The Guerra Family

Interdepence

2012-03-04T18:56:00.002-08:00

I was texting with a friend yesterday and we were talking about the need for and benefits of writing. It can help you out of a "funk". It can be a self-discovery process. It can record your own personal history. I sorta miss that part of me that shared her heart mainly through words instead of pictures. Sooo, in an effort to recapture that piece of me and in response to a friend's challenge- I write. (Hope to see an update soon on your blog Traci!).

Chad shared with me something he'd read from "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". The gist- when we're young, we're dependent on our parents and the goal is to mature from dependence to independence. Then later in life, the next level of development is to move from independence to interdependence.

With that in mind, a few weeks back Chad and me went dancing for our date. I'm not much of a dancer, but it was a lot of fun. It was a ballroom dance. We were the youngest couple there...and very under dressed. Lucky for me, Chad knows various dance steps, so I could just sorta follow his lead.

Halfway through the date, Chad helped me realize that I wasn't doing my part as a dance partner. He showed me how I needed to be giving a little more resistance to his hand. It was so much easier to just sorta hold his hand and let him lead the way. I thought about the implications that this could have in our marriage. I thought about interdependence. He needs me to push back. He can't do all the leading and I merely follow, like I had been doing in our dancing. Likewise, I can't lead him. I have to do my part and give a little. Dancing takes two independent people doing their part, yet inter depending on the other. A sort of synergistic creation. Needless to say, that date has caused me to reflect on how I can "push back" and bring something more to our marriage.

...and because I think visuals are always nice even if they're just some low quality iphone pictures- the dance floor and live band.

Happy Birthday Liam!

2012-02-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

...and, at the same time, sorry Liam. You're mom accidently erased all of the pictures she took of your birthday. This mom that takes pictures of EVERYTHING is heartbroken. Luckily, your dad took some video footage on his phone (which I might add, I almost erased too). Oh, & I also apologize that the footage that we do have of your birthday is you having a tantrum because you thought we were taking away one of your presents. Sigh.

Our last hoorah! part 2

2012-02-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our flight home was Sunday. Timing made it difficult to get to church, so we were tourists for one more day, making our way down to St. Augustine.
To me, lighthouses are so romantic/'Anne of Green Gables'-ish. I've never seen one in real life & even tried to convince Chad that a vacation to the New England states would be fun (partially because I've wanted to see/photograph a lighthouse). Well, my wish came true. I saw/photographed my first lighthouse...although I have to admit, I envisioned a lighthouse on a shore with sea crashing into rocks. Still, beautiful. I just think I'll still be fighting for that trip to New England. :)

This is the oldest fort in America...that's about all I remember. We didn't go on the tour...but Liam tried to sneak in. I let my mother-in-law go catch him while I just took pictures of him running away. haha

Liam has been on this bouncing/jumping kick.

This was a quaint little alleyway of shops. It had a nautical & Spanish vibe to it. I love visiting places that make me feel like I'm in a totally different environment. I wish I'd taken more pictures.

And what would this post be without highlighting a "choo choo train". One of many that we pointed out to Liam.

There's something so serene about the beach. The crashing of the waves, the smell that the sea air leaves on my hair and clothes, the billions of shells collectively making up the shore.

...and this is Liam. A friend recommended that I get a new toy for Liam for the plane ride. It was such a lifesaver! You can see him here with his Mater & Lightning McQueen. He was totally consumed for most of the flight(s).

Our last hoorah! part 1

2012-02-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

Liam is turning two tomorrow & will no longer fly for free...and we're having our second baby in April, so we thought we'd better end our traveling freedom with a bang. Can you tell from the picture below where we went?

Anyone guess Florida? I was hoping to throw you off with this picture from the window of our plane. Beautiful, huh.

We flew into Jacksonville Friday afternoon & spent the rest of the day with Chad's family. We had so much fun! It was Liam & my first time meeting a lot of his family.

Chad's aunt was gracious enough to let us stay at her lake house in Crescent City. Beautiful!

Saturday morning we drove to Orlando to spend the day at Disney World! Another first for Liam and me.

The seagulls & the "choo choo train"- Liam's two favorite things about Disney World.

More family pictures!

2012-02-01T15:52:00.001-08:00

Okay, before you begin to wonder why we'd take more family pictures, let me explain.
Chad's office needed a picture of his family. I thought we probably should take a more professional looking picture for it...well, as professional as we can get at least. Sooo...for our family night, we spent some time in my little studio. These were among my favorites.

Notice Liam has a car in the bulk of the pictures. Sometimes you just gotta pick your battles.

Let it Snow! {first snow of 2012}

2012-01-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

What an odd winter it has been! Well, we got our second snow of the season & our first of the new year. Liam LOVED it...much more than last year.

The nesting stage is on!

2012-01-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Must be that time again. I have an insatiable need to organize, clean, decorate, etc. (I'm about 28 weeks along).
The rooms that have been hit the hardest by my cleaning frenzy is my "studio" (if you can call it that, more like Michelle's play room), Liam's room (which will eventually house the new baby), & our bedroom.
In my studio, I've now organized all my backdrops & props, bought a wall mount system from some of my larger backdrops & have ordered a few new vinyl backdrops in wider sizes. So far only the white backdrop has come in.
Here's a visual-

...and I promised a friend that I'd post some maternity pictures. I've been dying to try out my new backdrop & I have no one to photograph, sooo... don't make fun of me Lacy if I'm a dork :)

...okay, I did get some subjects to photograph for like two seconds. My little monkeys. :)

...and for those of you who might be wondering, we will be naming the new baby...

New Years

2012-01-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

This was how we spent much of New Years Eve. Outdoors! It was a beautiful 60+ degrees outside & Liam was loving the ~~fresh air~~ dirt. He literally sat in this spot of dirt near our front porch playing for about 2 hours. We will be getting the boy a sandbox this summer. And some landscaping :)

And on another note, I didn't realize until I was in bed sometime after midnight & Chad brought it up, that I hadn't made any new years resolutions! To be honest, I'm not sure that I still have any good, specific resolutions in mind.

A wise bishop once suggested that we resolve to change something we can actually accomplish. He said that too often we dream up lofty goals, only to let ourselves down. So my resolution will be something doable. Simple. By small & simple things are great things brought to pass, right? Thinking...

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of my dusty, dirty little boy.

Christmas morning

2011-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures from Christmas morning.

White Christmas

2011-12-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this a few days ago.

The other morning I woke up & the sky was thick with fog. I thought, 'This might be the closest we get to a white Christmas this year'. So I headed outdoors, camera in hand.

More Christmas pictures to come soon...

Wilkins family pictures

2011-12-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

This year everyone was home for Christmas. Probably won't happen again for awhile. So, we took some family pictures.

I won't lie, it was absolutely crazy & I wonder if I ever should take my family's pictures again. Most turned out like this-

Everyone was complaining, we had to take them at the worst time of day in a slim piece of shade, there was a screaming baby, a stubborn dog that insisted on being in all our pictures, & coordinating outfits is a hopeless cause. We literally had ONE picture "turn out" if you can call it that.

For family night yesterday, Chad & I wrote short autobiographies in our journals. As I reflected on my life thus far I felt like the poor, little olive tree planted in the poorest spot of ground (Jacob 5). We had some rough times growing up. We've never had real stability. There's been lots of moves & drafty houses, financial set backs, car accidents & illness.

But that poor little olive tree had to sink it's roots deep. Despite it all, we always loved each other, had a lot of fun & my parents always stayed firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I wrote I felt nothing but pride & gratitude for all the chaos & challenges. It's shaped me. And although I admit, there's been times when I've resented all the craziness, I also have to admit that I wouldn't have had things any other way. I wouldn't want another family. I love them.

Here's some pictures of the individual families.
The Adams-

The Reisners-

The Cooks-

The Bitters-

The Guerras-

Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

I'm on a role with the blogging thing this week! I'll tell ya, blogging for me is sort of how my dating trends were in a past life- feast or famine!
Well, here's a visual "feast" of pictures that I took this afternoon playing around with different settings on my camera :) Can you tell what I did?

(hint- 1st pic using a flash, 2nd manual focus (or should i say, unfocus), & 3rd looong shutter speed with a tripod)

Santa Claus

2011-12-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

This past week we had a lot of fun as Chad's dad came through town for a few days. He's moving my mother in law back from Utah to Florida. As part of the moving process, we received boxes & boxes of Chad's things. We've managed to go through about four of them so far. Thirteen more to go.

The process has been bittersweet. Bitter- I'm not a pack rat in the least bit! And I'm running across all the pictures & letters from all Chad's ex-girlfriends (haha, just kidding- it's actually kinda fun. Do I have a twisted personality because of that?).

The sweet- I feel like I'm learning more about Chad as we weed through everything his mom kept and I occasionally come across priceless pictures, like the one below of Chad on Santa's lap (wasn't he the cutest little boy?).

Then I got an idea. I found my youngest picture sitting on Santa's lap (yes, I'm the one sticking out my tongue) & paired it with Liam's most recent Santa picture.

I think Santa now days looks a lot more genuine & friendly. What do you think?

Christmas traditions

2011-12-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

When I think of holiday traditions, one comes to mind. A tradition that began with my grandma Freestone & continued with my mom. We always had to drink a large glass of juice before we could go in to see our Christmas presents.

For some reason, the glass of juice seemed insurmountable. Always a struggle to guzzle down. One year the juice selection was V8 juice. That year was especially tough.

