Christmas pictures

I love everything about Christmas. From the mess of pulling out the decorations to the busy shopping centers. I love figuring out what will be the best presents for the kids. This year it has been fun watching Booga examine the ornaments on the Christmas tree. He has been pretty good about not pulling every ornament off. He isn't like his cousins who thought all ornaments within reach should be promptly removed. I've even seen him trying to put back the ones he'd removed. I was able to catch a few shots of him near the tree.

Yesterday I was able to convince the hardest child to take pictures of to actually sit still under the tree. The other two were only too happy to pose for the camera. I was able to get one shot where Taylor wasn't holding Booga in a choke hold. He wasn't interested in posing for the camera. He wanted to play with the camera.

A friend allowed me to take some family pictures of them. It was quite the experience.

I had tons of fun with this great family. This photography thing is kinda fun.
Merry Christmas

The day Jesus went to fourth grade

This is baby Jesus. He belongs in my nativity above the fireplace. So imagine my surprise Tuesday morning when I noticed he was missing. All of the kids were on their way to school and I had just finished a quiet breakfast. As I was taking inventory of the many tasks around the house that needed to be completed by 3:40 when the big yellow bus dropped off my precious angels, my eyes rested on an empty spot on the mantel. Hmmmm, where oh where has my Jesus gone? Well it didn't take long to figure out who the culprit was. For those of you who know my oldest child you know of her love for babies (real or ceramic). I did a quick survey of the room knowing I wouldn't find my Jesus. I decided Sarah would be the perfect person to share this little ditty with. She was quick to remind me that Taylor shouldn't have taken Jesus to public school because He wasn't allowed there. After having a chuckle with Sarah, I called the school. I informed Kelly, the secretary, that I needed her help because my Jesus was missing and I believed he was in fourth grade. This was immediately followed by gasping for air while stifling a laugh. I let her know I was aware he wasn't allowed in public school and I needed him found asap. She said she would go search for my Jesus and would send him home with a note. I told her this would not be necessary because I was coming for my Jesus. I got dressed and headed to the school. On the way I wondered if any miracles had happened at school since 9 am because Jesus was in the house. Once arriving at the school Kelly let me know she searched high and low but was unable to locate my Jesus in the culprits backpack. Unfortunately the culprit was in the middle of a class presentation and could not be questioned about it. Due to the fragility, I wanted Him found before something awful happened. School nurse Janet wonders if Taylor was just trying to start her discipleship early. I left the school with reassurance He would be searched for as soon as possible. When 3:40 arrived, my little culprit got off the big yellow bus only to be met by serious mommy. "Taylor, where is baby Jesus?" A smirk comes across her face. She quickly disappears and reappears with Him safely in her tiny little hand. While she never told me where He was for 7 hours, I knew I had to explain something very important. She needed to know that Jesus needs to live in her heart not her pocket.

Faces I Love

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Halloween and Happy November

Is this not the cutest bear you've ever seen? My kids wouldn't hold still long enough to take pictures. Taylor was Supergirl. Jasmine was a cat. Jaden was a ninja. We started off the day getting ready for the Maple Ridge annual Halloween Parade and party. I got the ambulance and met the neighborhood kids at my house. They all paraded up the street behind the ambulance while I flashed the lights and fired up the sirens. A party followed the parade. After the kids were all fed they went home to prepare for the major attack on the neighborhood for candy. I rushed off to church to help set up for "trunk or treat". Oh my goodness there were a lot of kids there. The town of Blacksburg is serious about their candy hunting rituals. We ran out of candy 3 times. When the clock struck 6 I was due back at home to help my own goblins rush out of the door for tricks and treats. It was daddy's turn to supervise our gremlins. He even got into the act and dressed up.
Yep, my husband can still wear his Marine uniform. Oh how I love a man in uniform. The kids finished their candy seeking and literally passed out after consuming as many pieces as they could stuff in their little mouths. It has only been a few days but they have managed to officially break every rule about the candy and daddy has stripped their little butts of all of it. I am now going through the bag picking out my favorites before I give it away. This halloween thing is paying off.

You gotta love these eyes

This is my nephew Richard. This poor child has so many names he will be very confused when he is old enough to talk. He was born Richard James. His mother calls him RJ. He also answers by the names Jamie and Booga. To be honest, he prefers Booga. Next month he will be one. It is so hard to believe a year has gone by. He is the most loving baby you will ever find. He loves to give me kisses. Today he called me Tee Tee. It was awesome. It is an aunt's version of "mama". I love my role as Tee Tee. I look into those big eyes and I can't help loving him.

