new craziness

right, like life wasn't crazy enough... well here it goes. i have been feeling so rushed and out of sorts lately. life has been chugging along and i have not had the time to blog about what is happening. i will be posting a my july in review and photos post soon. for the iheartfaces and for my just started project 365. i am enjoying p365. that is when i remember to take a photo before noon. (or midnight for that matter) now you must know that i am currently working the graveyard shift at a local hotel. (to find out which, look for the pic in my p365 post coming later) working graves is a life which i am not used to. i am up all night then i go home to see a sleeping family. yes they all sleep until at least 8a. then i try to do a few and i do mean FEW chores. and then i am off to bed. i sleep til about 1 or 2 p. then up to watch kiddos while daddy-o tries to get some of his work done. and i have to try to remember to take a photo of something, but not of the same thing i did the day before... daddy-o is working as a temporary part-time stocker (not the creepy kind) at the local home improvement store. he works 8:30p-2a. so the kids are with grandparents the nights we both end up working. this is not great for the kids, but at least they are sleeping and not getting too much grandparent overload. and it is summer time, so school hasn't been an issue...yet. it feels like i am a single parent or possibly divorced for as much as i don't see daddy-o. just for the kid exchange and a quick kiss, then one or the other off to work. my nights off, he usually works, his nights off i am working. grr... do i even know this man who is raising my kids?? i have a whole new level of respect for my mom. she raised me all by herself, with the help of her parents, but still. i know i was a hand full at times. (my dad passed away when i was 2 1/2) almost three months of this crazy schedule, and i am feeling alone, sad, and tired. when will i have the same days of (or even day) as daddy-o? can we have a day that there is nothing to do or plan for or clean up? i need to reconnect with my little family and get happier again. so as an employee of this great hotel, i get to do a guest experience stay, for free! and this week, i actually have sat off and so does daddy-o. my mother-in-law works at the same hotel and she went to the general manager and asked if i could use my free employee stay this sat. and boss said yes! grandma-jo and papa will have the kids and daddy-o and i have a jacuzzi suite. i am looking forward to being uninterrupted while in his arms...you moms out there know what i mean... i will let you know some of the details later. hope your sat is great! thanks for reading...

i heart faces #29 at the beach

i have been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting on our different beach trips. we love to go the the beach, NewPort, OR is our favorite. so many memories there. we spent our honeymoon there and have returned several times.

i have gone back and forth over which picture to enter into this weeks beach theme at i heart faces, and i finally decided to use one from our last trip to NewPort. this photo is my girls at Beverly Beach in OR, just north of NewPort. it was a hazy stormy day in july 2008. we were on our way home from my grandpa's funeral. my wonderful husband stopped here and we stayed for four nights to rest and renew. he is so thoughtful, and shows his love in the most interesting ways. it was on this trip that we learned about Jam and we were asked if we wanted him. of course i said yes, and then realized i should have asked daddy-o first, but when i told him, he agreed too.

here are my beautiful girls and the love between them is wonderful to see. i think the fog makes it look like they are in a dream world, with only suggestions of reality.

i almost used one from this set for the feet theme last week. i love sandy toes... be sure to head over to i heart faces to be inspired by other beach photos and enter yours too! have a great week.
thanks for reading...

i heart faces wk #28 "feet"

i have been thinking about feet this past week. i have pictures of new baby feet, and feet covered in sand and mud, but i thought there would be several photos like that. i decided to enter some dancing feet. dancing is a favorite past time of ours. these are friends square dancing in mccall, id. the second weekend in july for the past 53 years, dancers from the treasure valley invade the picturesque town of mccall and dance the weekend away. i took several photos this year. and you can see more at idahosquaredance.shutterfly.com

check out other feet photos at i heart faces, there are sure to be many great photos. there always are. i am grateful for the "friends" i have met through the exchange of photos.

i thought these dancing feet are a good look a lot like our life right now. feet are pointed in every which direction, and you are not sure where they are going or where they will end up, but God knows. he has ordered our steps. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 and that gives me great peace of mind. knowing that i may not know how the "dance of life" is going to play out, but i am only asked to follow His leading.

