Well hello there my friends!

I have once again neglected my blog.  I’m getting pretty good at it. wouldn’t you agree?

The best part about that is that no one will read this post so I can indulge myself with my selfish wants without fear of scolding and scoffing from the general public.

Sweet!

Anyway.

We are all too swiftly approaching the Christmas season.

If you at all doubt me…go to Wal-Mart.

Not only will you be exposed to some veeeery interesting people (they even have their own website…) you will see that it is clearly the Christmas season.

There are a multitude of artificial trees in every color of the rainbow to put up in every room of your home and more wrapping paper than you can shake a stick at…if you are into stick shaking that is.

Yes, it is that jolly season when we all try to out spend the rich relatives and are forced to eat ramen for the next four months just so we can avoid foreclosure and repossession of our automobiles.

Isn’t Chrismas AWESOME???

So, in order to assist everyone in picking the perfect gift for me. (because I just KNOW you are all dying to get me a gift!) I have compiled my yearly list of “Things I would buy for myself if I didn’t have to feed my kids”

Shall we get started?  YES WE SHALL!!!

(please keep in mind that these are in no particular order…I love and want them all equally)

1.  Kelly Clarkson’s new CD

No, you may not comment on my taste in music…thankyouverymuch.

2. Casting Crowns new CD

They just generally kick butt.  I love them.

3. If I were rating in order of importance..this would be my number one..

And yes, I know that there is a CS4 now..and I’m open to that one too.  Honestly..this is almost a need for my business.

4. This camera strap:

Or pretty much any of the ones this seller has in her etsy shop…love them!

5.  This T-shirt from Torrid:

I am such a gleek.  Yep I am!! (If you don’t know what Glee is…go here: Glee

6. Pretty much anything from here:

I just love so many things from Torrid!  Some of it is way too young for me..but a lot of it isn’t!  (That’s where I found the Glee shirt)

7. Pretty much anything from Bath and Body works.  I just love all of it!

8. TWO of these:

Not the dog…the CRATE.  That way I can put sweet wittle junior and smelly wittle charlie in them when I leave and can avoid coming home to a sofa covered in hair and drool. That would be heavenly!!

9. This dining set…or one like it.

10. This lens…drool….

(just for the record…this sucker runs around $800.00-$900.00…ouch.)

So..there is my list to date.  I will be watching for santa to deliver each of these gifts…as soon as he wins the lottery.

But while I wait for Santa to strike it rich, it would be interesting to compare notes…

What are the top 10 on your grown up Christmas list?

I had the wonderful privilege to shoot a beautiful family today!   They had the most beautiful kids and they were the nicest people to work with!

Here are a few of my favorites so far!

Thanks so much Staeheli Family!    I hope you like them!

I have a pretty cool phone.

It’s not an iphone (would NEVER spend that sort of money, or leave my beloved verizon)

It’s not a blackberry.

It’s not fancy at all actually.

But it’s mine.

And it has a full keyboard, which makes me a texting pro. Because I cannot, for the life of me, text efficiently without a full keyboard.

It’s sad, I am aware.

You may not laugh…all of you freaks who can type with numbers on a regular phone.

Freaks.

Anyway…my phone also has a camera.

And if you know me…you know I love cameras.

I love having a camera with me at all times.

Even if it is a measly three megapixel camera that can’t take a good picture, no matter how much I beg it to.

I also got a really big memory card for my phone.  I had the option for a blue tooth..but noooooooo…I got a bigger memory card.

That is so me.

Anyway again…

I was looking through my pictures the other day and realized that I take the most random pictures.

I’m truly a bit of a weirdo.

And in the spirit of my weird-ness,  I thought I’d share.

Here we have my shoes.  I am not entirely certain why I took a picture of my fake chucks. Maybe I was proud that I only paid $3.00 for them at value village?

Here we have my view of the pick up line at the kids’ school.  These people are full on morons.  The Taurus and I are parked in the pick up line…with our cars running….waiting to pick up our kids and get the heck outta dodge…however, we cannot do that because some people thought it was ok to double park…get out of their vehicles and make everyone else wait till they come back to leave.  I truly have the urge to punch them sometimes.  Instead I take passive-agressive pictures of them and post them on my blog.  It’s a gift.

And sticking with the theme of entitled, stupid people…here I was, waiting in the comcast office to pay my bill because their online bill pay was down..and in walks this guy with his dog.   This is NOT a service dog.  I know because I overheard the teller ask him.  Nope..just his pet.  “She wanted to go with me to pay bills today”   Um, no…she wanted to chase squirrels, sniff butts, eat garbage and chew a rawhide bone…she has absolutely no desire to go with you to pay your cable bill dude.  Trust me.

