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books & glasses

05.01.13

His aunt Lesley snagged an incredible book at the flea market for him. Full of illustrations – nature and random Chinese images. A perfect combination for my boy. I try to keep tracing paper on hand for the kids (and myself). It is one of those items that if it wasn’t on hand I’d probably never think to buy any because I wouldn’t know if I’d use it. But having it on hand, it gets used all the time. He has been copying page after page. I got a suggestion on Instagram to copy the the tracing paper onto copy paper and then he can color it in. So, that is the next step. His piles of ‘to be copied’ pages keeps growing.

One of the things I like most about tracing paper is the confidence it can build. He has all kinds of nature drawing books, but he can get frustrated when his pictures don’t look just like the books. I wouldn’t let him use tracing paper all the time, but it makes for really great practice. I remember having art teachers that would have us copy the work of great artists to get a feel for the various ways art is created.

I didn’t want to interrupt his drawing, so I never asked him to look up. But, I wanted you to see his new glasses.

His glasses make him look so much older. Therefore, I do not like them. Well, I do like them, but I don’t like that he aged overnight.

Cutie Patootie and his bucket of animals 5 years ago. He sure was a mess of fun at age 2. But 7 is pretty amazing…getting older can be great too.

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Nini~ - He sure is handsome in his new glasses. You’re right, he looks older and smarter!!

LeighP - Sooo cute! The glasses are cool. Those round cheeks still say “little boy”.

Jessica P - Tracing paper! It would never have crossed my mind, but what a great thing to keep on hand! And mister man looks so good in his new specs. What a handsome guy!

Katie - Sorry to break your heart and REALLY age him, but that second to last photo could be a high school/college boy with the striped shirt and khakis. :) He is very distinguished in those glasses!

Sharon - Wow, where did you find that Chiapas shirt? My dad was born there and played soccer in Mexico…that would be a great to have. If you remember can you let me know? (They do grow up way too fast…good reason to keep having more lol)

Victoria / Justice Pirate - They do make him look sophisticated, those glasses. Aw. I’m glad that he is able to see better!

the inadvertent farmer - “a mess of fun”…so perfect for little boys, lol! Have a wonderful Wednesday. Kim

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Oh, what a cool idea to copy the traced paper so it can be colored! Love that!

Mandy Byron - He is so precious! Adorable in his glasses and I love that he is so into nature. The tracing paper is a great idea. My art teachers never had us do that! I wish they had though. I would say it really would teach you quite a bit. Thanks!

Eva - I’d say he’s got a pretty awesome aunt. And tracing paper is pretty neat, as is the advice to copy the images onto copy paper for coloring purposes. Oh, and I love that first shot of FireCracker all dolled up in the background.

Elizabeth - Oh, you can totally see the man he is going to be! Handsome!

Cristina - First of all I LOVE his t-shirt. My grandma lives in Chiapas and I was just visiting her there a couple of years ago. I love that states so much.
I also really like the idea of the tracing paper-thank you for that.
Such a cute kid with or without glasses- but I know the feeling of “mykidlookssoold” and I hate it too.

Christian T - Haircuts also make my boys look so much older and I DON’T LIKE IT ONE BIT! :) I feel your pain.

Marty Ann - What a cutie, love the way your kids are into art, love love love it. Could you let us know what the name and author of the book is? It looks awesome. Have a Blessed Day

Tracy a - Those glasses are so charming! Man you have got one, er 5, cute kid(s)!

Zhanna - I like the idea of tracing paper. I can’t believe I never thought of that. My oldest daughter loves to draw and is actually quite passionate about art. I think tracing paper will give her a better idea on how something is created. So thanks for the inspiration.

And oh age 7 is definitely bittersweet. He is absolutely handsome with those glasses!

sarah kuhn - i love your lifestyle photography. As an aspiring photo-journalist, its super cool to see mom’s preserving their own personal history.

oona pohjolainen - This truly is a feel- good blog, lovely! The artwork in your blog title is amazing, by the way, I wonder who created it?
xo, Oona (adventuredarling.blogspot.fi)

AshleyAnn - Oona, thanks! The artwork is by Katie Daisy http://www.etsy.com/shop/thewheatfield

kate - O my…. I feel like every word you write comes from my heart.weird? but have to come outta hiding for today. My now seven year old had to have glasses for a few years before surgery a few months ago and O my aching heart to see him grow up overnight with 4 eyes!:) does it ever get easier to see children grow up?– Im on 6th child ( hes almost 2) and everyday I wish time would S L O W its roll! thank you for your spirit and sharing your family:)

i like wood crates

04.30.13

There was a period of time that whenever I left the house I returned with a chair. Never a new or nice chair. It was always a random cheap find…a chair that needed a little tender loving care, but full of its own character. We have ran out of room for chairs, and without realizing it I moved on to wood crates. I use them for everything. Everything looks prettier in a vintage wood crate, right?

