Christmas Joy

Last Sunday we went out to lunch and then headed downtown to Union Station.  There was a very large exhibit of model trains that was amazing.  We also went on the Holiday Express train there which was all decorated for Christmas and visited with Santa again.  It was a lot of fun.  Will was in heaven and the girls loved it also.  More pictures coming soon (I hope).

Before & After

I just made an entry into a little contest of before/after images for this year.  The point was to show growth and also to explain what has helped you learn along the way.  I thought I'd post my 2 images here as well for me to remember.  The first is from March and the second is from November.  I have many other recent favorites but I wanted to pick 2 similar pics.  I hope to do this again next year and show more improvement because there is so much more to learn.

Thanks to all of my friends and family who helped me this year...many of you listened to me, gave advice and opinions, spread the word, etc etc.  Thanks so much!

Someday...

I am going to catch up on this blog.  I am going to blog about our trip to Germantown this summer, Emily's volleyball team, Emily's soccer team, Katie's soccer team, Halloween, etc etc...someday.  I will catch up but for tonight... 



Normal Days

Saw this tonight and wanted to share...

Normal day,
let me be aware of the treasure you are.
Let me learn from you,
love you,
bless you before you depart.
Let me not pass you by
in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may,
for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,
or bury my face in the pillow,
or stretch myself taut,
or raise my hands to the sky and want,
more than all the world, your return.


~Mary Jean Iron

I love normal days.  I didn't really know this until about 7 years ago when I had about 2 months of 'very not normal' days.  I've known it and appreciated it ever since then.  That's not to say I don't get grumpy because I do, I get really grumpy but on the inside I'm appreciating the reasons I'm grumpy.  :)  Lately, a lot of people have been telling me they 'don't know how I do it'.... meaning 4 kids, Rich traveling a lot, a photography business, etc etc.  My new answer is.... 'I don't do it'. 

Here is what 'normal days' look like around here:

• dirty dishes in the sink
• a dishwasher that needs unloaded
• a pile (very large) of laundry that needs folded
• unorganized bedrooms with unmade beds
• mass chaos in the mornings
• couch cushions turned into houses on the floor

...and that's ok.  We had our showers, we gave our hugs, we said our 'I love you(s)'...

and because a post needs a picture...here's one I took tonight...

and clearly I need to go to bed now.  :)

Believe...

The whole mall Santa operation is a bit frustrating....especially as a photographer (I guess I can call myself that now, right?)  We waited until they opened back up after Santa's break and were first in line....only they opened 15 minutes late.  They weren't so cheery either.  Anyway, everyone did really well with Santa but then our picture came and it was orange.  I don't recall using fake tanning lotion on them before going, ha.  So, I complained and they fixed their equipment and they came back and asked me "Does this look better?"  Yes, it did...only it wasn't our little boy.  :(  So, I went off with the cd of the image knowing I could fix it in Photoshop....except that the image I bought wasn't exactly on the cd...and neither was one of Katie's pig tails.  :0  So, Grandma H scanned in the orange file for me and I went to work on it making do with the resolution.  (As a photographer I have to note that this is legal since I had the cd and rights to the image... that wasn't on the cd...hmmm).

Ok, so here is our Santa memory for 2010...(and of course I have to include the before...looks like I smeared that lotion on their hair also)...

Magic...

I've come to terms with the fact that I'm way behind on blogging.  Sometimes I go to make a new post but become overwhelmed at how long it might take.  So lately I've just been posting whatever I can whenever I can.  I want to do a long Thanksgiving post about our wonderful visit to St. Louis for Thanksgiving but for tonight I'm just posting 3 pics of the girls at the Magic House in St. Louis during our visit.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa H for all the fun!  Max says thanks for the ribs too...

The Magic House is truly a magical and super fun place...we spent 5 hours there!  Here is Allie being a doctor in the nursery at the hospital, Emmie being President in the oval office and Katie being a scientist in the lab....

My Little Model...

Allie loves being my little model.  In fact, today she told me she would give me extra stickers if I took pictures of her.  :)  How could I resist?



The story it tells....or doesn't tell...

I currently have an obsession with silhouettes.  I love them.  I had a vision of all 4 plus Max standing there hanging out all lined up with a pretty sky developing.  Honestly, I knew it wouldn't happen but I had to try anyway.  :)  There is a lot that has to go right for a great silhouette....well, it didn't happen, ha.

So what is going on here?  High winds, arguing, Will was scared and starting to get down on his hands and knees....but, hey, atleast they're all in the frame.  :0



However, I do love this silhouette I took of Emmie's friend from last week...