People, leave your pets at home unless you are going to petsmart or the vet or the dog park.   There are actually people out there who are allergic…really.  It’s inconsiderate.

Here we have my old, non-working porch ornament.  No, wait…that’s a fridge.  A broken fridge. That is still on my porch.  I’m thinking about stringing lights on it and using it for Christmas decor…I’m sure it’ll still be there by then….

Here we have Clayton and his friend “C” at crazy hair night for AWANA.  Those boys were having way too much fun!

And here is sis and her friend “L” on the same night.  I want to do her hair like that every day..but she said no.  *pout*

And for today, I will leave you with this little bit of heavenly goodness….

That right there is the best ice cream on earth.  That is Maggie Moo’s chocolate better batter ice cream with brownies and cherries mixed in.   I can’t stand how good that stuff is.  I want some now.

But my butt can’t stand how fattening it is…and my wallet can’t stand how expensive it is. So it’s a special occasion only treat.

Bummer right?

Anyway…there will be more camera phone pics at a later date.  I have tons left and no where to put them..so why not torture all of you?

Hope you all have a great day..I’m off to have some lunch and do some laundry.  Because my life is full of exciting stuff like that.

I know, you are jealous.   It’s ok…keep trying and one day you too can live a life like mine…..

Hey Everybody!

It’s fall!  I love fall..it’s my very favorite season!

As some of you know, I recently started my own photography business, Sola Fide Photography.   And since fall is my favorite time of year, and, I think, the perfect time of year to take beautiful family portraits… I have decided to run a fall family portrait special!!

For one day only, this Saturday..October 24th, 2009.  I will be offering  a special portrait session at the Finch Aboretum.  I have a very limited number of sessions available, so be sure to contact me as soon as you can to schedule!

Here is what you get!

Price:  $50.00

Includes: Session fee, two poses.

• 1- 8×10 print
• 2-5×7 prints
• 16 wallets

Other sizes are also available, for Ala Carte pricing, please visit my website Sola Fide Photography

Time slots available for this special:

9:00am-10:00 (still available)

10:20am-11:20 (still available)

11:45am-12:45 (still available)

1:00pm-2:00 ( booked)

2:20pm-3:20  (booked)

3:35pm-4:35 (still available)

Contact me today to reserve your time slot!  (509) 723-9859   and be sure to call if you have any questions or wish to book a session at a later date!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Christi

This is Jean-Luc!

It was so much fun shooting his senior pics!  Hope you like them Jean-Luc!

Being a Christian can sometimes be hard.

See, by our very nature, we rely on faith alone.  We believe and hold tight to things that are intangible.  We cannot see Jesus’ face.

We cannot hear His voice audibly tell us that all we believe is truth.  We cannot feel His almighty hands touch our shoulders and tell us that all will be well oneday.

All we can do it believe.

All we can do is have faith.

All we can do is ask Him to help us make it from day to day.

And often times, we feel like the very one we cling to for assurance is distant.

(Yes, we know better..but it does sometimes feel that way.)

Sometimes we feel all but abandoned in this maze we call life.

Being a Christian father and husband has to be the toughest job there is.

As the father and husband, it falls on the man’s shoulders to provide for and be responsible for the spiritual well-being of his wife and children.

Lately, this has really been weighing heavy on my darling husband.

Over labor day weekend, Brian and I talked in depth about our faith and how we really felt we needed to make God the center of our family.

We need to spend more time in the Word.

We need to spend more time in prayer.

As a family.

These are activities we tend to do on our own..in our own time.

And sadly, most of the time our children don’t even open their bibles until Sunday morning.

And it’s not something we want for them.

Because we KNOW that they will need the Lord to carry them through some tough times in their lives.

And Brian, as their earthly father, wants to lead by example.

We discussed the myriad of ways to do this, and one thing that came up in our conversation was Brian’s need for direction in this area.

I can sympathize with his plight.  How do you spiritually lead your children down the right path when you are a “baby” in your faith as well?

It is a heavy load to carry, I assure you.   I do not envy my husband’s role.

We went to church today with little expectation that we would hear a very loud and clear answer to a prayer we didn’t even realize we had prayed.

We arrived, sang, and sat for the announcements.

And then Corey said something that nearly knocked me out of my chair.  His wife had asked him to pre-screen some books for the upcoming mom’s group to study.  And Corey had read them and, to make a long story short, had realized that the best book of the group was something that DAD’S needed to read.

