We made it...

Well, we made it through our very first week of Kindergarten. I have to say that Reid LOVED school and came home happy every single day! What a blessing. Cole LOVED school the 2 days he went as well. His teacher said that he didn't cry one bit and that he participated in everything. That's a huge step for my sweet Cole.

We are praising the Lord that all went well. Reid was glad that today was Saturday though and he was so excited to get to play all day with his brother and sister. He has missed that for sure. So, we decided to take the kids to the park today and play. Then we made cookies and had ice cream after dinner. All in all, I survived the first week of Kindergarten! Now, I only have 13 more years to go with Reid and add another 4 years to that by the time Ella gets through. Whew...I sure hope I can handle it all! ;-) Naw...I did fine. I pray over my kiddos every day and then have to trust God with the rest. I even started praying with Reid every day before school. The first day I asked him if we could pray for his day that day, his little eyes lit up and he said yes as he jumped into my arms. It was so sweet.

My prayer for my kids goes beyond getting a good education and making new friends, withstanding peer pressure, etc. My prayer is that they "Love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength..." Deut 6:5

This is a lesson that I'm still learning. I want this so much in my own life, but the reality is that I love other things more. I have been studying this week and I read something in a book by John Piper that has stuck with me:
"This is what sin is--dishonoring God by preferring other things over Him, and acting on those preferences. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...We glorify what we enjoy the most. And it isn't God!" OUCH...that hurts, huh?

He goes on to say:
"We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of His wrath against us. But when, by grace, we waken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, 'In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'" (I John 4:10).

I have learned this week that I have to trust Christ at a whole new level. And I have learned that it is even more important that I teach my children to LOVE the Lord their God. And that will start with them watching their Mommy LOVE the Lord her God with ALL her heart, mind, soul, and strength. I don't know what this totally looks like as I am a flawed person on every level...but I am praying that each and every day, He will show me the big picture.

My debt is so great that He had to pay my price and I will be forever grateful! Thank you Lord for your love, your mercy, and your grace for without it, I would not be who I am today nor would I survive until tomorrow.

Slow Fade

I know that I have been putting a lot of videos up lately...maybe I'll get one up of the kiddos sometime soon!!

Anyway, my girl Allie sent this to me. It's Casting Crowns Lead singer (I think) talking about why he wrote the song Slow Fade (you know the video I have below). If you have the 4 minutes, it's well worth the watch. I can't tell you how much I love this message and just how very true it is. The elders at our church constantly "preach" that the worst "ism" is gradualism. And that's what this Scripture and this song talk about. It makes you ponder what in your own life are you gradually moving away from or toward?

I love what my mom said in her comment on Reid's first day of Kindergarten:
"...to be only a breath away from God."

This rings so true for us as adults. Are we in a "Slow Fade" or are we a breath away from God?

Ok...so I can't help but get on the political game right now. Here is yet another video about our Dem candidate. This is REALLY disturbing! I know that this is a touchy subject for so many...but it's one that I'm passionate about!



Also check out the website that my girlfriend has put together that follows the tax issues between our 2 candidates.

52 Percent

The BIG Day....

Well, yesterday was Reid's BIG first day in Kindergarten! Many of you know that I have somewhat dreaded this day and have been terribly emotional about the whole thing. I would tear up at the very thought of him entering Kindergarten.

It's not that I'm sad that he's going. I'm actually very excited about this phase in his life. I just sit back and look at him and try to figure out how in the world he got old enough to even be in school! Where did the time go? If you have little ones at home, please cherish every moment with them...even the hard ones...they too quickly pass and are forever gone.

We have now entered this whole new phase in life for Reid. We have entered the phase where I wonder have I done enough in teaching him right from wrong, instilling Christ deep in his heart, preparing him for what lies ahead? I know that I will still be doing this over the next 13 years of school, but from here on out, his school, his friends may very well have a greater influence over him than us....considering he will spend more time at school than home.

I am very excited to see how God is going to mold Reid this year at school and in the years to come. My biggest prayer is that Reid will develop a heart that deeply loves the Lord in all he says and does. And what accountability this is for me since I know that his first view of what this looks like will come from me and Bry. No pressure, right?

