Weekly Summary ~ 12/28/14 - 01/03/15

Happy New Year!

Thus ends another week.  And another year!  They do seem to fly by as I get older.

Here's what last week looked like ...

{December 28:  Book}

My kids love to sit and look at a scrapbook from time to time. Usually they look at their own books, but occasionally they will pull out one of their siblings' books so they can snicker and giggle over the photos inside.   :)

{December 29:  I need less of this ...}

I need less gray, cloudy skies and I need more sunshine!!!!!

{December 30:  Us}

Our most recent photo ... A friend took this photo of us (with my camera) on Christmas Eve. The wise man pointing at Doug's ear cracks me up. I should edit it out, but it makes me chuckle.

{December 31:  My best bit of 2014}

It is so hard to narrow down 2014 to just one photo! I don't wish to minimize any people / places / accomplishments from this past year. But since 2014 was my best year to date in raising Monarch butterflies, I chose this photo. This was one of the last butterflies to leave my care. I successfully raised and released 172 Monarch butterflies in 2014. That just blows me away! My best year prior to this was 2010 when I raised 34. I'm excited to see what 2015 brings!

{January 1:  Sky}

The sky at dusk - the view from our deck.

{January 2:  Something yellow}

Cute, little Woodstock who hangs on our Christmas tree. He'll probably get put away tomorrow.

{January 3:  Me today}

Alex and I went on a date to the movies this afternoon. I had intended to take our picture together there but forgot all about it, so this was taken shortly after we got home. (phone pic)

I'm still participating in Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge.  I wasn't sure I would continue in the new year, but I really enjoy it, so I'm sticking with it for now.  Maybe I will complete a full year (I started in April 2014) and then call it quits. Then again, maybe not.  :)

Not much happened here last week, which was great!  Lots of relaxing, watching movies, doing nothing.  I did leave the house a couple times just to get out of the house.  Moms need to do that sometimes.  :)  I picked up a new pair of sneakers for Nick who seems to go through shoes like crazy these days.  We had our New Year's Eve party at church.  Just food and a movie, but it was fun.  Got home in plenty of time to watch the ball drop on TV.  On Friday I took Nick to Chris's house for a sleepover.  He is like one of the family there.  Then Alex talked me into getting Subway for dinner.  Saturday Alex and I went to see Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.  It was pretty good.  And we watched our Steelers lose to he Baltimore Ravens in the wild card playoff game Saturday night.  Boo!  

That was pretty much it!  Everyone is back to school today.  It snowed overnight (just a coating) and is really windy today.  But the sun is shining now, so all is good.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Linking with Tamar:

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Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 12/21 - 12/27

Another week bites the dust!  

Continuing with Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge, here are last week's prompts ...

{December 21:  This is interesting}

We have no "generic" ornaments on our Christmas tree. Every year the kids and I go pick out special ornaments to add to our tree. It is interesting to see how their interests have changed over the years. This year we had one made for our dog, Honey. I thought it was interesting that we never got her a special ornament in the five Christmases that she has been with us. I actually feel bad about that. But she has one now and I guess that's all that matters.

{December 22: 'Tis the season to ...}

'Tis the season to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(This is the front of our church - decorated for Christmas.)

{December 23:  Tree}

Our tree as seen through Keira's starry glasses.

{December 24:  Color}

Something that has been a bit elusive lately - the blue sky and golden sun.  It was so nice to se them both today even if they didn't stick around long.  It is now very windy and raining.  Though I hear both the sun and blue sky may come out of hiding and make an appearance on Friday.  Here's hoping!

{December 25:  Celebration}

Alex was pretty excited about the Christmas pajamas that he got to open on Christmas Eve.  It was quite a celebration.  :)

{December 26:  Animal}

Honey decided to help me open one of my Christmas gifts yesterday.  She was so fun this year!  She was so curious about everything.

{December 27:  I like ...}

I like to play around with my camera.  Especially this time of year when there are sparkle lights everywhere.

