Crazy Amazing Makeover

Hey there...

It's almost Halloween... Wanna see something really spooky?

Boo! That's scary me! I have a frightening case of the uglies when I get up in the morning. :/ All I can say is thank goodness for showers and makeup! Not only was I scary me, but my hair needed help--BAD. And I'm sure you noticed my side kinks in all their morning glory. Uh, huh, go ahead and take back all your remarks about how it's not that bad. I get the jitters every time my eyes look up, too.

But lucky for me, Ash (Em's SIL who I ADORE) came with Em to visit for a few weeks not too long ago, and I got a makeover! She's an awesome hair stylist, and just as she was about to start coloring my hair, she said, "Let's take a before picture!"

Uhhh, no way, Jose! I'm thinking. But then something possessed me to say, "Sure, go for it!" And apparently I'm still possessed because I just posted it on the internet. Okay, okay. I'll stop talking about that. :)

So yeah, Ash worked wonders on me, and just an hour or so later had me transformed into what I think looks 500 thousand moons better.

Can you believe it? That's the same girl you gawked at a few minutes ago!

Thanks so much, Ash, for working some crazy amazing hair magic on me! I know everyone want's Ash's number. Don't worry, just shoot me an email and I'll hook you up. :)

 Xo/xo Marie

SWEET!

Hey yo!

We're gonna mix things up and take a break from the weekly Friday vlog.

I know you're all probably crying right now because we were so good at that (ha!), but don't fret, we'll still probably vlog from time to time, especially Lissie with her rockin' voice, but not weekly. Whew.

Feel better, sisters??  :)

So, not too long ago I got really inpsired by the photographer/designer Charla Ann...you need to check her out! Pure art over there! Anyway, every once in awhile her and her two sisters do this photo collaboration project where they each take a picture that represents a word.

We wanna try that every Friday! So, I know you're all thinking: Marie! You're a professional photographer, are you sure you're not just trying to get out of vlog Fridays? ;)
And the answer is: No! The sisters are so excited about this project! And they are getting so good at photography, so fast! (Proud big sis right here. :))

My dream is for us to be the 4 photography sisters!

This is a way for us to get creative together and hopefully improve our photography skills, too!

So, I got to pick the first word, and I picked SWEET! Here's a picture of my peachy sweet little cousin that I photographed while I was in UT a few weeks ago. :)



Next up, a super creative picture from Lulu called "So Long Sweet Summer":

Emma's sweet, sweet baby:

And Lissie tempting us all with this!

Hope you all have a super sweet weekend in every way. We can't wait for next week's word. Lauren picked SPARKLE!  Feel free to join in and link a sparklin' picture of your own! :)

Xo/xo
Marie

Teary

Hey girlies,

You know how I claim I'm not a cryer? How I could never be an actress, because crying on demand is next to impossible for me?

Yeah. I think I've changed. Holy hot tears, I've been a wreck lately! Should I start with my worst moment and work up?

Very worst moment: yesterday. We're skyping with Dad to wish him a happy birthday, and you all know how my kids are on Skype. I love them dearly, but they fail at that. Well, yesterday I think they earned a C+! Juliette only unplugged the computer once. They sang Happy Birthday nice and loud. Liam shared his chair pretty well. But I was feeling bad--mostly like a bad mom, which pretty much makes me feel bad all over. And then Liam accidentally whammed me in the jaw. Hard. And I got teary from the tongue-biting pain, and naturally, that whack in the jaw was the perfect excuse to say a quick goodbye to Dad and go hide in my closet to wail about how out of control my life has felt lately. I feel much better now, and I promise you don't need to worry about me. ;)

Okay, I guess that was the only very bad moment. On Saturday I cried because the weather changed. (Actually, maybe you do need to worry.) Yep, the air was really damp, gray, and the perfect degree of chilly, so naturally it made me homesick for Christmas in Germany.

"Emma, I really want to have one more Christmas in Germany where we're all together," I told her randomly while driving.

Enter blurry vision.

Just saying that made me get choked up and want to put on my favorite scarf and tall boots and go home to Germany right then! I couldn't stop thinking about how Mom and Dad are probably going to move away from Germany in the next three years or so, and that maybe I'll only go there again once or twice before they come back to the States. I realized how sad it's going to be when I don't have a home in Germany to go to. So, so, SO sad.

I cried quite a bit in the car about that. And thank goodness for Emma, because if she hadn't put her hand on my back, I think that cry fest could have gotten even more out of control. I don't think listening to that "Never Grow Up" song by Taylor Swift helped much.

