Beene Family

Random Nothingness

Okay...so hopefully you remember that I even have a blog!

The Beene clan is all still doing just fine. Kids are ready for summer and I'm ready for them to be able to stay home alone so I don't have summer daycare costs. :) Anyone have an extra grandma they want to send to live with me so she can watch my kids? I'm quite sure the kids would love her. :) We've tried hiring a few people in the past to watch them over the summer, but that never seems to work. We've had everything from just not showing up, leaving them home alone while she ran to the store, to stealing. I'm afraid I'm stuck with daycare and the poor kids will have to get up early just about every morning of their summer vacation. I hate it for them.

JD is still in Little Rock making the commute home every 2 weeks, but we've been lucky this month and for May - he's been home or we've been in LR pretty much every weekend. Somethings gotta give! We have a few things in the works, but I'm not quite ready to let that cat out of the bag yet..mainly because we really aren't sure there really is a cat even in the bag. Makes no sense, I know...maybe it will soon. (even to me!)

We have our pool up and running so I assume all daylight hours here on out will be spent with me having panic attacks around the pool. Better stock up on my xanex. I love having our pool, but no matter how well the kids swim, there is always anxiety on my part. We had a near drowning a few years ago and that moment haunts me. I will never forget the look on that little boys face when I pulled him out. I feel like most accidents happen when there are multiple adults out there...mainly because someone always feels like someone else is watching. So, I've designated myself the full time lifeguard. I drive my family and friends CRAZY! I'll admit I'm a bit neurotic...but better safe than sorry. Now, after saying all that...I LOVE our pool. I hope that we always have one. I'm sure my neurotic tendencies will lessen as the kids get older. Well, I hope they do.

So, sorry to turn this into a lecture on pool safety....it's near and dear to my heart.

I've been thinking about making a switch to Blogger....pretty much decided I'm going to, just have to figure out how to move everything and of course find the time to do it.

Until then...mucho love to you all!

another one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHPNDjWw1m0

I'm quite sure all of you are tired of hearing about me, me, me!!!! I PROMISE that I'll get back to the cute kids and husband after this post!

But, after my last post about my photography passion I found this commercial from Kodak...in less than a minute this commercial summed up why and what I love about pictures...I always say I want to be able to look at a picture and feel your love or hear your laughter...this gave me goosebumps.

My "thing"

To say that I'm busy is an understatement. My babies were born so close to each other, I haven't had time for me in a VERY long time. Over the past few years as the kids (and JD) have become more independent, I've found that I have a need...a desire, to have something that is mine -something that when people think of me they think of this. I feel like I've found that with photography. I'm not sure when I became 'artistic'...but it's hit me. I even have that want to dress a little bohemian...just to get out of the dress pants office mode I've been in the last 10 years.

I am not a seasoned photographer, in fact, I am so uneducated about it, I dare not get into technical talk with anyone! But, I can't help but love the feeling I get when I have a few moments to go shoot and come up with ideas. I could (and have) sit for hours looking at websites and blogs of photographers I love, just to be inspired. In fact, the first thing I do every morning is check my 3 favorite sites to see if they updated their blogs.

I know my skills have improved. It's funny to look back when I first started when I thought those pictures weren't too bad and to see how far I've come technically and creatively. I want to make sure that as I learn I don't lose my creative side. I don't want to be so worried about it being "correct" that I lose the artistic side of it all. I think a lot of this will just come as second nature one day.

I'm not a sit and smile photographer - there is a time and place for those kind, but I want to see action, love, loss, happy, sad, in all my pictures. I want to hear you laugh or feel the love you have with the person you are with. There is nothing more precious to me than being able to look back and remember vividly and to still be able to FEEL those moments.

One of the problems with being the photographer in the family is that I'm never in the pictures...don't get me wrong, I have zero desire to be in them. I look much better on the other side of the camera, but this past weekend I took the kids out and to bribe them a little, I told them they could take a few pictures....Jake took this one and after a little cropping, I was able to come up with a picture that I think I will cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you Jakey!

11:11 - love time

JD and I got married on November 11 (11-11). From that moment on I found mysef always seeming to look at a digital clock when it was 11:11 - am or pm...doesn't really matter. I then decided this was our official "love time" a minute in time that always makes me smile.

For the past almost 14 years I try to catch it on the computer and send JD an email or a text with the time marked as such. When we are at home I will kiss him on the head or give him a hug and tell him it's "love time". Now, normally he just rolls his eyes at me, but lately he's been sending me texts, emails on marking our "love time"

I think he might just love me after all! :)

Am I the only dork out there that has silly little things like this with my spouse? Come on...share them with me!!

Hello!

I felt the need to blog...but here's the problem...I got nothing!

Actually I have a lot, but it's way too long to put here and I cannot imagine how it would sound. So, that leaves me...Mrs. Boring.

