Around every corner...

there is a mess.

I didn't realize how the puppy has taken OVER this house...

but maybe she has..

{I KNOW, she looks so innocent, doesn't she?!}

But seriously...

why must one dog have so many toys

IN 

EVERY 

ROOM

sun room

living room

laundry room

This keeps her off the furniture...

apparently when all else fails, a little fear of loud noises can be used to your advantage

She's even started a collection of sticks on the back porch

I KNOW, 

she still looks so innocent, doesn't she?

But really, 

you have to watch your stuff around here. 

Scarlett's favorite chews this week:

{old shoe, soda bottle, peach tea cap, tennis ball, "puppy-proof" toy steering wheel}

Emma discovered Scarlett chewing her small selection of flip flops

 and quickly whisked them away

And, just to be safe, Scarlett now resides behind this gate when no one is watching her...

She really is a lot of fun to have around the house

and you can't help but laugh at her...

{Come on...I KNOW you just laughed!}

"A day without laughter is a day wasted."
Charlie Chaplin

Spring giveaway...

I already admitted that I may or may not have addictive tenancies towards Pinterest.  

{Doesn't that sound so much better than actually admitting the obvious?!}

So this morning {when I accidently gave in to the craving} I opened up to find this

and was pleasantly surprised to find it was part of a giveaway over at 

Inspired by Charm

It snowed here yesterday, and although it looks beautiful this morning

a bucket full of tulips hanging on my front door would be a much more welcome sight...

So I entered to win it...

and you can too.

And if on some rotten luck you or I don't win,

we can purchase our own bucket of tulips on etsy at

EverBloomingOriginal

Go check out the giveaway here...and if you win, let me know!

Soap and Pinsomnia...

I was just introduced to a website.  

It may or may not have been around for a while

 and perhaps I am behind the times...

nevertheless, 

I like it

and I think I will be using it often...

We'll be introducing it to our youth tomorrow night

in hopes that they, too, will use it

It's a Bible reading tool-

and we all need tools...

because sometimes we just get stuck in a rut

and need a little kick start.

SO check it out...

you might like it, too.

It's called SOAP

{but not this kind}

It's an acronym...

S-Scripture

O-Observation

A-Application

P-Prayer

 Basically it's an online outlet to take notes and record your thoughts as you read through the Scriptures.  

It's private, no one else reads your thoughts.  Check it out here...you might like it.

Or read about it here, it explains it better than I just did!

...

{Random transition}

I could very easily become addicted to Pinterest

It happens quite innocently.  

You find a recipe you want to save

you pin it to your board

and then
JUST LIKE THAT

you

are

 hooked

because now you are looking at the recipe that someone ELSE pinned

and that looks good, too.

So you pin that one...

and the one under it

and the one on your friend's page....

You didn't mean for it to happen...

but it did..

exactly...

But, in my own defense, 

my family needs to try this

{zucchini boats}

and this

{bloomin onion}

and this

{Chipotle Burrito Bowl}

And thanks to Pinterest, 

they can...

This is what's up...

{Nick, swearing into the Marines}

Scarlett is getting bigger by the second

and badd-er by the minute.

my house is infested with doggie-discipline books

one on barking

one on submission

one on what's going through her head

one on how to stay the course and not throw in the towel

...and a schedule for puppy school at PetSmart

Yesterday she ate a shoe lace and a pair of sweatpants and peed on the floor...

but only because ONE of us {a-hem, Nick}

forgot she can't be alone for very long and turned his back-

they are BOTH on probation.

Alex is continuing to seek direction for his future,

Emma just attended a friend's "Quinceanera",

which was new to us and an interesting taste of her friend's culture...

{also, like a small wedding-ish celebration that my budget is glad we don't participate in.}

Last week it got warm enough outside to stand over this

It tasted like summer...

Even though when I turned around,

it looked nothing at all like summer.

It's an interesting thing that is happening over here...

we're busy, 

and yet, not...

some of the busyness is just in enjoying each other's presence

and reveling in the here and now...

{that's my perspective, the kids might just say they're sick of being together}

For Christmas, my parents' gift to the whole family was this

which will be happening in less than a month...

I don't think I've ever been so ready to get out of Dodge as I am now.

I'm craving warm sun

ocean breeze

maid service

food prepared by a chef 

{who's name tag does not spell out T-e-r-r-i}

But mostly, I'm just excited for all 13 of us to be together for a week....

where it's warm..

The media is trying pretty hard to put a damper on my enthusiasm.

Every day it seems there's a Cruise liner in the spotlight...

today's news went like this:

"3 Cruise Ships Disinfected After Norovirus"

Seriously,

knock it off!

No gastrointestinal illness will slow me down..

Not even the threat of vomiting, diahrrea or nausea will damper my enthusiasm..

No ship run aground will deter me from collecting my tankini and flip flops off the closet floor..

So just enough already..

if you don't have something nice to print, 

then just don't print anything, okay?

"It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."
-Sir Francis Drake

{Here, here, Sir Drake}