Happy 8th birthday Carson....

It seems like yesterday this little guy came into the world, I cannot believe he is 8 today. Carson has brought so much joy to our lives. He is definitely "middle child"!! Just about everything that comes out of his mouth is funny. There is never a dull moment with him. He is full speed from sun up to sun down. We love him and would not trade him for anything in the world!

We are having a little family birthday this evening, I told him I would make him anything he wanted for dinner. He told me Shrimp fried rice. Carson doesn't really like birthday cake either, so he wants 4 layer desert. I will share the recipe soon. It's really good!

I checked him out today for lunch and we went and ate at Subway. I'm trying to make his day special and all about him. I'm taking up cupcakes to his class here shortly.

AND, I have been busy crafting around here. I promise I will be back tomorrow to share. Have a great afternoon.

How does your garden grow?...

I absolutely love to be outside this time of the year. I LOVE flowers, gardens, trees and anything else that has to do with planting. 

We have been busy working out in the yard over the last couple of weeks. We Charlie's guys planted a bunch of olive shrubs, I can't remember the real name of them....But they grow fast and it will soon be a hedge along the road and give us privacy from the street. I think they add lots of character to our yard as well.

Here is the garden that we have about got finished...We are growing green onion, squash, okra, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

                                                   My azaleas are in full bloom!

I always pot kimberly ferns in my pots by the front door. They last all season and have hardly any maintenance.

And the reason we bought this land to begin with......The oak tree!

My little guy is at preschool this morning, so I've got lots to do. Just thought I would share my yard. Have a great Thursday.

I'm so excited.....This next month Charlie and I are going on a couples retreat with our Sunday school class. It will be so good for us to go to. We have a awesome marriage, but I think every marriage can always use more knowledge. My Mom is going to keep the boys one night and Charlie's parents are going to keep them the other.

Here's my little munchkin this afternoon, I could just eat him up. We are fix'en to go pick up the bigger boys up from school. I'm ready to see them. It's is glorious here, so we will be playing out in the yard. I'm running tonight with a group of girls. I love my running time.

I will be back tomorrow with a finished  project. Happy Monday!

1.00 chairs....

Don't hate me because I have a neighbor that sells old chairs at her garage sale for 25 cents and 75 cents! What a score. I have big plans for these babies. I think I'm going to give them a new coat of a creamy white paint and recover the seats with a pretty fabric. This is on my to do list this week.

This chair is old and has lots of character to it, I think it will look awesome when I'm done! I already had started cleaning it up and took the seat off.

Here's my sweet little helper, drinking his daddy's coke. NO, I don't give him a can coke to get his finger or tongue cut off on a normal basis!! : )

We have a busy day ahead, it's my grandpa's 80th birthday party today. I hope you have a great weekend as well.

Mantels {Times} Three.....

Oh My, how I LOVE mantels....

I Love the cozy feel they give to a room.  I personally love a simple arrangement with lots of layering on the mantle. Here are my three mantels....

This is the one in the master bedroom. I Love laying in bed, reading a magazine in winter and looking at the

fire. I'm not totally set on my arranging on here.

This is the living room mantel, it is massive. It was kind of tricky for me to get it done and actually look good. I'm happy with the decor. Again, lots of layering. I think layering gives it a much more informal feel. We are so not formal around here!

This is the hearth room mantel. I love this little spot as well. Again, so informal. Just about everything on here is from a flea market. I love to find different cheap items to use and be creative with.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of mantels. Go check out the NESTER and see the other amazing ones.

Photoshop

I have been messing around with Photoshop today. I usually get so frustrated, I end up just giving up. I have a couple of books for dumb photoshop people like me! Ha~!

Here is a few from this weekend.....

I love Charlie Mac's little grin....

This is my sweet great niece, McKenzie. I told my niece if she ever wanted to get rid of her, she could bring her to me! I really could eat her up.

Charlie Mac is dirty as usual! And notice the boo boo!

Such a stinker!

Bubble time.....

And my handsome oldest.....

I will be back this week to share my two chairs that I'm working on. I scored on two chairs from a garage sale. I paid 1.00 for both people! Now that is a score!

I better go check the chicken on the grill, we are eating early because I'm running with the girls! We are doing hills this evening! Whew, wear me out!

* If you looked at this earlier, my husband published this for me before I was even done! I'm really not crazy!

Easter 2010

Our Easter morning started out by seeing what the Easter bunny left in the boys baskets. I try to stay away from so much candy. The boys were wanting the Blind Side, so the bunny gave them it. Cole got "Diary of a wimpy Kid" book and some new Gummies for his MP3 player. Carson got a kite, Me and him had lots of fun out trying to fly it this afternoon. The bunny also left him a Star Wars set. Little Mac got a crayon roll, It is so cute....It rolls up and is perfect for the diaper bag. He also got him a little chair to go out by the pool.




The other day CM crawled up on the bar to play in the water, he tumbled down and fell on his head. Scared me to death. So that is what he's sporting on his eye!

I TRIED to get some pictures of the boys this morning, HAHA!!!...... Carson has his fingers up to make bunny ears on his brothers, Little toot.


This was a sweet one of Cole and Charlie Mac....Carson was off getting in trouble for not listening!
Now there is a band aid, It started bleeding because the boys were ruff housing. So yes, Sponge Bob makes it all better.

The boys look sweet in their matching blue Polo's. I found CM's outfit at a consignment shop, it's a Kelly's kids, I paid 8.00 for it and had a C monogrammed on it. Charlie and I always match the boys as well on Easter and Christmas.

I cooked lunch for my family today after church. My sister,brother, Mom, dad and my in laws came to share Easter with us. I love getting together with my family. My heart aches for people that don't have family to share holidays with. I cooked ham,mashed potatoes and yeast rolls. Mom brought beans and deviled eggs. Charlie's mom brought dressing. For dessert I made strawberry shortcake, a tradition.

We had a great Easter. I'm ready to get back to the swing of things tomorrow. My house is a wreck, Thank goodness the cleaning lady comes tomorrow! It's hard to keep a clean house when everyone is home. I wouldn't trade it for anything though. Have a wonderful Easter evening.