O Casper!

On January 18, 2005 a tiny little boy entered this world about three months sooner than he had been expected to arrive.

Here he has his little hand on mine. 

 So today I am feeling quite sentimental and thought it would be fun to go outside to take some pictures of my tiny boy turned big boy!  I thought sunshine and snow and balloons would have to be a fun combination.  And I was right!  But what ensued was not exactly the "fun" I had in mind.  You see I forgot that there was also wind to take into consideration and that sunshine and snow are a pretty powerfully bright combination...

Trying to hang on to the balloons!

Brothers getting in on the action.

If you can't catch them then shoot them!

But watch out for the icy patches!

Come on now, be good balloons.

Got some!  But can't look at the camera because it is too bright.

And away they fly...

At least when you stand in the trees you can open your eyes!

So there you have it.  My preemie all grown up.

Casper boy, we love you to the moon and back.  Happy birthday, little son!

Snowflakes That Stay on my Nose & Eyelashes... { just pictures }

Wordless Wednesday- That Kind of Day

{ Not Quite } Wordless Wednesday

When Nancy over at Ordinary Miracles & the Crazy 9 said she was going to offer 1-on-1 mentorship for people like me who are trying to figure out all of the settings on a DSLR camera I couldn't sign up fast enough!

So, the last couple of weeks I have been snapping away as I have the opportunity and having a lot of fun doing it! 

I think this picture of Eliana is one of my favorites ever!

My Girls...

My girls . . . 

when they are not being giggly, wiggly, silly girls.

They are so precious. 

So beautiful.

I cannot thank God enough for entrusting these precious girls to our care!  I pray I can be the mother they need.  To help them to know that they are truly treasured and loved.

The other morning I pulled them both close and whispered in their ears, "You are my little dreams come true."  It is so true!  Thank you, God, for my girls!  Thank you that, in them, my dreams came true!

Guest Post by Casper ( Age 7 )

On our shopping trip we went to Salvation Army.  We went to the toy section and found a toy camera.  Mommy said on Amazon it costs $40.00.  But ours cost $1.50.  We wouldn't have gotten a toy camera for $40, at least I don't think so.

I really like it but sometimes the pictures are blurry.  I try to stand really still and look around at the trees and stuff and find something that would be nice and then take my picture.  Mommy says maybe I'll be a photographer when I grow up because I like it so much.

Sometimes Eliana cries because she wants the camera.  That is very irritating when I'm trying to take a nice picture.

Here are some pictures that I took.

I hope you will enjoy my pictures very much and like this blog post.  I think now it is time for me to go and play.

~Casper

This Week...

On Saturday we had a work day at my Mother-in-Law's house.  She owns a beautiful Lancaster county farm and is planning to sell it in the fall, so we are all pitching in to get things ready.

Some of us played...

Some of us worked...

Some of us tried to play and work at the same time...

Some of us had coffee on the porch...

We had plenty of pizza...

And fun with family...

There were a few dramatic moments...

But all in all it was a good day and a lot got done!

In other news:

It is only two days until I leave for Russia!

I should be madly preparing and cleaning and cooking. But I actually do not worry about Keith taking care of things. If anything things will probably be cleaner when I come home than when I leave.

So I've been sewing. I've made two dresses for myself and am working at a third.  Hope to finish that one up this afternoon.  Which means I'd better run!

Wordless Wednesday

Who needs words?

Light Through the Trees

Last night we went back to our favorite place. While Keith and the kiddos worked at the dam they never quite finish in the stream, I took a little stroll all by myself.

The glimpses of the setting sun through the trees was so beautiful and I tried very hard to capture it with my camera.

Wild red raspberries.  Beautiful and delicious!

I really love this picture!

The reason this area is called "the gap".

We all went home relaxed and refreshed.  Keith from fun time spent with the children, me from quiet time spent alone with God.  That is what I call a win win situation!

Favorite Photo Friday

Little Miss Eliana one evening after her bath...

I told her I wanted to take a picture of her flipping off of the sofa.  So...  she calmly hung there, crossed her little arms and didn't flip...

She thought herself incredibly hilarious...

She was joined by her big sister...

And she finally flipped!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli