What Dreams May Come

Emma Blu's Christmas Care Package

2011-12-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun taking these pictures!

Usually I just have the kids go out to the back yard and I take their picture there but this time I planned it out.

We have an VERY old cemetery here that I thought would be perfect for some Halloween pictures. They claim it is haunted and believe me... I would never go by here after dark. Very creepy!

This was my first trip here and it was actually kinda interesting looking at the old gravestones and there is a lot of history here including the burial of some Buffalo Soldiers.

I really like how Isaiah looks in this one. Abbie is usually the serious looking model but I think Isaiah pulled it off good for this picture.

A few months back a friend of mine found this Little House on the Prairie looking dress and I thought it would be perfect for some black and white pictures.

I still need to down load pictures of our busy day today but I wanted to blog these for my scrapbook.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween!

2011-10-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

"Please oh please Mr. Immigration officer... give us our approval already!"

Pumpkin Picking!

2011-10-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went out to the corn maze and had some fun!

We are having the most amazing weather here. Cool in the mornings but still warm in the afternoon!

So... a perfect day for this!

Every pumpkin that they passed, and could pick up, was "the one" they wanted. After a little coaxing... Abbie put this one back. =)

Unfortunately with the drought we had this year, the pumpkins were not the best but we managed for find a couple decent ones.

I think this cow ride was the hit of the day for both kids.

These homemade chips were so yummy! Abbie, who's a ketchup fanatic, was in heaven with these.

We had a fabulous time at the corn maze.

I just love this time of year!

Adoption update

2011-09-27T17:38:00.001-07:00

Yes... I'm absolutely in LOVE with this picture!

I have stared at it for hours and I'm framing this one for sure!

As far as the progress on our adoption goes... it is slow going. I remember posting a couple months ago how the China dossier was much easier than the Guatemala dossier. I take back every word I said!

I cant tell you how many e-mails I have received and written back and forth from our social worker and agency in the last few months. I'm thinking our social worker is new to the Hague requirements and there were times she would ask us the same questions over and over.

We started our homestudy thinking it would take 6 weeks and it took right at 3 months!

I am trying to stay calm and not stress out and I finally got my paperwork sent off to immigration today. YAY! I'm only lacking a couple documents to complete the dossier and then doing everything to zip through the certification and authentication the fastest way possible.

I have been asked when we expect to travel to China and just by guessing I would say May or June. So far I have tried to stay off the forums and yahoo groups for now so I'm not really not clear on wait times and so forth. I remember in our adoption wait for Abbie and Isaiah I was obsessed and I couldn't stand to be away from the computer for fear I would miss something.

I definitely learned patience with Abbie's adoption but knowing I have a little girl with medical needs is not easy. On my next post I will share with you more about my little Maomingster (She's lives in Maoming, China) and I'll tell you what we are naming her. I think it fits her perfectly! =)

Disney World 2011

2011-09-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Our visit with Mickey and his friends have come and gone.

We had a super fun time as you can imagine!

When we were boarding the airplane getting ready to head to Florida, we realized that we forgot our double stroller and thought "oh no!" But we soon found out that these two tough cookies didn't miss it at all. They walked their little legs off and didn't complain one bit.

I don't brag too often about my kids but I'm about too...

They were soooooo good this whole trip. In fact on our last day we had a couple stop to tell us they had been watching the kids and they wanted to let us know how good they thought they were! I was a proud Mamma!

As soon as we checked in the first thing on our list was to scope out the resort and see what the pool looked like. And yes... it was FABULOUS!

We just dipped our toes in and then took off to Hollywood Studio for the evening.

Our first ride of the evening was Toy Story

A popular one for Ray because he got to shoot at things!

And this was one of Isaiah's proudest moments of the trip!

He made it to 40 inches! He felt so big the entire trip and every time he was asked to get measured... he did it proudly! In fact when they didn't ask him, he wanted someone to acknowledge his height so he could let them know that he was a big boy this year and could ride all the bog boy rides.

I have to mention (and I need to scan our pic of it) that Abbie rode Space Mountain this year! She BARELY made the height requirement. I think she had some high soled shoes to do it but she did... and she rode right smack dab in the front of the spaceship! The lady even asked several times if she was okay to ride it and she was! If you have never rode this ride, I can tell you it is scary even for me and I get nervous going on it! But thrill seeker Abbie loved every second of it!!!!

I think we met every princess there is. We had dinner and breakfast with them which was a big highlight for the kids. Isaiah loved it just as much as Abbie did.

Nothing special about the Kermit picture. I just like it! =)

And I also like this one. =)

We almost made it around Epcot this year.

I don't know how we missed the GM Test Drive ride the past two times at Disney World/Epcot but know that we've been on it, it has become one of our favorite rides.

This is our third year in a row going to Disney World and I cant believe all the things we had missed as were just seeing now.

We had never seen Fantasmic at Hollywood Studio's, The fireworks show at Epcot, rode Star Tours or had seen the Beauty and the Beast Show.

LOVED IT!

And can you believe how many pictures I'm popping up in!?! lol

I made it a point to be in some this year. I've realized lately that there are not many of the kids with me and especially us together as a family.

This is probably my favorite Character picture with the kids. They both actually were looking at the camera at the same time! Plus... they lovedddddd Alice. Her and Mary Poppin's spent a lot of time with the kids at our breakfast. In fact I need to upload a video of Isaiah talking to Mary Poppin's. He asked if he could go to her house and told her about all the fun things they could do together! lol

On Friday and Saturday Night we were up super late at The Night of Joy. This was a two day concert and we got to see Toby Mac, Skillet, Mercy Me, Newsboys, Jeremy Camp and Jars of Clay.

So on Sunday, our last full day, we took it easy and hung out by the pool mostly.

Bye bye Mickey! See you in a year or two!

On or next Disney World vacation we will need to buy another pair of ears and do everything all over again for guess who???? (Actually we just use the kids as an excuse for Ray and I to go over and over again, don't tell anybody)

The Tower of Terror

2011-09-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

The "OH SO SCARY"...

Tower of Terror!

And the actual picture of their terror

before going on this ride!

More pictures of our Disney trip to come!

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-09-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Xin Luo

2011-08-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple more pictures that I found of our little Xin Luo. I think these were taken at the beginning of the year.

This week I was so lucky to be able to connect with another adoptive Mom who is traveling to China in a few days to pick up her gorgeous daughter. She has volunteered to take a small package for Xin Luo from us and she also got us connected to the directer of the Children's home that sponsors Xin Luo!

(thank you Cathie!)

I was THRILLED to get a update as well as a few questions answered about Xin Luo's health. She is doing awesome and she just received a physical a few weeks ago. She is being loved and as you can tell by the pictures she's as happy as can be.

I was told she smiles all the time!

(Xin Luo is the one clapping)

I'm starting to get VERY anxious about getting our Dossier done and to China. I'm STILL waiting on our final copies of the homestudy to be approved from our agency which should be any day now. I'm hoping to have our I800-A submitted by the end of next week. Good thing is there's a USCIS office right down the street from my work and... I know the officers direct phone # from our last two adoptions. So... maybe I can speed things up a bit?!?

A girl can hope right?!

