Snap Shots of Life

It's amazing to me how much can be spoken in a picture...even with no people, no words--just still objects and a story that screams off the page. Take this one for example... The Headless Nativity! Ha! Makes me laugh every time I see it=) How many missing pieces can you find? (Hint: There's 7. I'll send some free Chick-fil-A to anyone who can name all of them=) Oh, the pieces weren't expensive, and I guess they accomplished my goal. I mean, the kids DID play with it=) No amount of super or krazy glue was going to save them this year. Guess I'll hit WalMart up for some refills next year=)

Oh, and this one...this one is a riot! Joey and I came home uncharacteristically early from date night one night to find this....

What do you think happened? Well, my babysitter (who shall remain nameless because she would be mortified) was frantically trying to clean this up when we walked in the door. She felt terrible. She's an excellent sitter who always keeps our house spic and span for us, but I'm pretty sure my munchkins pulled one over on her this night. Pretty sure they dumped the popcorn out, stomped all over it, then had fun kicking and/or throwing it everywhere. Ha! I know she wouldn't have allowed this, so I'm guessing this happened during a brief visit to the lady's room...happens to me ALL the time. Gotta love these rascals=)Oh, and this, THIS is one of my personal favorites of late... Let's just say Samson was in there BEFORE we left the house, then he greeted us at the door when we got home. ??? We're really not sure. Best guess, he tugged so hard on the towel sitting on top of his kennel that he managed to collapse the kennel on top of himself. He's lucky he's not hurt. That basket has some pretty heavy stuff in it and was also on top of the kennel. Needless to say, we now have a new kennel, and he no longer hysterically tries to escape while we are gone. I'm gonna blame his delirium on old, lingering Lila smells and blankets. New kennel, new blankets, new toy, new side of the room=no more whining and whimpering and more content Samson=)

And so, these are the joys of my life. I'm a mom. These small messes and happenings are the moment by moment realities of my life. Toys to organize. Dishes to load and unload. Laundry to wash, dry, and fold. Boo boos to kiss. Hide and seek to be played. Blocks to be stacked. Refrigerator letters to be stepped on. Rolls of toilet paper to re-roll. Pools of water to be sopped. The list goes on and on and on.

And in the midst of what some days seems like the most worthless, meaningless drudgery. A never-ending hamster wheel of useless activity, these moments are stolen, and gratefulness abounds...

#85 a daughter who loves to help and #86 that all things wash =)

#87 for little boys who do things their own way and #88 that those messes can be so much fun for them =)

#89 a daughter who loves her daddy and #90 a daddy that adores her in return....#91 a boy and his toys and #92 a curiosity that is palpable...#93 that every thing's cuter when you put a little booty swagger to it =)--Side note: #94 a husband who can capture great pictures like this one

#95 siblings who share and #96 grace for the guilt of the days when television is a God-send...

#97 that winning smile!!!!

#98 a little girl so proud and content and #99 for new discoveries: "Look mom, I made purple!" #100 for finding your own way to have fun--even if you definitely look guilty for breaking the rules=) #101 that God makes all these fleeting moments outweigh all the hamster wheel monotony!!