JAG Family Photography

Update and too much to post in the upcoming months!!

2009-08-28T13:26:00.002-05:00

Well, I have been wanting to post all summer!! Every since we started getting our foster children.

Guess what??? I can't post much about them, so it's frustrating!!! It makes me not want to post at all and that is exactly what happened.

Well so much has happened in the last 4 months that I am just going to have to post a little summary for you.

April 20 3am- CPS brings us two little boys 6 months and 3 years for short term care. They had another brother so reunification with him was #1 on our agenda.

April 27- CPS calls about an 18 month old little girl and tells us the boys will be picked up the next day. We say bring her right over.

April 28- It rained so hard last night that CPS is closed until 1pm and we still don't have the little girl. No call, nothing.

1pm- I get a hold of the Placement dept. and they tell me that the little girl was placed with family, but they have a 4 day old that needs placement. I tell them bring her right over!!!!!

4:30- Get a call from the case worker telling me to figure out a name for her

5pm- "VK" gets here... she is beautiful... she is wonderful... how am I going to let her go if we have to????

April 29- Boys leave to be reunited with brother.

April 30-today- TOO MUCH to tell!!!! We still have "VK" and we are in the adoption prep. unit of CPS!!!!! We should be able to finalize in late Oct. or early Nov.!!!!! Words cannot express what God has done for us. Because honey, no one else but God could have bestowed a blessing like this upon us!!!! We are in love with our new baby girl and we cannot wait to share everything with you all!!

So there it is... a little update.

It is so hard for me to share with no pictures!! I don't know what to do???

School has started now, so I will try to be better. I will update some pictures of the other kids very soon.

I promise. :)

It is official!!

2009-04-16T20:06:00.003-05:00

I can't believe we actually have the license on the wall!!

This means the next step for our family is a call. A very important call that a case worker will make to ask if we can take children. Of course we can. We have been ready for awhile now and we are so excited to see what God has in store for our family!

We are praying now. Praying for the children that God will lead to our home and for their protection. I can't imagine what they could possibly be going through right now. We ask for your prayers too. I will absolutely be updating with any information that I can.

Love you all!!

I absolutely love our Praise and Worship Team at church!

2009-04-13T22:50:00.003-05:00

I know, I know... it's the Monday after Easter and I am not posting adorable pictures of my children in their adorable clothes.

Well... this Easter started off late, very yucky weather, and my kiddos were not up to getting dressed in their new Easter clothes. Except for Joshua of course so I posted this one just so you could see how precious he was. Not the sharpest of pictures, but he didn't want to stand still for me. he had just seen me in the atrium and didn't want to stay with his class anymore.

What I did want to share were the pictures from our Worship service this Easter. It was amazing and the amount of talent that is up there on the stage is astonishing!! What makes it even better is that all of these people give God the glory!! I love watching them each week and wish I had half the talent they did so I could get up on stage with them. They really do tempt me sometimes. :)

My mom is fussing at me.

2009-04-08T21:35:00.005-05:00

Hello baby Allen!!! This is my brand new baby nephew born on 3/11. Isn't he yummy!!

Well my mom called tonight and even she told me it was time to update my blog! I guess I'm going to post some random pics from the last month and then tell you how things are going with the foster/adoption. (Let me warn you, they are not in order.)

It's March, so in Texas that means bluebonnet season. I LOVE bluebonnets!!

Even after we got home from Disney, Joshua wouldn't wear anything else. Too cute!

Spring Break was Disney World!!! My favorite place to be besides home!!

A few pictures from earlier in the month. Grace and Joshua gardening, and half the girls in the neighborhood in a huge oak tree!!

OK, back to the adoption news.

We have a case worker!! All we need now is our id number and we can receive children!!!! Did I mention how absolutely excited we are!! I will be on here as soon as something happens. It could be any day from now!!

2009-03-03T23:23:00.002-06:00

HA!!! I am sooo sad at blogging now and I don't know how to get back in the groove. It literally takes one of my kids to get sick and slow me down to get back to blogging. :)

We have been so busy planning our trip to Disney... 11 days to go and counting!!! Woo Hoo!!!

We have been busy getting things together for our new additions to the family. (We will be licensed in the next 4 weeks or so)

I have been following the Weight Watchers diet. I have lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks AND I have still been able to eat Thin Mints!!! Now that is a diet I can handle!

All this and I have been planning the next mission trip to Montana. Whew! That is enough for me right now. :)

Well, mommy duty calls and I have to take care of my sweet Grace. I am still hoping to get back to the routine soon. Pray for me. Hee hee! :)

My baby is playing her first instrument!!

2009-02-03T22:28:00.002-06:00

This is such a proud moment for me....

my baby is playing the guitar!!

Anna has had an interest since she was 3, but she was too little to take lessons then. She has always brought it back up time and time again, and FINALLY mommy and daddy got the hint!!

We found a wonderful teacher and Anna absolutely LOVED the lesson!!

Look for some video clips in the weeks to come. :)

My baby brother, John

2009-01-30T22:22:00.003-06:00

My brother John is leaving for Navy boot camp in less than two weeks. I am thrilled, excited, nervous, scared, and proud all at the same time.

John has always been the sweet boy who used to grab onto my leg every time I walked in and out of the door. (Even when he grew up and didn't pay attention to me through the teen years) I love my baby brother and I can't wait to see what God has planned for him in this journey.

Tomorrow is his going away party and I can't wait to give him a big hug and tell him how much I love him!!

Please pray for him. Of course I will update you when he gets back. :)

Where oh where is our mommy??

2009-01-24T21:19:00.002-06:00

Just look at them, so so sad. They don't know where their mommy has gone.

She hasn't blogged in over a month!!! How is anyone going to know how big they are getting?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

We are going on a hunt.

We will find her.

THERE SHE IS!!!!!!

Yes, here I am. Facebook swallowed me up and I have finally been spit out. I better start making a habit of posting again or I am going to be lost forever!

Seriously though, my kids have asked to see their pictures on "mommy's website" lately and I have had nothing to show them. It's pretty bad when my 5 yr old is reminding me to blog. :)

I have a long post that is coming up, so I will update you all on everything that has been going on soon!! Bye for now!

Snow?? Snow in Texas?? What is that all about??

2008-12-13T19:36:00.004-06:00

Sad I know. Very sad that it takes returning home from a trip to Delaware and being in Houston, TX of ALL places to see... SNOW!!!

Now all you northern friends of mine... don't laugh. This little sprinkle of snow entertained my children for 2 hours!! Just take a look at that sad little snowball Anna and her friend Shelby were able to round up. :)

It has been so long since I have been here and I am so sorry for that. I really thought that after that last post, Anna was going to keep up with my blog for me. LOL She does have another post started, but she's as bad as I am about distractions. This time of year there are so many!!

Let me tell you a little of what I have been doing:

1. Organizing a Christmas party and gifts for 8 boys in the cottage my Sunday school sponsors.

2. Purchasing all the gifts for another cottage of 8 boys. (I was the personal shopper for their sponsor)

3. Lots and lots of photo shoots.

4. Laundry.

5. Trip to DE with the ENTIRE family... on a PLANE... on only 24 HOURS notice!!! (my grandfather passed away)

6. Black Friday shopping with my expecting SIL in Delaware!! (crazy, I know!)

7. Lots and lots of paperwork for our foster/adoption journey.

8. A couple of work Christmas parties with Rodney.

9. Facebook.

10. Both of my girls birthday parties!!

11. Oh yeah... and taking care of the 3 kids we have now. :)

How I want my Summer Vacation to be (maybe in school too)

2008-12-02T17:18:00.005-06:00

Do you want to know how I spent my summer vacation?Well, I really want to walk dogs for 1.00 each,there I said it! Now are you happy?Dogs are my favorite animals, besides my cat. The cat that I have now is,well my first cat that I've ever had (I think so). Back to dogs, Bailey my first dog, was my favorite dog. He was so fun and so cute!!! But we had to give him away!!! I was crying for hours!!! I want another dog but my parents won't let me. So thats why I want to walk dogs in the summer, maybe while I'm in school too. Now you know what I want to do in the summer (maybe all year and I want to save up to buy a dog and beg and beg and tell my parents that I'll pay for one myself). Bye! Bye! (see don't you love my story?! I'm only a kid! Well, I'm getting bored. Gotta go eat dinner!) AWESOME PLAN ISN'T IT!!!

(written by Anna, my 9 year old)

I wasn't kidding...

2008-11-15T22:31:00.003-06:00

... I really wasn't. :)

I said it was going to be very busy and I meant it. Whew! We have gotten so much done! The fire inspection passed, yeah!! The paperwork is all filled out. MY LIFE BOOK IS COMPLETE!!! (Can you tell which was the hardest for me?) CPR/First Aid got postponed until Monday.

I had ablation surgery.

