Thanks to Give

I am thankful for lots of things this year.

• My house...even when the bills are hard to pay. At least I have a roof over my head and a place I can call MINE!!
• My Adam...even when we disagree. We laugh together so much more than we fight and I love every minute I spend with him.
• My kids (and Adam's too)...even when they're talking back or fighting. They're smart and happy and healthy and I love them.
• Our puppy...even when he pees on the floor! He has brought more joy to our lives than I would've thought possible.
• My family...even though we don't always see eye to eye. At least I have family who I know would always be there for me, even when they think I'm wrong.
• My new job...even when it's stressing me out. At least we're BUSY and I know the work's not going to dissapear and leave me jobless!
• My car...even though it's giving me SO much trouble right now, at least I OWN it. Not everyone can say that.
• My photography work...I am thankful for every single person who gives me a chance to capture their family with my camera, and allows me to make it my own vision and art.
• My health...even when I don't take care of myself as well as I should (via healthy eating, exercise, etc.) my body keeps on going. That's a good thing.
• My life...even though it's not perfect, and never will be, but every day I make it the best I can make it and I will NEVER stop trying to build the life for my family that I dream of them having. The mere fact taht I have the opportunity to LIVE and dream is something to be thankful for as far as I'm concerned.

We shouldn't need a special day every year to remind us to be thankful. We should be thankful everyday for all that we have and what we don't have...because it's what we don't have that will allow us to be grateful when we do finally reach those goals.

I LOVE Thanksgiving (who doesn't love TURKEY?) and am looking forward to spending the next couple days with friends and family.

I will return to blogging Monday. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

Until then...~Jenn

TaDA

It's Done!!! It's Done!!! I have completed the FRONT of our Christmas Card. I'm going to put a picture of Adam and I with the pup and hopefully one of all the kids together on the inside, but in the meantime, I am in LOVE with our card front. SO glad the kiddos all cooperated for their pictures. (For what it's worth, THEY love the card too! They're old enough now to realize what I mean when I say they're going to be ON our Christmas card and they're all pretty excited about that!)

Anyway...drumroll please........ladies and gentlemen, I give you:

Luc, Will, Mike and McKenzie...Let There Be Peace On Earth.

YAWWWWWWWWWWWN

What a weekend!

Adam and I had fun with friends this weekend! Saw a movie (Role Models...SO funny, oh my God! I highly reccommend it!)

Had McKenzie on Sunday who had bouts of pouting on and off, but overall we had fun too. :) Got some cute pictures of her for the Christmas card...will be posting those tomorrow.

Mikey was a sick pup last night...poor buddy. He seemed to be feeling better this morning though.

Anyway...just wanted to post a little weekend update. Will have new pics tomorrow for sharing!

Hasta Luego,
-Jenn

3 Down, 1 to Go

They are peace-lovin' boys...makes their momma proud.

Look at them go...

Let It Begin With Me

Obviously I have a couple more kids to photograph before I can finish our Christmas card but this year's theme is "PEACE ON EARTH" and my little men rocked it.

Props to my sweet peas for mastering the art that is "Peace"...

Tis the Season

HOPING (hoping!!) to have new photos to share tomorrow. My sweet man was possibly (probably...**fingers crossed**) hooking my computer back up today (strike one off my to-do list...woot!) and I'm feeling inspired and ready to rock.

I want to photograph my little men...start working on this year's Christmas card. HOPEFULLY I'll have it to show you tomorrow...no promises, but hopefully.

In the meantime, here's our card photo from two years ago (my first Christmas back in Wisconsin!)

MERRY AND BRIGHT!

AND, from Mikey's first Christmas ever...sweet babies.

Anyway...Xmas -09 tomorrow. Until then...

xoxo

~J

Recap.

