Birthdays!!!

PATRICK TURNED 7!!!
(Let's all pretend I can go back in time and insert this on Nov. 15th.)

Patrick has been through more than was necessary in his life. He's a tough kid and very compassionate. He was 3 years old when Matthew and I were split up for 6 months. That six months was rough on me, but I'm sure even harder on them. Patrick recalls memories from that time frame a LOT - he has such a good memory! He was very patient with me functioning on 3 hours of sleep for that period of time and good helping watch over Stephen. This experience definitely confirmed to me we are born at the time in our lives into the family we're meant for for a reason. He is meant to be the oldest in our family and I will always love him and be grateful for him enduring that phase so well.

He is really into Star Wars right now because of the Star Wars Lego game on our PS3. He LOVES to color and draw. Both his kindergarten and first grade teachers recognized that's an area he really shines. He also is doing well at hockey, I'll see if I can find the picture of his little team I took from my phone, they're so cute! He scores goals just about every week and is a good team player. Patrick is excited to be baptized next year, I can't believe he's going to be eight!

WILLIAM TURNED 2!!!
I can't believe my baby is 2 years old now. I loved the name William even more when I found out he was going to be born early. I just loved the thought of, "where there's a Will, there's a way." And seriously, this child does have an extremely strong will. Not only did he pull through a couple physical setbacks in his first few months of life, he is SO determined to do things his way and do them right now. Among his first words were, "I want that," and "mine." He wants foods a certain way, he wants to wear specific clothes a certain way, he wants to sit on the couch a certain way and he's definitely my child because I put milk in his sippy cup as usual and he held it back up to me and said, "Cocoa?" While this sounds very demanding, really, every parent is dying to know what the heck their kid wants so they can communicate. Just because he can say what he wants all the time, doesn't mean he gets it every time. ;)

Even though Stephen didn't have a birthday, I wanted to give a little update for him too. He's been very nice not acting slighted during Patrick and William's birthdays. Usually siblings want everything the birthday kid gets, but Stephen's been very understanding. He has been such a good helper with me, especially Mon-Thurs when I've been watching another boy. He's maturing right before my eyes and he is going to bring a lot of happiness into other's lives! We really hoped he would be a people-person and charismatic in a way like Steve Irwin - and he is. When he was just 2, he kept announcing to us and random people, "my name is Stephen!" Now when we watch shows or get pizza, he asks, "what's their name?!" He cares to know about people he may never see again and I think that's something we should all try to do. :)

We just got our Christmas tree, I'm super excited! And only 58 days left until Sariah's due date arrives - we are all so excited! ...definitely not prepared, though!

Love you all!

As November comes to a close...

Thanksgiving dinner was at this house for the first time EVER - and it was a success! We had a total of 15 people, I believe. After borrowing 2 tables and several chairs from our church building, we were able to all sit around one table! Matthew made the arrangement and set them up himself, thanks hun! I cooked the turkey (for the 3rd time, I believe) and it was fantastic. I put honey and butter under the skin, wrap the turkey in cheesecloth, and this year I experimented by throwing half a lime inside. Sometimes I put some poultry seasoning on it, but that seems to just stay on the surface, so I didn't do it this year. I also made the rolls, stuffing, cheese balls, and mashed potatoes. Visiting family provided cranberry sauce, pies, green been casserole, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, a green salad... and I think that's it. I'm not putting the family member's names because they're a tad paranoid about being spied on by the government through the internet. Weirdos. ;)

I know December is going to POP out of nowhere, so I wanted to share my facebook Gratitude posts all in one place before it's forgotten. Many people on facebook posted what they were thankful about each day in their status updates and that's a tradition I hope continues every year... obviously it's good to be thankful every day all year round, but not necessarily on facebook.

A friend is posting something she's grateful for every day in November. I like that idea. Today's is I am SO thankful for how beautiful and enjoyable October was. Temps were nice and cool, the snow kept it's distance and we were blessed to enjoy more time outside


I am thankful for this pregnancy being so healthy and easy for me!


My mom had a son that lost a battle with brain cancer. Today makes the 1 year anniversary for the same diagnosis of a friend's little boy -who is winning the battle! Today i'm grateful for the reminders around me of how precious life is.

Today i'm thankful to experience for myself and pass on to my children...if you stop and pray to your Father in Heaven, your day goes so much better.

I am thankful for having more time together as a family every Saturday. I'm also very thankful for my husband helping me clean today!

I am so thankful for patrick. He is creative, curious, compassionate and one heck of a big brother... for Stephen, he has enthusiasm for life, wants to share fun times with others and patience w/being stuck in the middle...William-where there's a will, there's a way.