Yep, you heard me. I feel fine. I feel 100%. I know it's because of all the prayers from friends and family, and because of our God who is a great healer! I mean, He knows it's the holidays and I can't be down for more than a day. :) Right??

Speaking of holidays, I want to tell you about our church's Ladies Holiday Dinner I attended on Friday night. It was AMAZING!! Besides the decor, the food, and the company, the speaker was WONDERFUL!! To put it simply, she challenged everyone to invite Jesus to Christmas this year. (at least I took it as a challenge)

I mean isn't it hard sometimes to forget? It is for me. I try so hard every year, but even then they busyness of the season distracts me. I have a new challenge this year and I am going to do my best. I plan to invite Jesus to my house for Christmas.

Guess what else...

I don't have any pictures to post right now. I have lots to catch up with, but I have to get back to work editing my sessions. I will be back soon my friends!

Gearing up for a busy few weeks.

2008-11-03T23:59:00.003-06:00

OK, I was going to end with pictures, but I just can't figure out my computer right now. The ONLY time I have trouble cut/pasting is when I am blogging!! It is so frustrating! I guess you get to see the pictures first, then read my post. I actually wrote a little more than usual!

You must be shocked! :)

It has been so long since I have just talked about what's going on in the Johnson household! I feel so behind.

I can't believe that It's almost Christmas and I have barely even thought about it twice. The only reason I even remembered it was coming, was when I had to run into Hobby Lobby and decorations were everywhere!!

Guess what?? We should be licensed to foster/adopt by Christmas!! Yes, I remember it was a mere few months ago that I mentioned this on the blog, but God has put us in high gear! :)

I am so excited for what he has in store for our family! Don't get me wrong, I know that there will be tough roads ahead and good ones. I have an AMAZING support system! "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13" Not to mention the MANY wonderful Christian women who surround me!!

I promise to be better at keeping you updated in the future! For right now, we have the plumber coming to check the gas lines tomorrow. Then next week, we have the fire marshal coming on Monday and CPR/First Aid class on Tues. After that it is on to the home study!

Onto another completely separate subject, I have about 10 photo sessions I need to get scheduled this month! I am REALLY looking forward to them! I am about to get Lightroom 2 and I am excited to use the new editing software with my Mac!!

It's getting cold outside...Brrr.....

2008-10-28T21:40:00.004-05:00

But I still cannot convince my children to put their shoes on! Hee... hee...

I absolutely LOVE my girls in hats!! Yeah for cold weather!!

Sneak Peak for the "A" Family

2008-10-22T22:42:00.002-05:00

Every now and then there is a sweet boy out there who can tug my heart strings like my own Joshua does. This little boy was one of those boys!! "N" took a little while to warm up, but as you can see... once he did, he was all smiles!!!

Mom and Dad thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to photograph your family! I look forward to watching these sweet babies grow up. Baby "E" is gorgeous!!

I will be in touch with you soon!

Two sisters and their beautiful families.

2008-10-14T22:58:00.004-05:00

I had the opportunity to spend some time with the "N" family in our session, and I just want to say that this family "oozes" love! I have known them for a few years and they are as beautiful inside as they are on the outside.

Thank you so much "N" family for giving me the opportunity to capture this moment in time for your family! I will be calling you soon to show you the rest of the pictures from our session.

Distracted by Facebook...

2008-10-12T23:28:00.008-05:00

I cannot believe that it has been 11 days since I blogged! My free time I used for blogging before has been taken over by Facebook. :)

You guys know that I am not one for many words, but I am ALWAYS one for many pictures. This post will be no different. I have MOPS convention, SYTYCD tour show, and kids to share with you. LOTS of pictures!

Twitch and Kherington

Katee and Joshua (my favorite couple!)

The Finale

Will and Jessica (Will was my favorite dancer of all!)

Gev and Courtney

Twitch

Mark and Chelsie

Twitch and Katee

Joshua and Chelsie

Mark and Chelsie

Will- AMAZING DANCER!!

Best Friends

My sweet Grace...she is getting soooo big.

Go Fish performed at the MOPS Convention in Dallas, TX

Plumb...if you haven't heard her music, go to iTunes NOW!! "Me" is my favorite song!

New paint, new furniture, same old toy mess. :)

2008-10-01T11:32:00.008-05:00

Remember long before Hurricane Ike....

I told you I was painting my house....

Well I finally have some pictures for you.

And because we had all that time to spend sitting in the house together, we decided to get some new furniture. Here are some to start with, but remember it takes me a LONG time to decorate!! :)

Here is the breakfast room, it used to be a baby blue. That is some new artwork on the wall. We will get to that later.

Here is the view of the living room, with the new furniture.

(and the new TV)

Here are some really cool shutter doors that are going on the wall somewhere.

My pretty rustic red dining room. The downstairs bathroom is the same color. (This color is my favorite!!!)

Here is that metal art from the kitchen. I think I am going to get two more, because that space needs something larger.

Here is another view of the living room. That chair to the left of the fireplace is my new "sitting" chair. I LOVE it!!

Here is the kids playroom, right side.

That is our new train set, courtesy of the Boys and Girls Country garage sale last weekend. And who is that rugrat over there on the table?? Can you see him??

Anna's new paint color in her room.

The other side of the kids playroom. That furniture is the old stuff from downstairs.

More pictures from our weekend with Ike

2008-09-17T11:03:00.003-05:00

I had to laugh at my sweet hubby for this one! Putting aluminum foil on the antenna's brought back such memories!!

See those two on the right bottom corner?? That is Ammie and Ubba down in Kemah taking pictures before the storm hit.

Go home you lunatics!!!

We had Grace on one side of the closet...

and Anna and Joshua on the other.

Here are our sweet babies trying to put the trees back up.

September 12, 2008~Hurricane Ike

2008-09-16T21:48:00.013-05:00

Hello to all of my friends!

What a wild weekend we have had, and I don't think it will be over anytime soon. Due to the hurricane school has been cancelled for the entire week!! Our neighborhood faired pretty well, but the school district has quite a few schools that have damage.

I guess I will start from the beginning...

Thursday we finished up preparations by getting the generator (see previous post) and going home to "hunker down." All of the men on the street were helping each other take trampolines down, tie down basketball goals, put patio furniture away, etc.

We stayed out late to watch the sunset and let the kids run out of all their energy! (Isn't it amazing how they can tell something big is about to happen? They all go nuts!) When they finally crashed (at 11:00pm), we sat in the living room to get situated before the rain started. I don't even remember what time that was, but it was dark. I tried to get good shots of the rain and wind, but it was close to impossible. Rodney kept getting on me to shut the door or else! Sheesh! I needed to get good pictures for you guys!

The power went out at about 1:12am. Right after Joshua fell out of my bed and I snuggled up next to him to keep it from happening again. I had just started a movie and was really bummed when it turned it off!!

Instead of rolling over to go to sleep, I jumped out of bed because I knew we had to finally get the kids in the closet. (oops, I forgot those pictures!! I will do another post with just pictures.) We put everyone into our final "hunker down" mode and caught a little cat nap at about 3am until 5am when Rodney slapped me on my arm and told me to get in the closet!! There was a tornado that went through the park beside our house. (you could see the path it took)

That was the last thing I remember.

I went into the closet and it was AMAZINGLY quiet in there!! I slept until around 8am when Rodney woke me up looking for Anna. I freaked out for a moment and then realized she was in the living room looking out the window at the storm. That was it... all the kids started waking up and a few hours later the worst of the storm had passed.

I am a horrible writer, so I will stop there and just share my pictures.

A storm band rolling in. Here comes Ike!

Our AMAZING gift from God the evening before the storm.

Just look at the beauty our Lord creates!

Yep.. that's a storm band right over my house!

That is my house over there to the left. These are more clouds rolling in.

Yes, I was trying to get artsy when the lights went out. What else was I supposed to do?

This is from my front porch very early on in the storm.

This is the park just when the rain began. Remember this view, because it looks very different after the storm.

This is our back yard and that is what you do with a trampoline in a hurricane. (there are stakes on all sides that it is tied down to.)

This is a hanger at a little airport just down the road.

I am getting very used to this now. There are so many gas stations controlling traffic with police patrol. People are getting very ugly!

This is my sweet friend Ashley's house. :( She was very sad to see her tree down, but I am happy to say that it is back up again!!)

This is just one of the trees from the picture before. There are so many in the park that looked like this! They were only planted a couple of years ago. I really hope they make it!

Here is a building off the Beltway that had windows blown out.

After we got our power back, we decided to take our generator to some friends in Clear Lake. We saw dozens of busses and emergency vehicles taking people from the island to San Antonio or Austin.

A mangled stoplight.

This tree went down just down the street from our friends. (love you B and C!) The kids are there just so you could see how big it was.

A car dealership on I-45.

The crazy line at Krogers for gasoline on the day after. (didn't everyone get the message to fill up before the storm??)

This is a HUGE tree down at the park in front of our neighborhood.

