I'm so far behind, I'm not even going to try to catch up...

So instead I'll just post a few of my favorite recent (and not so recent) photos from the last few months.... =)

Yesterday I was stuck in the car for a while on the road, so I took advantage of it and played with my camera. Soooo.....here's me!

(Yeah, I know it's a bit too close, but I had my 50mm lens on and you can only hold it so far from yourself. Haha.)

Did you notice my awesome new scarf? It's one of my new favorite things! My friend Mihaela made it for me. And I LOVE it! And I love her for being so sweet and thoughtful. And I'm going to wear it everyday for the rest of winter. And I like starting sentences with "and." Here's a close-up of the yummy scarf texture and colors...

Check out my new hair! It's actually not really that red. The warm sunset light just makes it look that way.

And here is my other new most favorite thing. Or things.
I am smitten with this pair of shoes. Fifteen bucks at Payless and your feet couldn't be cuter!


And just for fun....no shoes. Notice my "finger toes". They're funny looking, but they're mine and I love them.

(I did say I was bored in the car, didn't I?)


And these are from this summer. I got them all ready to blog and them never got around to it.

This is my G.G. and Pop. They've been married a bazilion years. (Over 70 years, which is pretty close to a bazillion in marriage years.) G.G. has alzheimers and her memory is pretty much gone. But on this day, she remembered Pop and held his hand.

She is living in a private care home now. He misses her. =(


Everyone knows I have a love for feet. I like the story told by them. Most people don't realize that I feel the same way about hands. They speak volumes.

G.G and Pop's hands....

If I could tell you the things these hands have done...
G.G used to deal cards in Casinos and play boogie music on the piano with these hands...
Pop has rescued people from drowning and raced motorcycles with these hands...

I'll always treasure this picture.


Here is my Pop. He is a real-life hero and the hardest working man I have ever known. It's in his blood. (Both the heroism and the work.) As long as I've been alive, Pop has always been up before the sun and outside working in the yard or on some carpentry project or fixing something. I love this man deeply. I wish I could have every story he's ever told me on recording. He would let me tag along with him on his fishing trips even though I'm sure I just scared the fish away. He taught me how to drive stick using his own car. (Though I have since forgotten.) He loves freely and doesn't hold back his opinions and I just adore the man.


I love every wrinkle on his face and every bushy hair in his eyebrows and mustache. And the soft smile in his eyes. He's a big burly guy. The strongest man I know, but he's really a big softie, too.

And here's my G.G. It was nice to see a bit of her old self for a few minutes. She has always been so funny and lively. She's one of those spunky mischevious-type grandmas. She's always been the one who lights up a room or livens a party. I miss her...

I'm sure she had no clue who it was that was taking her picture. But she was still being friendly to me. And she remembered Pop for a few minutes which meant the world to him. And so my day was happy because of that.

I probably should have posted these in a seperate blog post, but I didn't want to put it off and chance overlooking them again.

Little Bandolero

He ain't mine, but he sure is cute!!!

Xander.... I can't get enough of him.

Cutest. Baby. Ever.

Leaving...on a jet plane....

Hi everyone! We're leaving today after months and months of waiting and preparation! YAY!!!!!

See you when I get back! I love you!!!
(Even the random strangers reading this that I don't know. Yeah, I love you, too!)

YES!!! I AM A MOM!!!

I saw this on GMA yesterday while getting the kids ready for school. Laughed my butt off. (Well, I wish I had actually literally laughed my butt off, wouldn't that be nice?, but alas, it is still there...) =)

Enjoy....

Family Vacation!!! And some Beach Pictures!

So this past weekend, we went out of town to Carlsbad. We (mostly me) wanted to take Sam to Legoland for his birthday before I leave on my trip. I wanted to spend some quality time with my family in case I die or something. (You never know, the plane could crash, or I could die of some strange intestinal parasite. It could happen. heh) Clayton humored me because he knows this is the longest I will have been away from my kids.

Here's a picture of Sam jumping on the bed at the hotel! Wheeeee!

And some of Sam and Owen playing in the pretty courtyard outside our little hotel patio.

We had such a nice time. Legoland was really fun. (It's really good if you have younger kids.. Just make sure you have an even ratio of adults to kids if they're under 48 inches.) I didn't take my camera into the park because it looked like rain and I also wanted to be "in the moment" instead of trying to "capture" the moment. There were moments when I wished I had, but that's okay.

So after we were done at Legoland (they close at 5pm), we headed over to the beach for a little bit to let the boys chase seagulls and find shells and get they're pants all wet and sandy. =) And for me to play with my new lens. ***aaahhhhh!*** (Picture angels singing and beams of light shining down from the clouds, haha) Yes, I am the proud owner of a nice zoom lens now, courtesy of my husband. Thanks babe!

So anyway, I haven't quite got the hang of it yet (It's way heavy compared to my little 50mm), but I was fairly happy with what I got.

Have I mentioned that I *heart* photoshop? I do. LOVE in all capital letters. LOVE LOVE LOVE. =) Check out all the cool color it can bring out in a photo! Sweet!

