Joy of Love | Day 5

I am participating in a photography workshop through Willette for the month of February.

It is called The Joy of Love and each day I receive photo prompts and assignments to complete to help me work on my photography and also capture some unique photos of my loved ones.

Day 5: Love To Hate



Some days I really hate the clutter that the kids leave behind. Messy beds, messy floors. They flow so easily from one thing to the next. Probably because they don't bother to put anything away. Ever.

I don't know why we have shelves in their room, because they're always bare. I don't know why I put sheets on the bed, because they are always ripped off. But, it wouldn't be the same if they were as neat and tidy as me. I'd be worried. So, I love their messy personalities. For now.

Joy of Love | Day 4

I am participating in a photography workshop through Willette for the month of February.

It is called The Joy of Love and each day I receive photo prompts and assignments to complete to help me work on my photography and also capture some unique photos of my loved ones.

Day 4: What They Wear



I always feel like Morgen has a ton of clothes. Mostly because she does. I always have a small stack of clothes that don't really fit her anymore. There is a pile of currently worn clothes that fit perfectly. Then there is a stash of clothes that she will grow in to in a few weeks months. She grows so fast sometimes that I can't keep up, so when someone mistakenly gives her an outfit or shirt that is too big, I don't take it back. I just wait. Because I know she will be wearing it before I even know it.

Joy of Love | Day 3

I am participating in a photography workshop through Willette for the month of February.

It is called The Joy of Love and each day I receive photo prompts and assignments to complete to help me work on my photography and also capture some unique photos of my loved ones.

Day 3: Then & Now



This photo was taken when Morgen was 5 months old.



We took a weekend vacation to the mountains with my mom to see the caverns. I wore her the whole time.



She knows exactly who is in this picture.

"Momma and baby Morgen!"

And her thoughts about me taking a picture of her holding another picture were "are we done yet?"

I can barely get her to hold still to take a picture let alone try to hold her anymore. 5 months to 3 years makes one BIG difference.

Joy of Love | Day 2

{I'm backtracking on some posts, so while the date has been altered, please know you didn't miss something by accident}

I am participating in a photography workshop through Willette for the month of February.

It is called The Joy of Love and each day I receive photo prompts and assignments to complete to help me work on my photography and also capture some unique photos of my loved ones.

Day 2: How They Look



Morgen always seems to have a look of concern about her. She likes to wrinkle her brow, give me a hard stare and concentrate rather hard on whatever she does. I see her make that face all of the time and I wish I could have captured it today. But, she decided to relax, sit back and enjoy me taking pictures this time. She is such a laid back child that just goes with the flow. She doesn't seem to be very structured. Which is good considering most of the time we veer from whatever form of scheduling we try to rely on. Honestly, it was past her bedtime. Not many kids would be sitting this still at the end of the day.

February

So, yesterday was the first? I missed it. My life was so full of stuff yesterday that I'm surprised I had time to breathe.

So, today will be my first. Today was the day I flipped my calendar. Actually, today was the day I hung up my new calendar for the year. My 2010 calendar also included January 2011, so I had time to buy a new one. Which was nice, until I remembered that I hadn't bought one. Last Friday. When I frantically ordered one from Amazon. The only good thing about waiting was that it was 50% off.

My mom gave me a little calendar for Christmas. It's a zen calendar. It has peaceful images and words for each month. This month it says calm. I should work on being calm this month.

We dealt with a sick child on Sunday and Monday, so I'm glad she got well and started off the new month right. I'm not even sure what she had, but it wasn't fun because she couldn't keep anything down. Sick kids are so sad, too. Her usual self is running around, talking a mile a minute, telling me everything she knows, doing 10 things at one time. She went from that to laying around and sleeping all day. Complete and total opposite from herself. I would have traded her for that just so I wouldn't have to see her feeling so bad.

So, now that the month has started off busy, but good, I expect it to fly by. Just like every other month seems to do. The years really do pass quickly the older you get. And time always seems to mean more to you year after year. These are the days.

Joy of Love | Day 1

{I'm backtracking on some posts, so while the date has been altered, please know you didn't miss something by accident}

I am participating in a photography workshop through Willette for the month of February.

It is called The Joy of Love and each day I receive photo prompts and assignments to complete to help me work on my photography and also capture some unique photos of my loved ones.

Day 1: What They Do



Yesterday Morgen was sick. She hardly ever gets sick, so she is still recovering. Every evening before bed we spend 30 minutes snuggling in my bed while she watches whatever program we can find on TV. While she always seems to carry a look of concern, she doesn't always look this sad.

Snuggling; this is what we do.

Hi.