The problem with lying

So I'm thinking this parenting thing is kind of messed up. They should have come with an instruction manual. Our current challenge is lying. Jasmine isn't very good at it. Oh don't get me wrong, she tries really hard. Today I walked in on her with a big glob of lotion in her hair. After several ridiculous excuses she decided to convince me that that same glob had been there since 7:30 this morning. I had two problems with this: 1. It was 4:30 pm and 2. I had combed her hair and found no lotion at 8:15 am. When I pointed out the holes in her story she decided the lotion just jumped in her hair and she has no idea how. Why don't they just tell the truth and get it over with? I remember encouraging her to talk only 5 short years ago. I need a time machine to go back and slap myself.

Today's adventures with Sarah included searching for the perfect picture for photography class. We grabbed our favorite responder and found an excluded spot to get motion shots. After 30 cold minutes outside, we were able to obtain some fun shots.
I then moved on to find a cute kid to take pictures of. My neighbor's little girl was only too happy to volunteer for the job. She is soooo darn cute. As soon as I got started I realized I was creating a monster. She loves the camera. It was so fun watching her play in the leaves. When we were done with the leaves I had to see just how fast she could go on her scooter. As you can see she moves pretty fast.


I am so suppose to be in bed right now. Jeff and I are going to my Rescue Chief's wedding tomorrow and I can't wait to try out some of the knowledge from class. I will post pictures tomorrow night.

So far in October...

We are only a couple of weeks into October and I'm still trying to figure out where summer went. Blacksburg weather is behaving its usual ADD way. It can't figure out if it should be hot or cold. We have been able to have some great mommy/daddy time. We went to the football game this past Saturday. Yep, VA Tech beat the pants off Boston College.

I started taking a photography class last week with Sarah It has been an eye opener. We had homework so Sarah and I went out to find things to take pictures of. Here are some of the things I found:
Yep, this kind of homework will be more fun than the homework I had 12 years ago.

I've only done a "Not Me Monday" once. I wish I would have done one yesterday. If I had, I wouldn't have written about my 9 year old who bites her nails. While showing my 9 year old how to open a clementine orange, I explained that nails come in handy and maybe she shouldn't bite hers. I did NOT find her later using her sharp toe nails to open another orange. I did not then hurt myself laughing at her and find it quite impressive that she came up with that option.

Jasmine started cheerleading. My biggest regret is that I didn't take video of her first practice. OMG that child has NO coordination. Her little legs look like a new colt with big tennis shoes on. Now picture those same legs trying to jump and kick. Yep, I'm a horrible mom because I almost wet my pants watching my child and encouraging her to keep going while holding in my laughter until I almost cried. She will never know my smiles were hiding amusement. Oh who am I kidding, I will so tell her when she is old enough to handle my humor.

I must go now and dash the hopes and dreams of the other two.

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Originally uploaded by toyjsu

The girls and I spent some time at the horticulture garden on campus. We had a great time playing in the flowers and watching the fish. I kept holding my breath everytime Taylor leaned close to the pond to see the koi. I fully expected us to drive home with one of them soaked. But, everyone stayed dry.

Stay at home mom, yeah right!

I'm not sure who decided to coin the phrase Stay at home mom. They clearly didn't know what they were talking about. I'm rarely at home. After getting them off to school I rushed out to get some grocery shopping done, order Jasmine's birthday cake, drop off groceries at home, teach a cpr class, grab lunch, pick up written prescription from the doctor's office, pick up Pampered Chef order, drop Sarah's order off at her house, and rush home to put away some laundry, get kids off the bus, help with homework, make dinner, and go to rescue related meeting. I started my morning at 6:45a and I finally stopped moving at 11p. I honestly believe my husband thinks I do nothing all day long. He has no idea! Being a mommy is hard work. I don't get a vacation or a decent break. Even on my business trips I'm still being a mommy but from a distance. Tomorrow will be here only too soon. I will get up and run around some more because I love my family and they would have a hard time surviving if I didn't do all I do. So, moms you are doing a great job no matter how unappreciated you may feel.

What really happened

I started out the morning as usual, hoping the children would wake up wanting to do everything to please me. Well that didn't happen. lol After suppressing my desire to scream so much that I'm sure my head did pop off a little, they all got on the school bus with butts still attached. I got the pleasure of hanging out with little Patrick today. Patrick is 15 months old and full of curiosity. We explored ALL of my cabinets, Jaden's room, and the new play set. He made sure every one of my doors worked appropriately. He was just as excited about eating grapes for the first time as I was that he didn't have an allergic reaction to them. While heading out to the swings we listened to the rescue radio as Miss Sarah suddenly called for a policeman to respond to Main and Ellett for a pedestrian on bike vs. vehicle. Since her voice was 5 octives higher than normal I figured she must have either seen it or been involved in it. Not to mention she was sooo excited she couldn't even remember who she was on the radio. Patrick found enjoyment as I paced back in forth in front of the swing waiting for more voices on the radio to tell me everyone was ok. I finally got enough info to make me feel better. It turns out Sarah is a magnet for special people on bikes who don't have brakes. Love ya Sarah but you can't take out members of our community with the responder. It just doesn't look good.