This Parris{ian} Life

karen [2.21.11]

2011-02-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some photos from one of my favorite sessions this past fall.

Meet Karen.

She wanted to surprise her husband with photos of the family for Christmas.

And man does she have one. beautiful. family.

Karen is particularly special to me because she was the first person I met when I walked through the doors of my sons' preschool in the Fall of '09. You may remember that story from my post here.

I will never forget that day. We already loved our neighborhood, and we had a strong desire to have our kids in school with our neighbors instead of driving to a school in a different community. Until a couple of days before school started for the little guys, that's what we had resigned ourselves that we had to do. Having God open that door was quite a blessed surprise for me and Jamie.

From the moment we started the two schools our sons attend, moved to this neighborhood and became a part of this community, it just felt right. Like coming home. And that doesn't always happen. I really saw God's care for me and my family clearly that day. Some of the situations and circumstances earlier in our family's story had been really tough and lonely. If it hadn't been for those times, I wouldn't be able appreciate life NOW as fully. It really makes it so much sweeter. There are so many blessings. A school where we know the other families. 30 minute walks that always seem to last more than an hour because we see so many friends along the way. The neighborhood kids feeling equally at home in each others houses.

Pardon my rambling on and on....looking at these photos of Karen and her kiddos just reminds me of how grateful I am to be where God has planted us now. We are savoring these sweet days!

a December shoot and a request for prayer

2011-01-27T08:57:00.000-08:00

hopefully one day soon I'll get around to posting a sampling of my clients sessions this fall and winter. i'm so thankful for all of the amazing families i'm blessed to work with. but, for now, here are a couple of sweet faces that need prayers today.....

this family welcomed these precious girls a year ago and became a family of four! big sis is in 1st grade with one of my boys and we've gotten to know this family through our time at EES.

are these not the cutest little faces you've ever seen? {i realize i say that about all of my clients, but i can't help it!}

i've never met more laid back, jolly babies. and when Mama has twins plus two older siblings, that is a gift!!!!

sweet H (in the green dress) is in the hospital right now and has been for a week. she has a severe case of RSV and is having trouble maintaining progress. her twin is sick at home with similar symptoms but thankfully they have not progressed to the level that requires her to be admitted to Children's. mom and dad are understandably worried and beyond exhausted. right now they could be looking at two more weeks in the hospital.

if you pray, please lift up these precious girls and their families. they need it and would be so grateful!

ice ice baby

2011-01-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

We were recently the recipients of our 3rd winter "storm" since moving in our house. It has been so neat for the boys to get to experience the snow and make these memories as we went so long without any snow at all! This time it was definitely more ice than snow, but that didn't change the fun! We have several steep streets around our house and all the neighborhood kids had a blast on the Homewood Luge! After lots of sledding, we shared cocoa and cider with our neighbors. The next day we hosted an impromptu Snow Brunch at our house for 2 sets of our neighbors. Fun! Fun!

proper sledding attire is serious business

one of our little BFF's who is like a little sister to the boys :)

the two Hughs take the hill!

Grayson gets ready! We had all manner of sleds out there ;)

another of our sweet friends~Harper

4 Parris men on a sled take one of the hills by our house!

recent family shoot.

2010-11-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

you know how when you meet some people you instantly feel like you've known them forever? that's how it was with Stacey. we first met a little over a year ago at my sons' preschool. she quickly became a dear friend and one of my favorite people. so of course i was thrilled when she asked me to photograph her along with her hubby and their two boys. i took them to one of my favorite spots in downtown birmingham for our shoot. check out a few of my faves from our session....

2010-09-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

head over to my other blog for a new post. more to come....
www.jessicaparrisphotography.blogspot.com

2010-07-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

I got to meet up with this fun first time mom recently to photograph her baby boy. He was such a good baby! Slept and curled up for me so well! Was able to get some shots of those big blue eyes too! Here are a couple of my favorites....

And E makes 3

2010-06-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

kids that is! I've been photographing this family for several years now. They have really become sweet friends. They all have these gorgeous blue green eyes that seem to be lit from within. E is the newest member of the family and we met up recently for her 6 month session. Check out those rolls! As my 2 year old would say, they are "Dewishus!" The only time I've seen rolls on a baby that rival these are on photos of my little brother when he was this age! Such a cutie...

old favorites

2010-06-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

In going through the last 6 months of images to make room for the new, I found these that I never blogged about.

I love these girls so much! We shot these back around Christmas. The bright colors truly match these girls' personalities. We had lots of fun playing hide and seek and enjoying lollipops. Their mom is a dear friend. The kind who is comfortable walking in my house and making herself at home. The kind of friend whose home I feel the same way about. Good people.

She has such a great perspective on what true beauty is. She teaches her girls that it is not about being perfect and put together all the time. This makes for a great shoot and allows me to capture the girls as they really are. And when our children are grown, isn't that what we all want to remember? Those sweet quirks and their uniqueness? I love how she let them be free to be themselves and have fun w/ the shoot.

2010-05-01T21:04:00.001-07:00

If you are a mother of boys, you will appreciate this! :)

check it out over on my other blog: www.jessicaparrisphotography.blogspot.com

honey.

2010-04-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

This guy brings me such joy. Today was one of those days. While I was putting out fires today and running around like a chicken he was just along for the ride and happy to be here. Not every day is like that, for sure. This boy knows how to throw down a Threat Level Midnight Temper Tantrum. But, when he's not doing that he's the absolute sweetest, most affectionate, joyful buddy.

One of my favorite things he says these days is a part of our bedtime routine. I ask, "Are you my sweet baby?" and he responds, "Noooooo! I da hunny!"

I love it! I ask him over and over just to hear him say "da hunny!"

In addition to Spring Cleaning my house, I really need to Spring Clean my computer. I found these that I took several months ago. I spend so much time ordering other people's photos, that I neglect my own! So many little treasures hiding in my Mac begging to be hung on a wall. Ahh...maybe one day!

Sarah + Mitchell: The Engagement

2010-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

I know that if you follow this blog and actually see a recent post pop up, you expect me to preface it with, "I am so behind in posting!" or "It's been a while since I last blogged..."

and since I don't want to disappoint...there it is ;)

I will save you some boredom and refrain from listing the many reasons for the lack of blogging. You all know them anyway! It's never dull around here!

What I will say is that I am happy to post some of my faves from a recent engagement session. Sarah and MItchell met on a blind date in their common hometown and are getting hitched in 2 months. I wish them all the best! Had a blast with them and new puppy, Nick (that's right-named for none other than Saban). Thank you guys for letting me capture your road to the aisle!

Want to see more of this gorgeous couple? Go HERE.

old friends and new babes

2010-03-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, some of my oldest friends and I had an old school slumber party. Time with them is always sweet. It's hard to beat the combination of friends you've known since kindergarten, terribly bad for you snacks and a stack of old TEEN magazines! We laughed. a lot. It was fun indeed.
I also got to have a couple of photo shoots with the two newest babies of our group...which, for me, was the icing on the cake of a perfect weekend!

pears. still life.

2010-01-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

these beauties were sitting in my dining room just begging to be photographed.

that is, until they began their other life as this.

a day at the museum

2010-01-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

a couple of art critics in front of one of their mom's favorite paintings at the BMA.

and, yes, i asked them to stand that way :)

Days 4 and 5 of Disney

2010-01-07T13:20:00.001-08:00

the Indiana Jones stunt show

in China

Germany

Mickey appeared in America and we were able to get more photos with him!

Morocco

shops and fountain in beautiful Morocco

Our 4th day was spent at Epcot and this time we stayed over on the World Showcase side. It was beautiful. In England we had some very tasty Fish and Chips for lunch and met Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins. Alice was the sweetest and was so great w/ the boys. Mary was COMPLETELY in character. She was hysterical. She asked one of the boys a question to which he replied, "Yeah." (lovely manners we have.) She then said, "Well....there's always room for improvement!" It was all I could do not to die laughing. After she signed their autograph books, they tried to hand them to me while we posed for a photo. She looked at them and said in her very best British accent, "She's not your personal carpetbagger!"

I should have asked her if she was looking for a nanny-ing job in the States.

Our 5th day was spent at Hollywood Studios. The boys were very impressed by the Indiana Jones stunt show and Toy Story Mania was their favorite attraction. I didn't take as many photos at HS as it's not as picturesque. They did have some beautiful shrubberies, though, and we got a photo of them meeting some of the Green Army Men from Toy Story. Check out the bottoms of their feet!

Snow Day. Blog Day.

2010-01-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

After passing through the castle we saw Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. I jokingly asked Sumner if he wanted her autograph and this was his response :)

Cinderella in her carriage at the Spectro parade

in Mickey's garage

in Minnie's oh so cool kitchen

birthday at Chef Mickey's

i don't think this photo needs a caption. it says it all :)

flying over the Magic Kingdom in Dumbo

School dismissed at 11:30 today. While we wait for the snow to accumulate, the littlest is snug in his bed and the big two are playing Wii. So, I have a minute to play blog catch up!

Our 3rd day of our Disney trip was mostly spent at the Magic Kingdom. We had a blast! Definitely a two day park. We came back here a couple of different afternoons/evenings as well. We were really glad to have Park Hopper passes. It allowed us to take a rest and go to a different park or dine in a different park...or just hop around if we'd done all we wanted in a park that day.

