News....

So...my friend Allison, finally got her photography business website up and running. She is such a good photographer. She did the photos that I posted back in February. Click here if you want to take a look. My banner is also one of her pictures.

If you live in the Dallas area she does wonderful family pictures, and she does birth sessions. I think this is just genius. She takes pictures of your birth, and the ones she has done have been just beautiful. I love her and I love her pictures.

Her website is: www.eleventhirtysiximages.com


I also have news of my own...

I decided to follow Allison's lead and take the plunge into internet commerce. I opened my Etsy shop for Made by Missi.

My site is: www.missilea.etsy.com

Check us both out! :)

Flashback Friday!

I am taking a break because it appears as though our server at work has gone down, so I am not able to continue the marathon working session that I have been doing for the last week. Darn! I will have to just post to my blog! :)

Lately I have been thinking about the kids when they were really little. This flashback is from when Emily was about a month old. Ben was such an easy baby, and Emily was the opposite. I remember being so tired all the time. These pictures were taken by me and daddy. It was a rare moment of calm with Emily. Actually, I should say that she was always calm as long as I was holding her. She just wanted me to hold her all the time, and I had other plans. I miss those days now. Back then I just wished for them to be over. Isn't that the way it always is? You think things are just horrible and you wish for something easier or better, and sometimes miss out on something wonderful. Well, this is exactly how it was for me with Emily's first year. I am sorry Emily. I love you little girl and I would not trade you for anything.

Trying to get a few minutes with the boy while I help Emily too.
Brotherly love...he decided to get down and try to make her smile.

Rare moment of calm when she was not in my arms.

Trying to read to Ben and you can see her kicking me...probably thinking...wait a minute...You are supposed to be holding me! :)

This was a picture I took of Molly and Ben when they had a little play date at our house. And yes I went over board with the crafts for two kids who were only 18 months old. But they had fun making little Halloween frames. And I had fun being with Ben for the afternoon and daddy took care of Emily. She screamed the whole time, poor daddy, she stopped immediately when I took her.

Favorite Blog of the Week

So I have been SWAMPED this week with a deadline for my real job. I have had to put the business on hold for a week, but next week it is back to it...marketing, opening my shop, etc. I also have a couple of orders that I have filled this week on top of the deadline.

Here is my favorite blog this week. She is funny and she has an Etsy shop too, for handmade cards that are BEAUTIFUL!

Enjoy!

Flashback Friday!

So I am actually getting this done on Friday! Here are some pics from Mother's Day weekend 2007. We had gone to visit Chris' granny in the Alzheimer's facility that she lives in. Look how little the kids look, and Emily had just started getting hair, and she was almost 2! Enjoy!

Favorite Blog of the Week

Okay, I need to be better about promoting my other favorite bloggers. I put up the new button and realized that the other link had been up there for like two weeks. YIKES! Go check out Today's Creative Blog. Have a creative Wednesday!

Sleepy Kiddos

So I forgot I had these pics from the drve back from Houston on Sunday. The kids had just spent four days with grandma and grandpa, with little to no sleep. We weren't even out of my parents subdivision yet, and Emily was out, it took Ben a couple more minutes, but by the time we got to the freeway this was our view in the back seat.

So....can you say...BLESSED???

I can! That's because I am blessed, and let me tell you about my latest blessing. Now I know SOME of you are thinking...did Chris give in and let her have another baby...WELL...no....but this blessing is almost as good...at least to me!

Let me first say...I am truly blessed. I lead a blessed life. Even during the darkest days I know that I am blessed. I know that the Lord is holding me up and most of the time carrying me, when I let Him. But I tend to take those blessings for granted even if I shouldn't. My latest big blessing is the start of this little business.

You see I really felt like the Lord had put this idea in my heart back in December. My friend Briana mentioned it to me out of the blue and I started to really think about it and pray about it. People had told me before that I should sell the stuff that I made, but I just never felt like I was good enough to do it. But I kept being pushed, so I took the plunge after Teacher Appreciation week. And it has gone better than I ever could have imagined that it would. This is due to the blessing of good friends, and the Lord.

I am working to fill about four orders right now. It is so much fun. I love making the stuff, and buying fabric, so this is the perfect little business for me. Tonight I am going to actually open the Etsy store. I will be promoting it tomorrow as soon as I get up and running. Meanwhile, here is the second order that I filled last night. :) I need to get Allison to come and take pictures for me, but you will get the idea.

Isn't this the cutest material you have ever seen? I was hoping the flowerson the ribbon wouldn't be too much...what do you think? I like it. I made this for my friend Cher.

Baby Mockingbird

This baby mockingbird had fallen from its nest and we found it on the street while we were riding our scooters outside. The momma was on the roof of the house next door watching to make sure we didn't hurt her baby. She dive bombed Emily and we watched it chase off at least one grackel. By the time we went back in the little bird was over by our landscaping in the front. We were very worried that the bird was not going to make it, but after we watched it hop across our yard we knew it would be fine!

