358/365 Today's Favorite

358/365 Today's Favorite

I love this photo.

It is SOOC and I think the light is just so fabulous. The Rhino wants so desperately to still fit in this costume, it's just not happening. 

Look at his sweet belly pooching out. My goodness I love this child.

Now about the nose and glasses. Who knew that a trip by grandpa to the Dollar store would yield the favorite Christmas Presents ever. If I had only known......

357/365 The Real Deal

357/365 The Real Deal

I thought this photo was so serious, really she was just waiting for me to get things ready. 

Loads of patience this one for sure.

Then the reality of what she is really likes appears.

I love her so much. 

The other reality is that she has 2 brothers and that's where this comes from.

Heavens knows I turned out ok and I have 2 brothers. 

Good Luck Little Mama. 

356/365 High High Heels

356/365 High High Heels

Well really they are about an inch high but for her they were like jumping over the moon. I mean it has been like floating on a cloud after she got these, I wonder what kind of high it will be when she gets her first real pair of high heels. One drawback she noted immediately was that they don't click when she walks, but she says she can live with that. 

They are magical and sparkly and I never want to forget how much she loves them and how much I loved my first pair of heels !!!

On a more serious note, in this season of such abundance and over indulgence we had the opportunity to spend the morning this morning with some who aren't in the same fortunate spot that we are. I was thrilled when our church sent out an email about an opportunity that would include the kids. Instead of having services this sunday they decided that we would worship with a place called The Open Door Mission and the kids would be included. It's a place on the east side of town that helps men recover when they find themselves down and out for any number of reasons. We ended up eating a meal with Jeff, Wade and a smooth dresser in a gold suit who's name I didn't get. These men have all been in the program for over a year and are currently looking for work, some have relapsed and others can't find work because they have criminal records or no transportation. At one point Wade says to us he has a story to tell us, it was interesting to say the least. One of the many things that struck me was that these men who at first I thought we so tough, they have been through so much and survived, really looked like delicate old men. Some how they have survived things that any regular person wouldn't have and here they are in a Christ based program believing there is a reason they should be here. I pray that belief, that God loves them and has a plan for them, will help them to get their lives back. It was a blessed day for me and my family !!! 

355/365 Biggest Countdown Ever !!!

355/365 Biggest Countdown Ever !!!

I can't believe I'm 10 away from a whole year of photos. I plan on taking a break, I'm not sure how long but am very excited. Recently, since I haven't been blogging constantly, I feel the old blog life coming back. Very exciting.

Little Mama got to open her first Christmas present tonight, it was these story cubes. 

I think this could be such a great thing in our house and I'm so looking forward to using them on a regular basis. The story from this roll is below :

Once upon a time there were 2 beetles in a tree. They found an apple. The apple was on fire so they called 911. 911 didn't answer. The questions was what to do. They looked at the time, it was 12 noon. It was story time. When they finished the book they wanted to go out to lunch but they didn't know which way to go so they pulled out heir iphones and looked up the directions. 

353 & 354 Merry Christmas

353 & 354 Merry Christmas

The time has flown by this year. I can't believe Santa is coming tonight.

Better get to bed after a few photos, the best of tonight's isn't mine, thanks Oma.

This is Regan aka "Dammit Dog" . That's what my Mother In Law told me.

She is a lovely Catahoula I think.

Very sweet girl.

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this picture taken by my MIL was poor Santa does he have a clue what he has gotten himself into. My next thought was is this something that you put in the naughty column ?  My final thought was thank heavens I wasn't there when this happened !

Merry Christmas !!!

352/365 Sad Day

352/365 Sad Day

Not to be a downer but it has been kind of a sad day.

349&350/365 The Nutcracker

349&350/365 The Nutcracker

I took Little Mama to see The Nutcracker. It was really sweet for us to get to do this together.

I hadn't taken her for a couple of years because I always consider it my most expensive nap EVER !

I slept through the 1st half this year but was actually really interested in the 2nd half. 

I do wonder if it is the same every year. I mean do they change the scene backdrops? I think these were the same sets as last time I took the kids.

We did get a chance to meet the mouse and one of the little nutcrackers.

I think she really didn't want to have her picture taken with these guys, but I made her anyway.

The Nutcracker was so friendly, it was very interesting.

350

The most beautiful Poinsettia ever !!!

A photo with my macro lens.

Merry Christmas !!!

348/365 Christmas Pagent

348/365 Christmas Pagent

Our church had the Christmas pagent today.

We were the lucky parents of King Harod:

To me he kind of looks like the Prince in the old version of Robin Hood.

I think it's almost uncanny !!!

We also had a sheep.

Next year he will be a cow.

