11.28.2009--Bedhead--

My darling girl woke up with a serious case of bedhead...

11.26.2009-----------------Thanksgiving---------------------

Oh-Thanksgiving. Family get togethers. Talking. Eating. Talking. Eating. Laughing. Thankful.

We went to my Mom's for Thanksgiving lunch. Almost everyone was there. My brother's daughter's were not there but his two boys were. Can ya se them in the grandkids shot? And my second sister's oldest wasn't there. All three of those girls were missed this year. Hopefully we will get to see them at the next family function! After eating ourselves silly we headed back up north to eat at Paul's mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Wow. We definitely hit the jackpot in meals for the day. I don't have many shots from my mother-in-law's. Sage was beyond cranky on this Thanksgiving. Can you see her in the grandkids shot? Yeah...not a happy camper.
Those are just a few shots I pushed into a collage from Thanksgiving. I hope your Thanksgiving was as full as mine (minus the cranky baby for you).

Tradition continued...

To my brother-in-law Eric-

Happy Birthday E!!!

11.25.2009---all better-------

So--it has been 4 weeks or something since Connor's MAJOR eye bruise. Remember? So what does his eye look like now?

Tradition continued...

To my niece Ashlyn.

Happy Birthday!!!

Go crazy you 12-year-old you!

I am thankful for...

Thanksgiving. What am I thankful for? I am so glad you asked.

I am thankful for my life. Yep—the crazy thing I deal with every day. I may not do it right. But it is mine.
I am thankful for my husband…Paul. We do not have a perfect marriage. We bicker and fight. Oh man do we do that! But we also love. You have to love to be married to Paul. He makes me laugh a lot. Still. He makes me so angry sometimes. SPITTERS ARE DISGUSTING no matter what cup they are in. He has his quirks. Some make me absolutely insane. But…I can’t imagine my life without him.

I am thankful for my babies. All of them. Shayne—the bossy one. Stormy—the devilishly charming one. Connor—the only boy in this current brood of girls. Sage—my darling diva. I cannot imagine a single day without them. Yep—they are fodder for my many stories. Yep—I hide from them in the bathroom for two minutes of peace every once in awhile. Yep—I let them sleep in my bed (every once in awhile) with me just so I can hold them. I am thankful they are healthy and happy. I am thankful they are here with me.

I am thankful for my family. EVERY ONE OF THEM. And there is too many to name here. My family is huge. Seriously huge. Not my siblings. But my aunts, uncles, cousins, first cousins, second cousins…etc. I am thankful that I have a twin that is as pretty as me. Just kidding. I am much prettier. Man—the giggles just won’t quit. I am thankful that she still does all the dumb stuff I convince her to do. I am thankful that she is different than I am in so many ways. And alike in that she is the other part of my soul. I am also thankful for my in-law family.

I am thankful for my friends. Katie—I don’t know what I would do without you. My Bunko friends…ah girls…so much fun really shouldn’t be limited to one evening a month.

I am thankful for my neighbors. I have great neighbors. You know the kind you can go ask for a cup of sugar and they give you a bowl? The kind that babysat my kids when I was having another one at the hospital (September 2008 anyways).

I am also thankful for the other stuff. The internet, the roof over my head, the food in my fridge, the clothes that keep me warm, the a/c that keeps me cool, the cameras I use for my photography business, the…everything. I truly am thankful for all of that “stuff”. If I had to live without some of it, that would be okay. The most important stuff got listed early.

I am beyond thankful for my freedom. I know sounds corny. But truly…I am. I am thankful that there are men and women giving that freedom to me. They work harder than most can imagine just to give others freedom. Wow. Talk about selfless.

So—in summary…I am thankful for everything I have in my life. That I get to do with my life.

What are you thankful for?

11.24.2009*-*-*-*One more...because I have a problem*-*-*-*-

I have a problem with not sharing photos of my darling girl. MAN--she makes me smile.

11.24.2009*****Precious...or not...or what made it that way?*****

Yep-Shayne was dying to show her classmates our trophy...Did I let her take that precious trophy to school?

Absolutely. Because the trophy isn't all that precious. What it took to get it...is. All 12 of the girls on my squad worked sooooo hard. And their faces from winning...were precious! Way to go Blazers!!!

11.23.2009*-*-*-When the big kids are away...Sage will play...*-*-*-

with anything she pleases.

Photos from 11.22.2009

The new and improved blog features are taking me forever to figure out!
Here are a couple of shots from the cheer competition. And I know it looks crazy right?

It is!

And totally worth it! My girls were so stoked about placing 3rd in competition! Pictures of the trophy coming up soon!

11.22.2009

So Sunday was cheer competition. Talk about stressful. Why? Why is there so much stress on this event? I really wanted to win. Plain and simple. I knew my girls could do it. And I was right.

