have you ever

no, not that annoying jr. high game or college one - depending on your maturity level :)

have you ever tried www.allrecipies.com. it's amazing. seriously. i used it twice today. i had stuff to make wontons, cause i had some pork left over and some wonton wrappers from two different meals this week. and TA DA! i found it, i have all the ingredients and they're going to be awesome. i love that site. it's my lifeline for cooking. try it.

anyway. today was a laid back day, so was friday - praise God. i had such a week that i needed these two days to do NOTHING. i really was pretty much inside - vegging out all weekend. loved it. never get to do it.
caedmon was great. such a good boy and so mcuh fun to be with. last week i missed him so much because i worked so much more than normal, but that is goign to be our life this year. it'll be an adjustment working more, but i know God is providing for us and we're going to be able to "move forward" because of these saccrifices.

caedmon has an amazing memory. here are some moments from this weekend that astounded us:
1. i asked him if he wanted chinese noodles, he said, "yeah, like at gramma's house." ok, that was over a month ago and it was one time. how does he remember all this stuff...
2. he was kicking a soccerball into an opening in his potty stool. (hard to picture i'm sure..anwyay...) and he would get it to pop out and say, "cuckooo" like a clock. he picks up on everything he sees, even if it's just a tid bit from a show.
3. he started crying because he wanted to drum. he was drumming, so i wasn't understanding. but he wanted to drum on his BROWN drum, the one that he broke like two months ago....it's been long gone, but not forgotten.
4. two words, this one is too long to tell the story, "turner hider."
5. Hershey Squirt! (a family inside joke.)

i love his memory except when he also reminded me i'd let him watch jonas brothers movie while i was cooking. so, as soon as i went downstairs to start cooking i hear, "dadda, what momma doing?" daddy: she's cooking dinner. caedmon "JONAS BROTHERS MOVIE TIME!"

oh, no. i've got my hands full.

well, i'm going to scrapbook - i have so much to do! need to get a dent in it sometime.

a new favorite family pic...

this is so our life :)
love it!

shout outs

SHOUT OUTS TO THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE OUR LIFE AWESOME!

Hales Rockin' out at caedmon's 2nd b-day that she helped out sooooooooo much with!


Roberta and Caedmon, at his first birthday party


Laura always helping Caedmon

Nate and Olivia rockin' with caed's guitar!


these are some very special shout outs to people who make my life a lot easier and bless my son's life EVERY day!
i am beyond thankful for the people in our family's life. without these people ryan and i wouldn't be able to carry on ministry, social life, or hold down a job! :)
for starters:
caedmon's first and lifelong psuedo-grandma, Roberta -and her family, the tilley's. we are so thankful for all the countless hours that roberta has given her life over to caedmon. she always says, "he's as good as gold." and "is it just that we're biased, or is he really just that cute!" she is in love with him. she is his BERBA. he loves her and her whole family, including her real grandchildren. he has been at her house since he was 7 weeks old for about 6-8 hours a week during the school year. she opened this opporunity up to us when i was pregnant and we'd have been retarded to not accept. it is a blessing and an amazing gift from God. did i mention its all freeeeeeeee :)

the next person that was from MA to really pour into caedmon would be olivia and nate tocci. well, originally olivia hansen :)
she has loved caedmon from the time i told her i was pregnant and the tears streamed down her face. she was his "first kiss" and is completely in love with him. now, she works at the daycare at my school and gets to be with him while he's there. she is a blessing. everyone who knows olivia knows that she is amazing, loving, fun, and just GREAT to be around. she has watched him for us randomly and has always helped when she could. i was priveledged to be in their wedding last year and even though i was the bridesmaid with the baby, we still had a ton of fun. nate and olivia will be amazing parents someday and can practice on caedmon anytime!

