The Landis Family

The Principle of the Path {A Review}

2011-04-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

To be honest, when I became a member at Booksneeze.com, when I chose this book to read & review, I realized that I hadn't really ever heard of Andy Stanley. The name sounded familiar, but the title of the book is what made me decide to read this book.
I am a huge fan of self-help & personal growth books. It seems that many people have many opinions on life, spirituality, God, friendships, marriage, parenting & so forth. I actually really enjoy reading many perspectives & being able to take bits & pieces of advice & ideas from many intriguing people. Andy Stanley is no exception.
The Principle of the Path is a great book for people at any stage of their life. It is a book with practical guidance & lessons about where one currently is in life & some ideas of how to get to where one wants to be. I say practical because when you read this book, you completely understand what he is saying; as if you've heard it before. However, the refreshing reminder that there are many things in life to distract us & without a solid goal, plan or dedicated mindset of understanding to what your mission is in life, you will never get there. Plain & simple.
All in all, I thought this was a well written, practical, easy to understand & read book. I wasn't blown away by the epilogue at the end, but other than that, I would recommend.

Oh the joys...

2011-03-29T08:57:00.002-05:00

Saw this today...had a good laugh! :-)

Time

2011-03-25T18:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's hard to really believe how much time passes by & how quickly it does! Going through pictures from year's past is a good way to understand how much people change, how our children grow up & how fast time goes! The photo below was from the summer we moved to Wisconsin. We spent our last summer in PA going to places we liked. The candy store in Doylestown was one of our favorites. :-) Still can hardly believe how much the kids have grown in 3 years!

Slowly...

2011-03-19T21:18:00.000-05:00

I am the plumber with leaky pipes. Okay, not exactly...but I am the photographer with very few images printed on my walls. It does make me sad. I know. It's really a shame, right?! I am SLOWLY changing that. Over the next few months, I am going to be sorting & looking through the thousands of images trying to narrow down what I HOPE to print for our walls. It has been the task that I have wanted to do so much, but have always been so busy that the task seemed so overwhelming. Sure, I blog (well, not so much anymore..yikes!) or put many on facebook...but then life would get in the way or I didn't have the funds to get exactly what I wanted. Did I mention I am picky? By picky, I have a hard time buying pictures along the way to use. I have a design in my mind that I want to do on my walls...so instead of just diving in & doing it...I just prolong it. Anyway...enough about my procrastination. Did I mention I am honest? **See the above paragraph for that confirmation**

So, in honor of my decision to SLOWLY get working on my own wall photos for our home...I printed the picture below of Amara. I printed it in a 12x12 because I am working on my little photo project...a collage along the piano. My mom bought us a piano from my aunt for Makenzie to start taking lessons and using the top of the piano, I want to line it with various sizes of prints. So, with that being said...here's to me seeing this little project to completion! :-)

Superheroes & such.

2011-02-23T09:49:00.001-06:00

This boy. This amazing little boy. Who can totally pull off a Spiderman costume, right? :-) But, really, this little boy is insanely wise. Crazy witty & quite emotional. I mean, his heart is 100 lbs. of gold. He loves superheroes, storms (but only talking about them!), books, art, graphics...and when I say art & graphics...I mean he wants to make movies for kids that are not rated PG-13. (long story...but I laugh everytime!) His eyes welt with tears when we talk about the homeless, the poor, the hurting. I have never witnessed anything like his heart in a little child. And this is MY child. God gave him to us. I have learned so much from his little quivering lip as he asks if we can sell some stuff to give people who have nothing. I've learned that his tears are God given. A passion that can't be taught. It is raw; it is real. Sometimes I wonder where my tears are? And then they flow when I see Madden's heart. They flow when I realize that God gave Madden to us. Madden has taught me about a sensitivity that we all need in our lives. When scripture says that children are a gift, a blessing from the Lord...nothing could be more true.

Father Daughter Ball 2011

2011-02-22T09:32:00.001-06:00

It wasn't until last year that I realized that there was this really awesome Father Daughter Ball that our community has. And it was too late when I realized it...it was sold out. So, this year, I got online right when they had tickets for sale. I had heard it was such a wonderful event that is one special day out of the year when a dad takes his daughter(s) and spends a special evening with them...dinner, dancing in the ballroom, fun. The goal to build stronger relationships. Yes, relationships are built daily, however, this is just a very tangible way to celebrate that relationship. :-)

Tim didn't know what to expect, nor did the girls...but I wanted to help make it very special for all of them. I took care of organizing the wardrobe (thanks, Nana for buying Amara's pretty dress!!!) and my mom (Nana) thought it would be nice to treat the girls to getting their hair done...which we really appreciated. And they loved it! It's not every day a little girl gets to get ready for a ball! Tim then got his little girls some roses. Makenzie thought she was pretty cool. :-) Of course, I couldn't go stalk them at the ball, so there weren't any pictures & Tim didn't want to be lugging around the camera (which I don't blame him). But, I was so excited to hear the details! Tim said he was so incredibly impressed with the entire evening. He said everyhing was so professional. It was held in a beautiful ballroom at the DECC convention center. From a fancy sit down dinner, to delicious dessert & a dance floor full of dancing all night. He said they were out on the dance floor all night. It wasn't like a bad crowd at a wedding of people sitting on the sidelines all night...these dads and daughters were dancing machines. Haha! All in all, this will be a tradition for them!

Another great aspect of the evening was that I was able to go and spend a special night out with Madden. We went to the IMAX show Under the Sea & out for pizza at Old Chicago. It was really fun & we had a good time, too! :-)

Amara getting her hair done...

All done!!

I think she likes it!! :-)

Makenzie's turn...

Makenzie loved it. Both girls picked out the hairstyle they wanted. Good choices!

She is growing up waaaaaay too fast!

And so is she! Stop growing!!!

Sisters!!

With daddy!

They sure do love their daddy...and he sure is smitten with them, too!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-30T16:18:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Very low key, lots of great food & the perfect celebration for Jesus! All the kids got what they wanted for the most part & that was really easy because the kids all had super easy lists. My mom always gets the kids the one big thing they want & Tim's parents get them good things on their list, too. So, that leaves us with having to be creative to get them something else that they may want. :-) And of course, fun stockings full of goodies. :-)

I have to warn you, though...I didn't really take a ton of pictures. And I went for the straight auto shooting this year with the pop up flash. I just wanted to take a few pictures to capture the fun. Sometimes I just want to be a mom...not always a photographer. So, I thoroughly enjoyed our time together. For auto settings, I am grateful. :-)

The kids opened up their gifts from Tim's parents & their cousins while we face-timed them so they could watch the kids & talk to them. I just took this one before we went to my sister & brother in laws house on Christmas Eve night.

The kids went & practiced some songs to sing for all of us. Cute!

All the grandkids with Nana & Jim

All of us sister's & my mom. And baby D...Amber's new nephew. :-)

We open gifts from youngest to oldest in our family. So, Amara was first.

She got a DS from Nana! She was SO excited & she plays it ALL the time.

Madden's turn.

He got a DSi from Nana & some games & accessories. Happy Boy!

Carson.

My sister & my mom went in together to get him this little four wheeler thing. He was happy. :-)

Makenzie's turn.

Makenzie got a really awesome chair for her room, a lava lamp, some DS games, jewelry & a gift card for Claire's. She loved it all!

Madelyn.

She got a keyboard. Can you tell she's happy?

Brendan.

New fancy cell phone.

Kayleigh.

New electric guitar. Super rock star now.

We do all sorts of goofy things when we're all together. This time it was a pyramid.

Our tree.

Christmas Morning before opening up presents from mom & dad! Makenzie:

Madden:

Amara:

Madden & his new Angel Wars figure. :-)

We had fun! Good times!

Reasons.

2010-12-21T17:08:00.001-06:00

It's amazing how we look for so many reasons for things. Reasons to pursue dreams. Reasons to marry someone. Reasons to move to a new home. Reasons to pursue a career. Reasons to feel significant. No matter how much I love God & know he has given me a purpose & a reason to be here, I find myself still searching for reasons for almost everything. I complicate things. By thinking God's reasons aren't enough. By thinking that there has to be "more" than what I know God is telling me. Telling us.

You see, when things go south & difficulties come our way, we tend to look for the reasons they are happening. As if we have any control over life. When things are going well, we don't automatically start asking why things are going so well. No, we take them in & we often times think we've done something "good" to deserve them. But, when life stinks...we start rolling over & over in our mind where we've gone wrong. Where we've failed or messed up. This obviously has to be because of our own shortcomings & inability to do anything good enough we tell ourselves. However, it is in my difficulty that I am faced with reality. The reality that I cannot do anything so good or so bad for Jesus to stop loving me. Nothing I do can make him love me any less or love me any more. He just loves me. And in that love for me...he knows the plan for my life. He knows how to get my attention. He knows how to speak to me...even when I think I am just a mess.

Over the last several years, we have had nearly every financial difficulty come our way. I've gone through every possible avenue to try to understand what is going on. What are we doing wrong? Are we not good enough? Are we incompetent? Are we in the wrong professions? Should we go back to school? We've taken several financial classes & the theme in all of the classes is to cut debt & invest. Well, we've cut debt. We don't have credit cards. Yet, there still isn't anything leftover to do much with. You see, in the world's eyes, we are financial failures. Living paycheck to paycheck isn't very glamorous. However, I also know that when money isn't flowing in abundance, it is very hard for us to love money. It is very hard for us to desire more & more. It is very hard for us to find our significance in our possessions...in a house, in a car, in gadgets, in--you name it. We have to be very careful to have what is a need & essential. There's nothing for anything else but that. So, in actuality...having less is actually a huge blessing! Is it difficult sometimes? Yes, absolutely. But, to not be carried away by material possessions & status...that is the biggest blessing of all.

So, this leaves me with this thought...is is good enough to just have "enough"? Or should we be pursuing more? Don't get me wrong...with what we have...God has provided amazing things for us. And he has allowed us to still give to others & serve where we can. But if I sit back & really examine my own life & my own heart...am I okay with enough? If I am not...I then get into the cycle of the reasons "why" I am not okay with just that. I've realized that excessive reason searching is really just an excuse or justification to keep pursuing something other than God. Plain & simple.

Below is part of my why. Why I am here. Why I was made. Why I love. I've realized that as a mother, if I need more than these beautiful children to give me some sort of purpose & significance, I have really failed to hear God. How much louder can he speak? He has given us 3 gifts that are irreplaceable. And 3 gifts that are also our responsibility. May I never take this purpose lightly.

Good ideas with not so good results...

2010-12-17T21:21:00.000-06:00

I was way ahead of the game this year with my Christmas shopping. I actually am done with our children. So, I went ahead & wrapped all of their gifts & they are all under the tree & have been for the last 3 weeks. For the first few days, the kids kept begging to open gifts. It was driving me bonkers. So, I decided that I would never wrap all the gifts that early again! However, then, I had a good idea...could it be? A threat for good behavior? Sad, I know...but, a busy, tired, Mama...no one can predict what "idea" she'll come up with next. I had this bright idea that if the kids had a very serious misbehavior or something that I would tell them to take one of their gifts out from under the tree & go put it in our bedroom to be given away. It seemed to work for a few days, but then the gifts started being taken away for bad deeds. And the kids were choosing the "smallest" gifts to put in our room which started dawning on me...they are taking the small ones, but the small ones are all the Nintendo DS games!!! AHHHHH! Those are $30 games! So, I came up with the idea that they could "earn" them back. See my dilemna...such a stupid idea!!!!! But, I can't go back on this now. So, at this point, we have a pile of gifts from misbehaving kids & it's just so dumb. I may be intelligent...but I'm kind of a moron this time! haha! The kicker was when sweet little Madden hit his sister & he had to take one of his gifts from under the tree & put it in our room. He was so, so, so sad. So, sad, that as I worked on some work at the computer, he walked over to me with a pair of scissors in his hands making snipping sounds and says to me..."for every gift you make me put away, I'm going to cut one of your papers on your desk into pieces." At first I was grateful that he didn't say he'd cut me up into pieces because then I'd have to wonder about the possibilty of a serial killer...but then I realized once again...what a dumb idea the stupid present take away idea was.

Anyone else ever make up a stupid idea for discipline? Don't deny it....haha!!!

Christmas Cards...

2010-12-13T21:39:00.000-06:00

I am determined to send Christmas cards this year, darn it! I made & designed my own cards last year & didn't get around to actually sending them out. Grrrr! But, this year, I took my pictures a LONG time ago, worked on my design for my cards a few weeks ago & got these cards ordered last week so I'm good to go! Except I get a phone call from my print lab yesterday saying there was a problem with my cards because I made a goof in my upload with the order of the images I had wanted. So, I fixed it...and hopefully those cards are on their way tomorrow! That's the one thing I love about using a professional photographic lab for my printing. If it doesn't print right, they let you know before they ship out the order. Thank goodness!

I already ruined the surprise of the photos on my photography facebook page, but I'll still put a few here. :-) And when I get my cards, I will try to remember to take a picture of our cards to share here since I can't give everyone a card!

These two were hamming it up. :-)

This is so Madden it isn't even funny. This kid cracks us up!!!

We can hardly believe age 9 is just around the corner! They really grow up too fast!

How we've gotten so blessed with these amazing little loves is beyond me. :-) Love this one. :-)

No, this post doesn't have pictures of my kids. :-(

2010-12-07T22:12:00.000-06:00

I'm so sorry. I haven't blogged in months & then I blog...but no pictures of the family! But, I think this post is completely worthy of forgiveness because this is one of the best documentaries I have seen in a LONG time. It is books & articles of information that I have read in one visual documentary. I have posted the link here where you can go to RENT the film. I strongly suggest doing so. The film is called "The Idiot Cycle" and it is about cancer. EVERYONE should watch it. Pass it along, too.

http://www.japanesepopsongs.com/films.php

Let me know your thoughts!

I'm still here...just busy!

2010-10-08T00:08:00.000-05:00

The past month has been so incredibly crazy. I photographed 3 weddings, many senior sessions, traveled to Iowa for work at the radio station & then we had our Fall Share/Pledge drive at our radio station last week...so it has just been absolutely crazy. However...I'm starting to see the light of relaxation a little. I have a lot of editing to do...but with the stress of the Fall Pledge drive over...I think I can manage. :-) I don't have many pictures to blog...but had to post at least one new one. :-) Happy Fall everyone!

Wow. This is deep.

2010-09-11T20:55:00.004-05:00

I was just browsing through some of my notes I have posted on facebook & came across this post from earlier this year that I shared when I was reading a particular book. Wow. It just hit me ten-fold again. It is just SO true & SO needed for us to all hear & be reminded of. And meant to truly change us. Reminders aren't meant to put a thought into our head. They are meant to be a thought that is meant to become an action. Something that we never forget.

When you believe in God, but pursue happiness at any cost.by Staci Severin Landis on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 2:04pm

(An excerpt from Craig Groeschel's book: Christian Atheist)

When our happiness is based on the things of this world:

Last night I was watching TV, and I discovered that I can't be happy without an Ab-Cruncher, a 110-pc knife set, and a blanket with holes in it so I can put my arms through it. Now I know why I've been so miserable. I've been innocently going through life wondering what was missing. This whole time it was a Snuggie.