Anyway...the boys were super excited the night before school. We talked about school, choices, etc and what to expect. We prayed and sprinkled glitter on their heads before bed (a treat that Cole's teacher gave me at Meet the Teacher). They couldn't wait. Side note...Cole is going to school this year 2 days a week. He feels all grown up now!

Here was Reid's prayer on Monday night:
Dear God,
Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Reid, Cole-Cole, and Ella.
Please help me to have good dreams and not bad dreams.
Thank you for school tomorrow and help me to have fun.
Help Cole not to cry when we take him.
Please help me to be sweeter to Mommy and not hurt her heart.
Please help me to get along with Cole-Cole.
In Jesus Name...Amen!

How do you not love a prayer like that? Seriously, the tears are forming in my eyes as I type this. He has really been working on his little heart!

Back to the subject at hand...Tues, we woke up and there was definite excitement in the air! We made a special breakfast, got dressed in our new school clothes and shoes and of course took some pictures (after all, their mommy is a photographer!), and headed out the door (but not before Mom found a few minutes to pray over her children).

When we arrived at school, the boys jumped out, grabbed their backpacks and put them on. When we arrived to Reid's room, I didn't even get the chance to hug him, when he ran straight to class. My heart tugged a little as I now know how my mom felt that first day she dropped me off. I ran off and didn't look back. My poor mom...so sorry about that!

Then we took Cole to his class. A little nervous, I admit...he tends to cry pretty much every time we leave him. HOWEVER, he had a BIG grin on his face, gave us big hugs and sugars and marched right on in the room! Oh thank you LORD!

And what about mom? Well, I survived! I got a little teary eyed, but no flood of tears. I think I got it all out over the summer!

So, here we are, in a brand new chapter in life. It will be exciting! I love you Reid and Cole!

Be careful little eyes...

So, I totally stole this from another person's blog that my girlfriend Jeffie sent to me today. But I had to share this with my Blog family. This song is so powerful!

Please take the time to view this if you haven't already seen it.



This hits so close to home to me as it's imperative that we teach our children to guard their minds, their eyes, their feet, and their hands. We can't wait till they are teenagers or adults to teach them this lesson, we MUST teach them now!

Teaching them to guard themselves now, can really help them withstand the worldly temptations in the future. How do we teach our children that ONE, SINGLE decision that they make can affect their entire life? It can affect everyone around them...those they care the most about. I'm sure that it's mainly by example...and how I have failed my sweet little ones in this. Thank goodness for GRACE that gives me the strength to not continue to make the same mistake over and over.

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...for the Father up above is looking down in LOVE...oh be careful little eyes what you see!

Funny how a "childrens' song" can grab our adults hearts, huh?

Obama mocks the Bible

Here is a quick Utube of Obama in 2006 mocking the Bible. We really need to ban together and pray that he doesn't get elected. This is quite scary.

Don't let her petiteness fool you...

My sweet Ella may be little..as a matter of fact, she is the smallest of all her friends...but that doesn't mean that she isn't tough. I mean, after all, she does have 2 big brothers!

Poor Reid was trying to walk in our front door the other day and Ella literally slammed the door in his face. And the handle on our front door nailed Reid right in the eye. It definitely hurt him. Poor little Ella kept saying: "Sorry Reid!" She really didn't mean too. She thought that he was going to play chase with her and since she is smaller than them, her defense mechanism is to slam the door behind her to get away from them.

Reid just wanted to know if his eye would look better before he started Kindergarten! I'm glad to report that I think he will be in the clear. It did get a little worse over the next couple of days, but it's about gone now! But no worries....he wasn't mad at Ella. He can't be mad at her. He simply adores her and in his eyes, she can do no wrong! Seriously...you think she's spoiled because of me...NOPE, it's all Reid.

Speaking of Kindergarten, we had Meet the Teacher today at his school. We got to meet both his teacher and Cole's teacher! Reid's teacher's husband is a Vet. For those of you that know my son well, his fav thing is ANIMALS! I thought that was very cool. I have prayed that Reid will be blessed with the best teacher for him. I think this was God's way of saying: "I've got him covered!"

Date with Reid

Well...as most of you know my little Reid will start Kindergarten next week. It will begin a whole new chapter in his little life. It's very exciting. He loves school even though he's not sure he wants to go to school every day. He's afraid that Cole and Ella will have fun with Mommy that he will miss out on. And I try to tell him that he will have fun that they won't get to have. It's what makes the world go round!