Linking up with Tamar:

We had a wonderful Christmas.  Fun times at the school Christmas party on Tuesday afternoon.  The kids have been off school since Wednesday and will be off until January 5.  Keira played a song during the Christmas Eve service at church.  I was hoping to share the video but I'm having problems getting the link.  Here is my video share on Facebook ... hopefully you can view it that way.

We made lots of cookies and treats.  Too many, in fact.  Doug's parents came to visit on Christmas morning while we were all still in our jammies.  Doug visited with his dad while his mom helped Keira make more treats.  Once they left, the kids enjoyed their gifts while I prepped for dinner.  My mom and sister came in the afternoon.  After a yummy dinner (if I do say so myself) we opened gifts and played UNO, something that has become a tradition when we get together.

On Friday I had planned to do absolutely nothing.  I slept in until almost 11:00 - I guess I really needed some sleep.  I'd hoped to spend the day in my yoga pants but our neighbor passed away a few days before Christmas and visitation was on Friday.  So Doug and I went to pay our respects.  We decided to go get a few more things for the bathroom while we were out.  Did I mention we are remodeling our bathroom?  It is the first room we did when we bought our home 17 years ago and is badly in need of updating.  Doug was going to go get some of the bigger items on Saturday morning but ended up having to go to work.  His plant shut down and needed attention.  It as a decent day weather wise so I took Honey for a walk.  It felt so good to be out in the fresh air!  We hadn't been for a walk in a while because of hunting season.  The boys played some hoops while we walked.  Then we went home and did nothing.  :)  Watched movies, ate popcorn, and snuggled on the couches.

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Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 12/14-12/20

Last week started out with my birthday.  On Sunday I turned 29.  Again.  The rest of the week pretty much consisted of me helping make candy to give out to our church family.  It was a lot of work but it was fun.  We managed to get it all finished up and boxed on Saturday morning.  Just in time to hand out on Sunday morning.  Whew!

Tuesday we had a Christmas party at Bible study.  I had to leave right after I got there to deliver Keira some ibuprofen for her headache.  She ended up asking me if she could just go home because she felt so bad.  Migraines stink.  So I took her home and got back to the party in time to make a pretty ornament craft.

Wednesday night at church we had our kids' Christmas party.  We sang Christmas songs, listened to Pastor tell a story, had pizza and veggies, and played a gift exchange game.  It was fun.  Mostly.  :)  We are on a break now until 2015.
Our Youth Pastor left on Saturday.  He got a job offer at another church and decided to take it.  The kids are bummed.  They all really liked him and his wife and kids.

Now that things are slow on the business front, I have been enjoying some down time.  I discovered the show New Girl on Netflix.  It is really hard to just watch one episode at a time.  I find myself staying up way too late watching just one more.  :)  I don't really watch TV so I don't even know if that show is still on.

During Christmas break I plan to do some learning.  I bought a couple classes on Creative Live that I really enjoyed when they were broadcast - but I missed parts of them - so I will be watching them again.  I also want to learn more about lighting and camera flashes.

Anyway, here are the photos for last week's prompts from Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge ..

{December 14:  Drink}

Since I am celebrating yet another anniversary of my 29th birthday today  I figured I'd better incorporate a photo of myself in today's prompt. So here I am.  Drinking a nice cup of hot cocoa after tucking the boys into bed. I'll probably be up all night now, but oh well.  

We had a really nice day today. After church this morning, we went to the science center where there were a bunch of train displays set up. My youngest LOVES trains. Then we went to the botanical garden because that's what I wanted to do. Lastly we stopped and picked up dinner because you shouldn't have to cook on your birthday, right?  Keira wasn't feeling well so she stayed home to rest.  :(

P.S. I hate selfies!

{December 15: Super!}

There were some super-sized Christmas lights on display last night at Phipps. If I could have gotten one of my boys to pose by them, you would have a better idea of their super size. But, alas, they would not cooperate.

{December 16: Beautiful}

I may be biased but I think my girl is beautiful. Inside and out.

(Archive photo as she's still not feeling well today.) 

