An apple a day...

...hasn't kept Grandma away from the doctor. We got a call tonight from Sharon saying that Brian's mom is in the hospital. Feel better soon Grandma! We love you!














It wouldn't be the same if we didn't get to enjoy the orchard with Daddy so we headed out this afternoon to pick another bag of apples. Three more pies coming right up!











The apples were so plentiful that we could send Sam on down the row to pick apples on his own. He always came back with big, red, and bruise-free treasures. Julia on the other hand managed to pick up the most disgusting half eaten, rotten mushy, glob that once resembled an apple and happily shove it in her mouth. Gross.
You wouldn't believe how many of these I had to take to get one with both kids looking!
Sooooo worth the effort don't ya think? Time to check on those pies... Mmmmm!

Is anybody out there?

Jennifer did a post this evening about de-lurking and I couldn't help but jump on the bandwagon. Don't worry, you don't need to have your own blog to de-lurk and it only takes a second to type a quick hello once you click on "comments" at the end of this post. I would enjoy the chance to visit your blog if you do have one. Bloggerville can be a wonderful support network - no need to be shy here. :)

The trained eye...

...might notice something different about these portraits. Any guesses?

Here she comes.....

....Miss Julia.










We entered Julia in a local baby contest last night. It was not at all what I expected. There were only 10 kids in the entire competition and all but 2 were boys.


Being the only one in her age group, Julia took home the trophy and tiara. She also was presented with a trophy for the prettiest eyes. We don't have any pictures of her on stage so you'll have to take my word for it that she was adorable bopping to the music and hamming it up for the judges. Part of the prize package is a photo shoot with a fashion photographer - the catch? - he's in Chicago. Her entry fee into the state competition is also covered. It's hard to know if we should keep pursuing a modeling career for her when she didn't have any competition last night. She's young enough to not care one way or another. She was happy with her shiny new "toys".

Happy 1st Birthday Grant!

(Taken on his 1/2 birthday)


The first time Grant visited our home and the last day of daycare.

Our last group picture

The eyes have it

Warning - Mama bragging alert - skip this post if that sort of thing sickens you.

Two weeks ago I was all about photographing feet. This weeks it's about the eyes. I've always thought Sam had the most amazing eyes and this new camera is giving me a chance to show them off in all their glory. Have you ever seen such dark blue eyes??? And then there's my baby girl....




When Julia was born I really hoped her eyes would stay dark like her brother's, but now I'm glad they didn't, or I'd have missed out on one of her best features.

Fall Scenery

We've been blessed with a sunny and warm afternoon - perfect for a walk to the nearby lake and park. Julia gets mad when we come in, that's how much she enjoys being outside.

The scenery is beautiful, but I much prefer the faces of my babies.



At the beginning of our walk a recycling truck drove past us. Sam asked what kind of truck it was and I told him. He then asked, "Does it have horses in it?" Silly Sam.

Joy

My heart is light today. I could easily get lost in the piles of laundry waiting for my attention or on the computer in Bloggerville, but instead I'm choosing joy. I'm choosing to be grateful for the time I have today with Sam and Julia. Nothing imparticular has happened to blog about, but I wanted to stick this in here anyway. We're enjoying the little things - breakfast eaten on the floor, singing, flying (you know when you use your legs to send the kids high in the air?), reading lots of stories, playing with my old Fisher-Price Little People toys, and giggling - lots of giggling. We plan to head out for another walk after naps just like we did yesterday.

Let me hear joy and gladness.
Psalm 51:8

FootPrint Photography is open for business

This is a dream come true for me! In fact it still feels like a dream. Purchasing a new camera in the midst of Brian's career change definitely was a step of faith. Having the potential to bring in additional money obviously was a big selling point, but I have to find clients to make that happen. We prayed and talked about whether this was the right time or not and the very day Brian gave me the thumbs-up, I "happened" to read a story during my devotional time that talked about taking risks. The last paragraph went like this: "Now, how about you? Are you willing to take a risk (even if you're not the best in the field) and learn (not yearn for) a new skill, set a new goal, or help a dream come true?" How's that for an answer to our prayers?!


For more pictures check out my new site - www.fpphotography.blogspot.com

Birthday Bash

It's late and I am way too exhausted to reflect much on the past year as Julia's mom tonight. Perhaps tomorrow I'll have a chance to edit this to include some of my thoughts and memories. For now I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy! I know Julia did. :)

In case you're wondering - she did come clean after a good rinsing in the sink.


















Sweet Dreams Birthday Girl!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

A trip down memory lane

The cake is made, the gifts are wrapped, the video is almost done, and the pizza's in the fridge. We're off to take her one year portraits and then it's party time!

Footprints on my heart

Tomorrow at 1:22pm we met our beautiful baby, Julia for the first time. I'm enjoying a trip down memory lane as I compile her birthday slideshow this evening. What a year it's been! I shutter to think of all the memories that would be lost forever if I hadn't started this blog or hadn't recorded milestones on her calendar. I love to read back over my journal entries that I write to each child in a special bound book. When the time is right, I'll pass them on and let them read years worth of letters from their mom and dad.
I still have many hours of slideshow editing to do, but I wanted to take a quick break and share this precious picture of JoJo's tiny feet.

Fall Camping at Lake Maria State Park

Without a doubt the highlight of our year is the annual camping trip we go on with two other families. The group has grown with the addition of spouses and another generation of kids. I was a new addition eight years ago and this year we initiated Julia, Maddie, Tommy, Adam, and Karen into the ranks of hearty souls who are willing to brave sleet, snow, rain, and high winds to have the opportunity to laugh till our sides hurt, eat till we can eat no more, and our favorite activity (tied with getting ourselves lost on the hiking trials) - reminiscing about past camping weekends. This group have been friends since Brian was in grade school so there many stories to share.


Already Sam is pitching in to get camp set up.


We've learned over the years to bring wagons to haul supplies to the campsite, but this year they served another purpose - kiddy containment (and self entertainment when they spent half a day pulling each other around)

When Sam, Tommy, and Adam weren't pulling the wagon or fishing, they were playing baseball.


Stew, chili, sweats, hot dogs, pasta, bread, muffins, bacon, sausage, eggs, marshmallows, and yes - even Julia's shoe were all devoured at the campsite.


Julia thought camping was the greatest thing ever!

Smooooooooch!!!

She wants to be just like her big brother and wear his backpack.

The start of day 2 - rise and shine!



"I may be clean now, but it won't last."

Told you so.

Grandpa kept a big fire roaring most of the weekend. Sam helped "keep the forest clean" by hauling branches to the campsite.


The boys loved fishing. They went a couple times each day.

I wasn't exaggerating when I said we brave the elements. A little rain wasn't stopping us!


We hit the trail shortly after this picture was taken.

Technically we were following the "all dogs must be on a leash" rule.



We wrapped up the weekend with some of Kitty's famous stew and headed home for some much needed baths.