Thanksgiving

We had a great time on Thanksgiving, spending the day with loved ones. We began by having a photo shoot with my side of the family:

This is a picture I snapped of the grandkids while they posed for the photographer. The crazy thing is, there will be FOUR more added to this group by next summer!

Next, we visited our foster daughter, Kenna. It was her birthday last week and we had a few things for her:It had been a while since we'd seen her....she is getting so big! Things are going well with her and her family (her father is now living at home).

Thanksgiving dinner was held at my Uncle Tyler's house in Santa Clara. The food was wonderful, and my grandmother estimated there were around 80 people in attendance. What a posterity for my grandparents! The weather was warm, allowing for a football game for the guys and even SWIMMING for the kids. After dinner, DEl took his sister, Eva, up to a Utah Jazz game. They had a great time.

While at my uncle's house, I had a quick photo shoot with our kids for our Christmas card. Here's one of my faves:

As I took the opportunity last week to reflect about the things I'm thankful for, I've realized that perhaps I don't always express my gratefulness. Yesterday, I took a moment and put some of these thoughts on paper.

"GRATITUDE"

Gratitude. It is a GRATEFUL ATTITUDE.

How often in my busy day
do I pause, help others on their way
by sharing God's great love?
Or even remember to kneel and pray?

With so much to do, and much to see
do I stop and listen carefully
to the whisper of a dove?
Or am I blind to nature's beauty?

And in my darkest time of need
do I realize the very air I breathe
is a gift from heaven above?
Is thankfulness my daily creed?

Gratitude. Is it MY attitude?

-- K. Beatty Nov. 2009

A Weekend in Palm Springs

Last weekend was spent supporting Krissia in the area she excels in.

Yep, you guessed it:

(No, that is NOT a tattoo on her back; one of her teammates had a little too much fun with a sharpie)

This time, it was't a high school meet; Krissia competed in a regional USA meet with some big guns from California.


And how did she compare?

She was her usual outstanding self, giving it her all - even in crazy events like the 400 IM and 500 freestyle:

It was so fun to cheer her on, and we're thankful to family members who took care of Jefferson and Mathison for us while we were away.

Unfortunately, Krissia became quite ill the day before we left. This sickness continued through the weekend; when she wasn't swimming, we had her wrapped up like this:

Now that's what I call a fashion statement!

The End of an Era

Today, our family has witnessed the end of an era.

Today, our youngest child turned three.

My "baby" is no longer a baby - or even a toddler, for that matter. Forever gone are the magical days of babyhood, of daily discoveries and important milestones marked. Because now we are embarking on the journey of becoming a preschooler and all that the stage entails.

Part of me is extremely sad to see Mathison reach this age. After all, there is a certain finality to it this time around as we will never again have a baby in our home. Part of me is also relieved to be moving towards increased independance and the resulting time I'll have to myself again.

Mathison seems like he's growing up even faster because he started to attend the district preschool a week ago for some social and emotional delays. Here are some pictures of his first day:Waiting for the bus. The backpack is almost as big as he is!

On the bus for the first time;Mathison wasn't quite sure what to think.

Here are some of Mathison's 3 year old stats:

Height: 37 inches (30%)
Weight: 30.5 lbs (30%)
Head: HUGE (98%)

I think back to the many years when we knew our family was incomplete, and the incredible joy we felt when I discovered that I was finally pregnant again. It took many prayers, tears, and a lot of time to finally get our little guy, and we wouldn't trade him for the world. Mathison brings so much joy, excitement, laughter and love into our home; I can't imagine what our family would be like without him.


Happy Birthday, Mathison. We love you so much and are very proud of the "big boy" you are becoming!

Our "Twilight" Saga

As you know, the movie New Moon hits theaters this weekend.

But I figure I don't need to see it, because our family has its own young vampire:

Just check out the canines on that kid! And no, I did not "photoshop" them in. Mathison has some of the longest, sharpest, freakiest canines I have ever seen; you can't tell in this picture, but all four teeth are affected. He certainly looks like a little vampire when he flashes a smile that reveals those pointy teeth!

I have to laugh, because although the "Twilight" series has captured the attention of teenage girls and young women everywhere, it's our 12 year old BOY that seems most affected by the upcoming release of the newest movie.

I had no idea Jefferson even knew what the Twilight series was until about ten days ago. I was taking a few quick head shots of him outside when he asked if he could try a serious look. Jefferson immediately stared off into the distance with a brooding expression on his face. After I took the picture, he sighed and said, "That was my Edward pose."

His what??

"My Edward pose," Jefferson responded when I asked him about it. "You know, the vampire from the Twilight series."

So I guess that the "Twilight" saga has captured the attention of adolescent boys, as well.

Here's how the picture turned out: Move over, Edward; there's a new heart breaker in town!

What Were They Thinking?