{December 17: Sunshine}

This is the closest thing to sunshine that we've seen here in about a week. A Dale Chihuly chandelier in the Desert Room at Phipps Conservatory. Oh, how I miss the sun. I hope it makes an appearance again very soon!

{December 18: Sign}

This sign was on the bathroom stall of the science center. It made me chuckle. 

(Archive photo as I was making candy all day and didn't get to take the photo that I had in mind.)

{December 19: Something to be happy about}

Monarchs make me happy. Planning my butterfly garden for next summer makes me happy. Thinking about all the butterflies I will raise makes me happy.

This is obviously an archive photo. Now that business has slowed down I am able to get caught up on editing personal photos so I'm slowly working my way through - starting with my gazillion Monarch photos.  :)

{December 20: Food}

Chocolate - the 5th food group. 

So that was my week.  We are gearing up to celebrate Christmas on Thursday.  The kids have school tomorrow and then they are off until January 5.  I hope to have a nice, quiet, relaxing break.  A girl can dream, right?  :)

Have a great week!  And a very Merry Christmas!  
And Happy Hanukkah to our lovely host, Tamar!

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Our Weeks in Review 2014 ~ 11/30-12/13

So, yeah, I missed last week's post.  Doug was on vacation from work and we spent a lot of time shopping.  Not all Christmas shopping though.  We are remodeling our bathroom.  Again.  It was the first room we did when we bought our house 17 years ago and it is due for an update now that the rest of the house is done.  If I wasn't shopping with him, I was shopping with someone else!  :)  I tagged along with some ladies from church to Kraynak's (Christmas and toy store) and Daffin's Candy (chocolate!) again this year.  We went last year and had so much fun, I guess we are making it an annual thing.   We also made some Christmas candy.  Every year the deaconesses at church give out small boxes of candy for Christmas.  It is a lot of work making it but it is fun getting together.  I will probably be helping with that again this week.

Since I didn't post last week, you get bombarded with two week's worth of photos.  Sorry!

{November 30: I bought this!}

Recently I bought a package of sparkley, glittery washi tape to use in my scrapbooks and for crafting. Because one can never have too much washi tape.  True story.  :)

{December 1: Fruit}

This is the only sunshine we saw here today.  :)

{December 2: Grass}

Back in July, before the maintenance folks mowed the Far Meadow at our favorite park, Honey had a fun time running through the tall grass.

{December 3: Pop!}

Alex was excited to finally be able to open this apple-cinnamon lolli-POP from Halloween. I knew we were saving it for a reason.  :)

{December 4: Free}

Gazing at the moon is free. However, taking a trip to the moon is anything but. It is estimated that NASA spent $20-$25 billion (in 1969 dollars) sending men to the moon. That would be about $150 billion today. YIKES!

{December 5: Me}

Me ... with the birthday boy. Alex turned 9 officially at 5:12 a.m. today. My baby is growing up too fast! {sniff sniff} We got a little silly taking pics with my cell phone.  We were messing with the different modes on my phone. This was taken on "beauty" mode. My skin is not that smooth.  :)
If you missed it, I posted about Alex's ninth birthday.

{December 6: Joy is ...}

Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.  

Alex was so excited to (finally!) put the tree up today. He helped his dad get it up, string the lights, and put on the star. Then my in-laws came over for a visit, so Alex was even more excited when his grandma helped put ornaments on. He loves having the tree up!

{December 7: Weekends are for ...}

Worshiping Jesus and celebrating Christmas with our church family. (We had our Christmas dinner today). And enjoying the beautiful sunshine, which felt especially good as the sun has been a bit elusive lately.

{December 8: Simple pleasure}

A few years ago I decided to start collecting snow globes. It is a simple thing that makes me happy. This guy was my first and is still my favorite. He's just so cute!

{December 9: Decoration}

One of my favorite decorations at Christmastime is our tree because having it up enables me to play more.

{December 10: Closed door} 

Just one of many decorated closed doors we saw today during our walk through Kraynak's Christmas decorations.