If you read this blog and have a vision of a silhouette you would like done, leave me a comment...I'd love to play!

Happy Halloween!

Rich's work goes 'all out' for Halloween.  On Friday, we met Rich for lunch and then went to his office.  All of the admins have treats and fun things to pass out.  The library is decorated and they take pictures.  I'm not sure how anyone gets anything done that day.  Everyone had so much fun....especially Will.  He would say 'trick or treat', 'thank you', 'bye', 'have a nice day', 'have fun'.  At every stop he would say 'hat' and point to his hat, 'jacket' and point to his vest and 'boots' and point to his boots.  Then he would point somewhere and say 'THIS WAY!'  One thing he didn't do....only take 1 item at each stop.  He didn't quite catch on to that rule.  :)

Super Lunch!

When we pulled into the parking lot at Mi Ranchito last night for dinner Will said in a very excited voice, "That's a SUPER LUNCH!"  That's my boy!

Will

Had to make this for a little class assignment I had so I thought I'd post it...still can't believe he's 2!!

Yee-Haw!!!

Getting ready for Halloween...

Just a pic....

I figure if I can't find as much time anymore to get on here as often as I'd like, I can atleast post a pic or 2 now and then....today I want to 'document' this sweet smile.  :)

Fall Fun!

Ok, I have some SERIOUS catching up to do on this blog. Wow. For now, I want to post a few pics of Will from the other day. While Allie was at gym class, we went to play on a trail. He had SO MUCH FUN playing with leaves. It was truly a special 45 minutes we had together. So sweet and happy this boy is!!!

Happy Birthday Will!!!

I simply can't believe that Will turned 2 last Friday.  I just can't believe it.  I remember the appointment when we found out our baby was a boy.  It was shocking and very shocking to everyone else as well.  While we would have been just as happy with a girl, it was so exciting to think about having a son.  I cherished every minute of that pregnancy and appreciated being so blessed. 

From the very first day, he has been such a sweet boy.  Just tonight he thought I looked sad and said "Don't worry, Mama."  That brought a smile to my face immediately and he said "All better, Mama?"  I will never forget how he has ALWAYS loved to hold hands.  At 2, he is full of energy and is so easy going at the same time.  He is sweet, fun, funny, smart and all boy. 

We had a great birthday weekend.  I have many pictures to share but am so tired so here is one for now...

 

Max

I think anyone who would be reading this blog knows what happened to our little Mia so I won't write about that tonight.  Here is our newest addition....Max.  He is a sweetheart.  He wants to be by us all the time and he follows us around.  He is very cuddly and so very calm and laid back...so far, so good.  :)

Here he is after his bath this morning...

Here he is after Emmie set him all up for nap time...notice his little teady bear she positioned under his paw.  :)

And...just incase you were wondering what his shirt says....

Allie's First Day!

Allie had her first day of 4-year-old preschool yesterday.  This year she goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Wednesday is 'lunch bunch' day and she goes from 9-3.  That is a long time.  Last year she had a tough time starting and I was getting nervous about a month ago when she mentioned not wanting to go to school.  However, she didn't have any problems!  She had a great time!!  She had the sweetest smile on her face when she saw me in the hallway to pick her up.  Her classroom is all girls and everyone thinks that is pretty silly.  Also, her lunch bunch teacher is her teacher from last year so that worked out great.  Allie had a great first day and can't wait to go back tomorrow.  Unfortunately, it was quite hectic and this is the only picture I have.

Along for the ride...

Mia has been with us for a week now.  She still has much to learn about using the outdoor facilities.  She is so sweet though and seems to have become very comfortable in our family.  {I really wish the girls would have agreed to naming her Heidi though.}  Mia goes with us to soccer practices, soccer games, to pick up the girls from school, the pet store, through the McDonalds drive-thru, etc.  Here she is in the car after a long soccer practice...she was exhausted from all the fun!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.  I wish I had more pictures to share but we are knee deep (ok, underwater, actually) in home projects so the day was spent outside working and avoiding our extremely hot house. 

So, this is all I have for tonight...

She has a name...

...and it is Mia! 

After a long family voting session tonight, we have named our little puppy Mia.  From a list of about 20, we narrowed it down to 8.  First, we went through the 8 and asked how many liked that name in general.  Will, obviously couldn't vote...plus, he was taking a nap.  :)

Lilly: 3
Lucy:  5
Mia:  5
Heidi:  3
Mylie:  2
Macey:  2
Abby:  2
Lola:  3

So, then we narrowed it down to Lucy and Mia.  Everyone voted for their choice.

