A Little Bit Random

My thoughts are all over the place today.  Partly because I live on about an hour's sleep most days, and partly because I have an excruciating headache.  So I apologize in advance if this jumps around a bit.

So . . . this Little Miss

is almost 3! 
What? 
How did that happen?? 

Can I just take a little walk down memory lane real quick?

Check out this tiny little bundle.



Oh good gracious.  Tiny little cupcake.  Isn't she the sweetest??



This has always been a favorite of mine.  So serious.



And there she is last Winter.

My goodness they grow quickly, don't they?  Makes my heart hurt a little.


I've been informed that Miss Thing would like a Pink Princess Ariel Cake for her birthday.  If you ask, that's what she'll tell you.  Me: "But, what kind of presents would you like Kam?"  Kam: "Pink Princess Ariel Cake.  My told you already."  {Girl is a bit of a sass, you know}.  I was actually going to skip the cake thing this year and just make up more of the Cake Pops, and possibly offer an Ice Cream Sundae Bar.  But, I don't know.  Kam is one opinionated little girl.  And if she says she wants Pink Ariel.  She wants Pink Ariel.

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I often feel a little bummed this time of year.  Now that Christmas is over, and we have a long winter/spring to look forward to.  But this year it seems we have so much to look forward to, I can't help but be excited.  Our San Diego trip, just weeks away {SQUEAL!!!}.  And I'm hoping to take a little trip down to Medford to visit my sister sometime this Spring.  She's about to have a baby {not her own.  She's actually a surrogate!} shortly, so maybe we'll plan something for March or April.  We're long overdue for a good visit.  And I think it'd be fun to take the girls on a tour of where their Mama spent some time growin' up.

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It's almost Miss America time!
 I was SO excited to find out that it will be televised this Saturday {Jeremy works, so it'll be just us girly girls!}.  We are planning on breaking out the evening gowns, tiaras, and sashes, ladies.  Oh yes we are.  Do y'all have any big Miss America viewing plans?  Do tell!

Some Things

What is it about a new season that brings on such busy-ness?? 

Fall, especially, seems to be such a busy time of year for us.  Getting back into the swing of homeschooling, back to dance classes, back to Bible study, gearing up for holidays.  It can tucker a girl out, I tell ya.  {You know what else can tucker a girl out?  A little one who insists on being up with her mama from 2am-4am nightly.  But that's another story}.

So, in the interest of playing catch up.  This is what's going on around here:

♥ We've started a new bible study.  Since we've done most of Beth Moore's studies, and we had a time limit {we wanted a shorter study so that we could break before the holidays}, we decided on Fingerprints of God, by Jennifer Rothschild. Last night was our first night, but so far, so good. Definitely different than Beth's, but change can be good, right?

♥ We are officially back to dance class, and the girls are loving it.  And I am SO happy to have been able to get both Sierra and Makenna in classes on the same night, at the same time.  Hallelujah!

♥  I've officially started my photography business.  After thinking about it and talking about it for the last couple of years, I finally did it!  Taylor is still so little, and I don't have plans to leave my babies anytime soon, but I was really feeling like God was telling me that it was time.  So, I got things in order, legally, for when that time might come.  And, literally, within a week I had two people call me about doing senior portraits {three seniors in all}, and another family email about family portraits.  I never cease to be amazed by how God works!  I did my first session, and it was so much fun! Of course, it didn't hurt that she is gorgeous, and a natural model. 

SO.  All of that to say: look for photos coming soon!  You know, once we get over this virus junk, and I get some sleep, and catch up on the laundry, and have a spare moment.

Well, it looks like I've gotten little miss back to sleep.  Better go catch a few winks, myself, before it's time to start another day.

Hope y'all have a great Monday!!

Random Thoughts on Thursday

Just some thoughts bouncing around in my head . . .

♥ We're thinking about going to the zoo tomorrow.  It's looking like it very well may be our last day of decent weather until . . . oh probably next June or July.  So we're going to take advantage.