First day of school

2011-08-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Where oh where have my babies gone?!

As usual I was rushed and was running late so I and only took a couple spur of the moment pictures before school.

They did have a fabulous first day today. Isaiah tells me over and over that he's officially a big boy now since he's going to

pre-k.

Abigail acted like a pro since she is the "bigger" girl and headed right off to her Kinder class.

I just love this bottom picture and how Isaiah came out after school. He thought everyone was there watching and waiting for him. He waved, he smiled and thought he was "the man".

I think he is too!

Soccer Days

2011-08-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Our first year of soccer has come and gone.

We didn't win any games but we had some fun.

And looked super cute doing it!

Not sure if they'll play it again.

They were both more interested in finding flowers in the middle of the game

And then organizing them under the shade.

I also have to add that I think they perfected their cart wheeling skills during game time as well. =)

I do have to brag that Isaiah made the last goal of the season!

He's so proud and still taking about it.

And they did have the best coach EVER!

Their Daddy! =)

Aimee Rae

2011-08-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to

My 21 year old baby girl!

And to think I am only 29 years old... for the... 11'th time!

YIKES! =)

This and That!

2011-08-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

These pictures have sat on my computer for months now. Then finally I got the energy to upload them a few days ago. But yet again they've been sitting here waiting for me to hit the publish button.

I just have not felt like blogging these days. My mind is going a hundred miles an hour with adoption, work and the kids. We are also on the run non stop. Between soccer and swimming lessons, trying to exercise a couple times a week (since we joined they YMCA I'm trying to get my moneys worth) and just everyday life...

We've been busy!

I figured since schools about to start I better get a couple pictures of Abbie's last days of Pre-K on here since I never did it back in June.

(Yes, I am a bad blogger!)

We are very proud of our girl and the progress she has made this year. She has over came so much since she has came home from Guatemala. She still continues to struggle in some areas but I know in time she will excel in everything she sets

her mind to.

And a few pictures of Abigail and skeleton man from Abbie's birthday celebration.

As you can tell Isaiah's a climber. Flip flops and all.

And our Fourth of July

And guess what I found?

Pictures of Little Miss Xin Luo! After reading about the sponsorship program she's in I decided to see and if they had a website... and they did... and there was pictures... all the way back until Xin Luo was 18 months old! Pictures of her before her surgery ( I need to tell you about her special needs), and a picture right after her surgery, and just random pictures of her over the last year and a half!

All which will end up on the blog eventually.

The top picture is her with her foster parents at their house

And this one looks to be some meeting or presentation with her sponsorship program along with her foster parents once again.

I'm sure they are absolutely in love with her. She looks to be very happy in all her pictures and since she has been with them for over a year now, and will probably be with them for several more months, I only can imagine how she (and they) will feel when we finally get to bring her home.

Any who... more pictures to come to try and catch me up on the past couple months. =)

Introducing Xin Luo!

2011-07-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?!

Here is a part of the latest update I received about her.

I just know she's going to fit in perfectly with our family!

*She is confident and loving with a great sense of humor. She almost always wears a grin. She is welcoming to familiar faces as well as not so familiar faces. She has a bit of an ornery streak. For example, if someone asks her for a kiss, she normally stares at them with a big grin on her face, for about a minute, then reaches up to pinch their nose. She loves to laugh with people. She loves for people to laugh at the silly things she does.*

We are totally in love with her already!

Pre-Approval!!!!

2011-07-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

This morning we received our pre approval from China!!!!!

Yay!!!

We were told that it usually takes two weeks or so and it came in in less than ONE!!!!

How awesome is that?!

Now there's not much more to do until our home study is done which should be around the middle of August or so.

Now that I have the LOI done and the pre approval in from China, there's not to much left to do but wait for the social worker and our INS paperwork.

One thing I can tell you that is different from the China dossier than the Guatemala dossier is that the home study report for China has to be way more detailed than the one for Guatemala.

But... the Guatemala dossier required a lot more documents. Probably double the amount.

I cant believe we are actually adopting for CHINA!!!!!

God is good!

And yes... I'll post her picture and show you all her cuteness in my next post. Tomorrow we have a phone meeting with our agency and even though I think I'm allowed to... I want to ask and make sure it's okay.

LOI

2011-07-09T05:35:00.000-07:00

YAY!!!!! Our LOI has been sent to China!!!

Our real first step in our China adoption!!!

LOI stands for letter of intent, which is actually just one of the things going to China today. There is a lot more documents than just that letter. We had to send our background clearances, medical checkups, financial statements and a few more simple forms to go with it.

Then, in about two weeks, we will get pre approval from China. That's when China approves us to adopt the specific child we requested. YAY!!!!!

But today is the ever dreaded day I have been waiting for.....

The return of the social worker! lol

Our first home visit is in a few hours! I just cant clean my house enough! =)

5 Years old today!

2011-07-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Guatemalan Princess!

We love you to the moon and back!

Two down...one to go!

2011-06-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

So... last night when I was falling asleep I was thinking back to almost exactly five years ago. Five years ago would of been the time that I would of been logged into China to start an adoption. We had the home study done, 171h in the works and it was the time that the rules started to change for China's adoptions. I totally freaked out thinking for some reason we wouldn't be able to continue and then the wait time would be growing from 18 months to a several year wait.

Back then I wanted a baby and I wanted it ASAP! And low and behold I saw Little Miss Abigail in a photo listing and right then and there... I knew she was mine. So we redid our home study, changed Countries on our 171H and as most of you know... Abigail's adoptions was far from fast.

In fact, it was almost a no go so that's when Mr. Isaiah Luke came into the picture. A sneaky surprise visit by a lawyer in Guatemala who brought in the sweetest baby boy (while visiting Abigail) led me to my first official adoption.

Then after the hardest three years of my life... Here comes Abbie Girl. Home at last after the battle of a life time!

After that adoption process, I thought FOR SURE we were done! After all, our original intention was to just adopt one and I had two!

Nope!

A baby girl born in China that was meant to be part of our family never left my mind.

A dream that never went away.

Even after 5 years and the adoption of two little ones that are the loves of my life...

I found her!

In the works

2011-06-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Application fees paid...
Physical for Ray and I are done...
Criminal background checks done...
Birth certificates ordered...

Here we go again!

2011-05-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

I HEART HIM TOO!

Cruisin' 2011

2011-05-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

For spring break this year we took another cruise. I just LOVE cruises and the kids are hooked as well.

Almost every morning I get asked if we're going on the big ship today. The only way I get off the hook is by telling them that I have to go to work to make more money so we can go again!

The first night on the cruise was the dance party for the kids. It's a way to get them used to their Camp Carnival leaders so that Mom and Dad can go off on their own later during the cruise! =)

"Can I hear a whoop, whoop?!"

Isaiah won the boys award for the best dancer!

(second year in a row I might add!)

The first stop on the cruise was Nassau, Bahamas.

LOVE this place!

The people are so nice, the food so good and just so darn beautiful!

Almost as soon as we got off the ship we were swindled into hair braids.

Cute, but not cheap what-so-ever! Those $2.00 a braid adds up real fast. And they don't let you forget that a "nice tip" is expected as well!

And speaking of swindling....

