Merry Christmas

From our home to yours. . .

(our card this year - front & back)

Merry Everything!

We hope you have the happiest of holidays.

Goofy

These kids can be so incredibly goofy.

I love that!

(used my fisheye lens to capture some goofy pictures of my goofy kiddos)

The Christmas Program

Sad to say, but this is one of the only pictures I took with both my little people in the same image at their Christmas program.

It's stellar, right? 

They sang two songs and they both did great - as did the rest of the preschool.

My little lady started the program strong, but by the second song (and when she realized how many people were in the church watching her), she got shy and refused to sing any more of the song. Such is life at 3, I suppose. 

Merry Christmas!

What He'll Always Be . . .

When he sleeps, I can still see the baby in him.

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

A Boy And His Dog

He insists that she follow him. He's learned the trick to keep her around.

Nothing better, don't ya think?

Who Makes Those Rules?

You know, those rules that say you shouldn't have red wine with fish or red wine doesn't pair well with sweets . . .

Well, I'm here to tell you, that this red wine and these maple cookies were wonderful together.

What do "they" know, anyway? 

Happy Holiday!

Carnage

These two look innocent enough.

But looks can be deceiving.

Despite this little guy's best effort and friendly smile. . . he never stood a chance. 

The Christmas Spirit is alive and well here this week!

Warmer

It was warm enough today to get out and play in the yard with only jackets (not heavy coats). Hard to believe we are only a week away from Christmas.  They are getting excited (as am I).  Just a few little snaps in our jackets this afternoon.

Love these two (but you knew that, didn't you?). 

These Two

These two . . .

Love them (and their blankies too).

That's all. 

The Little Apple

We took a day trip this past weekend to Manhattan, Kansas to visit Dirck's alma mater and take in a basketball game. These kiddos loved wearing their Wildcat clothes, and if only it would have been a little warmer, we could have gone all over that campus.

Here's a quick pic in front of the administration building.

And two little snaps from inside taken with my phone.

Go Wildcats! 

Observing

Fun things happen when you sit back and watch.

I'm enjoying watching these guys (only slightly more than I enjoyed eating those cookies!).

Typical

This is what Saturday morning looks like around here . . .

Just As They Are

It's been such a great Fall around here.  Here it is November, and we are still able to play (comfortably) outside. It's so nice.

I captured these images yesterday.  My little lady decided she was going to be a "Rock & Roll Girl." She found some sticks and played drums and sang for at least 30 minutes. It was a most awesome concert.

My boy took advantage of the weather to ride his Big Wheel around the yard. Each weekend I think "This will be the last time we're out here playing . . . " but nature's beauty and the sun's warmth keep being good to us.  I love that. 

And this is another attempt of mine to capture my kids just as they are - these moments are so precious to me, and I hope they will remember them one day and smile.

Leaves!

Goodness, we have a ton of leaves in our yard!

Lots of fun for the kiddos (and me too when I get to watch them)!

My First Baby

She's 12 years old now.

My little Madison, aka Maddie, aka Mad-Dog.

Where did the time go?

A Lazy Saturday Morning

My boy got sent home from school yesterday.  Seems he was quite sick - sick enough to get sent home with a bucket to hold his head over while his Daddy drove him home.  Poor baby.

He spent yesterday afternoon and evening sleeping, and when he woke this morning, he was feeling much better. 

Still, we kept it pretty low-key this morning - just hung out at home in our jammies. 

I love these little moments.

So glad he's feeling better.

Enjoying the Last of These Warm Days

Here we are:

Trying to soak up as much warmth as possible before Winter sets in.

We've had such a wonderful Fall!

I recently gifted my old (and very first) digital camera to my boy. He has had such a great time walking around and taking pictures, and in turn, I have a great time watching him.  I'll have to post some of his pictures soon - he's got some really good ones (although I'm biased, I realize)!

My little lady grabbed a good book, and was content to sit outside and enjoy the weather.

We ended our evening outside with a fun little game of Airplane before the sun set and we returned inside.

We will miss the warm days, but on the bright side, I'm looking forward to warm cuddles and snuggles this Winter.

One Mug - Many Ways

Oh, how I love this little mug . . .

Have a wonderful weekend.

Bad Blogger . . .

A month?  It's been over a month since I last logged in to this little blog-o-mine.  Can't say I have too many excuses . . . just work and kids and meetings and laundry. . . . lots and lots of laundry. 

Well, to get this little site up to speed, here's what needs to be said (written?).

We were a little goofy last month. I found my shutter remote, and I was determined to get a few pics of us all together.  Tough thing is that the focus when using one of those remotes is tricky - and hard - and perhaps meant for someone with greater skill than I, but I'll keep trying. 

We were rockstars for an evening. . .

My boy started playing soccer. This is his first organized sport, and I'm not sure that he really loves it.  The first few games/practices were tricky - he was frustrated and cried a lot because he didn't get a chance to kick the ball. He didn't understand that everyone would try to kick the ball and not wait their "turn" to get some action. He's doing better now that he's starting to understand the concept. His last game of the season is this weekend.

I'm trying hard to take more photos of my kiddos, "just as they are."  Being a self-proclaimed lover of photoshop, it's hard for me to not fully edit every image and try my best to get the most perfect shot. I'm LEARNING to let go of this, and I gotta say, I like the results.  These kids are amazing - they don't need me to doctor-up their pictures to be remembered that way. 

We're desperately hanging on to the daylight of our shortened days.  We start our mornings early on the weekends and try to spend as much time outside as we can while we can.  We've been having a wonderful fall around here.  These first two images were taken early morning in a park close to our home, and the last one there is how we ended our day in our own yard. 

Love these moments. 

Love this family. 

Miss this blog.

I'll try to do better, but sometimes life happens, and I'm learning to embrace that, so pardon me if I'm a little absent around here.

We "Moustache" You A Question. . .

Do these 'staches make our noses look big(ger)? 

Clearly, we had a great weekend! I love my silly munchkins and love that they actually wanted to wear these moustaches.

Enjoy your day and hug your little ones, OK?

Me & My Babes

Armed with a tripod and shutter remote, I'm determined to take more pictures of me with my munchkins. 

Taken Sept 8, 2011, right after dinner.

I need to do this more often. 

You do too. . . how many pictures do you have with your loved ones? 

Oh, and the quilt . . . pieced by my Great-great Grandmother. My grandfather had the pieces all these years and just recently had the pieces quilted. Isn't that lovely?