Thursday, December 31, 2009

Owen and Santa Claus

Last night, as Jason and I were getting ready for bed. We did our usual night time routine in checking all of the kids. As we were leaving Owen's room he slightly woke up and asked me "Mommy, when Santa coming" This has been an on going question of Owen's since Christmas. The poor little guy expected to see this jolly man, at our tree, giving out gifts. We have told him he has already come. But I guess its hard for a two year old to understand the concept of someone "delivering" presents. I think its the cutest thing really. I just tell him he will come again when he is three and that seems to make his mind happy :-)

His other questions he asks lately too is "When is papa coming." Or are we in Maine? His vocabulary is really picking up. Though not everyone can understand him, its pretty easy for Jason and I to get almost 90% of his sentences. Gosh, he is getting so big. Makes me want to cry.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Countdown to New Years

New Years is only 2 days away. And I am curious if anyone has any life changes they hope to make for the New Year. I would love to see what others have in mind! If you comment on this post, I will happily add everyone's on this list. It would be fun to see what kinds of changes everyone hopes to make for the New Year. I will start.

*More patient with my kiddos
*Work harder with Olivia on school
*SPEND LESS, SAVE MORE. That bigger house is going to be needed sooner then later
*Spend more time with my husband. We seem to not get enough 1 on 1 time
*Find a job

Mrs. Said:
*Becoming a super Mom to our first born
*Saving more money
*Not letting house projects drag on, getting them done promptly
*Make a revised plan for work
*getting back to practicing yoga daily

Trisha said:

*I, with the help of my husband, will jump threw all the necessary adoption hoops to adopt a child from Kazakhstan. Hopefully by 2011.

So what kind of changes do you hope to make this coming Year? I find that making Changes in your life is much better then trying to make it a "Resolution" So, what's yours?

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! Sorry its a tad late in writing, but time seems to slip away when your visiting family.

It was really a wonderful day. The kids woke up at 7:30am and begging me to wake up and see that "Santa" had eaten all the cookies and drank the milk. And even more exciting was how cute Emma was to notice that the reindeer had eaten the apple she left him. She is completely in heaven with reindeer and her favorite movies as of now are "The Santa Claus 1, 2 and 3" We basically watched them the entire trip up here about a dozen times in the van. Thank heavens for DVD players!

Any-who, we had a wonderful breakfast cooked by my dad. Pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. YUMMY. We patiently waited for the rest of the family to arrive. My sister and her family and my grandparents. But ended up having to call and tell them to come over. My kids were NOT waiting anymore. After breakfast, the big kiddos, Olivia, Emma, Tyson and Owen opened up their stockings. That managed to get a good 15 extra minutes for us adults to get cameras and videos ready. By then, the chaos had begun.

Jason was "SANTA" this year. His job was to pass out all the gifts to the adults and kids. We tried to make it be so each one of the little ones opened a present, we all oohed and ahhed it and then they would put it in their "pile" and someone else would open it. This of course lasted all about 3 presents and then bam, it was pretty much a free for all as paper went flying everywhere. The kids had a great time and so did the parents. Here is a few things each of the kiddos got this year:

Olivia:

*Nintendo DSi (Jay and I promised this to her if she was up to a good 2nd/3rd grade reading level. She is doing fantastic and so Santa brought it to her)
*2 DSi games
*2 new Barbie dolls
*A "Project Runway" fabric set. ITS HUGE
*A Liv doll (Sophia)
*A Nutcracker (She has been bugging me for one for years now)

Emma-James:

*A dragon dungeon
*A camera of her own
*Fancy Nancy
*Play-dough
*A little play laptop

Owen:

*Rocky the truck
*Chuck the truck
*matchbox cars
*Zoo railroad

Ezme:

*New outfits from Auntie Ryann and Nana
*mittens

Mommy aka Kiley

*A new pair of PJ's
*Hubby bought me a cute little jewelry ring
*My mom got me the best gift ever. She had a brick engraved with Anabelle's name and a little saying on it. It will be laid at Woman and Infants hospital. I am so very excited that after 5 years, she will have a little place to call hers. Because we never wanted to have a proper burial, I feel this just gives us a nice place to have others remember her without ever knowing who she was. Seeing her name and reading it will give me the best hug ever. I can't wait to see it!

Daddy aka Jason

*A fun Scrabble computer GO JASON GO beat my mom.

