just what you wanted to see.. more of nothing!

so as you can see by the date stamp on this post,

i am sitting at my computer on this new years eve.

jordan is at her "friend's" house.

jess and josie are downstairs playing.

mark and skip are downstairs playing {ps3} you know big boy games.

our weather is way to crappy for me or anyone for that matter to be out and about.

it's pure ice out there- no thanks!

so i give you a couple more macro shots that i took yesterday while the sun was shinning.

this lens makes me want summer to come even sooner-

oh the photo possibilities,

flowers,

bee,

fruits

vegetables,

the list could go on and on.

not to mention i am so over this cold, snowy, wet, icy weather.

how about you?

well, where ever you are spending new years eve-

i hope you had a great one and have a very happy new year!!

sisters

the ladies out driving around on uncle bob's four wheeler this afternoon pulling the neighborhood kids on their sleds.

they were kind enough to stop and let me take a picture {or two} of them.

gosh, i sure do love them!

some macro

yesterday i wandered around like a tourist or at least a learning photographer taking pictures of anything and let's be honest, everything.

when the day was done, let's just say i took....

460 pictures in all!

i know, pathetic!

but hey, how am i ever going to learn if i don't practice?

they are far from perfect, but i'll just keep trying till i get it right.

you know me, i'm no quitter!

josie jade

just a picture of my little one...

who i might add is not so little anymore.

just the other day she sent me an email from the living room computer.

realize that she:

1. changed the background color.
2. added a heart to the beginning.
3. typed her name and mine.
4. added a smiley face to the end.
5. sent it all on her own.

how is this possible for a 4 year old to do?

i have no idea, but i love it.
she is after all 4 going on 16.
the not so little sister or two very wonderful older sisters.
a sponge when it comes to learning and doing anything.
love you josie jade, my little joey-

love -mom

christmas 2009

jo

this is how poor jess spent thursday, friday and saturday. she is finally on the mend today.

jordan showing off her new diamond earrings that santa brought her...

keepsakes

over the summer mark was given his dad's sash from when he was a boy scout.

his dad's childhood best friend had it and gave it to him.

mark is so proud and happy to have such a treasure, especially since his dad passed away a little over 3 years ago.

well, this christmas day, we opened our box from mark's mom and found another surprise...

her sash from when she was a girl scout.

mark had told her that he had acquired his dad's and she sent hers to him as well.

it is awesome that he has both his parent's sashes from their childhood. they are definitely heirloom keepsakes.

mark wants to have them put into shadow boxes as well, which i think would be awesome.

some of the badges on them are so cute and cool looking.

so glad we have them, as they will be a treasure for sure.

so the porch is coming back to life

our house at night. mark says she's a little bright. i love it...

the walk way with lights and my favorite chairs back where they belong

the tongue and groove with lights... it turned out awesome. now they just need to be stained

ah... it's starting to feel a wee bit more like home!

just a couple of updates to the on going saga of the exterior remodel/update.

the front is 99% complete minus the pole being done. we'll have to wait for spring to do any brick work on them.

i was able to put the chairs and the flower pots back out front which makes it looks a little more like our house.

points to ponder....

this morning i was reading my daily blog roll {with my morning coffee i might add} and came across this "list" on a blog. i enjoyed it so, i had to copy it and share it with you. i hope the blog owner doesn't mind... :) i agree with most of these, although some of them are hard for me {ie. life is too short to waste time hating anyone}, boy that one is a tough one... i'm still working on that one. buy hey, i'm a work in progress and for surely don't claim to be "perfect". hope you can take something away from this list as i did. happy wednesday to you and yours.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, & wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter”?

26. Always choose life.

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

32. Believe in miracles.

33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

36. Your children get only one childhood.

37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

41. The best is yet to come.

42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

43. Yield.

44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

updates...

we "unveiled" the concrete on saturday and it looks pretty darn good.

our contractor is supposed to finish up the front this week {thank goodness}

mark and i hung the tongue and groove pine under the overhangs yesterday and installed the lights.

they look awesome!

i'll post some of those soon. way to foggy out for pictures.

it's so nice to be able to use the front door again not to mention no more orange tarps.

the dynamic duo

who could resist these faces?

mmmmm.... this leg taste pretty good

trixie telling chuck that she has had enough

okay, bad picture {blurry and all} not to mention the "adult" content- just had to share chuck's facial expression. i have no idea what he sees in trixie as she is fixed, but he is just being a man! ha ha

happy 13th birthday jordy!

the birthday girl

jordan and her "friend" michael....

jess showing us why her teeth have no enamel....

poor josie jade

this last saturday we headed to the tri-cities for dinner at the outback for jordan's birthday.

she didn't want a party or anything, just to go to dinner. her only request, invite a "friend" along {that she just happens to really like}!

all was well with the gang. we did have to make one stop at costco and mark and i ran in quickly, and came out to a huge surprise...

a very sick little girl!

i know this sounds horrible, but we were already up there and had made plans for jordan's special dinner, so we headed to the outback hoping josie would get to feeling better.

not the case. she proceeded to get "sick" at least a dozen times while there. for the most part she just laid on our laps on the bench and then would sit up enough to do her business.

the ride home in the zero visibility fog was alot of fun too!

we did make it home sick girl and all.

she spent yesterday on the couch, no puking- just really tired and yucky.

but on a high note, jordan enjoyed her dinner and her date.

i would tell you i had more pictures from this occasion, but mark was giving me the "eye" in outback and said enough with the flash.

"i hate those people that take pictures in restaurants, enough all ready"!

see how he is? it's a wonder i have any pictures at all.

so happy 13th birthday beautiful!