Same tree, different angle. This one shows the soccer fields that double as retention ponds for our neighborhood. The work very well!! No flooding here!

Isn't this cool?? This flag got hung up on the tree sometime during the storm. This is one of my favorite pictures. I haven't done final editing, but when I do I think I might print this one.

We brought the camper over on Saturday night to get some cool air. We ended up having a few neighbors over for a slumber party in the cul de sac.

Here are the men working on the generator.

Here is my baby girl working on clean up after the storm.

Here are our menfolk working on getting a huge limb of the tree. The limb broke and got stuck on that huge branch right above their heads.

Here are the men again. They finished the park by our house and then took their chainsaws around the neighborhood. When they finally got to this tree they figured out they had been beat. Rodney thought for a moment his hacksaw would do the job (not really), and then they all went home for some well deserved rest!

Well there it is!! I will post the other pictures tomorrow night. I am going to bed feeling very blessed tonight! There are still so many people without electricity and homes at all!!

We made it through!

2008-09-14T20:35:00.002-05:00

Well we lost power Sat morning around 1:12 and got it back today around noon. Less than 36 hours, so we really can't complain! It was incredibly scary to think about the tornadoes that hit in our area. We heard one that went through the park by our house!

God protected us! I couldn't help but think, "I will praise You in this storm, I will lift my hands. You are who You are, no matter where I am." They played it on the radio quite a bit today, and this morning it meant so much more!

I am going through ALL 300 or so pictures I have and I will try to choose the best to post tonight. (I don't want to blow up Blogspot or anything) LOL

Thank you to everyone who said prayers of protection over us!!

Lisa

(feeling so blessed tonight to have my AC running!!)

The beauty before the storm.

2008-09-12T20:14:00.005-05:00

Look at what I get to cuddle with during the storm. :)

2008-09-12T12:36:00.002-05:00

This is what I did to prepare for the storm yesterday. With all the clouds rolling in, the lighting was gorgeous!!!

Hurricane Ike is coming! Is it bad that I am excited? I am infatuated with weather!

2008-09-11T22:00:00.005-05:00

Well we won't know what the storm will do until it happens. I understand this, and we are prepared for it. I am actually looking forward to seeing what happens. I know this might sound bad, but I am not meaning it to be. I am saddened that there will be so much devastation, but I also understand that what I need to do is pray.

My family is under mandatory evacuation so it is close to me. Most of them are in Austin now so my grandmother will be close to a hospital. My two youngest brothers and a few animals are coming to our house tonight. The kids are very excited their uncles are coming!

Today I spent the day getting a few last things together and taking my camera along with me while I did. This is a little of what getting ready for a hurricane looks like...

Rodney doesn't like to be without electricity, so we waited in line for a generator at Home Depot.

While Rodney was doing that, I took some pictures of the lines at the gas station.

Here is another shot of the other side of the same station.

Here is westbound 290 at 2pm on a Thursday. You may not know this, but all that traffic means that something is up!

Here is my honey humoring me for a picture. He was really laughing at me because I looked like a dork. :)

This line may look bad, but oh my goodness!! I can't begin to tell you what GREAT job Home Depot did for this storm!!! Everything was so well organized!! We spent only 1hr 18min in line and that was time for them to unload the truck, organize the generators, and I was at least 60 back in line!!

The generators were well guarded!

That is our generator there on the right. Yippee!!!

They actually let me sneak back for a quick picture! I felt very special...just like I was one of the Home Depot team!! :)

Well, I will be taking as many pictures as I can as long as things are safe. I will post again as soon as I can!

So much going on...including adoption news!!!

2008-09-09T22:54:00.004-05:00

I know...I know....

My next post was supposed to have pretty pictures of my pretty painted house. Well, that is just not possible until I clean my not-so-pretty painted house. The walls look great, but it is everything else that is a WRECK!!

So until I get that all together, let's talk about kiddos!!!

My sweet hubby and I completed the second step in our adoption process. For CPS the first is going to the information meeting and the second is turning in our paperwork. We did that last Thursday!!

We have decided to adopt 2 children and hopefully it will be a sibling group. If it were up to me, I would adopt 12 more! My DH is the one who is level-headed. It is when things like this come up that it is so clear to me why God chose Rodney just for me!

The pictures I have added are just for fun. I hope everyone is having a great week!!

Here is our sweet Bella. She absolutely LOVES my little studio! I love taking pictures of her in my little studio!! :)

This is big sister Anna giving Grace some help in the pool.

Anna and Emily just can't stand the thought that summer is over. They are trying to hold on as long as possible!!

Another project!! Yeah!!

2008-09-02T21:44:00.002-05:00

Many of you remember that a few months back we painted the outside of our house. This Thursday we finally get to do the inside!!!

This is an absolute first for me. Actually having someone come in and do it for me. Rodney and I are terrible at starting projects and never finishing them. We also can't pick colors to save our lives, so thanks to our sweet friend Tiffany!!! She came over Monday and took care of that for me!! yeah!!

Tomorrow I will take some before pictures and post them here for you. I will try to get as many pictures as I can during the process, but I don't want to get in the way. The whole house should be finished by next Monday or Tuesday!!!

I will wait to post the final pictures until I get the house put back together a little. :)

Until tomorrow...

Too tired for words...

2008-08-28T07:32:00.002-05:00

Ha ha...he is too.

I have been busy each night since last Thursday and I haven't had much of a moment to blog. The kids are almost all back to school or MDO, so I promise to get back to regular blogging. I miss it!

I just had to post another one of my sweet Joshua photos. Can anyone guess what movie Joshua watches every morning?

A few senior photos.

2008-08-21T08:45:00.005-05:00

Well I am still trying to get all the pictures edited from the trip. In the meantime since school is on my mind (the kids go back in a few days), I will share a few senior photos I took in Montana.

As you can imagine, there are not many options to do portraits in remote areas of Montana. When a couple of families asked me to help out by taking portraits of their seniors, I was thrilled! We didn't have many options of wardrobe in some cases, but again...we couldn't wash clothes. :)

Back from Montana.

2008-08-15T09:49:00.008-05:00

Well I made it back from Montana and I have almost caught up on my sleep. I only had 2-4 hours of sleep for 6 nights straight!!

I am so happy to be home, but I cannot wait to go back either! I plan on bringing the entire family next year. Wouldn't it be just adorable to see the kids dressed in regalia?

Here are lots of pictures to start you off with. There are hundreds more!! :)

Here is the Montana Indian Ministries trailer with the tee pee poles loaded.

Our view from Two Hands Cave where Pastor Bruce's interview was taped. We took the entire group up there on our last day to pray over our mission trip.

The sunset somewhere between Zortman, MT and Billings, MT. (this is what happens when the photographers drive)

Billings, MT sunrise from the airport.

A tee pee.

Aren't these colors just beautiful!! This outfit was one of my favorites!

Some of the little girls waiting for Grand Entry.

I couldn't help but get a portrait of this beauty!

I did a few sessions while I was there for a family in Zortman.

This is the sister of the girl above. Aren't these girls gorgeous! They are equally as beautiful inside as outside. Just amazing girls all around!

This is Pastor Bruce's nephew, he is also a senior in high school. We had to make sure to keep the girls away from this one. It took alot of work to get him to have a normal smile. He is such a goofball!! :) Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this for you!

I left a big piece of my heart in Montana for this sweet pea!! Her momma is the one who is going to make the outfits for my kids next year.

This sweet girl was so shy at first, but eventually I was able to get her to smile. She asked to look at a mirror so she could see what she looked like. When I showed her the picture in my camera she smiled so big! (I wish I could have caught that one!)

A fancy shawl dancer.

You know me...I can't get enough of the kids.

I remember this man from last year. Isn't this outfit amazing!!

More pics of my BFF's kiddos.

2008-08-05T23:56:00.005-05:00

My kids are not going to miss me on Thursday for sure. They are going to get to play with these sweet kiddos. I can just see Caleb and Anna now, either playing the Wii or NDS. Grace is going to probably be torn between Elli and Noah. Joshua is going to be torn between Caleb and Noah. (he likes being with the boys now) They have too many choices of things to do!

I didn't even mention "the fort." Wow...I can see it now! I better get pictures! I know my sweet BFF isn't into taking pictures a much as I am, but I better get pictures of Thursday! I want to know what my babies are up to while I am gone. :)

I am going to miss my babies!!

2008-08-05T21:29:00.006-05:00

I leave for Montana in less than 48 hours and I am sick to my stomach! I am so excited to go on my mission trip, but I always start missing my babies before I even leave.

I am trying to soak up all the time I can with them.

I am trying to get all my kisses...hugs...and loving in before I leave.

Please pray for a blessed week at the Hays Pow Wow. Please pray for my family why I am gone.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend. Something to remember my little punks. :) I love them so much!!

I LOVE these people!!! It's my BFF's family. (family to me too!!)

