NYE

Ya know, there's nothing like catching up only to get behind again! I have lots of pictures I need to go through. It's snowing so maybe I'll have that opportunity AFTER I play with my boy and the sled!!!! New Years Eve day was kind of a stressful one for personal reasons. I did however, get to purchase my 50mm lens that day and have had and awesome time since with it. I had a good time photographing the princess on NYE. I didnt make it to midnight. I think I zonked out around 11... for the fourth year in a row!

Valentine Cards

Basketball

It seems I've been breathing basketball lately. Not that I mind a whole lot. Football is my favorite sport but basketball comes in second easily. Last week was a tournament with games every night for six straight nights. This image happens to be one of my favorites from the week. I've been using my 50mm 1.8 lens at the games. I'm plesantly suprised. While it focuses slower than my other lens, the amount of light it lets in is awesome. I'm definately going to get a faster zoom lens with my tax return. It just depends on how much I get back on whether I get to spring for a new or used Canon or purchase a Sigma!

More basketball images can be found at
Snap Shot Moms

50 mm fun

My brother bought me a gift card to a local camera store and so did my mom and dad. I went in the store with my list of wants a mile long, knowing full well I couldn't make a dent in the list with the budget I had. I also thought I would get asked to leave drooling over a new camera and studio lighting. I've been buying from this store for the last ten years. I think I have the same salesman everytime I go in there. I toyed with waiting until after my tax return to make my purchase and let my gift cards add to the return. I also toiled with trying to buy lighting equiptment and paying the difference out of my measly savings account but really didn't want to do that either. I wanted to test out a new lens for a while now. While my budget is far from the 2.8 zoom lens I've ohh so wanted for a while, I could afford a fixed lens with a low aperture. So, I plumped down my $5 cold hard cash and my two gift certificates for my new lens!

My first few images with the 50mm 1.8 Canon lens.... toys are the Princess's exersauser.

Before texture.....


With texture added.

Nearly Forgot

Going through pictures and blogs that I've started, I nearly missed this set. My dad and mom took me and my blue eyed boy to see the Christmas Lights. Rhema Bible College has a huge light display that you can both drive and walk through.

Lots and Lots and Lots of lights!


This "tunnel" bridge and lights around it are set to music. My mom and my boy are walking into the blue lights.

A couple steps in the music later.....

I think my boy had a good time!

Playing in the Christmas Snow

I wanted a white Christmas and my son and I had a wonderful time playing in it. Some of the snow is still on the ground in fact. Then again it is like zero out and only supposed to get in the teens for highs tomorrow.
The weekend after Christmas, the temperatures, though still just below freezing were tolerable enough to have a good time. Uncle Bubba took Squirt on a 4-wheeler ride.

I'm pretty sure that Uncle Bubba had just as much if not more fun than Squirt playing in the snow.

I decided to play with a little texture and color before going to bed this evening.

Christmas No 5 - Last One

The last Christmas celebration I went to was at Mike's parents house. Mike has one brother and six nieces and nephews. Mike's parents are really very nice and I love 'em to pieces. I actually met his parents before I met Mike, his mom introduced us about six years ago. I'm not sure what took us so long to pursue something beyond friendship though.

The Princess was definitely spoiled this Christmas, several times over.

His mom.

His Dad.

Both his parents kinda adopted me as a daughter several years ago. I won a free poker tournament one time with over 200 players, many people were calling Mike's parents to congratulate their daughter. They definately adopted my son as one of their own grand kids before he was born. His mom threw the first baby shower.

Christmas No 4

I'm slowly but surely getting caught up....
Christmas Number 4 for me was spent on my dad's side of the family, which is rather large in number. There was still a LOT of snow on the ground the Saturday following Christmas. The area I was in did little to clear the streets and highways. I tried to get out of my driveway one time and was easily stuck in a drift which my brother had to pull me out of. Mike had plans to attempt to get to his Grandparents. We'd split ways for those particular Christmas celebrations then meet back at my house. He decided against that but also decided to sit it out at my house rather than go to my celebration. I didn't stay very long myself. I ate, opened presents and headed slowly back home.

This isn't all the clan. One family of four wasn't able to make it. Some are in the kitchen and some are in this rooom but I couldn't manage to get in the photo. There are five of the seven siblings in my dads family and their wives here, 23 of the 25 grandkids (counting wives, fiances, better halves) were also there along with seven of the nine great grandkids (another will be added in 2010). The living room got a little crowded as we sang Silent Night, Away In A Manger and Jingle Bells before opening presents.