Most of the time I have them sitting with stuff in them, but recently I added a few to the wall. This is not my idea, I’ve seen similar things all over online. Nonetheless, I thought I’d share my two new happy crates.

P.S. I never pay more than $10.00 for one of these….I just wait until I find them for cheap and scoop them up!

See that little post it note. My youngest son made it a few years ago. It is him giving me a hug. One of my very favorite pieces of decoration in the whole house.

And a couple others I already had pictures of, (there are plenty more around the house too!)

Holding books * Holding fabric

You can see the teal one in the background, it holds all the little things I need to remember to do…but usually forget.

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Ellen @ Black and White and Loved All Over - Lovely! I also am digging on that soup can/pencil holder.

Necole @seriouslysassymama - I lucked out and found a wood crate in the trash at my neighbors house. I painted it yellow, and it is what I planted my herbs in.

Katy @ RICE - This post made me smile :) We have an outbuilding that is full of random, cheap chairs I’ve collected, that are waiting to be given some TLC. And we have more crates that I can count on both hands in my house. You’re right. Everything looks prettier in a crate. An apple orchard closed near us and I was able to get a bunch of apple crates at $5 a piece! I love crates too! :)

Jacqueline - Last week I bought a cute green wooden chair with no seat. When my twelve year old saw it and I was excitedly telling her I only paid four dollars, she looked at me very seriously and said “Mom, I think you may have gotten taken on this one”. I will never be able to look at that chair without smiling!

Alet - I saw (fell in love) with one the weekend, at a farmers market. But because I couldn’t give my husband an immediate answer as to what I want to do with it – I wasn’t allowed to buy it.

I’m sure I can still find one on the next market day?

Jill - I love all the happy red around your house!!! Boxes are pefectamente’!

Alice H - Where do you go to find the old crates? Also, where did you get the jumbo clothespin?

Thanks,
Alice

Allison - Hi Ashley! We usually have a bunch of wood palates at my office that we throw away. If you are interested please let me know and I will just give them to you for free! Message me if interested.

maggie - Where do you find your crates? I’ve been wanting some but have no idea where to look! :)

Megan - @Alice H – I believe Joanne ETC has the giant clothes pin.

Ashley, I have to admit that I totally copied your crate shelves after seeing them in last week’s post on A Beautiful Mess. I found two awesome ones on eBay and they are now hanging in the kitchen of my 1950′s ranch. They are perfect!! Thank you for sharing your home with all of us (and letting us totally rip off your ideas :) Don’t worry, I have already been giving your blog a shout out to all my friends who comment on my new shelves.

Misty Smith - I love crates as well, I was lucky enough to win 6 at an auction for $5 all together (It helps I was the only girl at that part of the auction, they all know my family and knew I wanted the crates haha) I use the ones that still have the bottle holders in them for my sons small trains and cars, he loves it!!

bethblntn - Oh my goodness I wish I could fill my house with these. Every time I’m out I see them and am SO close to grabbing it and taking it home. Then I see the price tag. Here I have yet to find one less then $30. yeah, NOT spending $30 on a wooden crate. *sigh* maybe one day. Its also You can find such a good deal. Way to go!

Cheryl - I love crates too! I have one in my kitchen to hold trash bags. It’s just the right size to hide the giant Costco box that the bags come in. I have them in my craft room to store and display all sorts of things. My very first crate was a “Borden’s” crate, and I use it to store magazines in the living room. I’m always on the lookout for them, but they’ve gotten pretty expensive.

Victoria / Justice Pirate - These are beautiful. . now if only I could find wood crates. . .whenever I find them online people sell them for $30 and then whenever I find them in person they are broken or flimsy.

mara - i just love this post! the post-it pic just melts my heart and reminds me of the one my daughter drew of us cuddling together: http://www.marawolff.com/blog/2013/4/11/daily-schedule

thank you for sharing! as always your blog is beautiful as are your images.