This year he did really well and behaved beautifully.

Sorry but by far the cutest sheep ever.

 And then there is the star bearer.

Where would we be without this part of the equation?

She eats this up, I'm getting her into drama asap!

We had such a great time at this pagent. The music is great and the kids are amazing.

There are people who work so hard to make this happen and I am so grateful for them.

Merry Christmas !!

344-347/365 Catching Up Again

344-347/365 Catching Up Again

344

We are the most privileged people ever. Our Christmas tree happens to grow chocolate.

It's true, as a kid my tree sprouted chocolate and now my trees do.

Every year the monkeys look for a tree with a special tag, this year I took a photo of the tag so we could remember which trees actually sprout chocolates.

Here's the proof.

We had a visit this week from kind of we will call her Aunt Maude. 

I think Little Mama really enjoyed playing Jax with her.

It was great to see her after 12 years and I'm so glad she decided to come !!!

The trees are almost finished shedding their leaves, I can't wait.

This tree is across the street, I get to look at it several times a day, aren't I lucky !!!

The monkeys decided to climb the tree when I made them come across the street with me to take some photos. Not a hard tree to climb, I hope the neighbor didn't mind.

This little monkey wasn't to sure about the climb.

Merry Christmas !!!

343/365 Grandpa Laughing

343/365 Grandpa Laughing 

Well really I call him dad and this is exactly what he looks like when he laughs really hard. 

I rarely get he oportunity to take his photo when he is hysterical, or maybe when I'm being hysterical.

So much fun.

All it takes is my 38 year old big butt showing him the "stinkbug" move and he starts laughing. If he was a woman who'd had babies I'm sure he would have wet himself !!!

342/365 I'm Late I'm Late

342/365 I'm Late I'm Late

For a very important date, which is keeping up with the 365. I'm almost finished and I'm slacking in such a big way. I WILL FINISH THIS PROJECT.

Do these look like Alice's shoes? They could be but they were the Mad Hatters instead .

I have taken my photos daily I just haven't had time to edit and post, but I'm on it today. 

As soon as I get some Christmas shopping done !!!

340-341/365 Santa

340-341/365 Santa

So every year since The Rhino was born I buy picture ornaments and put the kids pictures in them.

There are quite a few and I like to see how they have grown so I put them on the wall instead of on the tree. Plus there are so many ornaments that our tree would get lost in them.

I let the kids play hookie from school today and we went to see Santa. 

They do so well waiting in line patiently and then telling Santa what they want.

Little Man wants a very small Christmas tree with a flat star and an alphabet block on it. 

No really he came up with that and I thought it was so great, I'm not sure he gets the whole Santa brings you presents yet and frankly that's fine by me !!!

339/365 From The Archives

339/365 From The Archives

So things are so busy I feel like my head is spinning and about to spin all the way off. 

Yikes anyway I decided to pull one from the archives. This is from February this year.

Yes no shoes at the park in February.

Oh those were fun times, they seemed so care free, no homework not a care in the world. 

338/365 Sunrise Yes I said Sunrise !!!

338/365 Sunrise Yes I said Sunrise !!!

So I have been going to a 5:30 AM Pilates class, they should call it a "roll around on my big butt while trying to do what the skinny strong people can do and not pass out class" but instead they like Pilates. I guess I'll have to live with that, I really like it. I always feel stronger and like my CORE has been strengthened, of course I also always feel like my guts have been ripped out and my legs are truly like Jello. I will survive......and I will keep going .

These are some shots I took on my way home just as the sun was coming up. Usually steam or fog is coming up off the tracks but today it was the most spectacular sunrise. One day I'm going to take my camera on a photo excursion after class. 

These are before and after, I edited them.

337/365 Exciting !!!

337/365 Exciting !!!

So things feel very busy just now(I will call you G). I'm slightly overwhelmed as usual. I haven't even started Christmas shopping and if Target today was an indication of what I'm in for I think I will just park my butt in front of the computer and shop from here.

Speaking of Target, today when I was there I acted out a little.

Really I made myself laugh hysterically, I know they thought I had a screw loose. So here's what happened. I had to make a pit stop in the ladies room, not unusual for me, only because I've had 3 kids and things just aren't like they used to be. Anyway, so when I walk in I hear someone talking, it just so happens they were talking on the phone while in the stall, I used my ultra sleuthy skills to figure this out. Well I'm sorry but that's just not ok with me, it really struck me as super yuck. I mean don't get me wrong there are plenty of times I've talked on the phone when I shouldn't have been and I'm pretty sure the person on the other end could hear the echo and just didn't want to bring it to light, but never in a PUBLIC restroom. Weird, odd, gross, whatever you want to call it.