{December 11: Something red}

I loved the Snoopy lights in the Peanuts display yesterday while visiting Kraynak's. I would have bought some of these lights if they had any in stock. Snoopy and I go way back. 

{December 12: Skyline}

This is the view out my front door ... my neighbor's mulberry tree. I love that tree. I think it has so much character.

{December 13: Much loved}

After thinking all day what I could take a photo of that is much loved, I finally decided on Honey. She's been our girl for almost 6 years (we adopted her in January when she was just a pup) and I couldn't imagine life without her.

Linking with Tamar:

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Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 11/23-11/29

Another week has gone.  Much food was consumed during this one.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  I'm still trying to figure out how it is December 1st already.  :)

{November 23: I made this!}

I was really wracking my brain today to come up with something for this prompt. And then I remembered ... Two Saturday's ago I spent the morning at my church with a group of wonderful women learning how to watercolor. My friend, Sam, is a fabulous watercolor artist and was gracious enough to show us how to do it. We each made a poinsettia book mark to take home. It was a really fun time! And it was great to see how different everyone's painting turned out. 

{November 24: I need to do this}

Today I wrote out a big, long list of things I "need" to do, when God spoke this to my heart.

{November 25: Time}

"STOP!  Hammer time!"  
If you don't get this, check out this video ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIRQf0S3oD0.  :)

{November 26: Wall}

{From the archives as I spent the day preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration}

The kids and I went on a photo walk around the city and had some fun at the "graffiti wall". It is actually an advertisement for our local cable company. As you can see, they were being pretty silly. I wish I could remember what they were doing. 

{November 27: I'm thankful for this ...}

Crazy crew! 

We celebrated Thanksgiving today and had family over to celebrate with us. It was such a great day! Lots of good food, laughter, and even some tears (caused by too much laughter).  Although I think my niece may have cried once or twice for real. She's all good now though. I try to get the kids together for a photo when they are here, which isn't the easiest thing to do. My kids are usually the most difficult. You would think being a photographer's kid, they would know what to do. Look at the camera, smile nice. We get done faster that way. But sometimes I take what I can get. I'm thankful for this opportunity to get together and celebrate family and our many blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

{November 28: Black}

This summer, while on a walk, I came across this little black damselfly that was nice enough to sit still so I could take its picture.

{November 29: So, this happened}

We went on a train ride today for Alex's birthday (which is on December 5). It was the Santa train! Santa got picked up shortly after we left the train station and made his way through each car talking to the kids about Christmas. Surprisingly when I asked the kids if they wanted a picture with Santa, they all stood up and got in the shot. Not a great shot as this was taken with my phone. I had my big camera with me but didn't have it out as I wasn't expecting them to actually want a photo with Santa!   :)

Not a whole lot happened this week.  I opted to stay home from another school consolidation meeting on Monday.  We had our Thanksgiving church service on Tuesday evening.  It was lovely.  Wednesday I cooked and prepped.  I even made a couple birthday cakes since we decided to celebrate my niece Christi's birthday, which was on November 18, and Alex's birthday, which is coming up on December 5, while everyone was here.

Don't you just love their genuine smiles?  :)  Thank you, Pinterest, for the idea.

Thursday we hosted Thanksgiving.  We ate too much.  Laughed a lot.  And played UNO, which has become a tradition when my mom and sister are visiting.

Friday we did nothing, really.  I thought our local light up night was Friday but turns out it was Saturday.  But we went on the train ride on Saturday and didn't make it back in time so we missed it.  Many of my friends shared pictures on Facebook though, so I didn't completely miss it.  :)  We enjoyed the train ride.  Five people squished into two train seats.  Seriously, were people shorter back when trains were used for transportation?  There was about 6 inches between the seats.  And since the train was so full, we couldn't spread out at all.  We still had fun though.  And we think we saw two eagles.  If not eagles, they were some pretty big birds.

Before you go, I need to mention a giveaway that I am having.  Go check it out ...
Awaken Love couples devotional

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Tamar.

