dear husband, sean

dear husband sean, you are sad that brennan has taken over our blog. well, not really sad that HE has taken over our blog as much as you are sad that YOU are not on our blog that much. it is true, i'm OBSESSED with our son. how about we stuff cherries in your cheeks and take pictures? that is one reason it is so fun to take pictures of our son. in this picture you are taming mom's unruly patch of ivy. have i told you how PRETTY i think ivy is?! too bad it's so tough to TAME. it's just such a magical plant! i feel like taking my shoes off and walking in it, until i think about all of the nasty spiders that have made their lovely abodes in it...that makes me want to not be within 20 feet of ivy. as you recall, i HATE spiders. i am still recovering from killing 3 black widows last week all by myself. it was SO sad to not have your Sasquatch feet to smush them for me!!! reasons why i LOVE YOU today: you tamed my mom's ivy patch two weeks ago and she's so thankful for your help. you smoosh spiders for me with your Sasquatch feet. you let me put my icy cold feet on your stomach sometimes and on your legs most times. you get your clothes ready the night before so you don't wake me up in the morning when i am sleeping. you did ALL, yes ALL of the dishes in the sink tonight and THAT is freaking fabulous!!! you let me have the remote whenever i really want it. that is all for now, but ode to dear husband sean. i will try to be better about making you a husband celebrity!

reasons why i LOVE this picture:

1. i'm wearing my favorite fall hat with all of the pretty colors (thanks kelsey)

2. i'm NOT wearing makeup and i STILL feel pretty

3. brennan is touching my face

4. i'm smiling with my eyes

5. brennan is in it with me (and looking at my pretty hat)

note: "pretty" is my word of the week,

use it twice daily and you will feel prettier!

p-fest, utah style

raddest pumpkin ever. reasons why i LOVE this pumpkin:

1. it is green and orange

2. it has a handle with lots of stuff on it

3. it is tall and skinny

baby celebrity--brennan r. gibson

STATS: 22.5 lbs, over 25 in. long, milk addict, 8 mo. old

mom: brennan, how are you handling this status of baby celebrity?

brennan: i just take it one feeding at a time, some breastmilk here and some veggies there.

mom: so would you say you're busier now as a baby celebrity?

brennan: well, i mean it's all relative. some days i poop once, some days i poop twice. i'm not much different than most adults. (mom wipes puke from baby celebrity's mouth and shirt that just appeared)

mom: that's very insightful.

brennan: yeah, i'm pretty much a down to earth guy.

mom: what does it feel like to be surrounded by kids that mob you every time you go in the backyard?

brennan: it feels pretty great.

mom: how will you handle the pressures of growing up with all of this attention?

brennan: well, i'm just gonna ride this train as long as i can.

ladies, this baby celebrity is SINGLE and one hot commodity, so start primping now b/c in 21 years he'll be ready for the taking! i give you, BRENNAN RYAN GIBSON!
i adore these handles, and therefore ADORE these pumpkins
baby celebrity and his lady friend (a.k.a. audrey, first cousin once removed, careful there!)

white chocolate, chocolate, carmel, almond dipped apples

step 1: lay all goodies out

step 2: unwrap each carmel...b/c the idiots who made the carmels for dipping apples individually wrapped each piece (seriously, why didn't i notice that before buying this pack??!!)
step 3: sigh of relief that you've unwrapped each carmel in under 20 minutes
step 4: stick sticks in all apples and roll in melted carmel (step 3.5 was melt carmel, if you missed that)

step 5: dip in both chocolates and roll in chopped almonds (yes, i skipped a few steps, but you get the idea)

Happy HALLOWEEN, BOO!

treasures from afar

mom came home from her trip to Jerusalem and surrounding countries last night, bringing FABULOUS trinkets and such.

brennan loved the sound my headdress made...i did too. i love how feminine it made me feel to wear such pretty things
LOVED these headdresses SO much, i thought i'd make one into a skirt (over jeans and skirts of course). this is my favorite thing mom has ever brought home by far:
such a beeeeeeautiful scarf, what will i choose to wear to church tomorrow!? tune in monday to see:-)
below are incense burners, frankincense & myrh (really!), dead sea soap, & dead sea lotion. deeeeeelightful treasures! gracias mucho mucho mama!

my faaaaaavorite....

Winken and Blinken are two little eyes, and Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoes that sailed the skies
Is the wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things as you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fisherman three:Winken,Blinken,and Nod.

Eugene Field

i actually really did

cry! i can't help it. i read stephanie's blog, get deeper and deeper into her story, and i cried. one twinkling tear rolled down my face. now sean really will make fun of me! it's a good thing he loves me and thinks it cute that i cry over things like this. it's a good thing i love him and kind of like it when he makes fun of me;-) i LOVE you my sweet and miss you already!

felt like crying

i felt like crying this morning. i put brennan down for his morning nap, made the bed, cleaned up the toys and kitchen, and ran straight for cjane's blog. i have to get my morning nie nie update! this morning cjane was running off all of the things she and her family were doing this weekend and mentioned that she was going to see stephanie awake for the first time on saturday. i looked at a picture of stephanie in a post from earlier in the week, and i felt the tears welling up. it was a happy/devastatingly sad kind of almost crying. what is going to go through her mind? thank goodness sean had just left for school so he couldn't tease me about my weepiness over a girl i've never met! and yes, i AM addicted to blogging. love you, my dear.