Usually, without our knowing it, our pursuit of happiness through stuff is doomed to fail because it is based on a lie. Our actions confirm that a disturbing number of us truly believe this equation: better possessions + peaceful circumstances + thrilling experiences + the right relationships + the perfect appearance = happiness.

Many of us live as if we honestly belive this phony formula. Even if we deny it with our mouths, the way we spend our time, money, and thoughts leaves little doubt.
Our culture has conditioned us to believe that the things we don't have are the things that will make us happy--never mind that many of those things didn't even exist five years ago. We blindly chase whatever is newer, shinier, or faster.

We crave peaceful circumstances. If we don't like a job, a boss, a salary, or a co-worker, we move on. If a college class is too difficult, we drop it. If a commitment takes too much time or effort, we abandon it.

When we aren't chasing peace, we're looking for thrills. It could be our favorite hobby, sport, vacation or weekend high. When one thrill fades, it's time to pursue the next one, whatever the cost.
Or it's our looks. If we looked a little better, everything would be better. Thinner, taller, stronger--and no option is off the table. Diets, surgery, drugs, tanning beds are simply tools we use to make us look perfect--to make us happy.

When we believe the things of this world will provide happiness, we're settling for counterfeit. My wife sent me to the grocery store by myself once, which is a dangerous thing. When I walked through the automatic doors, I saw a large container of crab dip for only $4.99. Sensing a bargain, I quickly snatched two. After returning home & trying my prize, I spit it out before swallowing. The crab meat was an imitation.

God hates it when we pass up on the real life and settle for the false promises of this world.

(Later in the chapter)

Max Lucado told a story about a fish in his book When God whispers your name. My version is slightly different. Let's start with a question: do you think a fish would be happy on a sandy beach? The obvious answer is, of course not. The fish's little gills would be slapping in & out like hands clapping, his body flopping end to end like a crazed acrobat.

Imagine we give our fish friend $100,000 in cold, hard, tax-free cash. Do you think Fishy would be happy now? Can you picture him still flapping & flopping? Suppose we give him a cold Corona & a Playfish magazine. Again, Fish would not be happy. No matter what we give the fish on the beach, it won't satisfy him. There's nothing that could make that fish happy on the beach--because he isn't made for the beach. The sand is not his home. Anything apart from the water will leave him wanting for the place for which he was created.

The same is true of us. We are not happy with the things of this world because we're not made for this world! We are strangers, foreigners on earth. We are made to dwell forever with our Lord in heaven. (Phil 3:20) we will never discover lasting happiness in the temporary things of this world because we weren't made to live a temporary life. That's why we should lower our expectations of this place.

Earth is not heaven. It was never meant to be. That's why no amount of money, new house, new living room furniture, new kitchen appliances, new clothes, new hair, new baby, new vacation, new job, new income, new husband, or new ANYTHING will ever satisfy us, because we were not made for the things of this world.

Psalm 97:12 says, "May all who are godly be happy in the Lord & praise his holy name!". Real happiness is found only in the Lord, and when we find it we'll understand, perhaps for the first time, how blessed we really are.

Fall.

2010-09-11T19:43:00.000-05:00

I love fall. I really do. I love the gradual cool down (please, Wisconsin weather...give me my cool down & not frigidity right away!!!). I love the colors, the smells, the activities, school, etc. I just love it. It's been really nice spending some time outdoors at some of our favorite locations near us. There are just so many beautiful places to go, walk around, play at the park & just let the kids roam & have fun.

Last weekend, was part of our long labor day weekend & I had a little break in sessions & work for a day or two before the crazy end of September whoops me one good....so we visited a few of our favorite places. We brought the camera along & took some pictures for the heck of it. We haven't done that in a long time. Enjoy! :-)

And the other place...

No outing can be complete without Amara pouting & being sad about something. :-) haha. It's got to be the youngest child syndrome! Oh, how I love that little girl!!

I have a stye in my eye....

2010-09-11T19:31:00.002-05:00

Not an exciting post....but I do....I have a stye in my eye & I want it to go away before it gets bigger! And I do not like wearing my glasses. At all. Blech.

New rule at our house, I guess.

2010-09-08T13:00:00.001-05:00

It's funny. Maybe it's a mom thing. Maybe it's a mood thing. Maybe it's a photographer thing. But, some days my kids just have so much cuteness going on that it's hard not to pull out the camera. Amara had been having just this super cute day & she was dressed so cute, too. (thank you Target clearance!!...Amara has grown since last year & I think this whole outfit costed $15...coat included! I don't buy many clothes nowadays...so this was a good deal out of necessity.)

Anyway, the new rule from my children is "5 minutes" for pictures. I don't even take as many of them as I used to...but Amara was like..."only 5 minutes...and then I'm done & will run away from the camera." Well, she hammed it up for 5 minutes! I'll take it!! I can h-a-r-d-l-y believe she is going to be 4 years old very soon! I can't even fathom it. These last few years have flown by. It's crazy. Please enjoy these pictures of her. She is cuter than ever. :-)

She must watch her big sister pose...these pictures are completely unguided. SO funny!

{love}

MY favorite!

This was on minute 6. See, she ran away.

One more look on minute 7. See...new rule.

Makenzie's first day of school!

2010-09-08T12:34:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. It's been a really long time since I last blogged. Summer is crazy with work & vacation & all of that. So, I just let it all go. Getting back into the fall, I get a little more time to update. :-)

I can hardly believe Makenzie is in 3rd grade. She is getting so grown up! And more & more like I was when I was younger every day. Which I apologize now to my mom VERY often for the way I behaved! Makenzie is definitely a strong girl & a leader. And sometimes with that strong personality she has ALL the answers & a comment for everything. I find her saying & doing the SAME things I used to do to my mother. With all that being said, though...I'm really thankful that she is strong & doesn't let people mistreat her or walk all over her & feels confident to be heard. I hope she keeps that attitude during the tough teenage years, but I pray every day that God will help her use those strengths for HIS glory. I'm also learning that it is okay to look at Tim during an "episode" of strong will where Makenzie & I are butting heads & tell him...okay...I'll let you handle this now. Some things are just not worth it & I have to learn that. She's teaching ME more than she knows!

On to some pictures...YES, Makenzie LET me take some pictures of her. But, she did say...ONLY 5 MINUTES, MOM. I said..."hey, girl...give me 5 minutes...that's all I need." Haha. Oh, if you could see the two of us sometimes. It's quite funny.

Memorial Day Weekend...

2010-06-08T20:44:00.002-05:00

We had such a great time camping & being with family & friends for a long Memorial Day weekend. We got out to the campsite in the early evening on Friday. We had a movie night...at the campground. My mom's friend brought their projector & the kids loved it. :-) We spent Saturday & Sunday swimming & Monday we went to another beach. It was beautiful weather & a great time away.

Beach Day 1...

This beach has a big area roped off...so Madden likes to swim out deep with the older kids...hence his ugly life jacket on in almost every picture!

Amara loved the tube, too. :-)

Aren't the goggles hilarious? She loved them.

Uncle Rodney had some fishing going on so they stopped off to do some fishing. And rock skipping of course. :-)

Carson, our nephew.

Amara & her nature...she found this snail. She absolutely loves critters! He was still inside his shell. Poor thing...

My mom & Amber catching some rays...

Dave & Amy...

Madelyn...

Makenzie...

Amara & those goggles again...

Carson...

The cousins making some sand stuff.

I think this is one of my favorites. :-)

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-01T01:19:00.002-05:00

I'm kind of going backwards since I uploaded pictures from today first. :-) We had a really fun weekend of camping, bonfires, swimming, sand castles, smores, BBQ foods, rock band, walks, Dairy Queen desserts & so much more! Monday, however, it all had to come to an end. So, we actually went to a different beach on this day because it was a little closer to our house on the way home. :-) This is Lake Nebagamon near my mom's house. It was gorgeous out! Low 80's & the water was great! And, as usual...Amara was closest to me since the other kiddos were either swimming out at the raft or playing on the playground! I had Amara duty...so she got bombarded with fun pics. :-) I did get a few of the others. More so at the other beach. :-)

Amara was searching for "sea glass".

Tim helping Amara look for some cool sea glass.

Lake Nebagamon is one of my favorite lakes! So much to do! Boating, jet skiing, swimming...fun!

Kenz!

Makenzie & our niece, Madelyn!

Searching for sea glass...

Madden!

What a gorgeous day & a beautiful sky! Fun times!

Amara, Crafts & Cuteness.

2010-05-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

Amara wanted to make her friend Ava a bracelet with her name on it the other day. She was so excited about it & was so into it...that I couldn't help but grab my camera & take some pictures of her! She absolutely loves art & coloring & crafts so to have pictures of her totally in her little element is so precious to me!

Little love bug...so intent! :-)

When she finished making the bracelet...she was in a cute little mood & was actually allowing me to take pictures of her...so of course I will take the opportunity to have fun with her & all her personality! :-)

aaaaaaand...she's done. :-)

But, gave me one more. :-)

Mother's Day

2010-05-13T16:39:00.002-05:00

We had a very nice, relaxing Mother's Day. :-) We ended the day with a BBQ with family & some impromptu Mother's Day pictures. When I say "impromptu"...it's because it wasn't planned & by the looks of the kids...you'll see. :-) Nor were any of us...But, I had my camera & I thought it would be nice to take a few pictures of my sisters with their kids & then I actually got in front of the camera. VERY RARE!!! INDEED!! Not my favorite place in the world to be...but I don't think I did too bad...nor did my sister Shannon taking the pics! Enjoy. :-)

P.S. We celebrated with my mom earlier in the week because she is a nurse & works nights. So, she was sleeping on Mother's Day!!! :-) We missed her. And my other sister Amber, spent mother's day with Wayne's mom! We missed them, too!

My sister Shannon & her two girls; Kayleigh & Madelyn. {LOVE}

My sister Amy & her son, Carson. :-)

Me with my babies. :-) Makenzie, Madden & Amara. Madden was in one picture before he ran off & I don't think Amara knew what to do with me being in pictures. haha. She was kind of sad & clingy for a bit & didn't want to smile...but it's who she is sometimes. Very shy & clingy. :-)

These moments, I know, will be few & far between as this little girl continues to grow. So, I'm stealing them as often as I can!!! I can hardly believe my baby girl is 8.

Oh, this boy is a little love!!!

Life.

2010-05-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

I admit...there are many days when I get overwhelmed by "stuff". Stresses, worries, unexpected situations & circumstances. As much as I would love to say that I always give my worries over to God...sometimes they get the better of me & I take it upon myself to get frustrated, overwhelmed & unsure about my purpose. However, it's moments like the pictures below that truly remind me that God never gives us more than we can handle & he gives me moments like these to remind me how much he loves me. He has blessed me with such love. Such grace. Such encouragement. Such moments like these to remind me what is truly important, lasting & a huge part of who I am. Glimpses of love. Moments of pure adoration & appreciation for life. I love them to pieces. :-)

Hand me downs...

2010-05-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you're the baby sister & you would like to be a part of the action? You get a hand me down Transformer baseball glove. Haha. A few weeks ago, Makenzie was practicing some batting & Amara came outside wanting to play & help "catch" balls. It's a Transformer "Bumblebee" glove to be precise. :-)

Easter :: 2010

2010-04-05T22:28:00.001-05:00

Before church, I rounded the kiddos up to take a few pics of them dressed up. Thanks to Tim's mom for sending us the Easter attire. The girls loved their twirly dresses. :-) They didn't want to stand out in the chilly morning air for too long...so I only got a few of them together. The other pictures were taken in our doorway for goodness sakes. What started out as me just wanting to get one quick picture of each of them turned into Madden wanting to take a million with his Green Goblin character. Why not, right? :-)

We hope you had a wonderful Easter. We had such a beautiful day. Celebrating the resurrection of our savior with our church family as well as with our family. It gives us such joy to be able to share of God's love for us through his son, Jesus, with our children. To speak of his amazing love for us. To share with them the word of God & the truth that it is & the hope that it brings!

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 "Fix these words of mine in your hearts & minds; tie them as symbols on your hands & bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home & when you walk along the road, when you lie doewn & when you get up."

Makenzie was good for a few pics...then she was off doing something more fun. :-)

Madden had some fun...

And then, there's Amara. :-)

Amara with Tiana from Princess & the Frog...

Our baby girl...isn't a baby anymore. :-(

Later in the afternoon, we went over to my sister Shannon's house for dinner with the family. We had such a great time. The food was delicious & it was so relaxing. Ahhhhh. :-)

Easter egg hunt with the cousins...

Warm days!!

2010-03-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Last week was so nice! The kids had so much fun! We played outside, they rode bikes, made a worm farm & all sorts of fun stuff. Earlier last week I brought my camera out to take some pics of the kids enjoying the day! Madden got an ear infection in the beginning of the week so I made him wear a hat to cover his ears because the wind was bugging his ears. He didn't love having it on...but he understood. However, for some reason he didn't want me taking pictures of him riding his bike...hence a few grouch faces. :-)

Amara loves to swing! :-)

And she loves to write with chalk!

Amara is such a silly little girl! Her age is one of my favorite ages!

Makenzie...

I caught her bossing Madden around...

Gosh, this makes me smile! There's nothing better than a child's happiness. :-) It's the little things...

Not sure why there were scissors outside...

Growing up is hard to do...for parents.

2010-03-05T00:41:00.008-06:00

I know the years go by so quickly...but I'm thinking someone stole our years! Or at least made them near disappear! Today, is Makenzie's 8th Birthday. I can hardly believe it. Makenzie is such a multi-faceted young lady. She's every flavor of ice cream & I think she even has created some of her own! She's unique, smart, silly, sassy, very strong willed, happy, friendly...you name it...Makenzie is probably it at some time or another. Even though she sure gives us a run for our money...it's ironically one of the very things that we love about Makenzie. She is such a passionate girl. She loves her brother & sister. She loves her family. She loves her friends. She loves school. She loves music. She loves her DS. She loves to read. She loves to create things. She loves art. She loves to draw. She loves to ride her bike. She loves to sing. She loves scary stories. She loves movies. She loves games. She loves Sunday School. She loves Jesus. And SO much more. Makenzie is so respectful of her friends & their feelings. She's always going out of her way to make sure everyone feels included & she spends a lot of time making her friends things that they would like. She absolutely loves her siblings. A bit bossy at times to them & a little mother hen from time to time...but they can play for hours doing anything & everything from coloring to playing house to riding bikes & so on. She loves to chit chat with mom & dad. Her stories & questions are endless.

With all of this being said...I haven't even scratched the surface of who Makenzie is. We are so incredibly blessed with her & I can still remember the day she was born. Just one of many amazing blessings we've been given by God. So, with no further a do...I just wanted to say, "Happy Birthday, beautiful girl! We love you so much & are so grateful for who God made you & who you will become! We hope you have an amazing day celebrating turning the big "8"!"