Now I have my own little family. We're deciding which traditions we want to carry on & start. One we've adopted from Chad's family is the baking & decorating of sugar cookies. My third time with the tradition. Here's how things looked this year.

November randomness

2011-12-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

November randomness...a lame, completely uncreative blog post title. But really, what sort of cohesive title exists concerning some pictures regarding a naked baby boy & a dessert. Ya, I couldn't think of one either.

Soooo...onto the pictures.

I'll tell you straight up, Liam takes showers with me. It started out as a convenient way for me to get a shower when he was younger. Now he insists. He LOVES the shower!

And we have our routine. We shower. I bundle him up & flip on the disney channel. He sits all adorable mesmorized by Mickey Mouse or the trains of Chuggington. I fix my hair & make-up. I finish. I chase him, diaper in hand.

I never wanna forget any of it!

On another note, have you heard of pinterest? You probably have. Chad and me have taken an interest into baking a new dessert from there together every week. Below is our favorite dessert we've made to date. Cheesecake Brownies. (their brownies turned out a lot more "photogenic").

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

All of my family, with the exception of my sister Kyra who had a working husband, went out of town for Thanksgiving. It was kind of depressing. But, we wanted to make the best of it. I craved watching the Macy's day parade. Chad craved the food. We both craved a little vacation. So...
We had a modest Thanksgiving day feast. I watched the Macy's day parade as I made the final preparations for lunch/packing.

We ate.

We cleaned up.

We left for Branson.

It was nice holiday. More than anything, I think it was a learning experience. The things I/we learned-

1. Pyrex & Corelle do not count as fine china. (I'd like some pieces of nice serving dishes to make special meals feel more like an event).
2. Entertaining a toddler in a hotel room is a lot more difficult than at home.
3. Exciting destinations are more fun than exciting resorts.
4. Learn the back roads of Branson.
5. We enjoy baking together (Chad helped with all the pies the night before. Didn't he do great?).
6. Take more pictures than just at Bass Pro.
7. Liam is really obsessed with trains.

We're having a...

2011-11-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

well, the picture speaks for itself.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...I don't think this one needs much explanation.

We both broke out laughing when we caught sight of this view. We knew exactly what that meant.

We're both so excited for Liam to have a little brother & a playmate.

Liam's reaction to the news- completely clueless.

Halloween 2012

2011-11-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

We were pirates this year. Well, I kinda was. I just sort of scavenged things from around the house for my "costume" (Chad's tuxedo shirt, a few scarfs, flip flops & rolled up pants). And let me also mention, that I had to go to walmart dressed this way. The walmart greeter greeted me with, "What are you supposed to be?".

Chad & Liam, on the other hand, were a little more authentic. I told the greeter that I was a lot more pirate-esque with my husband & son around who actually looked like pirates. (oh, btw, this below picture is from our ward halloween party.)

Needless to say, we didn't dress up for halloween, just Liam. (Actually, Chad temporarily dressed up. He emerged from our room wearing my clothes. His chest filled out my shirt better than I can. I looked at him & said, "You better not stretch out my shirt." He had a giggle in his eyes. I could tell he thought the pants were mine. Luckily they weren't (I would've really been mad). They were just merely a tighter pair of his pants that he'd forgotten about. I think I rained on his parade when I added, "...and those pants are not mine." He changed & came back with his wig on.)

This was his first year trick-or-treating. Does is count if I'm the one that says "trick or treat"?

Liam running away from me with my camera.

Dental Hygeine

2011-11-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

It's kinda crazy to see how much Liam does/learns through imitation. Lately, it has been this. And let me confess, he's not copying me on this habit.

He may not develop good flossing skills from his mom, but I hope that I can teach him other important things- maybe to love the Lord...a love for the scriptures...prayer...putting down the toilet seat...just to name a few. :)

A day in the park

2011-10-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well, actually these are pictures from two separate visits.

As soon as Liam got out of the swing, he bolted for the other kids on the merry-go-round. I let Chad chase him while I continued to take pictures. And then, Chad being a good dad, hitched a ride on the merry-go-round to appease Liam. I'm sure the kids thought, 'Man, these two are heavy!'

This day Liam & me went on a little walk to the park and remembering how much he loved the merry-go-round, we took a little detour. At one point a man driving through the park stopped & just watched us for awhile. Feeling a little nervous, I finally acknowledged the onlooker by waving to him at which he replied back, "I'm not sure who's having more fun, you or him." (Both Liam & me were both giggling & exclaiming "WEEEE!").

October 2011 General Conference pictures

2011-10-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

Another general conference has come and went. Every talk was inspiring & wonderful, but like each year there were a specific few that really touched my heart- messages that seemed tailored for me. My favorite, probably a talk by Carl B. Cook, "It Is Better to Look Up". (click the title if you want to go read/listen/watch it!).

And, trying to stay true to tradition, we took what I like to refer to as "general conference" pictures. I feel like every general conference I grow spiritually in some way. There's always some talk that is exactly what I've been praying for or need to hear. These pictures are a way to mark my families physical growth...& maybe even put a visual with a period when I/we learned something we needed to learn.

Sunday we spent the day with family & I got some awesome spaghetti eating pictures.

Let me introduce the king of the pasta.

and the queen (Kyra's little Gracie Sue).

Now, a confession. We didn't actually take pictures on Saturday or Sunday (when general conference was taking place). I wasn't feeling good that day...but I wasn't going to give up on the tradition I'm trying to create! So we just took them a few days later. :)

It wasn't all smooth sailing. We got a few of these...

...and a few I'll probably print & stick on our wall.

And these- I just love. I snapped them when they thought I was messing with the self timer. I love my family!

Black Walnut Festival

2011-10-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Chad was in Kansas City that day for classes & I had pictures that evening, so Liam and me stayed behind. We did have fun though. Although, after the day I said I would never go to another parade without my husband.
Things started out pretty good. All in good spirits.

Sadie was a pro with her whistling skills (aka- put your fingers to your mouth & let out a high pitch squeal).

Then Liam got a little sugar into his system. He hated the idea of collecting candy to put it into a bag. He began beating me to the tootsie rolls & shoving them in his mouth (wrapper & all) before I could get to him.

I just like these pictures below because of Sadie's awesome jumping in the background :)

And then, with every sugar high, there comes a low. (or maybe he was a little frustrated with me since I kept "stealing" his candy, I wouldn't let him go out and join the parade, & then we he threw a fit, I took pictures of it).

fog

2011-09-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

And another catch up post. :) With the morning sickness, I also haven't been taking a lot of pictures, but I figured I'd take care of the few I have taken.

The other morning was gorgeous! The field behind our house was covered with fog just as the sun was beginning to rise. I trampled out through the dewy grass in my husbands shoes & a hoodie pulled over my pajamas to capture just a few images. The neighbors must think I'm so strange.

Long time no blog...

2011-09-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

...at least it feels like that. Blogging is a form a journaling for me...a less private sort of journaling. :) And like journaling, I don't like getting too far behind & then I have to do a marathon summary of all the missed dates.

So today, in an effort to not get too far behind, I will update the world on our current events. And that would be, well, really nothing. I still have morning sickness, some days worse than others. Nights are the hardest for me. So we've spent a lot of time indoors. I've spent a lot of time on the couch. I'm hoping I only have a few more weeks of this. I'm now about 11 weeks along.

But although life seems to be at a stand still for me, Liam continues to grow & be just as cute as can be. He loves opening doors, flipping switches, buckling himself in, helping me clean, climbing EVERYTHING...still not much talking from this boy, but he gives the best kisses & loves cuddling with me & his furry blanket. He also (as you can see from below) loves to feed himself. Not sure why he purposely puts the spoon in his hair, but oh well.

Birthday & a hodge podge of sort of connected events...

2011-09-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

This year I turned 32. Hard to believe...well, for me it's hard to believe. I always forget how old I am now. I tend to default to 30 when asked ...but I think that added year might just make that harder to do.

We had cake and ice cream & a movie with my family. Nothing big.

It was cute though because (backstory here) not to long ago I went to my friend Lacy's birthday party. I was so impressed by the thought & detail that her family put into her party- balloons, store bought cakes, streamers, table clothes, party favors, cute little plates & napkins. I told my husband how I thought that was neat because it made her birthday seem that much more special. Nothing against my family, but we're not planners like that. We have a cake made from a box & enough candles if we're lucky. With that in mind, Chad secretly went out and bought decorative plates & napkins just for my birthday. As you can see by the pictures below, my birthday was nothing fancy and it was last minute thrown together...but those paper plates & napkins were the sweetest guesture to me. I know the expression "it's the thought that counts" sounds lame, but really, the thought really did count to me! Chad also surprised me with a vinyl wood floor backdrop I'd been drooling over (see pictures from last post).

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself...and there's a good explanation. See the picture below, the one on the right, that's from Silver Dollar City. We did that before cake & ice cream. It's really not the greatest picture (quality & photogenic wise) & I didn't want it all big, so I coupled it with another picture (which I will explain in a little bit). Anyways, we went to Silver Dollar City. We have season passes- which we've used once this year. It was crazy busy & we will not be going back again on a weekend. We had time for one ride. The log ride. An hour wait for a 2 minute ride.

The chocolates were also a total surprise...a birthday present from a mission companion from Denmark. What another thoughtful gesture! I LOVE this girl...and not just for the chocolates...but I could do a whole post about that...maybe I will one day. :) I was especially grateful for the chocolates because I'm an avid dessert eater, but these days nothing sweet appeals to me...except an occasional square of chocolate.

