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Normally my husband drops LeighAnna at school when she has morning class since I do not have a reputation of being a morning person. Today, however, he had a meeting and for the first time this school year (shocking)… I had to drive her in.
I discovered two things…
1. The 10 minute grace period I usually receive at noon does not extend to the 8am drop off. All the more reason to homeschool LeighAnna until she gets her drivers license. Tardy slips feel like little tickets for my irresponsibility. Don’t they see the toddler on my hip that didn’t even get breakfast before we left the house?
2. The grocery store at 8am is a whole new world! Strolling the aisles with my latte while all the nice women adored my well behaved 2-year old was so serene. The produce was plentiful and the parking lot empty. It was a wondrous place I’ve never seen before… I can’t go back to where I used to be. 
I just need to preface this by saying that LeighAnna comes up with all her own poses. I just put in her the right spot. The girl is a natural… and a ham.
Day 64
This would be Lydia telling her sister “no no” with great authority.
Day 65
I was photographing all our books for an inventory. This was one of my first books that I got as a baby present. The illustrations of Joan Walsh Anglund define my childhood. My mom took a calendar illustrated by her and framed each month as a border around my room. I loved them! Hey mom, where are those?
Day 66
This was my other “money shot” from Sunday. It looks more like fall than March. Never mind that it snowed the next day.
Day 67
Her first eye exam went MUCH longer than anticipated because of dilation. Many hours later, she claimed she couldn’t eat her dinner because it was blurry. Sorry babe. Blurred vision only gets you out of reading… not taco salad.
Day 68
A perfect example of how to take an overexposed photo and make it salvageable. I loved her one foot forward pose.
Day 69
More snow. Please make it stop. At least it melts before the next storm hits.
Day 70
My sister and BIL stopped at our house for the morning. Although I have a great photo of LeighAnna reading to her auntie, I’m posting this one since my BIL won’t mind that I was shooting before showers and makeup. Lydia is showing her uncle where Teddy Bear is hiding on the train.
Yesterday I thought it might get warm enough to forgo a coat and see my dead brown grass again. Then it snowed… and I drowned my sorrows with a Dark Cherry Mocha from Starbucks. There are many things I love about Colorado… the endless winter is not one of them. I’ve suffered more from S.A.D. while living in Colorado then I ever did living 3 years in Seattle!
But this morning, I got a few hours with my sister when she stopped by on her way to a basketball tournament. And that my friends, is the biggest reason I am glad we live in Colorado. Because if we lived anywhere else, an airplane or extended vacation would be required to see my family.
And I can now identify myself with this bit of local humor:
Colorado
A winter statistic:
Ninety-eight percent of Americans scream before going into a ditch on a slippery road. The other two percent are from Colorado, and they say, “Hold my soda and watch this.”
You’re from Colorado if:
- You’ll eat ice cream in the winter.
- When the weather report says it’s going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.
- It snows five inches and you don’t expect school to be canceled.
- You’ll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.
- You have no accent at all, but can hear other people’s. And then you make fun of them.
- “Humid” is over 25%.
- Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and away from the mountains.
- You say, “The Interstate,” and everybody knows which one.
- You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard or ice storm.
- You buy your flowers to set out on Mother’s Day, but try and hold off planting them until just before Father’s Day.
- You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.
- You know what the Continental Divide is.
- You went to Casa Bonita as a kid, and again as an adult.
- You’ve gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.
- You always know the elevation of where you are.
- You wake up to a beautiful 80-degree day and wonder if it’s going to snow tomorrow.
- You don’t care that some company renamed it; the Broncos still play at Mile High.
- Everybody wears jeans to church.
- You actually know that South Park is a real place, not just a show on TV.
- You know what a “trust fund hippy” is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder.
- You know you’re talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches, not Six Flags.
- A bear on your front porch doesn’t bother you.
- Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the Raiders.
- When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.
- You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels “sticky,” and you notice the sky is no longer blue.
Sorry there was no explanation for the previous post. I was in a bit of a hurry today to get some things done.
If you’ve never heard of them before, let me introduce you to Keith and Kristyn Getty.
We were able to see them in concert this past weekend which made me oh so very happy. I’ve been listening to their music for a few years and am always surprised when people do not know who they are! Being a bit of a music snob, I try to find the lesser known musicians that are found through word of mouth… or through blogging as was the case with the Gettys.
Keith and Kristyn Getty are a husband/wife team from Northern Ireland that are bringing modern hymns back to the church and to future generations. They are the modern equivalent of Isaac Watts (only Irish of course)!
