Friday, March 20, 2009

Child photographers


So...I let Isaiah and Miriam take over the camera for a little while the other day and they had quite the fun time taking pictures of anything and everything. In the midst of plenty of out of focus shots they got some pretty darn good ones, as well. Here is a sampling of their picture taking adventures...



Mommy!


Joshua reading by the heater in mom's scrapbook room.


Bunny ears for the kitty, of course!





Daddy!



Let sleeping dogs be photographed.






I see you!



In the air!

(I am particularly impressed with them for this one, Isaiah set it up and Miriam took the picture and got the shot! Great job, guys!)

So much fun to be had with a camera!

Blessings on your day!

Tennis lessons

Our homeschool group had the opportunity to do tennis lesson with 3 of the instructors at the local tennis center. This is a fabulous opportunity for us to have lessons with great instructors at a great price and at a time that works well for us! So for four weeks all 3 kids are having lessons Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 - 2pm, with many of their friends from the homeschool co-op. Isaiah and Miriam absolutely love it, Joshua hasn't been that into it but this last week - the 3rd week - his instructor told me he is starting to get into it, which is wonderful news! (-:

Here are just a few pictures of the kids at tennis. I wasn't able to get a good action shot of Joshua since I got over there too late and then missed the one I could have gotten, so I am including a picture of him helping pick up the balls after practice (which seems to be almost as popular as playing, as far as the kids are concerned! Lol!)

Balancing tennis balls.
Going for the shot!

A swing...and a miss! A grand attempt though! And oh, so cute!

A new 'do'

A couple weeks ago when Kraemer's mom came to pick him up Miriam really liked how Jean had her hair, so she offered to put Miriam's hair up the same way. When Josh came home he said I couldn't do her hair like that anymore...it was too cute and he couldn't stand it! Lol! Well, you can judge for yourself, here are some pictures...
Miriam's too cute 'do'.


Jean and Miriam, twinsies! (-:

Then, of course, Miriam had to take a picture of Jean and I - two silly mommies!
And, finally, a self-portrait.
So, what's the verdict? Too cute for words? Or what?

Hot dogs

The other night Miriam and Josh wanted hot dogs for dinner so I told Miriam she could make them herself if she'd like. I talked her through heating them in a pan on the stove, then she put them in the buns and put the ketchup on for her and Josh. I snapped this picture of her serving her Daddy his dinner, since she was so proud, and I thought I'd share it with you all...

'And here is your dinner, sir.'

My baby!

A couple of weeks ago, on a Friday night, we were letting the kids stay up as late as they wanted. Around midnight Miriam came and leaned up against my back while I was reading on the couch, so I invited her to come sit in my lap. In short order she was fast asleep.

Ahh! Such sweetness for this sappy mom!

I love seeing my kids growing more and more into the amazing people that God has made them, it is exciting and wonderful! But there is a little sadness, too, as they leave behind babyhood, then toddlerhood, early childhood...and so on.


Miriam is on the brink of 'tween'agedom...not really a 'little kid' anymore, she is moving up to being quite the big kid. You can see it in her desire to do her own hair, her talk with her little friends, her ability to do so much on her own now...she is growing up and there's no getting around that fact.

So I will enjoy these precious moments to the fullest and treasure them in my heart as the sweet gifts from God that they are! And I will thank Him for the grace to let go as my children move into the teen years and on into adulthood...remembering that they are not truly mine, but His.

For that I am truly thankful!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Yikes! Only four posts the whole month of February! And we are already two weeks into March...I am being a very 'bad' blogger, I know. Honestly, there was even a two week gap in my picture taking(!)...I have been lazy with a lot of those type of things lately. We have been crazy busy running 'hither and yon' it seems and I just haven't felt like I've had a lot to write about. I think the main deterent to posting has been the fact that we still don't have orders. Anyhow, I am finally getting some posts up today and I will try to do better the rest of this month. We hope to get our orders sometime next week...we shall see.

One week (and one day) ago we had to say goodbye to our friends Lana, John, Brianna and John Jr. They are moving to Texas and going from active duty to reserves. I am excited for them as they enter a new chapter in their lives but we miss them! Of course we would be missing them in a few months regardless, so we try to remember that when we feel sad. Here are some pictures of the kids playing at our house on their last day together.

Isaiah, Brianna, Korah and Miriam


John Jr. and Brennen trying to 'perform surgery' on Miriam, even though she didn't need it - Miriam's narrative on this picture.


Brianna gets a ride



This was fun for everyone, as you can see below...








Ah, the simple joys of childhood! (-:

We are thankful for the time we had with our friends and wish them well on their new adventures! Perhaps we will see them again someday...