Anyway, my precious friend Holly volunteered to keep Cole and Ella for me to take Reid on a special Mommy/me time/date! When I told Reid about it, he was THRILLED! He would just grin from ear to ear every time I talked about it. I told him that we would go do whatever he wanted to do. He spent a whole day thinking about it.

We dropped the little ones off with Holly and I put them down for a nap. Reid and I were free. We got in the car and he decided that he wanted to go to Gatti Town to play games.

He wanted to start off on the boat ride. I'm a bit surprised that he wanted to ride it by himself, but he jumped up there like a champ!

Then, we played his favorite game. It's the game where there has to be at least 4 people playing and you roll a ball up the ledge and it either falls into the slow, fast or faster hole and your little horse races across the top. Let me tell you that this boy won the first time we played and then Mommy won the 2nd time (though he totally thinks he won both times).

Here are the 2 toys that he won from the horse race game. He was thrilled. He couldn't wait to show Cole and Ella his winnings!

We also had some fun in the photobooth! How cute are these?

After several other games and loads of fun, we sat down to have their dessert cinnamon stick things. Those are so stinkin' good! We had a long talk about school and making new friends and choices, etc. It was a good time with us. Then, I gave him a little treat.

After the fun at Gatti Town, we went to get his hair cut for school, so he could look fresh! Here he is right after. I mean, come on ladies...isn't he handsome?

Taking time like this with Reid is very important for him. I don't do this enough and he really needs the time with me without his siblings. I truly love this little man and know that God has great plans for him. Stay tuned for next week as his big day is approaching!

And ladies, if you have little ones at home that aren't in school yet....hang on tight, because they will be before you know it. I'm still trying to figure out where the time went.

Happy Birthday Hubby

Today is my husband's actual birthday!!! So, Happy Birthday sweet husband.

I want to take a moment to share with you how much I love this man. I always tell people that he is perfect from afar, but far from perfect! But in my eyes, he's as perfect as they come. That's not to say that we don't have our issues...all married couples do. I get frustrated with him as he does with me. However, at the end of the day, he is the one that I want to grow old with. He is the one that still grabs my heart and fills my life with passion. He challenges me and encourages me. He is a GREAT father and I wouldn't want anyone else to play that role in my precious children's lives. He is truly an amazing man. I am thankful that God has blessed me with him and that we had the opportunity to celebrate his birthday today. I love you honey!

I do want to share a quick story about the boys today. They were very excited that it was Daddy's birthday. They wanted to buy him an ice cream cake (that's our tradition for Bry's birthday). So, this morning after we left the gym, we went to pick out his cake. Then, we headed to the mall for lunch and playtime. After that, we went shopping for Daddy's birthday. I knew what I was going to get him, but the boys had a plan.

Reid wanted to buy Daddy a shirt. Not sure why, but that's what he wanted, so I told him he could. We went to Macy's and I let Reid do the picking. I gotta say...my little boy has some serious taste! He picked out a really cool shirt. Then it was Cole's turn.

"Cole, what do you want to buy Daddy for his birthday?"
"A Tarzan toy!"
"Now, would that Tarzan toy be for you or for Daddy."
He laughs, "Daddy would let me play with it!"
"I know sweetheart, but what do you think Daddy would like to have?"
"Hmmmm....I know! Some BOXERS!"
"You want to get Daddy boxers for his birthday?"
"YES!"

So, we headed to the boxer department where he picked out a pair of boxers that had birds on it! Yes, you read that correctly! I had to laugh, but he was so excited. As I was paying for them, he turned to me and said: "You know what Mommy?" "What my dear?" "Daddy, will open these and say WOW!" He was grinning from ear to ear.

The boys wrapped their presents for Daddy and drew on their cards for him. After dinner and cake, they presented him with the presents. And you know what? Daddy totally said "WOW!" when he opened the gifts. See, Cole knows his Daddy! Gotta love that sweet spirit they have. Bry did love what they got and it meant the world that they really thought about what they wanted to get him.

Oh, and Ella? She kept saying: "Happy Burday Daddy!" Too stinkin' sweet!

We love you Daddy.

Friday night fun....

From right to left: Kelly, Me, Ericka, Andrea, Lisa, Brandi

I had a fun-filled weekend! Very rare in the life of a mom of 3 kiddos. I blogged about Saturday night below...well, here's one pic from Friday night.