This explains why I acted like a complete 8th grader when I met them… stumbling over my words as I asked them to sign my songbook. (FYI… A songbook is the sheet music we music nerds buy at concerts since we already own every CD.)
I appreciate that their hymns are written with the purpose of unifying worship in the church.
“There are two reasons we write modern hymns,” explains Keith. “First, it’s to help teach the faith. What we sing affects how we think, how we feel and ultimately how we live, so it’s so important that we sing the whole scope of truth the Bible has given us. The second reason is to try to create a more timeless musical style that every generation can sing, a style that relates to the past and the future.”
“Our hope is not in ourselves, it’s in Christ,” Kristyn says of their purpose. “We want music for the Church to be able to lift us beyond our circumstances and become a plumb line for bringing all of our life experiences to the Truth.”
In addition to this, I think you’ll find the Gettys to be very fun and hip. I confess that I was coveting both Kristyn’s fashion sense and her bangs. I really want bangs again but without looking 16. Is that even possible?
Still my soul be still
And do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side
No longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow
God You are my God
And I will trust in You and not be shaken
Lord of peace renew
A steadfast spirit within me
To rest in You alone
Still my soul be still
Do not be moved
By lesser lights and fleeting shadows
Hold onto His ways
With shield of faith
Against temptations flaming arrows
Still my soul be still
Do not forsake
The Truth you learned in the beginning
Wait upon the Lord
And hope will rise As stars appear when day is dimming
Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townsend
Where do I begin? Let’s work backwards shall we?
First let me just say that if you own a Mac laptop (or desktop) you really should have the AppleCare plan. We have benefited from it twice now. The first time was when our laptop (circa 2005) could not be fixed despite numerous trips to the Genius Bar and beyond. They ended up replacing it with a brand new much improved laptop in 2008 that was light years better than the broken one.
And on this trip into the store, we commented that our laptop’s battery was not holding charge well. So they gave us a new battery for our laptop… and replaced the wireless keyboard with a new model that only eats two AA batteries at a time!
I ♥ Apple.
Moving on…. I feel the need to explain this:
I mentioned it before in passing but I feel the need to explain that this is my first ever ticket… ever! And I’ve been driving for 20 years all over this country and a few foreign ones too! I never even got a parking ticket, or a notice that my headlight was out or my blinker wasn’t working or….anything until now! My pride was hurt more than anything because I’m not a lead foot. I am a safe driver and… unless my child is bleeding profusely in the back seat… don’t willingly break speed limits.
I would have happily told the county sheriff all these things, but in the moment, I was too racked with guilt because… I deserved this ticket. In fact I deserved a much bigger fine than he gave me and so I’m not going to rail on and on about the injustice of it all, but instead be thankful for the mercy that was shown. At the time, I was on my way to pick LeighAnna up from school. I was not late or in a hurry. I had no reason to speed but chose to take this less traveled county road that has a fun bump on it that makes Lydia say “Weee!” from the backseat. (He didn’t looked at all phased by my reasons. I’m sure he’s heard them all.)
At the split second that I chose to take this road (vs. the normal way I go), I had a thought that this would be the day I got ticketed on this road because the dynamics of the road (downhill, etc) make it VERY hard to say under the speed limit… which is why I don’t drive it… because the risk is too high for the reward of getting a moment of anti-gravity in my gut. My van cloaks speed well because I was shocked when he told me how fast I was going as I came over the hill and saw him turn on his lights.
Since I paid my ticket by mail and will not be appearing in court… I just wanted to have this moment and this place to give my own account as I plead guilty before you… my jury of peers. My conscience seemed to dictate this need. Now that I’ve publicly humiliated myself, I can move on. Isn’t that the purpose of blogging?!
Now for the fun part… since I was practicing portraits this week, I have oodles and oodles of possible photos to fill up my 365 post. So I chose my favorites and they will have to suffice for week 9… a week I’m all to happy to be done with.
Portrait assignment practice session #1
Portrait assignment practice #2
Too cute to pass up!
Can it be?! Is it actually warm enough to ride bikes again? Oh please don’t bury me in another snow storm. I need that dry pavement for my sanity… and theirs.
This child has really embraced travel. Check out the crossed legs as she enjoys her obnoxious new camera toy.
This was from last week, but I love it and it gives me warm fuzzies which is something desperately needed as I head into our 4th consecutive week of… well, let’s just say it’s been hard lately. We are keeping a tally on the number of school days left this year… for LeighAnna AND for Daddy!