Why this sudden change of appetite? Well, I've been nauseated for the past 2 weeks or so. I was pretty positive why, but thought I'd wait to make it public until I'd come back from the doctors. I went today.

BAHM! There's my other exciting news! Due April 8.

Unrelated story...

2011-08-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

So this has nothing to do with the below pictures. The pictures are just cute eye candy.
Tonight as Chad was getting Liam ready for bed, he was saying prayers with him. I happened to be in the room changing sheets, so I kneeled down with the two of them to listen in. Chad began. "Little baby Jesus". I opened my eyes & laughed. Chad opened his & shook his head. "No, that's not right. Let's try that again", he said. But it was too late. I was laughing. He laughed. "Why did you say that? What were you thinking?", I asked. "I don't know. I guess I was just trying to think of how to say a prayer in little kid language."
Let's just say I said the prayer tonight. It wasn't pretty. A few bouts of giggles broke out- mostly from me. Liam joined in a bit too, not knowing what exactly what was going on, but not wanting to be left out of the fun. But at least I started my prayer correctly.

Sunflowers

2011-08-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

I love sunflowers. They're always in full bloom in the late summer & early fall. That was cross country season for me. As a cross country team we'd put sunflowers in our ponytails & braids for our races. It was our thing as a team...and maybe we thought it'd bring us a bit of good luck.

Then there were the sunflowers alongside the road of River road. River road was the most awesome dirt road behind my house growing up. Quiet & empty except for the regulars I'd pass on my early morning runs- Mr. Bailey, my 7th grade math teacher walking with his large walking stick & Kathleen Davis out for her early morning run. Whenever I was home from school I'd begin my run down that road. I had a 6 mile loop that I consistently ran. I thought, I prayed, I enjoyed the stillness. I loved watching the sunrise. I loved watching the sunflowers. They always followed the sun. I thought a lot about that symbolism on my runs. Following the sun. I thought of how I wanted my life to follow the Son.

I later served a mission in Spain. I learned the spanish word for sunflower. Girasol. I was intrigued by it's translation- turn to the sun.

This year was our first year planting a garden. This year was also a terrible drought. Needless to say, after a few weekends out of town, our garden shriveled up & died...except for the weeds of coarse, and one sunflower (the other sunflower growing, was sadly mistaken for a weed & uprooted before its time). Chad & me have talked about how our garden & this sunflower is so much like life. We planted our garden with such great enthusiasm & hopes. Then, unexpected difficulties arose. Our hopes never came to fruition...except for this one sunflower. It was like our little ray of hope. Our little miracle that seems to beckon us to not give up on gardening...just like we never should give up on those things we pursue in life.

So once again, a sunflower has taught me a profound life lesson.

70's party!

2011-08-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had a 70's theme party. It was a lot of fun...even if only a few of us dressed up :) Food, friends, pictures & karaoke. Can't go wrong there, right? We already have plans in the works for the next party!

"To be a better photographer...

2011-08-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

...become a more interesting person." -Chris Orwig

Chris Orwig, a renowned photographer & photoshop guru. He was featured on a youtube episode of Framed this past week. If there were a theme to this episode, it would have been that we should never lose our other passions because we become so passionate about one thing. He said that some of the most amazing photographers he's known are deeply passionate about other things- surfing, marine biology, biking, skating, etc. In the episode he encouraged photographers to develop passion for many things and to bring those passions into their photography. In honor of his episode, this week's challenge on Framed is "passion". So...what am I passionate about? Photography, of coarse. But I'd be missing the point if I submitted something about photography. So I began to think. I realized that I've lost a lot of my passions. I used to be deeply passionate about running & racing, early mornings, cooking, nutrition, reading (especially religious books), writing (my history & principles I was learning), teaching, organization. Somehow motherhood & marriage, photography & a move cross country have wiped out my passions. I'm practically sedentary, I eat dessert twice a day, journaling is less frequent, i sleep in. See what I mean? Well, I've decided to take back my passions. And it began with the below journal entry. This morning I went running.

haircut

2011-08-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

well i did it! i cut my hair. i was getting so sick of my layers & tired of having my hair end up in a frumpy ponytail by the end of the day. i began telling chad i wanted to cut my hair & every time he'd object. he loves long hair. well, one day i came across my friend melissa's blog in which she had a before and after pic of her longer hair & short haircut. i was sold! i told chad right then, i'm 'cutting my hair'! (melissa, if you're reading this, i hope you don't mind that i copied your haircut. :) flattery is the best compliment...and we don't live in the same state, so it's okay, right? haha)
i made my appointment with a stylist who i'd heard about two years ago. i had really wanted to go see her...but i misplaced her card. well, i recently came across it & thought now or never! (both with the stylist and the haircut)

and here's my lovely before and afters- courtesy of my iphone :)

ps- chad likes it. i don't think he'd object to me growing it out again...but for now he's okay with this.

Pioneer heritage part 2

2011-07-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

We stayed here our second night. Two words. Bunk beds. That night I took bottom with Liam and Chad took top bunk.

We took the carriage ride. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole tour. Liam got to see cool horses & I love history and there was some really cool stories & facts shared.

I loved a point of the ride where they stopped the wagon to point out three steeples. Our host explained that one was the catholic church steeple, one the mormon church steeple, and the last the Nauvoo temple. He said Joseph would've been pleased with that and told us how Joseph had said, 'If you can't enjoy and share our religious beliefs, at least come and enjoy our hospitality'. Joseph Smith was known to be a great defender for religious freedom.

These next properties are actually not owned by the church, but by the RLDS or Community of Christ. This part wasn't free like the previous stuff...but not bad. $3/person.

Different homes where Emma and Joseph had lived.

Joseph & Hyrum's bodies are supposedly buried under this shed and a nearby liliac bush. The bodies were hid, for one, because there was a reward for the head of Joseph Smith- dead or alive.

The red brick store. This isn't the original building, but built in it's likeness. Above the store (right picture) was a room where the Relief Society was organized and where Joseph passed all of his priesthood keys onto the twelve apostles before his martyrdom.

Before heading home, we stopped at Carthage Jail. The Jail where Hyrum and Joseph Smith were murdered unlawfully by a mob. Below are some of the rooms in the jail.

This is the room where they were murdered. The hole in the door is one of the actual bullet holes. The upper window on the right is the window Joseph jumped from in an attempt to save his friends. Among those friends was Willard Richards. A year earlier Joseph had prophesied to him that "the balls (bullets) would fly around him like hail, and he should see his friends fall on the right and on the left," but he would not be hurt (History of the Church, 6:619).

A memorial to Joseph and his brother Hyrum. I also, LOVE the quote on the below plaque.

Celebrating our pioneer heritage

2011-07-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Pioneer day...July 24th...this past Sunday. The day we commemorate the saints entrance into Utah Valley. I can't think of a better way to honor the memory of the pioneers than to spend the prior weekend in Nauvoo. It was painfully hot and humid, but it was one of those experiences that left me a little different. It left me thinking. It left me longing to change. It left me craving to be just a little bit better as a person. Why? Let me share a little bit about the story of Nauvoo...and my story of Nauvoo.

The saints came to Nauvoo after financial problems in Kirtland, Ohio and being run out of Missouri. It was swampy and infested with mosquitos carrying Malaria. Many got sick, but many miraculous healings were performed. And these early saints got to work transforming this swamp into a city that would champion Chicago in size (at its' height, it had 300 people less than Chicago). They built a community, they built a temple, and they built their faith.

Now my experience.

Here's some pictures. They might tell the story better than me. :)

We stayed here the first night. Praire Winds Motel. Carthage, IL.

Hotel phone...yes, we unplugged it.

Friday morning. Nauvoo temple. The temple was gorgeous!! This temple was built as a replica of the original that was destroyed by mobs when the saints were forced to flee Nauvoo.

These statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith commemorate their last ride from Nauvoo. They stopped in this area and looked at the temple. Joseph commented how much he loved the people and how they had no idea of the hardships that awaited them. He knew he would not be coming back.

I was so impressed by all the couple missionaries in Nauvoo! They were all there on a volunteer basis. No pay. They all had a quiet confidence about them. They guided us on tours of the different pioneer homes and demonstrated crafts of the day, and they always found ways to share their testimony of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith! It invited such a gentle and sweet spirit. Never overbearing. Always full of sincerity and love.

Webb Brothers' Blacksmith Shop. We got cool "diamond" rings here.

John Taylor Home

The below rocking horse was made by John Taylor for his son. When the Saints were forced from Nauvoo, this was left behind. His son was so upset, that John Taylor rode the 20+ miles back to Nauvoo, knowing that mobs were out searching for any "mormons". Needless to say, he made it back safe...he later became the third prophet of the church.

Print Shop

Browning Home & Gunsmith Shop

Pendleton Home & Log School- I love how the walls are hand scrapaped! Can you imagine the work it would take?!?

They also told us here about some of the efforts for education. There were immigrants from all over Europe who had come to join Zion. Most did not speak english. Some did not have the means to pay for an education, so they paid in eggs, apples, and other commodities.

Brigham Young Home- so glad we don't have to wear bonnets! The one below apparently sits high on the head to allow circulation in hot months.

Scovil Bakery- yum! We got to try pioneer ginger bread.

That night we attended the Nauvoo pageant. I've been to two others- the Manti pageant & Mesa, AZ pageant. This one is my favorite so far...minus the mosquitos & humidity :)

This was our first day touring. More to come about our second day!