♥ Miss Taylor is {finally} sporting cloth diapers.  I cloth diapered Sierra.  Didn't with Kenners {not sure why?} and started over again cloth diapering Kam at around 4 months old.  I thought I'd use disposables through the summer, but it's taken me awhile to get the cloth ones out.  They're finally out, we're using them, and all is going well :)

♥  Speaking of Taylor, she is a DROOL MACHINE.  I seriously do not remember my other girls having quite so much saliva.  She can drool through a bib, denim jumper and onesie in no time flat.  Poor little darlin'. 

♥ I've been thinking of doing a weekly "photo tip" installment here on the ol' blog.  Not sure if there's any interest, but it might be fun to share ideas.

♥ And speaking of photos . . . does anyone else have a hard time keeping up with them?  I would LOVE some tips on photo management, because I'm not doing a great job managing!  Don't laugh, but my method right now is pretty much uploading all of them to another site {usually Shutterfly}so that I at least have them backed up to another location.  Also it makes it easy later on to make photo books and have CDs made.  Occasionally I'll have some printed.  That's it.  That's all I've got.  I typically take around 1,000 photos a month, sometimes more, and I feel like I'm drowning in digital files!

New Furniture, & Other Odds & Ends

Did I mention that my in-laws took us furniture shopping a few weeks ago?

Well, they did. {Isn't that the sweetest??}

And yesterday, it arrived!

Sierra and Kenners immediately jumped up on the couch for a story the second it was in its place!

And they've been enjoying it ever since ;)

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Shortly after getting furniture situated, the {already cold} weather turned . . . colder.

Guess I shouldn't have complained about the 48 degree temps, huh?


We braved the winter-like weather anyway, and headed to Makenna's first dance class of the year {we'd been on a break since Christmas}. Once we got home and had dinner, I caught this sweet moment between sisters:

Kenners and Kam don't always get along superbly, so this precious moment really touched me. And we all enjoyed a nice, quiet evening. Jeremy and I even caught a few minutes of that new show on TLC: Extreme Couponing. Have any of you seen it? Oh.my.goodness. I knew that you could save money by using coupons, but seriously? This was AMAZING! One family bought $1,000 in groceries for . . . .

Wait for it . . .

Under $45!

I know that couponing is a full-time job, and I don't expect it to come naturally {at least not right away}, but if these women can save 90%+ on their shopping trips, surely I can cut my grocery bill by a little, right? I'm inspired to at least try!

Anyway . . . getting a little off track.

So, when we went to bed we noticed some flurries, and woke up to this:

Snow, people. In April. And I know I keep saying that I'm going to do better with my weather mood, but really? Snow? I guess that's what I get for complaining about all that rain ;)

So the girls and I did what any normal person would do when stuck inside {again} on a cold morning:

Made {YUMMY} crepes for breakfast!

Who said good food can't make things better?

Some Babble, Some Photos

I've been dragging my feet on this because I'm not typically a resolutions type of girl. I figure, I break most of them anyway, so why bother? But, I do have a few goals for 2011, and although I'm a little late to the party, I thought I should jot them down. You know, as a reminder.

#1 on my list of things to do this year is read through the Bible. Confession: I have never read through the entire Bible. And I really want to. I downloaded the 90 day schedule, and it's looking like a lot. Especially right now when we are in the final weeks of house building, I'm pregnant, etc. etc. But I realized that I can always find excuses not to find the time. So I'm going for it. I doubt I'll have it finished in 90 days, but even if it takes me six months, it's a goal I want to achieve this year. {Anyone else gone through the 90 day program? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated}.

#2 I would love to make some time for activities that I used to enjoy, but have completely left behind since becoming a mama. Dance team and pageants used to be a huge part of my life. It may sound silly and shallow {?}, but I would love to be involved again. No Mrs. America for me, I can't imagine competing now, but I would LOVE to make it an annual tradition to attend the Miss Oregon pageant each year. And there is no reason that I can't attend local dance team competitions in the spring. The more that I think about it, the more I realize how important it is for me to show my girls what I used to be involved in, and even more importantly for them to see that I haven't always just been "Mama" ;) Besides, these are activities that I know my daughters would enjoy too.