My keyboard won’t work despite the plethora of fresh batteries I’ve been feeding it. That means I’m locked out of my desktop which is the storehouse of all my photos. Until this issue can be resolved at the Genius Bar this evening, I can’t post my 365. Not that I actually had a week of photos to post. After taking around 200 photos in 2 days for my class, I wasn’t very trigger happy this week. But here is one of my favorites that was already uploaded.
It’s not perfect but they actually ASKED to be photographed together! I was shocked. And since it’s not obvious, I should mention that LeighAnna is sitting in a tiny box and telling me to hurry before her 23 pound sister crushes her. One of these days we’ll be able to go outside again and my children will not appear to be behind bars in every photo!
I told you I was going to be transparent about our next adoption.
I haven’t.
I told we were going to adopt from Ethiopia.
We’re not.
I told you we were 98% sure and reserved the right to change our minds.
We did.
I feel quite silly for announcing (prematurely) our plans for Ethiopia. We had only just begun our research when I posted that announcement. I wanted to show you how a family begins the adoption process from the beginning… the real beginning. I believe I accomplished that goal. If all you see is a mess of desires for very different children and very different programs… well then that was how God started the process for us.
After much research… days and weeks of research including phone calls, blog stalking, emails with friends and strangers alike…visits with families now home with their children and very blunt questions of adoption agencies… we decided Ethiopia is not where we should go next. In fact, we are not pursuing any adoption at this time.
There are many reasons for our decision, some that are more personal, but a big reason is that we are extremely busy with life… the other stuff of life that consumes every minute of the workday and weekends to boot. It’s all good stuff. Work stuff. Church stuff. Time with friends. Time with family. But cumulatively, it’s consuming us and we do not feel we are in a place right now to make clear decisions about our next child.
So for the past two months, we agreed to wait. And while we were waiting, the urgent need to continue building our family went away. Amidst the confusion I had last fall about where to go next, I had specifically asked God to make it clear where we should go…or to remove the desire lest we create an Ishmael instead of an Isaac.
We had felt rushed to add a third child because… 1) We love children and feel our family is not yet finished. 2) I wanted our third to be close in age to Lydia. 3) We have 18 months left at this assignment. However, during our time of prayer and research we realized these were not the best reasons for rushing into an adoption.
What I know is that God is not limited to our circumstances, location or birth order plans. He will bring our next child into our family at the perfect time… just as He did with both LeighAnna and Lydia. We waited 10 years for our first child. We waited another three years for our second. I’m not sure how long we’ll wait for our next child or if there will be a next child. After so many years of waiting, we really need to place our focus and energy on the two children God has blessed us with… which are already more than we ever expected or imagined.
I’m thankful for all our years of waiting. They are a time when God teaches us and grows us. A time when he prepares us for the unique needs and challenges that each of our children bring into our family. A time when he reveals specific areas of our hearts that need some work. I am so glad we have a God that gives us what we need, even when we don’t know our own needs.
If you have more questions about our plans or research feel free to email me privately. My husband and I still have a heart for the orphan and a strong desire for adoption ministry. We pray that God will continue to use our heart for adoption to help families grow, even if we are only cheering from the sidelines.
My homework this week was a portrait (with custom white balance)…
I pay my models with gummy bears.
I love my LeighAnna. She is such a helper and encourager.
But she is growing weary of being tailed by her sister all day long.
She got her first filling this morning and did awesome.
I got my first speeding ticket this afternoon… it was NOT awesome.
One of her front teeth is wiggly.
I will glue that tooth back in if needed so we can get a family portrait this spring.
She’s very good at handwriting…
but doesn’t like the new way she is being told to hold her pencil.
She’s growing tired of school in general… but not her teacher. She loves her!
I think a week of being sick gave her an appreciation for a slower pace at home and has left me wondering what decision we’ll make next year for school.
Sometimes I wish we had fewer choices for her education.
Then I read stuff like this and I’m thankful I even have a choice.
So far this year is not my favorite…
but this photo is.
I hope her smile brightens up your day as much as it did mine.
It is so sad that Lydia just had her first BUBBLE bath. I mean seriously! They sell it at the grocery store. You know, that place less than a mile from my home that I go at least weekly if not more often! But it took a trip to the more-than-you-could-ever-need mega baby store for me to actually remember to buy bubble bath.
You see, my girls have extremely sensitive skin and I can’t just dump any old glycerin product into the tub with them. I need the good stuff. The hypo-allergenic overpriced stuff. Suggestions for cheaper options welcome.
Next I should tell you that with or without bubble bath, using the word BATH around Lydia is like saying WALKIES to a dog! She’s down to her socks in seconds and hoping in the tub (with the socks and diaper still on) before I can even get the water running. If plain lukewarm water excites this child, imagine what a tub full of bubbles will do!