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Here is Makenzie at age 3& 4. :-)

Yesterday, the school district had the day off. So, I planned a little outing with Makenzie to celebrate her birthday as I'll be leaving for the weekend out of town tonight. We had a nice time just being together & ended our little outing with some pictures of her. I promised her it would only take 15 minutes. And 15 minutes it took. :-) It was a little chilly, but she was a good sport...for most of them. :-) I treated her to a hot fudge sundae after for her cooperation. :-)

This is cute when I tell her to do it...but when it is unsolicited...boy does it frustrate me!

She got her nails done & was SO excited!

Starting to get a little chilly...

Happy New Year! I know it's long overdue. :-)

2010-02-22T20:52:00.001-06:00

We had a really fun New Year's Eve. We spent the night at a local hotel with the kids & my sister Shannon & her family. We enjoyed yummy appetizers & a fun night in the pool! We woke up to a delicious breakfast buffet & some more swimming. We then went out to my Mom's house for dinner. I didn't take many pics on New Year's Eve...but here are a couple. :-)

Rollerskating.

2010-02-22T20:49:00.000-06:00

My nephew Carson celebrated his birthday at the rollerskating rink a little while ago & the kids had so much fun. :-) Makenzie did an awesome job, too! I don't even have many pictures of her because she was a skating machine. haha. Enjoy a few.

Little cutie...

Daddy helping little Amara.

Daddy with Madden & Amara

Trouble makers...

Amara & Nana

Amara & Auntie Amy

Amara loved the hula hooping.

Christmas Program...just a peek. :-)

2010-02-22T20:42:00.000-06:00

Amara & Madden had a little Christmas Program at their school. I was curious to see how both of them would do as this was their first time being up on stage in front of a crowd. They both did SO well. I didn't get a very good seat & wasn't able to get out in the aisle...but still thought I'd share a couple of the pics I took. :-)

Madden was so excited & so happy. :-)

Amara...such a cutie...

February 2010...a little winter...

2010-02-11T23:01:00.002-06:00

It has really been a LONG time since I've blogged. To be honest...I just haven't been taking any pictures. :-( A few here & there, but nothing too exciting.

We've had bouts of cold weather & a little snow here & there, however, we've had a few really nice days this week. The sun has felt pretty warm so it's been great for the kids to get outside & play. Since it was nice enough for me to not "have" to have gloves on; although after 15 minutes without them I had to go get some on...I ventured out to take some pics of the kids having fun. :-) From plowing the driveway, we have a nice big pile in the back yard...so the kids love that. We just have to get our sleds back from my mom's house so the kids can slide on it.

There are lots of pictures...but I guess that might make up for the fact that I've been extremely neglectful with my blog. :-) Enjoy!

But before the snow pictures, we spent some time last evening doing the infamous valentines. Since Amara is writing her name, I wanted to have a "proud mommy" moment & share a picture of hers. :-) She is doing so good in preschool & she's been writing her name for a little while. I love her teachers, too. They are amazing with the little ones! I'm so proud of Amara...she signed her name to all 13 valentines & a few more for family. :-) Our little girl is growing up!

Now onto the snow pictures...

Madden...such a boy. :-)

Amara...such a big girl, now!

Well played in mittens...

Beautiful Makenzie...hard to believe she'll be 8 next month!

Makenzie, Madden & our neighbor's grandson, Tyler were busy making this mini-snowman.

Not sure what she's doing here...

Happy girl!!

Going down the snow pile hill!

Probably playing GI Joe or Transformers...those are his world. He loves them!

Why does this little boy have to be growing up so fast?! *sigh*

Contributing to the snowman...

Amara lays down for 3 seconds to make snow angels...

Makenzie putting the finishing touches on the snowman...

Just Amara's size...she kept giving the Snowman hugs & kisses...

So cute...

My favorite picture from today...

A New Year...Big Changes!!

2009-12-28T21:49:00.001-06:00

I say it EVERY year...I can hardly believe how fast this year has gone by! It is unbelieveable to me. Every single year! Ha! There's just something awesome & bittersweet about the end of something because something new & exciting is coming next.

I think the best part about the end of a year is the reflection process that we go through. Looking back on goals we've accomplished, struggles we've faced & gotten through, mistakes we've made & the little victories & milestones that are spread out along the way. Even in the midst of our mistakes & our victories...God is right there next to us...cheering us on. Desiring for us to live our lives for him, through him & HIM alone.

My reflections for 2009 put me all over the map with how I feel things went. In some areas of my life I grew so much & in some areas, I still struggle or have questions. Neither one is better than the other. It's all a part of life, growing & seeking out our purpose in Christ. I'm really looking forward to 2010. Mainly, because I want to live my life outloud. I want to seek God honestly in every decision; in every opportunity. I'm tired of trying to figure out what we should be moving toward next. I'm tired of making some decisions on the fly & not consulting God in everything. It's so easy to do! We're all guilty of it. However, I know that God always keeps his arms open & his heart full for us. And even in the midst of our selfishness, he still blesses us & shows us the way he wants us to go. Easy? Absolutely not. Essential? Absolutely.

Here's to a new year, a new perspective & a new opportunity to serve on behalf of the one who gives us life! My prayer:

Thank you, God, for all you have given us! Help us to never forget to appreciate all you've done & how you've blessed us because we're so busy trying to "get" to the next place in life or yearning to "have" more in life. We've got each other & our marriage, 3 beautiful, healthy children, a roof over our heads, food on our table, jobs to provide income & an amazing abundance of friends & family. Help us to be more grateful & thankful for what we have rather than what we don't have. Help us to be more appreciative of where we are in life & where you've brought us from. Help us to remember your faithfulness & your sovereignty every single day. Help us to teach our children holy gratitude because of what you've done for us.

Quote from one of the Pastors at our church this past Sunday:

"We would be so much happier if we just appreciated & focused on what we DO have instead of what we don't have.

Isn't that the truth?

2010: Here's to living out our happiness & joy in God for all he has done & given to us!

This is a picture from a few years ago...I can hardly believe how much the kids have grown! See...time goes by SO fast!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-26T21:17:00.002-06:00

It's EXTREMELY hard to believe that I haven't taken my camera out of it's case for at least 2-3 weeks. WOW. Makenzie got a point & shoot camera for Christmas from Tim's parent's...so she's brought that along to a few places, but I've just been soaking in every moment & doing so without my camera. Sometimes when we get used to doing things a certain way (such as taking pictures of events & happenings from start to finish) we truly MISS so much. Yes, with a camera, we capture so much...but I personally can over do the camera thing with my own family & forget to give it a rest. It was hard not to have lots of pictures from this Christmas...but, what a relaxing, memorable time this Christmas has been. To experience it without being behind the camera. It definitely feels so different. Not that I prefer one over the other...but it was wonderful to step out of my comfort zone of leaving the camera put away. I'm sure my children loved it the most. :-) Every exciting moment wasn't followed by a "hey, look over here".

Anyway, since I don't have any blog worthy pictures to share of our Christmas, I thought I'd share a few Christmas pictures of our children that I took this year. My cards are coming. I just took a while in working on my own Christmas stuff to ensure clients got all of their cards & orders. And, I honestly do not have my address book any more (it was in our storage) so I'm only sending to those who I have an address for or to those who have sent them to us; hence having their address! Enjoy some pics of our cuties. :-)

I absolutely love little Amara in this one. With her little feet...standing on her tip toes. :-)

Love these kiddos. They were so much fun this afternoon. They did such a good job just being themselves. It wasn't a struggle in the least! :-)

Pacifiers, Diapers & Pull-ups...

2009-12-08T00:24:00.002-06:00

What do all 3 of these things have in common? Nothing in our house! Amara was using a pacifier just at bedtime. I know...I'm a bad mommy! But, she's the youngest & our last one!!! It broke my heart to take it away! But, in my defense...we've had a lot going on the past year with moving & new things happening...so I didn't want to change one more thing for her. Anyway...a few weeks ago, Amara lost her one last remaining pacifier before bedtime. And it's been gone ever since! She fussed for about 5 minutes that night & hasn't asked for it since. HOORAY! (By the way...I found her pacifier the next day in the refrigerator. Yes...in our house...you never know what turns up in the fridge!) So, all in the span of 2009, we've completed the diaper stage, the potty training stage, the pull up stage & now the pacifier stage. And OH MY does it feel so good to not have to buy that stuff anymore!!! These are major milestones here. I tell ya. :-) And on that note....here's Miss Amara. :-)

Get out of the way.

2009-12-01T15:53:00.000-06:00

Have you ever stopped to think about why things seem so complicated sometimes? Could it be that WE complicate things? Our intellect, our so called wisdom, our ideas, our dreams, our opinions, our feelings...not that we aren't important...but can you imagine if we just learned to get out of the way? Can you imagine if we just completely trusted God with everything & for everything? I mean, really, really did this. I'm thinking that THIS is how the world would would be a better place. Saying this is the easy part. Actually doing it & living it is the hard part. What would this look like in your life? If you were to truly, completely live like this? What is stopping you? Yourself?

Get out of the way.

One autumn day...

2009-11-24T21:57:00.016-06:00

And Madden won the photogenic child of the day award. Which means...he stuck around for more than 5 minutes when my camera came out. The girls were long gone running in the back yard!

The kids were playing "campfire" and they were putting leaves on sticks which were supposed to be marshmallows for smores. :-) I love imagination. What a boring world it would be without one!

On to something else...

I can hardly believe fall is just about over!!! :-( But, bring on the snow sometime soon. The kids are itching to go sledding & ice skating!

Remembering...

2009-11-11T23:38:00.005-06:00

Veteran's Day...wow. A day to remember those who have served our country, those who have passed on & appreciating those who are still in active duty. It's days like this that sometimes we can quickly acknowledge & we can quickly forget. Not that we want to, but if we're not closely affected by the loss of a loved one for our country or if we don't have someone close to us serving...we can very easily forget how extremely blessed we are as a country that we have and have had some of the most amazing, selfless, courageous & strong individuals fighting for us to live where & how we do. When I really sat to think about the sacrifice that these people give to us, it was really hard for me to fathom this selflessness. As humans, we are naturally wired to be selfish. We are naturally wired to do, say & be what will benefit number one. It takes a love and committment so beyond ourselves to really be able to give of our time, talents & life without hoping or desiring recognition. The brave men & women who serve our country can't be selfish. I find it really hard to think they can be. Who would purposely jeopardize their safety? Who would really want to leave their family for training or deployment? Who would spend long hours of heavy physical & emotional training just because? It's the most selfless of lives to choose & I really do not think we take the sacrifices that our military endures to heart as much as we should. I am so incredibly grateful for their dedication & sacrifice & I don't think any amount of words could really explain how humbling it is to know that someone is willing to sacrifice everything for me. Wow.

In thinking about these sacrifices, it also reminds me that Jesus died for me. He died for you. The ultimate sacrifice. Even when I make mistakes, even when I don't have it all together...his sacrifice was for me, too. What an amazing gift we have available to us. The most beautiful thing about this gift is that we cannot do anything to earn it. We can't be "good" enough. We can't "do" enough. We can't "earn" it. We can't "buy" it. Nothing. We just have to accept it.

So, on this Veteran's Day...I am grateful for selflessness, sacrifice, courage & strength from these brave men & women & I am grateful for the selfless sacrifice of Christ on the cross. How truly blessed we are. How truly humbled we should be.

Living Simple

2009-10-29T15:56:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite photography personalities, Jasmine Star, has a wonderful {twin} sister, who has a blog that I also follow. Oofta...a person of a person who has a blog. LOL! Nevermind the complicated explanation...just check out her blog! I don't get to get over to her blog as much as I'd like...but I was there the other day & I really liked this entry.

http://liveinthenameoflove.blogspot.com/2009/10/live-simply-so-others-can-simply-live.html

God's Greatest Blessings

2009-10-22T22:59:00.002-05:00

Wow. I can hardly believe that we have been in WI for over a year. It's hard to believe the struggles that we endured at this time last year. But, it's amazing to see how God was and is so faithful to us. God put many wonderful, supportive people in our lives to encourage us, root for us & even to be a blessing to us when we were in need.

There's something about being on the receiving end of tremendous blessings that I had never experienced until last year & well into this summer when we went through another setback with our belongings. It was really difficult to receive. I struggled so much with accepting many of the things that we were given & just the outpouring of support we received here from friends & family. And through our situation, God taught me how to receive. He taught me about the humility that arises in us when we are in situations that we can do nothing to help ourselves at that time. It's only been through our struggles that we completely have grasped what it means to rely on God 100%. Many times, we think that we are relying on God...but we're still out there trying to make things happen, which isn't necessarily bad to keep an active attitude...but sometimes it turns into what "we" think we should do. Rather than sitting back & listening to what God would like us to do & actually really trusting. We'll always be learning...but, how grateful I am to have been blessed by a God who loves me & my family. Realizing that every single day is essential for me to in turn be a blessing to others. It makes me want to give even more because I know what it felt like to have been blessed.

I know that the people who helped us didn't do it because they wanted some "praise"...I know that they did it because they truly cared for us and/or care for other people. Many people can go looking for people to "give to" or "help out"...but those who are truly givers & do it out of a pure heart will see needs all around them...especially in the lives of the people closest to them...their family, friends, etc. and will do anything they can to meet those needs first. Helping those elsewhere is just an extension of a giving spirit. I think one of the biggest mistakes people can make is to think that helping out "strangers" & giving to "outsiders" is the true definition of "giving". Although, that is beneficial & definitely needed...I personally think the true definition of love & giving is loving those closest to you....giving to those closest to you...meeting the needs you see right under your nose...first. And sometimes doing so even when it is hard to do. Sometimes we don't always agree with people's decisions or sometimes we don't always think they "deserve" it...but I think sometimes those reasons for not helping out someone or giving to them is a root of pride. Maybe we think they should pay for their mistakes. Maybe we think they should suffer. Maybe we think they don't deserve it. But you know...it's our pride that gets in the way when we think someone else doesn't deserve to be taken care of. It's pride when we think that they made their own bed & now they should lay in it. I love what Jesus says below in Matthew 25:

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

The question I have is: Did Jesus tell us here what "kinds" of people deserve to be helped? Does he describe for us...well if you think someone got themself into their own situation...you don't have to help them? Here is what he said:
35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

I love their response...
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

You see...someone who is righteous & of a pure heart & mind sees a need and tries to meet it or help. They don't go out seeking people to "give to"...they are just givers. They are sensitive to those around them. They have a love in them that can't be made up or created by themselves. They truly love other people. They want all people to succeed. They want all people to be provided for. It's not enough to think it. It's not enough to pretend it. You have to live it. You have to love other people.

And Jesus finished speaking to those of pure heart like this:
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Wow. I think it's safe to assume that "the least of these brothers" refers to people who maybe didn't really deserve it or people that may go unnoticed or forgotten.

The bottom line for me is this...we should never walk around "hand-picking" those we "think" we should help or give to. We should be living our lives in such a way that wherever we are...whoever is in our lives...whether it is your brother, your sister, your parents, your family, your friends, etc...be a blessing to them & meet whatever needs you see if you need to. Because God puts people around us...and he's not blind when we "skip over" people around us. He's not blind to us "hand-picking" those we will help. He wants pure hearts. He wants faithful people that will love his people...even when it is hard.