I am thankful for facebook. While we shouldn't allow it to replace a phone call, letter or visit, it sure has helped me feel more connected to friends and family.

I am thankful for tylenol.

I am thankful when my boys wake up happy and like to play together... Even if it's 7am.

I am thankful that God put cocoa beans on this planet to make all-things-chocolate possible!

I am thankful for Fridays!

I am thankful for 2nd chances.

I am thankful for luxuries like a heater, an oven, microwave, television, plumming, refrigerator, computer, phone...hats off to people that lived 200 years ago,i know I couldn't.

I am thankful for Matthew, I never called him my "best friend," as a lot of couples do... then I realized, he's the one I WANT to talk to and do things with. I try to get involved in his interests and I want him to be happy. He cares about my happiness. He is my best friend. :)

I'm very very thankful Patrick's little head injury didn't end in the dr's office. He hit his head on a pipe in the laundry room, about 1/2 inch cut that stopped bleeding in just a few minutes. Good way to kick off his bday! I was in labor with him today,7 years ago :)

I am thankful for knowledge and how accessible it is! If we don't know about something- we can look it up in a matter of seconds :)

I am thankful to be living in a house! We found the perfect house for our family and have zero regrets. I'm thankful for the 7 years of living in apartments to appreciate it more.

I am thankful for family. I am so looking forward to being together with a lot of family members from Matthew's side for Thanksgiving!

I am thankful to be alive with reminders to savour what moments I have on this earth. I had to read obituaries and write my own for an assignment. Physical death is a stranger to no one.

I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice. I know he didn't do it just for repentance of sins, he also wanted to know exactly how I feel so he could know exactly how to help me. That level of unselfishness is beyond my understanding.

I am thankful for music and dancing! I love watching the kids dance :D

I am thankful for the nights when I get quality sleep, I am thankful to be in awe of watching my children grow and learn, I am thankful for hot cocoa and cinnamon toast.

I am thankful for my pregnancy going so well to this point, i'm thankful we all get a little break for Thanksgiving and I am very thankful for a bed to sleep in in...at least, sleep in when I fall back asleep.

I am so thankful for my family- immediate and extended, for the beauty around me all throughout the year and for the kindness of others. I am very thankful for this holiday that has inspired myself and others to first be thankful before we complain, vent, share an opinion or anecdote. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful we don't have the money for Black Friday "fun"... I am extremely thankful even though we don't have any form of health insurance and this pregnancy was unplanned, we can afford to pay for our medical care. AND we are 2-3 months away from being out of credit card debt.

30 weeks today! And I am thankful for Michigan football giving my husband and our family to cheer for every saturday.

I am thankful for music and the joy it brings into our lives... I just hope I don't bring sadness into the lives of the children in our primary as I get the hang of being the new Primary Chorister!

I am so thankful that the sprinkler in our back yard burst in time for our neighbor to hear it at 3:30am when he was going to work, otherwise water would have guzzled out for hours!
So there you have it. Guess what? We're actually paying off our last two credit cards this week - ahead of schedule! Woot :) That feels so nice. I AM SO THANKFUL to Matthew for making a plan and following it through to no longer feel the weight of that debt. Now we're tackling our student loans.

I hope you all had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Photo editing

I had some type of spark in my photo editing interest lately... as a writer and photographer, sometimes I just have zero inspiration and want nothing to do with them - then one day - boom! I can't stop doing it.

I like being able to do work for others as well. Our great family friend, Lisa B, has given me a run for my money over the last 24 hours with some logo and home editing for liberty homes. I also gave some pictures from a phone a facelift.

I'm starting to wonder if I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) because I've been depressed lately and the change in weather is all I can think of to explain it. Photo editing makes me happy and so do the sweet little things the kids and Matthew do. Matthew's not the romantic or sentimental kind of guy. There's a song "your love is my drug" by Ke$ha, that annoys him. But I loved the clip of her performance of the song on Saturday Night Live (I don't watch the whole show anymore because they can't go without throwing sex in it). Anyway, Matthew heard the song on the radio and called me up while he was running errands just because it made him think of me! So sweet. :) And I love it when the kids get happy about something I do or say and they just say, "I love you mommy!" or "You're the best mommy ever!"

Anyway, this is our life :) Here are a couple pics I've mentioned...


A free engagement shoot I did a while ago, revisited.

Some parts of this were tough - but who doesn't like a good challenge?

I still can't believe this picture was taken from my phone. The megapixel capability in phones is unreal.

Playing with florabella edits - a woman made editing a whole lot easier with actions in photoshop - you just press play and tweak it to what you want. I took the scrape off his nose first. I love this picture of Patrick from last year :)