happy halloween!

Yep - this is the best picture of the gang :: spiderman taking the presidential oath, a yelling pegasus unicorn, a very serious dumbo and a sweet (& confused?) butterfly. Oh and an oh-so-cute chili pepper...


E is still sick so we couldn't go to the fall festival at Brooke's church, so we stayed behind and gave out candy...

fall in signal mountain

checking daily on our friend, the pet spider...


Last night, we had dinner {homemade butternut squash soup - yummy, Brooke!} by fireside. And celebrated E's birthday (again) with pumpkin oat muffins {also deee-lish} and of course, smores.


S is loving all of the activity - lots to watch with four other little ones running around. Unfortunately, E is sick now, but it isn't slowing him down too much. I am enjoying the help and company - taking care of S lately has been quite exhausting. So, Brooke and I switched responsibilities tonight (she took care of S while I did kitchen cleanup and finished dinner with the other kids) - that was a little refreshing for me and gave me the chance to miss him again. ;) It's nice being here - and I love coming in the fall. I realized earlier that this is the third year in a row that Elliot and I have come to Chattanooga in either October/November - the perfect time of year to come. Gigi (my mom - that's what the kiddos call her) arrives tomorrow...can't wait! Hopefully I'll have pics of the kids in costumes this weekend - depends on how E is doing. Hope you are having a great week!


oh and have you seen a sweeter face than this?!? what a sweetie my niece is - and when I say sweetie, I mean little firecracker that will barely crack a smile for me. ;)

pic heavy post

We made it safe and sound - not too much drama to report. This may be one of the few times I have traveled with children when I haven't had flight delays/cancellations, so that was a welcome change. But, as a friend commented in my last post, I unfortunately did NOT sit next to a grandma who was missing her grandchildren on either plane...but all was well. S did a great job of sleeping/eating and E did a great job of playing (thanks to the toys I brought along that he had never laid eyes on - my tip that NEVER fails me on flights).

Finally got around to looking at pics from our visit to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago...


Still can't believe he went down this huge slide...



best buds...


and S is usually sleeping in my sling, but here is a recent pic - he's doing a bit better - screaming a little less, sleeping a little more... ;)

off to see...

...the beautiful fall foliage in the mountains of Tennessee. Yep - we're leaving tomorrow -me and the boys - if you recall, it's not quite what I would call a fun journey. Well worth it in the end. I'm feeling my nerves about traveling with both of them as I write this - and oh yeah, waking them up at 3:45am to leave. Good times, right?

I will hopefully have time to post pics while we are there. Over the past few weeks, we participated in the walk, went to the pumpkin patch a couple of times, celebrated E's 3rd birthday and I have pictures from all of it, but haven't had a lick of time to post. Life is busy. And business is starting to pick up for the holidays. Yup - I said it, the holidays. They're right around the corner, ya know.

So, I'm off. I decided not to take my jewelry supplies with me this time, so if you do place an order for a custom piece sometime between now and November 3rd, it will not ship until November 5th. If the order is for an already designed piece, no problem - my husband is at home and can ship it right away.

Let me know if you have any questions! Talk soon...

hudson wayne

This is my nephew, Hudson Wayne. He was born on July 3rd, 2002 - he would be 7 years old right now but he lived only two short days. I have started writing this so many times and can't even count the number of times I have written, deleted, written, edited... because really, there are no words. Still. After 7 years. I didn't understand it then {why it had to happen} and I still don't. What I will say...I am thankful that I was able to meet him, to touch his precious little toes and watch him squirm. I am thankful that we will have the opportunity to see him again one day. I am still in awe of my sister's strength and faith. I am rejoicing that God has since blessed my sister and her husband with three {adorable} children since Hudson.

It wasn't until I became a mother that I got a taste (just a taste) of what it must have felt like to carry a child, your first, a baby, a gift from God and then have him taken away. My first son spent a couple of days in the nursery when he was born...I wasn't able to hold him and he didn't come home right away because of a minor complication. There, for the first time I understood the idea of a "broken heart"...it literally felt like my heart was ripping in two. I went home one night without him and I felt as though I was in a dark hole. ONE night. Again...it was just a taste and it feels silly to even compare that to a lifetime here on Earth without your child. But for me, in that moment, I couldn't help but think of Hudson and Brooke - and how she must have felt - and how I probably wasn't there for her like I should have been - and just how powerful a mother's love really is.

Because of Hudson, my heart remains heavy for parents that have lost a child. I am writing about Hudson now because I am participating in the OC Walk to Remember this Saturday. It is my 2nd time that I will be memorializing him in this way. It is a really wonderful organization that supports parents who have lost a baby in pregnancy or early infancy. OCWTR was founded by Kristyn von Rotz, you can read her personal story here.

OC Walk to Remember asked me to be a vendor at the event this year- to be there to display some of my collection. To be honest, at first it felt weird, going to profit from someone's loss. But you know the more I thought about it ... creating jewelry is my passion and work...it is something {however little} that I can do. A piece of jewelry is tangible and lasts forever. I think it's important to have meaningful tokens to remember a life...something tangible. And, of course, a portion of proceeds (25%), will go to OCWTR. Proceeds from the walk go to local hospitals and support groups, as well as national organizations. The walk has helped fund memory box programs at several local hospitals, so parents have footprints, blankets, and other items to take home following their baby’s death. In addition, cameras and photo printers have been donated to local hospitals so photos can be taken of the baby and given to the parent.

Thanks for listening! Sorry for the light posts lately. Life...it's busy!