say cheese!

I took Elise for some long over-due professional pictures last week. The ones on our living room wall are more than a year old! I was pretty nervous that she'd get all shy and wouldn't smile or show her true personality. Turns out, I had nOtHiNg to worry about.

The photographer was so wonderful, and super affordable. Check her out @ youbyjulie.com

Jesus Love Me

Here is Elise singing her new favorite song. I think she learned it with her nanny (Grandma Bryan) while we were in Mexico. Thanks, Grandma Bryan, I LOVE listening to her sing it all day long!

There's No Place Like Home

Going on a vacation is always always a treat. I so look forward to just being away. Away from all the daily stuff, away from work, kids, family, obligations ......you're just GONE, unable to make a to-do list let alone complete one.

Some of the best parts of vacationing in Mexico were never making my bed, sitting in the sunshine all day, reading 4 books, eating meals that I didn't plan, prepare, or clean up, going to bed and waking up whenever we wanted, and being completely unplugged from facebook and email for a whole week.

But, like Dorothy says, there's no place like home. And, after a week of being GONE, I was ready to be BACK. Turns out, I like my routine. I like having a plan to my day and knowing what's coming up tomorrow. I like cooking dinner and having exactly what I like on the table. I like, believe it or not, getting groceries and crossing items off my organized list. I like feeding Indy his breakfast and remembering to give Myrtle, our goldfish, her pinch of food a couple times a week. I like watching the neighbors and seeing the guy at the gas station where I get a car wash and a diet coke. I like getting the mail, picking up the toys, returning my library books, and giving Elise her tubbies. This is my routine, and, like most of us, I crave it. So, while vacation was pure bliss and I hope we get to return to Mexico sometime soon, I'm enjoying my daily life again, right here, in my own little world with my own little family. I like being HOME.