And I suppose if I was going to add a #3 it would be to make more memories with my family. Last year we didn't get away much. This year I would love to plan a couple of trips to the beach, maybe a museum, the zoo, and more local attractions. Of course, now that the interest rate is going back up, and we'll be refinancing a brand new house soon, having even one extra cent around is looking pretty bleak. But a girl can dream.

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And while I'm here {computer time has been limited these days!}, I may as well do a quick house update.

I cannot say enough about the finish work that my husband has done so far. He bought the unfinished wood trim, sanded, lacquered {then sanded and lacquered again, and again!}, and then put these GORGEOUS window trims together.

You can't truly get a feel until you see it in person, but oh my. He did an amazing job. Seriously, I'm thinking he's going to have to make it a side job ;)

And look what was installed Christmas day . . .

Cabinets! Woohoo! The countertops are done, linoleum is being installed on Tuesday, and Jeremy and my dad have been tirelessly working on the floors. It's coming together :)

Miscellany Monday

This is my first time linking up with Carissa at lowercase letters for Miscellany Monday. Shocking, really, since all of my ramblings are pretty random.

1. I'm making the turkey for Thanksgiving this year. Can you believe this will be my first ever attempt at cooking a turkey? I'm a little nervous, but excited too. I found the yummiest recipe ever for cornbread stuffing!

2. Saturday I went on an all day shopping trip with my dearest friend for the first time in . . . ever! I think I've only been shopping without my girls once, two years ago, before Christmas. I missed them like crazy, but uninterrupted conversation with another adult is so wonderful.

3. I have been horrible about taking pictures lately. I got out of the habit a couple of weeks ago, and then we got hit with the flu, and I just haven't picked up my camera more than a time or two in the last few weeks. I miss having it permanently attached to me.

4. I'm still drawing up my Countdown to Christmas list of activities. I'm excited that some of you are interested in participating. Of course, that means I need to get movin' and start planning things out a little. I'm thinking maybe we'll try to link up on Thursdays {if you're not ready for a post by December 2nd, no biggie}. That way we can finish off the countdown on the 23rd. I don't know about y'all, but I can almost guarantee I won't be near the computer much on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so it might be nice to wrap it up on the 23rd. I'll think more on this, and get back to ya :)

A little bit o' random

Wow. A whole week has gone by without even a glance to poor ol' blog here.

In my defense we have been battling some horrible stomach bug . . . YUCK! The first few days I couldn't pick myself up off the floor, let alone turn on a computer. But I think we're finally on the mend.

In other news, our sheetrock is finished, and the inside of our house is completely painted. Also, our garage door was installed on Wednesday. YAY! Next up, we lay the underfloor in preparation for the cabinets and flooring that will all be installed within the next month or so. It's so fun to walk through and actually get a good idea of where things will go. We're starting to envision ourselves living there someday ;)

I can't believe Thanksgiving is six days away! Seriously, where does the time go? We're going to hit the grocery store today, so I've had my cookbooks out. My mouth is watering just looking at some of these yummy recipes. And that's a good thing, because I haven't had much in my stomach lately.

We're trying to plan our Countdown to Christmas this year. Last year we had such fun with a special activity, outing, or craft each day of December, I knew we'd have to continue the tradition. If anyone is interested in linking up again this year, let me know. Otherwise I'll probably just do a regular post on our activities, and maybe a few tutorials on our chosen crafts.

That's all! What's been keeping you busy?

This & That

As usual, lots of jumbled thoughts, and very limited time to sort through them. So here we go. A little of this, a little of that. Bullet-point style.