2008-08-04T00:47:00.009-05:00

It's just like taking pictures of my own family. Little stinkers!!

Aren't they a gorgeous family!!

I know....I've been MIA.

2008-08-01T09:39:00.003-05:00

The computer's fan is out.

I have been backing up photos and files.

I am still getting ready for my mission trip...less than a week!!

Taking care of the kids.

These are just some of the reasons I have MIA for awhile. I promise to be back on top of things soon!

Sneak Peak- Church Project (my friends)

2008-07-27T23:47:00.005-05:00

I am too tired for works, so here are some pictures. All of these sweet people I am happy to say are my good friends!

I love rainy days!

2008-07-25T23:24:00.002-05:00

I am not sure how you feel about the rain, but down here in Houston it means it's going to be a little cooler. That makes it wonderful!!

Never mind that within 24 hours it will be hot again.

And then it will be nasty and humid.

Which means the mosquitoes will be out soon.

But first it means a few hours of cooler temps and the perfect time to be outside. The complete overcast makes it PERFECT for taking pictures! (as long as there is no lightening)

The second shot is a little dark for my normal liking, but in this picture I think it works. Tell me, what do you think.?

Baby "C" is 10 months old.

2008-07-24T13:05:00.003-05:00

I squeezed in a little session this morning. Even though it was raining, we were able to get some great pictures! Here is one that I was able to get to before running out to do my laundry list of errands. Yuck!!

Looking at this sweet face puts a smile back on mine!

Sneak Peak of the "W" kids.

2008-07-23T09:35:00.004-05:00

Wow! These kids were a photographer's dream. Not once did they lose the smile on their face! Thank you so much for coming out yesterday. I am so glad we missed the rain!

VBS Week

2008-07-22T08:14:00.006-05:00

VBS was a crazy week.

It was however a week filled with God's love! I thoroughly enjoyed Grace coming home everyday yelling "Jesus is real!!!" It was so cute. I can always count on her telling me what the lesson for the day was. The other two?? Well I have to pretty much drag it out of them. It's pretty hard to do that with Joshua. He was usually asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.

Here are a few pictures to share from the week.

Grace and her sweet friend doing the chicken dance.

My future daughter-in-law.

Grace is finally over her stage fright.
This is her singing in the program on the last day of VBS.

Joshua playing with one of his best friends.

This is Elli...she is a sweet princess from Guatemala.
She is my BFF's princess, and I get to spoil her! :)

You may not get who this is from the back, but this is Noah.
He is another of my BFF's sweet angels.

Oh, here she is again. You can't see them here, but she has dimples that are irresistible!

Grace playing one of the recreation games. This was so fun to watch!

Grace and her new friend walking in to the church from music.

Anna and her best friend.

2008-07-21T09:33:00.002-05:00

Do you remember laughing this hard? I do. I remember my best friend in Jr. High, we used to laugh so hard that Dr. Pepper would come out of our noses! This usually followed our competition of who could stick the most Jello squares to the ceiling.

Yes, we were dorks.

This is Anna and her best friend "E" at the Boys and Girls country last month. I LOVE these pictures!!

Hopefully I will be getting back on track with my posting now. Last week was VBS and this weekend Rodney and I went out of town with two other couples. I wasn't able to get any pictures because everyone wanted to make cameras off limits for the weekend. I guess it worked out though, I spent the entire weekend by the pool, taking naps, sleeping in, and eating chocolate!! yippee!!!

Sneak Peak of Baby "K"

2008-07-14T00:32:00.004-05:00

I am so exhausted and VBS starts EARLY for me, BUT I couldn't stand waiting to go through these pictures.

Then I had to edit a couple so I could share them.

What do you think? Color or BW or both?

Momma...I cannot wait to go through the rest of the pics!!

Grace went missing...or so I thought.

2008-07-09T23:53:00.003-05:00

Grace was very whiny today.

So much so that she spent alot of time in her room.

This afternoon when daddy got home he took her out to play for awhile. Mommy ruined it by calling them in half an hour later for dinner. She ate well, but then she wanted to go back outside. By this time the mosquitoes were in full force, daddy was crashed out, and So You Think You Can Dance was on. I was not going outside!!

When she decided to throw a fit I sent her to her room.

Usually she just comes down after awhile and all is well after her apology. But this time...an hour went by (without me really noticing) and I went looking for her.

Where was Grace?? (you must know that sometimes she likes to try and walk out to a friends house by herself)

This is what I saw when I went in her room. (oh and it was dark, here I had a flash)

Do you see it??

Let me help you out a bit.

TOO FUNNY!!!

Not surprising though...she falls asleep on the floor every now and then.

Just never under the bed before. :)

Aren't these feet irrisistable???

2008-07-08T12:37:00.002-05:00

Anna

Grace

Joshua

MMM...(many more Monday)

2008-07-06T23:32:00.005-05:00

I thought instead of FFF (favorite foto Friday), I would do a Monday post instead. I always have so much catching up to do from the weekend! I can never really pick just one picture anyways. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. I had to take a special moment out and pray for all of my family members in the military.

Grace dressed up as "Bible Girl"

I have no idea what this was...I just thought it looked cool.

I do not like fireworks. Let me correct myself. I enjoy watching fireworks at places like Disney World and such, but NOT at home. I spend all of my time making sure the kids don't burn up! It makes me so nervous!!!!!! Aack!!!

Did I mention that my husband LOVES to shoot fireworks???? And since I don't like them, he has created a bonding opportunity with Anna. It works, she LOVES them!

In between chasing kids I took the opportunity to take some pictures. (of course)

Isn't this purty?? :)

After the 4th celebration we went to my mom's on Sat. and celebrated Joshua's birthday.

Here he is blowing out his candles.

(my mom insists that I tell you the cake was just a "quicky"....hee hee. She did not try and get the colors or anything right. Believe me, she amazes me with her cakes!! I will post one of my wedding cake sometime. She just decorated this one really quickly because the kids were hungry! (Joshua doesn't know any better anyways, he thinks it was Wall-E's friend)

He can NEVER resist stealing a lick!! :)

I wish I would have caught a picture of what he did later to the cake. Of the cake that was left, I think he licked off 1/4 the icing. Oops...who was supposed to put the cake away???

My grandmother and her great-grand babies.

If you have read my blog at all, then you would know that usually it's Joshua sleeping in strange positions. Here is one I caught of Grace before I woke her up for church.

Yes, that is our coffee table. :)

"Working at the car wash..."

Something fun to do on those HOT Texas days!!!

You'll have to leave a comment for this one!!!

2008-07-04T00:50:00.006-05:00

Good morning everyone!! (shout out to A.C.!!! Give Baby D a kiss for me this morning!!)

I need some help. Which one of the following pictures is your favorite? Please leave a comment and tell me. I cannot choose??!!! (I have them numbered on the left.)

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy!! He's 3!! ( I know it's not until Monday, but I couldn't wait!)

2008-07-03T01:39:00.006-05:00

I took Joshua out yesterday for his birthday pictures and I had to bribe him to wear those clothes. He wears nothing but athletic shorts and t-shirts anymore.

Most of the pictures are obviously Joshua just being Joshua, but I was able to sneak a few sweet shots in. :)

Tell me what you think...I love the haircut. I think it makes him look meaner when he scrunches up his nose though. I find myself telling him all day to "fix your face" which means put a smile on. He immediately responds by giving me the GOOFIEST grin possible! :)

I remember when your Mommy and Daddy were engaged...

2008-07-03T01:04:00.008-05:00

Sweet Baby Ava,

I remember walking on the beach with your mommy and daddy and taking their engagement pictures...

I remember driving to college station and taking pictures of your mommy in her wedding dress, and daddy's boots...

This by far is my favorite session because you are a beautiful representation of their love for each other! Welcome to the world baby girl!!

I just know she was smiling for me. :)

I loved the painting!

Hello there sweet princess!

I think we know where you're going to school.

I just wanted to eat her toes!!! Look how adorable they are!

Fellow Blogger Challenge...Keeping It Real

2008-07-01T23:13:00.002-05:00

OK, if I had to truly "keep it real "what would I tell you???

Hmmm.....so many things to choose from....what is on my mind right now???

I have a friend who keeps saying she has the "fever." Her fever is she wants to move. Crazy, I know.

Well, I have had the "fever" lately, but mine is for more kids. Yeah, I know what some of you are saying out there. For my ladies who understand me, thank you. :)

I have always had adoption on my heart since I was in high school. I knew that it was something I wanted to do. I was blessed to be adopted by my stepfather when my biological father passed away, I was only 9. I am blessed with an amazing husband who stepped in as Anna's father when she was only 2. He adopted her a soon as possible. Adoption surrounds me and I know it is amazing! There are so many children out there who need a forever home and I am ready to give them one.