Disney-End of Day 1 and Day 2

2010-01-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

playing Lincoln Logs @ Whispering Canyon

while waiting for our table

after dinner at the Wilderness Lodge

dinner our 3rd night at Whispering Canyon. riding his stick horse through the dining room!

a kiss of course! all characters got kisses from Meade

meeting Thumper

watching Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade at A.K.

heading to lunch at Flametree BBQ. a very pictureque dining spot.

spotting an elephant on our safari ride

this lady was amazing! she appeared out of nowhere it seemed (as the A.K. is covered in vegetation). all of a sudden we see this creature covered in vines and on extremely high stilts walking up the path. her movement and acting was incredible and we could have watched her all day!

waiting to watch our brothers in the rapids from the bridge above.

on the path near Flametree

"Hey up there!"

"Hi Meade!"

the tree of life

a view of Everest from Africa

On our first full day and after a nap back at the resort, we headed to the MAGIC KINGDOM. We wanted to the kids to get a glimpse of what you think of when you think of Disney as early as possible in the trip. We also had dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace w/ the Pooh characters that night. After that we watched the Wishes fireworks show above the castle. It's not to be missed!

Our second day was spent at ANIMAL KINGDOM which was absolutely beautiful. I was not prepared for how lovely this park would be. I had something entirely different envisioned in my mind. This was favorite our favorite park as far as atmosphere and one of the boys' favorite rides was here...the Kali River Rapids. We also got to meet Safari Mickey and Thumper here. It was a full day park for us. It's very large and divided into Africa, Asia and Dinoland. I don't think we could have seen and done it all in a half day.

Our 3rd dinner (after our 2nd full day) was held at the Wilderness Lodge at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. A couple of friends recommended this one-esp. for boys. If anyone needs ketchup during their meal, you yell "Does anyone have any ketchup?" and everyone brings their ketchup to your table. You may end up w/ 20 bottles :) The servers also break out into song and everyone stands up to do the Hokey Pokey. Stick horses were handed out and the kids paraded around the dining area. It was so fun! The Wilderness Lodge is worth touring even if you don't have dinner reservations or accommodations there. It reminded us a little of the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.

Who has time to blog?

2009-12-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

Not me, apparently!

The holidays hit as well as a birthday and I never got around to posting Disney pix, let alone anything else!

Since there's NO WAY these photos will see a physical scrapbook this side of the boys' teenage years, I'll post them here for them...and for the grands and great grands enjoyment! (*disclaimer: this trip left no time for setting up a shot. it was all about keeping up with 3 boys. i should have brought leashes. bear with me on the poor photography!)

We arrived in Orlando and headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. My friend Summer had told me that T-Rex was a must for us. I knew it would be packed and we'd not been able to get reservations. However, when we arrived the wait was only 20 minutes, so we were able to get in! A fun surprise and blessing to kick off our trip. I highly recommend it. Each dining area has a different theme (Ice Age, Coral Reef) and is larger than life. Every few minutes the lights would dim in our dining area and a meteor shower would commence on the ceiling (as well as the dinos coming to life and roaring). The boys loved it!

Our first full day was spent on the Future World side of Epcot. It was great to see the "big golfball" for the first time! The boys' favorite ride (and mine) was Soarin'. The ride simulates flying over California and you even smell oranges as you fly over the groves....very well done. For lunch, we headed over to Cantina San Angel on the other side in the World Showcase. We ate outside by the lovely Lagoon and then headed back to our resort for a rest. Future World was fun, but we liked the World Showcase side better overall.

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2009-11-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

That's what they call the place and I believe it!

We just took the boys on their first trip to Walt Disney World and kept all the planning a SURPRISE!

Jamie and I were so giddy about surprising them. When we woke up the morning of the trip we felt like a couple of kids on Christmas morning!

I am so thankful for all the help I received planning this trip. I couldn't have done it without the help of friends who had recently been and planning forums. So, I thought I'd post my experience in case anyone is looking for resources themselves (and so I remember myself!)

We had thought about taking them in Feb, but found a house sooner than we expected and were busy w/ the initial renovations for months. We then looked at the Fall for a trip, so I didn't really get down to the serious planning until 2 or 3 months ago. There is a science to it, let me tell ya! We also used tourguidemike.com to plan the itineraries. It was an invaluable resource! It is a hard site to navigate (they need to hire my husband!) but so worth it. Mike was a VIP tour guide so he knows the ins and outs backward and forward. For a small fee to join, he discloses sample tours w/ the best times to ride attractions, predicted crowd levels so you know what day to hit what park (so important!), where to get the best spots for parade and firework viewing, etc. etc. We will use TGM for all our trips. He was spot on! Allears.net is also a great resource, especially for first timers, as it has photos of the resorts, attractions, lodging, menus, etc.

The trip was truly magical for all of us. Such a blessing to enjoy with our family. Rounding the corner on Main St. USA and seeing the castle for the first time was breathtaking! I literally felt like a little girl again! We loved being there in November because we were able to see some of the Christmas decor and the weather was perfect! It wasn't too cold to enjoy the pools and it wasn't too hot in the parks.

Character spotting was a really fun part of the trip and made it even more special because you never knew who you were going to see when. We got lots of autographs! Nana made adorable autographs books for the boys to open on the trip. She did a great job designing them!

Most people asked if we were taking Meade with us--and we did! We are so glad we did! There were a few times when it was difficult with an almost 2 year old, but honestly, overall, it was such fun for him and US to have him there! The joy and excitement on his face was something Jamie and I will never forget. I loved having him there at an age when he was so into the characters! Everywhere we went, whether it was to a cast member or character, he would raise his hand and say, "Kigh!" which translated is "High Five!" He gave the characters Eskimo kisses and hugs. It was precious. Sumner is a little past the characters so he was more interested in the thrilling rides and the educational attractions. Grayson was very much into the magic of it all and was really cute about it. Jamie and I really enjoyed watching each boy experience the whole thing from different perspectives.

We traded off on the rides Meade wasn't ready for and when we couldn't, one of us would just walk around w/ him and enjoy the surroundings. It can be easy to get caught up in the go, go, go and not just stop and experience where you are! Of course, everyone is different, but that is what worked for us.

I'll post pictures for the family members later :) but for now here is a list of our faves:

Spectromagic Light Parade (runs a few times each week, not every night) was our fave night event! Jamie and I literally both teared up during this one between all the beautiful lights, music and characters old and new. Not to be missed! We loved it so much we saw it twice and rearranged one of our dining reservations in the Magic Kingdom to position ourselves to finish eating as the parade was beginning...and for a top viewing location!

Wishes! a beautiful fireworks show over the castle. You HAVE to see Tinkerbell fly from the top of the castle. One of my top 3 magical moments of the whole trip! TGM told us just where to be to view it best!

Each park has it's own parades either during the day and/or at night. The best daytime parade was Animal Kingdom's. Very unique characters and floats here.

Our favorite dining of the trip: Chef Mickey's character b'fast (brunch)-there are lots of character dining options and we loved this one the best. The food was great and you get lots of time w/ the 5 main Disney characters-Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto!

Whispering Canyon was great fun for the boys, Flaming Tree BBQ-beautiful scenery/views, Liberty Tree Tavern feels just like eating Thanksgiving dinner in a large colonial home-loved it!, Crystal Palace for Pooh Characters and right across from the castle. I recommend getting the Dining Plan, too!

Rides/Attractions the boys loved the most in the 4 parks and (rode most multiple times): Kali River Rapids (AK), Splash Mountain (MK), Primeval Twirl (AK), Toy Story Mania (H'wood Studios), Star Tours (HS), Mickey's Philharmagic 3D,

Playhouse Disney Live! (HS), Turtle Talk With Crush (Epcot), Soarin' (Epcot)

A few classics to do simply because they are classic Disney: Dumbo, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, the Hall of Presidents -my history buffs liked that one...(and it's been updated to include Pres. Obama)

Rides we could have skipped that are only so-so: Imagination/Figment (even though it's been re-vamped), Buzz Lightyear

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were by far our favorite parks. We liked the World Showcase portion of Epcot best of the 2 sections. Hollywood Studios was only ok, but we knew that going in, just wanted to experience a couple things there. Definitely a half day park-relax by the pool for the rest of the day!

Shows/Attractions my boys liked even though they had a "girly" factor: Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Minnie's Country House (her kitchen was cool!)

Disney is a very hard place to leave. I'm already going through withdrawals and I'm writing this en route to home! Everyone greets you with "Have a Magical Day" (not to mention everyone seems truly thrilled to be there!), parades pop up in the middle of the street and the characters you've loved since childhood greet you around the corner with a hug. Aaaaaah. We are already planning our return!

wanna smile?

2009-11-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

go here

twenty two months

2009-09-29T19:43:00.001-07:00

M turned 22 months on the 20th. When I look back at baby pictures of the big boys and then at his I see such resemblance...
but yet, he is different in many ways than his brothers.
One being that he took the paci for maybe 6 months. Those who know my boys know they love their pacis and rarely want to part with them even at age 2.
The big boys never had lovies or stuffed toys they were overly attached to, but M walks around constantly with an animal or his "Nigh Nigh" blanket. He isn't really particular about which one it is (which I know makes things MUCH easier!) He is so sweet and affectionate and he's just so cute when he gives his animals "Five" or points out their eyes, ears, etc. and gives them kisses.