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - LOL – this is too funny – there must be something in the air! I have a draft post saved about crates – :) sigh! I am jonesing for a yellow Pepsi one – cheapest I’ve found so far was $24.00.

It is out there somewhere for me – I’m keeping my eyes peeled!

Carissa - I haven’t found any for that cheap! But I’m keeping my eye out now. I definitely need more chairs too, oh and that filing cabinet!

Lex - YES! Me too. Husband left for the weekend, and I did a little re-setting in the house. I now have a nightstand and a shoe rack that are both wooden crates. :)

amanda - for the love of chairs.
on the side of the road .. at the thrift store, why is there a need to buy them, ALL THE TIME?? I buy to many chairs too. At our creative studio I was told I could no longer bring any more chairs in…. Glad you found a new love. Wood crates are just as awesome.

Sarah - Wood crates just do it. All a desk or a room needs sometimes is something vintage to put it together.

sandi - Love your blog you are so creative!

dates, soccer, ER, the vet, coop {our weekend}

04.29.13

 

We really value slow weekends, but sometimes slow just isn’t going to happen. This weekend was the opposite of slow. These are all with my iPhone because I all my dslr memory cards are full. I haven’t done extra backups on all my cards in months so I don’t want to delete anything. Gotta get that done…

She has been watching her siblings do forward rolls and is bound and determined to master it too.

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For those that wondered, the boys were begging for haircuts – they like it short. I’ve tried to cut it in the past to scissor cut, but I’m really only good at buzz cuts. Also, I don’t mind the Cherry Berry rewards after the cuts! Yes, the youngest boy is in cleats. I have no idea why. Handsome guys.

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She is the tiniest little ball of cuddly when she sleeps. The princess stuff is all her big sister’s doing.

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Since the boys and I went to Cherry Berry, FireCracker wanted a date with her dad. She carefully thought out every detail of her outfit. I gave Chris a heads up on how much time and consideration went into her choices before he saw her. He is such a great dad. Just doted on her and encouraged her. And then took her out on their date.

****

While they were on their date, I fell. Tried to ignore the pain and cheer at my son’s soccer game. Later that night I went to the ER.

It would be a way cooler story if I said I fell while doing something awesome – like standing on a roof. But, no…I did not fall off the roof. Evidently I can stand on a coop roof with a nail gun, but I can’t make it down the three steps in the garage. Total wipeout. My fall was slowed a bit when my head hit my hanging punching bag, then I caught the rest of myself with my hand. Sprained wrist. Hurts like crazy, but no big deal.

The next morning was more soccer….and it was cold!

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At my grandpa’s we gathered goods for smoothies and salads this week.

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FireCracker thinks the coop would be a perfect house for her…this is her doing the ‘chicken dance’. The coop isn’t finished, but we were able to get one area secure enough that we could move the chickens inside. My oldest had to tell them goodnight one last time before he locked them in….

We also had speech therapy and a visit to our wonderful vet because Poppy got super sick. I am ready for slow….very, very, very slow!

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kimberly oyler - bummer about the wrist. at least your hair looked good! annnnnd i love little one’s coat. does it come in my size?

Lori - Oh my…that pic of Little One sleeping. So sweet!
FireCracker’s date with Daddy and her outfit. Love it!
Handsome boys and haircuts.
So, so sorry about your wrist. No fun. Hope it heals quickly for you.

emmybrown - so many awesome photos! Glad your wrist isn’t too bad and your desire for a better story is hilarious!

alamama - you guys are doing such a fantastic job raising your kids. hope your week slows down.

the whyte house - those are some awesome haircuts, boys!!

we did the cold soccer games in wichita, too. my poor mom only came to town to watch cause it was suppose to be warmer for them! oops.

my husband started taking our daughter on dates last year before he deployed. all she would talk about was when daddy came home she wanted to go on a date with him. i can imagine how excited firecracker was to go on hers!

sorry about the wrist! we went through a similar mess..the husband tore a ligament in his ankle from constant up and down while laying flooring(he had an old soccer injury that never healed properly, too). a cop hurting his ankle while laying flooring doesn’t fly at work, so it turned into saving his dog from a fire. lol.

kelleyn - Way to go on finishing the chicken coop! Sorry about your wrist. I hope it doesn’t hurt for too long.

