It's a Girl Thing // Cozy and bright {and photograph personalities}

despite the multiple warnings yesterday afternoon that i wanted to take a picture of him and  that i would be posting whatever results i got wether they were attractive or not, these pictures are the result of twenty minuets of negotiating. I rather like them, as candid and "non-posed" as they are. They capture his personality, and that's the entire purpose of photography to me. 

 that's a homemade dirty chai. you should be insanely jealous. it was delish and only a fraction of the $5.50+ that i've payed various places for them. (in case you are uncultured and haven't lived properly, :) a dirty chai is imply a Chai Latte (and a Chai Latte is spices and strong black tea mixed with a sweetener and frothed milk,) with several shots of espresso added. Talk about caffeine. Only get them when 1. you are extremely tired, and 2. you plan on being awake for a very long time.)

it's raining. it's cold. and it's very gloomy. But I got a stack of books from the library a few days ago, and am able to drink gallons of tea without anyone asking any questions, so it's all good. and i'm a happy girl because I FOUND MY CAMERA BATTERY CHARGER!!!!! it was in the "hole" (front part thing that has the cup holder and is always insanely full of junk,) in the van. Heaven knows what it was doing there, but that's unimportant because the only thing that matters is that I found it! :)

My cozy outfit from yesterday:

Skirt: Gift

Denim Leggings: Walmart (12.99)

Brown tee: Goodwill (5.99)

Tied Cardigan: Goodwill (6.95)

Obnoxious but extremely warm Orange Socks: Gift

rambles // 1

it was an overcast, drizzly and rather gloomy this morning. Mom hurried out the door around 8:30 to spend awhile in the NICU with Lydia, leaving me with the littles, guzzling coffee and willing myself awake. I'd been up for an hour but wasn't awakening very fast. :) I managed to spill almost the entire contents of my first mug of coffee all over myself and the couch in an attempt to sit down in front of the coffee. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I spill coffee on myself pretty much every single morning but not an ENTIRE mugful.

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i  can't find my battery charger for my camera currently, and haven't been able to photograph in over a week. I've wanted to dozens of times and am hoping i'll find it soon. Especially before Lydia comes home. :)

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Caleb (5), just lost his very fist tooth. He is growing up entirely too fast; i think i'll have to talk to him very seriously about not growing anymore. He's all kinds of adorable. (And glares at me and turns a bright pink every time i remind him of his cuteness.

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Thomas is coming in 14 days!!!!! I'm getting more excited every day. The last time we saw him was on his wedding day, December 7th, 2013.

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Um, guys. Thanksgiving is only a week away. o.O and Christmas is in 34 days, and 2015 is in 41 days!!!! *please excuse me while I scream for a moment...

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Coffee is wonderful. amazing. brilliant. delicious. gorgeous. Coffee understands my great need for it to always be around. Coffee knows I can't handle a long distance relationship. I need the commitment, and the knowledge that Coffee will be there for me every morning, to cheer me up and make me smile and happy. ;)

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I'm hoping to find a Nanny position in the next several months. I love kids, and I have a TON of experience in the babbysitting/nannying/cooking/cleaning department of life, so I think Nannyng would be a perfect job.

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I attended my very first swing dance last Saturday. Long-story-short, I officially love swing, but desperately need/want lessons. My big brother is an amazing swing dancer, and he's gonna be here for a few days round Christmas. I think I'll have him work with me a bit. :)

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how has your week been?

xx,

lists // 2

missing the most currently:

+ my big brothers

+ my one-in-a-million Hannah

+ Goldendale and the Columbia Gorge

+ piano and voice lessons every Wednesday with the best and most amazing music teacher in the world!

+ my horse

+ Mt. Adams 

+ small town life

looking forward to:

~ Thomas's arrival in exactly 20 days, (and Sarah's arrival just a few days later.)

~ Turning 18 in 20 days. :) it's a little frightening at the same time, though.

~ Christmas, and the holiday season in general

~CHRISTMAS MUSIC. actually, I've already been listening to it since last December... :) But now I can listen to it openly and my family can't complain.

~ Lydia being home in a few weeks.

~swing dancing tomorrow night in a 40's costume.

~ Hannah's visit (!!!!!!)

not excited about:

+  the cold weather that came unexpectedly, (at least by me,) this week.

+ dealing with allergies more since the dogs are in the house more because of the cold.