See the woman behind Ray and Isaiah in the green pants? Isaiah turned on his charm and managed to get a free bracelet from her. She fell in love with Little Man and wanted to give him a good bye gift.

As soon as we got back on the ship the kids went to the pirate party on the boat.

(note to self... wash paint off their faces before falling asleep! oops!)

I don't care who you are. You gotta love the towel pets in your room every night!

Second stop was Freeport, Bahamas. Nice but I think I like Nassau better.

The ship above was used on Pirates of the Caribbean. Just one of our stops on the way aboard our glass bottom boat excursion. No pictures of that due to the boat a rockin' and I didn't want to lose my camera in the ocean like last year!

Can you believe it?! I made it in one picture!

At this point I had about four layers of sunscreen on while turning into one giant freckle!

If your ever in the Bahama's try the Kalik beer. Super Yummy!

And the rum punch... Fabulous!

And the last and final port day was sunny Key West, Florida.

Sunny, hot and HUMID Key West, Florida!

Mile Marker 0. You just have to take a picture with it.

Sorry about this one Abbie. Another must. A picture with a coconut bra.

Bought for our buddy Everett! (I hope you read this Everett!)

We had so much fun and took full advantage of the all you can eat

ice creams pool side.

We literally spent hours each day relaxing at the pool, listening to the reggae music, and enjoying every second of our vacation.

Another great vacation has come and gone but you can bet that another will be in the works for next year

At least that's what we are telling these two Cool Cruisers!

2011-04-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

I tell ya,

the more and more you stay away from your blogging...

The harder it is to come up with something to say.

I was talking with another blogging Mom one day and she said she doesn't post unless something "special" was happening because she didn't want to be one of those blogs that just posts pictures because she thinks her kids looks cute.

Well.... that's all I got.

Since my blog is like my scrapbook I want to try and keep pictures posted to look back on.

Even the simple ones

I've been taking pictures here and there of the kids but nothing anything special. It's been crazy weather here and now we're having our windy season but this past weekend was half way decent so I pulled out the camera.

It's already getting hot here so we filled up our cheap plastic pool and the kids cooled off

One of their most favorite things to do.

A $15.00 pool and a bucket equals hours of fun at our house

And here's just a couple more random shots of Little Man looking like the cool dude that he is.

I hope everyone has a great week!

My Birthday Boy!

2011-03-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Still here!

2011-03-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

We're still here!

I hope nobody's forgot about us this last month!

I've been going through a lot. (and still am) But I figure... what's getting me down... can only make me me stronger!!!

But since my kids are my pride and joy and the loves of my life. What can get me through it but them. Right?!

Here's Mr. Cool dude doing little target practice with Dad. Always safety first for sure.

(Don't worry about that!)

Giggles going on at our house every night!

Can I love these kids even more?!

I have the back drop set up in my living room now. I just need to get the motivation to do more with it.

Abigail... (Abbie girl as Isaiah says)... never complains when I ask her to practice with the camera.

And there is always fun such as running through the sprinklers after church. (even before taking off our church clothes first!)

And last but not least... We celebrated Abbie's 2nd Forever Family Day on March 1st!!!

YAY!!!

So...I'm still in the loop of things. I'm sorry if I haven't been the best of blogging friends to ya lately but I promise to do better.

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

Happy

Valentine's

Day

to all

My blogging Friends!!!

Super cute hairstyle for Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Aimee posted a cute little hairstyle she did on her daughter yesterday and I thought I'd give it a try.

Here is Miss Abigail modeling the results. Do you see the heart?! I think it turned out pretty good! In fact it stayed in tact all day long. Tomorrow we will give it another try and hopefully get it a little smoother. Abbie girl has to look fabulous for her Valentine's Day party!

I thought Id pass it on since it was super easy. If I can do it.... anyone can!

Here's the link for instructions

Online photography class

2011-02-11T05:23:00.000-08:00

If you've ever thought about taking an online class for photo editing or getting out of auto on your camera....

These classes are for you!

Lisa taught me so much about my camera and how to do so much fun things with photo editing. I realized that the "little stuff" makes all the difference in a picture.

I'm soooooo glad I took her classes and you will too!

Have a great weekend everybody!

~ Crazy ~

2011-02-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

We are having the craziest weather ever! Last weekend we weren't even wearing jackets and today...

FREEZING!

It only snowed about two inches but our city is totally not prepared for it. Temperatures hit 7 degrees and with the wind chill we were definitely in the negative degrees!

The whole city basically shut down and we had rolling blackouts all day.

The kids were the lucky ones today and got to stay home with Grandma (and stayed in their PJ's ALL DAY!!!) but when I got home from work they were dying to go play in the snow. I think we were out there for a whole 10 minutes before high tailing it back in.

I will admit that we are a bunch of wusses!!!

One more day of this and then... back to to normal!

I hope!

Nothin but my boy!

2011-01-16T19:07:00.001-08:00

For once we were ahead of the game for church this morning.

And since I took the three extra seconds to put gel in Little Man's hair today I wanted to get a couple pictures of him since I really hadn't picked up my camera since Christmas.

These days, whenever I grab my camera, my kids automatically say "no pictures Mom".

And since it's my way or the highway...

(yeah right, they usually win)

What usually happens is that I can only get one or two clicks of the camera before Isaiah starts jumping up and down, acting crazy, looking every which way but where I want him too, not cooperating what-so-ever until it ends up like the pictures below.

Believe it or not I only told him "forget it! I give up!"

He should be on tonights Golden Globe awards.

He would win for best actor in a drama for sure!

All was well when we got home and I wasn't quite as rushed to get a picture.

Those turn out the best anyways.

Maybe the gel jinxed us! lol

And since I got several decent pics today, I'm posting all of them! I read once that you should only pick one or two of your best pictures and that's it but I just cant. Good or bad I love all the smiles I get from Little Man!

I'm joining in on Stephanie's Sunday Snapshot

Check out her fabulous blog as well as other fabulous bloggers!

Saturday Sweetness

2011-01-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

I just wanted something to blog about since it only took me three days to figure out how to put this picture in a frame.

I know most of you are probably saying that it's the easiest thing to do but my peanut brain couldn't get it.

And to be honest I don't know if I did it the right way but I guess it worked!

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what the heck a PSD file was or how to save it so I could upload it in Flicker. Now I know (after several you tube videos) that it's a simple click of a button!

So I say "sweet" to figuring this frame thing out and "super sweet" to my little model!

Now I need to figure out how to do Valentines day cards. Those might take me weeks to figure out!

A first!

2011-01-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

This was the first time I've ever shot a wedding and possibly... the last! lol

Talk about a nervous wreck! I was mentally and physically exhausted after this day. For the most part I'm pretty satisfied with the end results.

There was two of us taking the pictures and my job was with the guys.

And when I found out there was going to be 7 of them I panicked a little bit more!

They were all so easy going and it turned out okay. In fact one of the guys gave me some pointers and ideas on how to pose them.

The bride and her family are good friends of ours so I was determined not to miss a thing! All in all I think I took about 1500 pictures and edited almost 200 pictures!

The bottom picture may be one of my favorites of the night. I know it's not the typical wedding picture but I think it's pretty cool! The couple had a huge candy bar and I grabbed one of the sucker rings and there you have it!