We took 3rd place for our cheer.

They did fantastic in both cheer and dance. I am so proud of them all. And I have some pictures coming up of the trophy soon...Shayne took it to school with her to show off.
All the girls got medals for dance and cheer.
Our season is almost done for good now. All that is left is our banquet where they get their cheerleading trophies. And other special awards. I will work on getting those pictures up soon. I am back to editing from the shoot from Saturday and my darlings' naps will be over soon.

How sweet it is to be loved by...11.20.2009

11.21.2009--a moment of peace---

Saturday--no football game to cheer at! But I did have to get ready for a few things. Competition is Sunday...so much to do for that. Last minute changes...etc.
BUT I also had a photo shoot for one of my neighbor's sister's kids. Clear as mud? But I haven't finished those photos so I am not posting them. I did have two of my nieces over to watch over the other kids so I could do the shoot. And I used them as pre-photo testers.

And--nope I didn't edit these photos lighting or coloring...etc.  But I still think it's a good picture of a couple of sisters getting along. How sweet.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.................

What a great day. Actually...weekend. Aside from a couple of runny noses and coughs that won't quit, that is. I have tons to post. Well, not tons but I do have a few things. BUT...
I can't believe I am going to say this...
I am going to bed. I am beyond tired at this point. And it's only 9:05PM CST. Wow.
There I said it.
And I am heading upstairs to sleep--hopefully for the next 8 hours.
Until tomorrow during my kids' naptimes (Sage naps in the morning while the other kids are at school if you have to know what time I am talking about).

Making time....PERIOD.

Every time I think I am going to stay caught up...I don't. And that's okay because well...you know...I have crazy things that keep me busy all.the.time!

The other day someone made a comment about my blog to me. Something to the effect "I just don't have time for that and you do."

The more I think about it the more...irritated I get about that little comment. JUST because I stay at home with my kids doesn't mean I have any more time than anyone else that works outside the home. I have the same amount of hours in a day as every other person on this planet. You make time to do the things you enjoy. Simple as that. I enjoy blogging. And so...when I can, I make time for it. In between loads of laundry...when I get the kids down for the night. I am not a huge TV watcher except when I am in bed and should be sleeping. So while others that don't have time for a blog are sitting and watching TV...I am blogging. BECAUSE I MADE TIME FOR IT.
Staying at home is a really hard job (I also do day-care and am trying to get my small photography business off the ground). It is a full time job and then some. And when you have a husband (like mine) that is out of town sometimes 4 days out of the week, it's even harder. I do everything. and then some. And then I blog. So....

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel better. But let's not say that I have an easy job again okay? or imply that I have time for things that you don't because you work outside the home. You make time for what you enjoy. Period.

11.17.2009*-*-*-*-*Say whut?*-*-*-*-

What is another clever caption?.......
This is what happens when you eat too much Halloween candy?
Mr. Potato head called in a complaint that someone stole his dentures?
What else?

11.16.2009---early present---

So you may remember that we have been in the process of finishing our basement for sometime. It is basically done. All it needs is furniture, trim, knick-knacks...etc. Anyways-there have been some toys down there for quite awhile that the kids have been unable to get to. I finally pulled one of said toys out of the basement for them to play with. It's a "new" toy again! They love it. What is the toy I am talking about?
The one that Connor like to take apart and Shayne puts back together. Sage loves watching the bell-ball going down each tunnel. It is the Castle toy by Discovery Toys. I am missing the red ball--it's been gone for a long time. I am trying to order a replacement set because besides the red one missing, the blue one has a slightly melted side from sitting...no need for that story here.
I love "new" old toys!

11.19.2009----curly q-----

My sweet little baby that has curly hair...The only one of my kids that has curly hair...
They all have blue eyes. And blonde hair. But this sweet babe is the only one with curls.
And she is so pretty with them!

11.18.2009---another trip to the....

ER. Yep--they almost know us {Connor} upon entry at the ER we go to. No--that is not a good thing. My son however is the most accident prone little guy. He would be content to never go. But this Momma worries...yeah...big surprise there I guess. This particular worry?
Stormy landed on the back of his neck/head area when trying to do a handstand in the house. Connor kept complaining (not really complaining...more like crying in pain...which he never does!) about his head hurting. I looked for bruising, bleeding, cuts...anything to explain why he was in so much pain. And then it hit me.
He couldn't turn his head to the right or look up without screaming in pain. So I give him some Motrin and send him to bed hoping it's just muscle soreness or whatever. I checked on him...IE... I woke him up and made him move his head around. HE COULDN'T. Not without screaming in pain again. So I had Paul take him to the ER. They did like 6 x-rays. Nothing broken. The Dr. said where Stormy landed is pretty sensitive to fractures though. And we were lucky that wasn't the case this time. He is just really sore. Thank God.
It is still hard for him to turn his head today (the 19th). But he'll back to "normal" soon enough according to the Dr.