DONE - Pay the TV bill right after work
Wash a load of towels
Find a permanent home for the computer and re-hook it up.
Work on my website (Yep dude! The website is COMING BACK!)
Process a photography order for uploading.
Upload the two photography orders I have pending.
DONE - Find Luc a suitable pair of pajamas to wear to school tomorrow.
DONE - Do a short and sweet grocery shopping (yeah right!)
DONE - Make Dinner (and of course, take care of the dishes afterwards...ugh.)
Find some way...some how...to organize the boys room.
Vaccuum and Dust (since I didn't find time to do it Sunday...the bad part of To-Do lists is the stuff you miss and it rolls over to the next day...and the next. **Shudder**)
DONE - FOOTBALL PICKS! Woot!
Speaking of football picks...pay for last week and this week. Blech.
ADAM DID THIS ONE! WOOT! Give the dog a bath
Learn to fold origami cranes (Not even joking).
Take pics of the kids for Christmas card. (I've got a theme for this year...I'm excited to CREATE!!!!! Woot!)

So as you can see, I OBVIOUSLY did not accomplish most of my to-do list. Bummer for sure. I DID however get my car fixed (YAY!) and spend some good quality time with the boys, so that's got to count for something, right? Sometimes the vaccuum can wait. :)

If you're bored then you're boring.

I am a self-professed "to-do list-aholic"

I have post-its (LOVE me some post-its!!) and scribbles on the backs of envelopes and mental notes a-plenty! There's just something satisfying about crossing something off my to-do list. (Or in the case of my MS Outlook, clicking "Mark as Complete" on my task list. I LOVE IT!)

Just because sometimes I need to ramble, here's just SOME of my to-do list for today. I won't even include the serious TON of stuff I have to get done at work. That will just depress us all.

• Pay the TV bill right after work
• Wash a load of towels
• Find a permanent home for the computer and re-hook it up.
• Work on my website (Yep dude! The website is COMING BACK!)
• Process a photography order for uploading.
• Upload the two photography orders I have pending.
• Find Luc a suitable pair of pajamas to wear to school tomorrow.
• Do a short and sweet grocery shopping (yeah right!)
• Make Dinner (and of course, take care of the dishes afterwards...ugh.)
• Find some way...some how...to organize the boys room.
• Vaccuum and Dust (since I didn't find time to do it Sunday...the bad part of To-Do lists is the stuff you miss and it rolls over to the next day...and the next. **Shudder**)
• FOOTBALL PICKS! Woot!
• Speaking of football picks...pay for last week and this week. Blech.
• Give the dog a bath
• Learn to fold origami cranes (Not even joking).
• Take pics of the kids for Christmas card. (I've got a theme for this year...I'm excited to CREATE!!!!! Woot!)

Seriously guys...that's just SOME of my list. Tonight I MUST do almost all of that...although of course, some will end up rolling over until tomorrow, where it will be tacked on to the lengthy list of stuff I've got to do that day.

It's never ending...but...I wouldn't have it any other way.

Celebrity Look-Alike

I swear this kid looks JUST LIKE James Franco...anyone else see it??

ANYWAY...this is Nathan, and Nathan is one damn cool kid! I know both of his parents and he is the good things from both all rolled into one fun and funny young man. He immediately took charge of our creative direction, and I decided to just let him...and it worked.

This coat, while too large, was very cool and TOTALLY "him"!

He wanted to include his gf Kim in a few...she was shy, but just as fun! :)


Thanks guys for making this such a fun one!

Life.

Things happen...and people say things...and sometimes, if I'm lucky, I hear them and see it a little better than I otherwise would. Sometimes someone tosses out an innocent statement, and I realize something I hadn't thought of before. Sometimes something happens...not even to me, but something happens to someone I know and I realize the need for something I hadn't come to terms with before.

I'm not living up to my potential...and I can blame life and circumstance all day long, but when it comes down to it, it's me. I have to make life what I want it to be. And I will...starting now. And I know it won't happen overnight or maybe even over the span of a year, but it will happen. I mean that.

Pinky swear.