The rest of the sprinkler pictures

2011-07-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Water

2011-07-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

Liam and his cousins Sadie & Payson playin' in the sprinklers. Don't you love that water logged diaper bum? :)

To see more sprinkler pictures click here (It's always so hard to choose your favorite!).

And to see more awesome water entries, click the link below!

Chad's birthday

2011-07-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Chad turned 34 this year! We had some red velvet cake for his b-day...and I can't find any more of my pictures :( So these will have to suffice, until I get some more when we do a little family sunday birthday get-together.

Temple trip

2011-07-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Chad's still young men's president...at least for a few more weeks (he was called last week as the 1st counselor in the Elder's quorum presidency), so we got to go up to St. Louis for the youth temple trip.

Liam & me waited outside.

It was hot and the shade was minimal, but I was excited to try out a new lens I'd just gotten- the 85 mm 1.4. I love it! I think it's my new favorite!

And then, as I was taking pictures something caught Liam's eye. His curiosity was fun to photograph, until I realized that he was chewing on whatever it was he found...

Liam always finds trouble when I'm taking pictures of him (note the previous entry with pictures of him beginning to drown).

On a happier, less disgusting note, everyone really enjoyed the temple.

And, another happy note- Liam went into nursery for the first time yesterday. He LOVES it!!! Not a tear shed. I can't wait til he has a little brother or sister because he loves other little kids! (below is his first nursery art work...definitely a very talented use of an orange crayon).

Piggyback riding

2011-07-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Horsey, horsey, on your way...

...and then Liam gets a little tired...

...and I get a little camera happy.

Just because.

2011-07-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

No special occasion. Just wanted to try out an idea. This was the only one that halfway turned out. In hindsight I would've done a few things different. But then, that's why I try out my ideas...to continue to learn :)

Update: this week's challenge over at i heart faces is props. i used to do these challenges faithfully, but somehow i fell off the bandwagon. i wanna start back up again. it's a fun challenge for me to take a theme and see what i can come up with in 2 days. normally i hate using old pictures, but yesterday and today have just been too busy. so, i'm using an old picture...not too old...just not something i came up with in the last 2 days. next challenge i hope to do better.

The Fourth of July

2011-07-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! We were pretty lazy most of the day. Then we went to the lake.

This boy loves water! And he sure knows how to scare his mom!

Proof that my son has no fear. Below is Liam beginning to drown. (note- Chad's lack of urgency on his face... and yes, I just happened to get a picture as my son went under. I promise the click of my shutter button was immediately followed by panic). Then pop! Liam's up and running again as if nothing just happened.

And what would be the 4th without fireworks? (view from our back porch).

Panama City Beach- part two

2011-06-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Even though I stamped "The Guerras" on this photo...these are really Nagels. I just put the stamp on all my pics. :) (p.s.- for those of you who don't know, this is Chad's sister that was my mission comp and that I'm forever indebted to for setting us up!)

This one is a Guerra though...for now ;)

Applauding himself for climbing a mound of sand.

"Momo" and her grandkids.

Have you ever played this game? So fun! My sister Sheena introduced it to me and I introduced it to the Guerras. It's always funnest when you have a couple of really bad drawers or confused participants (initially we began playing with Chad's grandma Smith...some of our best games. She kept it very interesting!).

The directions: begin with a phrase...after a minute everyone passes and draws the phrase they receive...pass again after a minute and write what you think you see from that next person's paper...etc, etc. Below were some of our favorites!

(begins "All the Single Ladies"...gets lost somewhere with mom's rendition of Beyonce on sheet #4...who I thought looked like that little creature off of "Flight of the Navigator" (anyone?) sampling perfume...ends "nuts & jelly woman".

(begins: "I'm BAD, I'm bad, I'm really really bad...I believe mom drew the lovely people pictured on sheet #2 which looked to me like garbage pale kids (anyone remember them from the 80's??)...ends with "hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil")

(begins- "Any man of mine better be proud of me"...changes to a little dosie doe...at which my brother in law Ben draws some daisies (needless to say, he's not a cowboy and doesn't do much country dancing).

I really wanted to take some family pictures by this pier. A little sunny...a little bit of squinting...but what a beautiful pier!

I'm not one to be ashamed of a little pda :)

Ever seen "The Truman Show"? It was filmed in Seaside, this cute little town not far from us. So cute! However, I only managed to get pictures of the gelato. It was hot & I got a little lazy. :)

And I'll leave you with this beautiful sunset (this was the night of the lunar eclipse).

Panama City Beach- part one

2011-06-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a gazillion pictures and had a hard time deciding which ones to put up, so I'm just gonna have to do 2 large posts about our recent trip to Panama City. This is part one.

First, we flew into Atlanta. We got to visit Chad's uncle and aunt (who I'd never met). They were wonderful and it was fun to meet and visit with them.

Then we attended Chad's cousin Chelsey's wedding reception. Gorgeous! One of the most beautiful receptions I've ever attended. Beautiful landscaping, big white tent, fabulous food and beautiful couple! The kind of reception I always dream of photographing. Ironically, this is one of the only pictures I got there. haha

Then, after going to church Sunday morning, we made the drive to Panama city. (Just a shot of aunt Brittany entertaining Liam with Winnie the Pooh...such a good aunt!)

...and a little pitstop at Publix grocery store. Aunt Brittany working her magic with the kids again.

And finally some beach pictures.

Liam LOVED everything about the beach. The water...

...the sand...

...fishes and cars...

...and lots of running around naked in public.

And of coarse, it's always fun to be with family.

Pillow fighting

2011-06-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Liam has this thing for throwing the pillows off our bed. Today I fought back today...one handed...with a camera in my other hand. Hard stuff.

p.s.- I've been learning new techniques to make my own black and white images in CS5 and it is so fun!

It speaks for itself...

2011-06-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

So I think I first noticed it Tuesday. My stomach. It just seemed fatter. 'Oh no', I thought, 'the time has arrived'. Time to cut back on my beloved, daily ritual of chocolate ice cream and microwaved (for approximately 12 seconds) chocolate-chocolate chip-peanut butter chip with walnuts cookie dough. (Am I making you hungry?) But then I thought, 'Well, I did just eat. Maybe it will flatten some more after some time.'

Fast forward to Wednesday night. Brushing my teeth. Nothing better to do, but stare at my self brush back and forth. I turn to the side. Gosh, still there! But another excuse came to mind this time...

...and this is it. And I think the blue line needs no explanation. Round two begins. I hope this time it sticks a little better.

*update...sooo, a friend of mine informed me that after a miscarriage, home tests aren't considered reliable because you're hormones could still be stabalizing for up to 3-4 months. I hope this isn't the case and that I really am pregnant. Cuz if not...well, that's just depressing...and that means that I've gotten fatter! ha!

The Tempest is Raging

2011-05-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to St. Louis to go to the temple. The temple is a special opportunity because sometimes answers to prayers come so easily there. There's things I've been praying about and that I hoped to find answers for there, but nothing this time. Nevertheless, it was so nice to go to the temple.

On the drive home, Chad started singing some hymn and I joined in and shortly after Liam began his chorus along with us (ya, we're weird like that). Well, the singing of this one hymn turned into a sort of game. I'd randomly flip to a hymn (thank you iphone hymn app) and if we knew it, we'd sing it. We made a great trio and we sure could dramatize some of those songs. (You should of heard us on the chorus of 'Master, the Tempest is Raging'!) In fact, 'Master, the Tempest is Raging' was the hymn that really stuck with me then and that has stayed with me these past few days. Not because of our memorable rendition of it. It was the second verse. I'd never paid attention to it.

Master, with anguish of spirit

I bow in my grief today.

The depths of my sad heart are troubled.

Oh, waken and save, I pray!

Torrents of sin and of anguish

Sweep o'er my sinking soul,

And I perish! I perish! dear Master.

Oh, hasten and take control!

Never before had I been able to relate with the disciples on the storm tossed ship. I've felt so urgent as did they. Like them, I wondered why the Lord wasn't responding with more earnestness.

Sunday, the night the tornado hit Joplin, we were under a tornado watch here. The sky was brewing with storm clouds. And the lyrics to the song came to my mind again. And now, as I watch the after effects of this tornado, the chorus echos in my mind once more.

The winds and the waves shall obey they will:

Peace, be still.

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will:

Peace, be still; peace, be still.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will:

Peace, peace, be still.

Now, like those disciples of old, I see that the Lord knows all and has the power to still the storm...in his own timing.

(Below are pictures I took the night of the storm.)

Flowers | I Heart Faces

2011-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

I started life with a bias. My eyes are green. I always thought it made me unique and for that, I liked the color green. But the real turning point was in my 6th grade art class. The art room had green vibrant cupboard doors the color of grass lining one wall of the classroom. It was then that I first remember admiring the color. It felt so clean, fresh, and simple. And from then on green has been my favorite color.

'Tis the season of green right now here in Missouri. I may miss some things from the west, but one thing Missouri has that the west will never have is the color green. And I love it!

Oh, and if you haven't guessed it, this week's challenge is "May flowers". These flowers are from a field behind my house.

Flashlight

2011-05-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Awhile back (you can see I'm catching up on some pictures) we were home alone while Chad was at Young Men's and the power went out. Liam was fascinated with the light of the flashlight...and I was fascinated with his fascination.

Anything with wheels...

2011-05-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Anything with wheels fascinates him. Cars, strollers, scooters, vacuums, dishwasher trays...you name it. So for 30 minutes or so he was in the zone and I was invisible to him...so I had a captive model to practice my new lens on ;)

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon out on the farm with my family. We ate homemade cafe rio...Liam got to play with cousins and practice his stair climbing abilities without hands.