Yep… pure and absolute joy!
She washed the walls with the bubbles (which is frankly more than I’ve done for the tub lately).
She tried blowing the bubbles out of her hands.
She checked the spout to see where the source of joy and happiness came from.
And then she proceeded to eat the bubbles. This did not surprise me in the least.
Notice how much joy she finds in taunting Mommy with the possibility of ingesting even hypo-allergenic bubble bath.
After 150 pictures taken and 45 minutes of soaking… the fun came to an end.
But now that Bubble Bath is in the houze!… (dating myself there)… we shall have bubbles in every bath! Because around here, bath time is what we do when everyone is cranky and tired and bored. If it gets us clean… that is just bonus. And when I say “we” and “us”, I mean Lydia.
The rest of us prefer to find a nice stinky sulfur hot spring to soak in when we’re tired.
It snowed Fri-Mon and we’re all sick. This explains why I’ve spent the majority of my time fixing coffee and planning our summer vacation to some place warm and sunny. Not an exciting week but thankfully plenty of good pictures since I use the “good” camera when I’m home.
Day 50
Last Friday my day started way too early and ended much too late. The many hours in between were spent running around all over town. Since there is no photographic evidence of this day, I’m taking the liberty of inserting an extra picture on Monday. It’s my project, so I get to set the rules.
Day 51
I’m not sure if my husband is trying to maximize all the space our high ceiling provides or cause this mother to have a panic attack! Either way, I’m most excited about how clean my house was on Saturday! We hosted a church meeting that tested the max capacity of my humble abode but kept us from being isolated on a snowy morning. And don’t worry Mom, Grandpa was standing close by to catch whoever decided to topple off first.
Day 52
LeighAnna was trying to catch the snowflakes before we had noodles & co. for lunch… and yes, we ate noodles with our company so it seemed appropriate.
Day 53
I have MANY pictures from Monday so I’m giving myself a bonus and including two of my favorites. It was so cold Sunday that we closed the blinds to help the house warm up. When we opened them the next morning, the windows were covered in condensation and the girls… well, they got straight to work expressing themselves in window art.
My husband thinks this looks more like a close encounter of the 3rd kind… Why is that silly movie so ingrained in my mind?!
Day 54
Over the past month, we’ve noticed something developing between these two. I think it just might be friendship! Or it could just be a truce. Frankly, I’ll take either if it means they are enjoying each other and not needing me to referee all the time. I really don’t look good in stripes, but Lydia does!
Day 55
Two things that are adorable about this photo. 1) Lydia taking pride in the “tattoo” she gave herself while sitting under my desk with a ball point pen. I knew it was too quiet. 2) Lydia taking pride in her “cheesy smile” while posing next to her big sister… who you can’t see because I have a 50mm lens and am way too close to them.
Day 56
Lydia and I have a good day when I give her lots of attention early on, which is exactly what we did all morning. Equipped with love and security, she is better able to entertain herself without causing mass destruction upon my house or her sister. This morning she found a doll brush and decided to open a beauty salon using herself and her Mommy as her main clientele. We then made my office chair a bucking bronco/tilt-a-whirl so that I could get caught up on the Olympic highlights (which I feel I have entirely missed out on.)
♥
I’m noticing a trend of three posts per week. Considering our current ops tempo… I think three posts each week might be all you can expect from me until… a) things slow down or b) we do something besides watch the snow fall and consume Kleenex.
Oh and for those that care… I will have a Sunday Snapshot this week!
It’s been a very long time since I studied math. And it’s been even longer since I used math! I distinctly remember my liberal arts advisor assuring me that it was only a core requirement and not something I would have to retain for use in the real world.
I was wrong.
It’s everywhere! I learned that early on while figuring out how much 35% off means in Gymboree. (I’m very thankful to the OshKosh outlet for posting the conversion on the sign for me. Do I really need keep track of both my kids, dole out snacks, pick out matching outfits in correct sizes AND figure out the sale price?!! I think not.)
Well, it turns out that shopping isn’t the only place I need to use math now. It just so happens that photography requires a knowledge of fractions… which explains why it’s taken me 20 years to actually figure out the science behind taking a good picture. But unlike my analytical trigonometry exam, photography-math results in really cool things like this….
and this…
This weekend was my first time shooting in full Manual mode!
It felt a bit like my first time behind the wheel of a car. There were so many variables to be adjusting (ISO, aperture and shutter speed). I’ve never been in full control of my camera before and frankly it’s quite exciting for me to see that my efforts are not junk! In fact, some of them (with the teeniest of post processing) are quite good. Yeah me!