These two are so darn sweet and we are so happy for them.

I have a new respect for wedding photographers.

It's a lot of work!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've had a busier Christmas time than I had this year. We've been to pageants, to the symphony, to parties and just enjoyed Christmas to the fullest!

And to be honest... I hardly picked up the camera for it all!

So, I'm posting the few pictures I've taken in the last couple of week

Grandma came into town to join us for the symphony and I just like these two of Abigail loving on her.

And since I get mostly cheesy smiles from Isaiah... I'm posting the one below because I think he looks pretty darn handsome!

It's a very rare moment when I have my two oldest boys together with the iddy bitties!

So I snapped away while I had my chance.

It's funny because my two boys are 6'6, 230 plus pounds and then there's little peanut Isaiah who will be lucky to make it past 5'7 and is as skinny as all get out

We also had a visit for a couple of weeks from Miss Aimee! Abbie and Isaiah love, love, love their sissy and were super excited to see her!

Not really dressed for pictures.... I made all 5 of my kids go outside for a group picture. Another VERY RARE moment with all 5 of them in the house together

And Christmas morning was so much fun watching Abbie and Isaiah open their presents. They were pretty darn happy with their new bikes!

Santa made a appearance and I have a cute little video I want to post of Abbie and Isaiah peaking around the hallway watching him with the presents.

Another fabulous Christmas has come and gone and I hope everyone has a

Happy New Year!

A Fabulous Giveaway!

2010-12-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

Check out this FABULOUS giveaway!!! You'll love all the stuff!!!!

Hurry it ends Jan 1st!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

FFF ~ Christmas Card Outtakes!

2010-12-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

There were laughs, tears and everything else in between for our Christmas card photo shoots

I had the HARDEST time getting both of my kids to cooperate for a picture.

I can do one of them at a time with no problem but two...is tough!

Take a close look at Isaiah in this next picture

To me it looks like a Jib Jab animation or that I placed his head on someone else's body!

WEIRD, but it made me laugh!

I just wanted to throw this one in of Miss Abigail but dont look her dirty shirt. She is easy breezy at getting a good picture!

And another of crazy Little Man Isaiah

My intention was to take Christmas Card pictures with the Santa hats on and these t-shirts I bought but I could never get their shirts straight enough so that you could read the front.

Oh well!

As they say... the third time is the charm. I finally settled on a picture from our third photo shoot and the last of my cards made it to the post office today!

Have a great weekend Everybody!!!

2010-12-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Isaiah's face pretty much shows how I'm feeling these days....

I'm behind in shopping, cleaning, laundry, BLOGGING, Christmas cards, baking, you name it! We have been on the go like maniacs!

I'm the kind of person who stresses out way to easy!

If I'm not at home a full day, on my day off, I feel like I haven't got enough rest or that I'm behind in my household chores!

What started off yesterday as a quick trip to get pictures taken with Santa... ended up being a five hour trip to the mall with two tired Iddy Bitties, one stressed out Momma and a messy house to come home to!

We'll survive though and have lots of fun (exhaustion) in the process!!!

~ Black and White Wednesday ~

2010-12-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

I wish I had something fabulous to say in this black and white Wednesday post but really all I have is pictures!

My hubby was on the computer yesterday and called me over to look at a "poor and neglected" blog and guess who's it was...

mine!

Then a friend brought it to my attention that she has been checking my blog daily for some pictures so...

here they are!

Nothing special about this post except for some cuteness!

And I think they have a lot of it!!!

Happy Wednesday to you all!!!

FFF-3 Year Forever Family Day!!

2010-11-19T04:49:00.000-08:00

I cant believe it's already been three years that we've had our Little Man home!

Here's a little story about how Isaiah became my Little Man. This was really a accidental adoption!

I had been surfing the internet looking at the photo listings of babies waiting for their forever families and I came across a cute little baby boy named Jonathan. He just seemed so perfect to me in every way but had no intentions at all about starting another adoption right away or at least until we found out more about Abigail's situation.

There was something about this baby Jonathan that I wanted to know about so I had e-mailed the agency just asking a few random questions.

Not thinking it would go further than just an e-mail....

A few days later, on the very day that I was waiting to fly out to Guatemala to visit my Abbie Girl, this agency calls me on the phone to follow up with me about my inquiry.

I had told them that I had no time to talk because I was literlly walking out the door to the airport heading for Guatemala.

Fast foward to two days later and I'm sitting in my hotel room with my friend Lisa and with Abigail when the phone rings. Guess who's down stairs waiting for me to come see him.... My Little Man!

Freaked out I ran down stairs and there he was. I was in no way mentally ready to meet another baby at that moment because all my focus was trying to get Abbie home and I explained this to the lawyer and fostermom whom was standing there thinking I wanted to adopt this gorgeous baby boy.

They understood and apologized but I held baby Jonathan for a bit and the lawyer said I could bring him, and the foster mom, up to the room to show my friend for as long as I wanted. (yes, I knew why they let me and it worked!) And now I want to kick myself because it was literally for only a few minutes before I sent him and the fostermom away.

I think I actually was a bit mad because I thought... "how dare they try and make me fall in love with this baby when all I did was ask an agency a question about him!"

Then fast forward to a couple months later.

Ray and I had decided that we should go ahead and start another adoption as the problems were building up with Abigail's and the internet surfing started up again.

Guess who was still waiting for their forever family!?!?!

MY LITTLE MAN!!!!

I really cant believe that someone didn't snatch that gorgeous baby up!

Thank God they didn't and I truly know he was meant for our family!

Thank you God for the gift of my sweet boy!!!

He is forever my "Little Man"!

My Guy!

2010-11-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Call me crazy but I love pictures of my kids with a serious look to them!

Maybe it's because it's like pulling teeth trying to get Little Man to sit still for a picture and I just settle for what I can get.

But bribing him with a trip to the McDonalds playground worked pretty good yesterday

I got a smile and a direct look to the camera from him!!!!

Maybe I'll use this when I get ready to take Christmas Card pictures!

Have a great week Everybody!

Adoption Related?

2010-11-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

I really haven't picked up my camera in last two weeks but after a weekend of getting caught up around the house I took my two munchkins out and got a couple good shots. In fact.... for the first time ever...I got more good shots of Isaiah than of Abbie Girl. There's a first for ya!

I decided to post Abbie's first because I need/want to pick your all's brain about something.

Warning. You might want to turn back because it's not one of my typical smiles and sunshine post!

Most of the people who look at my blog know that I brought Miss Abbie home when she was a little over 2 and half years old. Her time in Guatemala was rough. After a year being with a foster family (whom she loved very much) she was put into two different orphanages. The reason I tell you this is to bring you up to speed and to refresh your memory.

Now....onto the story I'm about to tell you.

Abbie has always had some sort of attachment disorder. I noticed it from the get go. Almost a week after being home with her it was evident.

She thrived on peoples attention and would easily attach herself to whomever showed her the most attention at the time.

Learning about how I should handle this after it started helped tremendously and we really haven't seen this happen to recently.

It's so hard to explain but deep down I know there is something going on again with Abbie and she is reverting back to this disorder. Then on top this, Abbie has another problem that she plays to it's fullest.