Then we made a little excursion in the farm truck to check out the corn my dad planted. (This dog is usually in front of the truck...I'm still amazed he hasn't gotten himself run over).

Cody drove this and the farm truck...with us in it. He did pretty good :) Especially for someone who strains to see over the steering wheel.

And Liam got a tractor ride from grandpa.

And I guess this is the part (even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the pictures) where I say how much I love my mom. I appreciate my mom a lot more now that I am a mother. I wish I were more like her. Growing up, I was embarrassed about how messy our house would get and I made a lot of foolish promises to myself about how I'd do this and that different when I was a wife and mother. But now I see that maybe things weren't always the cleanest, but there sure was a lot of love and fun in our home. Most of that was because of my mom. And now I ask myself, 'how did my mom do this?...how did my mom do this with eight kids?!?' I still don't have all the answers, but I'm thankful for her love and I'm thankful for her example.

Yard work

2011-05-09T16:00:00.001-07:00

Nothing particularly special about this post...just everyday kind of stuff and the light was so beautiful and hazy, so of coarse I had to pull out my camera...that and I'm still trying to master a new lens I got called a lensbaby composer. (oh, and the beautiful flowers...not ours. I wish. They're in our neighbor's side yard. Aren't they gorgeous! We can only claim the little lettuce buds.)

Silver Dollar City

2011-05-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

First time as a family at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO.

Pictures

2011-04-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

So, if you're anything like me, it's easy to fall into the trap of taking a million pictures, you blog a few...maybe put a few up on facebook...but mostly, they just sit on your computer.

Well, I finally did it! I printed off some of those pictures. And here is my picture collage (although I think I'm still gonna tweak a few parts of it).
Prints from mpix.com
Frames from walmart and pictures & more (off the 13 if you're in Missouri)
and vinyl from my cousin (check out her etsy store here!)

General Conference pictures

2011-04-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, blogging is a little overdue. But life has been a little crazy around here. Some of you may know that I found out I was pregnant. And some of you may also know that I miscarried that pregnancy. But we are doing just fine. And there has been so many people that have been so kind to us through this ordeal. To those of you that have served us this past week- THANK YOU! You inspire us and I want to be more service oriented like you :) But anyways, we're doing good and we have complete trust in the Lord's will and timing...and hopefully we'll stay true to form and get pregnant again quickly...but this time with everything healthy :)

Anyways, this isn't what I was going to blog about. I was actually going to post our "general conference pictures". First weekend of April was general conference where we hear from the prophet and apostles and other leaders in the church. It was amazing! I always go into conference with questions that I'd like to have answered and without fail, the speakers talked on those exact subjects that I had questions about! What a tender mercy from the Lord! I love general conference and the spirit that it invites in our home and how it always inspires me to be a better person.

Okay, back to my original subject. Our new tradition is to take family pictures Sunday afternoon following general conference. Kinda a fun way to document how we are changing every six months. Nothing fancy. Nothing formal. But us nonetheless.

If you haven't seen general conference go check out the link below which highlights some of the talks from general conference!!! LOVE IT! Listen with your heart as you listen to snippets of the messages...and then maybe go watch all of it...Promise, you'll like it :)

Link to General Conference Highlights

Warning...

2011-03-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

...the following post contains nudity and some partial nudity.

Once upon a time, a mom let her baby boy come in the shower with her for convenience sake. This little baby boy grew to have a profound love for showers, even more than bathtime. So his mother continued to let him take showers and she grew to love how cute his squishy, little tush was when it was soaking wet. She loved it so much, that one day she decided she must have a picture of it. So she got her camera out and took a picture! And like any other good story, they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

I Heart Faces | Slice of Life

2011-03-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

This is a slice of my life...a rather large slice. That is, cleaning up messes. Unfolded clothes, dirty diapers, strewn out toys, spit up, , food...you name it. This particular "mess" involved blowing milk bubbles and using his bottle as an art tool to decorate his car seat and his clothes. A pain, sure. But too cute to pass up for a picture.

(ps- just as I was finishing this post, I turned around to find my son decorating the floor & my iphone with his bottle) :)

Head over to the above link to see more little "slices of life".

I Heart Faces {Sun Flare}

2011-03-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Maybe not the most sun-flare-iest (is that a word?) picture. But I really don't like digging up pictures from my old archives. I like hearing about the challenges and then seeing what I can come up with that week. And so this is it. From our date this last Saturday. We went and saw an art exhibit at MSU. It was tiny...and we had payed for an hour's worth of a parking meter. So we passed away the time soaking up the sun. And what a beautiful day it was!

My Grandma Freestone

2011-03-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I got a call from my mom saying my grandma was pretty sick. I didn't think much of it. Sometimes those you love seem immortal. I learned differently when I received another phone call from my mom at about 3:30 saying my grandma had passed away. It came as quite a shock. I almost didn't know how to react or how to feel. I laid in bed stunned. I began to reflect on all the good memories of her and a flood of emotion ran over me. I will miss this woman. Please indulge me as I share some stories and pictures (in a sort of tangent, random sort of way) from the past week, as we've celebrated the life of my grandma and the person she was.

My grandma loved color. Her carpet was teal, her couches burgandy, cupboards and bathroom fixtures pink. Brightly colored butterflies and hummingbirds adorned her refrigerator and windows. Her clothes followed similar suit and she loved fabrics from South America because they were bright and colorful. She always wore dresses and she made most of them. They were a sort of moo-moo type of style that hit her mid calf. She had such nice calves for a grandma. I used to tease her that I wished I had legs as nice as hers. She also made her own purses- always out of fabric from South America. The purses had a little loop on them that allowed her to carry it on her wrist along with her keys which were always on a neon colored spiral keychain. Something my grandfather said sums up her love for color, "...grandma's dresses were flowery and colorful. Hummingbirds, butterflies. There were no earth colors. She hated brown."

She also loved sandals, especially flip flops! You'd find pairs of them all over the house. And I always knew where grandma was because I could hear the flip and the flop of her sandals.

My grandma was a packrat. She loved knick knacks and had a glass cabinet full of figurines and dolls. When I was young, she'd open up the cabinet and one by one show us each item inside along with the sound each animal figurine made. Grandma loved QVC. She loved Trader Joes and Costco and the health food store. I loved going shopping with her. It was my bonding moment with her. And she'd usually strike up several conversations with random people as we ran our errands. "This is my oldest granddaughter...", she'd often begin, "isn't she beautiful?". The conversation usually included talk about the number of grandchildren she had and how I came from a family of 6 girls, 2 boys. Occasionally she'd give people pointers on how to pick out a good cantelope or something. And if there were any latinos around, she'd always find a way to strike up some sort of conversation in spanish.

My grandma was an excellent seamstress. But her speciality was quilting. She would take colors and patterns that I'd never dream of putting together, but somehow they'd always looked beautiful. She has made a quilt for each and everyone of her grandchildren. (I think the count is at 37). And that's not all, she taught us and tied many of the quilts with us. What treasured memories! And that's still not all. She made each grandchild that got married in the temple another quilt. From what I understand, she spent approximately 90+ hours making each quilt. Mine is completely handstitched.

My grandma loved music. And she was very talented musically. She had such small hands, yet somehow she managed to play piano and organ so well! I remember her playing the piano for primary at church and I also remember her showing me the correct way to play different songs. She also felt very strongly about having uplifting music in her home and not having music that she felt would drive away the spirit of the Lord. Below is a picture of my grandma's porch. It has since changed, but I have fond memories of that porch. We used to lie in a hammock together and sing songs about a girl named Alice that had a body like a toothpick but a head like a tack, songs about bullfrogs, and of coarse, primary songs.

My grandma was not much of a house cleaner. There were always things out on her counter tops. But there never seemed to be any self consciousness about her home. She never invited people into her home and apologized about a mess. She just welcomed people in and made them feel comfortable. There was something about her lack of self consciousness that made others insecurities melt away. My sister made the comment that there was never anyone left out with grandma there. It also didn't hurt that she was a great cook and she usually ended up feeding any guests. She's still remembered for her enchiladas and her blueberry pancakes. I can think of other dishes in addition to these that I miss.

A few random grandma memories/quotes-

I was working for Freestone Chiropractic. My grandma came in and I overheard bits and pieces of the conversation she was having with Dr. Hudson (the chiropractor there). I was helping a patient, but once I was finished, she came to me and initiated the same conversation she'd had with him.
G-ma: We went and saw Mousetrap last night. That is not a movie for children!
Me: Oh really. Why not?
G-ma: A mouse runs down a woman's blouse and a man reaches down after it. I stood up in the theatre and said (my grandma in retelling the story has her hands on her hips at this point) "This is not a movie for kids!"
Me: laughter
G-ma: If they're going to put sex in a movie, at least they can make it exciting.

"You better be careful or you might fall off of those toothpicks!" (she'd say this whenever she saw one of us wearing short shorts or immodest clothing) She wasn't one to sit around and let others take the wrong path in life without speaking up. She was opinionated and freely gave it and I'm convinced that the core of this expression was always love.

Here's a few pictures from the past week and funeral-

Family Home Evening that Monday following my grandma's death-

What better place to discuss hard things such as death and the plan that God has for our time here on earth than in the context of the family. My grandfather taught his grandchildren where grandma is and talked of how he's been comforted by the Holy Spirit.