Then came the reality check. After turning in my assignment today, I browsed my classmates photos… pure awesomeness. They are such pros. Obviously not first timers in the M mode like me.
The only downside to this new method of shooting is how LONG it takes me to find the right balance… the ying and yang per say… of my settings. Despite the modeling contract my girls have with me that lasts for perpetuity… even they cannot wait for Mommy to get it right and then be expected to smile.
So I rummaged around in my car for a good substitute and found this…
I hadn’t intended to be so blatant in my product placement, but these are two brands I can heartily endorse. And thanks to the pretty bokeh, it quickly became one of my favorites of the day. FYI… I bought this to match my lime green Keens. Girls that shop at REI are stylish like that.
And just as a reminder… while the skills of photography are universal, the subjects and styles of each photographer are not. Do not compare your work to anyone else’s work (as I am so often tempted to do). What you see and how you capture it with your camera is as unique as the eyeball looking through the viewfinder. I find myself wishing I could take beautiful photos of my girls like so many others do, but what I’m finding is that I make a much better still life photographer.
Anyone have some produce, rocks or trees they need photographed? I’m your man… er, woman.
For the past week, we’ve had a new CD playing (continuously) in the car. It’s called J is for Jesus by Emu Music.
While skeptical at first… I am now in love with this CD. It would be best described as a doctrinally sound Australian/Christian version of the Wiggles. I promise that if you can memorize the Bible Alphabet song as well as I have… you too will be able to perfect your Aussie accent and entertain others at dinner parties (not that I’ve actually done that or anything….)
I was first directed to the CD when it went on sale for $5 at Christmas and I figured that at that price, I was willing to take a risk. But now I have done all the listening for you and I highly recommend buying a copy for your age 5 and under set. Listening in the car is optional since some of the songs are fun to dance to and feel very interactive with the kids.
But if any music remotely close to the Wiggles makes you want to poke your eyes out with yummy yummy fruit salad… never fear. Emu Music also has wonderful praise music that is absolutely beautiful.
Listen and see for yourself at their Emu Music website!
Disclaimer: I didn’t take pictures on two days of this week… BUT I had so many from the days my camera was operating that we’re just going to lump them all together and call the week a success! Feel free to do the same. I won’t tell.
Day 43
Lydia loves her Grandpa especially when he’s sharing stollen bread with her.
Day 44
This was a photo that fails in all technical areas but that i still love because of who is in it!
Day 45
My funny valentine!
Day 46
I’m in disbelief that you are all getting to see Lydia’s smile! It is so rarely caught on film because she prefers to do a crooked smile or big cheesy smile with eyes closed. This is also one of my favorite dresses that cost about $5 on clearance at Old Navy. I’d like to copy the pattern and make more like it. She wore this dress Sunday, Monday and Wednesday this week. Four adults in the house and not one of us can find fresh clothes in the drawer for her?!
Day 47
The Olympics seem to be inspiring Lydia. Here we have her salute to the long jump (on the left) and her righteous moves for snowboarding (right). Maybe we should call her “the flying olive”?
Day 48
There’s a story behind those fluffy bunny feet. LeighAnna’s class earned a slipper day… which none of us remembered until we were walking into school. Yes there were tears. BIG tears! These were the slippers she wanted to bring but we could only find one. I suggested she just hop around on one all day… more tears. Time and place Mommy!
She was already 30 min late to school because of her parents so I promised to return with slippers. Since Wally World was closer than home, I forked over $6 for a pair of princess slip-ons to add to her slipper collection. Later that day I realized we also forgot to bring her homework back to school… and I burned dinner. Needless to say, I was very glad when Wednesday was over.
Day 49
Our family portrait by LeighAnna. Grandma had a little notebook in her purse that became a treasure the moment it was produced after dinner one night. LeighAnna drew the picture with a pen and then colored it in the next morning. I love that she is portraying all our differences while showing our unity as a family. (FYI… we’re all wearing our favorite colors.) We have crowns because we’re royalty… of course. Daddy really is that tall and skinny. Mommy is hiding her extra pounds under that stunning dress and Lydia’s legs really are that short. Now I just need to talk to LeighAnna about her blue eyes.
Adoption Road is my little view of the world as a Navy wife and mom to two little empresses born in China. Although an expert at moving, I prefer to stand still long enough to photograph and blog the ordinary of each day. For the next few years, we get to settle down and enjoy life above 7000 feet in Colorado. 