a few more special people we got close during my pregnancy with caedmon and have gotten tighter ever since.
Haleigh, Laura, and Ryan.
Hales - or "Hawwwieee" as caedmon would call her is a great friend. she is always willing to play with caedmon and is his biggest fan. she encourages his music and introduced him to things such as; the jonas brothers, the backstreet boys, and various other musical influences that we now hear daily. she SPOILS Caed like a nephew and is as she would say, "obsessed" with him. almost anytime caedmon see hales' car coming down our driveway he screams with excitement. now he says, " i luv you halweee" and it melts her heart. she has watched him for us many a church night and for church meetings, and even date nights. the first time she watched him he was about 6 months old and the love fest hasn't ended yet!
last but, MOST CERTAINLY not least..."waura and wy-nan" Laura n Ryan Wagner.
Caedmon has been in love with laura since he was born, i think. he knew her camera first, probably, but from teh time he learned to rough house he then started to be crazy over Ryan and wanted ryan to come. when he was first speaking he would ask for "waura and wy-nan" and ask if they were "comin?" he continually shows off for them and laura is pretty convinced he is the smartest toddler ever. (he is! :)) he is probably her most photographed subject. she started taking pictures of him at only 5 days old and hasn't stopped, thank God! she always gets the best shot, one in particular i won't ever forget is his valentine this past year with the guitar! she brings out the best in Caed! ryan is a drummer and so is caedmon, so they are soul mates. when caed says, "i got music in my SOOOOUL" ryan can clearly understand. someday he'll teach him drumming. we have spent A LOT of time together these two years. laura and i love to drag him along with us anywhere and he loves to go to their house. the best thing is that NONE of these friends care that we have a baby. it's never, "can you get a sitter?" it's always, "Can you bring caedmon." they all love him so much.

WE LOVE YOU ALL! there are more folks to thank who have blessed us and i'm sure will: Julie T, Jen N, Barbara and Walter,"Soup", - i see it as God's way of giving us a family away from our family. of giving him aunts, uncles, and "Grammas" that he wouldn't really have nearby. he stil sees our family as special and knows these are our friends, but it's just as great. THANKYOUALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for ALL YOU DO FOR US! Caedmon loves you and we do too! GOD IS SOOOOOOO GOOD!

it doesn't seem real

there is now way this could be happening!
caedmon is old enough to go to daycare and today is his first day!
wow.
i vividly remember when he was 6 weeks old and i had to attend Teacher Orientation and he had to stay with Roberta for the first time. i was having an anxiety attack. it was crazy. now, hes at DC.
a few things:
1. i'm beyond thankful that this is officially his first day of daycare. he is 2 years 1 month, potty trained, very social, and in the same building as us.
2. he is only going to be there 5 to 10 hours a week and i got a great discount :)
3. OLIVIA, one of the loves of his life, my friend works in the DC and is amazing. she gives me such a sense of peace and i know that he is in the best care.
4. if anything happens, i'm literally 100 steps away from him at any given time.

my heart is still and i'm comfortable with it. i am just so thankful, i can't say it enough...now we'll see what happens after the first few days and we'll see how i feel then...

i'll post a picture later of my little school boy! i had my friend jen take pictures of him while he was in the dc.

picture1: caedmon was so excited because they showed nemo and he told all the kids who al the characters were and pointed them out. adorable!
picture 2: sitting nice for lunch time!
picture3: with his lunchbox ready for daycare. so ADORABLE!

some summer shots

life...today.

ABC...Atlanta, Boston, Chicago...this picture just happened. i love when things like this happen. :) makes me smile. the wallpaper that i haven't gotten rid of yet doesn't make me smile however. kitchen remodel is coming this fallllllllll..........very excited!

I love summer. and i love it even more when caedmon says, "summer is fun!" he gets wet everyday, either at a friend's pool or with playing in the hose. drying off ....i love it. just cause.


dinner. summer food is the best. i made peanutty chicken skewers with red peppers, rice, garlicy s&p zucchini/squash, and baby greens with asian seasame salad dressing. it was GOOOOOOOOD. i love to cook, i love to grill, i love love love food. i wish i could just eat all the time. seriously, and i even really like healthy food. ryan always trys to make me eat all the things i don't and won't. he's a bad influence. and so is gary's ice cream...directly across the street.

i have so much to do today, and i never get any sleep. but i am really trying to always live for today and make the best of each moment. i am determined to remember the little things, the best things, not the stresses. i am determined to find JOY each day.
ryan and caedmon are great sources of that :).....so if food!
:)

aha

it was the BEST!

WHOA! there are no words for seeing ADAM LAMBERT LIVE IN CONCERT!!!

the american idol tour was amazing, matt rocked, danny was great, and then - my love - ADAM!

wow....my mind was blown. he is so amazingly talented.

highlights and lowlights:

1. hanging outside the TD BANKNORTH Garden in 96 degree hot sun, sweating, WAITING for the idols with hales. didn't happen. the one and only show they didn't show their faces because the "areas couldnt' accomidate." we were bummed.

