oh how i miss u....

as the christmas festivities have quickly came to a screeching halt....and as the huge task of redecorating my home to it's boring self before,...... comes drawing near....i can't help but think what my grandma did in heaven on christmas...this was her second christmas in paradise along with many others of my family members...... makes me wonder what christmas is like in heaven.......is it christmas everyday? did she have all of her family that have gone before close to her? did she get to sit at the feet of jesus?..........here on earth....oh how she loved christmas.....any holiday really...any holiday that would have any reason for her to have her family near.......i remember as a little girl peeking up over the dessert buffet table and seeing every kind of pie imaginable....i promise she made everyone's favorite.....and the food....oh i can still smell it now...things sure have been different without her here anymore....do you ever wish you could rewind things?.........just even for a day?..........go back to when things were simpler.....when everyone you loved was healthy and here with you?........when everyone you loved could be around you to spend the day doing whatever it was that made you happy for the moment.......i sure do....i would rewind it back to when i was 6 or 7 years old....it was christmas at grandpa and grandma urban's ranch....snow covering the prairie....kids running around everywhere...grandma cooking in the kitchen with all the aunts by doing whatever they could to help...uncles sipping coffee and grandpa chasing us kids around....simpler days...no worry of stuff or presents...no worry about who does what better and who got the best deal on whatever new thing it was that year....just family....having everyone there...healthy, happy and alive....that would be my day....what would be yours?...........here's wishing eveyone had a wonderful christmas....and praying for health and happiness for the new year........grandma...we all miss u terribly but we know you are in perfect peace and we know we will see you again some day...i hope you and grandpa, and cole and ardell had a great christmas in heaven...we love you!

julia jane: My last 2 Months

julia jane: My last 2 Months

My last 2 Months

well it has become apparent that my blogging is going to become a rare occasion these days...alot has been happening in these last 2 months...alot of laughs and alot of tears...these are a few of the many things....now it has been awhile since my last blog so my picture timeline is actually backwards...what is first should be last and last should be first but oh well....lol...to tired to change it....celebrating my man's 32 birthday...was fun...total man night...poker ...wings...chips...salsa...hot hot hot baby...good friends...good times!
back in september we did our family photo shoot thanks to my dear friend from sharla stenersen photography...this is one of my many favorites....aren't those kids cute? i think i will keep them...
oh man...the death of callie's beloved kitten lion...such a sad day...my heart broke as she went into the garage after church on a gorgeous sunday afternoon to find one of the kittens lying lifeless in the cage...so many tears that day...this is our family funeral...RIP lion...
my second born's 9th birthday....this was taken in early september...i finding out that everything 'they' (whoever they is) say about second born children seems to be true...she has filled my days with many sleepless nights, with me wanting to pull my hair out, challenging my every decision...but mostly she has filled my days...with so much laughter, thousands of jokes...unconditional love....so many countless smiles...and so much joy...i love my little callie jane....
and this day was a total blast! i was a little nervous about it a first, letting my babies that i would love sometimes to put in a bubble to climb on these machines and go buzzing around our property. one of the last weekends of summer our good friend john came over with his girls and the 4 wheelin machines...proved to be one of the funnest summer days we had as a family...and thank the good lord above....no one got hurt!

so this is a brief timeline (in reverse order) of my last 2 months...trying to live each moment to the fullest...hopefully i will find myself back in the blogging world a little more frequently over the holidays......

from our house to yours....wishing you a very merry christmas! :)

Mr. and Mrs. Urban

wow! it has been forever since my last blog update...

alot has changed since summer time...been working alot at my kids' school...been completed exhausted most days...and trying to keep up on this house is a job of it's own...

i wanted to share some of the pictures that i did for my brother jeremy's wedding back in july... it was my first wedding i have done...it was really fun! it was also very stressfull!! lol

these pictures capture so much i think, about two people committing to spend forever together...these are some of my favorites...
i have never seen my brother so happy in his life...i truly think he found the person god created for him...
Rebecca is gorgeous...i mean she is one of the truly beautiful people...she is from london originally and her accent is just way cool...
and this is their family together... 4 beautiful children loved by 2 wonderful parents...may god bless your marriage and family now and always!

Reid is 1

on sunday we got to celebrate the birthday of this little man....mr. reid! he is one special little guy to me...he is the son of one of my very best friends. all of her children seem to be more of neices and nephews to me than just my friend's kids. celebrating a babies birthday, especially their first is very exciting...you plan every last detail to the tee....the cake, the theme, the decorations, the food, the guest list.....and the funny thing is the little birthday boy is oblivious to it all...lol

oh how can you resist that cute little smile, and that chubby little belly.....
he enjoyed every last little bit of that baseball cake...frosting and all......
he was one very happy birthday boy on a massive sugar rush!
now after all of the festivities it is off to the bath to scrub off all of the remaining crumbs from every nook and cranny in this chubby little fellow....
all clean again little man!! it's hard to believe how fast your children grow...one day their born, then in a blink of an eye they are 1...and then in a flash they are all grown up! we sure do love you little man, remember god has a special plan for your life and we all can't wait to see all grown up into the man god created you to be...you have 2 great parents and lots of friends to guide you thru this life. always keep your eyes on god......happy birthday little man....let the birthday celebrations begin!! now we have 6 other little baby boy's birthdays to celebrate in the weeks to come....i better get a part time job to pay for presents....lol

a day to celebrate...

it's so hard to believe that a little over 10 yrs. ago i had my first little baby girl!! at the age of 19 it was quite the experience in every way! we have had a very busy time trying to make the most of our summer and so for ashton's bday we took her camping in the tri cities.

once we arrived we told ashton she can pick any place to have her birthday dinner to my luck she chose her favorite and mine.....pf chang's...yum! my mouth waters just thinking about it!!
these pictures make me laugh every time.....ha ha...my husband might ring my neck for posting these but i just can't help it...they are so fun!!!
i love it when a family doesn't always have to be so prim and proper but can let loose and be silly...and enjoy life...this day was special....this day 10 yrs. ago was even more special.....it was the day i got my little ashton from god! one of the best days really....he has a purpose for her life that even i don't know but am so privileged to be her earthly mother....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!! your the best gift any mother could ask for.....

Hidden Beauty

so my husband and i decided that we are gonna take our little family on lots of little adventures this summer....all of which are in our own back yard. we live in such a beautiful part of the country and there are so many hidden treasures to find......

so our first little adventure was to multnomah falls...we were gonna enjoy the scenery...enjoy each other....and hike all the way to the top....
well we did just that...although i would have to say...hiking to the top was much easier when i was 16 instead of 30. i realized i am in terrible shape...but i didn't give up and we made it to the top!
i have to say it was all worth it...we had a blast...it was gorgeous!......and the kids loved every minute of it!
i am always just blown away by how incredible of an artist god really is...almost takes your breathe away!
it was a long exhausting day but worth every minute! can't wait for our next adventure!!! i'm a very blessed woman!