Christmas was so much fun this year. The kids even though they didn't get a lot, I made sure what they got was something that they would play with often, keep the mess at bay, and they would use it even as they got older. I would say all of my purchases this year, not to mention Santa and my family, it was definitely a success.

Unfortunately, I don't really have any pictures right now. I will try hard to post some soon. But with New Years right around the corner, my birthday and Anniversary as well as the kids birthdays, it might be hard to think about Christmas. Until then, I hope everyone had a wonderful and VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve and Church

We arrived at my parents home safe and sound. Though we didn't have long to visit before we were out the door again. We managed to get a few bites of food, the kiddos dressed in their matching PJ's and out the door in time just to make the last half hour of the church gathering before Christmas Eve service began. I have to say just how much I love and miss my old church at home. I always felt so loved and wanted their. I loved being a part of something and how close I felt to God when I was their. After Father Lance died over three years ago, it really never has been the same without him. I still go though. Many of my "church family" is still attending and its really great to see them. I have yet to find the same warm and welcoming feeling in a church near our home in RI, but I am sure someday.

The kids had a wonderful time with the new Father. He did a great little exercise with all the kids that were attending church that evening. He had them all go up to put together the tiny manger. Adding Mary and Joseph, the goats and cows, and of course the Angel. The first thing he asked all of the kids were "What is one of the animals that was their when Jesus was born?" And my wonderful loving three year old Emma-James, very matter of fact and loudly stated DRAGONS. To which he said "No no, no dragons I am afraid." Of course the whole church started laughing. She then proceeded to say "OK then, Dinosaurs!!" To which again he said no no. She then gave up and said to me, "Mommy, then their wasn't any important animals their that day." God I love her!!

Though Church was a little longer then I hoped. And my kids could have been a bit better behaved then they were. I was mostly impressed. They were in a car for 7 hours and barely had time to loose that energy before being we took them to church to sit for 2 hours quietly. But honestly, I am glad we went as a family.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone. I hope you have a wonderful one with family, friends and those who mean the most to you!!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Merry Christmas 2009

Due to a lack of funding this year. Christmas photos had to be cut in half. Everyone will receive a Christmas card, but sadly I wasn't able to give the usual family photos and individual photos of the kids to everyone. If you like to have one, please feel free to contact me and I am happy to order them for you. The gentleman who took our photos Mr. Genes as the kids call him, does not destroy any photos he takes. So they will be around for a long time. In the meantime. Enjoy the beautiful job he did capturing a great family photo of us!!

Christmas Family Photo 2009 (Daddy, Mommy, Olivia, Emma-James, Owen and Ezme)
 


Individual Photos of the Kids
 


Sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy. We did not ask for proofs, and the photographer was nice enough to mount the pictures for us free of charge. So I wasn't able to scan them.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The snow must fall

Here marks the pictures of the end of the 14 hour blizzard we received from Saturday straight through to Sunday evening. We managed to score about 17-20 inches of snow in a small period of time. It started right on time at 10pm on Saturday and lasted until about 4pm Sunday evening. Sadly, I don't think this wonderful white stuff will be melting. The kiddos tried to enjoy the fluffy stuff. But ended up going from my front door, to my back door in 30 seconds and begged to come inside. Definitely not winter children. Despite the fact they they were all born in the winter. Here are some pictures that I managed to capture after things settled down.

The cars covered
 


The car dealership across the street.
 


More snow in the streets. Notice the snow in between the window and the screen
 


The backyard and some of the porch
 


This is how Ezme enjoyed the snow
 

Baking our Christmas Presents

The kiddos and I have been hard at work today baking up a storm. Can I just say again how much I LOVE my double ovens!!!!! Seriously, it cuts down my cook time by more then half. I am actually able to get things in and out and not have to fuss around with different baking times. Its fantastic.

Anywho. Since we have moved into the house over 4 years ago. We decided that it would be fun to bake yummy goodies for those special people in our lives. It first started out for our "trash buddy" friends. These guys work so hard all year long picking up other peoples "leftovers" that they deserve to have something special. We also included our mailman in that "through sleet, or rain, or snow". Sadly, he left us about over the summer. But we were blessed with a nice mailman, who just got married in fact!

