Was this weekend awesome for anyone else? Today it felt like Christmas was in the air for the first time. I had mulling spice simmering on the stove, I made pumpkin bread (Trader Joes), we played soccer outside, the girls climbed trees, everyone took long naps, I helped Terri rearrange part of the kitchen, I planned Christmas surprises, I cooked dinner for our family of eight (it’s hard for me to cook for 5 so cooking for 8 is nearly impossible!), we celebrated Parker’s birthday with GoGo, Bubba and Uncle Jack and we ended the day with a little movie night watching The Grinch. It was awesome. So so awesome. We had to skip church to make it happen but you knownwhat? Sometimes you have to sacrifice to create good family time you know?

And I love family time. It’s fun to be with friends and there are times I wish we had lots of kids living near us for the kids to play with, but truly, I love that we are together so much as a family. I love that my kids play together so well and that I really enjoy the days I get to BE with them. I had Friday off work and aside from a SIX hour photo shoot yesterday I have been with the kiddos non-stop. And I feel more like myself now. So much more like myself.

I have never worked so much outside the home since I had kids. And it’s been really hard. Good in lots of ways too but hard. I love being home with my kids. I love jammie days and playing on the floor and art projects. I love myself as a non-busy mom. But that’s not my reality right now. Right now I’m working outside the home 40 hours a week (part for KCCI and part for Fresh Art), I run the kids around, do the normal mom stuff like grocery shopping and still work at least 4 hours a night for Fresh Art (and that’s not counting how much we work on the weekends!). It’s tough. Two full time jobs. And three young kids who I really want to spend my time with.

SO ANYWAY.

This was a much needed and very relaxing weekend!

And this post was SUPPOSED to be about our sweet friends the Burkes! HA! Totally unlike me to get off track right?

We met the Burkes one day when I was picking up Bailey from school and she was going to DIE if she didn’t have a play date with her new friend Vivian. And Vivian being a little social director wrote her number on a scrap of paper to give me! It was hysterical! SO Jill and I started chatting and since then, as I’ve gotten to know their whole family more, I know we’ve been blessed to have them in our lives. Bailey and Viv are so cute together, Jill and I got to be partners on the last field trip and her older girls actually knew Chris from summer soccer camps! Oh and if you ask the girls what their families have in common they will tell you that both their dad’s are named Chris and HAVE NO HAIR! HA!

I don’t do this often, but I adore this family so when they invited us over for dinner (and were brave enough to have three young people run around their house!) I brought my camera and we had an impromptu photo shoot. Just super quick, in their back yard, as the sun dipped behind the trees. I guess it’s the benefit of having a photographer as a friend right? HA!