Abbie has some kind of speech problem that I'm about ready to MAKE someone address.

Of course she came home speaking Spanish but in my opinion she never spoke it very good. (we live on the border of Mexico and people would try and talk with her in Spanish)

Then after 9 months home we took her to our local University to try and get her into speech therepy because she pretty much talked light a 9 month baby and babbled all the time or just refused to talk when you asked her to repeat what she was saying.

After being evaluated they had told us that since she was in an orphanage for 2.5 years, she would need 2.5 years to get caught up to other children her age and to let her go through her babbling and what not.

Okay, makes sense but now after 1 and a half there's still babbling going on.

Then at Abbie's 4 year check up, Ray brought up to the doctor about Abbie's speech. He said it sounded like she has what they call a consonant replacement problem and she would grow out of that as well. ( he really didn't talk to her so that was irritating!)

Now... here is what Abbie's is doing and putting all together.

Abbie has once again starting attaching herself to whoever she feels will give her the most attention. Currently it's the babysitter.

Not only has Abbie tried the holding on and refusing to come with me when I pick her up but she has started playing the "I don't know what you are saying" when people talk to her! She will flat out stare at someone and pretend that she is clueless to English. These people believe that she really doesn't understand since she doesn't talk correctly back to them but I know good and well what she is doing!

Is this some kind of adoption related thing or do I just have a child that knows how to play the "game"?

It's actually caused some friction with the babysitter and I because I tried and explain to her about attachment disorder, which is even hard for me to understand and I told her that Abbie has her right where she wants her.

Does this make sense or do I sound cold for saying all of this.

Believe me... Abbie is the smartest girl I know. You can see it in her eyes. She is what I call "street smart". She knows not to do the "stare down" with me or her Dad but that only works with us. She will play into an audience for whatever attention she wants at that moment. If I get mad at her in front of anyone she will put on a show like I spanked her or try and tell me off.

Has anyone went through this kind of thing or do I just have a stubborn girl on my hands?

Before I quite typing here I want to let you know Abbie is also one of the best behaved kids I know too. She minds at home, does what we ask her and is very well behaved in general so I don't want you to think she is some kind of spoiled brat because she is the direct opposite. She just has this side that shows it's ugly head every so often and sometimes I think I'm crazy for thinking it's adoption related but I do.

Believe me... I know what a ornery child is... I have Isaiah!!! lol

FFF- Bountiful Feasts! {recipe post}

2010-11-12T18:15:00.001-08:00

I'm joining in on Hannah's Favorite Foto Friday this week and since I haven't cooked anything that fabulous lately... I'm posting my hubby's recipe for his superb lobster tails!

I'm a BIG seafood fan and this is possibly the best thing I have EVER tasted!!!

Try it.

You'll love it!!!

This grilled lobster is perfect for any occasion. If you don't have a lot of experience grilling shellfish, then this easy recipe is for you.

Prep time: 12 minutes

Cook time: 7 minutes

Total time: 19 minutes

Ingredients:

6 lobster tails
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat grill for medium-high heat. Cut lobster tails in half lengthwise, exposing flesh. Combine remaining ingredients in small mixing bowl. Brush mixture onto flesh side of lobster tail. Place lobster onto grill and cook for 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of the lobster tail. Make sure to turn once during cooking process. Remove from heat and serve!

(these pictures were taken a few months back)

YUMMY!!!!!

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

30 days of Giveaways!!!

2010-11-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

Check out Stephanie's blog for 30 days of giveaways!!!!!!

Click on the button or go here!

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more pictures of my pirates from Halloween.

We had a full day of hanging out with friends,

and watching the Halloween parade which is always lots of fun!

We headed out to a few of our neighborhood houses for some treats!

Isaiah had to do a minor costume change because his Captain Jack Sparrow hat was to darn heavy for his peanut head!

But Miss Abigail strutted her stuff like no ones business!!!

And the trick of the night...

they have no idea I hid most of their candy! Hee hee!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

WE HOPE EVERYONE HAD A SPOOKTACULAR DAY!!!

More pictures to come after we digest all the candy we ate tonight!

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge ~ Black and White

2010-10-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was just visiting Wanda's blog ,which is also one of may favorite blogs to read, and she posted a fabulous photo of her gorgeous daughter and I noticed she was joining in on The Paper Mama Photo Challenge for this week. Wanda always inspires me to be better with photography so I decided to join in this weeks challenge as well. I had actually brought this photo up this morning because we're remodeling our bathroom and I thought I'd print this up, frame it and put it in there.

It would make for something good to look at while doing your deed in the bathroom right?

Abbie thought so the day Isaiah was doing it himself!

We were actually in the process of Isaiah's potty training at the time and they were taking a bubble bath together when Isaiah felt the urge! Abbie was couching right along and being the supportive big sister that she is!

I know I had posted this picture before but I love it!

A First for Abbie

2010-10-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

You know how a lot of times we blog about our kids when they first roll over as babies, their first steps, first day of school and so on?!

Well...I'm blogging about the first time Abbie Girl has ever been sick since coming home! Yeah, I might be crazy but I've been amazed that I have never, ever had to take her to the doctor for an illness in over

a year and a half!

But when she got it... she got it good!

Good bye Croup... don't come back! =)

2010-10-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

A fallen leaf is nothing more
than a summers wave good bye...

Have a wonderful Week Everybody!

Black and White Wednesday ~ Abbie Girl

2010-10-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

I've decided the only way to get a decent picture of my kids is to separate them!

While Isaiah and his Daddy went to get hair cuts, Abbie and I headed out for a little photo shoot

So to the park we went

I really need to start having more one on one time with my Abbie Girl. She loves to have all of my attention and to be honest I think there have only been a handful of days that we've been alone together without Isaiah

So... I snapped away and Little Miss photogenic was working the camera for me!

Angelina Jolie has nothing on my girls lips! =)

I think I'm framing this one!

Hop on over to Lisa'a blog here. This weekend she's off to China to pick up her sweet Reagan!

YAY!!!

Sunday Snapshot ~ Corn Maze and Pumpkin Hunting

2010-10-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know who gets more excited about the Pumpkin patch. The kids or myself?

I love this time of year. Even though it's still hot here you can still feel that fall is near and it's fun times from here on out for the next several months!

We had fun, fun, fun today!!!

What could be better than bouncing on a giant pillow?

Maybe feeding these cute little critters?

Probably not getting stuck in the hay maze.

At least that's what Isaiah thinks!

But we did make it safe and sound through the corn maze with our super de duper guide!

And we each picked out our favorite pumpkin

And looked cute doing it too! =)

Have a wonderful week Everybody!!!

Too see more Sunday Snapshots pop over to Stephanie's blog here

My little Longhorns

2010-10-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

All dressed up and ready for the big UT and OU game

Unfortunately it was another sad loss for us

But we will keep our horns up!

FFF- U Pick

2010-10-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Every year Ray and I take off to Austin to watch the Texas Longhorns play and have a weekend to ourselves

We're usually on the go from early morning to late night so I cant say it was a relaxing trip.