Now all I have to do is pray. I know that my sweet hubby and I have talked about it before, but I just don't know if it is God's timing right now. I know that God brought Rodney into my life to keep me grounded. If I had it my way, we would have 10 kids by now.

Well I know I'm not off to sleep, but I don't know what else to say right now. I guess I'll go work on my slide show.

Love you all!!

What??? It's Tuesday already!!!

2008-06-30T23:01:00.006-05:00

I really try hard to post at least every other day.

I have to be honest though...it is hard! I really don't know how the "Super Bloggers" out there in the world do it!?! I guess the big part of the problem is that I spend most of my computer time reading blogs. By the time I am ready to post, SOMEONE (under the age of 5 usually) needs help.

We went camping this weekend and it has taken me a day and a half to get over it! I think I'll share some photos. Let's see where were we??

Anna is home!!

Just as I thought...she already asked if she could go back next year. :)

Her best friend came with me to pick her up. Not only was it a surprise for her, Emily also surprised Anna by cutting her hair for Locks of Love!! She is such a sweet girl!!

Rock on Joshua!! (yes that is Guitar Hero)

Grace was really getting into it!

Guess who??

It's Boo Boo!!!

Grace leading the way as usual.

Silly little Joshua!! :)

Not so little anymore. My baby will be 3 in one week!! :(

Yogi wasn't at the park this weekend. :(
He's been eating too many picnic baskets

People!!! Stop feeding the bears!!

The older girls had a tough time getting up.

Don't I have enough to deal with!! These guys wouldn't stop splashing each other!!

"But he/she/they started it!!"

It was so much fun!

Look Mrs. Sarah...I'm practicing. :)

Taking a break from the sun to do some arts and crafts.

The campfire.

The girls attempted the Choco-Milk Chug-a-lug Contest.

Washing down the milk with water. We must keep hydrated!

Joshua looks like he's going to fall asleep here.

Emily was so cute asleep on Anna's lap.

If he wasn't asleep before, he's asleep now! :)

Even in cars he gets into some strange sleeping positions. Look at poor Anna's leg having to hold him up. I keep telling her to keep her feet down. Oh well.

OK, I promise to try and get much better at posting on time.

Good Eeeeeveniiiiiiing!!!!!!

2008-06-26T07:33:00.006-05:00

I thought I would go over what we've been up to since getting home from our trip. It took me this long to finish telling ya'll about it, so now I have to play catch up!

First of all it is too HOT!!!

Because it is so hot in Texas, the firemen come out to the camps and hose the girlscouts down. Everyday Anna told me, "Mom...I'm not going to do thaaaat!"

Good thing I brought towels anyways, because this is how I picked her up EVERYDAY!!

It's been awhile since we have seen Joshua sleeping. I just love it when he sleeps.

We got a kitty!!! It is really Joshua's kitty, he LOVES this kitty. Kitty likes to play possum every time Joshua picks her up. Poor kitty. (kitty was not harmed at any time)

This is what Joshua has to do to get "kitty."

Why do I keep saying kitty? Well we first thought she was a boy...then a girl...then a boy...and we finally figured out she is a girl!!

The kids had already named her Tad, and now thy don't know what to call her????

Swim lessons with Joshua.

THANK YOU Sarah!!!!

Swim lessons with Grace.

THANK YOU AGAIN Sarah!!!!!

Another cute pic of my baby. :)

See that little person at the top of the picture?

It's my first baby Anna. She started gymnastics again and LOVES it!!

Joshua is in the stage of invading everyone's space right now. When he does this, Grace usually kicks the fire out of him! I give her consequences because this is not OK, but then I also tell Joshua in private that he was asking for it! What to do with these two!!!

This was Anna's first room mate for church camp. This was her first time at an overnight camp that was more than one night. (it was 3 nights)

She came home and I think she wants to go back and stay. I had to bribe her to come home with me by bringing her best friend with me to pick her up! :)

The chaos of campers. Eek!! This is where I dropped my baby off on Monday!!

I'm sure glad she made it back!! J/K, I knew she would make it. :)

Disney- Day 5 (Finally!!)

2008-06-24T23:40:00.008-05:00

Whew! I LOVE posting about all of our fun at Disney World, but I am so excited to move on about what we've been doing since then! Here are the pictures from our final day in FL. I think I took only one picture on the ride home. (I didn't post that one either) It was pretty much the same as the trip there only in reverse. :)

Crystal Palace lunch with Piglet

PLEASE DO NOT LET YOU KIDS READ THIS:

I think this wasn't a very nice Pooh. :(

Notice in this picture Anna is not there.

She had just stepped away to get her food, I tried to get her over, but Pooh wouldn't wait.
Well Anna really wanted a picture with Pooh, so I tried to get one before we left. (in-between him taking pictures with other people, I didn't want to be rude)

But he looked at us and turned and walked away!! I KNOW he saw us!! How rude! I know they can do it, take a look at what Eeyore was like...

Here is the photo without Joshua.

And here is the sweet photo he took with Joshua before we left.

Thank you sweet Eeyore!!

Moving on to more pleasant moments.

I absolutely love this picture of Anna in front of the castle! She LOVES to Hoola Hoop!

The little ones tried their best, bless their sweet selves!

Grace got a little tired.

The storm moving in over the castle.

See those guys in the middle? Especially the one in the vest! They are my favorite people in all of Disney World...The Photo Pass People!! When I grow up I want to be one!! :)

The storm didn't stop the parade though!! These two girls LOVED the parades!!

Keep trying...I don't think ANY of you are the king. :)

Fun on Cinderella's Carousel

I just LOVE the look on Sarah's in this picture!

(I can't stand the look on my face, but I left it unedited. I'm just keepin' it real for you.)

Anna and her Bunga

Finally a picture of me and my sweetie!! Thanks Mom...I knew I brought you along for something! :) Just kidding! :)

This girl ROCKED the Jungle Cruise!!! She was so funny!!!

The girls outlasted the boys...

... so we all got new "ears" and posed for a picture before we left.

This is what we did to the little princesses. :)

WORE THEM OUT!!!

More news from home tomorrow...swimming lessons, gymnastics, summer camps and more!!

Disney-Day 4 and a weekend update.

2008-06-20T23:43:00.007-05:00

This weekend was so nice!! I will just tell you about each day.

Saturday I spent the morning taking baby Dalton pictures!! (sneak peak Tues) I wish I knew how to link you, but I don't. I will just tell you that I took belly pictures of his momma in May.

After that I had to pick up Anna from her friends house (and then her friend and twin brother came with us), go to Sam's to get the rest of the food for Kiewan's birthday, and get to the Boys and Girls Country to decorate for the party!!

**5 kiddos, wow I feel like Andrea. :) Luv you girl!!

The party went by so smoothly (except for the sudden storm that interrupted our picnic). I just told everyone that God wanted us to have "close" fellowship. Then all the kids got to go hunting for mud bugs. :)

Sunday is easy...we had church and then a complete family day!! We went out to lunch and then to the movies. This was a first for us because Joshua was never able to sit through the movie before. Then we had to come home and get Anna ready for camp!! Yippee!! She keeps telling me she doesn't want to go, but I know her too well. the only problem she's going to have is not wanting to come back home when it's over!!

Now on to Disney Day 4...

A bus ride to Hollywood Studios...Grace still wearing those ears!!

Breakfast with Leo.

Grace and Sarah dancing to Playhouse Disney songs.

Grace took this picture at the Stunt Show. I love the composition and the angle!
Way to go baby girl!!

"Look Mommy and Daddy!! Aunt Lisa gave me ice cream everyday!!!!"

Grace is my kiddo that REALLY loves ice cream!

BTW, I saw a show on Disney Unwrapped on the Food Network and they told the history of these Mickey ice cream bars. Very interesting....well for Disney geeks like me. :)

This is as close to Buzz and Woody as we got. The line was TOO long!! Joshua didn't mind though, he was still all smiles.

Why isn't Grace in this photo???

Major meltdown.

We let the kids play at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

This is where Joshua spent 1/2 the time.

My little space explorers.

These kiddos know how to make me happy! Say cheese!

The last 4 pictures are of our dinner at the Sci-Fi Diner. Neat place, but I wouldn't recommend going there with little kids. Too small of tables and not enough control of the kids.

Not to mention the first to pictures don't even represent well how close the kids are to your face!!

Disney= Day 3

2008-06-20T10:01:00.005-05:00

In pictures only. Too tired for words.

Father's Day with the "H" family

2008-06-18T23:45:00.007-05:00

I am so glad I had the opportunity to photograph this sweet family! Not only was everyone so nice, but I felt so blessed to meet the patriarch of the family on his special day. When we were done with the session he had some of the sweetest words for me. Thank you so much Mr. "H" for your kind words, I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day!

Disney- Day 2

2008-06-18T15:41:00.004-05:00

I am going to interject here for a moment and say that today has been rough!! I am about to lose my mind with Grace and I need encouragement. I am going to take a moment to turn to Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel and see what I can find. I will make some quick captions and leave it at that.