With all that being said...we just wanted to say THANK YOU to the faithful people who surrounded us during our very difficult struggles. We want to say THANK YOU to the people who gave of themselves to help us get through a very difficult year of ups & down, unemployment & struggles. We appreciate every single one of you & we are so grateful for your faithful hearts for meeting our needs. You blessed our lives more than you know.

Special thanks to the following:

*North Bay Community Church ~ We are so grateful to the wonderful people who provided for our family last Christmas. To our pastor & his family who gave us what we needed when we were without. To the many people at North Bay who attended our "Starting Over Shower" & those who gave us gifts as we moved. Thank you!

*To our Parents...Mom, Jake & Lois...thank you for giving us a place to lay our heads when we had no idea what we were going to do. Thank you for sacrificing your homes to provide a safe place for us to seek God for his direction & supporting us in our decisions. Thank you also for the many gifts you gave to us as we moved into our new home. We are forever grateful.

*To my sisters...Shannon, Amy & Amber (and spouses!)...thank you so much for being our best friends. For providing support & encouragement & a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for giving us things for our new home & for making our Starting Over Shower so special. Thank you for never making us feel less than & believing in us even when we didn't believe in ourselves.

*To Wanda & Shannon...thank you so much for loving us. Thank you so much for supporting us & making us feel special even when we felt like failures. Thank you, Wanda, for being a shoulder to cry on when times were really tough. We miss you very much. Thank you also for sending us some wonderful gifts when we moved into our new home. We appreciate it. Your love for us & your desire to see us succeed has been encouraging.

*To Leah...wow. You are surely an amazing friend. You have given us so much & have just overwhelmed me with your love, support & giving. You never cease to amaze me. :-)

*To our friends...so many of you came & supported us during our Starting over Shower. You gave us many special gifts that we truly needed for our new home. You are such amazing people...we are so grateful for your generosity & support. Many of you who don't even live here blessed us with amazing gifts, sent us cards, collected gifts & sent them to us...THANK YOU. Your support & love will never be forgotten.

*To the strangers...we received several anonymous gifts & notes of encouragement. We are so grateful for everything. And to Caitlin...who collected some donations from people we didn't even know...and who didn't know us...THANK YOU! And thanks to those people!

Even if we didn't speak with you personally...you know who you are that helped. We thank each & every one of you for your love, support & grace that you poured out on us during the last year. You allowed God to use you to bless us because of your giving heart & your compassion for us. It will not be forgotten. Our children's lives are so much more enriched because of your compassion & love. They understand what it means to trust in God & they know how God uses many people to love us & support us & meet our needs. God never lets us down...even when people fail us, mistreat us, ridicule us, treat us unfairly, hurt us or our circumstances are unfortunate and/or difficult. What a reassuring hope we have in him!

And because a blog post is always better with a photo...I hope this cute little face makes you smile. I know it makes me smile! :-)

Barely squeezed it in...

2009-10-21T22:49:00.000-05:00

Admist the busyness of the photography fall season...I managed to squeeze in my own kids this past weekend! I take pictures all the time...but the grandparents need some new pics & I wanted to give them pictures that were "non-christmas" to have in their frames. I'm still pondering my christmas pictures...so don't expect those anytime soon! This is just one picture, yet I was very happy at how conservative I was. I didn't over take anything & got what I needed & it was a wrap in under 45 minutes...even going to 2 locations. We may have gone longer if Amara hadn't decided to wet her pants at the end. :-) She said she had to go...but I thought we had another 5 minutes. Next time we'll learn that "I have to go potty" means...right now. haha.

Anyway, enjoy a pic. This is all I had time to go through...busy! I can't believe how much older they all look compared to looking at last year's pictures. Wow!

Completely un-related...

2009-10-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is completely un-related to my previous posts, however, when I go looking through old pictures, I am bound to find some funny ones. Although, I am not sure if this one is funny or just plain weird?! You are ALL lucky that I didn't post some of the other ones I found. I have yet to remember who was taking these pictures...Monica?! Because I have some real doozers of me, Becca, Kevin & Eric E. haha. Enjoy. :-)

Old?!

2009-10-12T22:11:00.002-05:00

Until I find another...look at these cute pictures I found of Amara! When she was one! Oh...what a little sweetie. :-) Maybe I can use one of her a little younger since I don't want her to grow up!?

And of course I had to show this one in color...:-)

Via the post below...

2009-10-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hmmm...I have 3 of Makenzie that I like...any thoughts?!

This one is one of my favorites...but I'm not sure about it being part of the 3 children large photos...we'll see.

MY favorite...

2009-10-12T20:13:00.002-05:00

With all the pictures I take...it's RARE that I actually have the time to sit down & look through my photos & choose which ones are MY favorites. As a photographer...you'd think my walls would be covered in beautiful photos of my children...but sadly...since we have moved...I have yet to print some new pictures...let alone put them up!

I have a fairly simple decorating style (if I have one?!) so my goal for our new place is to print some really large prints...example: 3 poster size images (one of each of our kids) and then do a wall design on another wall. But, my biggest issue was trying to go through my images to choose which ones I would use for their individual ones. Well, I managed to find the one I love of Madden. One down...two to go! I took this picture last summer while in Lancaster & I absolutely love it of Madden. YES! I have a favorite. This image says it all about Madden. And he makes this face ALLLLLL the time. :-) I am going to be printing them all in this chocolate b/w tint...which is one of my favorite tones. I am also going to be doing something a little different. I had some sample images printed on matte board for a display that I need this week & I LOVE them...so I think I am going to use the prints on matte boards for the walls vs. a traditional frame or even a very expensive gallery wrap. I can't wait to do them & then I can't wait to share my finished products...although...I need to still choose the girls. Haha. So, this could be a month long project...or longer!

So, what do you think of this one?!

Miss Amara is turning 3!

2009-09-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Wow. Our baby is 3! I can't even begin to fathom where the time has gone! It seems like yesterday we were coming home from the hospital scared to death because Madden & Amara were only 15 months apart. {which by the way...that first year is still a complete blur!} But, we made it through & I just cannot believe she's 3. :-(

Amara is now in preschool & is having so much fun. She loves her friends & her class & her teachers. Once we got past her not wanting milk at school because she does not like it & that was causing her some anxiety...she's smooth sailing. :-) Amara is such a sweet little girl. So funny & silly, too. She is extremely independent with many things...but a complete last child/baby of the family with other things. She hasn't had to be taught how to do much...she just gives things her all and figures them out. Much to my surprise several months ago when she got herself all dressed & shoes on and buckled?! I was like...I guess Amara can buckle her own shoes. haha. She sat there and worked and worked until she got it. Her most recent feat has been peddling her little three wheeler all by herself. She's so little and has such short legs that she can barely reach the pedals...but she mastered that finally. It's just so sad, yet awesome to see her independence. She's such a little sweetheart. We love her very much.

We had her birthday party last evening so I'll try to post some pictures soon. It was so much fun! :-)

A few weeks ago...the kids were playing outside & for once I took my camera out & took a few pictures. :-) Happy Birthday, Amara Mae. We love you SOOOOO much!

It's crazy, I know...

2009-09-10T23:32:00.003-05:00

Wow. It's September already & school is well underway! Ahhhhh! I'm hoping to be able to pick up a little on some blogging through the winter. I've just been completely & utterly consumed with finishing up sessions & weddings every chance I can when I am able to be on the computer.

Lots of new exciting things in our family! We moved into our own place. YAY. Long overdue for sure. But, exciting nonetheless. Trying to work towards some goals and hopefully be able to be in our forever house...someday. :-)

I'm now working part time at Makenzie's elementary school as a special education assistant. I really, really love it. It's challenging & so rewarding as I am working one on one with 2 children. Both with varying learning challenges & disabilities...but it's amazing to grasp what people in special education do in our schools. I never realized how much they do & take on. It's the perfect job for me during the school year! The licensing & hire process was really crazy, but definitely well worth it to get into an awesome school district & be at an amazing school. I work 8:15-11:45 and Amara goes to preschool & Madden is in the 4K program. So, I pick them up at 12. I have the afternoons free to be with them & I can maneuver & fit my photography in wherever I need to. And summers off! :-) Slowly but surely, getting our feet on the ground.

Makenzie is in 2nd grade. Wow! She loves it & is really liking her teacher. And it's nice because one of the little girls I work with is actually in Makenzie's class...so I get to be in her class for 45 minutes during some of their main structured academic time...so I get to see first hand what they're learning. :-) Makenzie was a little shy at first being that she's at a new school...but quickly made some nice friends & has put together quite the neighborhood block party every day at our house complete with water & soda sales (yes...my children & their friends set up a table outside in front of our house & offer water for free or for 50 cents?!?!), popsicle treats for all the neighbor kids & tonight...ice cream. Tim & I have always said that we want our house to be the house that all the kids come to. I really like having all the kids riding bikes over around our block & playing out in our yard & coming into our home & playing in our playroom. And I always make sure to stock the cabinets & freezer with fun snacks for everyone. I just feel what better way for us to live out the love of Jesus than to open up our home & lives to others. If we truly believe that everything that we have is not really ours...then what better way to strive to live that out & teach our children to do the same. Yes, the door revolves a lot & yes there are lots of kids playing catch or riding bikes all over...but, I love to see my children reaching out to others & inviting them over to play.

I know that a post is no good without a picture...but I seriously have exported all my family photos off of my computer onto a separate external hard drive & I am just as lazy as ever right now to go get it & upload a few. So...I will try to get some pictures up one of these days. :-)

Instead, I will just offer a challenge. What can you do this week to share the love of Christ & be REAL? Who is in your life that you could reach out to? What things are you good at that you could use to bless other people? And after answering those questions...act! Be positive & make a difference in YOUR world...the place you are at each & every day. Be a light to a world competing for our attention & stand out. :-)

Do I dare???

2009-07-31T02:37:00.002-05:00

Do I dare...say...that...this...blog...may...be...ending?

It's dying for sure...I'm SO bad with it! :-( Maybe I just take summers off? I'll try to keep ya'll in the loop...but...I can't make any promises!

I love this girl...

2009-06-12T00:25:00.004-05:00

Makenzie. Those who know me...know that I can talk and talk and talk. But, when it comes to Makenzie...I sometimes have a hard time describing this girl! She's just so much of everything...that it's hard to pin point my favorite trait in her. :-) She's just so dramatic, silly and just a tad stubborn. :-)

Today, we had a beautiful day...so I put something cute on Makenzie and out we went for some pics. I'm going to do her 7 year photos in a few weeks...so I am looking forward to that. For now...we just had some fun. :-)

Contentment

2009-06-08T14:44:00.008-05:00

con·tent·ment
(kn-tntmnt)
n.
1. The state of being contented; satisfaction.
2. A source of satisfaction

Stirring is good. Sometimes I see something on t.v., sometimes I might read something somewhere, sometimes people say things or do things that may not be necessarily wrong...but it stirs up in me concerns about humanity, myself and our world. I am a thinker. I just want to know the "why's" in life. I just want to know what makes people tick, what makes them make the decisions that they do and understand why people are the way they are. Sometimes, I guess to make sense of such carelessness...but sometimes to honestly really understand people and in return the ability to understand myself even more. Anytime I feel a knot in my stomach when I see something or hear something...I have to ask myself why does that bother me? And sometimes, I may have been letting my self jump the gun on something really irrelevant, but sometimes, I take those knots and they make me dig deeper to fully understand myself and those around me.

My latest stirring has been with the concept of contentment. I happened to be on Twitter and saw about 20 people make comments about the new iphone upgrade that is coming out. Not comments like...wow, that looks cool or that looks amazing...but comments like...I am going to "accidently" run over my iphone on June 17th...or who wants to buy a 3 week old iphone or now I have to spend more money to have the latest & greatest. Sure, many are probably kidding...so I am not going to take what they have said to the bank and harp on those "tweets"...but it really made me think about my own sense of contentment. What do I desire? What do I want more of? What do I feel that I am lacking if anything? What are my prioritites? What are my real needs? What are my wants? And while thinking about my answers, I wasn't really sure what it is that I want if anything "materialistically" speaking. I am not saying that in a prideful sense at all...I am just saying it because of the situations our lives have been in over the last few years...God has really had to show me where my "heart" truly is. I never really have thought it was necessary to have the best of anything. Maybe I wanted larger quantities of things...but I am fairly simple. But, to say that is easy. To really ponder and think about my heart and where my contentment lies involves more thought along these lines: What do I spend my time thinking about? What do I spend my time doing? What do I plan for myself? These to me are a bigger indication of where my heart truly is. I can tell people that I don't have a problem with discontentment...but if I spend my time thinking about all the things I want to get or spend my time getting more and more of things or if I become angry or jealous of others who have things...then I am really fooling myself into thinking I am content.

I have to admit, this country does not make it easy to feel content. With constant advertisements & commercials displaying to us the newest & coolest things or the best gadgets & inventions to make our lives "easier". It's not easy when you walk down the aisles of any department store or through the doors of any mall and not feel like what we have is mediocre at best. It's not easy to drive down the street and see huge, beautiful homes. But, I have really had to pray and ask God to show me what I value. Show me what I desire. And I have had to allow him to change many wrong attitudes and thoughts through my asking. You see, it's easy to say one thing and do another in this world because there is a big majority of people who live like that. We see our goverment behaving like that, big corporations living like that and individual leaders living like that. And sometimes we feel that if everyone is doing it...then we can somehow justify doing it, too. Doesn't make it right...but it sure makes it feel okay sometimes. And in all of our cravings, desiring and wanting...I don't necessarily think it makes someone horrible...but is it good for oneself? Is it building oneself up? Or is it silly? Worthless? If we truly cannot take anything with us when we leave...I would have to vouch that all the things we crave or "have to have" are in essence; really silly.

So, in the midst of my little "stirring" today, I hope that I was able to stir someone else's heart up. I hope that you will think about your own life. Your own priorities. And be real with yourself. And be honest. You're only fooling yourself if you only evaluate your life on the surface. It takes a great amount of courage and often times a few tears to really ask God to show you what is in your heart. And maybe you feel that you're doing fine. But, I'm almost certain that the moment we think we are "fine" is when we just might be up to our eyeballs in wrong thinking, wrong motives, maybe some "heart" issues, etc. We should constantly be looking for what God wants from us, what he needs to change in us and what we are really here for on this earth. But, we should never forget that it is not our job to do the changing; to try to be better, to try to think better, to try to do a million wonderful things to earn God's favor. It is just our job to be open to what God wants to show us & do in our lives...and he will bring about the change. He just needs willing hearts.

There are so many scriptures about contentment...but one that came to mind was 1 Timothy 6. Take the time to read it.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ~author unknown

Happy Birthday, Madden!!!

