlap.
super inexpensive, yo.

i got this lighted pumpkin at hobby lobby for 40% off
and it looks so cozy at night!
the white ceramic one is from there also.
the pumpkin pillow is from a couple of years ago and
the picture on the front is interchangeable
so at christmas time, it'll be a christmas tree.
i moved the "our nest" pillow from inside
and the other pillow is something i'm super proud of it.
(it doesn't take a lot to make me proud though.)

i have a few pillows in the closet that
we aren't using but i didn't want to toss.
one of them just came free with something else we
purchased and it was ugly.
so i ordered a couple of covers on amazon for $3.90
and now we have 2 brand new pillows!
the one behind the pumpkin pillow and then the deer head
that i'll probably put out around christmas!

okay, now for some really random tips i've come across
that i thought i'd pass along.

one is for a trash can.
random, right?
my friend su has a super cool trash can in her kitchen
and i've been looking for one that's the right size.
there was one at home goods that was perfect but it
was SEVENTY DOLLARS!?
whaaa?
and then walmart had the right style but it was way too big.
i found one on amazon that was what we were looking for for $28
which wasn't bad but then i read the reviews and someone
recommended ordering it from a place called
Blain's Farm and Fleet.
It was $14!!!
it came in just a few days and it's perfect!

alright.
we love art in this house.
we have alot of supplies on hand
(when i see something on major sale, i grab it and just put it in
our craft closet so we'll always be prepared when the mood strikes.)
we love these washable paints from crayola.

another thing we love is making things together in the kitchen
something willow loves to make
since she can do it completely by herself
is instant pudding.
(sugar free/fat free chocolate is our fave!)
we buy these little mini crusts

because they're so stinkin yummy and they are just so fun to eat.
it doesn't take much, people.
well, after we're done, i wash them out
and thats what we use to put our separate colors of paint in!
then i just lay a hand towel on a cookie sheet with edges
and put the tins on it.
empty yogurt cups are great for rinse water for the brushes, too!
(she's painting the box that the trash can came in!)

okie doke,
i think that's enough info for one day.
your brain probably hurts after hearing so much deep knowledge. ;)
if y'all have any tricks or ideas you've discovered,
please pass them my way!
always looking to make life more simple and fun!