Wordless Wednesday

Do you like my new hat?

Bug came up to me today carrying her new hat that I just bought her... and proudly told me that it "matched" her blouse! Yeah! I have created a color coordinated monster.

Cute monster, however....





And... I toyed with a natural light picture... not sure what I am doing wrong, it is out of focus, but I love it... anybody know how to put your camera settings at the right ISO, etc to get it just right? I have to venture out of my auto mode, even though it does such a great job...


And, hatless... just because she is so darn adorable!

And... BRRRRR... did I mention that it is f-f-f-freezing outside! Winter hit here with a vengeance after our mild fall.

Favorite Foto Friday #66 - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

OK... going retro again this week... this is one of my favorite crying pictures... Sophie~Bug was just 5 months old and only home for a few weeks. She HATED her bath and cried through all of them. I am guessing because it was so different than she was used to. Maybe it was warmer than she was used to... maybe she did not feel as supported laying in the baby bathtub, maybe she hated getting clean. Who knows... but she did not like her baths one bit. It was always so stressful for her and for me. I decided after a while that I should at least document how she really felt about her baths and took this picture. Poor, pitiful thing!

Look how tiny my Bug was... she was just about 12 pounds at 5 months old... such a petite little thing, but did not look it with the size of her cheeks! Sigh... time goes by so quickly.

OK... one more favorite... this was January 2006 and this is what she thought of the snow...

I can guarantee you that she loves both of these things now!!

Here is Mr. Linky... LINK AWAY!! if you need directions, you can find them here. Please leave a comment that you were here! And please don't forget to title your post FFF.

**Many people are linking just their general blog address... this makes it very hard to come back after time to find your actual FFF post. Please be sure to link your actual post.



Next week is Thanksgiving... so our theme next week is THANKFULNESS. I know that we can all find many things to be thankful for in our lives this time of year and I bet there are some adorable pictures to go along with them.

MIA and a little catch up

Sorry guys for not being a good blogger over the past month or more!! SOOO much has been going on that I just have not had the strength to post about. Some weeks, it is all I can do to remember to do FFF!

First off... Grant is now away at school... one that is very very good for him and the most wonderful opportunity. It has been a very difficult transition for all of us but most importantly, for him. I have not shared this publicly as I want to make sure that he is comfortable with sharing his journey with more than just our intimate friends and family. I hope that he allows me to share on our family journal the HUGE steps he has made towards becoming a strong and courageous young man. Until then, I will just ask for you to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Second, Morgan is finally recovered from her mono and severe sinus infection... she was so very sick and we were all trying to keep her comfortable and caught up with school as much as we could. It was so hard seeing her so miserable and not knowing how quickly she would kick it. Luckily, she seems to be on the upswing and is back in school and slowly getting back into her social life. She is anxiously counting down the days until she gets her drivers license in a couple weeks! She cannot wait!! This all came just days after she looked this gorgeous going out to a dance... I still cannot believe this gorgeous young woman is my baby!


Third, Bug has been very into her mommy lately and she and I have spent a lot of time together. She is developing by leaps and bounds and I just love watching her little brain forming all those connections to things outside her little universe. She is very intuitive and so very loving... I could just eat her up. With all the changes in our family lately, I have been refocused on getting down on her level and making loads of eye contact and trying to explain things to her as well as a three year old understands. I think she was getting lost in the shuffle and I have been using my blogging break to get out from behind the camera and really focus on her. So... no new pictures.

And... in less than three weeks, Morgan and I will be heading down to Guatemala with my dear friend, Tricia, to help with a Christmas Party at an orphanage and to revisit Mayan Families to help with their Christmas Parties and Tamale Basket distribution. Tricia has been so awesome with her fantastic organization of this trip and I can't wait to help out! She has been blogging about all the wonderful opportunities and details of the trip! We will also be able to see sweet Baby Alex again for my dear friend, Kim. I am also VERY excited to see my sponsored child, Dayli and her little sister, Fristy again!!

We have partnered up with a group called Helping Mayan Families that is also going to be with us on the trip. They are sponsoring medical and veterinary clinics while we are there as well as many other exciting things! There is a blog to follow on their website to keep up while we are there! Tricia will also be blogging and I will try to keep up as well!!

Have been extremely frustrated with Paypal as I try to set up this Mayan Families Calendar Fundraiser. If you want to order, please send us an e-mail at MFCalendar2008@yahoo.com by November 30th for holiday delivery! I think it looks awesome! Many, many thanks to my friends Catherine and Nancy for making it a reality!