remember to let Him lead, and dance on... thanks for reading...

i heart faces #27 “Sports in Action”

here it is sunday again...wow time just seems to get away some how. i have had a great three days off from work. and we went camping. just got back this afternoon. will be unloading the 16 G camera card soon.

but for now here is my entry for the iheart faces sports in action theme. this is one of our t-ball players. daddy-o was the coach for the little league team this year and YeeYah got to play. i'm not sure who had more fun daddy-o or her. they were both a little sad when it was over, and so was i.

this is afton, she is keeping her eye on the ball, and she nailed it a line drive past second base. i love the concentration on her face. also her mom in the green behind her, having a great time as well. i will post more t-ball pics later, but so far... this is my fav. (out of the kids that aren't related to me)

we went camping this weekend and saw lots of people we know. it was the 53rd annual "funstitute" in McCall, ID. when all the area 3 square and round dancers go up north to dance away the weekend. lots of dancers camp (we do too) and others "rough it out" in a motel.

at breakfast on sat, dick brought his dog, taffy. she is nine years old and had a stroke soon after she was born. her hind legs run faster than the front ones and her head is at a funny angle, but she is cute and freindly as can be. she posed for me to get this shot of her, and she even smiled!

do go over to i heart faces and see all the other pet and action photos, you will be inspired. i always am. this site challenges me as a photographer and i feel i am getting better at something that i love.

have a great week and as always

thanks for reading...

baby boy looking good

this is my little Jam. he is not so little anymore. 7 months and 16 or 17 lbs! wow he is catching up to Ehm in a hurry. i guess he will be the littel "big" brother. this is how he looks when he stops scooting around. he looks at me and smiles to say "look, i did it." he also rests in this pose a lot too. we call it his "Burt Reynolds" pose. oh yea, all the girls are gonna go crazy
thanks for reading...

now there are two...

look, Look, LOOK! now i have two followers. this might not be a big deal to some, but i was thinking that maybe i don't matter, now i have two in the same week, just when i needed the ego in flation, so thanks gals! you helped to lift me up. and yes my heart went pat patter pitty pat when i saw two followers. and i got that funny feeling in my tummy like when you go really high on the swing set (you know that feeling like you might be sick or maybe just have to pee, but it is in your stomach instead) so yee haw and cool beans catch ya on the flip side and all that cool happy stuff... thanks for reading...

My Story in Photos: Patriotic Edition {how we spent the day}

first a big shout out to all the military men and women past and present who fought and gave their time and lives so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. thanks to the family members too. what a sacrifice you give to others every day. so we had no money to go away for the fourth. but we weren't planning on it either. daddy-o had to work on the 3rd and i had to work on the 4th. i work from 11p to 7a and we weren't sure if there would be time in the day for me to see the kids enjoy fireworks or not, so when daddy-o got home at 3:30a on sat morning, we woke the girls and lit fireworks. yea for walmart and combo pack for $7. the fireworks were lots of fun. this is us lit by one of the fireworks. we are sitting on the back deck wrapped in blankets to keep the skeeters away. (Jam is in bed. i did not feel like dealing with a cranky 7 month old, so we let him sleep, he would not remember it anyway) and yes we are in our pajamas

of course there must be a kissing pic too. i am glad we have the independence to marry whomever we see fit. and i am glad to be married to daddy-o.

i really like the fountainy effect of this one.

sparklers have always been my favorite. here is Yah. you can just see her face.

she is concentrating hard on not letting any sparks get on her. looks like she is not having fun, but she said she loves "sparkers."