"I know a lot of you have grieved…I know some of you are taking it hard, but I think if grandma was to be here and would say something to you, she would say, 'don't, because when you grieve it makes it hard on me and i'm there and I can't come back'. So you're really hurting her by all the crying. I know we've got to be lonesome. I'm lonesome as I can be. She's not coming back here…but she's graduated. I prefer that word. She's graduated to another level." - Grandfather Freestone

The viewing-

I think one of the most tender moments was to see my sister's kids, Sadie and Payson. They lingered at the coffin with looks of confusion. I knelt down next to Sadie. This is the second death that they've had to experience in the past year. With the most genuine look of concern she said, "She's dead." "Yes...she is," I said. And then she repeated herself, "Grandma Freestone... she died." It was one of those moments that you feel so inferior at attempting to explain death. I did my best at trying to explain that grandma's spirit is in heaven...that the real grandma is in heaven with Jesus and that this body is more like some clothes that the real grandma Freestone put on. I felt like I was over explaining. How do you explain death to a child?
Later that night, Sadie saw my grandma's sister, Mary Louise Flake. "Grandma!", she yelled and ran to her and grabbed her hand only to find that it wasn't really grandma.

Another tender moment was after the viewing when we kneeled as a family and my grandfather offered a prayer thanking God for grandma and for the knowledge of the plan of salvation.

After the viewing, a lot of us grandkids went out for Nielson's Frozen Custard (one of my grandma's favorites). I think she would've been happy to see her family just loving each other and enjoying each other's company.

The funeral-

All of the girl grandkids sang "The Lord Is My Shepherd". I'm sure grandma loved it.

There was a flower for each grandchild to take and press.

Missouri storms

2011-02-28T22:20:00.000-08:00

I LOVE thunder storms! Last night there was a beautiful storm...so naturally I'd want to photograph one...and then the tornado sirens went off...and we headed for the basement. But once the sirens stopped, guess where I was? Unfortunately, the rain and wind had picked up so I had to take pictures from indoors. (You'll notice the window screen in the last pictures)

(The same settings were used on all of the below pictures. It was unreal to me how much the lightning could illuminate everything!)

I Heart Faces| Anything But A Face!

2011-02-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

I just love diaper bums!

Missouri to Arizona

2011-02-28T21:14:00.001-08:00

This past week my grandma died (more on that later). It was completely unexpected. So I left Friday morning with my family to drive out to Arizona for her funeral. The drive out was beautiful. We drove through so many different types of landscapes. Sunset and sunrise I had my camera out trying to capture images from a moving vehicle. Here's some of my favorites.

Kansas at sunset.

Nothing beats an Arizona sunrise.

All taken in Arizona. Everything from the White Mountains (just outside of Eagar where I grew up), the "Valley" (a.k.a. Mesa), and the Salt River Canyon. When I lived in Arizona, I never really liked desert landscapes. Now that I've been away, it was beautiful.

Ok, I admit this wasn't taken from a moving car. This was taken on one of the many side of the road potty breaks. (We were traveling with 7 kids).

Shannon lost her tooth here when she was little. From then on whenever we drove through Salt River Canyon, we would always search for and point out this spot.

Legend is, this was the car of some honeymooners that went over the side. It was another spot that we'd look for every trip through the canyon (p.s.- I circled the car).

I Heart Faces | Red

2011-02-14T04:36:00.000-08:00

This week's theme over at I Heart Faces is "Red". I thought this was probably in light of it being Valentine's day today. But I just learned different. Pink is for breast cancer...red for heart disease. So here's my "red" picture...and appropriate since these two boys take good care of my heart :) (awe...ya okay, maybe a little cheesy).

I Heart Faces...Hearts

2011-02-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

I had a totally different idea planned out for this challenge involving my son, a permanent marker and a cute little diaper bum with my best drawn heart on the back. Sadly, my son didn't like my idea so much. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and skip my first challenge but then I got another idea involving a remote, conversation heart and...me! So here you go! Happy Valentine's day!

Go find more entries at the above link!

Liam's First Birthday

2011-02-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

This is a little video I made of some of the footage/pictures we got from him eating his cake.

(And yes, as you can tell from all the flashes, I am a camera happy mom.)

Here's a few more pictures.

#1- My attempt to make a backdrop and capture some cute pics of Liam...all I could catch were his feet.

#2- My mother in law will appreciate these. She loves BYU and has enough school spirit for the whole university. With that in mind, guess what had to be in his birthday package from her...yep, a BYU ball. (Which I might add, he absolutely loves!...oh, and do you like my backdrop? Bet you can't guess who got us that...) :)

Birthday boy

2011-02-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is the last post for the day...promise.

Today was Liam's birthday. He turned one. Chad and I can still hardly believe it. It seems like we were just barely going to the hospital to have him. But what a year it has been! We sure love this little guy to pieces.

We're constantly amazed at how his personality continues to emerge! For example, today I really wanted to get some cute, more posed looking pictures to mark his first birthday. I couldn't get him to sit still. I think he thought it was a game...run away from mom and her camera...or better yet, try to grab the camera. Oh well, I got some lovely pictures of his feet. I did, however, get some lovely shots when his dad was rocking him in the rocking chair. Don't ask me why he doesn't have any clothes on. Chad was watching him.

& more snow...

2011-02-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

Snowed In...

2011-02-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

As you will might be able to tell by my recent influx of blog posting, I've had a lot more free time. We've been snowed in. It's given me the chance to catch up on editing some pictures. Here's some taken weeks ago that I finally got to. I love these of Chad. They make me smile. I don't take as many of him as I should these days. Liam kinda hogs the camera...but isn't Chad handsome? :)

(btw- just got Florabella Luxe 2 and these pictures were edited with their action "b/w film". I'm seriously in love!)

Snow storm

2011-02-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. I was surprised at all the people there. I mean, I had to park way back in the parking lot! When I entered Walmart, I asked the Walmart greeter why it was so busy.

"They're just trying to prepare for the storm."

"Storm?", I asked.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be one of the worst storms since 1912. Haven't you heard?"

At this point, among other things said, I happened to mention I'm from Arizona. She laughed.

Storm was right! I took this picture from inside from our back door. Notice how you cannot see the houses behind ours. Tomorrow I hope to venture outside for more pictures weather permitting.

First tie

2011-01-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

This is a typical sunday at my parents...kids & toys strewn all over the floor, an occasional wet puddle on the carpet (whether it's pee or a spilt glass of water). Gotta love it. Liam did. I did. One of the few times where Liam was not clingy.

You like his tie? It was his first...and then he ripped it apart. Now it is a knot and a triangle thingy.

I Heart Faces {Best Face Photo January}

2011-01-31T13:25:00.000-08:00

It's a toss up...but I love this winking, chocolatey cheeks picture of my niece...and while I'm on the subject of nieces, I'm gonna tell you a little story about my nephew...kind of related, right?

So, I serve in the primary at church. Each Sunday we spotlight a different primary child. Yesterday, I just happened to draw Payson, my nephew, for the spotlight. When a child is draw, they get to tell us who their favorite scripture hero is. Typical responses are Nephi, or Daniel, or the 2000 striplings warriors. But Payson's response was a little different.

Me: Payson, what is your favorite scripture hero?

Payson (without hesistation & a completely straight face): Umm, God.

Pretty good "scripture" hero...no explanation needed...end of conversation...I love my calling :)

I Heart Faces- Innocent Wonder

2011-01-25T18:38:00.000-08:00

This was a hard one. Liam is in a constant state of "wonder" these days, especially now that he's mobile. I've sporadically followed him around with my camera this past week hoping to capture his thoughtful, furrowed brow or maybe him getting into one of his usual things (aka toilet paper, pots & pans, the dishwasher, pens...). Sadly, all my stalking came to no avail...until, this morning when I was quick on the draw and pulled out my camera just in time to snap one frame of him attempting to hold a stream of water. To me this epitomizes innocent wonder.

Moses and the brazen serpent...

2011-01-24T05:39:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have something that's been on your mind? Or something you've been pondering in your heart? Lately the thing in my mind &/or heart has been Moses and the brazen serpent.

We get the weekly emails from Joseph Budd who is currently serving a mission in Finland. One week he said something that really hit me. He was asking his family to write him more letters. Life as a missionary is hard and those letters are such a great support. He asked his family if they hadn't been sending him letters because it was so easy and if it were something more complicated, would they do that complicated thing to support him? He likened the situation to Moses and the brazen serpent. Are you familiar with that story?

While Moses was leading the children of Israel across the desert, many were bit by poisenness serpents. Moses, being the prophet, had the cure. He had a staff with a brazen serpent that he lifted up and all the people had to do to be cured was to look. Just look. And because it was such a simple thing, many people didn't believe and they wouldn't even look. Just a look...and they would've been cured.

This story reminds me of Naaman. Naaman was told by the prophet to bathe in the River Jordan seven times to be cured of his leprosy. And because it seemed like such a simple solution, he almost didn't do it. Then, one of his servants asked him, if he would do it if it were a more complicated thing. So he went to Jordan River and bathed seven times. He was cured.

As a missionary, I cannot tell you how many times I shared with people the story of Joseph Smith and the book of Mormon and the people felt something. I'd be so excited as a missionary to share these things because they meant so much to me. They changed my life and have increased my faith in Jesus Christ. We told them as missionaries that we didn't want them to take our word for it that these things we were telling them were true. We wanted them to find out for themselves! We told them if they would just read and pray to know if it were true, the Holy Ghost would witness to them that it was true. But the majority of the people would never do any of these things. And it was so simple. Read. Ponder. Pray. And the Lord would do the rest!