Two of the greats teamed up against the youngest grand.

My boy got firefighter outfit, perfect to go with the fire truck Mike bought him.


The greats are pretty cute kiddos, this would be the youngest.

This is an immediate cousin (parents are bro and sis) to the cutie above and are five months apart.

This one and my son are year apart almost exactly!


The last Christmas celebration I attended this year, round five, I'll post next!

Christmas Day

The blizzard warning prooved nothing to laugh at in my area. It started as blowing sleet and then turned to a COLD blowing snow. Some areas near me had 12 inches in a matter of a few hours. It was very slick. I woke up Christmas morning pretty much stranded at my house.
The snow wasn't the best for snowman building as it was on the dryer side, but my son had a blast!!!

He knew excatly what he wanted to do first... snow angels!

Momma had fun too! ;)

Thank goodness for Daddies and Lil Brothers with 4x4 trucks. We were able to load up and head to my grandparents for a terrific lunch.

Squirt shows papa and grandma the games he has on his momma's phone!

The Princess had a really good Christmas. She loved her dolls and being able to sit up like a big girl!

For those who actually read this, this would be Christmas Number 3 with two more to finish blogging about!

Christmas No 2

Christmas number 2 was at my house. We arrived at my house as the snow was beginning to collect on the porch railing and everything else in site. We waited for my brother and parents to arrive with their collection of gifts and the special guest.

The lights glowed on my porch while the snow fell. The first ever blizzard warning was issued for my area. It snowed at least 10 inches in a matter of a few hours.

From the porch looking inside my house to my family my Christmas tree with presents under every branch.

The kids in front of the Christmas tree with ALL the presents under waiting to be torn into.


Santa came with a few extra suprises. The princess got her first Cabbage Patch doll. The baby girl was born within a week or so of her birthday.

Squirt asked for one present everytime someone would ask. He wanted a Rocky the Robot Truck. Santa was able to find one for him this year and bring it to him.

Thank you Santa!!!

I started a tradition with Squirt's first Christmas. Each year he gets a set of Christmas PJs. We put them on to open presents. After Santa left we hurried to change so we could open the rest of the presents.

It's not Christmas at my house without at least one new John Deere tractor in the mix.

Christmas No 1

Christmas didn't fall into the pattern that I thought it would but it was a really good weekend nonetheless.



My plan on Christmas Eve day was to clean and bake goodies, go to the candle light communion at the church where I run the graphics, then to Grandmas for dinner. I planned to end up at my house with several guests including Mike's mom and dad, my parents and brother and even a big round man in a red suit carrying a load of presents for all in attendance. The threat of storm threw everything off schedule pretty early in the day.



I got a call that we were going to move the celebration and dinner up at Grandma's to 3. I hurried to finish the graphics for the evening service, thinking the entire time I was working on them that the service would be canceled to do weather. I didn't get my baking done, nor my housed fully cleaned as intended. We met at Grandma's for pizza at 3. We left my house just as it started to sleet.



Growing up my entire life, Santa has shown up at my grandma's house on Christmas Eve with a sack full of presents for everyone in attendence. One of my favorite Christmas memories is the year that my dad and Santa had the same orange cowboy boots. I began to realize that someone, Papa, my uncle or my dad would always have something happen about the time that Santa would arrive. They would have to check cows or run to town or something. As the second youngest grandchild grew older, it was hinted that Santa may not be frequenting his stop at Grandmas. The youngest grandchild came along however, to keep the tradition living. Then as he grew older my son, the only great grandchild on that side of the family. The last few years we've taken the names we have drawn to buy presents for and placed them in the bag.



This year because he was the only person young enough to experience and appreciate the magic of Santa, it was decided to begin this tradition at my house rather than "invite" Santa to my grandparents' house.



We still drew names for the gift exchange around Thanksgiving so we opened presents shortly after the meal.

My brother runs the sound system right along side of us and we learned sometime after arriving to Grandma's that the evening service would indeed be cancled. By 730-8 we began to disperse to brave the storm home. By this time the sleet had become quite a layer on the vehicles and roads and the first ever blizzard warning was being sounded by the weather man. We loaded up to leave as well to prepare for Christmas Number 2 at my house.

Here are some images of Christmas No. 1

The Princess enjoyed the wrapping and seemd to pick up on tearing into the gifts pretty quickly.

The first of many hot wheels to be opened by Squirt.


Squirt doesn't ALWAYS like having a shutterbug mom!