♥ First off, y'all are so sweet to be concerned for Sierra. Yes, that was a bandage you saw in the "birthday donut" pic. And no, we weren't playing doctor that morning ;) Last week, while we were berry picking, Sis had a little accident. The girls were actually pretty focused on berry picking at first, but after awhile they got bored of it, so they ran off to play with the other kids. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but amid all of the excitement and fun of running amongst the blueberries, a couple of the kids started tossing rocks {I think it started with blueberries} and wouldn't ya know that one grazed Sierra. After we got her cleaned up {who knew head wounds bled so much!}, and settled down we could tell right away that it wasn't serious. But we did have a long talk reassuring her that it isn't "tattling" to come tell an adult when things start getting a little out of hand. She's healing up quite well ;)

♥ I've been having a ball with my new camera, thanks for asking! :) I sold my Canon Rebel to my mother-in-law, and purchased the 7d without a lens. Thankfully I have my 50mm 1.8, but I'm finding it to be quite limiting. Any suggestions on a good {not horribly expensive} versatile lens for everyday shooting would be greatly appreciated. {Thanks for your input, Suz, I'll be checking out that lens soon!} Yesterday a dear friend of mine came over for a visit, and I was able to snap some pics of her gorgeous girls. I actually have photographed them before, right after little Ava was born. And it got me thinking, that juuuuuust in case I get more involved in photography, I ought to start a photography-only blog. So . . . now I just have to figure out when to squeeze that in ;)

♥ Anyone else looking forward to Fall? Don't get me wrong, I love summer. The sunshine, the picnics, the long days. But I LOVE LOVE Fall. Just the thought of pumpkin patches and apple cider makes me want to do a little happy dance.

♥ House Update: There isn't one. Siding is taking a very long time. The End.

Jumbled Thoughts of a busy Mama

Um, yikes. I have been abandoning blog land lately. Though I assure you, it's for good reason. Turns out, building a house is a pretty big {and slightly stressful} project. Who knew? I will have more house updates shortly as {squeal!} we are nearing time for framing!!! Yay!

A few more things that have been keeping me occupied:

♥ So, I have had a toddler before {two, in fact}, but boy, oh boy, Kam keeps me on my toes. I do not remember Sierra or Makenna being quite so . . . busy. Miss Kameryn Faith can destroy a room faster than you can say "Holy Tornado!"

♥ We are finishing up our homeschool year. There is a lot to do. Evaluations and planning for next year have taken up a lot of time. I'll have a 3rd grader and a Kingergardener in the Fall. Wow!

♥ We have two weeks left of dance classes, and preparations for the recital have kept us hoppin' {and tappin', ha!}

♥ And finally, day to day odds and ends, {including a lot of illness this Spring} have continued to keep us busy. Kam is feeling much better {thank you so much for all of your sweet comments and emails of concern}. No more fever {hallelujah!}, but she continues to be kept up at night with a cough. We are so looking forward to some nice weather so that all of these germs can just dry up and GO AWAY! :)

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That pretty much sums it up. Have y'all felt a little overwhelmed with the busyness as Summer nears? {Tell me I'm not alone! Please?} I'm ready for a little R & R ;)

Monday {Night} Ramblings

Does life ever move so fast that you don't even have time to blog about it? Yeah, same here. As usual, the days are flying by, leaving very little time to even crack open the laptop.

♥ Last weekend we attended my cousin's baby shower, and we had such a lovely time. It was great to see family, and celebrate a new baby on the way. Am I the only one who gets practically giddy at the thought of a new baby? Oh those tiny little hands. The way they just snuggle right in to your chest. And sleep wherever and whenever they choose. Sigh.

Anyway.

As I was saying.

We were at my cousin's shower . . .

Frolicking and having a good ol' time . . .

Playing peek-a-boo, and the like.

It was just lovely.

♥ Kenners played her last soccer game of the season on Saturday. In the rain. It's been doing a lot of raining around here. We were all ready for the season to end. Now we start the countdown to the end of dance ~ three more weeks!

♥ Apparently Kam doesn't need much sleep anymore. She is almost 16 months, after all. And naps are for babies, don'tchaknow. Ugh.