It also just so happens that this Target has those super blowers that sound like an airplane engine going off. So in my fit of retaliation for such behavior I decided to turn that bad boy on and use it !!! It's one of those that gets super duper loud if you stick your hands underneath it. WOW what a party I had, then I looked crazy laughing by myself when I walked out of the Ladies room. Oh well, I don't think anyone I know saw me.

So the EXCITING title comes because I received this beautiful card in the mail today :

The color doesn't do it justice but I'm to tired to worry about that.

The top photo and the one on the bottom right are 2 that I took. I was so pleased and excited, I'm not sure why, maybe it's because this is the first time I've seen my photos out and about, and to think how many people will see them, wow.

Anyway thanks to the proud parents for sharing this little one with me, it's meant the world. 

336/365 Decorating

336/365 Decorating

That's what we have been trying to do this weekend. I let the kids help Rob in the front yard with the lights, aren't I nice to lend him all my helpers!

Here is a series of little man doing his best to occupy the ladder while dad does something other than hang the lights.

335/365 Beautiful Day !

335/365 Beautiful Day !

It has been almost perfect weather. I saw this while I was pumping gas today, it reminds me to look around me and actually notice things. 

I feel a little overwhelmed with all the details just now. The more stuff there is to do the more I feel like I'm constantly putting fires out. I'm trying desperately to be organized but really it's difficult. I think if I give all our stuff away maybe then I will be able to get things in order. It's not working now I'm just unorganized with only a little stuff. Oh well.

Oh I haven't even started thinking about Christmas yet !

334/365 OH MY !!!

334/365 OH MY !!! 

I'm sure that most of you people(all 3) that read this won't understand but maybe I can relate my excitement in some way. While cruising the blogosphere tonight I found this free action called PaperMama Brighten Me. Did I mention it was free ;) I found it at Paper Heart Camera which I think is an offshoot of The Paper Mama, I'll have to investigate further. Anyway today is Touch Up Tuesday and I'm playing. The reality is that I am beyond thrilled, I am so happy I feel like I taking a warm bath filled with soft marshmallows which are really bubbles but they smell like toasted marshmallows. 

For me I'm not sure it gets much happier unless maybe, well never mind.

Here is the SOOC shot :

and here is the touched up shot.

The reality is I ran the Paper Mama brighten up action on exposure and set the whole thing to 50%.

Simple easy quick, I'M LOVING IT !!!

I would like to thank the people who made the free action, so go visit them at Paper Heart Camera, they seem like alot of fun.

333/365 The Crazies

333/365 The Crazies

I had to keep some of the crazy cousins the other day, luckily this wakos mom was with me so I wasn't afraid.  It was actually fairly calm and manageable. I won't be volunteering again soon but every once in a while it seems like a good idea. Nothing like a little dress up fun, even if you are an old man . 

328-332/365 Scavenger Hunt Sunday

328-332/365 Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's that time again this week already, for 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday over at Ramblings and Photos.

This week I looked through the photos that I had taken and found ones that fit in the category.

I love trying to make these words fit in with my pictures, but I also love coming up with a picture

to match a word. Check out other great entries over at Ramblings and Photos.

So here they are :

Black & White

I Ate That

Yes it was a pumpkin chocolate chip cheesecake and so very scrummy!

I'm really a cheesecake purist but this thing was good.

Historic

The Texas State Capitol building.

So sad but the first time I ever remember visiting it even though I lived in the area.

It was a beautiful place.

Off Center

At first I was just going to take a self portrait but then I came upon this photo.

I also realized how often I center my subjects, I need to practice and shake things up. 

Maybe more like this.

 The End

Self explanatory?

327/365 Happy Thanksgiving !!!

327/365 Happy Thanksgiving

Catching Up

Catching Up

I'm trying to catch up on a few(9or10) posts that I should have already posted.

I have about 36 days left in my 365 project and I'm not sure whether to be thrilled beyond belief or disappointed that I didn't stick so strictly to the rules. I know that Rob is absolutely shocked I have stuck it out his long and I thank him for his support. 

So here goes a few pictures, I'm still working on y & z, I know what I want to do I just haven;t made it a priority to sit down and do it.

319/365

 Still at the park, been there several days, I'm thinking about spending Thanksgiving there, by myself.

320/365 

Another photo waiting for carpool.

I love this angle of her.

321/365

Family dinner at the park, again.

Stinky feet.

322/365

5 out of 8, not bad.

323/365

All happy but 1 really !!!

324/365

Star gazing.

I took these at night, they were probably a few second exposure.

Rob tried to remain still but he's a wiggly kind of guy.

325/365

326/365

And this looked so ominous, kind of scary.