Ehm did not know what to think, but daddy-o convinced her it was ok.

then she went crazy flinging sparks everywhere. (notice the glow of  Yah's face on the left)

of course you have to try to make a perfect circle with your "sparker."

now it is my turn. i have a remote shutter in one hand and the sparkler in the other. i absolutely love sparklers. you can take away all the rest of the fireworks, just leave me some sparklers and i'm good. (looks like i have three legs hahaha)

well after sparklers we went back to bed. daddy-o and Yah went to home depot for the kids workshop. she made a bird house and a picnic caddy. when they came home about noon, i got up and we played. daddy-o has been working on getting the pool ready for Yah's birthday party (three weeks to go)  Yah wants to have a "mermaid party." Ehm wanted in the pool, of course, she is a water baby! so daddy-o held her over the side and let her get all wet. when they came in, she took all of her clothes off and her diaper. she would not let me put a clean one back on. Ehm declared her independence from diapers (for a while) and insisted on playing us all a song on the piano (she sang too).

you can see how pleased she is with herself. yeah for "independence" day!

i did convince her to put on a diaper finally. Yah wore her home depot apron all day. she got a notebook, pen, and tape measure to put in the pockets too, just like daddy-o. he works the night restocking shift there.

here are all three kids together. aren't we blessed? hooray for the independence to have a family of your own!

no independence day is complete with out a barbecue! we went to papa and grandmas to partake of one. the kids were playing and having a great time.

Jam decided he had the freedom to have a pink binki. (or rather his mom did) but he liked it just the same.

 Yah played with this little light. her eyes are so pretty.

Jam has the freedom to be a mechanic on the tricycle, or to chew in the pedal (same thing.) i am thankful for the freedom we have to choose our own careers.

this is the tree in the back yard well and us of course, in our patriotic outfits. yes i planned what each of us would wear. as a mom i have the freedom to veto outfits on any special occasion. you can choose for yourself every other day.

we did get to stay long enough to shoot off more fireworks at papa and grandma's. here are all the girls (left 2 right) corky (2), baba (4),  yah (almost 7), ehm (20 mo). they sat there and yelled out the color of the sparks. too cute.

Jam got to see then too, and he loved it. he just stared and stared and had a funny look on his face. he was really trying to figure out what was going on with all that pretty light.

sun has just set and the show is started.

the kids had a blast. they liked the few that screamed the most. corky tried to whistle too. and Ehm just screamed back at them. then the older girls had to do it too.

i like the glow of the sky in these here. it is difficult to get good pics of fireworks. first it is dark and how do you know where to focus and then i can't figure how to adjust the time setting for the shutter, well and there is only one day each year when we get to light fireworks. no wonder why i got so-so shots. i like them just the same and the memory is here to stay.

it was really fun to watch our shadows "jumping" on the wall behind us. hard to tell in the photo, but it was comical.

after we were done here, i had to go to work and that was the end of the day.

i am glad that our independence lasts for more than just a day. i rejoice in the knowledge that we have the opportunity to be forever free from the bondage of sin and that Christ paid my debt on the cross. so that one day i may live with Him forever.

i am also glad that God gives us free will to choose or not, but He loves us just the same.

i look forward to seeing other's patriotic edition posts. just click on the link below to see more great photo stories. and you should post yours too and tell us what are your traditions and memories of independence day. mr. linky will be open all week. you know you want to...

thanks for reading...

someone is following me

hello , i actually stood up to type this, weird... uum yea wanted to say thanks for being my first follower. i did the super excited happy dance and turn around in the chair and oh yea oh yea wiggle wiggle. good thing there were no witness, i am at work after all... thanks for thinking i am cool enough to follow, i hope i don't disappoint. as always i will be honest and try to post at least once a week. :o) thanks for reading...

encouragement verse for today

daddy-o has been a bit discouraged as of late. bills keep piling and money is scarce, as is the food for that matter, but the love is eye deep around here and that is what we are clinging to at this time. this post is to remind us (and you if you need it) that God is with us. He cares for us and loves us. i have been looking for some encouraging texts to share with daddy-o. i think i will print some and tape them to the bathroom mirror so we will see them often. here is one that i will use today:

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. I lay down and slept. I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. Psalm 3:3-5

what are some of your favorite verses that you turn to for strength? i would love to know. i also like this one:

The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! Psalm 18:46