Happiness is...

Big, fat, fluffy, white sparkly snowflakes pitter-pattering on our rooftop before the sun rises.

Boca Java Pumpkin flavored coffee, with whipped cream, in a LOVE mug, in November. Perfection.

Sleepy heads over egg beaters and sausage… and the color red.

tis' the season of Chapped Lips

Napping in the warmth of the morning light.

Chubby babies in cable sweater pants.

Voting for the candidate of your choice.

Golden sunsets casting shadows along the snow.

And last, but not least- my website is up and running!
www.EmilyRoeArtist.com Check it out!
I’m now taking commission orders for Christmas. Space is limited, so feel free to email me with questions you may have. emilyroeart (at) gmail (dot) com

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Little Bunny and Baby Squirrel.

Before the tradition of Trick-or-Treating even began, we ventured out downtown for the Halloween festivities. Sheesh, it was a cold day- 27 degrees, baby! Poor William had boogies frozen to the side of his cheeks, but Krysta was having way too much fun to call it quits. The streets were flooded in a sea of colorful characters ranging all ages, shapes, and sizes. Shops were quickly running out of candy, so it was like The Running of the Brides as people were elbowing each other, zig-zagging their baby strollers in between families, parents pulling their little ones by the arm down the sidewalk looking to score a lollipop or a Kit-Kat bar.

We’re not fast-paced people- more like mellow, easy going people. So we only hit up a few shops before heading home to thaw out our frozen bodies. Home, with hot chocolate and a thick quilt is more our speed.

Krysta says this was practice before the real trick-or-treating.
I agreed. Because Halloween in our neighborhood, well it takes on a life of its own, in a less chaotic manner.

Halloween night was absolutely perfect. The air was extremely crisp, leaves went crunch, crunch, crunch under our feet, pumpkins burned a glowing orange, and the laughter of little voices could be heard throughout the neighborhood.  It was childhood memories in the making.

Entered in the Paper Mama Photo Challenge

I spared William from the cold by staying back to pass out candy while Ron and Krysta went door-to-door. In less than two hours, we went through ten bags of sugary bite-sized treats. TEN Bags! There was a lot of Halloween-Goodness going on at the Roe House.

Just because Will and I stayed back doesn’t mean that we didn’t have some fun of our own. He stayed parked by the front door in anticipation of the doorbell bringing forth more and more kids shouting, “TRICK-OR-TREAT!” He would then excitedly rock back-and-forth as spidermen and princesses “Oohed and Ahhed” over him.

Can I just say, aren’t they the cutest little bunny and baby squirrel you’ve ever seen?

We drank the life out of this unofficial holiday, giving my lovies fond memories.
Until next year…

Entered in the Trendy Treehouse Photo Challenge

I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween and made lots of fantastic memories with their little ones!

~Em

Spook-tacular.

Today is Halloween. It’s the time where you can be anything you want to be, anything you can imagine. You can be a mighty dragon or a dainty princess, a fearless superhero or a rockin’ pop star. The sky’s the limit.
Every  year I make Krysta’s costume- at least the bulk of it. So there's no reason why this year would be any different.

We spend days, sometimes weeks brainstorming how Krysta wants her costume to look. I find great joy in creating. It’s an addiction, really. I draw out a sketch for her to see my vision, and then we collaborate and make the necessary changes to get her costume exactly how she wants it.
Over the top? Absolutely. It’s Halloween, the most spook-tacular time of year! We don’t take dressing up lightly, you know.

With that said, here are Krysta’s past Halloween costumes:

 My Aunt made this adorable pumpkin costume. You can say, this is where it all started.

Go Wolfpack!  Howlooo!

We won 1st place in the costume contest!

My Bestie & I did joint costumes -Princess and the Frog- we even decked out the wagon! We both won 1st place with this little number.

the prissiest black cat

prima ballerina

beautiful blue fairy

This years costume? 

I'll give you a hint: One eats carrots, the other eats acorns. Any guesses?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN YA'LL!

And then life suddenly changed.

This morning I had a great post all typed up and ready to go.

I was going to talk about how life has been chaotic, but fabulous. Fabulous, because in these chaotic times is when I feel the most alive. I’ve been busily running around, checking off my to-do list, all while being over-caffeinated.

I’ve been dicing, mincing, steaming, and boiling.

Having heart-to-heart conversations with my firstborn over pumpkin spiced lattes and books

and spending time with the hubs gathered around the breakfast bar, taking in the savory smells of Ron cooking tacos.

I’ve been cherishing my babes little childhood moments and chasing an over-active bouncing boy who’s too big for his own britches.

I also gave Krysta full reign when making the decision on her haircut. She opted for short. Super short. And I have to say, it’s super cute.

Through it all, I even took a moment to drink up the views and watch first real snow fall of the season.

Now I will tell you about dance class. She was all arms out, shoulders back, toes pointed, little Ms. Prima Ballerina.

Little did we know, life would change for us in a split second. Priorities would be rearranged. And that “to-do”, well it’s taking the backseat.

****************************************************************
You start your day off feeling like you’re the king of the castle, ruler of your empire, ready to take on the world. You get things accomplished and you’re feeling great. Nothing can bring you down. Then, you get a phone call. That phone call that brings you to your knees.

The shaky quiet voice on the phone says, “Em, Krysta just had a seizure and collapsed.”

Everything suddenly goes dark, then a quick flash of light. Your heart drops into your gut. Your entire body goes cold, but yet it feels like you’re overheated all at the same time. Your mind is racing and the room is spinning. You’ve just been dethroned, your empire has just been defeated, your world has just crumbled.

You see, this has happened before. After many tests and trips to the hospital –both on and off base- Doctors and Specialists couldn’t find anything wrong with her. So we’ve resulted in an observation period. Now, three years later, we will start from the beginning. The slate has been wiped clean and hopefully we can get to the root of the problem with a new series of tests.

Krysta says, now I can add these stickers to my sticker collection. Always the bright-side, this kid.  

 

But hey, let's not dwell because right now she's fine, we're fine. There's a lot of life to be had and it's ours for the taking. We're going to regain control over our castle, rebuild our empire, and live life to its maximum capacity.

Tomorrow is Halloween folks! Get dressed up, pull out that orange plastic pumpkin, fill it up with Starbursts and miniature Reese's, and eat yourself into a 24 hour sugar high.

Big Dude has added two more teeth. Totaling SIX pearly whites! Hence the major drool.

Enjoy!

~Emily