But before I make myself sound like I'm perfect at the simple things...let me also say that when I read this letter, I realized that I too was slackening on some of the "simple" things that I should be more diligent at.

The law of the harvest is such an interesting thing. To get the fruit, you have to plant the seed...and you have to water the seed...and pull out weeds...etc. All such simple things. Simple things that need doing over a period of time. Small and simple steps. But the Lord has always said, "By small and simple means are great things brought to pass". So I've been striving to do more of the "simple" things. And I challenge you to do the same. What's on your "simple" list? What things haven't you been doing because it seems like it's such a simple solution to the complicated problems you have?

The great orator

2011-01-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

Doesn't my son look like he'll have some career making speeches? Maybe a politician??

Once a Liam went yodeling...

2011-01-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

Liam frequently likes to sing along with me in a nice monotone "aaawww" and occasionally an "eeeee"...but he's recently taken things to the next level.

I Heart Faces- Winter Wonderland

2011-01-17T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not much of a winter wonderland here...more like muddy, mucky land. So, I resort to a photo from last week. Liam doesn't make things look very "wonderland"-ish with his protest.

Go check out the other entries from this week. Truly inspiring. I want more snow now. :)

I Heart Faces/ Smile

2011-01-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

Took this one today in the snow storm that is passing through.

And changing the subject...a friend asked me a little while back what this "I Heart Faces" thing is that I'm always posting about. I guess I just assume because I know, everyone else does too...whoops. So a brief explanation. It's a website that posts a weekly photography challenge every Monday. The challenge closes on Tuesday. The theme of the challenge changes every week. Winners are picked every Saturday.

I've loved doing it every week because it stretches my creativity as I think how I'll capture the week's theme. And I feel the consistent practice has improved my skills so much!

And, let me just go off on a tangent for a bit...at BYU I took a architecture/interior design class. The professor said the best way to develop good taste in design is to be exposed to good design. I think that applies to so many areas...including photography. There's all sorts of skill levels entering the contests each week. I see my past self in some of the beginners...and I see others' work that I aspire to be more like.

So, photography lovers, whether you have a point and shoot or a nice dslr, go check them out! Use 'em to develop your talents and skills too! (the button below is linked to their site.)

I Heart Faces/ Best Face Photo 2010

2011-01-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

As far as quality, I'm not sure that this is my best work...but the content was among my finest.

The baby my sister was carrying was diagnosed with Triploidy and told her baby had no chance for survival and that the baby was putting her life at risk as well. The doctors ordered for an early, induced birth. The doctors said the baby would only live 15 minutes max, so in an attempt to capture those precious moments, I was invited to the birth.

It was heart wrenching. But such a blessing to be able to capture this precious little baby and the love of his mother.

The rest of our Christmas festivities...

2010-12-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

There was movie watching (among our favorites were Elf, Muppet Christmas, the Nativity Story, and Road to Avonlea series)

Cookie baking/decorating/eating

Singing/Christmas Caroling

Sillyness (execpt for my dad and father-in-law who you can see in the back...they were frequently seen talking business/medical/over my head stuff)

Testing out some new flash stuff (I used whoever cross my path as my test subjects, which happened to be Royce at one point...and yes, my living room did look like this at one point)

Dressing like twinners (is that how you spell that?)

Card playing

Present giving and receiving

And a lot of picture taking (obviously)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas part 2...more pictures from the farm

2010-12-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Here's some more pictures from that day out on the farm.

"My Boys Need a Farm"

2010-12-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

I grew up with six girls...and then came along two boys at the end of that mix. Once those boys came along, my dad began saying statements such as, "Boys need hard work...hard manual labor." "My boys need a farm to grow up on." Etc., etc. Christmas Eve we went out to my parents farm and I got these pictures (and there's more pictures to come btw). I love these because I can see the pride and joy in my dad's countenance. He loves his farm and his family. And for me, these pictures capture that loyalty for both those things.

Christmas with the other Guerras (aka my inlaws)

2010-12-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

Long title. I know. Day one we went to Branson.

Have you ever seen one of these hurricane simulators? Have you ever wondered what it was like? ...Apparently a giant hair dryer.

Firsts

2010-12-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

Some pictures about a few "firsts" that have happened this month.

Some of his first steps...

First snow experience...

First time playing in and tasting toilet water...

The beginning of a fascination with cars/objects with wheels...

First Christmas tree (can you see how the bottom of the tree has no ornaments?)...

sleeping arrangements

2010-12-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. My baby still sleeps with me. Sometimes I feel guilty and like I'm a terrible mother because I'm too much of a softy or not organized or disciplined enough. But then I remind myself that my mom did the same thing...8 times. We turned out okay (although maybe I'm biased on that). And just look at him? How can I resist? Nevermind that he occasionally pees on me and takes up most of the bed...he's so fun to cuddle with! Besides, he has far better morning breath than Chad. :)

2010-12-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this? It makes me laugh everytime...particularly the anchor Brian Williams! lol

I Heart Faces...Pets

2010-12-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

This week's theme is Pets. We have no pets...yet. I'm sure that will change with how much Liam loves animals. This picture was taken at Mt. Vernon. We had to stop and look at all of the animals for Liam...which included cows, lambs, a camel and a turkey. This particular lamb was very friendly and curious...as was Liam. :)

Vacation part 2- NYC

2010-12-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's part two of our vacation. We had soo much fun! Not only was I able to see a good friend, but we were able to see some neat places and eat wonderful New York food (we ate like paupers in DC so we lived it up a little more in NY). (Once again, there's a LOT of pictures in this post).

Grand Central Station-

Wicked! (we put our names in for the lottery and both Chad AND me got drawn!! In fact, Chad was the first name drawn. Boy were we surprised and excited. Front row seats, tickets normally over $100 for only $26!) Traci and me won the lottery a few years back and I loved seeing Wicked, especially from the front row! I'd dreamed of having the same experience with Chad but thought the odds were that that'd never happen. What a tender mercy! (Chad and Traci's cousin Marisa waiting for the drawing of the lottery to begin).

(just to get an idea of how close we were :) You can see the stage and orchestra pit in the below pictures)

New York hotdogs (Gray's Papaya)-

Time Square-

Rockfeller Center

Two of Chad's favorite things- legos & apple :) So of coarse we had to go in the stores...and it gave Liam a break from the cold.

My friend Traci's parents are the president and matron of the New York City temple. Their apartment is just around the corner from the temple and near Juillard & the Lincoln center seen below.

These were the only two pictures I got of Traci :( We were going to take more, but we ran out of time. I love this girl!! She's just one of those friends that help you become a better version of yourself and she's one of the coolest people I know...maybe the coolest...way more cool than me for sure. Thank you Traci for being such a gracious host! It was therapudic and good for my heart to see you.

I just wanted a picture with a subway sign :)

Brooklyn Bridge-

The Statue of Liberty-

Ground Zero-

Lombardi's- the first pizzeria in America

Cheesecake in Little Italy (after bargain shopping for purses & scarves on Canal St)

Union Square- (this dessert looked like something I had in Vigo, Spain that I loved...but it wasn't...still good though)

Listening to a subway singer-

New York bagels-

On our way home. Farewell New York. We miss you!

I Heart Faces- Self Portrait week

2010-12-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

I saw the theme of self portrait coming up. I'm NOT photogenic AT ALL! But I thought I had a pretty creative idea for this week's theme. My idea? Well, the Korean war memorial in DC is a reflective wall with etchings of different people associated with the war. I thought it'd be cool to capture my reflection in the wall along with the etchings- sort of symbolic of those that sacrificed so that I could be standing there looking at my own reflection and also viewing myself as someone on the wall...someone who would hopefully sacrifice for future generations so that they'd have a better life too. Anyways, I thought it was a good idea. The problem- me! I swear I looked like Severus Snape in the majority of the pictures. My smiles looked cheesy and my serious looked scary and morbid. Sooo... I had to come up with something else for my self portrait. Maybe nothing award winning but I am LOVING playing with my flash!!

Vacation part 1- Washington DC

2010-12-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Chad and me have not taken a vacation since we have moved to Missouri and it was time! We've been putting aside money every month and we decided it was time to put that money to good use. We decided to go to DC (I've never been there but Chad has) and NYC (Chad's never been but I have). We had a TON of fun! Here's some pictures from Washington DC part...sorry, there's a lot (I have about 700 pictures...it's hard to weed that down)!

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian-

The United States Botanic Garden-

Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum-

(Thanksgiving dinner...a day late...enjoyed in the air and space museum cafeteria)

The Capitol Building & Washington Monument-

The Thomas Jefferson Building-

The National Museum of American History-

(Julia Child's kitchen below in case you're wondering...)

The Lincoln Memorial National Monument-

(this was the best picture I could get of the "I Have A Dream" because every african american there would stop and give some sort of speech of their own for their personal camcorder)

The Vietnam Veterans War Memorial-

The Metro-

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (one of my favorite things we did)-

(my last mission companion that I absolutely love and that taught me sooo much! Such a tender mercy to randomly run into her as we were leaving and she was coming.)

Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History-

(the Hope diamond)

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens (my other favorite place we visited)-

(chocolate making of George Washington's day)

(Liam's favorite part was the animals...and they loved him too!)

Union Station (taking the train to NYC)

to be continued...

I Heart Faces / Paper

2010-11-23T17:02:00.000-08:00

We hope to get a Christmas tree this year, but until then, you like my miniature tree?