Much needed respite...

Wednesday Grandma and Grandpa Marks provided me with a much needed respite from being a VERY tired mommy. I took the kids down to their house in Houston and they stayed for four days. Both kids were very excited to go. Emily most wanted to go to the "paint" place, aka the nail shop. Grandma certainly obliged and they got their nails done. Grandma and grandpa took them to the Children's Museum, and bought them scooters. All the way home they asked if they could ride their scooters when we got home. It was a beautiful evening and here are the pictures.

blurry...but childhood abandon nonetheless...i LOVE this picture...
Ben riding around the cul de sac

concentration....

here we go....

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Marks!

First order completed

So here is my first completed order. My friend Kristi ordered a crayon roll and bag for her daughter. I am very happy with how it turned out. I started working on a new outfit for sale. I hope to have that finished tomorrow. I think it is going to turn out VERY VERY cute... :)

Tell me what you think!

Stuff

I wanted to make one last post tonight. I am a little nervous because I just took a step toward selling my stuff. I set up a group on Facebook to do a little advertising. I only have pictures of about four things, coincidentally the stuff I made for teacher appreciation. I have a larger diaper bag and crayon rolls that I can take pictures of. I realize this is not a lot, but it is a start, and having a group will give me some accountability so that maybe I can actually get more accomplished and be on my way to setting up a real store with PayPal and all.

Next goal on its way....

Flashback Sunday...not quite the same ring...

So I didn't get this posted on Friday, but it is a flashback just the same. This is dedicated to Ben. Since he graduated on Friday I thought it would be fun to publish his Daddy's poem that he wrote for his birth announcements. We had them printed on cards to give out. And of course a gratuitous picture or two (that are out of order, sorry!). :)

Father to Son

A brand new life has just begun,

A life of bliss and joy.

For on this day we have a son,

A beaming, baby boy.

A brand new life has come to be:

A most stupendous time.

And now the days ahead of me

Are bound to be sublime.

A brand new life is in my hands

And I just hope to be

A worthy and a fitting man

So he will respect me.

A brand new life I state again

And we shall call him Benjamin.

Chirstopher Allan Cullum

Ben and daddy on the patio
Ben in the hospital

Ben on my first Mother's Day in May 2004.

Ben on Chris' first Father's Day, June 2004

Getting ready for manhood, the remote and a bottle, with belly hanging out and everything. Can't wait to show his future bride that one...at least she will know what she is in for! ;)

Pirates in Star Wars

So the boy wonder loves to tell stories. Who would have thought, right? I know he comes by it honestly and I do try to foster it. Life seems so crazy sometimes that it can be difficult. You want to say, no I can't sit down and write that out for you because I have to (fill in the blank here with any number of household chores, and sitting down and relaxing), but he will only be little once, right? So last Sunday instead of working on many different things that I needed to get done he and I wrote this story. While I was working he drew the pictures and when he was done we sat down and he told me the story and I wrote it. Yes, this is his story, not mine. Please excuse the handwriting. I have not handwritten anything in a long time. I used to write like a kindergarten teacher, but.....

Ben's Graduation

Last night was Ben's Pre-k graduation. This was a bittersweet night for me. Ben has been at the same school since he was six months old. He has two other boys that he has known all this time, and he has made many friends and loves his teachers. I am very sad and happy all at the same time. I know that he is growing up and that is a fact of life and I am so happy that he is a healthy, happy, smart boy. But I will tell you that if I could keep him a little boy forever that would be just fine with me.

At the ceremony the director made a PowerPoint presentation for us to watch with pictures of the kids through the years. My favorite part was really the music she used. I loved seeing all the pictures, but the music really touched me. My favorite was a song by Darius Rucker called "This Won't Last for Long". Oh my goodness, this song made me ball. Next year in May we will be watching Em graduate from Pre-K as well. This definitely won't last for long.

The graduate
Ben with Riley his best friend. Ben, Riley, and Alec have been together for five years.

Melanie giving Ben his diploma.

Ben standing with the other graduates while the rest of the boys got their diplomas.

Everyone but Riley.

All the graduates

Ben and Riley

Throwing their hats in the air.

After graduation we had a wonderful dinner with the other parents and the teachers provided by Spaghetti Warehouse. We love all the parents and the teachers. Ben ended up sitting with Riley, and Emily wanted to sit with Ms. Krystal. We decided that since it was a kid free dinner that it was date. :)

Friday's Gifts

For Friday I made lunch bags . We put their favorite drink and a $5.00 Chick-fil-a card inside the bag, and the little tags said "Teaching is your bag." These were actually my favorite gifts of the week, but from the feedback I got at the graduation last night, the writstlet keychains were the favorites of the week. Enjoy the pics.