Fun?... Very

Tiring?... yes

Friday night we hung out with some friends, went to dinner and checked out the nightlife and music they have there. Anyone that knows Austin, knows the local music is awesome

Then Saturday we started the day early and did some tailgating before the game

Listened to some more local music

And, of course, indulged in a couple of these

But we were oh so sad that our beloved LongHorns lost the game against UCLA. =(

(But we have complete faith that we'll beat OU this weekend!)

We finished out the weekend with another concert. Anyone know who Flyleaf is? All I can say is they're awesome!!!

I can also say that I have never been to a Christian concert before and been in the middle of a mosh pit. Crazy! I'm too old for that but I wasn't about to give up my fabulous view of the band.

Since I didn't have the Iddy Bitties with us I made Ray and my buddy below pose for a couple pictures.

And speaking of buddy's... This is Nacho. One of my bestest amigos. Always willing to model for me and also critiques all of my pictures.

And I'll leave you with one more of myself. It's a rare moment when I get my picture taken so there you have it!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Check out Hannah's blog here and link up to join in on Favorite Foto Friday's!

Disney World

2010-09-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

GET READY FOR PICTURE OVERLOAD!

It was an exhausting but fun 5 days at Disney World.

We had tons of fun and we were on the go non-stop!

We took in the FABULOUS fireworks shows in the evenings

(my favorite thing at Disney World)

And met as many characters that we possibly could

We rode most of the rides.

(Abbie even went on the tower of terror! She just made the height requirement and I thought for sure she was going to come out traumatized. Nope! She wanted more!)

I had to buy my big spoiled baby Minnie ears of her own

Yep, that's me hiding behind stitch. My hair and the humidity did not get along what so ever! Makeup..forget it! I sweated as fast as it was coming off! I wanted no pictures of me but I was suckered into this one!

And one of the reasons we made the trip to Disney World again this year was....

To see Night of Joy! It was awesome! Every year they have a big concert of Christian bands that meet at Disney World. Several of which that are my favorite!

Third day above.... so flippin' good!

Chris Tomlin and David Crowder band...AWESOME!

And my favorite band of the weekend....Casting Crowns! FAB-U-LOUS!!!!

As you can tell we had loads of fun! But my bed felt oh so good when we got home! =)

FFF ~ Jump!

2010-09-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hannah's theme for this Favorite Foto Friday is "jump" and since it's just a few short days until we head off to Disney world....

We are jumping with excitement!!!

I started pulling out their Disney clothes to start packing and the anticipation is driving them crazy!

Everyday the both wake up and ask... "are we going to the Princess House today?"

I have to admit that I'm SUPER excited too!

Have a fabulous weekend everybody!

Black and White Wednesday ~ Abigail

2010-09-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

All I ever blog about is my kids but hey... If I'm not working, I'm with them! So here they are. Well, at least Miss Abigail in this post.

As I've said before she doesn't mind being the center of the cameras attention and she loves to get dressed up for our little photo shoots!

The bottom two pictures are from Abbie's 4 year check up a few weeks back. We had decided to re-do all her shots and not trust the shot record from Guatemala so her little arms and legs have had a workout this year. I think Abbie is only one shot away from getting all caught up. YAY!!!!!!!!!

This is her pouty, feel sorry for me look

But as you can tell she's not only a model... she's an actress too! =)

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

You Capture ~ In the Kitchen

2010-08-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

*I just found out this was last weeks theme! Oh well!

I'm always a day late and a dollar short! lol

I caught this little booger hanging out on the kitchen counter last night and had to grab my camera. I had to pretend I was upset at him even though I got a good chuckle out of it. It seems that he has figured out that he can get up on our couch (from the other side of the window behind him), crawl through and just help himself out to whatever he desires on the counter.

And since the camera was out... I snapped a quick one of Abbie loving her mini taco salad that I made.

This is the first time playing along with "You Capture" and I thought I'd give it a whirl. There are several really great pictures and blogs if you want to take a look or play along! =)

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-08-25T05:56:00.001-07:00

Sunday Snapshot ~ Little Man

2010-08-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

I should win a prize for getting this Little Man to stand still for a snapshot these days

He is constantly on the go. Running, dancing, talking a mile a minute or hanging off what ever is near.

I had no intentions of getting any good shots of him this day (as you can tell by the wrinkled shirt I wasn't even going to try) because there was a park near by, Abbie was going to be my willing and ready model to practice on, and like I said...Isaiah is not the willing participant for any picture taking.

But when I can catch him in rare form... I snap away

I take all that he will give and I love getting his goofy grins. I think they are my favorite.

Here's a little conversation that me and Isaiah have about every half hour.

"Mom...do you love Zay ya?" (that's how his name sounds when he says it)

"Yes, I love Zay ya!"

"Really Mom?"

"Really!"

"How much you love Zay ya Mom?"

" MUCHO"! How Much you love Mom Zay ya?"

"MUCHO, MUCHO, MUCHO!" as loud as he can. Then the giggles begin and he runs away!

That's my little lover boy!

Check out more Sunday Snapshots over on Stephanie's blog

Black and White Wednesday ~ Day Trip

2010-08-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we hung out with some friends and went on a day trip to a couple different spots.

One of our all time favorite places to go is a little restaurant about an hour away that is known for it's FABULOUS Mexican food. People drive from all over to come and eat at this place and sometimes you cant even get in because of the long wait. I think more people eat at this place in a day than live in the town!

Out of experience we know to arrive right at opening to try and beat the crowd so that we can get our fix of their yummy enchiladas! You can look back in the kitchen and see the little old ladies rolling out tortilla as fast as they can.

After eating as much as we possibly could we headed to a little tourist town called Old Mesilla.

As you can see it's known for Billy the Kid being there, the yummy Mexican food as well, and the really cool shopping!

(so many neat places to take pictures in too I might add and not enough time to do it)

I think my friends thought I was bonkers because I was taking so many pictures!

But how could I not with cuteness like this?!

After a long day, full bellies and surviving the heat... it was nice to sit back, relax and cool off with a few of these!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone and check out the exciting news over on Lisa's blog!

Congratulations Lisa!

Favorite Foto Friday!

2010-08-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

This weeks FFF is suppose to be black and white pictures but since I just posted some this past Wednesday... I decided to post these two pictures.

A couple of random shots of my two favorite people in the whole wide world!

That's all I got. A short and sweet post and a reason to post these pictures! =)

Have a great weekend everybody!

Join in on Hannah's FFF and check out other favorite fotos here

Black and White Wednesday ~ A Cutie Patootie!

2010-08-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Does it get any cuter than this Cutie Patootie?!?!

Last week I asked her Mommy to bring her by so I could do some

practicing with my camera.

I think I took about 200 pictures of this sweet baby girl in about an hour!

I'm happy and I think her Mommy's happy with the few good shots that I got.

I feel silly putting "Terri Rae Photography" on pictures since I'm a newbie at picture taking and I'm only doing this for fun.

But I'll admit one thing...this is kinda cool! =)

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!!!

Black and White Wednesday ~ Practicing

2010-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

I've been practicing away with the camera and with photoshop this last week. Lisa's workshop has really got me motivated to get better!