+ "do you hear what i hear" playing frequently on my Christmas Pandora Station. It's one of the few Christmas songs i cannot handle.

my days are filled with lately:

~ laundry

~ reading late into the nights

~ watching littles and helping with school

~ planning and making Christmas gifts

~ more laundry

~endlessly picking up the house. (how does the same stuff end up strewn all over the house twelve times a day?!)

~ pinterest. (there. honesty, like i've  been talking about a bit lately. ;)

words that have caught my fancy lately:

+ wanderlust

+ dusk 

+brilliant

+ capture

+freedom

+lovely

+ awe-struck

+ glorious

+ paris

+ stillness

link loves:

~ the piano guys cover of happy together

~ quotes that make you stop and think

~ Eeyore . :)

~fellow homeschooled peoples. they totally understand my life.

~ cheesy things that make me smile

~cheesy things i can totally see myself saying.

~ inspiration for writing.

 what's tickled your fancy lately? What do your lists look like?

xx,

L y d i a ~ J o y

whilst thinking about this post this morning my brain was spinning typically in four-million different directions. But the main thought I had was that I'm never personal on my blog. I rarely post family pictures or updates on my real life. most of my hesitancy about sharing personal thoughts and updates is that my life is so normal. I'm not an amazing writer, or photographer, I don't have my life together and picture perfect. I'm not a super fashionable person. And five-days out of seven, I'm at home doing perfectly normal things. Laundry. Cooking. Helping various littles with math. Endlessly cleaning my room and various parts of the house. My life feels (and looks) so boring when compared to the posts and pictures I see all over the blog-sphere. Okay, so I know I'm supposed to be content and not envy other people and all that jazz, and in all honesty, I'm not really sitting here in a puddle of self-pity, sobbing over the fact that my life isn't as awesome and beautiful as my favorite bloggers. 
In reality- I am lonely, and bored. But I find ways to occupy my life, and I can see beauty all around me. I've only lived here almost eight months. I don't have many friends, or activities and obligations outside of my home.  I read to occupy my time and "improve my mind.". A lot. (I've read 148 books so far this year. Only two more to complete my reading goal this year on goodreads.) I browse Pinterest and the blog-sphere. I bother my bestie with emails and phone calls. 

but you know what. I think there is a really good reason that God has chosen to keep my time free and un-engaged. (Not like getting married engaged, but obligation engaged... just so we're clear on that point. Although the other would be great. *cough* Anyway.)

One of the things I don't think I got around to sharing on here was the fact that my mom was pregnant with our twelfth (or rather fourteenth, if you include my parents) family member. After my littlest brother's birth mom thought she was completely done having children. It was a rather rough pregnancy and she was quite at peace about not having any more. And then we moved earlier this spring, and she gave away all her maternity and baby clothes and baby gear. And two weeks after moving into this house, whilst driving up our horrible, bumpy, major hill rutted, driveway, mom turned to dad and announced. "YOU HAD BETTER BE GRATEFUL THAT I WILL NEVER BE PREGNANT ON THIS DRIVEWAY." and God decided to prove that he does indeed have a sense of humor because two weeks later, lo and behold she found out she was expecting #12.

She had tons of complications this time around, with High-blood pressure and allergic reactions to all the drugs the tried to control it. And then, ten days ago she was hospitalized and diagnosed with preemclampsia (and I can't spell that word to save my life so please just read it out phonetically. ;) And, on October 29th, Lydia Joy was born, via C-section, at 31 weeks. She weighed 3'12. She is doing fabulous and one week later she is off everything: oxygen, IV's, the only thing she is still on is her feeding tube. She is going to have to spend five weeks in the hospital, but that is completely normal procedure and she's doing amazing. Mom came home on Saturday, and is still having really High-blood pressure problems and trying to deal with all that and stabilize it, but is otherwise feeling pretty good. Dad's been going into the hospital twice a day on his way to and from work to hold her and spend some time with her. And Mom got to hold her yesterday, because she was feeling a little better. 

So my life is suddenly crazy, and overwhelming. But I think I understand a little bit why I have't really found a lot to do around this area yet. ;) 
so, how has your life been these last few weeks? Are you starting to get into the holiday spirit? I'm getting excited about the holidays. Especially since my brother and his wife are coming the first week in December, (right after he officially get's out of the Army) and are planning to stay with us for a few weeks.) Two nights ago we picked names for Christmas Gifts. I'm slightly excited!

so, tell me about your life. :)