Andrea and I went to dinner with Lisa (the crazy one), Ericka (the sweet one), Brandi (aka...B-Ho, the fun one) and Kelly Moore (the photographer that Andrea and I aspire to be like!). We had a BLAST! We were having so much fun that the table behind us decided to be moved to another location in the restaurant. Awww...where's your sense of adventure folks?

So I think in the picture above, we were supposed to be giving that sexy look. As you can see 1/2 of us were smiling and 1/2 of us were trying to give that "look." I think I was giving a mixture of the 2. That or I just looked ticked off...not sure.

To view some of the other pics, you can go to Lisa's Blog and view them there.

We even ventured out and went country dancing for a little while. It was so fun. I told Bry that our next date night would totally have to be dancing. Lisa and I danced and she flipped me, spinned me (is that a word?), and dipped me...oh me. I'm a horrible dancer. I was laughing so hard that my stomach hurt!

Oh yeah....Lisa...where's the pictures of you with the wine dude??? I wanna see those.

Bryan's Birthday Dinner

My sweet husband's birthday isn't until Tuesday, but we got together with some friends for dinner last night and used his birthday as an excuse! ;-) No really, we were there to celebrate him.

I am going be be blogging out of order. I'm waiting on pics from my gal pal Lisa from our Girlz night out on Friday! Coming later.

Anyway...
A group of 12 of us went to dinner and had a blast. Now, mind you, I didn't take my good camera and just took my point and shoot. Gotta tell you, I really hate the quality when I'm used to my pro camera...oh well.

Let's start with a pic of the guys...since this was supposed to be about my husband. Here are the 6 dudes that we were with.

Ok...this is just wrong on EVERY level!!!

And this is still just wrong! Where did we get these dudes anyway? ;-)

But the real fun of the evening came on the girl's side of the table! I bet you can't imagine that, huh? I think that these are the ONLY pics we got of the guys and then we have about 25 of the girls. I'm sure we were annoying the folks around us, but we didn't care. We were in our own world, having tons of fun.

We started off by learning how to smile like the celebrities. You see, my girl "Ape" has a theory that celebrities smile with their tongue pushed to the top of their mouth and up against their teeth. This is to make the neck look longer and hopefully do away with the double chin! Let's take a look at the before and after...what do you think?

Above is before...just smiling like normal.....

Now...the tongue trick...can you see a difference? I know, they are all so stinkin' beautiful, they look great in both pictures!

The ultimate celebrity pose...though I'm not sure what she's doing with her eyes! Was that part of the deal too? He he....have to give her a hard time.

All in all, we think we look better doing that...it doesn't feel natural at all, but sure does force that neck to be elongated and not stuffed up leaving that whole double chin thing. You should try it sometime!!!

Here are just a couple more pictures from last night. I have to say that we have been blessed with amazing friends. We love you guys more than you know and have been so blessed by you.

All the lovely ladies! Aren't those dudes above so lucky?! I just love these girls!
They are all so awesome.

Here's Leah, Rach (Rachel) and then me...notice the tongue thing again! ;-) Ok, we were a little uncomfortable here as we were just learning the procedure and the form. We got better though.

Here I am with Jeff (Jeffie). Don't worry about her death grip on my arm...it didn't hurt all that bad! Just kiddin' Jeff. When I first saw the picture, I laughed as it truly looked like you were holding onto me for dear life. I totally cropped off the part where the grip made my arm look like it had about 3 rolls of fat! ;-)

Here are the "Apes"...This is the first girl with my name that I've known since elementary school. I know you all wanted to know that! Anyway, the above picture is my fav of us and the one below is her fav of us. I'm sure that you can guess why we have a different fav? That's because we don't really care what the other chick looked like in the pic, we picked the one that we thought we looked the best in. I thought I looked better in the one above and she thought she looked better in the one below. I promise we aren't vain...ok...maybe a little.

Seriously though, I think she looks great in both the pictures. I don't know that I favor one over the other of her.

Photog Training....

I'm a little behind on my blogging. I know, such a shocker for you all.

Monday night after my sweet son shoved the marble up his nose and we got to have the fun event of going to the hospital, I got home, and got back in the car to travel about 4 hours to go see Kelly Moore. Who is Kelly Moore? She is an amazing photographer who I truly admire.