A few nights before that, Emma and her Sister in Law, Ashley, and I went to see "The Help" while they were visiting. Best cry movie ever! I loved it and left the theater with streaks in my makeup because there were so many moments that required weeping. My larynx KILLED, and I almost went into a shaky sob, but thank heavens I didn't. Whew. Go see that movie, though! I thought it was just about as good as the book.

Okay, now for some happy tears. Em and I spent the most wonderful and lovely afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa while I was down in UT a few weeks ago. Holy smokes. Just pulling into their driveway made so many happy memories come to me. Road trips up from Cali to visit them. The peach tree. Hiding in the Teepee. Rolling down their hill. Sliding down their stairs. Learning how to drive. Toast. Skittles on the coffee table. Tight hugs. Sweet kisses. A million happy memories that definitely warranted happy tears. Except for the part when we had to leave. Those were sad tears. I loved our visit. Seriously, check out the world's best and most adorable grandparents:

XOXO,
Long-winded Marie

PS. All this crying should make me tear-free for at least five years, right?

Off You Go...

Hey Guys,

Today I saw my little Isabella off to Kindergarten for her first day of school! She was so confident and ready for this milestone, and I am so excited for her! I'll pick her up in just an hour and can't wait to hear how her day went.  

She was acting way too grown up this morning... she didn't wake up super early with the jitters like I would have expected, she put on her clothes like it was no big deal. She picked out everything she wore from head to toe. She did not want me to curl her hair, but I talked her into it. I tried to get her to wear jeans, tennis shoes, something a little more playground friendly, but she was having none of it. Cute girly girl.

I had big plans for a waffle breakfast and family prayer before she left, but who am I kidding? I was the mom in sweats  speed walking and speed talking a prayer. And then at the bus stop, I was begging for kisses and waves and smiles as I played paparazzi.  And then as soon as the bus took off with her in the very front seat next to some boy she doesn't know (gah!), I hopped in my van and then maybe broke the law trying to speed ahead and catch up with the bus, so that I could watch her make it into her classroom, all unbeknownst to her, of course... I'm cool like that.

Oh, and while I didn't make a gourmet breakfast, I did finish making the little gift I've been saving to give her this morning.  It's an old CD tin that I decorated, and in the inside there's a picture of Jesus, her name and a little notepad and pen and some stickers and magnets. (Thanks, Dotti!) I just thought it was a fun schoolish gift, and she seemed to love it and immediately stuck it in that front pocket of her backpack.

Okay, now I'm going to hurry and take a shower so that I can pick her up in a half-hour, hopefully looking a little better than I did this morning!!

XOXO,
Marie

PS. Yes, I cried. :(

F to the A to the Q...

I spent this last week at Em's and found this gem on her bookshelf! A somewhat recent (two years old) picture of the four of us together at her wedding. And somehow seeing that photo got me to thinking that we don't have an FAQ page...

Like you probably didn't know that Emma got married two years ago, just one week before Lu did. Crazy. And maybe you wonder how long we lived in Germany? Are we German? Are there only girls in our family? You wonder these things, right?

So, you didn't have to ask frequently, but I've kicked off some FAQs. Let us know if you have any other questions! :)

How come Marie is so dark and Lu and Em are so fair? Are you guys really sisters?

Yes! Our mom is half Filipino and our dad is about as white as they come. It's funny to us that the blondies in our family are just as Filipino as the rest of us!

How long have your parents lived in Germany?

It's probably obvious, but we're not German, although in total, our family has lived there about 19 years....whaaaat? Did I do my math right? That is a long time! Our family first went to Germany in 1990 on a three-year military assignment. After that my dad got out of the Army and we moved back to CA. But my parents missed Germany, and so they moved back in 1995. They've been in Heidelberg, Germany ever since! Lissie is the only sister that still lives at home with them.

Do you guys have brothers? How many kids are there in your family?

There are seven kids in our family and yes, we have brothers! We love them!! Matthew (27), who is just younger than me, lives in DC. He is a very good artist and loves music--an all-around super talented guy who we miss and don't see often enough. Our brothers Christian (18) and Bryant (15), still live in Germany with Lissie and our parents. Christian is getting ready to come stateside for college in the next year and loves his guitar and music and many other things I'm sure. Bryant is also good with music, but I think his passion is soccer and hanging with his friends. Correct me if I'm wrong, Bryant! :) Anyway, Bryant is the baby of the family, and just typing his name makes me want to give him a big smooch on the cheek.

Any other questions?? :)