♥ We started another bible study, and I L.O.V.E. it already! Anointed Transformed Redeemed ~ A Study of David with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur. Any of you done this one? This is my 4th study of Beth's, and so far it's definitely a favorite. If you are looking for a shorter study {we chose it specifically so that we would be done before we got too far into Summer}, that is big on forming a closer relationship with God, you will not be disappointed with this.

♥ I'll post house pictures soon. Honestly, there isn't much new to report. We finished the foundation and have some "basement work" to do before the framing starts. We're sort of waiting on a little nice weather, and there is rain in the forecast for the next week. Care to say a prayer? :)

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So, what have y'all been up to? Anyone enjoying Summer Vacay yet?

Random Thoughts for Friday

A little of this, a little of that . . .

I was going to write up a post about the Ultimate Blog Party going on over at 5 minutes for Mom. I wanted to link up. I would love to check out the millions {okay, not millions, but hundreds. High hundreds} of other bloggers participating. But after spending way too long on the first blog I stumbled upon, I realized I just don't have the time for it right now. It stinks when there aren't enough hours in the day, huh?

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I'm tired of the coughing. Makenna has had a cough for weeks now. It is keeping her up at night. It's keeping me up at night. I think I'm ready for Summer.

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Please do not laugh at me. Don't make fun of me, or tell me how lame I am, or how I'm always late to the party {I know this already!} . . . BUT, I just discovered Swag Bucks!

Looks easy enough. Any of y'all have much experience with it? What have you earned? What are you "saving" for? I'd love to hear all about it!

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Guess who has a soccer game tomorrow morning?

Yep, this little cutie! :) We can't wait!

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Alright, confession time. I'm eating WAY too many sweets and treats left over from Easter. Anyone else with me? Ugh, I feel terrible about it, but it's like I can't help myself. The chocolate. All that chocolate. Sigh.

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My hair got a much needed pampering session today. It was time for something. It may not look like Spring outside, but I am ready for a Spring Look! Sooooooo, I bought a highlight kit, slapped on a gorgeous cap {you know the ones, don't act like you don't!}, pulled hair through the holes for-evah, had my mom come over to help pull strands in the back, lightened my locks, chopped off a few inches, and voila:

A little windblown, but you get the idea.

{Sissy was snappin' pics on my iPhone tonight at Kenners soccer practice.}

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That's it! Whatcha got planned this weekend? Spill it.

Catch Up

It feels like there's so much that I've been meaning to post, and I just keep forgetting. First there was the gorgeous weather which meant our time was spent enjoying life outdoors. Then we had a little bit of craft fun {which I promised to post!}. And, well, let's not forget about the super bug I got hit with last week.

Anyway, let's update, shall we?

We've had some glorious sunshine-y days! We can't help but get outside for nature walks and swinging.

We spent a couple of days crafting our little hearts out. We made these adorable little bunnies, remember? And a basket and eggs out of paper, {the girls are going to write some of the things they are thankful for on each egg.}

I also found more of this adorable oil cloth and am making new placemats for the girls.

I love oil cloth :)

And once I can get my act {and more wool felt} together, I have another project/tutorial for y'all!

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In other news . . .

This little muffin wore her first piggies last week :)

And . . .

Is a big walkin' girl now!

We've also been busy having camp-outs on the floor on the nights that Daddy is at work.

And, oh yeah, making White Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Jeremy . . .

Because it was our anniversary yesterday ;)

Happy 8 years to us!

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So, catch me up! What have y'all been up to?

Friend Makin' Monday ~ Random Thoughts

I am going to be 30 this year. Aagghhh!
I think I need more hours in the day.
I should be cleaning house, but instead I'm on the computer.
I dream about warm, Summer days.