I was privileged enough to get to spend the whole day with her and learn as much as I could possibly fit into my brain from her. She was awesome! Not only is she completely down to earth and fun and an amazing photographer, she is sold out for Jesus as well! I love that.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics that I took of our model, Brandi (aka....B-Ho). Check out those beautiful eyes she has.

So, Kelly is still better than I am...but she was super encouraging and I'm well on my way!

Don't I look like I'm having fun and learning so much? She of course took these pics! I only wish I would have gotten a picture with her...but never fear...she came to town and I went to dinner with her and some other chicks and we have several pics to share. Those coming later.

For real????

Well, I'm thinking that Cole was feeling a little left out on my blog lately...being as I have posted 2 things about Ella since his haircut. Poor Reid isn't getting any attention (don't worry folks, he has a BIG day coming up that will be blogged for sure). But Reid seems to be staying out of the lime light for now.

Why is Cole feeling left out? Well...I'm not totally sure, but he is getting attention tonight!

Earlier I was in the office getting some things done as I was getting ready to head out of town to go to my photog training that I have tomorrow. With that, Cole was left unattended for like 5 minutes...way too long for a little guy like him. I went back to my bedroom to pack and get ready only to find him leaving my room with that look on his face that told me he was up to something.

"Cole, what were you doing?"

Sweet, big, brown eyes look up at me as if to say: "What Mommy?"

"Cole, what were you doing?" A little more firm this time.

"But Mommy...I have to tell you something." This is always his line before the trouble begins.

"What Cole?"

"I have something in my nose!"

"Ok Cole, but what were you doing in Mommy's room?"

"I have something in my nose!"

"Let me see...I'll get it." Thinking of course it was a big boogie or something....

Well...I got the for something right. My sweet, sweet Cole had stuffed a MARBLE up his nose! Really? What in the world was he thinking? That it would be fun to see if it fit? Oh me oh my!

"Cole, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital to get this out!"

Screaming and crying now...."No, Mommy, I don't want to go to the hospital!"

All the while, Reid got wind of this and freaked out. He too started crying at the thought of his brother needing to go to the hospital!

About that time, Daddy hears the commotion from his office and comes out: "What's going on?"

"Cole has a marble in his nose, we need to take him to the hospital!"

I can't help but laugh at this point. Reid's freaking out; Cole's crying; and Bry's upset with me for laughing as it could be serious! But hey, what do you do? You have to laugh.

So, to the hospital we go...me and Cole. It was a quick trip. We were there and back in an hour! The doc was great and made Cole feel very comfortable. When he went in for the marble, he wrapped Cole up in a sheet really tight (you know, the kid version of a straight jacket?!). Cole was a little nervous about that at first, but he never made a peep. Then, in went the instrument...a little tug and a little pull and out came the marble! My Cole was a champ!

I was hoping this experience would scare him, but I'm thinking by the end, he thought it was cool. What will he put up there next?

The doc did say that they see this about once a week! Then he proceeded to tell me that he was 9 for 10 on getting them out. I'm like, "Ummm, doc....what about the 1 in 10 you don't get out?" "Oh, we just call the ENT and he takes them to the OR and gets them out that way!"

Thank goodness he hadn't got the marble that far up his nose.

So, that my friends....was my fun event for the evening!

If you look really close at his right nostril...you'll see something that looks like a booger, but it's the center of a CLEAR, glass marble! Don't worry folks, I have the marble for a keepsake!

After the marble was gone!

Please note that these pics were taken with my cell phone...not the best, but it was all I had.

Another reason I love photography.....

A few month ago, I was asked to take pictures of this precious family. They were giving their testimony at our church and needed some updated family portraits. I had seen the journey in their marriage from afar and really admired how far they have come. They were literally on the brink of divorce until God ordained for a HUGE restoration in not only their marriage, but in both of their lives individually. I wish I had the video that they put together for our church to see as they talked about their struggles and their deepest, darkest hour. They had thought all hope was lost....and now here they are! A new family unit restored in and to Christ, stronger than before and a new love found and not lost.

When you meet your darkest hour in your marriage, know that there is ALWAYS hope if you both put your hope in Christ. They are living proof of this. I pray that you take the time to check out their blog sometime as she shares her heart. I know that her words will be a true encouragement to you.