So besides are good buddies, we also bake for our wonderful neighbors. They are all so terrific with our kids. They are the only ones in the neighborhood, so they put up with WAY MORE then they have too. I try hard to keep the kids from bothering them, but its hard when they love talking to them so much. So, today we are baking for the people we love. Pumpkin bread, Choc. chip cookies, smores, even moose balls! I will probably be baking until tomorrow afternoon, with the hopes to deliver sometime tomorrow or Tuesday before we head out. Pictures to come of all our goodies. I am really excited!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Owen

I took this picture of Owen the other night. I can't help but laugh when I see this picture. He looks so serious. I swear he is thinking "Don't mess with me mommy". Doesn't he look like he could be in the mob???

What you lookin' at?
 

No News

So, I haven't heard anything more about the house. It looks like its pretty much a dream at this point. I know that there is a huge company looking to purchase the home and they might be signing the agreement tonight. On top of a bunch of other things going on, I am feeling super blah right now. I find that I am super hard on myself with situations that are beyond my control. Or even in my control where I feel I have somehow said the wrong thing, or have done the wrong thing. I try hard to be honest, and sometimes my honesty is a little too much. So today, I am feeling really blah. Blah about a lot of things. I am trying to have a "positive" outlook, but its hard. So if you could, would you think of me today. I sure could use some peace in my heart and know that I am still a good person, despite all that is going on.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Dream House Continued

Just wanted to update everyone about the house Jason and I are dreaming about purchasing. He will be calling some mortgage companies in the morning to see if they will even potentially give us the loan for the house. If they will, then we will be calling the Realtor that I have been in contact with to start the paper work on both our home, and the purchase of the new one. Then things will get a little complicated. We are hopeful and saying many prayers. So if you think about it, could you say a little one for us tonight. Nervous right now for sure.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Our DREAM HOME need prayers

About a week ago, I was searching through the REMAX website just to look around at homes in our area. I wanted to know what the current rate of homes were going for as we are gearing up to start looking for a BIGGER home. We love our home now, but the size is becoming a bit of a issue. We have managed to make our 2 bedroom 1 bath home work for us. But now, with homeschooling, gearing up to start baby-sitting, and lets not forget Girl Scouts here once a week, my home is less then desirable. We are starting to slowly to feel the crunch. I feel bad that I am constantly telling my kids to pick up. They really don't have a designed area to play, and its not far to them. Plus we are doing all of our school stuff on the dining room table, and my "classroom" is a tiny little corner at the far end of our dining room. We did a lot of remodeling last year on our home. Completely gutting out the bathroom and kitchen. As well as new ceilings, new roof, new windows, brand new hot water tank and new rugs upstairs. Its a great little home for a small family, or even a retired couple. But for a family of six, with two cats and a dog. Its starting to feel cramped.

So, onto my adventures in house hunting. Well, I found the perfect home. Fell right in love. Jason of course was less then thrilled that I was home hunting. But because he loves me so much, he amused me with a LOOK-SEE of the home. Well, to make a long story short. We are in love. The kids are in love. We wouldn't have to compromise on space or anything for ANYONE. Plenty of bathrooms, plenty of bedrooms. Office for Jason. School room for me. Place to have company, the whole nine yards. Yes, it will need work. Yes, its a little pricey but we believe we can talk them down. The biggest problem is our financial situation is well, not terrific, but not so bad that we are bound by the home we are living in now. We have figured out some creative ways to get this house and make the payments as well as the tax on the home work for us. Me getting a job, Jay asking for a raise, renting out a room to a local college student, etc. etc.

We are praying so hard that this works. And I am asking you if you read this, could you please say a little prayer that things will fall into place for us when it comes to this property. We are trying to be optimistic and truly believe that we found this house because we were suppose too. It would be such a great opportunity for all of us. So if you have a moment just think about us. We will be talking to some loan people next week. See what we can do. Plus the sale of our home will be the biggest obstacle.

I promise to keep everyone posted as how things are going. There will be a lot involved, and we are ready to at least try. Both Jason and I feel if we didn't at least try to buy this home, then we will both feel like we didn't listen to our hearts, and most importantly, listen to the kick that God is giving us. Until then.