In between all of this, my company announced that it was bought by another mega company and I have been anxiously chewing my fingernails to see what that means for our division. Tense does not even begin to explain it. Fun stuff.

And... the Twilight series... have been up until the wee hours of the morning reading these books! Just finished the second one - I am hooked! I have not read anything more than board books for more than three years except each new Nicholas Sparks book. Wow! I can't wait for the movie! I forgot how much I love reading and this is a great series to "sink my teeth into"! LOL!

Oh... and facebook... haven't quite gotten hooked yet, but it has been a new distraction as well. Still figuring it out and have NOT gotten into any mob wars yet... I keep reading about Twitter... what it up with that?

So, while I have tried to catch up with my friends, please know that I do read but have not been able to comment much lately. I love you guys and feel like you are my family too... so I did not want to leave you hanging and wondering where I was except for the FFF each week!

Be back soon!!

Favorite Foto Friday #65 - BLOWING KISSES!

Ok, peeps. This is Sophie~Bug sneaking on to my mom's blog to show you the art of blowing kisses...

First off... I can't believe I have to explain it all to you...

All you gotta do it pucker up, like this...

Or like this (mommies are suckers for fish faces)...

Look em right in the eyes...

Give it a little send off through the air...

Throw them around at the people you love and then before you know it...

your family is kissing all over you... catch a load of this!

You gotta watch out for them ganging up on you!!


And those mommies like you to kiss them ALOT!



Yeah... it is rough to be this kissable!

Here is Mr. Linky... LINK AWAY!! if you need directions, you can find them here. Please leave a comment that you were here! And please don't forget to title your post FFF.

**Many people are linking just their general blog address... this makes it very hard to come back after time to find your actual FFF post. Please be sure to link your actual post.



Next week's theme is FOR CRYING OUT LOUD... we always see the smiles... let's see those big ole crocodile tear pictures.

Wordless Wednesday

Love my tiny dancer.

Favorite Foto Friday #64 - FAVORITE FAMILY FOTO!

OK... this one was EASY for me... my favorite photo of all time of my family complete and together was in July 2005. My mother (Nana), Morgan and Grant and I were in Guatemala together visiting our precious two month old baby, Sophia. She was SOOO tiny at just 8 pounds, much the same size as M & G when they were newborns! We were staying at the Marriott and they have the most beautiful outside courtyard with waterfall and tropical plants. We had some friends take some pictures of us together and I have this framed in my living room as my absolute FAVORITE family picture of all of my children together with me and my mom... three generations!

It actually brings tears to my eyes remembering all the feelings behind this moment... exhilaration at holding my precious baby yet realizing that I was going to have to do the most unnatural thing for a mother to do... leave my baby behind when we had to go back home. I was fortunate in that I was able to come back less than three months later to have her placed in my arms for forever. My heart aches thinking of all the parents out there who are still waiting for their precious children to be home for forever... that feeling is still so raw and so not in the best interest of the precious children waiting to be loved for forever. If you want to see another picture from this visit... go back to my FIRST FFF post ever... back in August 2007.

And... that does not even come close to the grief that I feel about children who will never have that moment... will never know the feeling of having their mommy hold them in her arms. We, as parents, have an obligation to those children left behind... no matter how small an effort we make... it does make a difference in the life of a child, whether it is one child or a whole orphanage of children. Please, in this upcoming season of miracles... please reach out, whether near or far, and help make the life of a child better because YOU cared for him/her.

Sorry, this post did not turn out quite like I intended... but this is something so near and dear to my heart and I just wanted to share it with the many who check in here weekly to give maybe just one person the nudge they need to BE THE CHANGE for one little life that is waiting... waiting to be loved.

OK... back to business. Here is Mr. Linky... LINK AWAY!! if you need directions, you can find them here. Please leave a comment that you were here! And please don't forget to title your post FFF.

**Many people are linking just their general blog address... this makes it very hard to come back after time to find your actual FFF post. Please be sure to link your actual post. There are also some blogs that comments cannot be left... I apologize to those that I cannot comment on their blog!



Next week's theme is "BLOWING KISSES". Post a picture of your favorite little kissy face! And, as always... you never have to adhere to the theme... it is just for fun and a little extra challenge! We love to visit you even when you post a different FFF!