This is how we roll!

Rodney and Joshua on the bus.

My dad and Anna on the bus.

A yummy Tusker House breakfast! I LOVED the waffles!

Their first pic of this trip with Mickey.

Our whole group with Minnie.

The finale of The Lion King at Animal Kingdom.

Anna spent her own money to get a caricature drawn of her.

Pool break!

Sarah and Joshua...too cute!

Even more adorable...holding hands!

My mom, dad, and VERY sleepy Grace at the Hoop De Doo Revue.

Hoopin it up!

My dad caught this one of Anna. She loved the show.

(Pay no attention to that tired looking momma to the left of her.)

Tomorrow...Day 3.

1st day at Disney- So many pictures!!

2008-06-17T08:41:00.011-05:00

I think we all know by now that writing is not a strength of mine. I literally had to choose between hundreds of pictures and I got them down to these I have chosen for day one. The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique was our big event for the day and the girls LOVED it!! (thank you Mama!)

Most of the pictures are of the little ones because that's who I spent the most of my time with. Don't get me wrong, that's what I LOVE to do. I sent Rodney, my dad, and Anna off to do all the thrill rides as often as possible. As long as they indulged me in taking pictures with the Photo Pass people, I was more than happy.

This was Anna telling her daddy about the talking trash can we ran into. She kept wanting to go back and hang out with the trash can!!

Sarah in my hat. (we didn't want to put hers on because it would mess up her hair)

Joshua's hat. Let me tell you how opinionated this child is!! He is worse than the girls sometimes when it comes to what he wears!!

This is Grace's very small hat. She has such thick hair that she needs an adult hat. She INSISTED on this hat though, because it had sunglasses to go with it.

Only in Disney!! (I loved it because it was one of the few places that had my Coke Zero!!)

Inseparable cousins!! They had to do EVERYTHING together!!

My sweet girl always smiling for her momma.

This girl was HILARIOUS!! You could totally tell she loves her job!! I would much rather be an ugly stepsister than a princess, it's so much more fun!!!

I HAD to stop and do this!! :) LOL

Please just take a look at my mom's face!! She is having just as much fun as the girls are!!

Our little princesses.

Punk rocker princess!! Her mommy and daddy LOVED this!!

Too big for the dress, but NEVER too big for the makeover!!

My little Tinker Bell. She did not want them to touch her hair!

Oops, I think she lost a wing.

Tomorrow...Day 2.

Wow...what a weekend!

2008-06-16T08:04:00.006-05:00

I think when I said I would post the other night, well I was overestimating my ability to keep my eyes open.

Then there was the daunting task of picking which few pictures to show you out of....838!!!! Yep, 5 days at the park and that's how many pictures I took. (doesn't include the video clips)

I think I'll make a few posts and just go through the days. I didn't have internet access there, so I couldn't do this earlier. :(

The Journey there and Arrival

This is how we kept them entertained for a 15 hour trip... Disney movies and Mad libs for Anna.

A close-up of Joshua to show you his new "big boy" haircut. (I can't believe he'll be 3 next month!)

A pretty bridge...just because I liked it, I thought I would share.

A very scary tunnel...I wanted to show you that I survived driving under water. I have driven in this tunnel so many times, but I NEVER like it! See that little light at the end? That is the ONLY thing I like about this tunnel!

This is the reason we drive to Florida from Texas. The drive is gorgeous! This is the way it looks the entire time...lots of green!! Pretty...pretty green trees on both sides of the road. I love it!

Does anyone know what this building is?? I can't remember, but it make me laugh so I took a picture.

Yeah!!!! We're out of the car!!! We can run!!!

What??? You want us to SIT and take a picture???

When we arrived in Orlando we stayed one night off property, because we wanted to be close enough to go to the park the first day. (thanks mom for the room!)

Because we got there early, we took the girls by the Disney hotel to check things out. (we were also playing with the GPS we got on the trip) The next few are from our pre-visit to Pop Century.

This is a picture of the little girls burying Anna at the playground.

I want one of these in my backyard!!! A huge game of Twister...that rocks!!

I also want this golf cart!! I don't know if it actually gets driven or if it's just for show, but it is so cool!!

Next post...Day 1 at Disney.

I'm back!!

2008-06-14T19:04:00.002-05:00

Too much sleep to catch up on.

Too many pictures to go through.

Too much laundry to do.

So many memories to share!!

I am going to go through some pictures tonight and I'll share then. I missed all of my Blogger friends so much!!!

Love you, me

Planning for a trip.

2008-06-04T07:30:00.004-05:00

I really try to post at least every other day, but this week is crazy! For some reason I scheduled 2 too many things to do. (and then some unexpected ones came up)

We are getting ready for our trip to Disney World and today was cleaning day. NOW I have to spend my morning at Discount Tire!! Once again I have a nail in my tire! I really don't go looking for them you know. Somehow this happens to me almost twice a year, every year.

It would have been nice to already be out of the house and on my way too. I have issues with waking sleeping angels. If I absolutely have to, I will. We were up late packing though, and they are tired!

**I'm back. Had to stop for a moment and make my hubby his breakfast. This does not happen everyday...he wakes up TOO EARLY!!

Anyways, I have a list today and for some reason I think if I post it...it will get done. I'll let you know at the end of the day.

1. Discount tire (who knows how long this will take?)
2. Pick up food for guinea pigs
3. Finish laundry
4. Mop??
5. Prepare for mission team meeting tonight
a. Print copies of trip application
b. Make copies of Montana DVD
c. Print copies of what to bring

I'll post tonight and see how it went.

It's the last day of May and we....

2008-06-01T00:06:00.003-05:00

...went to a birthday party.

...and we visited our boys at the Boys and Girls Country. (my favorite day of each month!!)

I am sooo exhausted!! I will post more tomorrow. I have MANY pictures to edit!!

I had a wonderful birthday!

2008-05-30T08:42:00.007-05:00

Well I wasn't going to post about my birthday, but I have to tell everyone involved with yesterday....THANK YOU!!! I had a wonderful time!!

I started the day baking with Grace. She wanted to make me a cake with a pony on it. She even went into great detail about how to get the icing in the bag for decorating. (all those cake decorating shows on PBS)

My sweet friends Crista, Sarah, Amber, Doris, and Julie brought over lots of goodies for a YUMMY brunch!! (I even had extra breakfast tacos for this morning!! YUM!!)

And for my birthday I bought the kids a little pool. Now why would I buy them something??

Hours of enjoyment for the kids...hours of peace for mommy!!

Even better...Ammie came up to take me out to lunch and she helped fill the pool up!! We also took a quick trip out to the new outlet mall. (next time we'll go without the kids so we can focus on the shopping!!)

Now what about that cake you say???

You want to see the pony???

Well...we didn't get that far. Around 9pm last night we decided to just slap some icing on it and eat!!

But first...SOMEONE had to sing me "Happy Birthday" before they got any cake!!

Sneak peak of some cute cousins!

2008-05-27T08:24:00.005-05:00

On Sunday afternoon I had the opportunity to take these two sweet cousins out for a little photo fun!

Seeing these two together reminded me of growing up so close to my cousins!

This sweet princess fit right in with our crowd...loves the dirt!

More to come mommas! :)

Happy Memorial Day! (yes I am aware that it is 11:59pm)

2008-05-26T23:34:00.007-05:00

I want to begin by saying Happy Memorial Day to all o our service men and women. I would like to send a special thank you to my cousin William, Uncle Johnnie, cousin Johnnie, and all of my family and friends who have and are still serving our country!

This is what I am thankful for this weekend. (yes I know it's not Thanksgiving, but because of our freedom I get to do these things with my family)

Trips to the park to see baby ducks...(literally just down the street and I just found out they were there a few days ago!) How cute!!

Tea Parties...

Grace in formal attire.

Joshua was happy to be invited. (I was disappointed to see no tie) :)

More swimming....

And finally...naps!

Now I am off to edit a few sessions!

FFF (I might as well) :)

2008-05-23T18:37:00.003-05:00

Well I like to read quite a few blogs, and I think I am going to try the Favorite Foto Friday post. (I don't know where it started, but MANY blogs have this)

My favorite thing to do is take pictures of my kids, so I am going to have fun figuring out what to post.

This week was easy. Summer has started for the little ones and that meant we had to have our first trip to Mrs. Sarah's pool!!

Do you think Joshua has enough flotation devices to keep him above the water?? :)
(don't worry Ammie, I NEVER get to far from him!)

My New Look

2008-05-22T01:21:00.002-05:00

I almost forgot!!! If you're here, then you must have noticed the new look!! :)

Thank you so much Nikki of Blogs for a Cause for designing it for me!! (please check out sidebar for the link if you are interested) This woman is doing amazing things in the lives of children all over the world!! I was thrilled to be able to donate and get an amazing blog design for it!!