The Sickees times 4

That's right folks, all the kiddos are sick *sad face* After 2 nights of Emma coughing so badly, and keeping not only herself up at night, but me is well, I decided it warranted a trip to go see Dr. Flynn. I made the appointment Friday morning, and we were all set to go in at 4pm. The morning was pretty busy for us, as Jason had a few errands to run, and I was taking Olivia to home-school function near our house. We went to go see a Ballet with another friend of hers who is also home-schooled. She had a pretty good time, though for 2 1/2 hours, I can understand why she kept telling me she was bored. The ballet is always a beautiful thing, but when little ones don't have the chance to move, stretch or talk, it can be a little tough. Olivia too was also complaining about her ear hurting (something she NEVER does) so I told her that I would take her along with me to go see Dr. Flynn as well.

We returned from the ballet around noon, had some lunch and managed to get every one down for a nice long nap. The kiddos were tired, lack of sleep during the night will do that to you. We woke up just in time to put our shoes on, and rush out the door to make our appointment.

Poor Dr. Flynn though was swamped with people. There must have been 15 people in the office. Everyone is sick and doing the last minute run so they wouldn't have to worry about emergency room craziness over the weekend.

When we were finally seen (poor Dr. Flynn wasn't able to get to us until 7pm) she checked her lungs, said they looked and sounded pretty good, but she definitely had an ear infection in her left year. Was I surprised. I mentioned to her that all the other kids had been sick and she said to bring them in. Thankfully Jason was on his way already for something else, so in the others came. She was so sweet to look at all the others for me. The running total for sick little kiddos was this:

Olivia - Ear infection left ear

Emma-James- Ear infection left ear and chest congestion

Owen- Double ear infection little bit of chest congestion

Ezme - Head cold

Everyone expect for Ezme is on an antibiotic. With Emma-James being on a cough suppressant as well. When we got home, we managed to get everyone supper and in bed by 8:30. And to my amazement, everyone slept fantastic last night. No one was up coughing, crying or sad. They slept like rocks until 9am. I think another good nap and a good night sleep and they will be completely back to themselves by tomorrow. Its always so hard to figure out when it comes to my kiddos being sick. They never complain, and never have the normal high fevers or such. So figuring them out is always a mystery. But it still makes my mommy heart hurt.

Today we are planning on sitting in the house and avoiding the cold weather. Its a good day to get our house in order and clean, clean, clean. Not to mention wash bedding and disinfect the house. Next week is a pretty busy and crazy week for us, so this weekend is the perfect one to get a bunch of things done. Ahhh, no rest for the busy that's for sure.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Anabelle's Angel Day

5 years ago today, I said good-bye to my sweet little Anabelle. It still has me in awe of how fast the years have gone by. In 5 years she has missed so much. The memories both Jason and I wanted so badly to make with her are gone. I remind myself though, that she is making memories herself with her Grandma and friends in Heaven. Happy and wonderful memories that I am sure she will share with me one day. It gives me peace and a warm fuzzy feeling to know she is safe and loved. I love my daily reminders that she is always near and misses us just as much as we miss her. My keys will suddenly be missing, or I will hear a mom call her little girl in the store Anabelle. The little things are what put a smile on my face. I miss her dearly, and it just doesn't seem the same without her. My three girls are the world to me, but there is always that constant reminder that there should be four. I am sure this day will be hard, but I plan on doing what I do everyday. Remember the month that I was blessed to have with her. The memories we created, and the love we not only gave her, but received as well. I miss you little one. HUGE HUGS FROM US!

Mommy and Anabelle (Night before she passed away)
 

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tis the season for BAKING!

Last year I decided that it would be fun for my GIRL SCOUT troop to bake some yummy pumpkin loafs as a little Christmas gift. I put a little spin on it by making them in some really cute loaf pans that I happen to find at the Christmas Tree Shop for a dollar each. So I managed to scoop up 2 for each girl. We decided it would be really nice to give one away to someone, and keep the other. We had so much fun doing it, that this year we continued with our Christmas tradition. With 12 girls in the kitchen, I am blessed right now to have a double oven. It sure does come in handy to get things cooked at the same time. Especially when you have that many pans going in at once. The girls really did a great job listening, mixing, pouring, and stirring. Everyone got a little something to do, but I let the leaders take care of the actual filling of the pans, just to keep the mess down to a low. This is the final outcome of of the girls hard work. WAY TO GO!

Pumpkin bread. Neatly wrapped and packaged and ready to go!
 

