LOVE

in honor of valentine's day, i thought i'd list a few of the things i love.

i love, love ...

chocolate cake.

sunshine.

snow days.

jane austen books.

selfless people.

mondays.

100-yr.old crocks.

hydrangeas, when they're that gorgeous, soft green color.

tim's sense of humor.

my boys.

clinique high impact mascara.

banana republic W perfume.

mountains.

rolling, green hills with fences stretching for miles.

barns.

tall boots over skinny jeans.

peep-toe heels.

generosity.

the notebook.

rachel mcadams.

claire's beautiful brown eyes.

cameron's honesty.

hot, crusty bread.

tin stars.

harry potter books.

wood floors.

mamie and papa's house in richmond.

driving with my honey.

early american history.

james taylor.

french horn.

holding a newborn.

robert downey jr in sherlock holmes.

cheese.

joni mitchell's voice.

my sisters.

kindness.

watching moonlighting with my mom.

praying with my kids as they accepted Jesus.

teenagers.

aveda pure abundance.

4-in. wedges.

skirts.

holding tim's hand.

cracker barrel.

dusty antique stores and flea markets.

caloway's big toes.

praying with my dad.

texting.

smell of freshly ground coffee.

lemongrass.

cover girl wetslicks lipgloss in candy bon bon.

aveda lip tint in spice.

pasta.

cinnamon rolls.

mason jars.

oma and opa. how i miss my oma.

chopin.

tattoo sleeves.

caloway's quirkiness.

basil.

1930s.

nacho libre.

playing piano in worship.

being pregnant.

old people.

flaws.

sincerity.

transparency.

staying home.

going to the movies.

memories of our first apartment at bbc.

family dinners in indiana.

stripes.

maize yellow.

taylor swift.

downy clean breeze.

caloway's blue eyes.

wallflowers.

distressed furniture.

pie safes.

life-long marriages.

cooking with my daughter.

soccer frenzy

we enrolled all 3 kiddos in soccer at the Y last month. now initially, i thought - what a great idea! it will get the kids out with other kids their age, lots of physical activity spent, and family time together rooting each other on!

and then there was the first day. cameron's games start at 930, which worked out nicely for tim to take him, and then cam hangs out in the game room, while tim gets a workout. caloway's games don't start 'til 1230, and at first, claire was at 130, and then it changed to 230. we are literally at the Y the entire day! arghh! of all the kids, i thought cameron would have the most difficulty paying attention, but he has surprised us! he does really well, listens, and actually enjoys playing! caloway, on the other hand, is 5. that's all i have to say. :) he's more concerned with grabbing the ball with both hands, and carefully placing it directly in front of him, so he can get the maximum effect in kicking head on. however, that's the #1 rule in soccer - hands OFF the ball. haha!

clairely, sweet daughter of mine, begged and begged to play soccer - and is the least attentive of them all! it's kind of difficult for her to goal-keep, while she's flipping cartwheels on the side, during the game! i don't know if we will do a repeat of soccer, once this is over. it seems gymnastics is her calling.

snow storm!

so the forecast was given last thursday evening, of around 6-8 inches for the pittsburgh area. friday evening rolled around, and with it came a flurry of swirling snow that continued through saturday afternoon, leaving a total of around 30 inches of snow! tim was out shoveling on saturday for 4 hours, cleaning out the driveway, and digging out our car ... everything shut down on saturday, including church. several counties declared snow emergencies, and there was a 24-hr. driving ban enforced.

on sunday, tim worked on the top of the driveway, unearthing his car, and carefully bringing the van up the driveway, back into the garage. the steps and front walkway got shoveled, and he easily spent another 3 1/2 hours working on all of that! the kids have been out as much as possible, building snow forts, tunnels through the deep snow, and hurtling down the slide halfway down the backyard. all our services on sunday were canceled, as well. i haven't seen this much snow in years!! i guess there's another storm on its way, coming tuesday night, bringing another 4-8 inches. if that same weathergirl is giving the forecast, like last week, we are going to be completely stranded, crippled with another foot of snow, probably!

**please send FOOD**

love, the holmans

skulls and fire

caloway came downstairs this morning, wearing claire's girly, flowery apron. claire dressed him, so he could paint! i asked him if i could make him his own apron, but a "cool" one, for boys. he shook his head sagely, and said, "no, i don't want an apron!"

"i can make it with some really cool fabric!" i replied diplomatically.

claire chimed in, with "cal, you could get skulls!"

so then caloway says, "oh, all right! skulls and fire!"

so i guess i will be looking for some fabric with skulls and fire on it? what happened to cute little bugs and stripes?! maybe we'll just get a cool flame print, minus the skulls, a 'la iron weasel, or kick buttowski. ;) i love caloway's flair for the irreverent.