The Hartz Family

Keeping it real.....

It's been a long time since I've really shared my heart on the blog. I usually only post fun things about my kiddos with cute pictures! I can't help taking the opportunity to show off my little ones. They are such a blessing in my life that I want to share with all.

I finally put music on my blog and as I was listening to the song Indescribable by Chris Tomlin, I couldn't help but feel my heart being moved. This song has vast importance to me and will most likely always be my favorite worship song ever. For those of you that know me and know me well, know why this song grabs my heart. For those of you that don't....

About 10 years ago, I faced what would be every woman's nightmare in being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man who decides that he has the right to take advantage of you and force himself upon you and violate you in a way that no other ever had. It was a haunting night for sure. It forced me into lots of counseling and led me to lead a life that I wasn't proud of with drinking, etc. Months later after I had picked the man out of a 6 man line up at the Addison police station, I came to a cross road in having to make a decision to pursue him legally for his violation of me or to let it drop. I will tell you why only 1 out of every 4 rape victum comes forward...because the courts put you through hell and back.

At any rate....to speed up a really long story, on the day that I was to make a decision, I was on my face before God in desperation. I have to admit this was the first time that I had clung to Him as I was too ashamed to turn to Him. I was tired, scared, and so alone feeling...I had nowhere else to go. I made it to work with tears streaming my face, even went on a client call, only to get back to my office with a message from my roommate. When I called her back, she had told me that this man had been struck by lightning that morning on a golf course in Florida and was dead! That's right, he was struck by lightning.

How does this relate to the song? In the song, there is a line that says: "Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go..."

The first time I heard this song, my heart about stopped beating. It literally took my breath away as the tears immediately filled my eyes. I use this song as a reminder to me that He is looking out for me, that He does love me, and that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

So why, the post on an event that happened so many years ago? Not sure, except that my fingers started typing and my heart pounding as if I was supposed to write this right here, right now.

My heart has been scarred by a couple of events over this past year of my life and I have allowed them to consume me in so many ways. I allowed these scars to make me numb and shut me down spiritually. As you can imagine, this has not served me well in being a Godly wife, mom, or friend. I think as I was listening to the song tonight, it stung my heart just a little bit as I was reminded that God wants me, all of me. He wants my heart and He has my best interest at heart. With Him, I'm not alone. With Him, I become holy and find my happiness in Him and in His arms. I was reminded that He has a plan for me and I can't fulfill that plan feeling numb and being shut down! So now, I will be playing this song every single day as I pray for God to heal my scars and fill me with His love. I pray that He will draw me closer to Him and fill me with His love. He is completely indescribable!!! I have become a Martha instead of being a Mary and just sitting at the feet of Jesus. I am so busy with life and doing "good" things that I have not just sat down, simplified life and just rested in Him. I pray that you rest in Him....I long to just rest in Him.

Putting on Makeup

Ok....I go from not posting anything at all to posting 2x in one day. Be sure to read them both!

Ella had a girlfriend over the other day...her friend Haley. Haley bought play makeup and brought it with her for her and Ella to have little make overs! This was Ella's first experience with getting to put on makeup. She wasn't sure what to do with it at first!

I sat down with the girls at the kitchen table and we applied eyeshadow, blush and their favorite...lipstick. I think that was their fav because they could do it themselves. You know how independent they are at that age of 2! They also had rings to put on their little fingers and cute little heart clips to put in their hair!






Then when they were all prettied up, the went upstairs to Ella's room, shut the gate and played for 2 hours together. I'm being serious! They laughed and played. They pulled out every single toys in her room (luckily she doesn't have that many), put most of them in the crib, crawled in and played for about 45 minutes in there! Hey, I knew they were safe, they couldn't get into anything....why wouldn't I let them play in the crib???

Then we pulled out Ella's little sofa in her room and they laid down together and put a blanket over them. I'm thinking they would have stayed longer had I not had the camera in their face! But it was a moment that I couldn't resist. I have been so bad at taking just random fun pics of my kids later, that I had to take the opportunity at hand.

Pretending to take a nap!

Having girl talk already! I wonder if they were talking about boys?

Ok....what is Ella doing? See...she does have a little of her Daddy in her! ;-)

Having their afternoon tea!

And just plain cute!