More Holiday Decorating!

So we finally got our tree issue sorted out, long story short there is a defective section of lights on the top and we had to bring it back to the store. It's not fixed, but they gave us a temporary solution and will get it fixed it after the Holiday season. We decided since they do plan to fix it, this year we'd let it be, because it's not that noticeable. And tonight we (FINALLY) begun decorating! At least it's sorted out, I really love the tree and didn't want to have to return it. Plus we had already put it all together!

Last night we wrapped the tree with a red sparkly ribbon garland and then started adding ornaments tonight. I need to get some hooks for some of the new ornaments so we'll finish it tomorrow. But here is what it looks like so far. I also want to get a larger tree skirt, but the Doc seems to think it's fine. It's WAY too small if you ask me!


I also (thanks to a Pinterest link) spent this afternoon tapping ribbon to my kitchen cabinets as a new way to display my Christmas cards. I liked my wreath but by the end of the month I couldn't see some of the cards, plus it wasn't holding the cards as well anyway. I thought this was such a neat idea, I wanted to try it out! And wouldn't you know, by chance I got my first two Christmas cards of the season, so I was also able to test the new display! Check it out!



Once I get more cards (and I clean up my kitchen a bit!), I'll pop on my wide angle lens and snap a better picture, but you get the idea!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 30

Day 30, the last day of this gratitude challenge. It's been really fun thinking outside of the box on some of the "challenges" and trying to come up with interesting images. Today is a self-portrait. It was a little awkward trying to take a photograph of myself for the sole purpose of taking a photograph. I have used my phone to take pictures of a new haircut or an outfit I need an opinion on, but to photograph myself for the sake of art was like I said awkward! Ha! Thanks for all the comments and likes along the way and I look forward to my next challenge, a sort of 25 Days of Christmas Challenge, nothing specific just images that celebrate the Christmas season!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 29

Only one more day left to this challenge. Day 29 is light and I decided to show off a neat trick I learned about in my photography class, fun with bokeh! Bokeh is what the blur of light in the out of focus areas is known as. Now there is a way to manipulate the shape (normally seen as circles) by making a cut out on a black piece of paper and taping it over the lens. In the spirit of the holiday I chose to manipulate the bokeh to look like Christmas trees. It's not perfect but I still got the effect that I was looking for! Definitely something I want to keep practicing!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 28

Day 28 is nighttime. I can't believe there are only a few more days left of this challenge. It's been a lot of fun, I might have to find a new challenge for December, since I am going to start Project 365 in January!

I Heart Faces / Laughter

They say laughter is the best medicine, right! This week at I Heart Faces, it's all about "busting a gut"! This is my son David laughing after Thanksgiving dinner at his Auntie Robyn, who was being really silly, trying to lick Auntie Kim's ear when I was trying to take a nice picture of the two of them! David thought it was HILARIOUS! It's not the most sharp image but it was one of those images where it was more important to capture the moment than to get it perfect!

Find out what's so funny over at I Heart Faces today!

 

Our Family Portraits!

Today once it warmed up a bit, we got the boys dressed and headed outside so I could get our annual Christmas card picture. Since I have spent the last year practicing in manual mode and taking classes, I opted to skip the studio this year and take them myself. I ordered a remote for my camera so I wouldn't have to run back and forth with the timer set. This way we could get set and I would just aim my remote at push the button and snap the picture! I am really excited with how they came out! Here are the images I got today from our mini-holiday photo shoot (minus, of course, the official Christmas card photo!).

Shaun's not smiling but I think it's still sweet!


My boys!


Our happy little family!








Me and my babies!




David




Shaunie!




And last but not least, Evan!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 27

Day 27: Daily Routine. Sunday is one day where are not in our normal every day routine, but one thing always remains the same no matter what the day and that is the boys morning teeth brushing routine!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 26

Day 26: Transportation = image of my Mom-mobile! I love my van, purchased before Evan was born, it's my very first brand new car and aside from the mess on the inside from the boys and the fact that it clearly needs a bath, I take very good care of it!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 25

Day 25: Artwork. David is turning out to be quite the artist. He certainly doesn't get it from me but he LOVES to draw and this is his drawing of a Christmas tree because we were getting ready to put up our tree tonight!

A Thanksgiving to Remember!

This year we had the family over to celebrate Thanksgiving at our new home! It was such a wonderful day and everything went off without a hitch. I won't lie, I did little happy dance in my kitchen when all my food was ready to eat exactly on time!! I am so thankful for family.

My 26lb brined, stuffed herb crusted Turkey!


The Thanksgiving Day spread, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sausage stuffing, squash, homemade gravy and then on the other side is some green beans and roasted carrots and parsnips! YUM!


My boys dressed up for the Thanksgiving festivities!

And now that Thanksgiving is over it's time to start thinking about Christmas! And begin the traditional day after Thanksgiving Christmas decorating. We started tonight by putting up the tree. The boys helped a little but it's so big, Charlie needed a step ladder just to fluff the top! I can't wait to start decorating it tomorrow!