He felt compelled to start a dad’s group.  To help father’s learn to spiritually lead their children.  To show them how to teach them.

It was wonderful!  But there is always that pesky problem of Brian’s schedule.  Working nights makes it hard for Brian to attend much of the programs the church offers.

Then Corey announced that this group for dad’s will meet at 6am….did you catch that?  6am!!!   Brian will be able to go straight from work to church and attend dad’s group!!!

I am convinced my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t breathe.  I glanced at Brian and saw the same look I was sure I was making right back at him.

In an instant, the words “Ask and ye shall receive” flashed into my head.

It melted my heart.

I knew, right then, that God had heard our plea…even if we hadn’t directly asked…and had answered in a big way.

We hadn’t even really asked I suppose…but I know that God was listening anyway.

And for me, seeing my husband rest in the knowledge that eventhough his load is heavy and his responsibility great, God will be there to help carry that load…it was just amazing.

After we got home from church, I felt compelled to look up those words that had flashed through my head.

I knew that our Pastor had instructed us to start reading Luke tonight..but I had to find that scripture….I had to share it with Brian.

So I went online (to bible.com…it’s awesome for looking up random scripture) and typed in the words I had very clearly heard in my head this morning.

I found them.

And where I found them, yet again took my breath away….

Luke 11:9-10 (New International Version)

⁹“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Guess I’ll be reading Luke after all.

All you have to do is ask……

Well, not technically a holiday.

And you can pick yourself up off the ground now.  I know it’s been forever since I posted here. Stop being overly dramatic.

I’ve been busy.

Life and kids and stuff.

You know the drill.

Anyway.

Today when we got up, I decided that the LAST thing I wanted to do was stay cooped up in the house for yet another day.

I needed to get out.

I needed to step away from the internet.

I needed to interact with my kids and my hubby.

So we decided to make a day of it!

We couldn’t really think of anything specific to do, so we decided to go somewhere we never venture…downtown.

I have to tell you, it is fun to walk around like a tourist in your own town.  Look at things with fresh eyes and really see your city.

We ended up going to River front park.  We’ve been there before, but it’s always fun to go again.

And it had been a while.

We started our day with a walk down to visit Uncle Jimmy at his pawn shop.  It’s always nice to see his smiling face and there are always a few things we can find at the shop to drool over.

Clayton found a camera.

And folks…I almost cried..

it’s a NIKON.

I have taught him well.

It’s that fancy little coolpix with the touch screen LCD display.

Pure awesomeness…for a point and shoot.

I’d totally own it.

I think he might just get it for Christmas this year.

It’d be much better if Clay was behind the camera…you will understand why in a minute.

So, anyway, after we visited with Jimmy we headed down the street to our lunch destination.  Brian and I knew where we were going, but we decided to keep the kids guessing..

The walk was fun though. I played paparazzi..

“Um, excuse me..no pictures please!”

Reason 1 that clayton should not be in front of the camera…he always blocks the shot.

I did manage to get a pic of the family walking…minus the “super star” who can’t be photographed…

Cool huh?

So..we get to the restaurant and the kids were in awe.

Now, this will tell you how often we go out to eat at a place that doesn’t have a drive through..

We were at olive garden.  And the kids were incredibly excited.

M’Kayla said “wow mom, this place is fancy!”  As we waited in the lobby for our seat:

I thought it was sad that a few benches and some ginormous planters in a hallway constitute “fancy” to her..poor kid!

I just said “It’s really not all that fancy..now come sit over here at this little table so I can take your picture again.”

So she did…still not buying that the place wasn’t fancy and that there wasn’t some grand special occasion at hand.

See the skepticism?

Clayton wasn’t buying that Brian and I weren’t up to something either.

He wanted to know what the special occasion was.

So he got my attention the only way he knows how:

It only would have been better if he had yelled “TOASTY!” when he did it.

(If you can name the source of that…you get a cookie!)

Anyway, after I smacked the teenager for ruining my shot..He started quizzing me while rubbing his head…

Clay: “Mom, why ARE we here?  What’s the OCCASION?”

Me: “There is no “occasion”… I just wanted to do something fun and nice today.”

Clay:  “I’m not buying it… are you guys *GASP* having another baby?!?!”

(a look of horror was on his face…I wish I’d have had the presence of mind to take a picture of it.)

Me: “NO WAY!!! AIN’T HAPPENING!”

Clay: ” *Phew!* Good…so what is it?  OMG! Did you and dad arrange a marriage for me????!!!!”

At this point I simply could not respond. I could also not breathe. I was laughing too hard.

This kid is a riot sometimes.

