ringing

in the new year.

this year will be different for sure...i am sick and have been since two days after christmas.

it's been a bummer to not feel like doing anything while abbey, jesse, and david are out of school.

so tonight it's just us. me, dh, abbey, jesse, ethan, and david.

it will be a quiet celebration of ringing in the new and letting go of the old.

so i sent dh to the store for food and abbey cleaned up for me and i lit some candles.

we will bring in the new year by candle~light.

here's hoping you have a happy new year's eve.

and that the coming year will find you in good health

and full all things family.

and...

early gifting

as we all know family photos are a challenge.

(fyi...this was on purpose...just trying something new.)

what to wear, where to gather, getting everyone

on the same page...just to name a few.

scheduling it is a major undertaking with busy lives and not all living in the same state.

when are we all together in the same place at the same time?

for our family it was the thanksgiving holiday.

then you have the weather to contend with...will it be freezing, rainy, muddy,

too hot(that i can deal with).

so between the baking, cooking, cleaning, fixing, doing, exams, traveling,

we made a date to all be there with bells on( aka good attitudes).

this year we had r & e photography.

that would be my oldest daughter, rachel and then the next oldest, esther.

# 1...we did all show up...whew!

#2...the weather was gorgeous...thank you Lord!

#3...did everyone have bells on....absolutely not!

oh well, don't they say two out of three ain't bad.

we like very candid shots but when working with

children and lots of people's personalities you get a lot of

photos where some of the subjects aren't even in the picture.

or someone is blinking, pouting, staring off in space(you know who you are all three of you) or we could say looking a bit strange.

hence we have tons of photos but what is really suitable for

a real family christmas photo?

any one of them that you like.

for me this year i printed my own photos and gave

different people different ones.

i know i love my own family but they are some beautiful subjects to capture.

my girls r & e did a great job.

the little girls cooperated (most of them anyway... one needed a bit of

a bribe)...and i am not mentioning names. mine.

my boys, david, ethan, and jesse...actually were having fun with this

of course i never lost my temper at their tom~foolery. never not once.

so if you can't beat them...join them...it goes a lot

smoother...you just might not have any photos you can send to many people.

one thing i like to do is have props out ie furniture, dogs, tree limbs, candles, tables, blocks...it seems to loosen everyone up and give them something to do with their hands.

we also moved to another location which was a big hit with

everyone...(almost lost a few to...really mom!)

it was a gift to me to have everyone here...to have everyone

participate and to have everyone behave... well sorta behave.

thank you esther & brad... for having your beautiful family spend

such a chunk of wonderful time with us...10 days.

i loved spending time with grace and garnet.

they are growing into such fine young girls.

i love seeing everyone together and that the young girls

have each other in their lives.

thank you, rachel & eric...it is wonderful that your beautiful family lives

close by and doesn't mind being on hand for the madness.

your girls, gwyne and ellery are not only beautiful

but i love having them in my life so often since we live close.

i love that truly.

we did have fun in-between some of the drama that family

picture times are made of.

whew...another year down...so many more to look forward to!

though i am not holding my breath till the next one.

merry christmas to all.

parting is such sweet sorrow

...tonight my daughter, esther and her family left after ten glorious days visiting with us in tennessee.

don't get me wrong everything is not always wonderful and everyone has their moments but all in all we had an amazing time of thanksgiving, hanging out, making pizza,

dressed up on many occasions,

played inside...played outside, picked out a tree, shared starbucks with girls, painted christmas paper,

we made cards for soldiers, started a sharing quilt, we cooked cookies, dinners, breakfasts,

took family pictures,

had fireside talks, roasted marshmallows, helped a friend move, decorated a tree, made dinner for a family in need, had a gift exchange, got awesome curtains for rachel, tried in vain to find boots for esther, celebrated birthdays for rachel and jess, piled on G~pa, had lunch out....etc.

it was an amazing time to be spend time together and make new memories.