2. bummin' around the gorgeous city of boston with hales...great day

3. dinner at CPK...yummy avacado club eggrolls and lettuce wraps

4. randomly screamin' with excitement just thinkin' about being in the same building as adam freakin' lambert!

5. matt's awesome set...i was overly impressed he "found me"

6. scotts blind jokes about himself...ridiculous and then he sang, "if i could just...seeeee you! TONIGHT!" ahahahah

7. danny...crying at what hurts the most. didn't know i was so sensitive did you?!

8. ADAM! the ROCK GOD! the most amazing performer of all time

9. chillin' with martha and kurt...the couple who sat next to us. in their 40's hillarious and fun. he snuck in a HD video camera!

10. sneakin' in my telephoto lense and a crazy huge brownie to bring home for ryan

11. KRIS WHO? jk...he was good. just couldn't hold his own agaist adam.

12. FAME!!!! WHAt, are you kidding me! my mind was blown on those dance moves.

13. matt's new hair is awesome

14. lil just lost it...not good.

first editing job

so, i also edited some of the senior pictures i took....this is rebecca. she's my friend olivia's younger sister....cute! i took these wednesday august 12th on a gorgeous afternoon!
i remember being a senior and how exciting it was! wow...that was like forever ago. being young never gets old! don't grow up too fast rebecca!

weekend weekend

just wrote a post and lost it...saddddd

simply: we had a nice weekend, ended vbs on friday, went to the mabons on saturday. we love them, they love us, caed and evee love eachother (this was much more detailed before, i promise:))



sunday - realxed.

here are pictures....

a new nephew is born!

today my sister in law gave birth to their first son, Mason William Babler! i'm so excited for them! what a blessing he already is to our family!
we now have three little guys in the family, caedmon, elliot, and mason, all within 2 years! they will be three to watch out for! that's for sure!
i was so excited at 1:56 a.m. to see my phone ringing with "WILL" on the caller id. i knew it was news, great news!
he told me that the had the baby, and i asked WHAT IS IT! he said, A BOY! i knew it! and then he told us his name, MASON WILLIAM...so great!
here is a picture of the beautiful little guy, and if you know me i'll have plenty more to share.
i will be visiting Will, Karen, and Mason in October over Columbus day weekend, if i can get a flight that will work with my work schedule. it'll take all the power within me to wait that long!
Children are really a blessing from the Lord. I just wanted to scream and praise God, but i didn't want to wake caedmon up in the other room. i fell asleep that night praying for their family, for karen's strength, and for their child, and i fell back asleep doing the same thing, but with a name, MASON. i pray that this child comes to know the Lord and follows in his way.
God bless the newest addition to the BAbler family!
xo

VBS - ROME : Paul and the Underground Church

so, i'm pretty much obsessed with this year's VBS theme. it's the best! we're having so much fun, the kids and adults are inspiring with their enthusiasm and excitement.
day one: god's love is a gift
day 2: god's love chnages us
day 3: god's love is always with us
day 4: god's love saves us
day 5: (tomorrow) god's love is worth sharing.

there are exciting dramas and thoughful "family" times, and just goofy fun times too.

i'm so happy to see our church gather together and serve and worhsip God in this way. that is probably what makes me most giddy about this week!

sometimes i take pictures...

actually, i take pictures A LOT!

so, i decided it was HIGH TIME i start a blog with some of these pictures and the reasons why i took them, etc.
thankfully i have an amazing friend, Laura Wagner (www.laurawagnerphotography.com) who helps and encourages me, and even lets me go to events and photograph with her. and, i happen to have an extremely handsome husband and son, too! so, i get lots of opportunities to take pictures. Last night, while walking up to bed, i realized. why do i always have to take so many pictures, i NEVER get around to doing anything with them! its sad, but true. i do scrapbook, of course, but i only choose my favorite shots or the ones that tell a story. and i hang some on the walls, not enough! i need to do that more too....
with a little guy, we all know that capturing these moments are the most important thing we can do to remember the little things he did and does and will do....he's already soooooo big!
so, here is my blog, here are some pictures, here is my life : kinda.