Honored

One of the elements of the World Wide Photo Walk is to submit your favorite photo of the day.  One photo from each group gets chosen to go on to be submitted for the larger competition.  I just about didn't bother submitting one this year.  With three kiddos around I was having a hard enough time getting my photos edited.  But one night, two days before the link closed, I had enough time to edit them and I made Bryan choose which one to submit.  This afternoon I randomly went on the website to see the other photos that were submitted and low and behold mine was chosen as the best of our group!  I was astonished, excited, and very honored.

There were only five photos submitted from our group, but to have mine chosen was pretty fun!

Blessings

Happenings

Last night about 9:30 Brandon was crying about an ear ache and I heard Micah give that raspy barky cough that never fails to send bone chilling shivers down my whole skeleton.  Needless to say I've been praying protection around Lisa and Brandon against croup and healing for Micah without hospitalization.  Thankfully he slept well last night but is coughing more today.   Pretty sure he'll be on the neb this afternoon a couple times.

In other news, here are some pictures of what's been happening around here lately:

Brandon has been off school since last Thursday for teacher's convention and curriculum day.  He missed it so much he coerced his brother into playing school with him.  Here Micah is taking a turn being the teacher and Brandon is having "snack" time.  ;)

The boys love taking turns holding Lisa and playing with her.  So precious to see them growing closer together as siblings.

Lisa has had some big changes.  She moved into the crib in the boy's room this week (and was promptly moved back out last night after I heard Micah's cough).  She's also loving the jumper!  This week she will be starting on solids too.  Growing up way too fast!

Saturday Bryan helped the boys carve pumpkins.  We didn't say anything about it but Brandon asked to carve one (must have heard about it at school or something).

And finally, Miss Lisa is four months old this week!  Where has the time gone?

I thought it would be fun to compare her poof pictures:

2 weeks

1 month

2 months

3 months

 4 months

She's also almost sitting up on her own already!

Blessings on the rest of your week.

World Wide Photo Walk 2013

This was the third year I participated in Scott Kelbey's World Wide Photo Walk.  This year there were over 1300 walks and just about 28,000 people walking around the world.  It is so much fun to walk around for two hours with other photographers just taking pictures.  This year I really wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been before and the two I was looking at were either up in BC or at the southern end of Whidbey Island.  Bryan decided to come along and watch the kids while I went on the walk and then we could spend the rest of the day together and I wouldn't have to drag Lisa with me on the walk or leave four bottles behind for Bryan to feed her.  It turned about the be a beautifully sunny day!

Here are a few of my favorites from the two hour walk:

Langley, WA is an extremely artsy town.  Just about every home had some kind of art in their yard, mostly rustic and antique but some other types as well.  It was fun to have some fresh subjects to photograph.

Blessings

Field Trip: Stoney Ridge

Last week Friday was Brandon's first field trip.  They went to Stoney Ridge Farms which is a pumpkin/apple farm.  They have people there who give school tours to explain how apples are grown and the importance of farms.

I took Micah along and was an adult "helper" and Lisa got to spend her first time at Grandma's house. 

Debbie is an excellent teacher.  Brandon couldn't remember anything she taught when we got home, but looking at the pictures now he could tell me everything she said.

The corn maze was Brandon's favorite part of the whole afternoon.

Micah looked kind of dazed and confused all afternoon.  ;)

The animals were Micah's favorite part.

Brandon's class.
Weston (boy on the far left standing up) and James B (black American in the front row) are the boys he talks about playing with the most.  Mrs. Corkill (his teacher) is on the far right and Mrs. Bosman (teacher's aid) is on the far left.

It was a delightful afternoon of playing with my boys!

Blessings

Majestic God

Micah's Adjustments

Lots of people have asked how Micah is adjusting to having his brother and best friend gone all day long.  It's been quite an adjustment for the little man.  He does lots of hanging around me, asking to read stories, wanting to help with my work, and TALKING LOTS!  I always knew he had lots going on in his head, but if you know Brandon you understand Micah doesn't get very many opportunities to verbalize those thoughts (we're working on that!).  Anyway, one of the biggest surprises for me was how much Micah talks when given the open opportunity with no one around to interrupt him.  His thought processes astound me too.  The other day he started playing around with names and giggling.  He said Brandon was Brandon Donald and he was Micah Andrew.  Yesterday he got out the white board and drew a circle with lots of lines coming out of it.  When I asked him what it was he said it was the sun (pretty typical drawing for being three).  (In the evening when he was telling Bryan about his day he said he drew a sun but he didn't think it was a very good one and next time he would do better.)  After drawing a sun he looks at me and says, "Mommy, I'm going to draw a spider next.  How many legs does it have?"  What?  Where did that come from?  He never did get his spider drawn.  He tried but quickly decided it was far more interesting to draw rectangles by drawing around the perimeter of the board in different colors.

Helping me shape the bread.

Something else I've found interesting in his adjustments is that when I tell him it's time for him to go play by himself for a while, he will often get some toys or books and go play on Brandon's bed.  It probably has lots to do with the fact that it's the top bunk bed, but I think it's also a way he feels connected to Brandon when he's not around.

In any case, we're working through it and starting to find a new "normal" on days Brandon is at school.

Blessings

Going Way Back--Brandon's Birthday Party

Yep, still working through my pile up of pictures, but I'm almost through.  At the beginning of September we had Brandon's friends over for a birthday party.  It was a gorgeous day.  I had planned games that could be either inside or out because the weather was supposed to be rainy, but God blessed us with some beautiful sunshine so we were able to stay outside for the majority of the time.

The scavenger hunt at the end was the biggest hit of the day I think.  Unfortunately I was too busy following kids around to take any pictures and I forgot to ask the other three adults to take them too.  Oops.

Blessings