Snow Day number 2

It started snowing mid morning, I would say around 4am. We weren't expecting snow at all, so I was a little surprised when I woke up to see the ground covered in the white stuff. Rain was the only thing on the forecast. Needless to say, the rain, mixed in with snow, has made the roads yucky. Of course, on the day I have a million errands to run, and my husbands office party. We have decided to stay inside for the better part of the day, and Jason will come and pick us up tonight for the party. Unless due to bad weather, they have canceled it. We will see. Until then, here are some pictures of our "messy winter wonderland" outside.

The backyard covered in snow
 


Looking through the garden window of the kitchen. See the rain on the window, blah.
 

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Ezme is 3 Months Old

Gosh, its doesn't seem real that Ezme is 3 months old today! I wish that it wouldn't go by so fast. I spend 9 1/2 months waiting for the little peanut to arrive. And then when they do, bamn, their growing up goes by faster then the speed of light. Its been a great 3 months so far. She is such an easy going baby. In the beginning she wanted to make it known she wasn't anything like her big sisters or big brother, but we found a great routine and for the most part, we stick to it. Right now she is busy eating her breakfast and happily watching cartoons with her big sister Olivia. Ezme definately makes our house a lot more fuller and we are all so much in love with her. Here is a little rundown of the things Ezme can do now.

* Giggles and laughs hard when you tickle her under her neck
* Wakes up at 8:30am despite the fact that her siblings wake up at 7am
* Eats about 8 1/2 ounces in the morning and about 8 just before bed
* Is starting to hold her head up more
* Is working harder on focusing and following objects. Still struggles, but is doing better then she did a month ago.
* Loves to bat at toys
* Loves to talk to herself in the mirror and her buddy "Mr. Monkey"
* Enjoys cuddling, being held, and put to sleep at night by someone holding her
* Is starting to roll over, but hasn't reached the other side just yet
* Is sleeping through the night still from 8pm-8:30am
* Stays awake for 2 hour stretches
* Loves to suck on her fingers
* Can hold toys and bring them to her mouth
* Enjoys standing
* Enjoys playing with her feet

As you can see, she is a pretty amazing little girl. We are so in love and can't wait to see what the next 3 months will hold. I am sure it will go by just as fast as the first 3 have. HAPPY 3 MONTHS LITTLE EZME. WE LOVE YOU!

Ezme 3 months old
 


Smiling for Mommy
 

Monday, December 7, 2009

The new way to sleep

Last night I went upstairs to check on all the kiddos before I finished up the last of the laundry and heading to bed myself. As I was getting ready to tuck Emma-James in, this is how I found her. I guess you can be cool looking even when your dead asleep. Thanks to hubby, he managed to capture this on camera! I also want to say that Emma-James has the second biggest bed in the house. And still managed to sleep right on the edge every night. Despite me trying to move her closer to the middle.

Emma-James and her Thomas sunglasses. Snoozing away!
 

Saturday, December 5, 2009

First New England Snow

Yup, you read it right. The first snow fall of the winter season is upon us as we speak. Its been snowing here since 6pm. Yucky I tell ya. As much as my kiddos love watching the beautiful white stuff fall from the sky, I have to say, I am not a lover anymore. Its cold, its wet, and its a pain to drive in. It makes the roads slick, and dangerous. And people seem to be crazy when it comes to their driving skills. It will probably be a day where I sit inside and be thankful I can rest easy without having to brave the roads. Tomorrow is jam packed full of cleaning, laundry and organizing. WOOT! The kids were hoping to go outside to play, but no one has boots, hats, gloves, or snow gear, so its a "stay inside helping mommy out" sort of day. They don't mind. Tomorrow is a great day to do our yearly toy donation. We go through all the toys, books and clothes and donate a good bag or two of things to give away. Plus this year, the kids and Jason and myself decided to go shopping for other kiddos and save Santa visiting for another year. Plus, Santa was pretty good to the kids this summer. Along with Santa, the Easter bunny and Grammie and Grampa helped buy a nice big playground for them! But I think he might drop in for a small gift for each of them. They have been pretty good all year!

Friday, December 4, 2009

The Princess and the Owen

I took a few fun pictures of Ezme yesterday. Its hard to capture her at just the right moment where she isn't crazy or tired. Its either got to be right at 9am or about 9pm. So, I took some last night while the other kids where sleeping. I also managed to score a few good pictures of Owen using a big boy cup. I think we will be retiring the sippy's pretty soon. We will only use them occasionally. The still come in super handy sometimes.