This one has so much technically wrong with it, but I love it anyway. (I like how Clayton is standing in the distance like "C'mon already!". )

****WARNING!!! SILHOUETTE OVERLOAD AHEAD!!!****

Just about the time all the awesome orangey light had arrived, my kids got tired of my camera. So I had to borrow a stranger's kid. Haha! (Don't worry, I asked permission, first.) She went where I asked her to and stayed where I needed her to and lookie what I got! I love it!

Watch. This. Now.

It's VBS time!! It's VBS time!!!

Vacation Bible School week at our church is probably my most favorite week of the whole year. A lot of people (read that to mean adults) think of VBS and all the work that goes into and groan. It is A LOT of work. A lot of preparation, a lot of decorating, a lot of recruiting (thank You, Lord, for not giving that job to me), and it requires a lot of energy. (Listen to me. I sound like I was the one doing all that work, which I totally wasn't. Props to Monica and Kelly at church who are A-MA-ZING.)

This is Monica. And her hubby and her completely adorable and utterly adored grandson.

And here's Monica and Kelly hanging out in a storage room with "Jesus".

Hey, lookie! It's me and my kiddos a la biblical garb. =)

Then you add in a couple hundred kids and it becomes magic!

Each day all the kids received "fresh fish" with that day's memory verse on it.

Sam had sooo much fun. He was totally into it.

This is Sam's friend "A". I'd totally be okay if he ends up marrying her. Hehe.
I LOVE VBS. Love, love, love. I love seeing all the kids and how excited they are to be there. I love the cheers they come up with for their groups. I love watching them make their crafts. I love watching them learn. And interact with each other and with their leaders. I love interacting with them, myself. I love watching them learn how to give to help others.

Sam's little boat that he made in the Toymaker's Tent.

Fresh Fish! Get your fresh fish!!!
This is "A's" little sister "G." I'd totally be okay if Owen ended up marrying her. (I think he would be happy about it, too.)

I was so touched during the praise and worship portion of VBS. It's beyond beautiful to see all these little kids singing about how good God is and loving on Jesus. (They get even more into it as the week progresses. It's great!) And I really love getting to watch them pray to ask Jesus in their lives. Really, that's the main purpose for VBS. What a gift.

This little girl had just finished praying to ask Jesus in her heart.

I was so lucky to be able to run around and take pictures. This year we did a "Galilee by the Sea" theme where we basically turned the whole church into a Seaside Galilee during the times of Jesus. There was a marketplace with different "shops" like a fisherman's tent, and a sandalmakers' tent, and the carpenter's tent. All the workers dresses in biblical type costumes and took on their characters. We also had a "synagogue" where the kids learned bible stories and about jewish culture and traditions.

Sam listened intently. Hey! It's "Rabbi" Jason!

Owen did not listen so intently. Crazy kid. =)

The kids came dressed up, too. Which was really fun.

My little shepherd boys. Don't they just need a little staff to complete the ensemble?

This is "T." He is "Rabbi" Jason and Kelly's youngest. This kid just melts me. He is sooo sweet.In this photo he was praying over his snack.

Delivering fresh fish!
Here's "A" again. Isn't she cute?
And here is Marlo and our littlest Galilean, "J". Isn't this a sweet moment? I really look up to Marlo. She has a quiet and gentle spirit. And she's an amazing mom. (Which is kind of obvious from this picture.)

I have sooo many more pictures that I LOVE, but unfortunatly I didn't have a chance to ask all the parents for permission to put their kid's photos up on the net, so I can't post them.

It was such a great week. I can't wait till next summer. =D

Oh, I am soo smitten with her...

This is Mandy. She's my niece. She's a girl. (Obviously.) And she's my new muse.

My sister let her come stay with her Auntie Cyndi for the week.

I was in heaven.

I'm surrounded by boys every day. Boys I love dearly and totally have fun with. But, still, they are boys. And I'm a girl. Sometimes I long for girly things. That's where Mandy comes in.

She's so feminine. She has this little soft, voice. She loves having her hair in pretty ponytails and braids. And playing house. And looking at shoes. (Owen likes shoes, too, haha.) And she LOVES her Auntie. She's oh so sweet. And she loves to sit quietly and snuggle in my lap. And she loves the color pink. And she likes pretty things. Like butterflies and flowers.

And, she's breathtaking. How beautiful and precious is this little face?

I had so much fun with her. I seriously loved every moment. She's such a good little girl.
We played in the backyard and she held her own with the boys (while still being soft and sweet.) And we went to the park and played in the creek. Tell me this isn't the cutest little face ever! I dare you. You can't. It's impossible. It IS the cutest little face ever.

Here she is being silly for Auntie.

She's a little fish, too and she had so much fun in the water.Oh, and since we all know I think feet are beyond adorable, check out her little feet.
Aren't they so cute? I took her home on Friday and I miss her terribly already. I wonder if my sister would let me borrow her one week a month? I wish. =)