It was a wonderful start to our holiday season! And I hope yours will be as merry and bright!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 24

Today is a photograph of gratitude, and nothing could exemplify gratitude more than this image of my family all together celebrating Thanksgiving dinner in our new home! I am so thankful for today going off without a hitch, I thankful for having a space big enough to have everyone together but most of all I am thankful for family!! It was a wonderful day filled with yummy food, laughter, togetherness! I am also thankful for the remote I purchased a few weeks back for my camera so I could be in the picture without having to set a timer and run back to my seat!



Happy Thanksgiving! I hope yours was as wonderful as mine!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 23

Today is "in your closet" and so here is a very non-exciting image of my closet from the doorway. If I had more time today, I could have maybe tried something a little more exciting but at the end of the day it's still an image of the inside of a closet. I will say thought, that since this is a gratitude challenge, I will say that I'm very grateful for the storage space.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 22

Today is clothing. I love my boys (as does my wallet!!), but seeing all the beautiful dresses that are out in stores this time of year does make me a little sad that I don't have a daughter to dress up. The same thing happens to me around Easter! Thankfully, my boys don't mind dressing up for special occasions and so I will dress them in sweater vests and button down shirts. Sometimes we even go the shirt and tie route, just like Daddy, though I am a sucker for the sweater vest!

I am posting this picture of my boys dressed up for their Thanksgiving Day celebrations at school. David read & made Stone Soup in his class and Shaun had a Harvest Party where he shared a fruit salad with his classmates. Evan, just wanted to stand with his big brothers so I put him in a sweater too! I love that they humor me and I'll milk it for all it's worth until they no longer let me!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 21

Kind of a weird one, but Day 21 is where you sleep. Not exactly an exciting image, but my beautiful king size bed is definitely something to be grateful to have! I love it. I debated making the bed up and putting on the fancy pillows that go with the bed spread set but then it wouldn't be "real". This is what "where I sleep" looks like every day. Ha!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 20

Day 20 is "seasonal" and today couldn't have been a more perfect late Fall day! With the "unseasonably" mild temperatures for this time of year, it's almost hard to believe that Winter is just around the corner. And what better way to spend it, than a bike ride around the neighborhood with one of your best friends!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 19

Day 19 is Best Friend and as fate would have it I got to see my best friend today as we celebrated her son's third birthday! She is a wonderful person and I am lucky to have her as a friend!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 18

Day 18 and we've already done something old, so today it's something new, and so I photographed the new generator! It's not a fancy image but it is new and will be something we're grateful for having next time we lose power, which we've been told happens quite often in this neighborhood! We're just waiting for the plumber to come back and hook it up to the gas line and then we'll be good to go!

Homework

The boys hard at work this afternoon. David has a homework folder that we keep at home and each month he has to complete a certain number of assignments and then keep a journal. Today the assignment I chose for him to do was to make up a story about 5 pilgrims and a turkey.

First I had him draw a picture of the story he wanted to tell, then I had him tell me the story.



5 Pilgrims & a Turkey: By David

Two Pilgrims were out riding a turkey, while the other three watched. They each got to take turns riding the turkey. Then they all went home and the turkey flew away.

I love his drawings and his stories!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 17

Today is day 17, hard to believe were more than 1/2 way through the month and a week from today is Thanksgiving! Day 17 is to photograph "memories". I wasn't sure how to interpret this one, I mean the reason I always carrying my camera every where I go is for the sole purpose of capturing memories. Each photograph I take is a memory, so that is when I got the idea to photograph my scrapbooks. Each scrapbook is filled with memories that I will cherish forever!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 16

Day 16 is Animals. This is Trot, he's been a member of this family going on 9 years now. We also adopted his brother Drew. They are old and crotchety now and pretty much only like Charlie! But Trot let me get up close to him for this head shot! Maybe he likes me a little after all!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 15

Day 15 is Technology. Where would we all be without technology, more specifically, Angry Birds?

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 14

Day 14 is movement. I took this one of Shaun this morning riding his bike across the driveway. You get the sense of movement from the blur in the pedal and wheel. You achieve this by using a slower shutter speed. It's all starting to click and I am able to do a lot of this now without even thinking about it!

Love These Boys

Just thought I would post some new pictures of the boys! They have adjusted so well to their new surroundings! I am such a proud Mommy! I love these little guys (most of the time!!)

David


Shaun


Evan

I Heart Faces / Autumn Splendor

This week's I Heart Faces challenge is Autumn. I took this as part of a photography class assignment asking us to capture motion! What is more fun, and more fall than tossing the leaves from the giant leaf pile into the air and watching them fall all around you!



Don't forget to stop over at I Heart Faces and check out the beauty of Autumn!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 13

Day 13 of the Gratitude challenge is the written word. This is my written word, a recipe I wrote down for a squash casserole that was given to me by a friend of mine. I tried it out tonight for a possible place on my Thanksgiving Day menu, and while it was rich and savory and delicious, I'm just so used to my squash having a sweet taste from brown sugar and butter. It's going to be a tough call on which squash I end up making on the big day and might even be a game day decision!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude - Day 12

Day 12 is Hands! I had a picture all planned out for this that I staged this afternoon but then ended up catching this moment at the birthday party we attended tonight. All the older kids were having a blast trying to high five Evan and teach him how to "pound it". This was the Birthday Boy trying to show Evan a "pinky promise".