Thanksgiving Prep...

I love Thanksgiving, because it's such a stress-free holiday. It's definitely among my top three! I just have to show up and eat...and I do love to eat! But I suspect that it's not quite so simple for all of you who have to cook (like my mom). So for the past two years, the girls and I have arrived at Grammy Linda's house promptly at 9 a.m. (I mean, just before 11 a.m.- did I mention that I'm always late?) the day before Thanksgiving to help with the prep work. We bake gingerbread and shred cabbage and we cheer on my mom as she sews up the hogmaw (yuck...I know. I don't eat it - it's pig's stomach stuffed with cabbage and sausage and potatoes). My mom feels that it is very important for me to know how to make it so when she's old and decrepit and can't cook during the holidays, I will have no excuse for not having it on the Thanksgiving menu. I was planning to replace it promptly with mac 'n cheese when I took over the Thanksgiving duties, but I guess it's the least I can do for her! I love getting ready for the holidays and smelling the delicious foods and just being a part of the hustle and bustle. The day before Thanksgiving is quickly becoming one of my favorites of the year.

Kate helped to make the gingerbread and yes...she is wearing a Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz. It's all the rage these days among the preschool crowd and since I got for $2 at Walmart, she can wear it whenever she wants! That slimy thing in the bowl is the hogmaw and yes, she is holding a needle and thread (you thought I was joking about sewing up a pig's stomach, didn't you?). See that pepper container? That was my job. I was the designated pepper shaker this year. Ha...that's about the extent of my cooking skills.
This is one of three desserts for Thanksgiving. It will be joined by Apple Pie and Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Sauce. Oh...and lots of Ice Cream. I capitalized them because we all know they are the most important parts of the meal.
I didn't want you to think we were all "Martha Stewart" or anything. We bake from a box in this family!
Ellie enjoyed the day in front of the TV, watching non-stop Dora and Diego. She was such a big help...heheh. But isn't she adorable?

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

The Coolness Factor

I was finishing all of my friend Melissa's family photos last night and I decided that this is my favorite. This little guy is so full of personality, and he definitely has that "coolness" factor. But look at how he's holding his mom's hand. It won't be long before it's not cool to hold his mom's hand, but right now, he's at the perfect age where a mom is still cool and holding hands is perfectly acceptable. I love that!

Photos: Sneak Peak for Heidi's Family

On my second photo "practice" shoot of the weekend, I took pictures of this great family of five. They were all so laid back, stylish, friendly...and fast! These kids liked to run, so I saw a lot of this:
But then we did a little organizing (don't you love how the little brother is staring at his sister with that "look" in the photo below)... Note: You'll have to click on these next few to see them full size. I can't get my horizontal photos to post large on this blog without cutting off the edges.

And then we started walking. I love this picture - it might be my favorite from the whole shoot. Definitely click on this one!

This was almost the perfect family portait, but Addie had something important to tell her mom!

So we moved on to individual shots...

Finally, I think we got a good family portrait!

Which was cause for celebration and throwing small children into the air. Doesn't every kid love it when their daddy throws them in the air???

Heidi, Adam, Bryson, Tanyon, and Addie - thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to practice my photography skills and for obliging me for just "one more picture." You are such a beautiful, fun family (I still think you should be in a Gap commercial)! I hope you enjoy your pictures. I'll be in touch about delivering the CD with all of the photos on it.

Photos: Sneak Peak for Melissa's Family

I got lots of photography practice this weekend! Here's a quick preview of some photos I took of my friend Melissa's family. I loved these two little boys. They were so spunky and funny and willing to do about anything I asked of them. But they're favorite part was jumping...those boys love to jump!

Thanks, Melissa, for letting me practice my photography skills! I'll try to get a CD together in the next day or two and maybe Steve can drop it off to you at work? I'll email you to arrange the details!

The Way to My Heart...

Is definitely through my stomach! Steve made these for breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. Yum! But I do have to say...the Cinnamon Melts at McDonalds are better. If you haven't tried them, get ye to a Micky D's ASAP! They are gooey and sweet and delicious!

