because i want to remember

iphone pakosta style (family)

I don't  even know where to begin. life is crazy. moving at full speed ahead and nothing I can do

to stop it. I will do a post of recent photos with some recent happenings and try to catch up!

 

 

we took the girls to see Hunger Games the night after it opened! We only waited in line for an hour, so

it wasn't too bad. They were sooooo excited! Ava had her doll dressed up as Katniss with the braid,

Hunger Games pin and boots.....it was pretty good, but not as good as the book...when you stop

to actually think of the whole concept of the book/movie, it's pretty disturbing actually!

 

savannah and ava made bow & arrows and playing "the Hunger Games" in our yard, they were outside

for HOURS playing! they had a BLAST!

 

playing Hunger Games: they were hiding from Cato, probably lol

 

ava is officially TALLER than her OLDER sister!!! Savannah was 4ft 10 1/4" at her 12 year old

appointment & 70lbs. FINALLY! she's a TINY girl that one.

 

this is blurry, but it's a note from a boy, saying, "hey, do u think u are ready to date?" he had already

asked her and she said NO. she had to have her friend tell him NO this time, because she felt bad....she

is not allowed to even "go with" someone until she is 16. I think it puts to much pressure on these kids

and she doesn't want to anyway!

 

taking piper for a walk. he's so SPOILED he will not go on a walk with just the girls, if I don't go along

also! he loves his mama!

 

ava took this of me, with her camera.... look like my mama here.

 

michael has been in school for quite a few weeks, updating his certificate (he's a Chief School Business

Official (CSBO) or Business Manager, whatever you want to call it....it's been hard, 3 classes a week.

one is online, one is all day saturdays and another is just a long paper he has to write. fun stuff (NOT).

speaking of which, michael's job contract is NOT being renewed so he is looking for a job right now.

his ends on June 30th. this weekend he will be interviewing in a teeny TINY town in Alaska, called Healy.

if you know anything about it, please comment to me! have you been there, lived there? any advice?~

the girls have started stories on their laptops, I love that they are typing them up! they are so creative!

ava started 3 different ones! now the key is to get her to finish them!

 

they do this crazy thing when we have to leave to show our house (it's on the market now) we have

to take the dog, so we run errands and we take turns going in for the errands so one of us stays with

the kids/dog....so they open the sun roof and hang out of it acting like animals. sooooo silly.

 

just some pictures that I love. gosh I am happy that I have my iphone or I would never take any pix!

 

piper in the car, he's so adorable, going to turn 5 in june, can't believe it!

 

sister whispers, the cutest thing: unless they are whispering ABOUT ME!

 

in the woods: they wanted me to GO AWAY so they could play Hunger Games again...

 

I love this shot, not sure why, but I love it. she looks sweet and tiny, maybe that's why. I can pretend

she is still 5....lol

 

they fell asleep in my bed. soooo sweet and innocent.

well that's it for now....another post soon.

 

 

iphone pakosta style:

more iphone pictures because that's all I seem to be taking lately:

 

banana smile: ava is wearing a t-shirt with her handprints/footprints from when she was 13 months old.

 

on my nightstand: just finished Cutting for Stone and oh my goodness I loved it so much!!! Savannah is reading Catching Fire (the 2nd book of the Hunger Games Trilogy) and my journal that I have written in every single day of 2012~

 

Savannah had the start of a cold earlier this week, but now is fine. this is her favorite thing to do when sick, her ipod touch. this thing has gotten so much use!

Ava is offically taller than her older sister! they are 19 months & 2 days apart exactly...the top left is probably the best representation, it's not by as much as the other 3 photos seem! they have been the same height for about 2 years now!

 

the girls snuggling with their daddy.

 

ava & her zillion camera faces....love her.

 

ava begged me to play VET with her in her room. we used piper as our patient, along with her stuffed animals! she had a BLAST and so did I!

 

now that I have cleaned out the girls rooms they are finding cute things to do: savie made a little reading nook on the corner table in her room...

 

the girls at barnes & noble. they love to find ALL things Hunger Games and read through it. they also love when daddy buys them snacks! they weren't into the Twilight or Harry Potter, so I am loving that they are getting into the Hunger Games! they have both read the first book! a year ago savannah was NOT ready, but she has grown up a LOT in this past year!

 

ava at her friend's house last weekend! we spent a night with our best friends, love them and we miss seeing them more often! (hi maria, emily and frankie)

 

savannah got some new shoes and she loves them! I love that she is wearing them, they are super cute!

 

ava was so sick with a cold from wed. to saturday this week. poor thing. could not stop sneezing!

 

saying goodbye to daddy!

 

saying a prayer.

 

I am reading this now and so far, LOVE IT!

 

the other day we had these AMAZING clouds that almost looked FAKE! I love when I can really and truly see God's creations in a tangible way.