I realize that I have neglected to post pictures on my blog since I started it at the beginning of November. I have a reason for doing that. I am overcoming that reason, but I still mainly post from my phone. My phone doesn't have a camera. Do you want to know why? I promise it's not because I am boring and plain. I have a fancy phone. {It does have internet, after all}

I have a full time job {other than being a momma} that is top secret. No. Not really. But, almost. I just have a job that deals with sensitive information, therefore I can't have a phone with a camera on it AND be able to bring it into work with me. Losing my job is not in the cards for me right now. So, I play by the rules. Good thing Blackberry was so gracious to make a phone sans camera.

Back to the whole thing about pictures, though. I love to take pictures. Sharing them is just a whole other battle. I don't even share them on Facebook sometimes. I normally get on the computer to pay bills, check this or that and then I'm done. I'm on a computer all day at work, and well, it's not appealing when I get home. Supper and bed are more appealing. Spending time with the kids is more appealing. It's just what happens.

I do want to introduce you to someone, though.


{Left to right: Kevin, Matthew, Morgen, Christie}

I have a blended family. We go very well together. I hope you can put a face to a name now. I'm not good with faces and names, but hopefully you are better.

I just wanted to say hello, though. Put myself out there. Be vulnerable. Live on the edge.

You stuck your finger where?

I got my hair permed on Wednesday night. A little time to myself to be a grown up. A little time to myself to do something on my own. A little time to go crazy with my hair.

It's interesting. This hair of mine. I have thin hair, but I have a lot of thin hair. So, I got my full head of hair curled. Permanently. Until it grows out.

I wasn't scared. Not one bit.

In high school, I got my first perm when I was either 14 or 15. I remember my first perm wasn't exactly what I envisioned. I'd never had one before, so no one was really sure how my hair would react. Well, my hair doesn't hold a spiral curl. I know that for a fact. Who knows how much perm solution that would take. Also, I was young and I didn't care about my hair the way I do now, 10 years later. I remember that school picture that year. Yikes.

Then I got my second perm when I was 17. Just in time for my senior pictures. Those were my favorite pictures. They turned out so well and I loved my hair. So, that totally made up for the jacked up first perm syndrome I had. I took much better care of my hair and you could tell.

Then I forgot about perms until after I had Morgen. A month after Morgen was born I went to get another perm. It turned out great and I loved my hair for a few months. Then I cut it all off. I have a horrible habit of taking stress out on my hair. It has been every color and cut imaginable.

If I'm bald one day, please refer me back to this post. Thanks.

So, it's been almost 3 years since I last had a perm. I made a good decision. I like it a lot. It looks good on me. And I will admit that Thursday I kept waiting for someone to ask me if I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket. It never happened. I'm very relieved.

And sometimes that's how it is

It has been a busy week. I prepped for a sweet, little girl's 3rd birthday party (that really went off without a hitch) and then took a day off of work to spend with her on her actual birthday yesterday.

This child was thrilled! It snowed on her birthday!

We had a cowgirl theme birthday party gone plain due to last minute procrastination planning, but it still turned out great. I even made her entire birthday cake from scratch and it turned out so good.

Yesterday we went to the aquarium. She had a ton of fun seeing all of the fish, turtles, otters and seals. She even got to pet horseshoe crabs and hermit crabs in a touch tank.

Then we went out for lunch and she experienced her first time being sang to by the waiters/waitresses. Free ice cream with sprinkles was pretty neat, too.

So, we have been busy this week! And I have been so tired and trying to catch back up with work. It's almost Christmas and we've barely put a dent into our shopping. The list of things to do just keeps getting longer this time of year. Sometimes being on the adult side of things isn't all that fun. I wish I could be 3 again.

Highs in the lows

Over the last week it has gotten chilly here. We haven't had highs above the low 40s since last Friday. We even got snow on Saturday.

Mark it on your calendars. We got snow on December 4th. I don't think we've ever gotten snow this early in December, if any at all.

I like snow. A lot of people don't like snow. I think of it this way, if it's going to be cold then I want to see some snow. Otherwise, the cold is a waste of my time. I don't like being cold.

When Morgen is cold she tells me "I'm shakin."

We have a thick blanket in the car that I cover her with each time we get in. She stays all bundled up and sings along with the Christmas music. She tells me every day that she loves Christmas. I love that she loves Christmas. It's so magical feeling.

She sat on Santa's lap this year. She told him she wanted puzzles and coloring books. I have never seen her so excited to do something like that.

Her birthday is next Monday. She will be three. She is also very excited about that. She knows she is having a party on Saturday and that there will be cake. We try our very best to separate her birthday from Christmas. I always want her to feel like she has a special day of her own, outside of the holiday. I hope she always likes Christmas this much, too.