Owen drinking from the big boy cup
 


"I big boy now mommy" (What he said to me when he was done)
 


Ezme Smiling
 


Big blue eyed Ezme
 

Ezme in the Tub

I really haven't taken many pictures of Ezme taking a bath, but here is one for your viewing pleasure. We had just arrived home from Maine, and while the big kids were in the bathtub, Ezme got her own wash down in her little chair in the kitchen sink. It took her a few moments for her to realize where she was, because she truly HATES being wet.

Ezme in her bath
 

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Watching my new friend

I was reading the new posts that my friends from Arizona updated about the little kiddos Abby and Rachel. I had Ezme in my lap while I was watching some of the videos they posted. Well, as I was watching them, Ezme's eyes were glued to the computer screen. Jason happened to come up from the cellar at the same time she was watching the video, so he snapped a picture. As you can see, she is completely in love with watching her far away friends.

Ezme watching Abby and Rachel on the computer
 

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Floor time

I happened to look on kids.woot.com one afternoon and found this terrific floor mat for Ezme. It is awesome! Really colorful, the toys are so cute, and it even moves. Thats right, the whole thing moves back and forth to music. Its really cute to watch. At first, she was a little angry to have been put on the floor, but after a few minutes, she realized that she loved it. The music especially. She has two favorite toys at the moment, Mr. Monkey whom she will talk to for a good hour. And of course, every baby's favorite thing, the mirror. She loves to giggle and smile in the mirror and see the other baby smiling back at her. Its cute to watch. I was able to capture a few photos of her while she was happily playing.

Ezme enjoying her floor mat
 


Half smile
 


Watching the mobile move
 

Pictures came out fantastic!

We were able to go this afternoon to order pictures. They came out so great. I am really pleased. We ordered Christmas cards and then a few pictures for ourselves. I hope everyone enjoys them as much as we do. Sadly, you will just have to wait two weeks before they arrive, and probably a few days after that before they are delivered. Until then, happy waiting!

Picture Day

Jason got a quick snapshot of Owen before we headed out for pictures. Isn't he cute

My handsome little man
 

Christmas Pictures 2009

Ahhhhh. The yearly Christmas Photo. The one, where you spend an entire month picking out outfits, deciding on hair do's, making sure everyone matches, and looks fantastic. The one day out of the whole year everyone in your family will be in a picture together, smiling, looking happy. Well, in previous years, its been a true NIGHTMARE. Last year alone it took two days, 3 hours each just to get a decent family photo and a group shot of the three kids. I was sick inside just knowing how bad it was going to be this year around with the extra little one. So I took this as a sign to figure another way of getting a good family Christmas photo without the tantrums, whines, and screams. This year I decided to call and give the gentlemen who does our kiddos Pre-School pictures a call. He does a fantastic job, has managed to get not one, but both of my girls to smile. They have come out awesome and I have never once complained. I figured, if he can work magic on them, I wonder what he can do with 6 of us!!

So today was the day. I got up at 8am. Thanks to my husband everyone was fed and ready for my instructions. I managed to get all the kids dressed, hair done, baby fed, and myself showered and dressed by 9am. We were out the door by 9:10 and surprisingly were only 5 minutes late due to road construction. So far so good. Everyone was happy, kids were smiling, no fuss from anyone. WOOT! We got there, and finally got to meet the Man of Emma's dreams. She talks about this guy all the time. Mr Genes this and Mr. Genes that. Well, Mr. Gene indeed was a nice guy and I can see why she loves him. It took 40 minutes, yes I said that right, 40 minutes to have a family photo done, individual shots of the kids, and a group shot of all the kiddos together. I was amazed. Owen was completely in love with him. The girls did everything he asked. We were in and out in an hour. SHOCKED I TELL YOU!! We will go back this afternoon to pick out our photos. I am hoping for another great outcome. I need headshots of all 4 kids, family photo, and a kids photo. I plan on keeping things simple this year. Card photos to family and friends, and just a large photo for us of the kids and the family. Money is tight, so sadly I can't do large orders like I use too. However, if you want something bigger, let me know. I will be happy to order it for you if you want to pay for it.

I will update everyone how how this afternoon goes. Wish me luck that there are plenty of nice ones to choose from! I will not be posting photos until after I have mailed out the cards!!