I mean, where does his mind come up with these things??? Arranged marriage??

Goofy kid.

I finally caught my breath and explained, yet again, that there was no hidden agenda. I just wanted to have a nice lunch with my family.  And that was when our buzzer went off to tell us our table was ready.

Saved by the buzzer!

So, we went in and got settled and got our drinks and decided what we wanted for lunch.

I wanted a calamari appetizer…so I got one.

The kids wanted to try it too…But they also wanted to know what it was.

I told them I’d tell them as soon as they tried it.

I’m mean like that.

Rick wasn’t too sure:

But he was a champ and tried it..and LOVED it.

So we spent the next few minutes with the kids trying to guess what it was.

Rick guessed Shrimp

Clay guessed scallops

M’Kayla guessed octapuss.

Close enough!  I decided that since they had eaten half of the appetizer, it was time to tell them what it was.

So I did.

And they didn’t flinch.

I love my kids.  They will eat/try anything.

So, we ordered our lunch and the salad and breadsticks arrived.

My favorite part!

YUM:

Clayton approves:

Rick discovered that if you put your fist above a breadstick, it makes a lowercase “i”

I love that kid:

Before we knew it, our lunches had arrived.  Brian and I had the soup/salad/& breadsticks.

I ate his breadsticks.  I have no will power.

I also had yummy soup:

Minestrone..YUM!

Anyone care to guess what M’Kayla had????

SPAGHETTI..DUH!

That girl is a pasta eating machine!

We all had a fantastic lunch, the food was good and it was so nice to spend some time with “just us”.

Clayton kept me in stitches. Every time I’d try to take his picture, he’d make a goofy face. (reason 2 for him to shoot..and not be shot)

I’m pretty sure I’m gonna hack his facebook and myspace accounts and post this as his profile pic on all of them…awesome!

And then I did something I NEVER do.

I handed Brian the camera and told him to take some pics of me and Clay.

Warning…fat chick pics ahead!

I am so sorry to have to subject you to this….

Not only am I fat, I obviously beat my children.  No wonder people are seldom surprised to see me in Wal-mart.

Consequently, after seeing these images, that plate in front of me?

Last.

meal.

ever.

I’m going on a strictly liquid diet.

or maybe an air diet.

Anything to get less gross.

ew.

Anyway, enough of my self depreciation, back to our day out!

We finished up our lunch and tipped our fantastic waiter and headed across the street to the park.

Of course, the first stop was the carousel!

I wish I had pics of the boys on the carousel,but they decided to sit on a bench instead of a horse, so I couldn’t take any shots of them.

I suspect they did it on purpose.

After the carousel ride was over, we walked around the park and took in the sights:

Then we went to check out the rides and the IMAX movie.

Rick was bummed because we didn’t have time to watch a movie, but they are having a special on Friday, so I promised to take him then.

He was skeptical..skepticism runs in the family I guess…

So I made it up to him by taking them all for a shaved ice:

Clayton approves again:

And Rick is no longer skeptical:

He is, however, quizzical.  He was trying to figure out how they shaved the ice.

I swear his brain never stops working….ever.

After the shaved ice, it was time to go.  We had a great time.  I had a blast talking to my kids and my husband.

I think we really needed the day to reconnect.  It seems we are all going in fifty different directions lately and it was nice to just spend time with each other.

And as a bonus…I got this:

she is too pretty. Just too pretty.  I’m jealous.

Of course, I also got this:

That image made the whole day and the expensive lunch all worth it.  I am CERTAIN this pic will pop up in random places for years to come.

But that’s what he gets for suggesting I might be pregnant.  The poop.

Anyway.

There is my epic-catch-up-post.

Sorry I’ve been away for so long.

I’ll try to come back more often.

Until next time………….

I had the best time today taking Nate’s senior portraits!  He is such a sweet kid, and I just adore his parents.  Here is a little sneak peek for Nate and his family…hope you all like them so far!

Again,  My apologies for not keeping up on my blog.

It just seems like I get busier and busier every day.

I shot my first wedding on July 11th.  The ceremony was beautiful!  It was heald in a field at the Bride’s parents home..it was very rustic and country and right up my alley!!!

I honestly could not have asked for a better first wedding to shoot.

I really want to thank Danielle and Christian for allowing me the opportunity!

There were a few ups and downs for me (losing two memory cards…that were full of pics just to mention one…but we found them!) but overall I learned a ton and am pretty satisfied with most of the shots.

So, without further ado..here are a couple of shots:

I know, I know.

I have not been even close to a good blogger lately.