"IT" happened

it!!! yes, it did. IT happened. i was walking through the halloween section of target, and IT happened. i almost didn't believe IT, but after the second verse of jingle bell rock i stopped dead in my tracks (again, in the halloween section). christmas music was playing in target. i looked around and listened really well to make sure it wasn't a halloween version of jingle bell rock. no sir, it was not. it was the real santa wearing red suit, reindeer flying version of jingle bell rock. am i wrong or is halloween still a week away?? what the HEEEEEEEECK is going on!?

also on our walk...

"moooo," said the cows.

(our neighbors down the street have cows. we ALWAYS stop to say "moo." they know us now and walk over to us if they are semi-close)
i think they like brennan more than meeeeee.

his face still gets a bit nerVous when they first walk over, but he squeels with excitement at least once!

then we just sit quietly and stare at eachother.

then B and i leave for the rest of our walk. this is my view of the two boys in the stroller (B and Hurley, that is)

i love FALL because...

i took all of these pictures on our glorious afternoon walk today and couldn't stop thinking about ALL of the reasons i LOVE the FALL!

noses get rosy and shiny...and OH so CUTE!

the corn stalks are so beautifully brittle,

the colors of the leaves are VIBRANT!
the leaves crunch under my stroller

and make rustling SoundS on the pavement when the wind blowS....ahhh, so peaceful...

i LOVE:
the crisp air

the smell of cold "air" (whatever that means)

half naked trees with leaves all around their trunks.

pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!!!

sweaters.

coats.

gloves.

scarves.

baking.

cooking warm food, cozy food!

hot chocolate (in my coco motion)

heat blankets.

blankets!

heaters and fire places!!!

did i mention i LOVE the cold!?

snuggling on the couch watching a movie.

getting excited for turkey and sweet potatoes...and few new recipes this year, for once!

(sorry ryan clan, i've got to mix it up. the green beans are out and the creamy veggie baked medley is in, along with cheezzzzy rolls & pumpkin cheesecake b/c honestly pumpk pie has never really sparked me)

i'm a cat with 9 lives

how do any of us survive being a baby? a teenager!!?? yesterday brennan launched himself into the corner of the hall wall b/c he forgot AGAIN that he doesn't know how to crawl, poor kid! sometimes while lying awake in bed, listening to my husband snore, i shudder at the memories of childhood and adolescent accidents (many of which i'd like to forget). for instance, at 18 i used one of my nine lives by crashing my '89 maroon honda civic (with tinted windows 'cause i'm a thug, haha) on good ol' highway one in half moon bay, ca. my little car, thankfully not an suv, went underneath a 5 ton flatbed truck and slammed into a tree. how did i not die? how were dad and sandie able to drive me home from standford trauma that night to sleep in my own bed? how did i only have a bloody nose and some bruising? a loving heavenly father must have known that i had so much more living to do. i will be forever grateful. i was MADE to be a MOTHER and WIFE. i have never been happier, and despite the challenges of being a young mother and poor, i feel RICH because i really do have it all. it all sounds so cliche, but i can't keep myself from smiling all day long (on most days that is--sometimes around 6pm i'm not smiling b/c brennan is screaming his head off). my life is full of imperfection, but it is PERFECT for me. i have been given nine lives to make it to this point. i KNOW i am changing the world by being a mother, and i want to do everything i can to help others feel the same way (no matter what path of life they choose for themselves). i have found that i am happiest when i am helping others. i have more of a desire to focus on the positive things in life...less of a desire to gossip, criticize, belittle, etc. what a joy life can be.

dear sean,

i will write you a love letter as well, since you look so alone on my recliner chair! i've missed you SO much all day long. i want to jump up and scream when you come home (for more reasons than helping with brennan). i get excited when you walk through the door and miss you the minute you are gone. watching you play with brennan is such a joy in my life. you are the greatest dad! i am proud to be your wife! i am proud that you are brennan's dad. seeing you with brennan makes me want to have a gazillion more babies, but not all at once b/c i don't think they make an epideral for that...i'm so sorry you stubbed your little pinky toe on the island in our kitchen tonight and can't wait to watch amazing race with you later. i love that you gobbled up my cheese manicotti AND then did the dishes!!! i love you, i love you all over the place, i love you i love, especially your face. AND no, i will not read this letter to you now. you'll have to check the blog on your own. ha!

love, em

dear brennan,

i just put you to bed, and i've decided that there just aren't enough hours in the day to kiss you!!! my favorite part of my day is being your mom. it's hard when you cry, but completely forgiven when you smile. i loved how we laughed so hard today while making the bed. it was so fun to watch you get red in the face from laughing so hard at me, while stuffing dad's pillow into its case. i love your big chunky cheeks and crazy hair. your eyes are so dark and brown like a teddy bear. i love you! i love you! sleep tight my sweet, being your mom is just such a treat!

love, mom

MY EVENT!!!

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