Can we be done yet?

The rest of the pictures are on my flickr page.
On Friday Brandi and I set up the basement to do a little photo shoot. I planned all day what the kids would wear. I spent the morning searching for cute props and new shirts. After the well behaved children put on exactly what I laid out, it was time to take pictures. Hahahahaha, yeah right. It took about an hour just to get them dressed. I learned I have a ham in the family. Jaden is so full of himself I thought the boy would explode. He wanted every other turn to be his. For the next shoot I am bringing duck tape or that child. He was EVERYWHERE. Jasmine was cooperative. Taylor just wanted it to be over. RJ (Booga) was so busy running I was just tired looking at him. I was able to get a few shots.

Not Me Monday

This Not Me Monday is more a YES I DID Weekend. I was completely sick of the yucky white junk that kept falling from the sky. I was also at the end of my rope with 3 kids who were climbing the walls. We all needed a little space from each other and since Mother Nature was not going to cooperate this weekend. I was gonna take care of it myself. There was another snow storm heading our way and I was not shoveling again. Heck, I was still sore from the last storm. Dear sweet husband came home to a tight faced wife who had spent the day separating kids and cleaning up messes. The conversation went a little like this:
Toya: I'm leaving
Jeff: Ummm, where are you going?
Toya: I'm going to Disney
Jeff: What about the kids?
Toya: They are going to Granny's. You are welcome to join me if you want to but I'm leaving.
Jeff: Where are you gonna stay?
Toya: Don't know. I'm sure I can work it out.
Jeff: Ummm, I guess I will ahh, go

I had already called my mother and informed her that I needed a mental health weekend. She agreed to spend quality time with her grand kids. Yep, the woman is a saint. I pretty much had a little over 24 hours to make this happen. Jeff had over 110,000 Hilton's Honor points. Who the heck has that many points saved up? Lucky for me Jeff did. We were able to get 2 FREE nights at the Hilton in Downtown Disney. With in 24 hours we were packed and in the car heading down the road to freedom. We drove all night. I woke up as we were arriving in Disney World. We arrived too early to officially checked in so we spent time hanging out in Downtown Disney. The weather was just beautiful. It was cloudy but near 80 degrees. We walked hand in hand giggling like newlyweds. When the time came to check into the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised to find we had been upgraded to concierge level. When we got to our room we discovered what that meant.
I had an awesome view of Downtown Disney. In the distance I could see Disney Studios, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. At night I could see the fireworks. Okay, that was pretty cool. We went to to Universal City Walk to have dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Yep, that was good. On our way to dinner I got a call from Jerry. He is the uncle of my "adopted" daughters Kellie and Leslie. Jerry was such a great host while we were in town. He allowed us to be his guests in the parks. Yep, free park tickets! He did not have to be so generous and we appreciated him so much. On Saturday Jeff and I met up with Jerry and had a great time in Epcot. We hopped the monorail and headed on over to Magic Kingdom. As night fell I immediately regretted my decision to not take my tripod. Since the park was not a full as when we usually visit, this would have been the perfect time to take some cool slow shutter speed shots. I had to practice being really, really still. This is what I got.


We had a great weekend. It was wonderful not having to dress someone else. I didn't have to beg, plead, or look after anyone other than myself. If we wanted to do something, we just did it. Well the carefree life is over now. I am back to the land of reality. Unfortunately my reality included shovels, snow, and more school closings. My mind is already planning my next great escape.

Birthday

Today I am 35. I feel great. I could be in so many other places but I am blessed to be here. I am happy and healthy as are my kids and husband. I really can't complain about anything. Unfortunately lots of people can't say the same. Birthdays make me reflect on my life and I have come to the conclusion that I am full. There are so many things I wish I would have done. But, if I could go back and change anything, I might not have this husband or this family. So, the last 35 years have been great because I am here.

Yesterday we celebrated my birthday with family and friends by going out to lunch after church. My wonderful husband surprised me with a cake with my picture on it. I was really surprised. He went to a lot of trouble to make this all happen. When he went to pick up the cake, the picture he gave them to scan wasn't scanned at all. They put the actual picture on the cake. After much debate, the bakery accepted responsibility for the error and worked enough magic to have the cake done right. Jeff was able to get the cake to Ruby Tuesday's without me knowing a thing. He totally rocks as a husband. I love his surprises.

