My Beautiful Days

We had food ... Lots of food ... Couldn't capture all of the guests in one photo ... But why not keep trying?! :) My amazing husband and wonderful brother-in-law working on clean up! Chris and Archit are "cleaning up" too! :) My crazy beautiful niece! My crazy beautiful baby! My crazy beautiful daughter, niece and baby! :) The day was wonderful, the food was amazing, my house was full ... as were our tummies!  Since then, I have been enjoying leftovers - and all that remains of our 20lb turkey is just a couple of drumsticks! :) How was your Thanksgiving?!

For those of you who regularly participate in Mama M's blog hop, you might be wondering why I am choosing to do her Five Question Friday on a Wednesday?!  Well, the reason is nothing other than I like the questions and I was too busy on Friday to do it! :)  So, without further adieu, Five Question Friday Wednesday! 1.  Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood? Not necessarily just one song, but rather a collection of artists that I used to listen to in High School ... Five Iron Frenzy, All Star United, Jars of Clay, D.C. Talk ... not that I don't like to listen to them now, but my music selection is usually chosen by what is playing on the Christian station on our satellite dish! :) 2. A re you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one? I think if there were a tree farm around here where my family could go to together and choose out a tree and cut it down, I would be a real tree kind of girl.  However, that just ...

While I still feel very indifferent regarding celebrating Halloween (or maybe it's that I have yet to really establish what it is exactly that I feel), I couldn't resist putting Ethan in this cute little Bumble Bee costume that my big kids have formerly worn.  Along with that, I shamelessly couldn't resist sharing these pictures with you: While the costume didn't stay on him very long (due to his repeated attempts to eat it off of his face!), we thought he looked pretty adorable in it!  We also caught a little video of him after the costume had come off and I thought you would enjoy seeing a little bit of this little love's personality ... Untitled from Kami Rude on Vimeo .

This past weekend, I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend the Women of Faith Imagine Tour with friends and family, and it truly was a transforming weekend!  We were awesomely blessed to have great seats on the floor, which was a surprise that came only a week before the conference when someone from WOF called to tell me that they had changed my seats from the second deck (can anybody say "nosebleeds"?!) to floor seating.  Thank You God! :) This is their jumbo-tron that hung directly above the stage. The best thing about this Women of Faith conference is that I had the privilege of sharing it with people that I love!  I was joined by my mom (Sharon), my step-sister (Angela), my sister (Tanya), my friend (Trish) and my sweet blogging friend (Kristin) and her mom (Kathy) who I was able to meet for the very first time in real life this weekend! From left to right: Angela, mom (Sharon), Tanya, me, Trish, Kristin and Kathy. The event started out with Sheila Walsh, ...

Consider my title a forewarning - this post is filled with grossness! :) For as long as I can remember I have had a problem with vomit.   Problem  is putting it lightly.  If I hear it, smell it, see it .. well, that usually results in me producing it.  I've dealt with it from my kids and gotten myself elbow deep to clean it up - not because I wanted to, but because I was the only adult available to clean it.  Regardless, I don't like it!!! So today, I was getting Ethan dressed and ready for the day.  Immediately afterward, I picked him up and held him over my head and was giggling with him when it happened.  As he was looking downward at me and I was looking upward at him he puked.   Not only did he puke, but because I was talking to him, the puke landed in my mouth!!!   I promptly set him on the floor, grabbed a baby wipe (or ten!) and proceeded to try to clean my mouth.  Thankfully, the mama in me kicked in and I took the time t...

Imagine, if you will, a peaceful retreat.  One place that you can go to get away from the insanity of life.  One stop for silence.  I have this peaceful retreat inside my home, only it's not somewhere you would normally think of to fulfill this description; you see, my peaceful hide-away is my baby's bedroom!  I can't deny, though, that looking into the room from the doorway tempts me to sit and let the cares of this life fly away as I rock back and forth in this most comfortable chair: As I sit in this chair, I smile as I think of all the times that I have played with Ethan in here!  Looking to my left, I see his dresser and changing table and just have to giggle when I think of how frequently he tries to pull down the wall hanging every single time that I am changing his diaper! As I look to my right, I see his beautiful crib - his place of rest.  I love the blue and brown combination in this room, and his crib and wall hangings tie it together perfe...

This summer we've been ... Drawing on the sidewalks ... Chasing snapping turtles out of our garage ... Giving Colin the freedom to dress himself ... Giggling as we catch our babysitter (Claire) asleep with Ethan ... Changed lots and lots of diapers ... Gone shopping (yes, that sign behind me actually IS accurate!) ... Played with Ethan in a box ... Dressed up for church ... Snuggled with our brothers ... Hosted dinner parties galore ... Participated in lots and lots of goofyness ... And got caught loving on my honey! It's certainly been a busy summer in our house!  How is your summer going?

I'm starting a new feature on my blog which I'm titling "A Peek Into My Home".  You see, there are so many aspects about my home that I just love and I want to be able to share these places with you.  So, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some time with me as we begin a tour of my home, starting with our balcony. Right off of our master bedroom are these beautiful french doors that lead out to a private retreat where Ethan is happily playing! Ethan also enjoys seeing his reflection in the glass of the french doors! :) There are two chairs and a table out there, as to sit and enjoy the view of the lake and the sounds of the woods while sipping on a beverage of choice. One side of our balcony is empty, holding limitless possibilities as to what to put there (perhaps a comfortable chaise lounge?!). The balcony is a haven, a place to relax with friends or family ... or (for our boys) to be shirtless, just like dad! The reason that my first home feature is my balcony...