On another note...Ellie might have the H1N1 virus. The doctor gave her tamiflu on Thursday, which makes her stomach hurt and gives us lots of messy, disgusting diapers to change. How'd you like that...from gooey yummy sticky buns to messy disgusting diapers, all in one blog post. Ha! So we've been watching a lot of Dora. It's All Dora, All the Time here at our house. Ellie woke up at 4 a.m. saying "Ratch Rora" and pointing to the stairs. At 4 in the morning. Seriously...she has become one with the coach over the past few days. I just hope she feels better soon.

In other news, I had six families interested in having their family pictures taken. I was so excited! I took one on Friday and I'm taking another this afternoon and one more next week. I always get so nervous before I take pictures for people and I just pray that they don't feel like they're wasting their time. My goal is to get at least 2-5 good pictures per family. Shouldn't be hard, considering I take about 50-80 pictures per family! I still haven't figured out how to move from okay photographer to WOW...like the ones on the sidebar of this blog, but I'm working on it. I can't wait to post some pictures...I'll plan to do that soon!

Happy Sunday!

Family Photos: Anyone Want Some? For Free?

One goal of this blog is to help me figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Some days I want to write a novel (I started one recently, but I haven't finished the first chapter yet...have I mentioned that I change my mind a lot and sometimes lose focus?). Other days I want to be a great photographer whose photos make you feel the emotions and the craziness and the love of everyday life (kind of like the amazing photographers listed down the right side of this blog). I'm not that good...yet. Maybe someday. Somedays I just want to be a good grant writer (my real job) and actually get a grant! And other days I want to be the most creative, organized, fun, hip, mom and wife around (with amazing craft and educational projects for the kids and delicious dinners for my husband). I'll give you one guess on how I'm doing with that one....

Anyway, here's the deal...I want to practice my photography skills and give away some family photos (since it's Christmas and I'm feeling creative and giving and kind). I'll take photos of the first two (maybe three) families who contact me this week. You must be local...I don't have a travel budget! I'll take your photos for free and print one 8x10 for you. I'll also give you a CD with the photos so you can print them as you like. I think it will work out well, as long as you're not expecting brilliant, amazing photos, that is. I'm still practicing (and I've never really done family photos...just individuals), so I'll do the best I can and hopefully it will be a win/win for everyone.

Better hurry, though, before I change my mind or lose focus! Oh...and I'll leave you with a few fun photos I've taken over the past two years.

Fall Fun

After a recent family photo shoot at my brother's house, the girls got to play in the leaves and bounce on the trampoline...all at the same time. Kate would like to move in, because their house is so much more fun than ours! Here are some random pictures from that day...

Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas: Let's Make a Difference

A few months ago, I learned of a sweet and spunky little 5-year-old girl named Kate.

Her mom's name is Holly and so I guess I felt an instant connection to the family. This family has been through every mother's worst nightmare...they found out early in the summer that their sweet little girl had a brain tumor. She is currently in the middle of a very aggressive treatment and she needs our prayers. This little girl is spirited and sweet and kind. Her mom writes a blog with updates and prayer requests for Kate and for the family. You can read it here .

But you know what? Despite all of the trials and heartaches faced by this family, they are organizing a Christmas toy drive to make the holiday fun for all of the kids and teens who will be fighting life threatening illnesses in the hospital this Christmas. Some of these kids may be alone on the holiday and others have families who are struggling to pay the bills and won't be able to provide toys this holiday season. My heart just breaks for all of the families who are facing this trial. And you know what? We can help put a smile on their faces in the midst of difficult times.

You can send toys by December 15th (everything must be new and unwrapped) to:

Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

Attn: Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas

2211 E Pecos Rd Ste. 2 Chandler, AZ 85225

Here are some ideas of what they need:

Light up toys for infants

Noise making toys for infants

Crib mirrors

Yo Gabba Gabba toys

Dora toys

Sesame street toys

Thomas the train toys

Chunky cars and trucks

Pirate ships and figures

Fisher Price spiraling speedway

Princess toys

Games (Perfection, Jumpin Monkeys, Pretty pretty princess, Operation, Pizza Pile up, Battleship, Bop-it, Catch Phrase, Apples to Apples, Zingo, Uno, Skipbo)

Color Wonder art sets

Finger Paints

Watercolors

Craft Kits

Playdough

Car and Airplane Models

DVDs (for kids and teens including Disney Movies, Hannah Montana, any new releases)

Legos

Bionicles

webkinz

Books (pop-ups, Look and Find, textured books, push button books or books on tape)

Hats

Puzzles (especially 25 and 50 piece and high count puzzles for the teens)

Baby dolls (preferably hard, water babies are great)

Nail polish

CD's - instrumental

Beading kits

Window paints

So while you're out shopping this month, why not pick up a few extra things and mail them to Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas? It's the least we can do to make life easier for those who are struggling this Christmas.