Most of our conversations start with "Maah Mee?!?!"
To which I answer, "Yes"
And he replies, "Ummmm...."
(hilarious how he already picks up on the flow of conversation)
Then he'll start all over or tell me that he wants to "Wok" (walk)
or he wants something to eat "Chee!" (cheese)
or he points out all the ball shapes he sees everywhere...."Bah! Bah!"

He is so very fun.

the school year begins

2009-09-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

Summer passed quickly and the school year has begun. We did have some last minute, and I mean last minute, changes to the school and MDO that Grayson and Meade attend and it was really neat the way it all worked out.

They were both signed up to attend the school Grayson attended last year. We knew it would be a half day program for G which we felt would ease him in to full days next year. As the date approached we were just uneasy about having the boys in two schools in two different towns with completely different schedules, not to mention all the gas we'd be burning up! We really wanted G to be in a school that fed the school he'll attend next year. He had a precious class at the school he attended for K4, but I really felt that another year with them might make it sadder for him to leave in the long run. He is still at a flexible age and was content to attend school wherever.

This was literally a week and a half before the school we were registered with was to begin.
That Saturday I was out with a couple of friends antique-ing. One of them had previously taught at one of the more sought after preschools in our town. I asked them if I was crazy to try to get Grayson, much less Meade, a spot at one of these schools at such a late date. They encouraged me to try as most private K5 classes in Homewood are small due to the fact that the public school is great and most parents end up sending their kids there.
We prayed about it over the weekend and as the doors of the one within walking distance of our house opened on Monday, I was there!
Upon asking about the longshot of their having a spot open, the registrar told me they indeed had ONE!

ONE!

Needless to say we were thrilled! It was definitely an unexpected gift from the Lord.
Meade didn't have a spot at that time in their MDO program but was placed on the waiting list.
Two weeks later and 2 weeks before he was to start at the other MDO, the school calls to say that a spot opened up for him.

The whole experience has been wonderful so far and I write this more for myself and for the boys to reflect on God's providence and timing. I was so surprised by the spots opening up, but He wasn't.

That wasn't the only blessing. Sumner has done better than we hoped in the first few wks at his new school. We had some tears through the summer because he was understandably anxious starting a school where he knew kids in other grades, but not really his own... other than a sweet, little girl third cousin. We prayed God would send encouraging friends to him. We've had neighbors set up playdates just for him to introduce him to boys in his grade, one of which ended up in his class, is from a great family and is now a buddy he considers a great friend..AND his cousin is in his class!
We have much to be thankful for....

at sea

2009-08-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

time is short...so few words here, but many photographs. they say it best really, anyway.

these are some of my favorite images from the beach this summer.

Wedding

2009-08-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

can you tell this shot was taken BEFORE the ceremony and dinner?

with their favorite aunt

with Nerny-who, as always, was a huge help all weekend so Jamie and I could enjoy the festivities.

Mimosas backstage

Grandaddy Alton at the start of the service

Meade and Uncle Michael

loved the creativity the florist used. and i love detail shots at weddings :) so fun. aren't the colors delicious?

corraling the party animal

getting his groove on

Father/Daughter dance

Cousin Jenny and Lydia

Jamie and Becca..we love our baby cousins!

they're hitched!

(we took a LOT of photographs all weekend, so i had to break this up into three posts!)

Rehearsal

2009-08-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Friday evening was the rehearsal in the gardens and then we all enjoyed a great meal and toasts at John's City Diner downtown.

Molly+Jonas Wedding Weekend

2009-08-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

brunch, cooked by Sherry and Grace, was divine...

the gift all the brides receive from the Ya Ya's...
jamie and i have one, too. it has the bride's new last name initial on the front and the Ya Ya's names on the back.

the view

Another big event for us this summer was the marriage of Jamie's sister, known around here as Aunt Molly. The weekend kicked off with a gorgeous bridesmaids' brunch steeped in lots of meaningful tradition at a friends' home on Smith Lake.

2009-07-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

in our suite

we remembered to take a hostess photo after shower, but Lynds was already gone :(
catch ya next time!

in the Partay Wagon!

anything about these shots tell you that the boys use this little point and shoot alot? the smudgy screen and overall foggy look, perhaps?

looking very Boho chic in her maternity glory :)

July has been a month of celebrations in the Parris household. First, Gin's baby shower for sweet little Knox who is due next month. And then Aunt Molly's wedding (more on that soon)!
Sadly, I accidentally deleted most of the photos from Gin's shower, but did salvage some from our GNO following. We had a blast staying in a suite at the Tutwiler and hitting the town. Time with these dear friends is always sweet!

Summertime

2009-07-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th with some sweet friends who know how to throw a party! They live practically at the foot of Vulcan and we couldn't have asked for a better spot to view the fireworks.

Molly's festive decor

what a cutie

all my boys

watching the fireworks

some of the kiddos

M helping himself to some Cheerios

landscaping!

when all is quiet, this is usually where i find him...
on his way upstairs! a lot of times he will come to me, wave, and say "bye!"
and then head off. i know exactly what that means and where to find him...it's his way of giving me a heads up, i guess :)

swimming lesson treats with friends

Father's Day

Star Wars night at the Barons game

with our friends H and MH watching the Barons

I realized recently that I have not blogged all summer! It's been a fun one and one that has gone by too quickly...as they all do. We've had a lot going on and while it's never easy being home with 3 rowdy boys all day, I so love having them home! I enjoy the more relaxed pace and I always get so sad when it's time for another school year to begin. I am excited about the new school and helping Sum get acclimated there. I get so excited knowing that he's starting a community school where he'll be for all his school years (as far as we know!) and all the adventures and friendships those years will hold.We've been focusing on getting plugged in more specifically to our community this summer and what a treat it has been! We love it here and are so thankful! Here are a few highlights from our summer days and I'll be posting more of what we've been up to soon.

ATL weekend

2009-06-07T19:00:00.001-07:00

checking out the view from our hotel room

no hotel stay is complete w/o a pillow fight

one of my favorite photos-love this wide angle shot of anderson cooper

on the cool slide in centennial park

this photo needs no explanation if you know my boys!

broverly wuv.

the highlight was trying all the coke products from other countries

not the fella you would want to run into in the big blue sea

true to life

a few weeks ago we took the boys to atlanta for the weekend. a last minute stomach bug almost kept us from going, but thankfully M perked up enough for us to keep our reservations and get away. we had a great time! it was good to step. away. from. the. home. renovations.

we hit the atl aquarium, the world of coca cola and a couple other atlanta favorites.

five.

2009-06-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

mr. curls is five.

how can that be?

to celebrate he chose 3 of his best buddies to go have pizza with him at his favorite pizza parlor. then it was on to his favorite bakery for cupcakes and finally, bowling! that was entertaining!
i think their favorite part was watching the ball come back up the machine, actually :)

happy birthday, GFP! we love you!

wise words

2009-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

this mom is drinking this in this morning as i start a new week, praying that I will not be so busy that I don't see Him all around me:

"My sin is to look on my faults and be discouraged, or to look on my good and be puffed up. I fall short of the glory every day by spending hours unprofitably, by thinking that the things I do are good, when they are not done to thy end, nor spring from the rules of the Word. ...I am sometimes discouraged by the way, but though winding and trying it is safe and short. Death dismays me, but my great high priest stands in its waters, and will open me a passage, and beyond is a better country. While I live let my life be exemplary. When I die may my end be peace.

--from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

and this from Margie Haack:

"I love those moments when peace mysteriously falls on your head in the midst of chaos, when you know that just to quietly be and to do what you can, and that is quite enough and all that God expects. "

Lord, let me know this today!

SEVEN.

2009-04-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

the masked man approacheth
(you can just hear the Imperial March, can't you?)

ATTACK!

this picture makes me laugh every time. Jamie...or Bill Cosby?

S turned SEVEN last month and since we eat, sleep and breathe Star Wars around here, how else to celebrate but with a Star Wars party?! S and G dressed as Obi Wan and Yoda and greeted the guests at the bridge of the park with a light saber, which was each guests' party favor.

we then had Jedi Training led by Jedi Master Jamie...

each Jedi was trained in Balance (carrying an egg in a spoon across a narrow ledge), Light Saber Fighting (hitting bubbles a.k.a. "Droids" with their light sabers) and Blaster Target Practice (Nerf gun used to shoot a poster of Darth Vader).

after each Jedi was awarded his certificate, there was a surprise visit by Darth Vader himself (a rather good sport, he was).

a fun time was had by all!

to see photos of the birthday boy at his photo shoot at Sloss, check out my other blog!

what's been goin' on...

2009-04-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

on the front porch

heading out to see Wicked!

out on the front porch being social

my saint patrick's day baby

not a technically great shot, but he looks so mild mannered and at peace there in his room ( a rarity these days, let me tell ya) that i had to post it :)

lots of change going on around here...mainly a change of address! we moved over spring break and are slowly but surely getting settled. we LOVE our neighborhood and community and are humbled by the graciousness of friends, family and new neighbors...and grateful to be HOME.

the boys are excited because we can walk to their favorite pizza parlor. i'm excited b/c i can walk to the school, library, grocery store, the kids clothing consignment store...and most importantly, the Creamery-land of Only 8! :)

thank you to all you sweet friends and family who brought us meals, who kept our children, helped us move and were excited for us through this transition. we truly mean it when we say we couldn't have done it without you!

we hope you'll come see us!

one year

2009-02-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

i've been a bit negligent of both the blogs lately. mainly due to mr. mobile pictured here.
he is giving me a run for my money! but, isn't he delish? i just can't get enough of his hugs and kisses and giggles. i never dreamt when i was young that the Lord would grant me 1 boy, let alone 3 boys to love. what a sweet, sweet surprise He had in store for me! i cannot imagine my life without them nor this 3rd little man to round things out. he is a true joy. seeing him through the eyes of his brothers has been even more special than i anticipated. i love it when they are overcome with giggles by his little baby ways. they have a special love for him that is a blessing for Jamie and I to watch and I can't help but be excited about what they will mean to each other as they grow up.

i took these photos a couple of months ago when he turned one. at the end of the shoot, which was done downtown, the big boys wanted to take a photo of me with each of them. not a bad job, huh?