Lucy:  0
Mia:  5

A unanimous decision and a perfectly fitting name!  When Will woke up we were telling him her name and he was pronouncing it so dramatically as 'mee-hawww'....like 'yee-hawww'.  :)

Welcome to our family Mia! 

I just can't wait any longer....

to introduce you to our newest family member....

Seriously....isn't she THE cutest puppy you have ever seen?

Shocked?  Here's how it all happened....

The girls really wanted a pet.  Rich and I have never considered ourselves 'dog people'....always said we'd never have a dog.  The girls wanted a dog.  We compromised and decided on a kitten.  So, that is what was planned for the near future.  They would continue to say things to me about being glad they were getting a pet but really wished it could be a puppy.  They were upset about friends they had who couldn't come over because they were allergic to cats.  Well, I've been known to go to Walmart for orange juice and come home with a computer.  Yesterday, I went to the bank and looked across the parking lot at this adorable dog boutique/store.  Hmmm...

I asked a lot of questions wondering if there could be a puppy that might fit into our family....good with children, hypoallergenic, no shedding, small and a few other things.  Well, there were 3 that fit.  Allie, Will and I saw puppy #1 and fell in love instantly...seriously, it was strange.  She was so gentle, so affectionate, adorable and not crazy!  Time for puppy #2....well, that lasted for like 2 minutes.  We asked for puppy #1 back and played and cuddled some more.  Phone call to Rich, paid a deposit to hold her, left for a little bit....went back to visit with her and stayed for atleast a 1/2 hour.  LOVE!  (What happened to #3...I don't know).  Allie's expressions on  her face were priceless.  I had my 'point n shoot' in my purse and started capturing video....I will post another day but she was singing  made up songs like "You're my best friend...I'm going to clean up my toys for you and take you home."  Will was also liking her very much! 

After school I told Emmie and Katie we had a surprise for them.  Katie had soccer practice first and then we all went to the store.  Emmie said that she knew where we were.  Katie said "I don't know where we are because I don't know how to read those signs."  :)  Katie said that she thought we were getting a kitten as we went in the store.  Emmie stated that they didn't sell kittens there...it was starting to sink in.  I quietly asked a worker to bring us our puppy on hold.  Oh my!  They were in love!  "This is the best puppy in the world!  This is the cutest puppy in the world!  This is the puppy I would pick out of all puppies!  Is this our puppy?  I had a dream I got a puppy JUST LIKE HER.  Can we take her home?"

Emmie asked if we could take her home that night.  I said that we should wait until tomorrow because she had to go to volleyball and that wouldn't be fair to her because she'd miss the coming home time.  Emmie didn't care....she wanted that puppy adopted.  :)  So, in between that soccer practice and Emmie's late night volleyball practice, we adopted her.  At first when I came home, I thought what in the world did we just do but that was only for a minute (or two).  They have all said the cutest things about this puppy and it makes it all worth it.   

I also must admit... it turns out that I AM a dog person....well, atleast a 'THIS DOG person'.  She is cuddly and sweet and calm and playful.  The girls love that she can go outside and go places with us.  She has already been back to the dog boutique for shopping and also to Emmie's soccer practice.  She also slept through the night from 12-7!

Since this was so sudden....we don't have a name yet.  Current choices are Lilly, Bailey, Ruby, Lucy and still looking.

I will have a lot more pictures to share but here are 3 from the store....so glad that camera happened to be in my purse.  :)

Ace of Cakes....playdough version

Yesterday the girls decided to play 'Ace of Cakes' (the tv show) with their playdough.  They designed cakes for quite a long time and had so much fun.  They were asking me to take pictures of their cakes and having competitions.  They asked me to put some of their favorite cakes on our blog to be voted on.  Wow...they really love this show!  First, they were thinking I would just post cakes and see which one won.  However, I decided that voting for the favorite of each girl was the 'safer' way to go.  :)

Thanks for playing along with us!

Here are Allie's cakes:

Here are Katie's cakes:

Here are Emmie's cakes:

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

  

First Day Of 1st & 4th Grade

Today was the first day of school!  Emmie is now in 4th grade.  I joke with her that I can no longer help her with homework since I only taught up to 3rd grade.  Katie is now a big 1st grader....going to school all day long...no longer home with me for lunch.  They were both ready for school to start!  I don't think I was quite prepared though....although it is always a very exciting day for them.