I also bought some new actions tonight and so far I think their really cool. I think I'm pretty plain Jane on my photo skills so I'm trying to come out of my shell and try something new. =)

And the bottom two I just played around with myself (as far as the editing goes). I was outside watching the kids play in the sprinkler when I caught Abbie watching and waiting for me to snap away with my camera. I'm still practicing with Manual so it takes me awhile before I let them off the hook with picture taking so she was waiting patiently. =)

As much as I love all the smiles and playful pictures... I love the serious ones too!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday everybody!

Sunday Snapshot ~ My Iddy Biddies

2010-08-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Not much to say...

Just pictures to show...

Of my Iddy Biddies!

Workshop Weekend

2010-07-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

I have been super busy since I got back from the fabulous workshop Lisa held this past weekend. I really haven't had a chance to play around with editing pictures but this one was one of my favorites! I wanted to give you a sneak peek of just one of many pictures that I'm going to force you to look at! =)

I also have to mention that all day Saturday I shot in manual!!! YAY!

Right there made the whole trip worth it! Now I just need to do some major practicing! =)

I have a couple more pictures over on Lisa's blog that she posted last night if you want to see them. You can also check out some of the other girls awesome photography skills! They were all so fabulous!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-07-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Photography Workshop!

2010-07-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm going all by my little lonesome self...

and flying to the East coast baby!!!

Whoop Whoop!

A few months back I came across Lisa's blog that instantly became one of my favorite blogs to visit called the Long Road to China. Lisa is a FABULOUS photographer and a super sweet lady who's waiting any day now for her referral from China!

This weekend Lisa's holding a photography workshop that I'll be attending! =)

When I found out about the workshop I immediately booked my flight so that I wouldn't back out since I'm a big chicken at doing things solo. Especially when it's over 2,000 miles away!

Turns out that some of the other ladies going to the workshop are from blogs that I've followed in the past!

(also fabulous photographers like Lisa)

Not only am I excited about learning how to work my darn camera...I'm excited about meeting everyone attending!

If you want to see where I'm going and look at Lisa's fabulous photography click here.

Four more days and counting!

YAY!!!!!

Black and White Wednesday!

2010-07-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

My little Guatemalan model!

Ready and willing to pose for the camera and likes to do it too!

Every weekend when I put that little extra something special into getting her ready she is quick to ask for her picture to be taken.

She does have to review each picture though

and give her approval as to if it's a keeper or not

She's very opinionated...

That's my Abbie Girl!

FFF- only two days late! =)

2010-07-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

I had these pictures ready for a Favorite Foto Friday post but I never got around to doing it. We've been on the go this last week and my hubby even asked me awhile ago why I haven't posted since Wednesday.

(He loves to read my blog)

So...here ya go Honey Bear!

A few weeks back I broke out a cute little art project that my friend Amy got the kids.

I'm not saying this because Abbie's one of my pride and joys in life but...this kid is really good at doing arts and craft stuff. She colors like no ones business and will do it for hours if you let her.

Give her a puzzle... she WILL NOT stop until it's done! For her birthday I bought her a 5 year old+ puzzle that was pretty hard in my opinion and she finished it, no problem! Her mind is hard at work at all times. She constantly amazes me!

Isaiah on the other hand...not so much into the the coloring business. He loves to get down and dirty but gets bored fairly easy at this kind of stuff.

The only was to cool off 'round here!

And TA DA!

The finished project after a few weeks.

Looks beautiful to me!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Birthday Celebration!

2010-07-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get these pictures of Abbie's birthday posted before I get to far behind.

As usual we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese and had a fabulous time!

I'll let the pictures talk for themselves since I should be off of the computer and getting ready for work right now!

(even Isaiah got a present)

Have a wonderful Wednesday Everybody!

Fourth of July!

2010-07-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous Fourth of July weekend!

We "pretended" we were on a mini vacation this weekend and rented a hotel room.

We watched movies, ordered pizza and just hung out by the pool on Saturday

Then Sunday we went out for lunch, rested up a bit and headed to a ballgame

Nothing better on the Fourth of July than fireworks, hot dogs

and a good baseball game!

and, of course, to be with these two little stinkers!

I love this picture because Abbie yelled out "Mom take a picture of us."

For once I didn't have to ask them to put their arms around each other!

And this picture I love because it shows how much fun they were having

Miss Abbie had to go meet one of the cheer leaders. She has a new fascination with cheerleading (notice the above picture with her pom poms). In fact I've decided to put her in a cheer camp at the end of the month.

And Little Man ready and waiting for any foul balls heading our way.

Happy fourth of July!

FFF (a day late)

2010-07-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

I took these the other day when we were walking back from Abbie's birthday photo shoot.

I think I like these better than the "posed" ones I posted the other day.

Miss Abigail was running up ahead of me and was hiding from me

behind this wall

I had the camera ready and snapped away

She has the cutest giggle

And her smile melts my heart.

Have a fabulous weekend everybody!

Happy Birthday Abigail!

2010-07-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday to our

sweet Abbie Girl!

We Love You!

Our weekend

2010-06-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Friday night Ray and I had tickets to go see Third Day and they were FABULOUS!

They put on such a great show and it was nice going on a "date" with my man!

But the rest of our weekend was spent just hanging out with my munchkins

Miss Abbie Girl got all dressed up for our outing on Saturday and loved all the attention she was getting about her outfit. She is such girly girl and she thinks the more accessories... the better!

We also did a little photo shoot that I'll post later in the week.

The three of us went to lunch together

Then we cruised the mall and made our usual stop in the kids area

We bought a new water slip and slide that turned out to be total work for me. I was so scared they were going to fall and break their necks that I had to push them on their bellies about 100 times each! That's what I get for buying it!

Then on Sunday we went to see Toy Story which was super FABULOUS!

Like you may have heard...it is a happy/sad movie so take a tissue.

And that's about it!

Another wonderful weekend !

Favorite Foto Friday

2010-06-25T05:51:00.001-07:00

Little Boys

Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,

Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,

With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,

Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while

Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.

And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy

Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!

Check out more great FFF pictures over on Hannah's blog!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-06-23T04:40:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Weekend!

2010-06-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day we headed to the mountains and tried to escape this heat

we've been having!

We took the travel trailer out and did our version of camping

We roasted marshmallows and ate lots of smores

which Abbie now holds the record for eating the most ever!

We also cooked out Ribeyes and charbroiled crab legs for Daddy for dinner.

(btw...this was the first time cooking crablegs on the grill and they were fabulous!)

Isaiah was so proud of his dirty feet and asked for a picture!

This is nothing compared to how dirty he got by the end of the night.

There was also a Cherry festival going on so we stopped, shopped and made room for some snow cones

We had a fabulous Fathers Day weekend camping and we're already talking about going again soon

But for now... it's back to the 104 degree weather!

Clearance addict!

2010-06-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Terri and I'm a clearance addict!

You could call it Thrifty Thursday or Friday Finds but I call it a heck of a deal!

I wanted to pass along that Gymboree is having their yearly Red Balloon Clearance!

YAY!

I went back two days in a row and I told the sales girls to get used to me because I would be several more times before the sale ends next week!

They told me (and I know from past experience) that they continually bring out new clothes each day as they mark them down.

Is this outfit not super cute???

Look what I paid!

I bought tis outfit yesterday and look what those sneaky sales ladies just brought out today

Matching boots! Thank goodness I went back!