I forgot to post these...

2008-05-22T01:10:00.002-05:00

I had so much fun with this picture in Photoshop!! I wanted to make sure I didn't break any rules and post a picture of someone else's child. (at least one I don't know)

Look at my baby... she did so good!

Is this really what I have to look forward to?!?!

Shh....I'll tell you a little secret. I was on the Drill Team, cheerleaders were not my favorite. :)
(that was in high school though...I'm over it)

This was Joshua's big day in gymnastics.

Actually it was mommies, because now he gets to go to the preschool class. No more Mommy and me!! I love watching and being there for support, but I would rather sit and do that. :)

I love a family that loves nature!

2008-05-20T00:23:00.004-05:00

I finally got a chance to shoot at a new location and was I thrilled! Not only was the "P" Family a joy to work with, but this location had the BEST climbing tree. I posted a few pictures especially for the kids. (they loved climbing that tree!!)

Thank you again for letting me photograph your sweet family!! (and just look how that puppy smiles for the camera!)

It's finished!!

2008-05-17T22:56:00.001-05:00

I got back today from my Ladies Leadership Conference and this is what I saw!! I am so excited!!

I am absolutely exhausted from a wonderful 24 hours with the amazing women from my church. I will post again tomorrow with more, but for now....look at my house!!! Isn't it purty!!

Can you see me jumping for joy???

2008-05-16T12:12:00.004-05:00

Ever since we moved into our house I have never liked the color. We moved in because we liked the park right next door, and I liked the people on the street!

But guess what!!! We are finally getting it painted!! Take a look...

BEFORE

BEGINNING

MIDDLE

AND THE END?????

I'll let you know as oon as they are finished!!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby "C"!!

2008-05-16T00:11:00.002-05:00

I had a great time with this sweet baby the other day! He is one of my very best friends little boys. We did this same type of shoot with his big brother, but it was a little different this time.

We tried several times to get some of the same shots, but that's just hilarious in itself!! I mean really, what 12 month old is going to take direction when there is a HUGE cake in their face?? No matter how hard we tried to get him to take some cake and put it in his mouth, he just kept on licking the candle. Then he tried to bite that waxy candle...yuck!

We had such a great time! Here are just a couple to share for now. I will try to get more up later today.

Three more weeks...summer fun to look forward to!

2008-05-13T22:52:00.004-05:00

I am looking forward to summer!! The fact that we are going to Disneyworld at the beginning, might have something to do with this.

I am taking a walk down memory lane and looking at a few of the things we did last summer.

Who thinks I could get Rodney to participate in a photo shoot again???

Yeah, me neither. Hee hee!! I had so much fun that day!!

Smores...what more can I say?? What is a summer without them?

And while we are on the subject, I saw some pre-packaged ones at Walmart today...

they DON'T count!!

My kids...at the beach...at sunset...much happiness for momma!

We play ALOT in the yard with sprinklers!!

There are probably many other pictures that would have made more sense to post, but I just couldn't resist this adorable face!

Big sister Anna giving a ride through the water at Moody Gardens.

This is the way we do art. I know I have a picture of the final product, but I can't find it right now.

The paper I use is my background paper for photography. When it's time to switch it out, I take the old paper and let the kids paint away!! They love this!!

Grace...this one just makes me smile.

My babies and their snacks. All that water fun makes them HUNGRY!!

And then they sleep well on the way home!! Yippee!!

Anna helping me in my garden. :)

I could post a million more photos, but that would make this a very long post. I'll save some for later.

I still have to show you a little of Anna at a cheer workshop, Grace singing Skidamarinkadinkadink Skidamarinkadoo, and Joshua at gymnastics.

Thanks for stopping by Ree!! (The Pioneer Woman)

2008-05-10T08:03:00.004-05:00

Well I have entered a contest on one of my favorite blogs, ThePioneerWoman.com. For this contest she asked everyone to post a comment with their website information. What absolutely amazes me is that she is visiting ALL of those sites!!! I thought I would ake a special post just for her.

Thank you for stopping by Ree!!!

I found a few photos to make you feel all warm and fuzzy...just like home.

This was my sweet hubby's birthday. See the hat?? He bought it especially for the Houston Rodeo this year. I doubt he'll put it back on until the next rodeo.

This is very sad, I know. These are hats from Walmart. It was Rodeo Day and mommy went out VERY late looking for stuff to wear. Sure we could have spent alot of money and gone to Cavender's, but again...just for one day???

This is the Houston Rodeo...something. He welcomes all the people when you come in the arena. My little man didn't know what to think of this one. He prefers Mickey Mouse.

Instead of horses, this is how my kids roll. In the "ellow jeep," in costume, and here's the real humor in it all...its Easter!

Well Ree, thanks for stopping by! I love your blog!!

Joshua's sleeping and Grace's lip looks yucky.

2008-05-09T16:56:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted one of Joshua sleeping. (Please notice that he INSISTED on putting on his jacket when it is 90 degrees in Houston!!)

This is what Grace's puffy lip looks like today. :(

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-09T08:39:00.005-05:00

Well this weekend is Mother's Day and I feel the need to say...

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Yesterday, after Grace's surgery, I was able to attend the Mommy and Me Tea at Grace and Joshua's MDO. I am always thankful for everything that is done on Mother's Day, but just spending quality time with my kids is perfect for me!! My favorite time's have been when we were camping. (it does help that daddy always cooks on the camping trips)

Here are a few pictures from yesterday. (if you haven't noticed already, I had my camera in hand all day long!) :)

I should have put on a little make-up, but who does that at 6:15 in the morning??

Grace's surgery and NO A/C!!!

2008-05-08T15:49:00.004-05:00

Well this morning was an early one and we are not a morning family. Everyone did so well though.

Well...almost everyone.

My sweet hubby is the one who has the easiest time getting up, and he was VERY distracted this morning. He woke up and the A/C was not working!!

This meant he had to walk around the entire house and try to figure out where the problem was, BEFORE we left for Grace's surgery.

....SO mommy had to get ALL the kiddos up and ready to be out the door at 6:30am!

This time I was prepared...

ALL the kids took baths last night and went to bed in their clothes!!

And we wonder why she falls her bed all the time. This girl can't lay still in her bed!

Grace in pre-op. She wasn't happy that she had to take off her pajama top, but she still put on her smile!

She got to keep the bottoms on though! AND...can I tell you how hard it is to find house slippers for kids in May!!??!!

It is impossible!! We looked EVERYWHERE and wound up with fuzzy lined Crocs. Thank goodness Grace liked them!!

They had a massage chair in pre-op. Daddy loved playing with it!

Grace playing computer games when we got home.

Grace bit her lip sometime during the surgery. Poor baby's lip has a bump the size of a peanut on it. That just meant she got all the Popsicles she wanted today!

And chocolate can make ANY girl happy!! (I promise, she did eat some healthy things today)

I LOVE this dress!!

2008-05-07T22:38:00.005-05:00

*****Tomorrow I'll post about Grace's surgery. It's going to be an early morning!!****

Boys and Girls Country Spring Festival

2008-05-05T13:27:00.005-05:00

Cotton candy...Snow cones...Popcorn...and Texas barbecue!!!

Face painting...Petting zoo...Pony rides...Train rides...and lots of games with prizes!!

That's what our weekend was filled with!!

This weekend we went out to the Boys and Girls Country and worked the cotton candy booth at their festival. We had so much fun!! This is the big annual fund raiser for the BGandC and I think it was a great success!! The kids were WORN OUT!! :) That made mommy VERY happy!!

My baby loves his tractors! Too bad this wasn't in the raffle!

I love it when the girls have their sweet sister moments! They were adorable this weekend!!

Joshua...well, just being Joshua.

What is that??? Gack!! Kid love it, moms...not so much! VERY messy!!

Ummm....excuse me little calf.

Are you hungry??

Hey!! Get your mouth over here!!

Now eat!

Locks of Love...Lots of pics!

2008-05-01T21:21:00.004-05:00

Anna has been waiting to do this for weeks!

Tonight we went to the Aveda salon and donated her hair to Locks of Love.

The salon is so wonderful too! They give a free haircut to anyone donating to the cause. This is a big deal when you decide to go short, you want a really great cut!

It took a little while, but here are the rest.

2008-04-30T23:19:00.005-05:00

I had SO much fun today!! I wanted to post so many pictures, but here are the ones that stood out to me. I can't wait to share the rest with my sweet friend!

Mrs. "A", Thank you so much again for coming over!

My sweet friend Mrs. "A" is expecting...soon!

2008-04-30T22:54:00.003-05:00

I wanted to post about 6 pictures for her sneak peak of our session, BUT my computer is having issues. It's either that, or the website is having them.

I will post the rest as soon as I can, but here is one I did in color and BW.

Isn't her belly beautiful!!

What every girl needs...

2008-04-30T10:41:00.001-05:00

...when she has to have a minor surgery.

