My New Camera

Yes, we are headed to the airport in a few hours, but I just wanted to post a few pics from my new camera (slr!).
Thanks Mark!
And doesn't he look dashing in my dad's coat from the mid-70s? Awesome. Too bad he wouldn't take it on our trip to Michigan. He's gonna freeze! (we all are, for that matter)

You Know it's Time . . .

To move to bigger bowls when your toddler eats SEVEN bowls of cereal for breakfast. (Alternating Cheerios and Kix)

First Try

My first try at designing Christmas cards on Picasa 3. (yes, I still love it)
So, I'll just see if I can get them uploaded to Costco for my dad to pick up tomorrow.
Isn't technology wonderful? (and wasn't our photographer wonderful, too?)

Contest: Make a Joke out of This

Whoever makes the funniest joke out of these photos, or guesses what happened (that shouldn't be hard) will get . . . a video of Jaxon singing them happy birthday.

Is Your Milkman as Cute as Ours?

Possibly, but I doubt it.

Our Little Pavarotti

Today in church, the primary sang two Christmas songs. Jaxon stood in the front and sang the absolute loudest of all the children.
It wasn't just a little loud, it was, as the following high council speaker put it, "a solo."
He was so loud that the pianist starting playing to his speed instead of the chorister.

And, the whole time he had this innocent look of concentration and earnestness.

Mark and I, and the entire congregation were laughing so hard we were crying.
The hysteric laughter peaked at the end when Jaxon finished the last line at the regular rhythm only to be shocked that the other children followed the chorister's ritardando. So, the quizzical look on his face made for a lot of laughs.

Then, as the children were walking down, he whispers loudly to the chorister, our friend Kate, "I sang really LOUD!" with a beaming smile.

Mark got a dozen comments on Jaxon's solo during church. I've had more than a few today by phone. That's one performance I don't want to forget!

(I will post Jaxon's home performance as soon as I upload it)

How Many Santas Are There?

Last weekend we saw Santa three nights in a row. That's a record.
First, Santa came to our church Christmas party Friday night.

Saturday, he was at our Hemophilia Christmas Party.

And on Sunday night, he visited our train on the Polar Express. Jaxon colored a picture for him and was so excited to show him.
As you'll notice, Asher is conspicuously absent from all of these photos, and shys away from Santa on the train. I don't think he understands that Santa brings presents.

Family Photo Shoot Movie

Here's the video of our family photo shoot by the fabulous professional photographer Nicole Hammontree.
The photos are of my parents, two sisters, and my little brother with our family.
Enjoy!



I apologize for the James Taylor again. But, I like this song.

My Boys

Here's an attempt to put up my first movie! I used Picasa 3 (LooOoove it!) and put our photos to music. Sorry, Mark. It's James Taylor. It was one of my only choices :(




The movie cycles through the pictures twice, and there are a few of the same shots with different effects.
I'd love your opinions. Some of these are going up on our walls.

Love in Sepia

There's not much to say, is there?
He's so adorable. How can I not kiss him every chance I get? And if he had it his way, he would make me hold him and kiss him all day.
I'm pretty darn lucky.

Oh yeah, and these are all self-portraits. ;)

What Kind of Movement is This?

Perhaps you didn't know, but I'm a fan of Barack Obama. I donated to his campaign, twice, and got a T-shirt in the mail (which Mark dissuaded me from wearing to ward softball, too bad).
I've been on the email list as well and have received plenty of stuff that I haven't read, but I really imagined the email to taper down since the election.
I mean, he won so it's over, right?
Wrong.
The Obama campaign is still going. Or maybe it's not the campaign. It's the Obama team. The Obama movement.
Here's the email I got today.
What do you think?

Exactly one month ago, you made history by giving all Americans a real opportunity for change.

Now it's time to start preparing and working for change in our communities.

On December 13th and 14th, supporters are coming together in every part of the country to reflect on what we've accomplished and plan the future of this movement. Your ideas and feedback will be collected and used to guide this movement in the months and years ahead.

Join your friends and neighbors -- sign up to host or attend a Change is Coming house meeting near you.

Since the election, the challenges we face -- and our responsibility to take action -- have only gotten more urgent.

You can connect with fellow supporters, make progress on the issues you care about, and help shape the future of your community and our country.

Learn what you can do now to support President-elect Obama's agenda for change and continue to make a difference in your community.

Take the first important step by hosting or attending a Change is Coming house meeting. Sign up right now:

http://my.barackobama.com/changeiscoming

To get our country back on track, it will take all of us working together.

Barack and Joe have a clear agenda and an unprecedented opportunity for change. But they can't do it alone.

Will you join us at a house meeting and help plan the next steps for this movement?

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

I'm actually considering hosting or attending one of these parties. Would any of you come to one at my house?
Do you think this is just a gimmick, or is this what Time magazine asserts, a real social movement?

A Visitor for Thanksgiving

Last week we had a visit from Mark's brother, David. He's a freshman at Snow College where he studies trumpet.

For the first half of his trip, he was a delightful guest, then he got sick and passed it to everyone. (Let me specify, everyone in my family of origin. Mark and the boys and I somehow did not get the flu bug.)

Here are some pics of Dave and Mark playing the Wii. Don't they look similar? It's remarkable, really.

There's also a cute picture of Cami (my sis) and Dave when she came over for lunch. They're the same age and have been friends since Mark and I got married, over 8 years ago (so, about half of their lives.)

Despite the fact that Dave was sick for the second half of his visit, we did have an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner, and a good night of Rock Band. We'll see him again this Christmas when we travel to Michigan to visit Mark's other brother's family and his parents.

I'm sure there will be more Rock Band and more brotherly competing about who was the best athlete in high school.

But what do I know about high school athletics? I just did the calculus cheer from the stands at the football games.

I can still remember the chant:

D(x) Dx Dy
D(y) Dy Dz
Secant, Tangent, Cosine, Sine
3.14159!

Go Team!