2009-06-04T21:15:00.006-05:00

Today, we celebrated Madden's 4th Birthday. With each passing birthday of our children, we can hardly believe how incredibly fast time goes! It seems like yesterday that Madden was making his grand appearance into the world with quite the set of lungs I might add! :-)

Madden was so excited for his birthday. He woke up saying: "It's my birthday! It's my birthday!" And if that wasn't cute enough, Makenzie had gotten up a little before Madden and when we came out of our bedroom, Makenzie had a tv tray set out with breakfast for Madden. And a Transformer blanket covering his chair. It was so cute. And it was even cuter when we looked at what she gave him for breakfast: Applesauce, Oreo Cookies, Peanuts & then a little plastic bag with Lollipops, Transformer fruits snacks, a chocolate cookie, and Juice with a few little Transformer magnets decorating his tv tray. :-) Oh, God bless her little heart. haha.

We had a great day. Just relaxing & then went to the grocery store to get ingredients for Madden's dinner choice of homemade pizza as well as cake & ice cream. We came home, the kids played out side & Amara & I made the pizzas. After dinner & dessert, we watched Toy Story 2...which was one of Madden's gifts from us. He really loves the movie Toy Story that we rent from the Library and he has been really talking about seeing Toy Story 2...so we thought he would be excited to get his very own copy...which he was! :-)

Madden is such a wonderful little boy. He is so bright & so incredibly silly. I love all of the silly things he does & says. We truly are so blessed with wonderful children. With no further a do...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MADDEN!!! We love you!

The Birthday Boy...

Makenzie's birthday breakfast creation...she knows her nana too well...she even put a coaster under the juicebox! haha!

Getting ready for cake & ice cream...plus playing with his new Bumblebee Transformer he bought with some of his birthday money from Tim's parents.

The theme of the evening...

Madden getting the happy birthday song sung to him! :-)

Realizing the pressure of the big blowing out his candles part! haha.

Gotta taste the frosting! I love the little chocolate frosting on his teeth. haha.

YUMMY!

Next...open birthday gift! :-) Makenzie reading Madden his birthday card...

I think he likes it...looking over toward daddy to show it off! :-)

The girls...

Miss Sassy Frass herself!

A great birthday! :-)

Updates will be coming...maybe...

2009-05-22T12:22:00.003-05:00

Oh, how I love to blog. But, oh how it's that time of the year when it gets harder & harder to find the time. :-( But, in light of my trip out to PA and in light of Tim being such an awesome daddy...I have a feeling this is what he may be going through...because I go through it!!! LOL!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

2009-05-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of my fellow mommas. :-) You have to go view this hilarious and extremely true video! ENJOY! And have a great day!

http://www.faithvisuals.com/content/eleven72/motherseveryday.html

And you have to view this one, too...it is so incredibly beautiful. :-)
http://www.faithvisuals.com/content/beamerfilms/mothersdayyouarethereason.html

Growing up...

2009-05-06T23:04:00.004-05:00

Makenzie is growing up...too fast! I still have yet to do her 7 year pictures as I am waiting until I get back from PA...but I took her this past weekend out for a few pictures. Well, in photography terms...a few means much more (haha)...but I haven't had a chance to go through all of them! So, here are a few that I did like when I peeked. :-)

p.s. Makenzie really wanted to wear her pink lip gloss....it was really cute. She loved it. :-)

This is the smile that is SO Makenzie & melts my heart. :-)

37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty...

2009-04-30T22:35:00.003-05:00

Americans have always believed that hard work will bring rewards, but vast numbers now cannot meet their bills even with two or three jobs. More than one in 10 citizens live below the poverty line, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening.

Paul Harris in Kentucky
The Observer, Sunday 19 February 2006
Article history

The flickering television in Candy Lumpkins's trailer blared out The Bold and the Beautiful. It was a fantasy daytime soap vision of American life with little relevance to the reality of this impoverished corner of Kentucky.

The Lumpkins live at the definition of the back of beyond, in a hollow at the top of a valley at the end of a long and muddy dirt road. It is strewn with litter. Packs of stray dogs prowl around, barking at strangers. There is no telephone and since their pump broke two weeks ago Candy has collected water from nearby springs. Oblivious to it all, her five-year-old daughter Amy runs barefoot on a wooden porch frozen by a midwinter chill.

It is a vision of deep and abiding poverty. Yet the Lumpkins are not alone in their plight. They are just the negative side of the American equation. America does have vast, wealthy suburbs, huge shopping malls and a busy middle class, but it also has vast numbers of poor, struggling to make it in a low-wage economy with minimal government help.

A shocking 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population - the highest percentage in the developed world. They are found from the hills of Kentucky to Detroit's streets, from the Deep South of Louisiana to the heartland of Oklahoma. Each year since 2001 their number has grown.

Under President George W Bush an extra 5.4 million have slipped below the poverty line. Yet they are not a story of the unemployed or the destitute. Most have jobs. Many have two. Amos Lumpkins has work and his children go to school. But the economy, stripped of worker benefits like healthcare, is having trouble providing good wages.

Even families with two working parents are often one slice of bad luck - a medical bill or factory closure - away from disaster. The minimum wage of $5.15 (£2.95) an hour has not risen since 1997 and, adjusted for inflation, is at its lowest since 1956. The gap between the haves and the have-nots looms wider than ever. Faced with rising poverty rates, Bush's trillion-dollar federal budget recently raised massive amounts of defence spending for the war in Iraq and slashed billions from welfare programmes.

For a brief moment last year in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina brought America's poor into the spotlight. Poverty seemed on the government's agenda. That spotlight has now been turned off. 'I had hoped Katrina would have changed things more. It hasn't,' says Cynthia Duncan, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Oklahoma is in America's heartland. Tulsa looks like picture-book Middle America. Yet there is hunger here. When it comes to the most malnourished poor in America, Oklahoma is ahead of any other state. It should be impossible to go hungry here. But it is not. Just ask those gathered at a food handout last week. They are a cross section of society: black, white, young couples, pensioners and the middle-aged. A few are out of work or retired, everyone else has jobs.

They are people like Freda Lee, 33, who has two jobs, as a marketer and a cashier. She has come to the nondescript Loaves and Fishes building - flanked ironically by a Burger King and a McDonald's - to collect food for herself and three sons. 'America is meant to be free. What's free?' she laughs. 'All we can do is pay off the basics.'

Or they are people like Tammy Reinbold, 37. She works part-time and her husband works full-time. They have two children yet rely on the food handouts. 'The church is all we have to fall back on,' she says. She is right. When government help is being cut and wages are insufficient, churches often fill the gap. The needy gather to receive food boxes. They listen to a preacher for half an hour on the literal truth of the Bible. Then he asks them if they want to be born again. Three women put up their hands.

But why are some Tulsans hungry?
Many believe it is the changing face of the US economy. Tulsa has been devastated by job losses. Big-name firms like WorldCom, Williams Energy and CitGo have closed or moved, costing the city about 24,000 jobs. Now Wal-Mart embodies the new American job market: low wages, few benefits.

Well-paid work only goes to the university-educated. Many others who just complete high school face a bleak future. In Texas more than a third of students entering public high schools now drop out. These people are entering the fragile world of the working poor, where each day is a mere step away from tragedy. Some of those tragedies in Tulsa end up in the care of Steve Whitaker, a pastor who runs a homeless mission in the shadow of a freeway overpass.

Each day the homeless and the drug addicted gather here, looking for a bed for the night. Some also want a fresh chance. They are men like Mark Schloss whose disaster was being left by his first wife. The former Wal-Mart manager entered a world of drug addiction and alcoholism until he wound up with Whitaker. Now he is back on track, sporting a silver ring that says Faith, Hope, Love. 'Without this place I would be in prison or dead,' he says. But Whitaker equates saving lives with saving souls. Those entering the mission's rehabilitation programme are drilled in Bible studies and Christianity. At 6ft 5in and with a black belt in karate, Whitaker's Christianity is muscular both literally and figuratively. 'People need God in their lives,' he says.
These are mean streets. Tulsa is a city divided like the country. Inside a building run by Whitaker's staff in northern Tulsa a group of 'latch-key kids' are taking Bible classes after school while they wait for parents to pick them up. One of them is Taylor Finley, aged nine. Wearing a T-shirt with an American flag on the front, she dreams of travel. 'I want to have fun in a new place, a new country,' she says. Taylor wants to see the world outside Oklahoma. But at the moment she cannot even see her own neighbourhood. The centre in which she waits for mom was built without windows on its ground floor. It was the only way to keep out bullets from the gangs outside.

During the 2004 election the only politician to address poverty directly was John Edwards, whose campaign theme was 'Two Americas'. He was derided by Republicans for doing down the country and - after John Kerry picked him as his Democratic running mate - the rhetoric softened in the heat of the campaign.

But, in fact, Edwards was right. While 45.8 million Americans lack any health insurance, the top 20 per cent of earners take over half the national income. At the same time the bottom 20 per cent took home just 3.4 per cent. Whitaker put the figures into simple English. 'The poor have got poorer and the rich have got richer,' he said.

Dealing with poverty is not a viable political issue in America. It jars with a cultural sense that the poor bring things upon themselves and that every American is born with the same chances in life. It also runs counter to the strong anti-government current in modern American politics. Yet the problem will not disappear. 'There is a real sense of impending crisis, but political leaders have little motivation to address this growing divide,' Cynthia Duncan says.

There is little doubt which side of America's divide the hills of east Kentucky fall on. Driving through the wooded Appalachian valleys is a lesson in poverty. The mountains have never been rich. Times now are as tough as they have ever been. Trailer homes are the norm. Every so often a lofty mansion looms into view, a sign of prosperity linked to the coal mines or the logging firms that are the only industries in the region. Everyone else lives on the margins, grabbing work where they can. The biggest cash crop is illicitly grown marijuana.

Save The Children works here. Though the charity is usually associated with earthquakes in Pakistan or famine in Africa, it runs an extensive programme in east Kentucky. It includes a novel scheme enlisting teams of 'foster grandparents' to tackle the shocking child illiteracy rates and thus eventually hit poverty itself.

The problem is acute. At Jone's Fork school, a team of indomitable grannies arrive each day to read with the children. The scheme has two benefits: it helps the children struggle out of poverty and pays the pensioners a small wage. 'This has been a lifesaver for me and I feel as if the children would just fall through the cracks without us,' says Erma Owens. It has offered dramatic help to some. One group of children are doing so well in the scheme that their teacher, Loretta Shepherd, has postponed retirement in order to stand by them. 'It renewed me to have these kids,' she said.

Certainly Renae Sturgill sees the changes in her children. She too lives in deep poverty. Though she attends college and her husband has a job, the Sturgill trailer sits amid a clutter of abandoned cars. Money is scarce. But now her kids are in the reading scheme and she has seen how they have changed. Especially eight-year-old Zach. He's hard to control at times, but he has come to love school. 'Zach likes reading now. I know it's going to be real important for him,' Renae says. Zach is shy and won't speak much about his achievements. But Genny Waddell, who co-ordinates family welfare at Jone's Fork, is immensely proud. 'Now Zach reads because he wants to. He really fought to get where he is,' she says.

In America, to be poor is a stigma. In a country which celebrates individuality and the goal of giving everyone an equal opportunity to make it big, those in poverty are often blamed for their own situation. Experience on the ground does little to bear that out. When people are working two jobs at a time and still failing to earn enough to feed their families, it seems impossible to call them lazy or selfish. There seems to be a failure in the system, not the poor themselves.
It is an impression backed up by many of those mired in poverty in Oklahoma and Kentucky. Few asked for handouts. Many asked for decent wages. 'It is unfair. I am working all the time and so what have I done wrong?' says Freda Lee. But the economy does not seem to be allowing people to make a decent living. It condemns the poor to stay put, fighting against seemingly impossible odds or to pull up sticks and try somewhere else.

In Tulsa, Tammy Reinbold and her family are moving to Texas as soon as they save the money for enough petrol. It could take several months. 'I've been in Tulsa 12 years and I just gotta try somewhere else,' she says.
Savethechildren.org

From Tom Joad to Roseanne

In a country that prides itself on a culture of rugged individualism, hard work and self-sufficiency, it is no surprise that poverty and the poor do not have a central place in America's cultural psyche.

But in art, films and books American poverty has sometimes been portrayed with searing honesty. John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, which was made into a John Ford movie, is the most famous example. It was an unflinching account of the travails of a poor Oklahoma family forced to flee the Dust Bowl during the 1930s Depression. Its portrait of Tom Joad and his family's life on the road as they sought work was a nod to wider issues of social justice in America.

Another ground-breaking work of that time was James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a non-fiction book about time spent among poor white farmers in the Deep South. It practically disappeared upon its first publication in 1940 but in the Sixties was hailed as a masterpiece. In mainstream American culture, poverty often lurks in the background. Or it is portrayed - as in Sergio Leone's crime epic Once Upon A Time In America - as the basis for a tale of rags to riches.
One notable, yet often overlooked, exception was the great success of the sitcom Roseanne. The show depicted the realities of working-class Middle American life with a grit and humour that is a world away from the usual sitcom settings in a sunlit suburbia, most often in New York or California. The biggest sitcoms of the past decade - Friends, Frasier or Will and Grace - all deal with aspirational middle-class foibles that have little relevance to America's millions of working poor.

An America divided

· There are 37 million Americans living below the poverty line. That figure has increased by five million since President George W. Bush came to power.

· The United States has 269 billionaires, the highest number in the world.

· Almost a quarter of all black Americans live below the poverty line; 22 per cent of Hispanics fall below it. But for whites the figure is just 8.6 per cent.

· There are 46 million Americans without health insurance.

· There are 82,000 homeless people in Los Angeles alone.

· In 2004 the poorest community in America was Pine Ridge Indian reservation. Unemployment is over 80 per cent, 69 per cent of people live in poverty and male life expectancy is 57 years. In the Western hemisphere only Haiti has a lower number.

· The richest town in America is Rancho Santa Fe in California. Average incomes are more than $100,000 a year; the average house price is $1.7m.

Now what???

At the lake...

2009-04-27T23:42:00.005-05:00

This past Friday, the weather turned out to be a little warmer than forecasted...so after a week of the kids taking turns being sick...I took Amara & Madden to Lake Nebagamon for the afternoon. It is only a few miles down the road which is very nice.

The kids had fun throwing rocks into the lake and playing on the playground. We walked up the hill a little hoping Dairy Queen was open, but I think it opens after Memorial Day. So, we had a little lunch at a local cafe. :-) The area where we were is the public swimming area so I am sure we will be there lots this summer! I used to swim there all the time when I was younger...so it will be fun to see my children enjoy the same places I enjoyed as a young girl! There is a really big red raft that they anchor out a ways that has a diving board and is so much fun to jump off of. I took a few pictures (of course!) while they played. :-)

I can hardly believe how grown up Amara is getting. She is just a little doll! :-)

Two peas in a pod...they really have a lot of fun together. So silly!

Pushing the merry go round pretty hard!

Little ham!

Looking for good rocks to throw!

This just sums it all up...what a sweetie. :-)

Are You Believing Lies About Media?

2009-04-23T22:48:00.006-05:00

Are You Believing Lies About Media?

Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh

Two hundred years ago, what sounds could you have heard?
You could have heard things like human voices ... nature sounds ... musical instruments. You could not have heard sounds that were electronically produced. No radios, no TVs, no DVD players, no laptops, no iPods, no PS3 or X-Box ...