Believe me when I say it isn’t for lack of trying…I have at least 7 posts in my pending folder.

I just have not had the time, or the words, to finish them and post them.

Partly because I have been busy, and partly because of Farm Town on Facebook.

Sorry…I just love those little crops.

Farm Town is to me what Dungeons and Dragons is to 40 year old virgins who live in their mother’s basements.

Anyway…I finally found my way back to my blog and now for some updating!

School is out for summer, and while I love the “sleeping in” part of it (when I get to..Rick still thinks if he’s up I should be) I am already a tad weary of the constant sibling fighting.

I swear I am going to cancel the cable if they fight over one more program.

Anyway, we have a lot of camping planned for the summer…we will be going to Montana the week of the 4th of july.  I can’t wait…nothing says “American” to me better than fireworks in Montana.

It’s nice to have the camper and the boat (now that it’s running right).  I know they aren’t fancy, but they are ours and they facilitate family time and that is all that matters!

I’ve been really trying to find contentment in what God has blessed me with. It is often a struggle for me.  I don’t know why I feel the need to keep “moving up”…I already have so much!  It’s pretty silly actually. So I am trying to police that little voice that tells me I’m not good enough unless I have more and better than the next guy.

Because in God’s eyes, I AM good enough…and He is the only one who matters.

Anywhoo…back to the updates.

Clayton is officially a freshman in high school.

HuH?

What?!

Where did that come from?!?!

Yep…that’s right.

He brought home his schedule for next year and I nearly cried.

Time seems to have flown with that kid.

I so wish I had paid more attention to him when he was little…I sure miss the little Clayton.

But the big one isn’t too bad either:

He is thinking about joining the Air Force or the Navy…and I couldn’t be more proud of that decision.

Or more weirded out by his facial hair.

I just cannot believe he will be in high school next year.

Somebody hold me!

M’Kayla (speaking of kids growing up too fast) will be a 4th grader next year.

Do you hear me people? 4th grade!

She is such a funny, bossy, ambitous, loving, loud, beautiful girl.

Even though I sometimes want to wring her neck (like when she rolls her eyes and says “WHATEVER!” and stomps off) I am terribly proud of her.

She, of course, got straight “A’s” on her report card and is reading at a level 40+.  She is a smartie…and I so hope she continues to excell in her studies.

And in wearing funky hats:

She has also taken a liking to doing dishes…I have always known she was my favorite child. (KIDDING)

She says she wants to do the dishes every day.  Oh my how I love this child!

Speaking of children I love…Rick is officially a 1st grader.

wow.

My baby in first grade!

He did awesome in school this year.

far and beyond above level in every subject.

Reading at a level 20+

To say we are proud is an understatement.

He is currently riding a bike without training wheels.

Well, most of the time. He has taken a few spills but he is determined!

I just can’t believe how quickly this school year has gone by.

Wow.

As for Brian and I, well..we are fat and sassy as usual..but hopefully not for long.

Brian had a little bout with some high blood pressure and so we are currently on the south beach diet.

Well..he is.

I am failing miserably.

I have discovered that I have food issues.

(imaging that!)

I’m really trying to work through them…so prayer would be appreciated.

I truly understand the feeling when people say they feel trapped in their bodies.

I wish I could just not eat..that would solve it.

Kind of like when I quit smoking..I just quit doing it!

Unfortunately, I have to eat.

So I struggle.

But in my struggle I have discovered that I like Hummus.

And that my kids adore grilled asparagus.

So there are some up sides to it.

I just wish I had someone who would make my meals, portion them out and serve them to me….that would help a ton.

Oh, and closing every fast food establishment within 100 miles would help too.

And have you noticed that nearly EVERYTHING has carbs in it???!!!

The first two weeks of this diet is “no carbs”

yeah right.

I wouldn’t be surprised if water had carbs in it.

Can’t even have a stinkin’ banana!!!

Oh well…if it gets me healthy and helps my hubby…I’m all for it.

I will continue with my struggle.

And maybe seek counseling.

I just don’t understand the need to constantly sabotage myself.

Like last night..took the dogs for a nice, brisk walk.

Then I came home and made a pan of brownies and ate three.

WHY DO I DO THAT?

Makes no sense.  None at all.

Oh well..this is my battle and I must continue to fight it.

For now, I must go pay my cell bill.

And my phone bill.

And Clayton’s braces bill.

And I am sure there are other bills I am forgetting.

And I must go to Costco and exchange sis’s bathing suit.

Speaking of bathing suits…

I miss Hawaii.

No promises…but I will try to post more often.

Right now I must tend my cartoon crops.

Until next time!