Little Photographer

A little while back Joel invited the 2 older kids to go out in the backyard & take pictures of our bamboo with him. Emily wanted to play inside instead, but Jon took him up on it. He excitedly grabbed his little camera and went outside. Joel snapped these pictures of him in action. I love them. He looks so stinkin' cute & very focused. Who knows, maybe we'll have another gifted photographer in the family in the future.

VBS 2010

We just finished up VBS today. The kids did great. This year was a nautical theme & they did an awesome job with decorations! Emily's favorite part was, as always, singing and dancing to the songs. If you look closely you can see her in the last photo below. Jonathan said his favorite part was playing. And Katherine got lots of love in the nursery by a very sweet lady named Mrs. Judy. I was an assistant to one of the teachers this year. It was a good time for all & we look forward to next year & a new fun VBS in 2011!

Swim Lessons 2010

We just wrapped up swim lessons for this summer. This was Emily's 2nd year & Jon's 1st. They both worked very hard and progressed a lot over the two weeks they had lessons. Emily started in the shallow end doing basics & ended with swimming to her teacher, Mrs. Mary, in the deep end and jumping off the diving board. Jonathan started with no real swim experience and ended with being able to kick, "reach & pull" with his arms, put his face under the water, and jump in. He also conquered his fears of floating on his back and going under the water. Here are some pics from their last day:


This is the kids in front of their swim charts. We made it to keep track of each lesson they successfully completed. Their reward is a trip to our local family water park next week. They've very much earned it & we are very proud of their hard work.

Trash the Dress

In the last decade or so there has been a new thing pop up in wedding/bridal photography. It's called a trash the dress session. Basically it's a photography shoot with the bride and sometimes bride & groom after the wedding. The whole point is to get some shots in places that you would never dare to before the wedding for fear of messing your dress up - thus, the "trash the dress" title. Some brides get really crazy & go roll in mud or throw paint on their dresses. That's not my style at all.

In honor of our 10 year anniversary I thought it would be fun to get my dress out of the box it had been in for a decade & let Joel photograph me in it. Big props go out to Candice who graciously did my makeup and hair. The pictures would not have looked even half as great without her help. She did such an awesome job! A big thanks to Nathanael too who came along to help out. And, of course, thanks to my hubby who did such a great job taking the pictures & telling me how to pose. It was a really, really fun experience. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Our Little Graduate

Emily just graduated Kindergarten last week. It really seems like we just dropped her off for her first day & now she's already done! Here are some pictures from the morning. They had a little ceremony & then all the kids sang a song for us. Then we went back to the classroom for some cake & punch. Emily's teacher, Mrs. Simmons, made a presentation to each student. It was a picture of her with each child, a poem, and a personalized inscription. Emily's was this: "Emily is very soft spoken and caring. She has shown a great interest in learning and doing her best. She will continue to be a successful student and college graduate with many opportunities."

We couldn't be happier with how well Kindergarten went for her & are very thankful that she had such a wonderful experience and teacher for her first year of school. Congratulations, Emily. We love you & are very, very proud of you!

10 Years

May 13th will be our 10 year anniversary. It's really kind of nice to have married in the year 2000. Makes remembering what anniversary it is really easy. ;-)

I've been reminiscing lately about what the last decade has held for us: lots of laughter, love, and fun. Lots of growth and some heartache. The loss of some family & the birth of our 3 awesome kids. The purchase of our home - which has also brought fun & several headaches (ha!). Several job changes & a few layoffs. Transitioning from a 2 income home to me coming home full-time. Watching our siblings marry their spouses in the last few years. Making several wonderful friends that now count as family too.

Joel has exceeded all I thought I wanted in a husband and father. I truly value & respect the man he is. I don't take for granted what we've got & we work hard to maintain our relationship. As we celebrate the last 10 years I look forward to many more decades of the same. Happy Anniversary, Joel. I can honestly say I love you more now than I did the day we married.

Joel & I when we were first dating. I'm about 19 & he's about 22

On our wedding day - I'm 21 & he's 24

My favorite recent photo of us at a marriage conference last year.

Sleeping in Style

Over the years I've found my kids sleeping in all kinds of interesting positions. This one, however, was a new one for me. It was too funny not to share!