*update- I published this post...went to enter my link on ihearts...and saw that this week the challenge closed at 9... am... :( ...oh well, you can still click on the link and go check out other fun paper entries.

okay- since i'm not entered in the contest, i can break the rules and throw in a few more pictures that were contenders for my entry this week.

Mission Shoes

2010-11-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

I want to remember more of the little details. Never the end of my mission in Spain, I saw some pictures on a CD of one of my prior companions. She'd taken pictures of all the details that I never even thought of taking- flowers in bloom, store displays, popular food dishes, fashions currently in style in Spain. Why hadn't I thought of that?! Well, I'm starting today. Here's something that I've kept from my mission that I don't want to forget- my shoes. I wore them the longest of any shoes I had (in fact, I wore them to the end). They were terribly worn out, lost all their traction, and gave me painful plantar fascitis...but I love them! And I want to remember them. (Thank you Anna for inspiring me to capture the little things...and for letting me buy the same shoes as you!)

I Heart Faces | Silhouettes

2010-11-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

This week's theme- Silhouettes. I took this last week when I was doing someone's family pictures. The sunset was beautiful and I love that they had horses to include in their family pictures!

There's TONS of beautiful silhouette pictures to be found at I Hearts if you click on the link below the picture...and there's even a tutorial on how to take silhouette pictures. So fun! Check it out.

Flash

2010-11-13T06:55:00.000-08:00

At the end of July, I photographed my first wedding. I was paranoid about what the lighting might be like...so I reluctantly bought my first flash, a sigma 530 super...and a book to help teach myself...and I stalked the internet for information and tutorials. Then I became even more intimidated- ETTL, TTL, slave and master flashes, transreceivers, hotshoes, umberellas, softboxes, fill flash, bounce flash, bounce cards, lightstands, Gong...what the heck?!? And I thought Spanish was a hard language for me to learn!! Luckily, I didn't have to use my flash much during the wedding. :)

Well, I've reached a point where I now want to learn flash. As with anything, sometimes the doing is the best teacher. Here's some of my practice pictures. I know my flash pictures look a LOT different than the natural light photos. (Different look, but I think it's kinda fun). I know that it can be fine tuned a little more to be more subtle. I'm still learning. And hopefully, I'll one day look back onto this post and think...how embarrassing that I posted those pictures! But hey, we all gotta start somewhere :)

Below are all pictures taken with my flash. I did no color or exposure correction to any of these pictures in this post. (Sorry, I know there's a lot. I was having fun playing yesterday.)

Yes, this below one got a little too much flash. But had to include it because I love their expressions. They both love to sing!

I always swore I wouldn't be one of those moms that went out in public with children covered in food...now I'm oblivious to it and we both go in public with food on us (oh, and snot).

A nice girl like me...

2010-11-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Marjorie Hinkley once said something along the lines of 'How did a nice girl like me end up in a place like this?'.

I used the same line all the time when I was a missionary in Spain...like the time my companion and I were approached by an older gentleman thinking he could buy our "services" (hello! I have a name tag with the words "Jesus Christ" and "Hermana" on it!)...or the time I found myself doing dishes for a woman that sat in the corner of the kitchen on a stool refusing to speak as we awaited the arrival of her daughter that apparently foamed at the mouth (...let me remind you that in Spain, they greet with kisses)...or the time I rang the doorbell to an apartment and it got stuck (and let me also add this was one of those annoying "UURRGG" (does that make sense??) ones) and a large black man answered yelling "Quuee"?!?!...or the time my companion and I led a blind man to his destination and we learned that he knew a little english...all words I won't mention here...or the time...well, you get the picture.

Sometimes I think the same thing...how did a nice girl like me end up in a place like this? I'm not trying to complain. I have a lot to be grateful for. Sometimes life is difficult though. And sometimes it's comical. Oh, the places and circumstances life takes us to.

Sometimes I wonder if Eve ever asked the same question. I bet she did.

*this picture has nothing to do with anything...I just thought it was funny and I think every blog post is more fun with pictures. :)

The rest of my "orange" photos

2010-11-09T16:58:00.000-08:00

These were the other "orange" pictures I took for this week's I heart faces challenge. I had a hard time deciding which to use...maybe I should've picked another. Who knows. But here's the rest :)

I heart faces- orange

2010-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, I thought I had my picture for I Heart's challenge this week...until I went to the park this afternoon with my son. There were some beautiful trees today that were ripe with color. We played in the leaves and I pulled out my fisheye. So fun!

*I don't have an actual fish-eye lens. This is just an attachment. Only $30. I love it! Have a look at the rest of my "orange" pics on my home page if you want to see more examples of my "fish-eye".

Fall | My Story | I Heart Faces

2010-11-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've already blogged about how I love fall...but it's the theme for this week's I Heart Faces challenge...and I've taken more pictures since blogging about fall sooo...

I'd say, my favorite spot this fall has been the park here in town. Liam and me have taken many morning walks there this autumn. Liam can be fussy and needy, but once we make it out the door for one of our walks, he becomes silent and observant. We both do.

Sometimes I've been reluctant to leave for our walks when I'm on a roll with getting things done around the house. But then once we leave a calm takes over. And in these moments of calm I pray, I read my scriptures (on my phone) :), I admire nature, I point out squirrels and birds to Liam, and I even stop for pictures (if I have my camera). I've loved it.

Below is a picture taken at the park after a rain storm the previous night.

Thinking Pink...& Angie & Amy Favorite

2010-10-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for the I heart faces challenge this week. Number one- it's fun to be a "Angie & Amy pick", but more importantly, it's made me "think pink" this week. Fitting that this morning my sister Shannon called me to tell me about a friend of ours that was diagnosed with breast cancer. This woman's name is Shannon Sevison. I didn't know her as well as my sister Shannon (I know, a lot of Shannon's in this post), but I didn't have to to love her.
The scriptures talk about taking care of the widows...in my eyes, a single mom is today's equivalent to the widows. So anytime someone took care of my sister Shannon and my little nephew Preston, I loved and respected them. This woman Shannon served my sister Shannon ALL THE TIME! In fact, this woman would always invite my sister to join city league basketball teams with her (something my sister loved!) and when Shannon didn't have the money for it, she paid for her! I don't know many woman personally that have dealt with breast cancer (Shannon makes two) but those that I do know are so brave. I admire them and hope that I can be more like them. Thank you for your examples.

Camera bag

2010-10-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of the Ephiphanie bags? My friend Lacy and me have been drooling over them! She loves the red lola and I love the teal clover. In fact, she keeps me updated on any giveaways/contests that are going on with the ephipanie bags. Why would we keep tabs like this? Have you also seen the price of the ephipanie bags? I guess if I had a product so cool, I'd charge a lot too. Being that I just bought a new lens, my dream for a cute camera bag must wait...or does it??

I got this crazy idea that maybe I could make my own cute camera bag. I found this bag at walmart for $12 (sorry, this is a cell phone picture)

And after 2 broken needles, seam ripping galore, foam tearing, and cotton stuffing...viola!

another after shot...

another angle (contents- 1 camera with lens attached, 70-200mm lens, a fisheye attachment & cell phone, and room for one more lens) :)...

and on my shoulder (don't ask about my hair...at least it's not in a ponytail)...

and an after shot of my living room (the glue, foam, and ripped apart bag are my mess...the clothes i blame on the baby)...

oh, and the brunt of the work done here (this also became a sanctuary for any object that my son attempted to eat while i was hard at work. did i mention that my son unknowingly snuck in a bite of velcro with his breakfast. i wondered why he was gagging. i didn't find the velcro til he spit it out in the bath) :)

Sometimes I ask myself, why do I even try. Maybe the $150 for the bag is worth it :) Well, gotta go clean up!

I Heart Faces- Breast Cancer Awareness pink photo

2010-10-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Pink. Kind of tough to do with a boy. I thought, maybe give him some yoplait yogurt (I always buy the pink top ones...I try to support)...then a friend suggested lollipops or cotton candy. No such luck. (They're all halloween colors right now). Instead, I came home with a grocery sack full of pink lemonade, pink bendy straws and pink licorice. Didn't anticipate those obstacles either. All I got was a pink, slimy, yet sticky boy (which collected all sorts of lint during our camera time). So, I default to this picture...(hint-the toenails- my other small way of supporting this month.) Click on the link and check it out! So many great entries and so many people showing their support for breast cancer awareness.

More family pictures...

2010-10-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

k, I know you've probably seen enough family pictures of us. But these ones turned out better...and I didn't anticipate getting family pictures done again (my husband said I could champion his mom with all this family picture taking and wardrobe changing I make him do). We met up with some friends and I took their pictures and then I handed my camera over to my friend Marissa, and she took ours. Didn't she do great! Beats a self timer any day!

More orchard pics...

2010-10-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time deciding on which picture to use for this week's photo challenge, but finally decided on the one Chad thought I should use. Here's a few others that I took in the orchard.

i heart faces week 42 In The Orchard

2010-10-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge is "In the Orchard". I'm still new enough to Missouri that I had NO idea where an orchard was. I considered making due with my dad's pear tree, but changed my mind when my sister informed me it was growing out of some sort of sewage area and it was a "Charlie Brown" type of pear tree. Yuck! (I swear my dad has rose colored glasses when it comes to his farm!) I finally found this orchard though. I think the people thought I was strange when I arrived toting baby, camera and props in hand and informed them I wanted to take pictures in the orchard. But they were nice. And I got some yummy apples and jellys there too. Glad I found my orchard :)