Filming

So today was fun and different. I got to be an actress. I have been teaching first aid and cpr for almost 9 years. So, when I was asked to participate in a training video, I agreed. Sarah, Peyton, and I went down to the rec center this morning to shoot the video. Now Peyton has a cute crush on Sarah and he doesn't hide it. I would guess he even did a few extra push ups just for the shoot. No the problem with this is Sarah is over 30 and sweet Peyton is barely 19. When asked which of us would be the rescuer, I gladly handed that responsibility over to Sarah. She kicked me. I'm not sure why. LOL Here are a few pictures from that shoot. I like to call this Sarah's first kiss. This is what happened after Sarah's first kiss. hahahahahaha

This is Sarah's revenge.

We had a great time!

Happy New Year

We are starting a new decade today. So much happened last year that was good and not so good. When I take inventory of everything all I can say is, we are all still here and my kids are healthy and happy. Okay, enough with the emotions. The game plan for this year involves road trip with Sarah, birthday trip to NYC, Disney with family, girls trip with Melissa, trip to TX, vacation at the beach... This year someone will find a cure for cancer and autism. This year will be a great year. I won't tell you what my resolutions will be cause I know I will break them. Lets just say I made some and I will do my best. Now, put on your happy face and step into the New Year right. Smile at strangers more, recognize it was God who did it and not you, recognize it was your poor choices and not God punishing you, hug more, fuss less, remember tomorrow might not come for you or them so be slower to anger, and don't forget to treat yourself right because you matter too. Have a Happy New Year!

Photography

Since I was a young girl I have had an interest in photography. Knowing that my family just didn't have the money for such an interest I didn't even bother to tell anyone. After adopting Jasmine into our family, I gained an extended family I never dreamed would be so wonderful. They introduced me to the world of scrapbooks, which led to taking more pictures, which led to my pursuit of my interest from years ago. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who has supported my many interests over the years. He is coming along for this ride too. He bought me my first (and only) digital slr camera. I love my Canon. After taking a class recently to get to know my camera more it left me hungry for more. I still have so many questions and I am slowly finding the answers to some of them thanks to the world wide web. I have met (in my head they are all totally my friends cause they let me into their family by way of a blog) Mckmama . She is awesome. She is a well known and loved blogger. She happens to have a section on her blog about photography. Woo hoo, I was on cloud 9. Finally I found someone to explain the cool tricks I see people do online. I was wondering why the eyes in everyone's pictures look so clear and brilliant. She totally let me know that I'm not just a sucky photographer. I too can have clear and brilliant eyes in my pictures if I have photoshop. It just so happens that I do. The next question I had was about how people put pictures together in a layout. Guess what I found out last night? Mckmama knows how and she was willing to teach me how for free. So, I grabbed some shots of my nephew that I posted earlier this month and tried out the instructions. It may seem like a small thing but by golly it was one of those small things that bug me. So I can mark that one off my list of things to figure out. Now I'm gonna hop on over to The Pioneer Woman's blog and read her photography lessons.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! We actually went to bed before midnight last night. This is an unusual thing for us. Christmas Eve is usually a very late night for Jeff and I. We always spend that night charging, building, wrapping, and setting up santa's stash. Well this was the first year we didn't have anything to put together. No one needed or received a bike/scooter. The kids all got exactly what they needed/begged for. I spent the day in the kitchen and got rave reviews from my hubby and children on the dinner. Daddy spent the day playing wii with the kids. The kids are all tucked in bed now probably wishing they could do it all over again tomorrow. I am tucked in my recliner under two blankets wishing I could smell. Daddy is still playing wii. Good night. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

I'm Santa's Head Elf

For the last 8 years I have put together the children's party for our rescue squad. I look forward to it all year. Swalker, Catie, and I head up to Roanoke for a day of shopping. My favorite thing is the look on the cashier's face when we walk up to her register with buggy full of toys and gift cards. It has become a tradition to guess the amount. A huge brunch is prepared the morning of the party by Ricky.

The kids show up giddy with the excitement of seeing Santa. They get started on crafts and activities.

Mrs. Claus always makes an appearance first to read a story. Twas the Night Before Christmas, of course...

While she is reading, the kids hear the sounds of hoofs on the roof. As she gets to the end of the story a loud "Ho, Ho, Ho" comes from the hallway. The squeals of happiness are deafening. Santa walks in the room and some children run to him while others run away. The kids quickly get silent so they can hear from the big man. There is the occasional child who just can't help but ask Santa to be the first to get his gift. Santa is only too happy to grant the wish. Each child goes home with a special gift that was hand picked with their name on it. How does Santa know what they wanted? He really IS magic!






It is a great time for family. My camera can't catch all of the smiles and happiness. It really is the best time of the year. I look forward to this day all year. The fact that I am dead tired at the end of the day doesn't matter at all when I have mental pictures of these faces.








Thanks to Sarah for letting me steal 3 pictures from her smugmug account. She is my co-unofficial photographer.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

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.