Kids and I have big plans for the weekend. We are headed to "Uncle" Vickie's for a family friendly Mardi Gras celebration. I'm already annoyed at the treasures (aka junk) that we will be bringing back. I'm not above stealing all the beads from my childrens room while they are sleeping and putting them in the trash. But, that will be our little secret, k? :)

Plan on coming home Sunday to clean house...and boy does it need it. I have been one lazy mommy this week. There is so much laundry folded and sorted on my chair and ottoman that you can't even see it. I just haven't had the energy to mess with it. This working for a living thing stinks. I keep hoping we hit the lottery or once I start doing pictures full time I will make so much money that a housekeeper will be no big deal. Until then...I'll keep dreaming.

Our daddy JD was supposed to come in this weekend, but that plan was derailed by routine maintenance that involves down time at the hospital...BOO! We have been living apart for a year (as of last week) and it's getting old! There is no telling how many miles we have driven with our every other weekend visit routine from LR to Dallas. I'm sure most people think we have seperated and just not given the offical word, but I assure you that love is aplenty in the Beene house. We more than anyone are ready to be together. Thank goodness for for unlimited text and free mobile to mobile.

I'm pretty sure I will overload the blog with pictures from our weekend, so until then...Happy Friday and have a good weekend!

Back in the saddle again

Hello my friends...I have dropped the bogging ball, haven't I?? :) We have had an eventful month and I've been trying to catch my breath.

As most of you know, all three kiddos had the flu...and were pitiful! There is nothing worse than sick kids. We were home for about a week loading up on meds and fluids.

This was pretty much how everyone looked the entire time. Taylor never moved from that spot, Jake pretty much lived in my bed, and Lauren was laid out where ever she could find a spot.

Everyone is back to 100% thank goodness. I will admit that since the kids felt terrible they were awfully quiet. In between doses of meds I was able to get a few projects done. The desk in my entry way I have had since I was very young. I believe at one time it belonged to my grandmother and ended up in my childhood bedroom. For quite some time I've had it in my girls room but had a little epiphany that if I painted it, that would make an awesomee entry way desk...so I did it...and I'm just overjoyed at the results.

 

I will have to get my handy husband to put an electrical outlet there, but for now I still love it!

 

Just to be funny I was bombarding JD with pictures of all my projects I was accomplishing during my mini sick kid vacation. I managed to rack leaves in the back yard and driveway, clean off the back patio, organized the laundry room, and clean the oven until it shined. I told him this was what SAHM's do with all their time. I don't think he believed me. :)

 

This past weekend we went to my nephew's 1st birthday party. Believe me when I say a fun time was had by all. I think at times the kids forgot why we were there...they were too busy having fun.

Daddy and Uncle E took the kids for an adventure in Uncle Brad's ranch jeep. Uncle Brad lives on a beautiful piece of land and the kids love to go roam around. It's nice to be able to let them go explore and not worry.

 

Little Miss Leighton came and spent the weekend with us. She's part Beene so she fits right in as the 4th sibling.

 

Lu has obviously been missing her daddy...I was glad I caught this shot.

 

 

Here is our birthday boy...Rex. I know I'm related - but this little boy has the BEST temperament of any baby I have EVER met. There's rarely a moment you won't catch him smiling. He makes me happy just to be around him.

 

 

I am happy to report that in a previous post I had asked you to pray for baby Harper...well she is doing GREAT. She just went home this past week and from what I've read on Kelly's blog - she is keeping momma busy!

 

I've managed to go all over the place with this post...but I had to update you on a lot! I'll try to be a little more structured next time.

 

 

My husband Rocks

There is a group of blogs that do My Husband Rocks every Friday.

I found this on a blog I read...so thank you Erica! I was looking for some new material.

 

1. Where did you meet?
Through a friend...my friend was dating his friend.

2. How long did you date b/f you were married?
4 years

3. What does he do that surprises you?
How handy he is...that man can fix just about anything.

4. What is your favorite quality of his?
How great of a daddy he is. He could write a book.

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
Daddy...skip over this answer...When I was the young age of 17 it was his muscles...wowzers...now, I love his legs...that boy has some great legs.

6. Does he have a nickname for you?

Nub - something to do with my nose.

7. What is his favorite food?
I would say mexican, but we can narrow that down to Taco Bell. HA!

8. What is his favorite sport?
Golf

9. When and where was your first kiss?
At Christy's house...he was smooth! HA!

10. What do you like to do together?
these days, we will take whatever we can get...but overall we are really boring and enjoy the movies. :)

11. Do you have any children?
2 girls and the clone boy.

12. Does he have a hidden talent?
His whit...it's funny most of the time although there are times it's used against me.

13. Who said "I love you" first?
Me - in the parking lot of a....TACO BELL! We pretty much fell in love over chicken tacos and big beef burrito supreme.


