3 dogs...

Me: "Eli, what do you want for Christmas?"

Eli: "Three dogs."

Me: "Um, that's a lot of dogs. What would you name them?"

Eli: "Green"

Me: Hmmm, that is his favorite color. "What about the other dogs? What would their name be?"

Eli: "Pink"

Me: I might be seeing a trend. Pink is Mack's favorite color. "What about the last dog?"

Eli: "Red."

Me: Here I thought he would choose yellow, which is Schuyler's favorite color. Sorry Schuyler, guess he's going with Dad's favorite color. Wouldn't those be interesting dog names. I can just hear it now, "Come Green, Pink, and Red. Oh, and Sadie." It's a good thing the Lincoln city dog limit is 3!

Mack is officially racing around on her bike without her training wheels!! I have NEVER seen a girl so hard on herself. I think she thought she would take them off, get on her bike and go! When we started, she would get frustrated with everything. From the leaves and acorns on the sidewalk to any other pedestrian with whom she had to share rights of the sidewalk with, but specifically her brother and sister. She would play the blame game. "Mom, you're helping too much. Now you're not helping enough." After this little episode I told her I would help if she could be nice otherwise I was walking away and the choice was hers. Let's just say I didn't help and actually, I think we were both better off. She still had moments of frustration and a melt down or two but she did it herself. Go Mackie, go! Next task, learning to turn around in drive ways = )

You are probably expecting pictures of the kids. Sorry folks. I have another landscape. I shouldn't tell you this but I took it from a moving car!! Even though I would have composed it differently given the opportunity, I still like the image.

a traditional Halloween

As far as costumes are concerned. Here is our spooky spider, witchy witch and crazy cat. The spider has detested costumes since his first Halloween! Loves it until it's actually time to put it on!! Our witch LOVES Halloween and couldn't sleep the night before because she was so anxious. I can't imagine what Christmas will be like! Our cat was a bit under the weather and ran a low grade fever but that didn't keep her down. Well, really nothing keeps her down. She's kind of like an energizer bunny. These were taken BEFORE we painted faces!!

spider...


witch...


cat (with spider peaking)...


Eli has developed an obsession with Kung Fu Panda! I'm wondering when his love affair will end? He's done this with other movies... Shrek, then Lion King, now Kung Fu Panda. Time for a new one = )

Mark and I attempted and a photo shoot for our xmas card. As if it wasn't challenging enough, I thought it would be a good idea to take Sadie along, too! Hmm, must have had some crazy juice for lunch or something!! I *think* (ie crossing my fingers) we got 1 with all 3 kids and maybe one with the dog, too. I know I got a great image of Mack and Eli. As much as I'm dying to share, you might not get to see until the xmas card is done. In typical fashion, there is always some drama when we attempt a photo shoot. As we are packing up the van, Eli slams Mack's fingers in the door. Instantaneously, there is high pitched screaming and tears flowing down her face. It's already swollen and black and blue. We race home (thankfully we weren't far)! Mack is still screaming and crying and we sit her down on daddy's lap with 2 ice packs. (We figure we better double up.) She calms down with the assistance of some fruit snacks. It is still swollen and black and blue but much better than we initially feared. Hopefully, I have not scarred her for life and she will eventually do another photo shoot = )

how spectacular

How spectacular is this?! This is what I witnessed on Sunday evening, along with several other beautiful scenes. See, I had some time to myself traveling back from a photoshoot. On the way there, my mind was racing, making mental do lists and reminders and flipping through the stations. It wasn't until the way home that I let my mind rest and take notice of my surroundings. The natural beauty that God has created that I don't take notice of often enough. The way the sun illuminated the cornfields, the sky filled with beautiful white clouds, the red barn sitting in the middle of the lush green grash, and SO many other things. Had I not needed to pick up Mack from a bday party, I would have made several stops and attempted to capture some of God's beauty. I was fortunate enough to capture this sunset. I have looked at it several times as a reminder to myself to laydown my heavy burden I have put on myself. It is not God who puts it there but me. I fulfill a million roles a day... photographer, care giver, mother, wife, friend, teacher, etc... but rarely do I fulfill the one role I need to, which is child of God. I'm to busy making it from day to day, hour to hour and sometimes minute to minute. In the past 3 days I have vowed to spend more time with Him. Even if short periods. I'm laying my burdens at his feet, waving my white flag and asking for help. It's hard for me not pick it all up b/c I like the control. But really, even when I think I'm in control, I'm not.