AVL

2009-01-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

statue at Biltmore

at our B & B

there is nothing like seeing this place during the holidays at night

i love these lions!

chestnuts roasted over an open fire
no sight of jack frost, though

mr. chef at the cooking demo

tasty shrimp and grits
at the cooking demo

on the porch of our B & B

a libation enjoyed by the roaring fire at Grove Park Inn

we took our anniversary trip to our tried and true favorite~Asheville, NC back at the beginning of of December to celebrate 9 years of marriage. we just love this town. and this year, in addition to all our standard favorites, we had the help of the Kesler's and their local insider suggestions ;-). we could have eaten our way through Asheville. there are some chefs with seriously mad skills in that town.

so, if you are ever headed that way, let me go on and on about what all to do there :)

Breathe In (huh? you ask...)

2009-01-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged again. This time by my friend Mandie :)
Do I have time for this? No! But, it was too funny to pass up.
Especially toward the end...
Here's what ya do:
1. Put your music playing device on shuffle.
2.For each question, press the Next button to get the answer
3.Write the song name down.
4. Tag friends who you think would enjoy this.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
City Love (Live in Birmingham)-John Mayer

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
The Bad Actress-Josh Ritter

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Life Is Just a Tire Swing-Jimmy Buffett

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Untitled-Interpol

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
New Hymn-James Taylor

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Boplicity-Miles Davis

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Message In a Bottle-The Police

WHAT IS 2+2?
Karolina-National Skyline

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Ants Marching-Dave Matthews Band

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face-Coldplay

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
When Doves Cry-Prince

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Miracle-David Wilcox

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Haiti-Arcade Fire

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Home Within Your Heart-David Wilcox

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Jonah Was a Prophet-Veggie Tales

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Falling Slowly-Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the ONCE Soundtrack

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Rain-Patty Griffin

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
I Stand Corrected-Vampire Weekend

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Free Fallin'-John Mayer (I kid you not!!!!!)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
The First Song-Band of Horses (I guess this means I regret City Love?? no way, Babe ;)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
I Would Be Sad-The Avett Brothers (again...no kidding!)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Help My Unbelief-Red Mountain Church (ok...it's a little creepy how this is working out...)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Didjital Vibrations -Jamiroquai

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Inside and Out-Feist

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Is It Any Wonder?- Keane (hahahahaha!)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
In the Palm of Your Hand-Alison Krauss (oh dear...)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Holiday-Madonna (i am seriously cracking up!)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Breathe In-Frou Frou

Well I only know of 2 friends who truly love lists and they share the same name. One tagged me so I will tag the other...Amanda Skinner.

December

2009-01-05T06:27:00.000-08:00

the boys always enjoy decorating a gingerbread house

next to Big Al at Zoolight

S was extremely excited about being a Shepherd in the school play

getting ready to throw their reindeer food in the yard

M was interested in things other than the Christmas story

Brother Sandwich!

M paid more attn to his brother's gifts. For some reason, he got SO excited about these lap desks and markers. I love his expressions in these...

gift from Aunt Molly & Uncle Jonas

our sweet baby cousin R snoozing

with his newest baby cousin

it was a STAR WARS Christmas!

beautiful Jenny sporting that cute baby bump that is our newest cousin to be!

M loves his uncle

cousins blowing out the candles on Jesus' Birthday cake

Some family photos from our December. We hope you had a blessed holiday season!

a list of sixteen

2009-01-02T09:18:00.001-08:00

At long last, I am responding to being tagged by my friend Allison.
So, here goes...if I can think of 16 random things about me...

1. I am not a morning person. It takes me a good hour plus at least 2 cups of coffee to break through the stupor that I awake in each morning. To prove it, while typing this I typed "coughy" first instead of "coffee". Maybe it's because I was kept awake by a coughing child last night?

2. The summer after Jamie and I married we traveled to Israel and Egypt. It was an amazing, life changing trip. I would love to take our boys there one day when and if things are more peaceful.

3. I got beat out of the Homecoming Queen title by my dear friend Ginny in our senior year of high school. Our friend Jared loves to kid us about this and pit us against each other :) She is WAY cooler than me so it was no surprise. I was just happy to be standing up there with her sporting Amanda's green bedazzled formal gown. I'll have to see if I can't locate a picture of that...

4. I have known my husband longer than I haven't known him. I met him when I was 15, went on my first "car date" with him after I turned 16. We broke up and got back together many, many times during which we both dated other people off and on. But, alas, I never got over the guy and he finally came to his senses in September of 1998 and told me he wanted to marry me. We got engaged in Jan of 99 and married 11 months later. He is still my best friend.

5. I am a fiercely loyal person.

6. I am nostalgic and emotional to a fault. God bless the 4 men I live with.

7. I get really excited about Nutrition. I took a few nutrition classes in college that were required for my major and I've been hooked ever since. Also, the friend who tagged me was a nutrition major and has spurred me on in many ways. I'm not a Nazi about it and I don't judge people who take their kids to McDonald's twice a week! I want to avoid raising children who think certain foods and drinks are taboo and therefore binge on what they missed on early in life. My kids eat sugar and lots of it and drink soft drinks. But not every day. I just get really excited about giving them a healthy start to life by avoiding processed unnatural foods and helping them fight off disease. Antioxidants, Polyphenols, and Whole Grains are our friends :)

8. I get really excited about little things. I get really excited for people. I will be your personal cheerleader.

9. In somewhat of a contrast to the above, I am a complainer. Ask my husband. I really need to work on that.

10. A few random things I detest: doing the Laundry, Reptiles, Alarm Clocks, Frogs, T.V. crime dramas (there is enough evil in the world as it is, why watch shows about it? But that's just me.), Change, inadequate space for the aforementioned Laundry that is overtaking my home.

11. I love anything involving the arts. At some point, I've tried them all. Almost. Dance? check.
Photography? check. Calligraphy? check. Music? check.

12. Once when I was little, while vacationing in Georgia, we visited an old General Store. There were barrels of bulk items for sale, such as candy, drinks, and apparently the ultimate temptation to my young self, dried beans. Before leaving with my parents, I couldn't resist and grabbed a handful of dried beans (not candy mind you) and stuffed them into my pocket.
I was quickly found out by my parents as I was getting back into the car. What gave it away I wonder? My bulging pocket? The trail of beans between our car and the entrance to the store?
What a shameful day having to walk back in and confess my sin.

13. Also, while young, I had a minor obsession with the Country Western star, Crystal Gail (Gale?) and would answer the phone as if I were her. Did I mention my Dad is from Texas? If I were going to aspire to be something back then, it would have been a country star or a cowgirl. Funny how things have changed.

14. I have little to no will power.

15. I am a procrastinator.

16. And possibly the most random thing on this list, while trying to come up with a name for our youngest sweet little boy, we searched our ancestries looking for family names we might consider. I found out my mother's father's side of the family is directly descended from Geoffrey Chaucer. pretty cool.

i've been tagged!

2008-12-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

well, i've been tagged by my friend Summer...and this one is pretty easy so here goes...
what you do is go to the 4th folder in your photo library and choose the 4th photo within that folder and share 4 things about it.
so, being a photographer, the likelihood of it being a photo of my own children was 50/50 ;-)

this photo was taken at my friend rebecca's where we did a cousins shoot with her 2 precious boys and these 4 adorable sisters who were expecting their 5th sister in just a month!
they all had the coolest names and the session was a treat for me!

so i tag: allison stephens, ginny smith, kristen hall and april brown! and i know you are ALL going to do that this week...tomorrow even...right???!!! ;-)
merry christmas!

Advent

2008-11-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit."-Isaiah 11:1

At our church the children are making ornaments each Tuesday afternoon to place on the Jesse Tree the following Sunday during the service. I'm really excited about this opportunity for my children to celebrate the Advent season and be reminded of how the story of Jesus didn't just begin in the New Testament, but that from the beginning, each story whispers his name and tells of the hope we have in Him.

A brief description of this was given in our bulletin: The Jesse Tree, (Jesse being the father of David-the line from which Jesus is born), is a centuries old Advent tradition based on the lineage of Christ. The children participate in the stories of Advent by hanging handmade ornaments on the tree that represent O.T. events from Creation to the Birth of Jesus. Another source says this about the symbolism of the Jesse Tree..."Even though we can have Peace and Joy through the presence of Jesus Christ, we still long for deliverance from the oppression of sin in the world. We long for the full reign of the King, and the Kingdom of Peace that He will bring. So, while we celebrate the birth of the Branch, the new shoot from the stump of Jesse, we still anticipate with hope the Second Advent, and await the completion of the promise.