14. What is his favorite type of music?
Grungy

15. What do you admire most about him?
His determination.

16. Do you think he will read this?
who knows...I think his following here is hit or miss.

Prayers for Harper

As odd as it may seem...please say a few prayers for a woman, her husband, and their brand new baby girl - whom I have never met. I stumbled upon Kelly's Korner through my friend Leigh Ann's blog. I was instantly taken in by her writing, her faith, and her excitement for her baby girl Harper that was due in January. I've watched her almost boil over with excitement the last few months and I think I become just "almost" as excited as she was and I was ready to see Harper! I just knew she and her husband Scott were going to be great parents.

Yesterday Miss Harper was born and unfortunately they found out she has pneumonia. They have taken her from the NW Arkansas hospital to a hospital in Tulsa with a more advanced NICU. I'm amazed at her writing and her confidence in the Lord taking care of the situation. My heart ached this morning when I woke up and went to my computer anxious to see that beautiful baby girl only to read of the overnight happenings. So, please keep Kelly, Scott, and Harper in your prayers. I have no doubt that this family will be fine, but a few prayers never hurt anyone. :)

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

Better late than never...

Well, I'm a little late to the Christmas post party...everyone seems to have told their stories and posted pictures and moved on to 2009. NOT ME! I'm still stuck in 2008 trying to catch up!

I wish I had an exciting story to tell. But, it was just  your typical family Christmas. I seemed to be in a funk most of it...not sure why, but the Christmas bug never really hit me this year the way it normally does.

I was supposed to have the week of Christmas off, but as luck would have it we had a major project that had to be completed, so guess where I was the first day of my so called vacation...you were wrong if you guessed home, shopping, or anything else other than at my desk! At first I thought...okay it won't be so bad -I'll just be up there for a few hours. So, I loaded the kids up and we came in a little late and started what I hoped to be a day that would be finished by lunch time. NOPE...we were here until 8pm. Yep, you heard me right...8pm. That was pretty much the worst start to a vacation I've ever had! LOL!

Anyway, the kids have had a great few weeks off. JD was able to come in Tuesday night and stay until Sunday. It was nice to have him home for more than just a weekend. I have a no travel policy for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so we were home enjoying doing a lot of nothing!

The kids were in rare form Christmas Eve...you know momma had to take out the camera and capture the moments that will embarrass them in a few years.

We had Santa's milk, cookies and magic reindeer hay all ready

Were any of you aware that Santa was a Longhorn? Jake informed me of this while I was setting everything out....that boy is brainwashed!

We all started towards bed and Jake did his best fake sleeping just in case Santa was close. I will admit, he is doing a darn fine job.

The girls were just too excited to fake it...they were awake for another hour!

After what seemed like hours upon hours Santa was finally able to make his stop at our house. The kids racked up as usual. They were happy!

 

Memaw and Pawpo got the kids their own iPods. If you don't know my family very well, you have to understand that my kids LOVE music. Not the kiddie music, REAL music. Lauren knows every word to any ABBA song you can name. She will be star one day and take care of her momma.

 

 

After all the presents we headed over to 'Uncle' Sissy and Uncle E's house for lunch. After all the food and excitement, I was ready for a nap! I guess the day was tough for everyone because about 10 minutes after I had sent the girls to bed, I found them sound asleep with their sleeping masks Santa had brought.

 

You will notice there is no picture of Jake sleeping soundly...that's because he played video games with his daddy until 3am!

 

When JD left to go back to Arkansas on Sunday Lauren and Jake went with him. This left Taylor and I to have a girls week! We have been to movies, shopping, eating out, giving each other pedicures...fun, fun, fun. She's been coming to work with me and I think her favorite part of the day has been "lunch hour"

 

On Tuesday night we went and saw Marley and Me. People, I have no idea if I should tell you to go see this or not...The first part of the movie was a little slow to me, but then it kicked into overdrive...HILARIOUS! Then there is the end. I cried for 2 hours after we left the theater. I am not kidding! If you have ever had a pet that you loved then this will break your heart. Take tissues...lots of tissues...like a whole box! Since this tugged at my heart, Gabby (our Cocker Spaniel) has been overly loved this week.

 

If I told you my New Years Eve plans, I would bore you to death, so I'll spare you the detailed version. All you need to know is that it was Me, Taylor and my niece Hannah....and we went to IHop...see...I told you it was nothing exciting. :)

 

All in all we had a fun time over the holidays. Everyone is dreading going back to school....what I wouldn't give to skip work and go back to school!

 

Here's to a great 2009!!!!

Our family

Normally I am the one taking pictures, but I asked (aka conned) my sister in law into snapping a few of us this past weekend. Of course since I wasn't there to view exactly what face the kids were giving it's not your normal picture, but the more I looked at them the more I realized it's just their personalities shining through. Lulu looks as though she's going to pass out from having to stand for more than 3 minutes, Taylor is just trying to do what she's told, and Jake is SO OVER getting pictures taken.

 

But the funniest, most unexpected picture came from JD and his brother. I think as a funny Christmas present, I'm going to give this as an 8x10 to their dad for his desk! He would be so proud! HA!