I want more babies. :)
I know Kam is tired and needs a nap, but she just won't go down.
I don't like Winter!
I smell homemade bread rising in the kitchen.
I hear the clock ticking and Kam babbling.
I fear not being around to watch my children grow.
I usually am pretty good about keeping up on laundry.
I search for missing things way too often.
I miss my sister and her babies. We don't see each other often enough.
I always love a good snuggle.
I regret when I say too much/when my mouth runs away from me.
I wonder what my children will be like when they are grown.
I crave more time in His word.
I remember when 30 sounded so grown up. Now I'm almost there, and I don't feel very grown up ;)
I need to go through the house and de-clutter, but getting started seems overwhelming.
I forget a lot of things.
I feel blessed. I can still do the splits.
I can't remember what life was like before I had children.
I am happy with what I have.
I lose more socks than I can count.
I sing poorly. Very poorly.
I listen well, but talk too much.
I shop..... more than I should, but WAY less than I'd love to.
I eat too much, but I cannot help it. I love food.
I love My family!

Head on over to Amber's for more Random Thoughts :)

Random Thoughts

I'm tired of the sickies. Isn't it the worst when the little ones don't feel well? I hate that I can't make it better. Blessedly, this is really the first time Kameryn has been sick. Her little nose is running constantly and she HATES to have me wipe it. And forget putting her down for even a second. She just won't have it. Poor little thing. Of course, Kam has learned how to fake cough. When she hears one of her sisters coughing, she must.cough.too. It's pretty cute. Sierra and Makenna seem to be feeling a little better today, so hopefully we've turned a corner.

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Have I mentioned that Kenners is my quirky one? She's hilarious, and always keeps me guessing. I so need to document all of the funny things that come out of her mouth. We had just come through the door from being up at Great Wolf to celebrate her fifth birthday. Kenners plops herself down and says "I don't feel very Five-ish" {Yeah, well I don't feel nearly 30-ish. Welcome to the club.} Oh that girl.

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In other news I got a job. You know, in addition to my 168 hour a week job. ;) I'll be teaching a tap class at the studio that the girls take dance. I filled in for a class on Friday, and it was such fun. Imagine five 3 & 4 year olds in taps. Yeah. It was pretty adorable. And I was amazed at how well they listened and followed directions. I was nervous when I first accepted. I haven't taught dance in awhile. And when I did teach it was high school girls. But I can tell already that I'm going to enjoy it.

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That's pretty much it. Whatcha thinkin' about?

Real Life

Real life has been kinda busy lately, which has left little time for blogging.

I had great plans for fun Valentine's activities and crafting with the girls, but life has definitely gotten in the way. Stomach bugs, teething issues, appointments, school, have all kept us hopping.

We did manage to make these cute foam and tissue paper hearts last week. If you're looking for an easy project to do with your sugarplums, this is great. {Though if they are real little, they may need a lot of help}.

You'll need some craft foam {or construction paper}, tissue paper {cut into small squares}, a pencil {for shaping the tissue paper}, glue, a hole punch, and ribbon.

Cut the foam or construction paper into the shape of a heart. Slather with glue ;) Wrap each piece of tissue paper around the end of a pencil and place close together on the heart until it is covered. Punch two holes for ribbon, and hang.

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Kam has been pretty happy to be using utensils at meals. She keeps a spoon in one hand while using the other hand to feed herself, ha! It is the cutest. And messiest.

I keep her in her jammies until after breakfast. Otherwise we'd be changing clothes about 10 times per day.

This is where we wind up after meals. It's a must after smearing apple sauce and oatmeal throughout our hair.

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We've been busy with school. I'm so proud of Sierra. She's mastered carrying and borrowing, and we've just started on multiplication. And she doesn't think she's good at math!

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Today we made a trip to Target to birthday shop for my Mother-in-law. Is it just me or does Makenna look so grown up in this picture???

All my girls are growing so fast! Kenners will be 5 in just a couple of weeks. Sigh.

Sierra helped me pick out birthday cards. Choices, choices.

And she found a pot holder for our aunt. {She just sent the girls Valentine's packages, and Sierra wants to send something to her in return}. Sierra is one of the most giving people I know. Usually when we're at Target {or Joann's or anywhere else that has $1 bins} the girls get to choose one or two things. Sierra always chooses a gift for someone else. Always.

And Kenners chose this must-have. A neck pillow.

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It's been busy, I tell ya. What have y'all been up to?