The Jesse Tree helps us retell this story, and express this hope."

Something our pastor said tonight resonated with me. He was talking about how easy it is to focus on the externals at Christmas...to want everything to be perfect...how over a months preparations culminate in one day (instead of continuing the celebration after Christmas Day as well) and how that day never "fulfills". Each year at Christmas, not unlike Clark W. Griswold, I struggle with this. I want to be sure I'm creating memories of this time of year for my children to take with them as they grow. I also love to give gifts. Thoughtfulness and gift giving are my "love language", so I get really excited about choosing things for people and often I catch myself wanting things to be "perfect". What Tom pointed out so well tonight was the Advent is about longing. The people 2000 + years ago were longing for a Savior, as we long for His return today. My children, nor I, need a perfect Christmas. We do need a season to reflect on and that causes us to remember the joy we have and the hope we have. To show us what the longing is for. That that longing will never be met in gifts or celebrations or traditions, but in Christ alone.

More 1st Birthday!

2008-11-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

Beautiful M.R. is about 3 weeks younger than M

with Papa and Jenny (with another Baby Girl Cousin on the way-yay!)

gift from The Dettling's

Lauren and N

opening gifts

my favorite shot

we are very much into windows these days

here are some more photos of the big day. thanks to my mom, mother-in-law, Aunt Susan, and Aunt Adrian for the help! for those who asked for info about the party details...i made the invitations myself, separated our plethora of Halloween candy into different colors/types and used that for my balloon anchors, the vases holding the candy I already had, a friend made his special birthday bib, the frames at each centerpiece were $3 on sale at hobby lobby and the little wooden animals were also from h.l. (50 cents each)...the gumballs i purchased with my CVS extra bucks ;), tablecloths were from Walmart and Party City...and lastly, the 2 shirts he wore at his party were from etsy.

Party Time!

2008-11-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

each centerpiece featured a picture of the birthday boy at a month during his first year, some colorful dot wrapping paper i found at swoozie's, a square vase filled w/ colorful candy which anchored the balloons. the wooden animals on the vases came from hobby lobby.

the "sign in" table with his invitation and party favors

we carried out the theme w/ 3 round cakes. 2 of which had fondant polka dots and the center one had his initial spelled out in M & M's. saved my self some time by having Costco and Sam's do some of the work for me (bought plain iced cakes and i added the details).

my neighbor works for Southern Living at Home and i scored these cute votive holders from her :) i filled them w/ gum balls. the circus figures are from my 1st bday cake!

more table decor

SMASH cake! from Savage's...

play doh table

party favors!

regardless of all my efforts to make time stand still, my baby's first year flew by with a speed rivaling...well...nothing. never has a year gone by so quickly.
turning one is a big deal and i do love to throw a party! so we celebrated with a Polka Dot Circus "Soiree" with some family and friends. it was a sweet day surrounded by lots of people who love our little guy...and we took LOTS of pictures! so, i'm going to divide it into 2 posts. 1st the details. the 2nd post will, of course, feature the Guest of Honor and his guests!

11 months and Halloween!

2008-11-11T07:01:00.001-08:00

We had a Star Wars Halloween in our household! Well, 2 Star Wars characters and one pumpkin. I had high hopes of finding a little Ewok costume for him, but alas, no luck. This pumpkin was on Korduroy Krocodile's front porch the day before Halloween and in M's size...perfect! Nothing like waiting til the last minute :) We've had a great fall. This time of year is so refreshing to me and I always feel rejuvenated by this weather and all the festivities. The view outside our front door is so beautiful w/reds, yellows and oranges. I wish this color could last until Spring.
The boys had a lot of fun trick or treating in our neighborhood and especially with our across the street neighbors who would spoil them rotten if they could!

Just before Halloween M turned 11 months and now I am planning for his first birthday. I remember thinking in the hospital how far away his birthday seemed and how I wondered what he would be like at one. Now it is upon us. There is a part of me that is mourning that my last baby is now out of true babyhood. But, my sadness there is quickly changed to joy by his bright face and all the love we have for him. Parenting is such a bittersweet journey and I tend to see that on my babies' first birthdays so clearly. It doesn't help that I'm such a sentimental softie about most everything, though.

He is in a more affectionate phase now. He had been so cuddly up until a few mos. ago when we had a brief departure from wanting to snuggle due to his new found talent of crawling, I imagine. He crawls up and pulls up on my legs, crawls at a pretty fast clip around the house and loves to imitate us with his voice. If I call for one of the boys, he goes to the hallway and yells for them. His facial expressions are always good for giving us lots of laughs. He really is happy most of the time except when he's getting his face washed or diaper changed!

Free cup o' joe

2008-11-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

FREE COFFEE tomorrow if you tell 'em you voted!
Check it out here:

http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?

VOTE!

Fall Break Trip

2008-11-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

the perfect spot for a morning cup of coffee

dinner of trout that we caught

with our supper!

G's catch of the day

the stream behind our cabin

S as Huck

mommy's favorite at TFB...french toast with their raspberry sauce and honey creme anglais
G thought it pretty enough to photograph!

such a fun loft

breakfast on the porch

open air eating at The Flying Biscuit

The boys recently had fall break off from school so we headed to the mountains. We had the best little cabin in the woods complete with a babbling brook in the back. S and G might as well have been Tom and Huck. It was the perfect set up for little boys! We spent a ton of time outside in the fresh air as Fall had just arrived in the South. Some of the highlights for the boys were sleeping in their very own loft, playing board games and eating S'mores, and trout fishing! We ended up our time in Atlanta where we hit some of our favorite haunts like Trader Joe's, the Flying Biscuit and the midtown area.
It was a much needed and sweet time to get away from our regular pace and focus on each other.
Oh and these pictures are not in order. Sorry ;) I'm lazy...

new blog title!

2008-10-31T09:54:00.001-07:00

well, since i have the separate photog biz blog now, i decided this blog title needed a makeover more suitable for it's contents. pretty catchy, huh? some of my husband's corniness is officially spilling over to me ;-)

Field Trip!

2008-10-31T06:14:00.000-07:00

pointing to his baby picture and big boy picture on the board

class photo

lunch cooked over the campfire

skipping with his teacher...she is too cute!

Yesterday G and I went on a Field Trip together! Such a joy for me to slow my pace and really spend the morning focused on just him . He is still at that precious age where he wants me to hold his hand (even when we are walking with his friends). His joy was written all over his face that day, especially as we boarded for his first field trip on a bus! Camp Hargis really puts on a "snappy" field trip as his teacher says! We started by taking a beautiful hike around the lake to a field where we went on a hay ride. We then listened to a story of how pumpkins grow, went to the pumpkin garden to see their differently shaped and colored pumpkins. Then, it was off to the petting zoo, a story inside a teepee, a game, and then roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over a fire before choosing a pumpkin and heading home.

hold on to your hat...

2008-10-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

because this is seriously cute.

The Autumnal Nuptials of Team Smith!

2008-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ginny is married!
The "autumnal nuptials" finally arrived and she was a breath-taking bride! So beautiful!
The weekend was a sweet ending to a full week for us. The kids were out of school for fall break so we headed to a cabin in the mountains to have some family time. I'll post pics of that soon...I hope! I still haven't posted our summer vacation pictures! We came home for 2 photo shoots before heading to my home town for birthday celebrations, 2 more photo shoots and the weekend wedding festivities!

My heart is full of joy that God has brought a precious life-long friend her companion for this life. I won't soon forget the glow on her face as I watched her walking down the aisle and as she and Dan said their vows. What a blessing to see them so happy!

Every detail was very "Ginny" from her awesome dress to the flowers. She couldn't have had a prettier day for a wedding. The weekend was full of laughter, happy tears and joy. We love you Ginny and Daniel and look forward to many more happy memories with you both!

ten

2008-09-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

my pumpkin.

the crawler in action

TOUCHDOWN!

yay! Alabama! Crimson Tide...

chipmunk

"if you think my hands are full, you should see my heart."

my how things have changed in the past month!
you are now crawling! my 1st crawler! phew.
you have been pulling up for a while and waving for about a month. it's quite similar to the "hail Hitler" salute, actually. it's too cute! you like to play shy and tuck your head into my neck and then all of a sudden throw that hand up and wave.
you love to clap, and say "Da Da", what sounds like "Yes", "Mamamama", and a host of other things that just make me melt.
your biggest giggles are saved for your brothers. and the respect and adoration is still mutual there.
we love you so!
happy 10 month birthday!

Here they go again on their own....