Look at this price! LOVE IT!

4 pair of pants for about 15 bucks! LOVE IT!

And a really bad picture of a super cute outfit!

Notice the size? I'm already getting Christmas presents ready for our friends kids!

Most of these clothes are for fall/winter but that is how I roll. I'm always buying a size bigger and get prepared for the following season. In fact Abbie and Isaiah have clothes ready for next summer!

Yes, I'm crazy!

The lady asked me when checking out... "do you realize your getting several pairs of the same glasses?" HELLO! At 99 cents a piece I want them ALL!

If I was to post all that I bought you would send me away in a straight jacket. I love this sale at Gymboree and I wanted to pass it along so you could take advantage too. It's also available on-line incase you don't have a store near you.

p.s. Dont worry about Isaiah. He has a full wardrobe coming in the mail!

p.s.s. They are also giving out GYM bucks too right now!

Changing it up a bit

2010-06-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

These are not the usual pictures your use to seeing on my blog but I figured I'd give Abbie and Isaiah a rest from having my camera always in their face.

Also I wanted to try and take pictures that were different and start challenging myself.

So, I ask these two lovely girls if they would be so kind to do a little modeling for me.

I did this picture in a "lomo effect" that I learned off youtube the other night.

I think it turned out pretty cool!

Miss M here was ready and willing to pose, smile, not smile, be sexy, not too sexy (and I got some really sexy shots) be serious, silly... you name it!

Miss T... such a beautiful person on the inside and out. I love her "look"! I think she should do modeling for a career!

And a couple more of Crazy M!

Thank you M and T for letting me practice on you!

Black and White Wednesday

2010-06-09T05:04:00.000-07:00

Just a few more pics from our visit trip to see our good friends in Oklahoma.

Here's the motley crew all together.

It was WORK getting them all to sit straight and half way smile for the group picture

Beautiful Chloe

So photogenic and such a willing model. I think I took a hundred pics of her during our weekend trip.

Yes, cows and kids all in the same blog post!

I think this was the closest I've ever been to cows so I had to blog about it of course!

Bessy the cow was given me the stare down and I think she won!

And just for giggles... What do you think these two were talking about?

Whatever it is Chi doesn't look that impressed!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Jump over and check out more black and white pictures over on Lisa's blog.

You'll love them!

She's all grown up!

2010-06-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

When did this happen? How did these 20 years fly by in a blink of an eye?

My baby girl, also known as Sweetie Pete (I'm not quite sure why. Just a little crazy name we have always called her since she was a baby), is all grown up!

I'm sad to say that my Sweetie Pete is leaving me. Hopefully not for long though.

Isaiah and Abbie need their Sissy!

She's spreading her wings and going to one of the coolest cities there is! At least in my opinion.

Austin, Texas... you can only have her for the summer!

I want her back!

Pictures of what happened in Guatemala

2010-06-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

Just passing along a link that was e-mailed to me.

http://www.boston. com/bigpicture/ 2010/06/a_ rough_week_ for_guatemala. html

Black and White Wednesday ~ Friends

2010-06-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we hit the road and headed to Oklahoma to see some of our very good friends.

This was our 3rd annual Memorial Day trip to see them and we plan on making it a tradition.

These guys became friends back in Guatemala and their Mommy and I would travel together to visit these little rascals

Isaiah and Abbie had a blast hanging out in the country and discovering things that us "city folk" aren't use to.

We had so much fun and I have a lot more pictures to post of this trip so be ready!

I just know these four Guate Tots will be Friends forever!

FFF ~ U pick

2010-05-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Usually when I take pictures that I like, I post them right away. But for some reason I missed these two from our zoo trip a couple weeks ago.

So it worked out perfect for this weeks "U pick" Favorite Foto Friday

Have a great weekend everybody!

Check out more fff posts over on Hannah's blog

Black and White Wednesday

2010-05-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

I always love reading what people do to edit their pictures so I'm going to do the same! I've always been chicken to post what I do since I think I'm lousy at it but what the heck!

So... here they are and here's what I did to them. Any kind of feedback, good or bad, is appreciated!

Here's the original picture of my Guatemalan princess.

First I removed the little scratch on her nose then I lightened up her eyes and lips. Maybe too much?

Then I did a little blur to it (very little) and I adjusted the lighting just a tad. I'm always scared of going overboard!

And finally... {just for giggles} I put a little (again just a tad) of vignette around the pic and turned it into the black and white!

There ya go! Practicing away!

Check out the fabulous black and white pictures over on Lisa's blog. They're really good!

Isaiah is one of....

2010-05-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

The goofiest...

cutest...

feistiest...

funniest...

sweetest...

craziest...

kids that I know!

And that's why...

I love him so darn much!

A perfect day

2010-05-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

I wish all weekends were this fabulous!

It was like Mother's Day all over again!

We went over to some of our friends house for a wonderful day of fun in the sun!

We relaxed to the max!

Had a water battle here and there that Miss Abbie would always win

And like I said it... it was a perfect day. With a perfect lunch.

We had a repeat of the fantastic meal that my man made for me on Mother's day!

all I had to do was sit back, enjoy some of this...

And savor the smell of these burgandy mushrooms cookin...

And then indulge myself in the yumminess of this...

Even Miss Aimee joined us today. Of course she agreed to coming after she found out we were grilling lobster tails

I hope everyone had a great weekend

and have a wonderful week!

My Mini Me...

2010-05-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

got herself a new Mini Cooper

And I...

finally get my red Mini Cooper back to drive!

YAY!!!

Have a great week everybody!

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-05-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad this is Wordless Wednesday.

I've had these pictures waiting to be published for the last two days and I couldn't think of a darn thing to say!

I guess it's really not such a wordless post after all but there ya go!

Have a great day!

Two Little Crazy Kids....

2010-05-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Full of cuteness!

Have a fabulous weekend

Everybody!

please pick one

2010-05-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

My babysitter for Abbie and Isaiah (the best baby sitter ever I might add) asked me to take pictures of her daughter in her baptismal dress. I have never done this before (and I made sure she knew it) so I need your help!

Will you please tell me which one is your favorite? I need to at least choose one picture so I can get them printed so she can mail out wallet size photos for her invitations tomorrow.

I know my problem is that I need to learn how to use my darn camera but what can I say. I'm trying!

But I will say this... I'm pretty proud that I removed or should I say photo edited most of the boogies under this pretty girls nose all on my own! =)

First time ever playing with textures and it was fun!

Let me tell you I was a nervous wreck throughout this photo shoot. My Table cloth (backdrop) that I had taped up on the wall kept falling off. My model hadn't taken a nap this day so she was not a happy camper what-so-ever. Smiles where far and few between. Boogers coming out big time. And all the while I'm trying to figure out the right settings on my camera that seemed to never come!

I like the black and white but not real happy about her expression in this one

And then I finally get a good smile but the camera was out of focus! I tried to work the picture the best I could

I think I ruined her color in this one

If only she would look my way and smile!!!!!!!!!

You know who she's looking at?!?! Isaiah! He got a smile here and there but she was always looking down at him

With a textured background or...

Without?

Which one should I use?

*by the way she did give me permission to post her pics! =)