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Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 11/16-11/22

As I continue to participate in Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge, I will continue to share them here.  :)

{November 16:  After}

After all the Monarch butterflies have flown south to Mexico, only reminders of them like this remain. Milkweed seed pods that have exploded open. Sending their tiny seeds to carry on with their intended purpose. Providing me with hope for an even better butterfly-rearing season in the summer of 2015.  ƸӜƷ

{November 17:  Cooking}

Alex made himself breakfast the other day. He's getting pretty good at cooking. Toaster waffles anyway.   :)

{November 18:  I love this}

There are many "things" that I love ... Jesus, my family, my life, my dog, my Nikon, etc. so what to share for this prompt took some consideration. 

Well, those of you that know me by now know that I love my Monarchs. I love witnessing miracle after miracle each summer right here in my home. I love the whole - sometimes messy - process. From harvesting eggs and caterpillars, to feeding them, to cleaning out their frass (aka poop)  :) , to watching them grow out of their skin (literally), to becoming a gorgeous chrysalis and eventually an even more gorgeous butterfly. It is going to be a long winter while I wait in anticipation of next summer for their return.

{November 19: Whole}

Well, almost.  Why are the simplest prompts sometimes the hardest?

{November 20: Bright}

Keira has a bright idea! As Gru would say, "Light ... bulb!" (You have to say it in his voice though.)   We tried several ideas and this is what we ended up with today. Not exactly what I had envisioned but it will have to do.

{November 21: Shoes}

When Plan A doesn't work, you go with Plan B, an archived pic.   :)

We didn't wear shoes much when we were at the beach this past June. I'd really like to be there right now instead of freezing and sitting in front of my space heater.   :)

{November 22: A favorite thing}

If you know me, then you know that I love Monarchs.  They are most definitely my favorite thing (aside from photography). A friend of mine who does embroidery delivered this today. It is a sweatshirt with a beautiful Monarch butterfly embroidered on it. I can't wait to wear it!

(You can just skip this next part if you want.  It is more for me than for you.)  :)

Last week was another busy one.  I had something going on almost every evening, which is rare for me.  I try really hard not to do that.  

Monday we had yucky weather so we decided to cancel Keira's violin lesson.  Freezing rain and colder temps were moving into the area so we just stayed home.  Well, she did.  I delivered my last photo session so far this year.

Tuesday was supposed to be a full day of running.  Except when I took Keira to school in the morning, my oil light kept flickering on my dash.  I called Doug to ask him about it and he advised me not to drive my car.  So I ended up missing Bible study.  But my friend Tiffanie picked me up on her way to the school so I could still help out at the Book Fair.  It is fun watching kids pick out books.

We had a Deaconess meeting Tuesday evening.  My friend, Marcia, picked me up for that.  I don't like not being able to drive my car but I am grateful for friends who were willing to help me out.

Doug bought a new oil filter and got the van all fixed up.  Turns out when he went to buy the oil and filter, the page for 2011 KIAs was missing from the book.  So he bought the filter for the 2010 Sedona.  Apparently that wasn't right.  In fact, each year takes a different oil filter.  How bizarre is that?

Wednesday was the normal ... volunteering at Kids' Club at church.

Thursday was Parent Visitation day at the boys' school.  I got to play with Alex in phys ed and then join him in reading class.  I didn't visit Nick's class since he was serving his sentence in the principal's office.  He had gotten into a fight with another boy on Wednesday and both of them ended up with in-school suspension.  :/  Prayers for wisdom on how to deal with his pre-teen angst would be greatly appreciated.

Thursday evening was Family Reading Night so Alex and I went for a while.  He had fun playing games and looking at books.  I got to talk with some other moms.  It as a nice time.

Friday I went to see the movie Saving Christmas with some girlfriends.  It was great seeing it on the big screen.  That evening I taught a girl how to use her camera.  Something I love to do.

Saturday I was supposed to go out to dinner with some girlfriends (not the same ones I went to the movie with)  :)  but decided to stay home.  I just needed to stay in and kick my feet up.  I'm sure I missed a good time, but I hope to go next time.

Linking with Tamar ...

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