A new hair style...

...and some ice cream!!(with a little chocolate syrup of course)

Grace needs tubes.

2008-04-29T15:55:00.002-05:00

We had our follow-up visit today at the ENT and Grace's ears are the same. She is still legally hard of hearing.

Anna had tubes when she was a baby, but for some reason I am more concerned for Grace. She has adjusted to her hearing problems, and everything is going to be so much louder when the tubes are in.

I will keep you updated on when the surgery will be. Please begin praying for Grace and the new sounds she will hear once this is done. The way it was explained to me was that we can't even make ourselves hear as softly as she hears.

Hot Texas days and ice cream!!

2008-04-28T23:25:00.002-05:00

Around here a hot day, and nothing to do...usually results in water play and ice cream.

These are the only days my car gets washed throughout the year. The kids will do just about anything for ice cream. (from the ice cream man of course)

Saturday was no different.

This was one of those rare weekends when we had nothing planned and could just enjoy the day.

The kids asked if they could wash the car.

Which led to setting up the sprinkler.

Which then led to swimming in the bucket. (I don't know what I'll do when Grace can't fit in it anymore!)

Then the ice cream man shows up and it's ice cream for all!!

Happy, happy kiddos!!!

Wait a minute....how could someone look so angry while holding not one, but two ice creams???

No gum balls. Hmph!

So I was looking through my old picture files...

2008-04-24T23:46:00.003-05:00

Mommas sweet babies.

They are my babies forever.

Even though they will argue me into the ground that they are not babies anymore!

A reflection shot of Anna.

I haven't posted many of Anna lately. For some reason I don't get many pictures of just her anymore. I promise to get better about that. I really want to focus on getting more Mommy/Anna time soon.

She is getting so big. Makes me so sad and proud at the same time.

Joshua playing with his remote control Grave Digger after his first "poop" in the potty. (just being completely open and honest here) :)

My monkey broke the bed...

2008-04-23T22:19:00.005-05:00

Monday nights are Bible study nights at my house.

Rodney is usually home to get the kids in bed for me, but this week he was at work late.

So what I do is get all the kids ready for bed, put them upstairs with a movie, and after prayer requests I skip upstairs to tuck them in.

Not tonight...

Tonight the kids were being so sweet and Anna was reading books to Grace and Joshua.

Until...

Grace decides to jump on Joshua's bed.

I heard a loud noise (that' pretty normal), but then the kids started yelling "the bed is broke!"

So I ran upstairs and this is what I saw...

Grace must have hit the stress point on the bed, because it split all the way down the side!

Joshua is now sleeping on his mattress on the floor.

Before and After Photoshop- Edited, Picture added

2008-04-21T18:48:00.003-05:00

I am always interested in before and after shots of other photographers. I am very blessed to be a member of a forum where nice people like Brad share their secrets! I took a moment to follow his work flow and I love the results!

Which one do you like??

Another VERY full weekend! LOTS of pictures!

2008-04-20T22:50:00.004-05:00

This weekend was all about soccer, the Boys and Girls Country, and ...MUD!

Yep, that's a typical spring day for us...lots of cold, squishy mud. And I love every minute of it.

Lets start from the beginning though.

Rodney taught Joshua how to help with the lawn. He learned how to use the blower this weekend. I don't know about you, but I just love watching daddies teach their little boys how to do big boy chores! It is so fun!

Grace had her final soccer game and end of season party on Saturday afternoon. Wouldn't you know that after a season on socializing on the field, she finally got into the whole idea of playing... on the LAST game. I love it! She was goalie and stopped all but 2 of the goals! We all enjoyed cheering her on!

Saturday evening was the highlight of my weekend.

We took the whole family to the Boys and Girls Country. Rodney and I along with our Sunday school class sponsor a cottage of boys out there. What that means is that we help with birthdays and holidays. We don't like to stop there though.

Nope.

We felt led to spend time with the boys each month, eat dinner, and just play. We love them so much. I can't post pictures, but I truly wish you could see the faces of the boys when they are interacting with everyone. Our family, two other couples, and our good friend Brian (also the class leader) went out and spent hours with the boys.

Did I mention I brought cupcakes?? And that NO ONE noticed!!!

They only wanted to spend time with us. That is what meant the most.

I also enjoyed watching my kids play with everyone. They had such a great time and even learned a few things about manners from the boys.

Here is the best thing... I have such a WONDERFUL husband!!! God gave me such a strong man, and at the same time he has such a tender heart for the boys. He is such a good father to our kids, and he left the dinner on Saturday night wanting to do so much more for the kids! I love him for that!! I feel so blessed that God knew exactly the perfect person for me. He knew I would feel led to mission work and Rodney understands, supports, and in many ways feels the same as I do. What a great God!!

Sunday we went to church and shared with the rest of our Sunday school class how the dinner went. I can't help it... I cried.

After church we went to lunch and then it was MUD TIME!!

What a great weekend!!!

Oh...wait....

Did I forget to mention that Joshua decided he wanted to be in UNDERWEAR!!!

Sunday morning he wakes up, goes to church, out to lunch, quick trip to Target, and spends the whole day in underwear! He did great too! Now we have to keep going. OH MY!!

Swinging with Joshua and Grace

2008-04-17T23:46:00.003-05:00

I know, I know....

I need to get much better about posting sooner. These pictures were taken Monday!!

A dear friend of mine came in town for a visit, so we took all the kids to the park.

This park is where most of our Bible study girls met, became friends, and first pushed our kids on a swing.

Check out those socks Grace is wearing!

I don't think there was an airplane, but he must have seen one. This boy can spot anything even if it is just a speck in the sky!

I'll take it from Andrea...My mommy heart was BURSTING this weekend!!

2008-04-15T21:45:00.005-05:00

This was how my weekend started.

My mom kept the kids, and Rodney and I had a great night away in a hotel!!!

Saturday we came home, and aside from a quick trip to the hospital (none of mine, but pray for David and Julie), we had a great family day! We all ate lunch out together, took naps, and played.

Then...I made DOZENS of cookies, with Grace's help of course!

Shall I continue??

Sunday was of course church until 1:00, and then mommy got to go to a baby shower! Fun!!

BUT...that was not even the best part.

You heard me right. Grown-up girl time was not the best part for me on Sunday!

The best part was coming home and hearing that my kids were behaving like BEST FRIENDS the whole time I was gone!!

Why don't they act like that when I'm around I ask????

Well, they did!!! They continued with their sweetness all night long!!

They serenaded mommy in the kitchen.

The girls dressed together and even asked to get their hair braided the same! (Anna NEVER asks for this anymore! You know she needs her own identity and all..)

I had a WONDERFUL weekend and I am feeling so blessed by God right now!!

Joshua's sleep postition of the day.

2008-04-14T16:13:00.003-05:00

I have so much to write about this weekend, but it will have to wait until later. Right now I HAVE to show you how Joshua is sleeping.

She has overcome her fear!

2008-04-10T16:31:00.005-05:00

Last year at Grace's end of year program, I had to sit on stage with her.

My completely outgoing child suddenly was overwhelmed with fear.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. My hubby and I have a great routine after church. I pick up Grace, and he gets Anna and Joshua. Grace LOVES to go down the elevator, but last week it wasn't working. So this time we went down the "big stairs" by "big church." My sweet baby surprised me by asking me to go down to the bottom and turn around to watch her.

...she sang!!!

She broke out with "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord!" It was such a proud moment for me!!

They have been practicing since January and she is so excited for this year! (I only hope she doesn't get stage fright on the night of the program again, maybe I should dress up just in case)

He sleeps...

2008-04-06T22:04:00.003-05:00

I love to watch my baby fall asleep. The best part about it is where he falls asleep. I guess being the youngest, you pretty much have to learn to deal with the noise. Joshua deals VERY well with it.

He has been trying to be a big boy and give up his afternoon naps, but sometimes it doesn't work. My energetic baby boy usually hits a wall around 3pm. I have no idea what time he actually was sleeping in these pictures, I am just going on my recollection. (which Rodney will tell you isn't always that reliable, hee hee)

If I were a sweet mommy, I might pick him up and put him in his comfy bed.

Nope, I have to get pictures first!

It's Been Almost a Year

2008-04-05T17:00:00.003-05:00

I have been waiting for this long to post my favorites from our anniversary trip to San Francisco last year. This was our 2 day whirl-wind trip we took for #5. Thank you so much mom for keeping the kids, I am just as thankful today as I was then! It is such a beautiful city and it was the first trip we had taken alone since Rodney and I were engaged!!

I wish I could tell you exactly where Bob's is because they have incredible pancakes!! I don't know what they use, but I want to go back just to eat them!

Thank you so much to my BFF for suggesting the trip to Muir Woods. I can't believe how amazing the trees were. I'm sure no one is surprised that by the time we got out of there, Rodney was exhausted from having to pose for my pictures.