This Christmas: Get Personal

I have a pet peeve at Christmas time... impersonal gifts. They bother me. I know that buying for everyone on a Christmas list is hard and requires lots of running and shopping and stress. When you're running out of time (and energy and money and ideas) you just decide that Grandma could use another cardigan sweater or Aunt Lucy should have a candle (just like you got her the last ten years in a row). I'm guilty of it, too, so don't think I'm pointing any fingers. But I have learned how great it feels to give a very personal gift, as well as receive one. It's an amazing feeling and it's what Christmas is really all about. Getting personal. Showing love. Making someone smile.

Some of my favorite Christmas gifts have been the most personal ones. I love the handmade paint sample collage made by my friend Sheila in honor of my paint sample addiction. I love the photo album given to me last year by Steve's niece Nicole. She let Kate use her camera during our Thanksgiving festivities and then she made a photo album of Kate's first photos for me at Christmas. It was awesome and personal and it made me cry. I love the heartshaped locket that my mom gave me for Christmas the year I had Kate. It has Kate's name engraved on the back and the locket has room for four pictures...just in case God blesses us with a handful of children, I guess! I love the pen and ink drawing of a light house that Steve made me to hang in my office the year I got my first real job and the Christmas ornament with our honeymoon picture inside it that he got me the year we were married, and the leather-bound journal that he gave me to write out all of my thoughts the year we were doing IVF.

I have given some pretty personal gifts as well - mostly centered around photography, because I love it and I love sharing it with others. I loved giving Steve a digital scrapbook from Kate that focused on the great relationship between the two of them. I loved giving the calendars featuring pictures of my family's annual beach vacation to my mom and my sister-in-law. I loved giving necklaces to my friends Sheila and Sara with pictures of their children on it. I loved giving Steve a weekend male bonding adventure to go white water rafting with his best friend.

It feels good to give personal gifts. They're remembered. They're meaningful. They touch people's lives. I've long since forgotten the perfume and sheet sets, candles and household gadgets that I put on my lists over the years. But I'll never forget the handwritten recipes that Steve's sister gave me so that we could make his favorite cookies and pies or the tiny scrapbook that my friend Sara gave me featuring photos she took at my wedding or the tiny gold ring with the itty bitty diamond chip in it that my parents stuffed into the bottom of my stocking when I was a little girl. Oh, how I loved that sweet ring, and I still have it today!

So this Christmas, I urge you to get personal. Think about what is important to your friends and family. Use your talents and give something that can't be bought in the store. Gift giving should be meaningful, personal. Try it. I promise it will make you feel so good about giving and that is the true spirit of the season.

These photos will be wrapped up under someone's tree this year...wouldn't it make you happy to open these?

P.S. What's your favorite personal gift - either given or recieved? Feel free to comment below and share your ideas for others to see!

Halloween: A Recap

After reading my last post, I realized that it provided an incomplete account of our trick-or-treat night festivities. Don't get me wrong...it was perfect, but it wasn't without some drama and a few tears. Here's a quick recap:

Perfect Tinkerbell Costume bought on ebay didn't arrive in time.
I cried.
Kate told me it was going to be okay.
I asked her if she wanted to be a princess.
She said "Nope. I'm going to be Tinkerbell."
Obviously, she's either very optimistic...or clueless. I think its the later.
Steve picked up woodland fairy costume on his way home from work.
I vetoed it...UGLY!
I stopped crying briefly to call my neighbor.
Miracle of all Miracles...she has a Tinkerbell Costume in Kate's size.
It was green and it passed Kate's "twirl test."
Drama Over.

Did I mention that Kate LOVED her costume? Loved it!

Then this little frog arrived (AKA, Baby Blake) for his first night of Trick-or-Treating

He thought he was big stuff and he kept smiling this huge grin every time I looked at him!

And we're off...

Here's proof of how happy I was...

And Ellie was pretty happy, too...

Trick-or Treat (or Tick or Teet as Ellie says).

Finally...checking out the goods.

Yes...there was drama. But it was still perfect.