For the first several thousand years of history, humans were not bombarded with artificial stimuli. Further, they had relatively little information coming at them. All that has changed in this high-tech era when we live with an explosion of information and acute sensory overload. Technology today provides an amazing array of options that your parents and grandparents could not have imagined when they were teens. It has dramatically changed the way we communicate and relate to other people and has made it possible for us to be endlessly entertained with games, movies, TV programs, music, etc.

Many teenagers today go to bed with their iPods in their ears and wake up with them still there. After a quick shower, they plug them back in for the commute to school. During that commute, they may check their text messages or make a quick call on their cell phones. During the school day, they likely take every opportunity to check those text messages. At home, they settle in to watch a favorite DVD or spend a few hours of really deep conversation via instant messaging or on MySpace or Facebook:

U Up?
U2?
WUWH. J2L YK I think I passed my bio exam after all.
gratz.
G2GLYS.
FFCya
(If you need some help translating, check out the footnote at the end of this article.)

Resistant to change
No other generation has had so much technology at their disposal. We don’t believe that technology—whether used for social networking or entertainment—is inherently “bad”; it has its benefits. We do believe that using it mindlessly is a huge danger zone. We want to make sure that we’re controlling it and it’s not controlling us.

For our book, Lies Young Women Believe, we interviewed a number of young women, and our conversations with them revealed that this is an area where many are particularly resistant to change. You, too, may be tempted to “tune us out” on this one. We would appeal to you to put all your media on “pause” for a few moments, open your heart, and consider whether you may be believing any lies in relation to your media use. For example, one lie is:

“The benefits of constant media use outweigh the harm”

This was one of the most universally believed lies. Almost every young woman we spoke to (98 percent!) agreed that their media habits negatively affect their relationship with God and others. But they believed the benefits were worth it.

What kind of benefits?

“MySpace connects me to my friends.”
“I usually put on music when I want to quit thinking.”
“I’ll see a pretty girl on TV or on YouTube and she’ll be dressed a certain way and I know that’s what’s in style. So it pretty much keeps me in fashion.”

Need we go on? The girls themselves admitted that some of the benefits were pretty shallow and yet they could not seem to change their media habits.

If you think you are immune to behavior changes influenced by your media choices, think again. Horror novelist Stephen King once said, “Movies are the highest popular art of our time, and art has the ability to change lives.” We are not immune from buying what they want us to buy, dressing how they want us to dress, and valuing what they want us to value.

If you are taking in regular or significant doses of music, television, the internet, and movies, you are being affected by them. The question is: Are you being influenced positively or negatively? The impact is usually not felt immediately—it’s more like an IV in your arm that goes drip … drip … drip … gradually pumping a foreign substance into your system. If the substance dripping through that plastic tubing is toxic or poisonous, you may not feel the results right away, but once it gets into your system, your whole body will definitely be affected!

Here’s another lie about media:

“It’s not a waste of time ... even if it is, it’s okay”

A lot of the girls we spoke to estimated that they spend 25-35 hours per week online, text-messaging, and with their iPod in their ears or their brand new iTouch in their hand. We found it interesting that girls who were homeschooled were likely to have the highest number of hours. Many felt that this was absolutely fine. Here were some of their arguments:

‘‘Parents are just not used to it. I hate it when they get mad and they’re like ‘get off now!’ It is how my generation communicates.”
“It’s how I stay connected to my friends.”
‘‘Research proves that you can learn a lot of hand-eye coordination from computer games. “

As far as we know, no great athletic careers have ever been built on the hand-eye coordination learned from computer games, and great relationships are not built solely by instant messaging. We agree that there are some great uses of the media and young generations are comfortable with them. However, everything should have limits.

More and more research is proving that computers have the deadly potential to be addictive. That is—to put you into bondage. Proverbs 25:16 says, “If you find honey, eat just enough” (NIV). Maybe you’d get it better if it said, “If you find chocolate, eat just enough.” Have you ever over-eaten to the point of making yourself sick? Too much of even a good thing will make you sick!

We need limits for every area of our lives, including our media habits, or we risk being harmed or getting “sick” in our souls and our relationships. Those boundaries need to be established based on the principles of God’s Word and His best for you.

I (Nancy) can easily spend more time with entertainment media than I know is healthy. There are a couple computer games that I really enjoy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them and sometimes they provide a legitimate break from my work. However, I can get carried away with playing these games and end up wasting valuable time, energy, and effort that could be used much more productively. In the process, they (and other media) can subtly steal my heart and hunger for the Lord and His Word and cause me to isolate myself from relationships with others.

Because I know my tendency to get hooked on these things, I’ve had to establish limits for when and how long I can let myself enjoy things like computer games, television, movies, e-mail, music, and other media. Those limits have proved to be a great blessing—they have helped to guard my heart from spiritual “intruders” and have helped me cultivate greater passion for Christ and sensitivity toward others.

Can you quiet the noise?
Here’s one more thing we want you to think about. We’ve noticed that people who spend most of their waking hours plugged in to media—whether social networking media like MySpace, or entertainment media like iPods and television—have a hard time getting still enough and quiet enough long enough to think or to let God speak to them through His Word.
There is a richness of soul that cannot be cultivated without regular seasons of quiet and solitude. There is a depth in our relationships with God and others that cannot be experienced apart from times of unhurried, face-to-face conversation.

God may not direct you to establish exactly the same boundaries as we have for ourselves. But we want to urge you not to just “go with the flow” when it comes to your media usage. Be intentional about setting limits on what you’ll expose yourself to and how much time you’ll spend on-line, on your computer, or text-messaging each day or week.

Footnote: Here’s the translation for the text message we quoted: “Wish you were here … Just to let you know ... Congratulations … Got to go. Love ya so … Friends forever. See ya.”

Adapted with permission from Lies Young Women Believe, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh, Moody Publishers, 2008.

Easter morning...

2009-04-12T23:43:00.007-05:00

This Easter morning, we got ourselves together & went to our Easter Sunday service at church. It was a nice service. :-) Before we got in the car to go...I had to get a few pictures of the kids together in their Sunday best! I think they looked pretty cute....but a group shot is usually a challenge with our kids...especially with only 5 minutes to snap a few! :-)

After church, we went to my sister Shannon's house for Easter dinner and an egg hunt for the kids! They had a lot of fun! I'll post a few pictures from the egg hunt later.

It was a great day to remember the awesome sacrifice our God gave for us!

I was thrilled to see Makenzie & Madden had chosen blue raspberry ring pops to eat from their baskets this morning...love your blue lips, Makenzie! :-)

I love my girls!!! :-)

And my little man...my little love!!!!

It's always fun to play with color a bit...:-)

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an amazing love God has...to give his son for US. Have a blessed Easter.

I think this picture is beautiful...

The Hannah Montana Movie :: 2009

2009-04-11T11:02:00.004-05:00

Last night, I went with my sister and a few other friends with our daughters to The Hannah Montana movie. It was a really, really good movie. Clean, funny & I even enjoyed it! :-) But, then again, I like watching Hannah Montana on Disney...so I was just as excited. haha! Click below to view the trailer for the movie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkbK2CFibew

Love the soundtrack, too!!! :-) And Tim took the little ones to the Monsters vs. Aliens movie and thought it was cute. :-) They loved it.

Makenzie

2009-04-01T16:25:00.003-05:00

Makenzie loves to draw and write stories. She loves to make cards, too. :-) Here are a few of her latest cards she made for Tim & I. :-) Kind of cute. :-)

For me:

For Tim:

I didn't realize I cut off the bottom of the card when I took the picture...it says, "I love you. You ROCK!" Too funny.

Pre-K Screening...

2009-04-01T16:16:00.002-05:00

Today, Madden had an appt. for his Pre-Kindergarten screening. Wisconsin is really great in the fact that there is a statewide Pre-Kindergarten program that runs through the school district to prepare children for Kindergarten. It is a program that is funded by the state at no cost to parents! It is a great program and we appreciate being able to send Madden to a good, quality Pre-Kindergarten program of our choice in the area. We haven't chosen where he will go at this point because we are going to be moving after Makenzie is done with school into our own place. But, I still wanted to get him screened and set up so we just did the screening at Makenzie's current school. He did a great job and is where he should be! The Early Childhood screener said Madden is very bright and appears very eager to learn and has excellent language skills. His speech is still being worked on and is continually improving. He begins his new speech therapy at the end of this month at the Makenzie's elementary school. So, we are excited for him to get back into the swing of things so he can get a little extra help with his speech. Just a few pics outside after a great report! They gave the children a little goody bag with some fun stuff inside...so he was very excited!

Amara came along with us today, too. She enjoyed herself, too! :-)

April Snow Showers bring....???

2009-04-01T15:49:00.003-05:00

Yes. It's April 1st & we have gotten several inches of snow in the past 2 days. Sleet, snow & rain are taking their turn every couple of hours...so you can imagine...we will have a sloppy mess soon!

Just a few pics today to welcome this lovely month of April in Northern Wisconsin. :-)

The next few pictures are actually some of my daily morning attire when I bring Makenzie down to the bus. If you follow me on facebook...you will occasionally hear me talk about my "amazing" outfits that I wear to the bus stop. Fortunately, it is down at the end of our driveway and there is no one else at the stop. :-)

This hat is usually the only one in reach as I run out the door. My trendy, fun, brown winter hat seems to never be in plain sight. So, I grab the really nice, beautiful winter hat...

The ear flaps & brim make me smile...LOL!

And since I never invested in a pair of boots for myself in recent years...I have the pleasure of wearing these winter hiking boots that belong to Tim. I don't even know why he owns such ugly boots!!! Do you love my pajama bottoms??? I know...complete and utter Wisconsin hottie. :-) You don't even want to see the big winter jacket that I wear...since I only have a wool jacket this year. I should have gotten into our storage to get my other jackets...but I wasn't interested in digging through storage bins in -30 degree weather.

Good to remember!!! :-)

2009-03-24T11:44:00.001-05:00

Family Birthday Dinner

2009-03-17T13:39:00.004-05:00

I thought I took more pictures of our dinner with my family...but I didn't. So, here are a few more. We had a great time hanging out! Madelyn spent the night with us. We had fun!

Before everyone came over, I took a few pics of Makenzie wearing her Birthday Girl tshirt. :-) It is so cute. I have one for Amara, too, when it's her bday! :-)

How cute...sporting her "edge" bracelet from the waterpark...she wanted to leave it on for a few days. :-)

Amara, Carson & Madden...the three little rascals. :-)

I love how Madden got right in there to help her blow out her candles! :-)

Madden sneaking a finger lick of frosting. Gotta love homemade cake! It's our favorite!!!

Birthday Fun...

2009-03-17T13:08:00.001-05:00

Makenzie's bday has come and gone, but I finally uploaded some pictures from her special week long celebration! Her school district had their spring break during the week of her bday, so we spent the night at a hotel and then celebrated her real bday on the 5th and then had family over for pizza, cake & ice cream the next night. All of her cousins are in a different school district so they all had school during the week...

We went to the Edge Waterpark for a little celebration. http://www.duluthwaterpark.com/ We allowed her to choose one friend to bring along overnight, so she chose her friend from church, Kendalyn. The girls had a great time as did Amara & Madden...and us. It was actually really nice to do something more simple and not have a big party. :-) It was a great place. It's an indoor waterpark which features a lazy river, a water playground, an area of water activities, a hot tub, a whirly pool, a large arcade room & 2 waterslides (which Tim went down with Madden...it is pitch black inside. The one they went on...you have to use a tube...he came out looking a little scared, but said he loved it!) It's a great place to have around here because of the cold winters! Here are a few pics from the Edge...I will upload the ones from the family day later. :-)

Eating some cheeseballs...yummy!

Nana & Amara...Amara is still more interested in her cheesballs than smiling for me...lol.

The boys...

These were like these monkey bar ropes and the girls spent a ton of time here!

This was a pool that was strictly a whirlpool...it went around and around...Madden & Amara's favorite!

Madden loved the little slides!

And he loved the fountain sprays!

A little chilly...taking a break.

The girls in the lazy river...

The boys in the lazy river...going under the water sprays...

This is a huge bucket that gets filled up and dumps all over the play area every 10 minutes or so. Amara was a little afraid of it and the water dumping, but by the morning, she was sitting on the side of the pool area watching and getting "misted" on. :-) Here are Tim & Madden...

I love this one because you can see it coming, they can hear it...but it hasn't reached them yet!!

So fun!!!

Soaking wet!!!

Little tootsies...

A well-worn wrist bracelet pass...Amara loved it!

Opening Kendalyn's gift...

Singing to the birthday girl...

Amara enjoying her cupcake!

Happy Birthday, Makenzie!!!

Easier said than done, correct???

2009-03-17T11:37:00.004-05:00

Just a little political FYI. Both parties are guilty (especially presidential candidates) of promising many things based on what the people want to hear and then not being able to deliver on those promises. Therefore, it is probably a good rule of thumb to be careful what we promise...

Just a bad day...or is it?

2009-03-13T14:35:00.006-05:00

Ugh. It's really one of those days. You know...the kind of day where the sun is shining, you've gotten a lot of work done, ran a few errands...but yet, this black cloud seems to hovering over the top of my head...or is it?

Sometimes I feel like there is a black cloud overhead: I'm cranky, testy and feel like locking myself in my room by myself! Sometimes I keep thinking of more things that are annoying me and in turn, I feel even more crabby! And then, lo & behold, God reminds me that no one or no situation is making this black cloud hover. I am. It's usually a very quiet reminder because the crabby thoughts and wrong thinking are usually really loud. You see, every day is a new day...filled with people, circumstances, struggles and good stuff, too! But, it's how I choose to think and how I choose to view those issues that will determine if I have a black cloud over me or a big, white puffy cloud up there. :-) I have to admit...it's not always easy to choose to think positively. It's not always easy to choose good thoughts. Sometimes we just want to throw ourselves a pity party or have a complaining session. Guilty...right here...yes, me...I'm pointing at myself right now.

Overcoming difficulties in our lives no matter how little or how big they are require action that many times begins with simply "thinking" the right things and thinking more positively. I don't mean to use the word "simply" so matter of fact, because I know very well that our bad thinking can sometimes be our worst enemy! But, all things are possible with God. And sometimes I just have to tell God..."Yes, I'm crabby. Yes, I'm complaining. Yes, I'm having a pity party. But, God, can you just help me to think about what I am thinking about? Can you please help me to appreciate and be thankful for all that I have in my life? Can you please help me to be thankful for the lessons you are teaching me and the ways you are changing my attitude? Can you forgive me for allowing myself to think negatively? I need your help, God. Big time!" Sometimes I have to pray this and many prayers like this ALL day. And sometimes I make myself even more annoyed because I know I shouldn't be thinking negatively and then THAT annoys me! But, I am so grateful for a God that doesn't expect us to have it all figured out. I am grateful for a God that loves me so much that he helps me to realize when my attitude is out of line. I am grateful for a God that gives me second and third and many more chances because he knows that it is through our mistakes that we really learn how to live.

And in consideration of emotional women everywhere...enjoy the comic. :-) LOL!

Good old days...