I was recently going through some of the books I'd put in storage, when I came across a book we'd acquired when Jefferson was learning how to read. The title choice perplexed me back then, and I have to admit that feeling returned as I looked at the book once more:



I think this about the poorest choice of words for a children's book I have ever seen. However, it's provided some fun for my teenagers; they've come up with some interesting word play of this title on their own:

A Sticky Situation for Pooh
Helping Pooh Out of the Hole
Pooh Gets a Push From Behind

You get the idea. I have to wonder....what was the company thinking when this title was presented to them?

And where in the world was the editor?

My Love Affair

Last month, I described how Jefferson became infatuated with a new hobby.

Now it's my turn to be bitten by the bug.

I've decided that I'm absolutely, passionately, completely, and irrevocably taken with photography. Especially, the editing process.

I'm not saying I'm especially good at it; I know I still have a lot to learn. Most of my methods are self-taught or from tutorials found on the internet. But, boy oh boy, do I LOVE this learning process!

And can I just say how much I LOVE Photoshop? With it, I can produce a great quality picture even though I only have a point and shoot camera. It's wonderful that I can take something like this.....

.....and transform it into this:

Through experimentation, I've discovered some preferences in my photo taking. I definitely prefer outdoor light:

....and I really enjoy capturing a moment with a story behind it:


I've also been playing around with color:


Of course, my favorite subjects are my children and I enjoy trying to capture each of their unique personalities:




While I enthusiastically take a ton of pictures, my editing skills are still a little slow. As a result, I find I am accumulating a bunch of pictures I need to fix.

And my scrap booking?

Let's not even go there.

At least I'll have some great material to scrap with....when I get around to it :)

Greg Fernley

No, I'm not posting about a new friend, neighbor, - or anyone we know, for that matter.

Just who is Greg Fernley?

Actually, Greg Fernley is the name of the HUGE swimming invitational Krissia competed at over the weekend.

When I say huge, I'm not exaggerating. There were 22 schools and 850 swimmers in attendance.

Of those 22 schools, 15 were 5A (the largest in Utah).

And how did our little 3A swimmer compare?

She made a big splash (no pun intended :) Krissia took 2nd overall in the 100 backstroke, which she was barely outtouched on. Her time of 1:03.18 is the fastest so far of any 3A or 4A swimmer in the state this season. She also took 3rd out of 230 participants in the 50 freestyle.

Krissia's team also had a strong showing, placing 7th overall in the midst of all the larger schools. We look forward to an exciting season this year!

The Sound of Music

Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School had their first concert choir of the year yesterday.

Jefferson really enjoys this class, and I love the fact that he's unafraid to "get into it" - even though he's at an age where many kids start to feel self conscious in front of others.

Jefferson had a chance to perform in a xylophone trio during one of the musical selections. He concentrated so hard, and didn't make a single mistake!

The choir had a guest accompanist for the last two numbers. Look familiar?Jefferson loved having his dad participate in the concert, and I enjoyed cheering the two of them on :)

Halloween Fun

We had a great time on Halloween.

Well, most of us did. Jefferson caught the flu and ended up staying home. He even had a great costume that he put together himself; he was going to be a "newsie".

Our neighborhood has an annual family party at Halloween, and I decided about 15 minutes beforehand wear a costume this year. I raided our play clothes, and found enough items to dress up like a punk rocker. Krissia also decided to dress up last minute, and we were able to put together a cool pirate costume for her.

Mathison was a cowboy; just about the cutest I've ever seen! Here he is waiting with a fishing pole at the fish pond:

DEl was in charge of one of the games, and Krissia helped pass prizes out for him. I wish I looked this good in a pirate outfit!

Mathison won a cupcake at the cakewalk and discovered that chocolate icing is his "favwrit":



After the party, I took Mathison trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for about an hour. It didn't take him long to get the hang of it! Near the end, he told me,"Mom, I just love those treats!" I carried around an extra bag and got some candy for Jefferson; there is nothing worse as a kid than being sick on a holiday :(

Mathison had a fun time, and I think he is already looking forward to next year's celebration:

Balloon Challenge

There is a photography site that I recently began visiting (iheartfaces.blogspot.com) to get tips on my new found hobby of photography. They have a weekly photo challenge, and I had just the perfect one for this week's challenge, "Balloons":

This photo of our toddler was taken at a recent family reunion; of all the games and activities available, Mathison definitely enjoyed playing with this balloon the most. He carried it around with him for hours!

Back to Back

The high school swimming season officially started this week, and the team certainly "dove' right in with three meets back to back.


We had a meet Thursday:

Friday:

and Saturday:

Friday and Saturday was actually one big invitational divided between the two days. Krissia always does well, but in this meet she was EXCEPTIONAL. She earned three personal records, and led her team to an amazing victory.

Mathison accompanied us all three days; by the third day, he'd had enough! We had to resort to ice cream to keep him happy:

I was able to capture this sweet picture on Saturday of DEl and Mathison cheering on Krissia's relay team:

It was a very exciting, very promising start to the swim season! Krissia was mentioned in the local paper twice this week; if you'd like to read one of the articles, click HERE.

I'll be posting about Halloween next, but I had this cute photo ready and just couldn't resist showing it now :)