Lex - I must admit I laughed out loud at the mental image of your face catching the hanging punching bag … and then I read it to Husband and we both laughed out loud. :) Glad you’re okay.

Mariah - Ack! Two years ago I fell down the three steps into my garage TOO! (Actually… I think it’s two steps. I win.) But I messed up my ankle. not my wrist. I’m super graceful.

Hannahbelle - You’re livin’ my dream, lady — chicken coop, fresh garden food, and a posse of kiddos! I love it! I hope your hand heals quickly!

Arina - Hey Ashley
My first time responding to any blog, i thought its about time since i have been following your posts for over a year! Thank you for sharing your heart and your home, i tried the other day to explain to my husband why i am so absorbed in your blog but i just cant explain! I love seeing your children and what they are up to, maybe they remind me of the Famous Five books i loved as a kid? I dont know, but i just cant wait till your post comes through every day (in france so i get it during the morning, early afternoon usually) and feeling quite disappointed when i forget its weekend and there wont be one! Lol
Ps. I saw this website and thought your boys might get a kick out of it: http://en.akinator.com/ its a “genie” that asks 20 questions to figure out what fictional character you are thinking of, its fun.

Hope your week is a calm spring day

A

Joan R. - You find beauty in every detail of life and love your babies so much….it really shows!

Although my baby is now 18, I still enjoy reading your blog about the special times you spend with your kiddos. If anything, it makes me reminisce about his youth and our special times.

Thanks for sharing!

Joan in KY

the inadvertent farmer - Broke my arm building a treehouse for my boys…they promptly put up a ‘not girls allowed’ sign as soon as it was done. Hope you wrist is better soon and life hands you a slow day or two…or 10! Kim

Wendi - Hi Ashley,
My husband and I have been reading “Evangeline” by Longfellow. Our adopted daughters name is Evangeline so it seems appropriate that there would be a connection there. Wondering if that is where the title of your blog came from?

Blog Follower,
Wendi Kuhl

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Thinking of you and hoping your wrist feels better soon!

giozi - Beautiful pictures. Your children are each day more beautiful and cutes.
Thanks for your kind words. God is give me strength.
I was watching Paul Washer in youtube. He has been a great discovery for me.

Jenny B. - So sorry about your wrist! :( And sorry you don’t have a cool story to go with it. :) Can I just say (I may have said it before), that I think Little One looks like Chris? Some friends of mine at church have adopted their own little one, and I thought their son looked like his daddy too. It may be all in my head, but it is what it is! :)

elizabeth H - wow!! busy weekend indeed. i *LIVE* for quiet, settled weekends w. my family around.
i fell 12 days before giving birth to my 6th child… just walking along the sidewalk & tripped on an uneven slab. I broke a finger & torn multiple ligaments…i cried like a big baby! it hurt TREMENDOUSLY!! i’m SO sorry about your wrist~praying for complete healing.
Your boys look SO BIG!
Firecracker,Oh i adore her! LOVE those socks & father/daughter dates :0)
PS> i spy something lovely in the background behind Little One in that first picture…PLEASE SHARE!!

Nicole A. - I was just showing my husband the picture of your husband and Firecracker on their date and explaining how you refer to her as “firecracker” on your blog. We were laughing together because our 2 year old daughter could easily receive the same name and would, in a second, pull together the craziest outfit, that had seemingly been thought out in her head for months, if she were told that she got to go on a date with dad. It is just the sweetest! While all this was going on, my son (3 years) asked, “Mom, can Firecracker come to our house? I want to play with her.” So if you are ever in the California Bay Area, you have an open play-date invitation at our place :) Blessings to you guys!

Zhanna - Oh lawdy, how I adore your girls. You are so right, little sister is so precious when she sleeps. The way her tiny body curls up. My heart seriously melts!

And big sister! The effort she put into her outfit! Such a doll! I just cant get enough of how much she reminds me of my youngest, Simona.

angie - Okay, so I’m not stalking you I promise…but it may feel like that. I just posted a comment on your feeding situation with your daughter and then started skimming your blog to see photos and this may sound weird but you daughter and ours look so similar! I don’t believe that they are in any way, shape or form related mind you, I mean…billions and billions of people in China, but it was so fascinating to see some of your sweet girl’s pictures! Just sayin’. P.S. I am so jealous of your photography gift, you’re photos are just amazing! Okay…I’m done now. Blessings!
F a c e b o o k