 

savannah was so happy to get on the High Honor Roll again! yay! she's doing so well. she loves being in school more than anything! it's been such a big help for her and for our family. she's HAPPY and thriving, what more could we want?

 

ava did these with her daddy's iphone, LOVE THEM. esp. her little curl...

 

ava and her cousin, kendra who came to stay with us for a couple of days. she lives in chicago and is attending Optometry school, hence the cute glasses!

well  I think that about wraps up our life lately.

CRAZY.

but good moments.

wouldn't trade it for anything.

so what are you up to?

what are you reading?

 

iphone pakosta style:

more iphone pix....so busy lately I haven't had time to even blog, respond to emails, or much

of anything!

 

the girls being cute.

 

goodnight hugs from daddy.....

 

ava spanish workbook~

 

savannah had her 12 year check up: she's 6th% for weight and 13% for height. tiny girl....

 

our house. so cozy.

 

ava is reading this book that is chock full of cute little stories!

 

ava and one of her dolls, I can't keep them straight, she has TOO MANY!

 

and my 3...

back with more SOON!

iphone pakosta style:

I have missed so many pictures/memories on here that I am going to do a random instagram post!

 

poor savannah was sick and missed 2 days of school: fever, cold symptoms. cough. sore throat.

 

I love nothing more than to see them hug/kiss goodnight every single night. sweetest thing ever about being a mom. I love the way they love each other.

 

Michael was laying in ava's bed and he literally FELL ASLEEP with her teddy bear LOL! so funny!

 

I ended up taking savannah to the dr. to make sure she didn't have strep. it wasn't thankfully.

 

aunt ellen came to vist and we went out to do a little bit of shopping...always a good time with aunt el.

 

this girl LOVES to have her feet rubbed or tickled. she will go to her daddy and stick her feet up to him and of course he does it.

 

kendra came and spent the night and of course that usually includes some wii time!!! they love their cousin! (she lives in chicago and attends optometry school there so we see her every month usually)

 

michael is CRAZY about clay pigeon shooting, he tries to go as often as he can....

 

pony tail hair-do by savannah...ha ha!!!!

 

it was so nice out, but raining a little and the girls took piper for a walk...he LOVES to be outside with us!

 

savannah has homework pretty much every single night..she is doing great, taking responsibility, loves middle school and her teachers so much! so proud of her for getting on the High Honor Roll, All A's for her very first report card of middle school....

 

ava finally read this book, savannah read it back in 3rd grade and I had been trying to get ava to read it for the last 3 years! she ended up really liking it a LOT!

 

just one that i thought was super sweet of avey.

 

ava had a little fun with my photo booth app on the iphone...love these!

 

my journals from top to bottom: Books I want to read, childhood memories, homeschool, quotes/bible verses that I love, story ideas of stories I would like to write, prayer journal to write out prayers for others, ava's journal that I write to her, savie's journal that I write to her, my personal journal and OUR family 2012 journal that I write one memory a day (or more) into! I am LOVING having all of these different journals put to good use. some I write in only once a month or less, but I love having a spot for each type of thing....when they are all filled I may then keep just ONE journal for all of the different things into one. EXcept the girls journals, I have been keeping one for each of them since I was pregnant! they each have 3-4 filled already!

 

ava looking all cozy and reading. she reads an hour every single morning, it's a good start to her day!

here is ava's stack to choose from. she chose the bottom book, which is a collection of short stories. she's loving it so far. she's also reading The Hunger Games!

savannah looking beautiful wearing MY tank top as a dress, I think I need to give it to her, looks way cute on her!

 

and lastly, all cozy in their robes!

that's a wrap, I have about 15-20 more I could share, but they can wait for another post!

this quote:

found on instagram, not sure who wrote it, or even who posted it (if you are reading this and you know,

please tell me) not taking credit for it at ALL. but it totally applies to my life, as I am sure it does to

everyone who reads it.

 

 

another one that fits quite well:

 

love it. it's just so true for me right now.....

and a little of what we have been up to, insta style. that's all I seem to take lately is instagram pictures....my poor 5d has gotten left to "mostly" collect dust. but ava gets mad at me and makes me take it out somedays...

 

 

1. savie and ava have been "SMASHING" with their Smash journals while I do my Project Life book....

 

2. catching any bit of light that we can.

 

3. taking pictures of her dolls outdoors.

 

4. being cute in yellow...

 

5. getting in some snuggles with her daddy, she's SUCH a daddy's girl.

 

6. reading ANOTHER new book: this girl has read 18 books since school started and that doesn't include her daily assigned Literature book or her Reading Spectrum Workbook OR the read alouds that I do with her.....

 

7. Barnes & Noble time....

 

8. posing for mommy.

 

9. ava making shadows. the pictures she takes are SO creative.

 

10. and cute, ava took this one too.