2009-03-08T13:57:00.005-05:00

Yes, that's me in my blog header pic. :-) With my first doggy. :-) We had a little celebration for Makenzie the other night & we were all looking at old pics of all of us growing up. Since I'm the picture fiend, I have all of our family childhood photos & beyond. I have them all organized in a really large photo box. I remember when I organized them...it took me FOREVER...but I am so glad I did it a few years ago...because it's great to just pull out the big box and be able to go to a section of family photos and look at them! Maybe some day I'd like to get them into an album...but for now...they are safe in an archival photo box. :-) I have a few good ones on my facebook, too. Awww...the good old days. :-)

P.S. I know you all love my adorable outfit complete with my shrine circus hat. The red knit shorts pulled up to my neck really do wonders for me. haha.

Knock, Knock Jokes...

2009-03-07T14:04:00.002-06:00

Amara is always coming up with silly things. She is so funny! And she repeats many things that the older kids say...but sometimes re-arranges them to suit her little understanding.

This morning as she was sitting on the potty, she says to me:

"Knock, knock." I say: "Who's there?" She says: "Orange" so I say, "Orange, who?" And she gives me this huge grin and says..."Banana".

She almost understands the joke...remember...you say banana several times THEN you say "Orange you glad I didn't say banana again??" Ha-ha.

She is the silliest little girl and she's such a little peanut. She truly adds more silliness and fun to our family...if you can imagine we need any more. haha. We have quite the line up of comedians. :-)

Just a cute pic of Amara...I honestly never tire of taking pictures of my children. I could do a photo session a week if I had the time! :-)

Happy Birthday, Makenzie!!!

2009-03-05T22:37:00.004-06:00

Just a quick shout out to our girl, Makenzie! She turned 7 today! Where does the time go? We can hardly believe how grown she is already!

Makenzie is on spring break this week from school...so she was lucky to have a few celebrations! Today, we just spent a relaxing day at home & hit up the library this afternoon & stopped to pick up some cupcakes & ice cream. Makenzie chose to have Tacos for dinner...so we got all the fixins' for those, too. She was so excited & got some great gifts from Nana & Mom-mom & Pop-pop. Webkinz, Littlest Pet Shop playsets, books, etc. She loves her goodies!

I just went back through my blog & grabbed a few photos from age 3 & up...So, with no further a do...Happy Birthday, Makenzie!!!

Makenzie :: Age 3

Makenzie :: 4th Birthday

Makenzie :: 5th Birthday

Makenzie :: 6th Birthday

Makenzie :: Now!!!

This is the big, happy smile we adore!!! We love you, Makenzie!!!

Name Your Dream Assignment!!!

2009-03-05T00:09:00.006-06:00

I have entered a contest called "Name Your Dream Assignment"! Although, there are many, many entries...I'd love your help to vote for me! Below, is a description of my "Dream Assignment". If you like it...on the side of my blog or at the bottom of this post...you can click "pic it". :-) Let's go team Landis! haha. You do have to register to vote once you click (to prevent multiple votes from the same person)...I know...that really stinks. But, please do vote! My entry is below:

Future Generations

I would love to photograph children all over the U.S. being who they are. Beautiful, Simple, Silly, Crazy...just being kids. What a joy to show the world a very visible reason to keep our heads up during these difficult days in our country. We aren't just parents. We are role models, financial advisors, educators and heroes to the future generations.

I would love to see beautiful photos of children from every walk of life living out their exhuberance and innocence. In their schools, in their homes, in our parks...anywhere, really. I would love to start a campaign of large billboards with children's photos on them and simple childhood phrases on them. Some that may be familiar to us...things our parents may have told us. Sayings that are true, innocent, yet wise. Portraying to this country and to our world that our children; the future generations will have to live here when we're gone.

Let's show them how to care for our world. Let's show them how to care for others. Let's show them values, strength and respect. And most importantly, let's help them see that each one of them is unique. Each one of them is beautiful. Each one of them is special. Each one of them CAN make a difference.

No Robbers. :-)

2009-03-03T15:33:00.002-06:00

We spent the evening last night at an awesome hotel (which I will blog sooon!) for Makenzie's birthday. While we were packing up yesterday morning, Madden had his back pack all packed up with Transformers, etc. For some reason, he realized we were actually sleeping over at the hotel and started stuffing tons of toys in his back pack in a frenzy! I asked him what he was doing and he said with tears coming down his face and those sad, sad eyes..."I have to take all my stuff with me. The robbers might come and steal it!" I quickly put two and two together...Madden saw Home Alone over the holidays and loved it. But, realized that we were going away on a little "vacation/sleep over" and started thinking that robbers were going to come in like on Home Alone. After about 20 minutes of explaining & him asking questions that Home Alone is a story...and even though, yes, sometimes robbers can try to get into our houses, our house will be safe tonight.

It kind of made me realize that I can "say" that...but robbers could really break in! But, he was finally convinced we could leave his toys and all his "stuff" after we prayed and asked God to protect our belongings. :-) And also, that the police drive around and keep an eye on our houses. Oh my.

We made it home today and THANK GOD...NO ROBBERS. How in the world would I explain that one??? LOL!

Words from a 2 year old...

2009-03-02T10:39:00.006-06:00

Okay, us moms...we ALL have days when we feel like there is childhood turmoil at every turn! Screaming, crying, whining, whining and whining. Sometimes, I let out an occasional..."You kids are driving me nuts!!!". (yes, guilty as charged!) Well, today, I was having one of those mornings. I'm trying to get laundry done, bags packed up for an overnight hotel stay, kids all ready, myself all ready...when I was finally was at the top of my patience level for the day and had a moment of being driven nuts...and said, "You kids are driving me nuts!!!" I was quickly confronted by an adorable, naked toddler, who happened to be eating a pop tart and had crumbs all over her face as well as a big red ring of the inside of a pop tart all around her mouth.

She looked at me and said, "I'm not a nut. You're a nut. And I'm going to eat you."

She sure told me. And, boy is she wise beyond her whole 2 years of age. :-)

Below is a picture I took of a picture I saw once. It looks much like me on many days...haha. But, in all my teasing...I wouldn't trade any of it for anything! :-)

A little TARGET...

2009-02-27T20:28:00.002-06:00

I had to post these pics (and completely embarrassed that I actually was snapping away in Target!!!) but if we are planning on taking the kids somewhere & we ask Madden where he would like to go, he says he would like to go to Target or Walmart. And his reason??? To go to the toy section and see all the Transformers. It is a very hilarious (and mildly annoying at times) ritual that we have when we go to the store. We have a super Walmart that we do most of our grocery shopping at...so I grab the cart and Tim takes the kids to the toy section so Madden can "see" the Transformers. After our tiny photo session this day...I promised him we could go to Target to look at the Transformers. He has a ton at home...but he likes to show us the few he doesn't have and tells us he wants them for his birthday. :-) And if you ask him their names? He can name every last bloody one of them. LOL!!!! So, with no further a do...here is Madden in his glory at Target in the Transformer aisle. :-)

He could really sit and look at them for hours...

Holding his own "Jazz" because we can't go anywhere without a few Transformers...

This is a child who is clearly in his glory...oh my!!!

How can a mom say no to this face??? PLEEEEEEEASE he asks??? But, I had to. I get used to it by now. He can wait for his birthday!!! :-) But, sometimes he gets "lucky" if Nana is with and she lets him buy one. :-)

He seriously inspects them like an expert...

So sorry buddy...none today. :-( He seriously understands and says goodbye kindly to them and says "See you next time!!!" :-)

Valentine's Day...A bit of a late post. :-)

2009-02-27T20:17:00.005-06:00

I love Valentine's Day. So, I always make a big deal about it. Mainly, because I love to let the kids know that this is a day to show each other how much we love each other...and that we should do so every day! :-) I always make a nice meal for all of us, have some sort of dessert and some yummy valentines treats to share. :-) Per Tim's request, I made stuffed shells (YUM!) with garlic bread and then the girls and I made a heart shaped cake complete with delicious frosting & sprinkles. :-) We had candy hearts and lollipops for the kids treats. I always make sure I pick up some valentine plates, cups & napkins to eat from. The kids love to decorate for any occasion, so a few packs of cheap supplies always is a hit! :-) We had a great time sharing our love and Tim and I celebrated the following evening, thanks to my sis Amy & Andy watching the kids.

Just being cheesy with the candy hearts...but they were yummy!!!

Eating! (She had a bad cold & wasn't feeling the best. -( ...but she still had fun!)

Yummy cake!!

It didn't take long for this to be gone. :-)

I love this picture because look how dirty Makenzie's face is!!! LOL!

Amara's Dora valentine...She wouldn't let go of them for days!!!

Real Love

2009-02-27T15:59:00.001-06:00

Just a little excerpt from the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan that I wanted to share today:

"The best things in life are gifts from the One who steadfastly loves us. But an important question to ask ourselves is this: Are we in love with God or just His stuff?

Imagine how awful it would feel to have your child say to you, "I don't really love you or want your love, but I WOULD like my allowance please." Conversely, what a beautiful gift it is to have the one you love look you in the eye and say, "I love you. Not your beauty, your money, your family, or your car. Just you."

Can you say that to God?

Our love for Him always comes out of His love for us. Do you love this God who is everything, or do you just love everything He gives you? Do you really know and believe that God loves you, individually and personally and intimately? Do you see and know Him as God your Father?"

This is why I really like this book. When I read, yes, I like to be encouraged, but I love more than anything to be challenged. I love to know that the words and thoughts that challenge me, draw me closer to God to find out the "why's" and "how's" in life. Nothing is impossible. No amount of wrong behavior or wrong thinking on my part is too far off to be changed. And isn't that part of the reason as to why we are here? To find a faith and love in a God who made us for His purposes? No matter how big or how small those purposes are, we do have a purpose and who we are truly supposed to be and what we are meant to do begins in our hearts. For me, my life has been a constant struggle of negativity, bad attitudes and doubt. Over the last few years, it seemed as if God was putting extremely difficult people in my life. And I would wonder...why is my life full of difficult people? But, God has shown me that these people that I have viewed as difficult have been a source of showing me the junk and bad stuff in my own heart. I had to come face to face with attitudes in myself and deal with them. I had to learn to make choices as to how I was going to respond. I admit, more times than not, I let those situations bring out the worst in me. It's not easy when we've been taken advantage of, lied to, talked about, gossipped about, and belittled. But, nothing that anyone else does to me deserves the responses that I sometimes gave. I am responsible for myself and my own attitude. And the same goes for each of us. We are going to face difficult situations and difficult people. But, it is OUR choice how to respond/react.

Like I stated earlier, I have just been so grateful for the ways that I have been challenged through this book. It has ultimately led me to seek out God's book and really evaluate where I am in my own thinking and in my own heart. I am drawn to the ways Jesus lived. The simplicity of his words, yet the ability to change lives through his example. He sets the bar REALLY high. It's almost overwhelming at times to think that's how HIGH I have to lift myself up. But God gently reminds me that HE will lift me up that high. I just have to be willing to let Him.

Are you KIDDING me?!?!?!?

2009-02-16T10:18:00.002-06:00

Tabloids, celebrity news...yadda, yadda, yadda...but I couldn't help but stop & read this one going around. The whole bit about Jessica Simpson gaining weight and now she's FAT??? I just saw this picture from a link on my yahoo that referenced this photo being of the NEW, curvier & overweight Jessica Simpson. If she is considered FAT, then the rest of us are OBESE! I know people aren't supposed to look up to Hollywood or the media for opinions, etc. but when our culture (and ESPECIALLY our YOUNG GIRLS!!!) are being bombarded with these types of headlines & stories...it makes me want to freak out!!! This is just ridiculous. How sad. Dear God, please protect our daughters from these sad, sad opinions and outrageous claims!

Makenzie :: Just some winter fun...

2009-02-15T19:06:00.002-06:00

{I Posted The Same Pics on My Photography Blog As Well...so I apologize for the sideways photos...they are resized for my business blog. You can see them better at www.stacilphotographytheblog.com. Thanks!!!}
I enjoy being busy with work & I enjoy some down time, too. :-) When I have down time, I do like to keep busy shooting...so what better way to do so than to do mini-sessions with my own children?!?! Plus, I am still investigating different locations to do sessions this spring/summer. I really like this location I found right down the road from us. It's an old, abandoned one room school house. I had my eye on it this fall, but never had a chance to go over there and take a look around. I loved it! The actual school room is boarded shut, but there is a open porch on the front. The outside of it is really neat, too...but I'll wait until the snow melts to go back there. :-)

Makenzie is a very versatile subject. She's very good at following directions...even on a FREEZING cold day. :-) Here are some of the pics...

Perfect.

2009-02-06T13:45:00.009-06:00

As many of you know...I love music. I love music to cheer me up, to enhance my happiness, to have fun, to reflect, to worship, to cry...for a lot. I love all kinds of music and I show no favoritism or partiality to any genre or style of music. Yes, there are some I prefer more often than others...but it's all good!

Yesterday, as I had a random playlist playing on my ipod while on the treadmill, I came across a song that I hadn't heard in a while. Actually, I am not sure if I really ever listened to the words. As it played...it really intrigued me...so I listened to it again. The song is called "Perfect" by Alanis Morissette. The song portrays to me the kind of demands and expectations that parents whether intentionally or unintentionally place on their children. It just really spoke to me about how important our attitude, love, grace, discipline, forgiveness and acceptance are towards our children. I know many people who push, push, push their children or have been on the receiving end of that as a child. I am not talking about love and much needed encouragement...I am speaking of the constant assumption that their children need to be the best at everything, that winning is everything, that having more than someone else is important, that being who the parent wants them to be is more important than who God truly made their child to be or sadly, that being what they the parent never were and trying to live vicariously through their children.
We can all be guilty of these attitudes at one time or another...but I think it is something that is not always talked about. We all have expectations in life and we all have some sort of expectations as to what the people around us should exhibit and be like...including our children. Although my children are still relatively young, I look at them and all of the unique and amazing personality traits and qualities that God gave them and it makes me wholeheartedly want to love them, show them acceptance, show them forgiveness, show them unconditional love to the best of my ability, to provide comfort, sympathy, understanding when they are confused, sad or hurt, to encourage them to be all that God created them to be, to know that we are more than blessed and have more than many people in the world and most importantly, that God made each of them for a purpose and loves them more than even mommy and daddy do...which is hard to grasp! I recently heard a seminar from a psychologist that stated that: "The parents are the image of God to children. They view God through the image portrayed by their parents." WOW! What a responsibility we have then to make sure our own lives are in touch with the love and grace of God!

I don't say this as one who has no experience in being made to feel small by a parent. I grew up in a very dysfunctional home where God had to do an amazing work in my life for me to love and trust him and others...because the example I had been given was faulty by far. And in that understanding of the dysfunction I experienced...I have learned to forgive, to love and accept the place I came from. And I choose to love my parents as I know they understand the hurt they allowed us to endure by their own problems. This isn't to say...do whatever you want to your kids because someday they'll love you and forgive you! Not in a million years! One thing that I truly understand is that children are incredibly resilient and even if a parent has been doing things the wrong way up to this point or has made many mistakes...asking for forgiveness and choosing to change and do things right can change everything. And no matter how frustrated we get as parents with some of the things our children do, we must always seek to love, encourage and teach our children how to make good decisions by making good ones ourselves and apologizing when we don't make the best decisions. We must also, always be looking for the good in our children more than the not so good and make sure that we tell them how proud of them we are...daily. As I was getting my picture up...this little image popped up on photobucket and it said: "NOTHING you can do could make me love you less." That is how I want my children to feel.