Tradition continued...

Happy Birthday to my niece Sincerity...

Love you sweetie. Miss you.

almost caught up

So-I'm not as far back-logged in posting as I have been. But that is enough for tonight. I am really tired and...too lazy to pull the camera out and take the pictures off--because you know it's really hard work right? I have to get up...get the camera...open the memory card slot...take the memory card out...insert it into the card reader and then upload them and the put everything back. I could have had it done in the amount of time it has taken me to complain and whine about the whole process. {sigh}. That's okay. I'm tired. And lazy. And I will be back soon enough. Read through some old posts if you feel so inclined in the less than 24 hours I will be gone. Hmmm...what is one of my favorite posts?

How about this one?
Or this one?
Or this one?

Too hard for me to choose. I don't do a post that doesn't suit my fancy. So...my posts are what I want to post and when I want to post them. That's the plus side of it being my blog. Seriously though. I really do like most of my posts. I love my April Fool's one {which isn't in the ones listed earlier}. I love all of the birthday story posts. I love my things that I would not ever do or have done. So many to choose from...

What is your favorite?

11-14-2009-*-*-*Hello Der-*-*

Sage has a new way of saying hello. She bends over...puts her cute little booty in the air...and then
She peeks at you through her legs. Of course she smiles really big when you do this back to her. An endless source of amusement for yours truly.

11.13.2009-*-so much better-*-

Connor's eye looks ever so much better...but it still doesn't look great. See?
Wow-so many different phases in healing for this bruise. I am ready for it to be gone. It doesn't seem to affect him at all. People ask him what happened and all he says is "I fell downstairs and hurt my face." Like no big deal. If this is the worst that will happen to him...that's fine with me. I'm not that optimistic though. He is a boy after all.

Computer Crashes BEGONE

I had to get a new computer because mine kept crashing. Not exactly conducive to someone that has a small photography business right? So a few weeks ago we bit the bullet and ordered one. Actually it was probably only a couple of weeks ago and the only reason I caved is because A)-tired of mine crashing in between edits B)-the special was running out the next day. So--can't go wrong with getting $500 off a new system right?
So I wasn't supposed to get the new computer until next week. Imagine my surprise when Paul calls me Saturday and tells me what FEDEX has just dropped off. The delivery guy made a comment about this looks like a nice system. Suh-weet. It is a nice system. It has everything I needed and maybe a couple of things I didn't. Did I need to upgrade the monitor to a 23" High def. ? Probably not. It will make editing pictures much easier to see than the laptop that's for sure.
I am still working on the kinks. I can't get the 50D camera to be recognized...ugh. Not like I use the Canon software anyways but it will keep a gal up at night wondering "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH IT?" AND my Ipod now...seems to not want to work...at all with it. And it deleted all my stuff off of it. ARGH. Anyways~ I can't even remember the last time I got to use a normal keyboard and mouse to work on a computer. I love it!
Oh- and Honey- Thank you for not complaining about it at all. No sarcasm. What he really said was,

"You need it for work right?"

"Yes."

"It's the best deal we're gonna get right?"

"Yes."

"It has everything you need for the photography (crap) business right?"

"Yes."

"Than what's the problem?"

"It's a lot of money!!"

"Well-you need it to make money so there you go."

He really does spoil me. Thank goodness.

A follow-up post...

Remember when I did this post on meaning of love? Suddenly tonight I did. It came to mind because it has been a difficult day. Sage has been cranky from a diaper rash. She really hasn't had one in her life. A minor one or two but never like the one she has now. And I wish it would go away for her. Anyways back to that post. The meanings of love. Actually...many words all meaning the same thing...

In Sotho it is LERATO and in Zulu it is UTHANDO, in Afrikaans it is LIEFDE
In Latin: "Amor"
In French: "Amour".
In Spanish: "Amor".
In Portuguese: "Amor".
In Italian: "Amare".
In German: "Liebe".
In Welsh: "Cariad".
In Greek: "Agape".
In Hebrew: "Ahava".

I knew some of those before I wrote that post. But some I learned. Not that it is that big of a deal because...well we really only speak English around our home. But if ever I were to need to tell someone I loved them in a different language...now I know.

11.12.2009~The cutest little plumber's...

crack. You can't see hers because of her diaper but you get the drift.

11.11.2009...effect...cause

What would make the baby do such a sad face? {Actually-she was throwing a massive fit. My darling has gotten spoiled rotten and now thinks she is the boss}

This guy was causing Sage's fit. Why? Because he kept taking his stuff away from her. And then he would feel bad and give it back and then he would take it away again...the cycle of big brother baby sister.