2008-09-16T07:07:00.001-07:00

{i'm in love w/ this new template! wonder if i could find wallpaper just like it for my house??}

well...school's been in session for about a month now and i'm just getting around to posting pics. both boys seem to really like their teacher and class so far. s started off the year with a bang by winning a summer reading award. all summer his driving incentive was a giant chocolate bar. who does that remind me of?

the boy read a lot and not only got the coveted chocolate bar, but a gold medal, bible, certificate, and gift card to Books A Million, where he promptly purchased 5 Star Wars books without wavering in question of how to spend the $25. we have a slight obsession.

needless to say, we are very proud of his reading! his best gal pal E won an award, too! therefore, how else to celebrate than with more chocolate in the backyard...cupcakes from Edgar's!

i was nervous about how g would do at school. he would happily stay home w/ me everyday. he's such a young 4 and while he shows different types of independence than s did at the same age, he's still so little to me in many ways. he has a super bubbly teacher and i'm sure that has helped ease him into school life. boys don't give you much in the way of details of their day...if i'm going to get anything out of them, especially g, i have to ask him before asking s. if not, he'll just repeat to the detail everything that happened to his big brother at school!

my heart goes out the door with them each morning and many prayers are offered up for their influences, love for others and safety. this raising them to leave thing is hard! not sure the school administration would like a disheveled mom in her pajamas peeking in their classroom doors each morning, but i am so tempted!

new photos

2008-09-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

just posted some new photos here.

cleanliness is next to godliness

2008-09-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

trying to get the boys to wash their hands long enough to indeed kill any bacteria harboring there is not an easy feat. i've tried having them count to 25 and many other things. this at times has worked for sumner, but grayson is another story. he pops in and out of LaLa Land so frequently, that i have to be a little more creative. i'll send him to wash his hands, go about my business and then realize 10 minutes later he's not back and the water is still running. he's lost in thought or is watching the waterfall that is cascading down his hands (immediately after putting the soap on them!)

and there go our efforts toward water conservation.

so, i read a tip the other day that said to have your child sing the Happy Birthday song two times through while washing. this is done in hopes to keep them on task long enough to do the job.

this is what i heard grayson singing in his bathroom today:

"happy birfday to you, cha! cha! cha!
happy birfday to you, cha! cha! cha!
happy birfday, dear shelby, (our babysitter)
happy birfday to you
ahhhh-men. "

i think it worked!

a great summer

2008-09-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

we had such a fun summer! here are some of my favorite snapshots from our months out of school!
hopefully i'll have back to school and other vacation pix up soon...

2008-08-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I just wasn't up for going to church. I simply didn't have time. I was weary of all the tasks before me. Sad, I know.

I had gotten into Multi-Tasking Dragon Lady Who Has A 1st grader With a Week's Worth of Catch Up Work to Do Plus a Baby Who is Teething and Not Sleeping and Sandy Laundry from a Week at the Beach Taking Over My Laundry Area...Mode. (even sadder that after a nice week at the beach, i was complaining about laundry.)

I can't relax when I have those things hanging over my head. While I'm beyond grateful for each of the little stinkers that makes the laundry pile up, I often let it rob me of my joy. So, I waffled back and forth...should I stay and catch up or go? Jamie encouraged me to go so we could all worship together.

The second song we sang was one of my favorites from the Gadsby Hymnal~Will the Lord Indeed Appear. Our church musicians have taken beautiful hymns from the 17 and 1800's and created new arrangements for them that I am convinced rival the angels in heaven in melody. The music is just amazing and always brings me around.

I realized I had basically [again!] failed to acknowledge that I have a Heavenly Father who is ready and waiting to be my Help.

William Gadsby may not have been facing a to do list a mile long or 3 children who need loving well...in fact he may have had much more daunting things to face when he wrote this song. Nonetheless, it spoke to my heart when we sang it and I was glad my husband had encouraged me to leave it and go. Not only was it sweet to sing these songs of praise, I got to fellowship w/ the Body and some people I really love.

What am I, and where am I?
Strange myself and paths appear;
Scarce can lift a thought on high,
Or drop one heart feeling tear.

Yet I feel I'm not at home,
but know not which way to move:
Lest I farther yet should roam
From my blessed love.

Some small glimmering light I have,
Yet too dark to see my way;
Jesus' presence still I crave;
When, O when will it be day?

Is the evening time at hand?
Will it then indeed be light?
Will the sun its beams extend,
To chase away the night?

Will the Lord indeed appear,
Give me light and joy and rest,
Drive away my gloomy fear.
Draw me to his lovely breast?

Then his love is rich and free;
Jesus, let me feel its power,
And my soul will cling to thee,
Love and praise thee and adore.

*and, by the way, if you have never heard the music of Red Mountain Church, do yourself a favor and go download some at itunes. i'll be glad to share my favorites with you :)

i can't resist...

2008-08-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Like my fellow bridesmaid friend, the lovely Ms. Hannah, I cannot resist one of these...

You're feeling: that i should go to bed
To your left: something resembling the aftermath of a cyclone
On my mind: Sumner's clothes for school tomorrow, editing a session, the sermon tonight, an old friend
Last meal included: a Corona and chips and salsa
You sometimes find it hard to: get up in the morning
The weather: is predicted to be pleasant to my senses tomorrow
Something you have a collection of: oh brother...dust bunnies? hmmm...dirty clothes?
A smell that cheers you up: pumpkin spice!
A smell that can ruin your mood: poo
How long since you last shaved: one day
The current state of your hair: corralled by two clips, fresh grays waving atop
Largest item on workspace (not computer): i'm using my laptop on my couch...therefore, it would be my ample derriere.
Your skill with chopsticks: respectable with sushi only
Which section you head for first in a bookstore: fiction
Something you are craving: a full nights sleep
Your general thoughts on the presidential race: no more of the same, please, please!
How many times have you been hospitalized in the past year? One blessed week.
Favorite place to go for a quiet moment? Ha!
You've always secretly thought you'd be a good: dancer. not clubbin', mind you.
Something that freaks you out a little: animal hair everywhere; public restrooms; heights and my 4 year old
Something you've eaten too much of lately: chips and salsa
You have never been: one who wants to be the center of attention
You never want to: move back to my hometown

ok, blogsters, your turn!

i'm out-numbered

2008-08-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

testosterone, anyone?

my life in a picture.

i. love. these. boys.

nine.

2008-08-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

nine months ago today, you came into our lives.
days are busier.
days are hectic.
since your arrival
the days on the calendar seem to be marked off twice as fast.

but how precious the days are.
we can hardly remember life before you and can't imagine it without you.

you are pulling up, not crawling, but somehow highly mobile.
you are inquisitive, not much for sleeping (consistently),
you are teething, boisterous, ever-smiling, ever-laughing, ever-joyful and above all...

loved.

what happens when you give your child your camera....

2008-08-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

nice.

our long suffering waiter

i really think he captured my best side here, don't you?

a moment on the lips = a lifetime on the hips. (sigh.)

who needs crayons when you've got salsa?

i really thought this one was quite cool!

"welcome to our home!"
click.

i think this one is my favorite ;-)

jamie recently purchased a small point and shoot (and waterproof, might i add) camera for hikes and adventures (and it's easier to stick in my purse for just regular everyday shots).
he found the most durable one on the market and it's the boys' new favorite toy!

The Baby, The Camera, and the Wardrobe

2008-07-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

eight months.

I'm more tired than you
As I reach down to tuck you into bed
I've got to find your bear and the tiger
That sleep beside your head
This love that I feel is ferocious as a lion
So brave and so gentle that I almost feel like crying

It's a great big world
It's a great big moon
It's a great big sky
And a great big love for you

Then I tell you a story of a lion who's your best friend
He gets you into trouble but he brings you home safe in the end
Some day all these stories may come to life as true
When a child of your own can wake that lion in you

It's a great big world
It's a great big moon
It's a great big sky
And a great big love for you

(David Wilcox, Pierce Pettis)

2008-07-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

"All dogs go to heaven....but Saint Bernards go to hell."

-Grayson

my little arteest

2008-07-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

ART CAMP!
This was G's special week-long activity this summer just for him. S went to VBS for his week long activity and G wasn't quite old enough to attend, so this was his special treat. They'll both get to attend soon at a community church with some friends.

As for Art Camp, he loved it! And I love watching him enjoy being creative. His favorite piece was the crab on canvas, but I loved these blossoms!
His canvas is now on display in his room, where he proudly gazes up on it :-)

Get-Away

2008-07-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago we took a get-away trip to chattanooga. we had tons of fun...it's one of the boys'

favorite cities. of course, my animal lovers wanted to hit the aquarium first.

i know it doesn't hurt to have the mighty tennessee running through the middle of your city, but jamie and i again wished our city council could get their act together and learn a thing or two from chattanooga. but that's another post for another day!

on the walking bridge

i love this one of my little men

another hit was coolidge park. they have a super fun water fountain and a beautiful carousel, which the boys rode twice ( and would have many more times had the fountains not been calling)! the boys made sure not to let baby brother feel left out. they would run in and out of the fountains towards him to make him giggle. above is a photo of g running back to make silly faces.

on one of the stone animals that encircle the fountains

m's first carousel ride...he's holding on for dear life!

after that day of fun, we headed up to the bluff view art district (mommy and daddy's pick) where we hit some of our favorite haunts like tony's. we could live on their calamari, wine and bread alone! and then, it was off to rembrandt's for yummy treats!
we highly recommend it if you are planning a trip!

good and good for you

2008-07-07T19:02:00.001-07:00

the other day i got stuck in Anthro during a rainstorm. not a bad place to get stuck during a shower, if you ask me. while there i was perusing one of their many interesting cookbooks and one in particular on superfoods. a salmon recipe jumped out at me because i'm always trying to find better fish recipes. i had not yet found one for salmon that i just loved...until now.

this is mostly from memory of what i read and a couple of other things filed away from previous recipes...and it's not exact, sorry! but if you love salmon, try it!

you'll need: 1 lg. lemon, extra virgin olive oil, capers, red pepper flakes, chardonnay, kosher salt and pepper, and of course, salmon.

with a microplane, zest one large lemon into a bowl, then add the juice from that lemon.
after that, whisk in extra virgin olive oil. i really have no idea how much, just did this until it tasted right.
then i added a hearty dash of crushed red pepper flakes and a splash of some Chardonnay we had on hand.

i purchased a large filet of salmon (skin removed) at costco and just cut it into 1-2 inch slices for this. put the salmon in a dish, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper, and pour lemon mixture over and let it sit for a while. i maybe let it sit for 10 minutes.

heat an iron skillet over medium high with about 1 T of evoo along with 1-2 T of butter. once the butter is melted, place the salmon in the skillet.
fish cooks extremely fast so watch this closely! i let them hang out on one side about 2-3 minutes, then flipped them, poured in the remaining juices from the marinade along with 1 T. capers and then placed them in a 425 degree oven (still in iron skillet) for about 5 minutes (checking often to make sure not to overcook).

it was divine! i served it w/ Alexia Oven Fries with Olive Oil, Rosemary and Garlic (which conveniently cooked at the same temperature), because they are all natural and quicker than washing and chopping baby reds myself...and a mesclun salad with feta and pecans.

oh and sorry...the photographer forgot to take a picture of the finished product ;(

enjoy!