Lyrics to the song "Perfect" by Alanis Morissette

Sometimes is never quite enough
If you're flawless, then you'll win my love
Don't forget to win first place
Don't forget to keep that smile on your face

Be a good boy
Try a little harder
You've got to measure up
And make me prouder
How long before you screw it up
How many times do I have to tell you to hurry up
With everything I do for you
The least you can do is keep quiet

Be a good girl
You've gotta try a little harder
To make us proud
I'll live for you
I'll make you what I never was
If you're the best, then maybe so am I
Compared to him, compared to her
I'm doing this for your own good
You'll make up for what I blew
What's the problem...why are you crying

Be a good boy
Push a little farther now
That wasn't fast enough
To make us happy
We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect.

Amara Mae...Our Little Girl

2009-02-03T21:50:00.004-06:00

This past Saturday, we had a beautiful day here in the Great North! :-) Tim had taken the older two to the movie "Hotel for Dogs", which they really loved! Although, Tim said that there is a sad part in the movie and he looked over at Madden and he had a big tear running down his face...and then snuggled close to Tim and said he didn't like movie theatres anymore. :-( But, he made it through and had fun on a Daddy date with his big sis!

So, Amara and I stayed at home and we played out in the snow for a little while...and when I realized just how beautiful it was...I ran her in...got her dressed in this adorable sweater I purchased for her (with high hopes of getting the opportunity to take her pictures in it!) and we had a mini-photo session. She is really starting to love the camera a bit. She can follow instructions to some degree...until I demand a little "too" much....then she runs away. :-)

Also...Amara is sporting her adorable new haircut! Her hair was just getting a little crazy...so we got it cut in early January! I haven't had time to blog her first haircut...but I am planning on it! I was SO afraid that she would lose her curls...but her hair has decided to stay somewhat curly/wavy...so we'll see! :-)

Yes, those are your eyes. :-)

This one is my favorite! Amara's eyes aren't the easiest to photograph...they tend to squint when she smiles...this one I can see how pretty her little eyes are! :-)

And after a fun afternoon outside...and a little photo session...Amara was spent. :-)

How can I forget???

2009-01-29T14:42:00.004-06:00

I was having so much fun looking at some of my pictures on my computer...I could not help but share some random pictures & a few are some of my favorites from the past year or so...some silly, some sweet, some just pics. :-)

I am SOOOO sorry Madden! But, this is adorable!!!

This is what it actually looks like when you ask someone if you could hide in their luggage and go along with them on vacation...

Crazy Love...

2009-01-26T20:05:00.003-06:00

I love to read. I love to read, A LOT! But, over the last few years, I haven't been able to pick up many books...just because. Having little ones just didn't allow me to spare a few minutes of reading...so I just got used to reading Rainbow Fish & The Napping House...a few of my favorite children's books I might add. :-)

Anyway, Tim had purchased this book called "Crazy Love", by Francis Chan. It took him a while to actually start reading it...but once he did, he shared bits & pieces of what he was reading. I was reading something else at the moment so I wasn't sure I'd read it. But, then one day, I wasn't feeling very good...so I was lounging and picked up this book. I was hooked. I felt like I could relate to the author so much and it made me want to dig deep into God's word, study and just read his word. I finished Crazy Love in a matter of a few days and I can honestly say that my life has never been the same. Nor can it. This book tugs deep at the heart of humanity and creates a desire to live like Jesus and be all that you were made to be. So, on that note...I am recommending it to EVERYONE! Please, even if you don't love to read...it is an easy read, it's not long...but it is filled with so much awesome stuff. :-) I just ordered the teaching dvd today as I am going to be leading a small group of girls with this book & dvd guide. I am so excited!!!

You can go visit the website:
http://www.crazylovebook.com/

And my picture stolen from amazon.com...clearly identifiable by the "Look Inside" image. LOL! :-)

We are extremely grateful...

2009-01-26T18:51:00.004-06:00

After 4 1/2 months of living here in Wisconsin and searching for a job, Tim has finally gotten a job! We are so extremely grateful and so blessed. God knows just what we need...and when we need it. :-) Although, I've been very busy with my photography and was able to contribute and help with the bills...we were in great need for Tim to get a stable job. He had applied EVERYWHERE and only had 2 interviews. In this economy and so many people looking for work and businesses firing and laying off employees and not hiring...Tim is so fortunate to have gotten this job. It is exactly what we needed! And although the waiting, stress and uncertainty was difficult...God had plans of his own to do some wonderful things in our hearts and in our lives. A different perspective and looking at the world through the eyes of having very little taught us so much about ourselves and what we want to make important and strive to do in our lives. We may not have millions, we may not have a big house and fancy things...but we have each other, beautiful, healthy children and a love secured on the grace of God...not on anything else. What the world may view as important is not our perspective and we find great peace in knowing that we should never expect to have tons of things, nor should we ever believe we deserve more than we have through the efforts of our own hands. It is God who supplies all of what we have and these "things" in life can be gone tomorrow. If God so chooses to bless us with worldly possessions, that is up to him. But it is not our job to seek after those things. If we trust him, trust in his word and live our lives according to the example Jesus gave us...we know that we are fulfilling the purposes we were created for. Everyone has their opinions on worldly possessions and not everyone agrees with how we feel...neither are we saying that you have to be poor or should we strive to be poor...but everything in our lives...whether worldly riches or relationships...they are all a matter of our hearts. That is the truth of it all...our motives, the reasons we do what we do and don't do and who we truly are...that is what is most important.

We'd like to thank everyone for your support and prayers on behalf of our family. Tim started last Monday...so he is in week 2. He really likes what he is learning and feels it will be a great job. He is working for Apria Healthcare & is responsible for distributing all of the medical supplies to the hospitals, clinics and/or homes receiving care. He will also be setting up some of the equipment for the homes that require oxygen and other various technical supplies. He said it is a lot of paperwork so some of his day will spent at his desk completing those types of duties. The hours are 8:30-5:00 M-F & full benefits. We are looking forward to the stability of a full time job with stable income and benefits. It's been a long time because of Tim being self employed for so many years in the past. The hours are perfect for my still being able to keep doing my photography business and having the weekends to either spend together and for me to do photo sessions. I am expecting a full work load this summer...so we may have the kids in some sort of care (either with family or a program) during the summer 2 days per week so I can get my work done...so hopefully that will work out well so I can get my work done during the day as I don't think I can handle pulling all nighters and/or working until 3 a.m. anymore. It gets really wearing and I don't think it's healthy either! Plus...I want to be able to be with my children and not be exhausted!

God is good...ALL the time. :-)

A few Christmas pics...

2009-01-17T15:36:00.004-06:00

Granted...I took these at the end of October on a 65 degree day...but I had a few on my computer...so I figured I would post them since I forgot to do it during the holidays...then it counts as a blog update. :-)

Infamous Cookie Making :: The Snowmen

2009-01-10T12:20:00.002-06:00

These snowmen cookies have quite the history. For the past 3 years (or more??) I had participated in the BEST cookie exchange of all time! And Karen made the BEST snowmen cookies. Every year...I would look forward to eating them! Well, since I am not in PA anymore, I attempted to participate...um, not so hot. I make a batch worth of 5 recipes of my cookies...note to self...do not attempt to do more than a double-batch. Yep, the first time ever...Staci's Chocolate Chip Cookies did not turn out. I didn't say they didn't taste good...they just were flatter and thinner than I have ever seen. :-) So, needless to say...in the midst of a snowstorm/blizzard...I was not able to go and get more cookie supplies...so I had to disappoint. :-( BUT, I had the recipe for the snowmen cookies...so I gathered my kids and their cousins & we rolled up our sleeves, got our taste buds out & made the delicious snowmen cookies! YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! They were good!

Makenzie decorating & tasting...

Amara's delicious creations...

I thought this picture was funny...sisters...both tasting their frosting! :-)

Ya gotta taste some of the fixins'!!!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-08T18:47:00.003-06:00

Christmas...gosh, where to start. We've had a very crazy time since we've moved here to Wisconsin. When we made the move at the end of August...we never thought that it would be January & Tim would still be without work. It's been stressful and humbling all at the same time. But, through the past several months...God has really shown us that HE alone is the provider of all we have...even when we do have work. He has shown us his faithfulness to supply all of our needs & then some. This incredible journey...not only in life, but the journey Tim and I are venturing on both spiritually and emotionally is beyond words. I couldn't possibly discuss Christmas of 2008 without giving all the glory and honor to God...and his son, Jesus.

As Christmas approached this year...and Tim not having a steady income...we did mildly discuss our plans for Christmas. Yes, we know that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus...we know the real reason for Christmas...but in the humaness of our hearts...we were crushed that Christmas would be very far out of reach for us...gift wise towards our children and our family. I think I had the most difficult time dealing with not having much at all to give...because I am a giver. I love to give. I just find such incredible joy giving gifts to others, I love giving my children's clothes to others, baking & cooking for others...anything really. So, to imagine a Christmas that we may not even be able to give our children gifts...it really crushed my spirit a bit. But in my hurt and frustration, God saw our hurt in it all and we received a phone call from our church expressing that their hearts went out to us this year and they wanted to help give our family a special Christmas. I don't even remember much of our conversation as she asked what our children liked & enjoyed...tears just poured down my face as I knew that God knew my heart and he cared about even the little things in our lives. As the month of December continued on...we were so humbled by the generousity of so many people in our lives as well as strangers on occasion. We received anonymous gifts of money, gas cards and many gifts from friends and family as well. We appreciated everything so much! I honestly had a difficult time talking for any length of time about our situation during the past few months without my heart being lodged in the back of my throat and tears continuously running down my face.

When we received the gifts from our church and from the many wonderful people in our church...words cannot express what we received. We received so many gift cards for us to go buy our children things we wanted to get for them as well as several boxes full of gifts that others had picked out for them. And on top of the gifts, we got a large box full of toiletries and other little goodies for our family. I am still picturing the back of our car as we drove away from the church with the gifts we had received. I still cannot understand why God cares about us so deeply that he even cares about the little things in our lives. He sees the big picture and only he knows the admiration and humility he grew in us from such an amazing blessing and the growth he is continuing in us as we search the heart of God for answers to what he truly wants from us in life and what he wants us to do with what we do have. When we got home that evening to go through all of the boxes and gifts, it was very clear...that even in our situation...our children and our family would have one of the best Christmas's we would ever have to date. What an awesome opportunity it was to share with our children the love of God and his people. And even though our children are small and don't quite understand the situation in it's entirety...they know quite well that God supplies all of our needs and he cares about us more than we could ever understand.

Now, enjoy all the photos I took of our children opening up some of their gifts from Mom-mom & Pop-pop! I did take some of us opening up our gifts with our children...but we mainly used that opportunity to spend some beautiful time with our children and family...so my camera stayed put away most of the day. :-) I took TONS of pictures during this time...how could I resist???

Amara was first...

Then, Madden...

Then, Makenzie...

After they all opened one...we let them all open at random...

Madden is hugely into TRANSFORMERS...so all his gifts were on those lines!!!

A little break from playing with their goods!!!

I loved some of the light coming in from the windows in my mom's family room...so I just kept snapping away! :-)

We LOVE sledding...sliding...snow fun...cold!!!

2009-01-02T21:08:00.003-06:00

The kids absolutely LOVE sledding! They love getting all bundled up and the giggles and laughter...okay and sometimes frustration (when they have to walk all the way back up the hill over & over & over!!) We had so much fun out with the kids...well, Tim had so much fun & I had fun watching & taking pictures of course...I haven't invested in boots & snowpants yet. :-) I just help Amara get up the hill! :-) I was laughing so hard over this little Amara girl....she is one tough cookie & LOVES sliding. She is hilarious. She has the biggest smile on her face as she goes down the hill...well, take a look for yourself!!!

Oh, I love these smiles!!!

Makenzie is a pro now...they have a sliding hill at school and the school has sleds for the children to use during recess...she just LOVES it!!!

Madden has so much fun!!!

Getting a little pull up the hill...

Amara going down with Noah...she's a tummy rider...she's not afraid of snow in the face!!!

Taking a break as they walked back up the hill...my loves!!!

Noah!!

They got warmed up on the smaller hill...then headed over to the bigger hill...

Noah made a few small jumps...

Makenzie's turn...

Tim thought he should go down the bigger hill with Amara first...

But...he was a little too big to go down with her...so they started to tip...look at her face! She's laughing!!!

Doggy-pile on daddy!!!

Now what should I do???

So, Amara is going alone...

And taking her own spill...she loves it!

Madden!!!

He loves to run and dive into the snow!!!

And this is the best...you can see the idea unfolding...and I happened to catch every pre-meditated minute of it!!! :-)

I can't believe she actually had this in mind. She's a fighter! :-) Throwing snow in her big brother's face???

Maybe having a moment of regret? :-) Doubt it. She got him good!!!

Snow storm fun...

2008-12-29T16:51:00.002-06:00

I just had to add this because during our "Blizzard" we had a few weeks ago...we all decided to go stay at my sister Amy's house & get snowed in! We had so much fun hanging out...more pictures to come, too...as we all ventured out to Carson's birthday party (during the blizzard) in which I took some pictures of it all as well as cars stuck that Zak & Andy helped, etc. which I submitted photos to the local newspaper & were published...but besides the point...during all of this chaos...the older kids were playing football in the house & one of Andy's very special pictures got broken. The kids felt really bad & ended up being put on cleaning the house duty & snow duty...but they felt the need to express their little hearts on Carson's drawing board...these are too cute to not post!

Yes, we're here!!! :-)

2008-12-29T16:43:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while. :-) We've been so busy enjoying time off from school, time with family, fun in the snow & all the festivities that go along with Christmas! I'd have to say the highlight of the past few weeks has been all the snow we've gotten! The kids have been so incredibly excited about all of the snow! We've really enjoyed sledding (or sliding as us Wisconsin-ers call it!!!) and the kids have had a lot of fun making snow forts & and going for four wheeler rides in the snow. I've taken so many pictures of the kids playing out in the snow...so these are in no particular order...just lots of fun! :-) These were from the first time Amara & Madden went out in the snow while Makenzie was at school. Madden is OBSESSED with Transformers....so he pretended to be all sorts of Transformers in the snow. You'll see...

This is Jim's plow...I had to sit them up on it...so cute!!

Snowflakes in the eye...

Cleaning off the car...

Despite how much he likes to pick on Amara...Madden really loves his little sister!

Madden insisted on climbing over this big snow bank & the snow on the other side was really deep. He wasn't concerned until he started to get stuck! :-)

I have a whole bunch from our sledding fun...but I don't have enough time to post them. I will do that soon so check back! They are so cute! :-)