Photo Scavenger Hunt.

I love my little kids and my having them to photograph.:) It is difficult to wait for pizza to be done on a cold day around dinner time. I love the Autumn leaves on a tree near a bridge we pass by quickly as we zoom around our town, and the these two sisters can't help but hug and talk up close about cute, silly observations. Joseph did a great Job setting the table including seat assignment cards for each of us. Just like a school, one card had a sticker on the back which indicated we won a prize! I got amazing smelling lotion and soap from being the winning person.:) We also love our car rides, it could have been used for waiting too, these three were hanging out after visiting the snow on a day off from school. I'm glad I captured this week these cool moments.
1.Waiting

2.Foilage

3.Candid

4. Fork, Spoon, Knife

5. Law of Thirds

A new day, a new challenge.:) I decided to try out this scavenger hunt, seems fun! Anything to take more pictures with my new toy.:)

Holiday Weekend

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. Rah Rah made some wonderful baked goods and side dishes, the turkey was moist( I guess buying it from grocery outlet was a good idea) and the pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce were some of the favored tastes. We relaxed a lot after the work of preparing for the day. Spence took a nap on Thanksgiving and the day, it was nice. I went to Kohl's at 4am for black Friday shopping. There was barely anyone there. Apparently, I had missed the rush since midnight, which I was happy about.

Now, I am in full fledge Christmas mode. We put up our tree today and other decorations. I couldn't find our tree ornaments for quite some time. We had Emmy go up on the rafters in the garage to look for them and we went through all the storage bins to no avail. Then, I remembered we probably moved them to the shed, the only problem was all the Christmas gifts I bought on black Friday were in the shed, so I wrapped them.

Yep, I am feeling more ready for Christmas than ever and its November, hehe. Our first Christmas party is this Saturday and the weather outside is starting to show signs of winter. I am grateful to have found all our decorations. I forget how much nostalgia we feel about the traditions we have and decorations we expect each year. I am ready for a rest after all this cleaning, organizing, and decorating, then I will be ready to spread the Christmas spirit around all through December.:)

Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge Finale

To me autumn is a time of being cozy and enjoying the indoor decorations, growing up in my house it was all about the decorations;), and soaking up the gorgeous colors of the outdoors. Here is my representation of indoor autumn and outdoor color! These indoor pictures were taken at my moms house and the outdoor are around where I live in Sacramento, California. I love feeling thankful for all the aspects of my life. I love being a mother and sharing with my sweet Spencer about life such as snow! He shows me about understanding and patience and love. This photo challenge has been a good diversion from unpleasant situations with Spencer's schooling. I come out of this November feeling blessed and focused on the positive!

Day Trip with The Kiddos

I love waterfalls and we had a day with all the kiddos home, so we journeyed to see if we could find and walk into Bassi falls. It was closed, due to snow! We had a great time playing in the snow and enjoying ourselves. We saw Bridal veil falls on the road on the way back, but we will have to try again to see that fall in the spring!

Preferred activity-being with friends

Emmy had a few friends over for her birthday. She had friends from church(Kimberly, Emily, Sabrina, and Paige) and is going to have more friends over tomorrow from school. I thought it was big of her to have separate parties as to have time to spend with smaller groups so no one felt left out with having Emmy as their only mutual friend. We had Emmy's best friend Kaitlyn over yesterday. We went to In n out and the park and then the girls played in Emmy's room for several hours. I love how they were nice to Celia and how happy they were. It is great to value spending time with friends as true happiness. I think being a good friend is a very important attribute that Emmy has. I love how happy she looks in these pictures. I felt like a good mom helping Emmy take time for friends since its pretty busy around here.:)

Giving Thanks For the Everyday

Emmy told me I may need to make a photography blog. I think she is missing all the pictures of her I usually post. She takes them and uses them on facebook, I've noticed. No, I'm not turning my blog into a photography site. I am just excited to photograph everything!

I am also thankful for so many things, I think it is appropriate to post my list of things I am grateful for in November 2011

I am so thankful for; Smiles especially from my happy and healthy little ones. Also, Agency.. I love being able to do what I want and choose what I think is best for myself and family. Another would be Routines. It nice to know what is coming next, gives you something to look forward to. I love the Gym each week, Jamba Juice, Date Night, Tutoring, Parent Trainings, and Church. Quotes would be next. I love to grab a scripture or quote for the week and ponder on its meaning and bring it to life in my life. I got Emmy the "Way to Be" book by President Gordon B. Hinkley. I hope she reads it and has those thoughts help her daily life. I am teaching a lesson this week about the Prophet Howard W. Hunter. I love this quote from him " Kindness is better than coercion." It is a good reminder for me in parenting and working with those that try to teach my children. I value Quiet Time it is conducive to peaceful thoughts and reflection. I missed the hum of my family when I went away on my own last weekend. It is good to have both the bustle of the family I love, and the times to think, ponder, pray, and dream. I am happy to be finding peace and happiness in this tumultuous, but great time in the history of the world. I am always thankful for my wonderful husband and my fabulous kiddos. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family.~