 

11. I went on a scrapbooking retreat in Frankfort IL with a GREAT group of women. there were 8 of us in the big crop area and it was so much fun. full of laughs, LOTS of creativity and good positive fun! Ava snapped this photo when her and michael dropped me off and she sent it to me.

12. we stopped for a mocha frappe and smoothie before he dropped me off at the crop, ava snapped this!

 

13. reading Cutting for Stone, it's taking me forever to read because I really don't have that much time to read anymore and by the time I read to the girls at night (we read aloud every night, well most nights) I don't have the energy to read for myself! I need to make more time somehow. I cut out facebook for 6 weeks, so we will see how much time I was actually on it and see if I have any free time, so far NO!

14. anyone else have stacks of jeans they can't fit into? I refuse to give up though, I WILL fit in these! they are only a size too small so 15 pounds ought to do it.

 

15. and this is how she looks every single day when I pick her up from school = happy! and it makes my heart smile and hurt at the same time. we've been through a lot with this girl, especially in this past year and anytime I get a glimpse of her happy, it makes my heart burst.

 

16. another shot by ava, her dolls in her bedroom. it's American Girl Doll heaven in her room.

17. another shot by ava, see her? she's good!

 

okay, that about wraps up some of feb. I have about 40 more photos to post, but am too tired from sitting here right now!

hope you enjoyed! be back soon!

 

where have i been?

too busy living life to be making blog posts I guess.

1. I love how these two love each other. I know Ava misses Savannah so much, even though she doesn't say it often, I know her little heart breaks every morning when we have to say goodbye for the day.

 

2. I love this little series of ava with her teddy bear, she got from build a bear when she turned 6.

 

3. ava doing Science: she HATES doing Science, but she perseveres and has been getting 99-100's on every. single. test & quiz.

 

4. I love how she is always curled up near the vent with her books for her Reading Hour, which she does every morning right after breakfast. she is more of a read during the day type person, not at night, she's always too tired.

 

5. and more of her reading, just because I love to see her with a book in her hands.

 

we got this awesome drawing book (a recommendation we saw online from a home-schooling mama of 12 children, hi amy!) it's awesome! Ava was able to draw from it first try and  not frustrated. we got it on Amazon: Let's draw cute Animals  go get it! there are more in the series too: we are going to get the Let's Draw Happy People and Let's draw small creatures and plants!

 

and here are all 31 photos, one photo a day for the month of January! I am going to do it for the whole year, with my iphone and have them all printed into a book!

 

iphone pakosta style:

I don't know WHERE the last couple of weeks of Jan went, but maybe the photos will show:

 

 

writing out prayer cards for the girls to have under their pillows, they are supposed to read it each night.

 

 

reading: Ava finished The Land that I Lost, Harriet the Spy and an American Girl Book. She started a book called: A Room with a Zoo today.

 

Ava has been drawing a LOT: this is a drawing of her Kit doll....

 

(see kit and kit?)

 

 

savannah got on the All A's High Honor Roll & was pleased as punch with herself! I'm so very proud of her, to see her struggles and what she has had to overcome with going back to public school, she's amazing!

I've been reading A LOT lately: finished A Soldier's Wife and have about 6 other books on my shelves, ready to start a new one tonight!

 

doing mini photo shoots with my iphone.

 

a note from grams & gramps for her awesome report card! along with a 20.00 check that each grandchild gets when they first make the honor roll in jr. high.

 

a lunch date with our avey girl. portillos salad for her, mexican for mom and daddy.

 

playing the wii on a saturday morning (they seem to only play the wii on new year's eve and when our friend's little boy comes over) and so I said, "hey girls, play that wii or I'm selling it" ha ha!

noticing beautiful sky/sunset/trees....God's world is so beautiful.

 

exercising on and off for all of us. savannah puts on her PE uniform to go on our elliptical...I did 50 miles for the month of Jan! I tried to get to 85, but didnt' accomplish my goal.

 

and don't you just LOVE what ava wore to workout in? striped shirt, flowered jammies, heart socks and plaid shoes? she's a colorful girl, what can I say?!

more to come. this post is taking forever and I have to go pick up savannah from school!

 

 

instagram + our days:

1. savannah on her first day back to public school = beyond excited!

2. ava doing her silent reading next to our tree.

3. ava doing a photo shoot of molly.

4. ava writing her book report.

5. savannah's note from her LA teacher!

6. stockings by the fireplace.

7. picking her up from school! so HAPPY!

8. coffee in front of the tree= peaceful.

9. being goofy.

10. snuggly boy.

11. birthday party for savannah's doll.

12. sleepy girl.

13. piper lazy dog!

14. heart socks ava.

15. in the car with her AG Doll.

16. eating!

love the day to day that I am getting with my iphone + instagram. if you are on there, leave me your username! I would love to follow you!