48/52 - 'Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go!'

Grandma and Grandpa's house was our Thanksgiving destination.

Will is holding my brother Jim's dog, Patron.
Will called him 'trombone' which we thought was awfully cute.
Since our 6 month old puppy Zoe is now the size of a small horse,
Grace and Will were fascinated with this little dog.
Grace thought he looked like a stuffed animal and I have to agree!
Patron is a sweet little guy and loves children.

Our son Nick, his girlfriend Lindsay and our littles. 

Gosh I love these 4 people.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with lots of delicious food, we all pitched in to help my Mom.

I'm most thankful for the gift of my family and know 

how blessed I am to have my parents healthy and active.

The above is Will serenading us with some Christmas tunes.

Is it just me or does he look awfully comfortable with a microphone is his hand?

Especially in the pic on the right side with his hand in his pocket.

He's a natural!

I'll get some video of him singing.

47/52 - Farewell to Fall

(Taken yesterday morning before school).

Fall is now turning into Winter.
The leaves are mostly gone and there's a permanent chill in the air.
Thanksgiving is almost here.
Which means Christmas is around the corner.

Yesterday the Kindergarten classes at Will's school had a Harvest Festival
to celebrate the end of Fall.

 

All the children dressed as scarecrows.
The above photo shows Will acting the part.
Quite well, if I may say so. ;)

This boy is a nut!

 
The wink was a bonus!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
We'll be spending it with my parents, my siblings and their families.
We have a lot to be thankful for!

12 Days of Giveaways

Starting this Friday Nov. 25th through December 23rd,on each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Lisa, Stefanie and Diana will be hosting a very special event.It's called 12 Days of Giveaways and it'll benefit orphans in China.

If you'd like to make a child's Christmas better,and maybe win a gift for yourself or get a gift for a special someoneon your Christmas list,please join in!!It'll be fun, I know I'm going to be there. 

Favorite Photo(s) Friday - my children

"They know me in a way no one ever has.
They open me to things I never knew existed.
They drive me to insanity and push me to my depths.
They are the beat of my heart,
the pulse of my veins,
and the energy in my soul.
They are my kids."

~ unknown
 

I didn't write the above but surely could have
because I've thought and felt every single one of those statements.

They make me laugh until I cry.
And sometimes frustrate the heck out of me.

I couldn't possibly love my children more than I do.

(His idea to use 2 sticks to make a mustache).



And couldn't have ever imagined that I'd be in my middle age years
and be a mama to two young children.

I'm grateful for this second and third chance at motherhood and thank God everyday
for my 3 children.
(the big and the 2 littles)

46/52 and texture Tuesday - the Phoebe eDition

We're transitioning to Winter here in Wisconsin...yes it's coming soon.

I've been in denial about it's arrival, but need to come to acceptance.

The snow will be here.

Taken yesterday of these cattails on a marsh overlooking a pond

 near our home.

I used two layers of Kim's 'Phoebe' texture, 

one in overlay and the other in soft light.

Favorite Photo Friday - November

Ah...November.

In our part of the world it is -

beautiful late afternoon light

wind blowing leaves off the trees
a first snowfall

and the anticipation of Winter days.

For me it's squeezing a few more outdoor sessions in with my children. 

 Last weekend I took Grace out for some portraits

before the snow starts falling.

The light was amazing in this field.

Last year I took her here out on the train tracks.

It's pretty amazing to see how much she's grown in one year.

This girl is awfully patient with me, it was a little chilly when we did them.

I love how she managed to find some levity!

Grace's beautiful hair flower (the eggplant colored peony) is by Sophia Jane Boutique.

And her pretty outfit is by Matilda Jane.

I thought they went together fabulously!

Have a great weekend. 

I'll be staying warm and toasty indoors. :)

45/52 - dreaming of...

Can it really be true?
Halloween has come and gone and you know what comes next.
We barely get to celebrate or observe Thanksgiving, which is a little sad to me.

My littles were reminded last week when the above catalog arrived.
If you look closely, there are drawings, arrows pointing and names written of some things that
they'd love for Christmas.
Will even highlighted the coupons in the back for me.

As a child I remember my siblings and I perusing the Sears Wishbook.
The times have changed I suppose...
but maybe not?

I've started my Christmas shopping.

The hard part is finding a good hiding place.
There are little people here that like to look. ;)

Favorite Photo Friday - no tricks, just treats

Halloween started with a costume parade, followed by class parties at Grace and Will's school.
Will's class were all Monarch butterflies and that's him flying away from his teacher.
In the evening he became Green Lantern.

I fully intended to take a lot of pics of the evening but it just didn't happen.
When our oldest (Nick) stopped by to see the kids in their costumes and then
volunteered to pass out candy,
Grace and I ventured out with a friend of hers.
Dan went with Will and some of his friends.

 

It was definitely a success as far as candy totals went...

I think Grace counted 142 pieces for herself. 

Yikes!

 

44/52 - Halloween fun

Just a glimpse of our Princess from India and Green Lantern taken the day before Halloween.

This year I decided to take a few pics of Grace and Will

before trick or treating because that evening is pretty wild and crazy

and I usually don't have time to get any of the two of them together.

I'm saving our Halloween night ones to put on the blog Friday.

I did get a few snapshots of the festivities.