Congratulations to my man!

2008-06-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

i'm a little behind in posting this...but then that's at least consistent with other areas of my life! ha! an update on our family...hubby has a new job!
his last day at the old company was a couple of weeks ago. yea for him!...and us! after nearly a decade with a big corporation he has been offered a new and better opportunity and has decided to move on. among the many great things about this move is that he'll be working for a smaller, but well established company. working for a large corporation that doesn't value family, to say the least, can wear on a man. i'm really proud of him and thrilled that he can now have a more fulfilling job that uses his talents! also, he'll be working both with and for friends. and, another added bonus, the office is a mile from our house! we really want to minimize our footprint, so to speak, and get even more plugged into our community, so we're thankful for the added blessing of working where we live. the only down-side we can possibly see is not being able to work with this friend (who recently moved). so... this post is dedicated to the man who works so hard and does such a great job of providing for and supporting our family. congratulations! we love you!

seven.

2008-06-21T19:34:00.001-07:00

oh my. i love this boy.
what you are about at 7 months...you have 2 little bottom teeth, you are sitting up...and diving for things, you LOVE to splash in the water, you have the funniest fake laugh and a really terrible fake cough, you do everything "full out", you are quite loud, which fits right in this household! i think you are going to be quite the gregarious one. i've never seen a child smile so much in just 7 short months. you are along for the ride, you sweet boy. no day is ever the same except that it's always crazy, but you still make us keep you up too late, because we just can't get enough of your sweetness.
more cuteness here.

2008-06-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

helping the boys write their names in hieroglyphic

checking out the fish

with grandaddy

showing me the benjamins-the pretend bank is his favorite place in the whole museum

building a train

last week while jamie was swamped w/ work and projects, the boys and i headed to my hometown to visit family and friends. we went to imagination place, which is one of their favorite places to pretend play. we even got to see aunt ginny at her new job at the museum. the boys love ginny! thanks for the tour, friend!

what we've been up to....

2008-06-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

wearing their fireman hats from R & R's b'day party

1st trip to the pool. is there anything cuter than a baby in the pool? i love it! apparently we wore him out!

playdate at the zoo w/ baby G

one morning while S was at VBS we played in the zoo fountains w/ Amanda and her kiddos

watching the giraffes

looking for the tiger

well we've survived the first couple of weeks of summer. honestly, i was pretty scared the day school got out about having all 3 boys home all day every day! it's full throttle all the time and i go to bed exhausted, but it is nice not having to be up and ready for school every morning. at least we can take a more leisurely pace, to some extent!

Baptism

2008-06-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

the invitation

in his fancy christening duds from nerny

the 5 of us

all the family that attended

we heart pastor tom

cousins

On May 25th our sweet third boy was baptized at our church. It was a very special service officiated by Pastor Tom. The big boys did so good standing up there with us! We sang one of the boys' favorite hymns just prior to time to go up for the baptism and Grayson sang his little heart out! Between that and the congregation singing I am Jesus' Little Lamb for M, it was all I could do not to turn on the waterworks! We are so thankful for the Body of believers God has given us. Thanks to all our family and friends who could be there and for your prayers for our son!

*Thank you to my sweet friend Mindy for taking photos for us!

memorial day

2008-05-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

it's been a whirlwind week or so here. we celebrated meade's baptism (more photos to come), celebrated memorial day with friends, had a community cookout the day after memorial day (the big boys went~i sadly had to miss due to a nasty bout of strep throat---at the end of May, no less!). i'm feeling much better now and we're gearing up for summer! the calendar has already filled up quickly and we're excited about a lot of fun things going on. for now, here are a few photos from the backyard...

S playing the battle victim. G is scrambling down to care for the wounded.

meade's buddy~isn't he beautiful?

JD is very serious about his armor and weaponry

this is the "don't mess with me" look.

six months.

2008-05-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

a sleepy morning shot

all wrapped up in our bed is one of your favorite places to be

with two of your sweet buddies

at six months you have one tooth broken through and another on the way,
you are working on sitting up,
you give big, wet kisses that you put your whole body into,
your "attack hugs" are simply one of the best things in life.

we love all 18 pounds and 10 ounces of you, precious boy!

hearts, crickets and strawberries

2008-05-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Sumner and Grayson were fighting over something and I told them they needed to take a break from playing with that particular toy and ask Jesus to help their hearts be kind to each other.
About 5 minutes later, Grayson came out of his room and assumed he could take the toy from the time out spot, because... "my heart thinked about niceness now."

Grayson, our resident cricket catcher, gets so excited about catching one mid jump that often not enough gentleness is shown the poor creatures. Today, we had an unfortunate incident where some cricket blood got on his hand. I said, "Grayson we need to go wash your hands because you have a little cricket blood on you." (ick, i know)
To which Sumner said, "Which is just about the nastiest thing in the world."

And in case you would like some strawberries this summer, Grayson can tell you how to make them:

"you just get a wittle bit of sugar, get a wittle bit of weaves, and get a wittle ice and get some fedders and a wittle bit of water and a wittle bit of green dots. and you get some wed gatowade."

Edit: Forgot this one!
The other day I nearly broke my toe by running into something in the master bath. I was dancing around because it hurt so bad. And then because it was the end of the day and I was nearly crazy (as I am at the end of every day) I got tickled, so I was alternately laughing and crying. Sumner looked at me with that look, like "Man, is she gone." and said under his breath, "Self control." Which made me only laugh harder and then he said, "You need some."

New and Improved

2008-05-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well...the real new and improved photography website is due this summer. Man! These business steps take time! But, in the mean time I made a few changes to the current site to give it a face lift...it needed one! I like this look better...for the time being, anyway! Check out the new links...

What do you think?

four.

2008-05-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

happy birthday sweet boy!

with your arrival, we learned to relax, to not take everything so seriously.

you taught me the importance of enjoying the crazy chaos that is life with little ones, because while it is nutty, it sure is sweet...and it goes by oh so fast.

at 4 you are the reason i can never find a ponytail holder or bobby pin (until i'm straightening your toys and come across one), why the springy toilet paper holder thingy is missing in both bathrooms (who knows where you've hidden them), you are the independent dresser who makes artful clothing decisions, the little engineer who is always looking at how things work and how to do it yourself, the resident cricket keeper, and the curly headed snuggle bug who still isn't too big to give mommy lots of hugs and kisses.

you define STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES

you like to be with people, you like to try new things, you are adventurous and in the moment

your sheer joy in the smallest of things is so contagious

and oh that voice. there's just not another like it. if you could keep it forever...
like those curls that frame your face...

you are a blessing that has taught this mom so much.

may 12, 2004 made life even sweeter.

you have our hearts, g love.

2008-05-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

my boys

looking at them, all lined up this way and looking up at me reminds me
that they are in fact looking to me not only for their daily needs, but also for much greater things. like how to live, love, and respond. like no one else before them, they are seeing how i live life and Whom I run to for comfort and help...

that is a sobering thought

and brings me again to the realization of how desperately i need jesus.

today we
lunched in the sunshine at v richards
and played in caldwell park before church this evening.
it was a beautiful day.

no matter what the day holds, be it ease or frustration, i am beyond grateful for those 3 bright eyed boys.

today reminded me of the splendid gift that it is to be able to say these 4 words...

i am a mother.

a six year old's to do list.

2008-05-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

it was all i could do to keep a straight face when sum worked up this checklist for himself the other day. can you tell what characters in stories we tend to want to emulate? he's all boy through and through ;)

in case you need a little clarification, i will translate for you. gotta love that phonetic spelling!

"things i need to do"

"spy " ✓

"rob the bank" ✓

"[be an] outlaw" ✓

five.

2008-04-22T21:26:00.001-07:00

{five months}

sheer, squealing joy.
it's contagious.
so excited about a summer full of adventures with you and many more hats.
you have stolen my heart.

New Blog!

2008-04-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

well....for some time now i've been wanting to create a separate more streamlined blog for my photography. i've finally taken the time to do it! i'll still keep this one as my family scrapbook, though.

so if you are interested, check it out here....you can subscribe to it on your reader and check back to see what i've seen from this side of the lens!

also, the hubby and i have a new and improved website in the works. so...keep your eyes out for it some time this summer, hopefully! things don't happen as quickly around here as they used to, but the reason for our slow progress is sweet indeed ;)

birthdays!

