Feet

FeetWe woke up this morning to a heavy fog and most of the snow gone.  Mark and I went across the street to try some picture ideas that we had.  When we got home, Audrey ran out to great us.

Bare feet, ice and snow…I like this girl!  I used to do the same thing when I was little.  Toes

 

 

 

Sledding

SleddingWe received our first good snow this weekend. It was not very deep, but was very pretty.

Since the middle two had a science class at the park, we went early to play on the sledding hills. The kids had fun, but said the snow was packed down and not as much fun as fresher snow. Megan went down a few times, but was not too interested.

After class, the kids begged to play some more.  For some reason, sledding was better and no one wanted to go home. Even Megan enjoyed sledding this time.

 

School Work

For  school this year, the girls and Adrian are doing a lot more writing than before.  Yesterday, they started learning about poetry.  Today, when their assignment was to write at least an eight line poem, they fussed and complained that it was hard.Snow

I mentioned it was not hard, and then did the assignment with them. In less than 30 minutes, all of the kids had written poems with very little help from me. I think it was the easiest assignment they have had so far.

Here is my finished poem:

Snow falling
Gently to the ground
Quietly outside

Inside
Children distracted
Watching

Snow gathering
Inch by inch
Blizzard like

Button coats
Slip on boots
Class dismissed!

Cookbook

In July, my friend asked if I would help her with some photos for a cookbook she was writing. Megan and Adrian came along as taste testers.

I learned a lot about photographing food! We took pictures outside and moved them around to keep them out of direct sun. Jen and I had a lot of fun getting the pictures to look right before the children swarmed in to critique the samples.

Yesterday, Jen gave me a finished copy of her book. The Gluten-Free Casein-Free Soy-Free Cookbook. It looks very nice and it is exciting to see pictures that I took on a published book cover! As Megan looked at the book, she stated she wanted ice cream. I said that we had some at home. She informed me she did not want that ice cream, she wanted the ice cream from the cover. She had tried in it July and thought it was wonderful. She was supposed to share, but she ended up eating most of it. Adrian was partial to the strawberry pie.

Even though I have not personally made many of the recipes, we have enjoyed several at Jen’s house when we visit. Everything we have tried is very good!

P.S. If you are interested in this book, Amazon claims it it out of stock right now, but you can preview it. You can find it here, but you can’t look inside.

Concert

IMG_4113When Daddy was in high school, he played the french horn and the trumpet.  Growing up, I remember Daddy playing the trumpet some evenings, but it was not until a few years ago, that Daddy took up the french horn again.

Yesterday we went to listen to him play in a Christmas concert.  We have gone for the last few years, and it is a nice relaxing way to start December.  Last night we were surprised to discover that Santa Claus came to enjoy the concert too!  Megan was not sure what she thought of him, but Audrey and Adrian talked with him for a few minutes after the concert.  They both are requesting lots of packing snow for Christmas!

guest
Taking a break to enjoy a concert
IMG_4094
Part of Daddy’s band

Esther and Alan

IMG_3324.bwA few weeks ago, Esther asked if I could take some engagement photos of Alan and her.  I told her that I would love to try.

We met at the park where Alan proposed on a cold, rainy day.  I loved the overcast sky, but my flash did not like the cold!  A few days later we met again to try a few more ideas that Esther had. The sun was out, it had snowed, and it was even colder!

It was fun taking couple pictures.  My absolute favorite is the sepia on top.  I love Alan’s serious look. It is different than most engagement pictures that is all about the girl. Some of my other favorites are in the slide show below.

If you are interested in seeing more of the pictures, I am sure that you could persuade Esther to show them to you. She would also enjoy introducing you to Alan and showing off her ring too. Please continue to pray for Esther and Alan as they plan next year’s fall wedding.

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Late Night

SnuggleAudrey readingI often let the kids have one late night while Allan is gone.  They are allowed to stay up as long as they wish quietly reading, but they need to be cheerful the next day and remember that they will need a nap.

The kids surprised me last night by how late everyone stayed up.  Andrea and Audrey snuggled together reading on the top bunk, until Andrea fell asleep around 10:30.  Audrey moved to her bed and curled up with a flashlight to read longer.

Megan started in her bed, not knowing that Adrian was reading under covers. When she discovered the red light shining through, she curled up with him.  He was ready to sleep close to 11:00 and Megan moved in to snuggle with Audrey.

When Audrey fell asleep, Megan crawled back into her bed and sang for a little bit.  She lasted until almost 11:30 before she fell asleep.

Mark started reading on the couch upstairs, but moved down to his bed just before 11:00. I have no idea what time he turned off his lights, because I went to sleep soon after Megan.

Waiting…

MeganWhen Allan has a business trip, we try to call everyday. Sometimes we can talk a few times during the day.  With him in China this time, talking is a little trickier.

According to the kids, Allan is in the future, since he is thirteen hours ahead of us.  When we get up in the morning, he is exhausted and ready to crawl into bed.  Jet lag is not fun! By the time he comes home next week, he will have to readjust to “normal” time.

I am very thankful for Skype!  Allan calls us over the computer as often as he can. We can see each other and talk. Our conversations are short, but Allan does not seem as far away this way.

Megan is struggling with missing her Daddy.  She woke up last night calling for him.  After snuggling and reminding her that Daddy loves her very much and will call soon, she fell back to sleep.  I am so glad that she has a way to talk to him everyday.

Talking to Allan
Talking to Allan

The only negative is that she seems to think if she gets the headphones on Daddy will be on the computer, ready to talk to her.  I find her by the computer with the headphones a few times everyday.  Just waiting….