2008-04-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

whew. it was a weekend, but a good one. i'm tired.
friends with one or two kids often ask me how things are going with three. and i answer that it's full throttle all the time. it's chaos. but it's a sweet chaos. life is full.

on saturday we celebrated sumner and grayson's birthdays with a combined party at sports blast. can't say enough good things about that place and their staff. my boys had a blast, thus the name, i guess ;) and so did their friends. i highly recommend it. it was so nice to let someone else take over the party and clean up and just write a check. i usually love diving in and getting creative with a theme and doing their party myself, but this year w/ an infant in the house it wasn't gonna happen!

after their party we celebrated my brother's birthday that evening with a family dinner, then on sunday the ladies of our church had a brunch at mrs. martha's house. good food. good conversation. good times. and now it's time to start the week all over again.

sometimes i get tired just thinking about it. i was talking to a friend at church who has three grown children about the balance of it all. i often say it feels like i can't get my head above water...or the laundry...and i loved her calm honesty in response...she didn't tell me that i am trying to do too much or that i should try to cut something out, because she's been there, she knows the multiple plates that must be spun. she just said, "...and it will be like that for a long time." she knows that what i need is Jesus and His strength and that the only way I will truly keep my head above water is by looking for His hand to keep me afloat.

four.

2008-03-28T13:59:00.001-07:00

delight { a cause or source of great pleasure.

four months old.

you are a big fan of your feet right now. those toes are the only thing more entertaining to you than your brothers.

this is typically the position you get yourself in when you are in your bouncer. gotta get to those feet! just look at those thighs!

irresistible.

you love to be held, to be with the people.

you are starting to really get ticklish. which is so fun. we'll do anything to get a giggle. you love to "talk" to your paci, to be bounced so that you can listen to how your voice changes, and you love to eat!

i love it when you get that sweet look on your face when we are nose to nose...just waiting for another kiss....you know it's coming because we can't stop showering you with them. or when you stop eating to look up at me and grin...

you are a delight and the joy of my heart.

God, Castles and Cowboys

2008-03-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Grayson has really been talking more about God lately and saying Scripture back to us. Of course, we are encouraged to see this in him and love to hear his questions and prayers.
He also sweetly resides in LaLa Land 90% of the time and we never know what he'll say next. The other day Jamie took the boys fishing and all of a sudden Grayson shouted this out across the water: "God! Where are you? I want to see you! I want to see what you look like! Say something! Ring the doorbell God!" ~3.17.08

This morning, the boys came running out of their room exclaiming about a castle they had built with the oversized blocks they have. After viewing all the hidden passageways, I asked the name of the king who owned the castle. Grayson replied,
"King Spanehoder!" {he's quite good at making up names on the spot} "And Peter (of Narnia) is the Prince. And Susan is the Princess."
"Well, Hello Susan, pleased-" I started to say, but Grayson cut me off... "She doesn't talk to mommies. Only other tiny people." ~3.21.08

On the phone the other day with his aunt who lives in Texas, Sumner asked,
"So...have you fallen in love with any cowboys?"
~3.17.08

new eyes.

2008-03-17T18:42:00.001-07:00

one of the things i love most about photography is how it has changed the way i view everything. i look at details, light and colors with new eyes...things that i once would have passed by now make me stop in my tracks. i am more awe struck by the beauty of God's handiwork. like when i open up the images i've captured with my camera and see my reflection in my child's beautiful brown eye...or when i look at one of God's creatures with an appreciation like never before. the richness of the pink of this flamingo, the texture of his feathers, the odd carriage and gait that this bird has that is entirely unique. the handprint of God can be seen everywhere.

firstborn

2008-03-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

you are six today. what better way to start your first day as a six year old than by having your parents sing happy birthday to you while wearing silly st. patrick's day hats? after that silliness, you had a breakfast of your choosing: green eggs for the holiday of your birth, grits and strawberries! now you are off fishing with Dad. we have a fun filled day planned just for you....fishing, lunch outside on this sunny day, a trip to mcwane, and to the pizza place for dinner. i wonder if we can fit it all in?

last night i looked at you while you were sleeping and my mind went back to the day you were born. the day that i became a mother. the day that changed my life forever. i never knew such love. how those six years have flown and yet at the same time, it seems like just yesterday we brought you home to summerbrook lane.

now you are a big, boisterous, full of energy, front-toothless boy!

you are such a delight.

things i love about you...watching the wheels in your mind turn when daddy and i spell something (when we are trying to keep you and your brothers from knowing what we are talking about) and the light bulb moment that always follows. no more spelling for us! we are going to have to learn conversational italian or something.

the joy you take in learning. your observations of the world that are no match for my thirty-one years.
how you puff with pride when you do the things to help me or your brothers that only a big boy can do!

the high pitched voice that you soothe your baby brother with, the way you peddle with such fury down the bike path on our walks, talking to yourself in your own little world as you charge forward.

how your creative side is coming out more and more. you are really enjoying art. how you always seem to have a song in your heart these days. i love to hear you singing in the back of the van with abandon....like your life depended on it...whether it's three tall trees, hide 'em in your heart, or yellow submarine.

and a million more things...

you are my buddy, my gift, my sweet firstborn.

happy birthday!
i love you so.

It's official

2008-03-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

I am officially a soccer mom now...and I love it :)

Sum had his first practice a couple of weeks ago and his first game the other day. He's very much into learning about the Presidents and all the different battles in history right now. So, he's pleased to be on the Patriots team...although there was a little confusion as to whether they were the Patriots...or the Revolutionaries....or the Dictionaries as he told us the other night ;)

Mom and her player before the game.
Good thing one of my best friends is married to a soccer coach so I have a go to for all my questions! Otherwise, I'll be buying Soccer for Dummies. This girly girl has a lot to learn about the world of sports, but I'm so excited! I could hardly wait until his first game.

Coach Antonio kidding around

One on one with Coach (trying to squelch a grin...so cute!)

Yes, that's the goal you want....run that way!
VICTORY for the yellow team! They won their first game.

This is how Grayson passed the time on the sidelines. He frequently reminds us of the little blonde curly headed boy on the movie Parenthood....

And I'm happy to report that no yellow or red cards were shown during the game....at least I know the terminology, huh?
;)

Sumner and Grayson Recommend

2008-03-10T17:39:00.001-07:00

This Caldecott winner by Norman Juster is Grayson's current favorite. We love this sweet story of the window at the grandparents house. "It looks like a regular window, but it's not." Told from the child's perspective, it is spot on!

Sumner's current favorite is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. This is a very clever book about the town of Chewandswallow where food drops likes rain from the sky as told by a Grandpa to his grandchildren . "Wouldn't it be marvelous? Or would it? It could after all be messy. And you'd have no choice. What if you didn't like what fell...?" He notes that his favorite parts of the book are the pea soup fog and the gorgonzola storm.

Ever get tired of the annoying run of the mill children's music? If so, this is for you! I would say it's probably best for the 4 and up crowd. Our friend Diana gave this to the boys last year and it was an instant favorite. These two guys, Keith and Ezra, really remember what it was like to be a kid and offer a lot of funny sing alongs. Jamie says he likes it so much he's going to load it on to his Nano for his jogs! Our favorites are What I Want is a Proper Cup of Coffee, I Think I'll Need a BandAid, The Window and Pico de Gallo.
I would totally listen to this even if the kids weren't in the car!

a few more

2008-03-07T06:13:00.001-08:00

a few more i couldn't resist posting...

such a willing model

i wish i could record all these little conversations. i love how they make each other giggle...how they use a silly language all their own. how the younger never wants to leave the side of the older.

on the way home the other day, i was struck with the beauty of the sky. i had my trusty sidekick, mr. canon, riding shotgun, so i had to pull over right there in the middle of traffic and shoot the sky. the clouds looked like lambs wool. like you could just reach out and touch them.

2008-03-03T15:11:00.001-08:00

sunday was a glorious day. we spent the better part of it barefoot in the gardens.
these boys+sunshine+a day in the gardens=my favorite things

"in the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." -margaret atwood

and they did...

yea! for the underdog

2008-02-25T10:49:00.003-08:00

it's always fun when those you are rooting for win...especially when they are the underdog!

jamie and i got in sunday night just in time to watch the oscar's on the dvr and were so excited to see 2 of our favorites win.

marion cotillard for la vie en rose...now we can't say we are avid edith piaf fans, but we always try to see the nominated films and performances (within reason). this film is quite heavy, but an amazing performance by both cotillard and the oscar winning makeup team for their transformation of cotillard from her adorable self to the french icon. even if you aren't exactly up on piaf's troubled life (we weren't), the performance is amazing and uncanny. she dove into this role headfirst, shaved her eyebrows and everything. if you've seen her in big fish or a good year then see la vie en rose, you'll see what i mean.
julie christie was the favorite to win, which we do want to see her performance in away from her, but we couldn't help root for the underdog and lesser known cotillard here.

we were also pumped to see glen hansard and marketa irglova win for best song. quite a feat to beat out alan menken's 3 nominations for enchanted!

three.

2008-02-20T07:18:00.001-08:00

three months today
we are completely and utterly in love

what joy you bring to us
your brothers adore you
your infectious laughter brightens our day
when your face erupts into that gummy smile
we remember there is nothing greater than
the LOVE
of a parent for his child

...and again we are in awe that He entrusted you to us.