A Weekend To Remember

We certainly made some fond memories over the weekend.  I'm hoping we might have even started a new tradition or two.  Friday night, Yaya and Bird attended their first Father/Daughter dance sponsored by a local church.  They served Tri Tip for dinner and the decorations were so pretty.  There were balloons and sparkling lights everywhere.  As they walked in a D.J. was already playing some fun music.  Yaya wanted to boogie right away but first they had a professional father/daughter photo taken.  It was too cute. According to Bird, after dinner there was lots and lots of dancing. Yaya even stopped a few times to dance with him. LOL  He said the dance floor was full of little girls all having the time of their lives while their fathers by no fault of their own sat on the sidelines watching and waiting for a chance to dance with their special princess. 

While my family was "getting down" my mom and I enjoyed a mother/daughter night at the movies.  We saw Joyful Noise and cried like babies.  Happy tears mind you but tears no less.  Both of us enjoyed the music from movie so much we felt they should have sold the soundtrack as you walked out of the theater.  We would have bought it on the spot.

Saturday morning, Bird, Yaya, my mom and dad headed to the hills to enjoy some time in the snow.  They had a blast sledding and playing together in the snow.  I wanted to go too but I had previously made other arrangements to attend a baby shower.  Thankfully, my mom took pictures of my dad pulling Yaya and her little friend. 

  Last but certainly not least I am excited to talk about Sunday.  A few weeks ago, Groupon offered a fabulous deal.  They offered a 5 hour photography class with Master Photographers David and Ally McKay.  Some of you may remember my New Year's resolution was to live life to the fullest and have no regrets.  Signing up for and more important showing up for this class was a big step for me in living life to the fullest. 

If you aren't familiar with them please be sure to click on the highlighted words/link above.  Once you're on their website be sure to scour their site for their amazing photography and the link "About the Artists".  I am BLOWN AWAY by them and their passion for capturing life!  In addition to attending this class, I signed up for their intermediate class and joined their on-line photography club/resource called Vision Culture.  They created Vision Culture to educate people like me and you on photography skills while also giving to the those in poverty.  David and Ally also share great discounts, photography tips and advice on where to go for your photography needs.  I received my first assignment through Vision Culture today and had fun using the tips they provided to practice using my camera to the max and hopefully one day make my photography dreams come true.  

Below is my first assignment.  We were to practice completely freezing motion while capturing the feeling of the movement. 

This next photo was part two of lesson one.  The goal was to again capture movement while also allowing some of the motion to be seen through blurring at various points of the shot. I think I did this because Yaya's ponytail and feet are slightly blurred.  I also love the fact that I caught her floating on air.  I only wish I had been able to keep Bird in focus too. 

Can you tell I am in HOG HEAVEN just like Yaya and Bird were at the dance Friday night and again Saturday afternoon?

I hope you'll join the Suzanne in the fun over at her weekly post, Monday Moments.

Monday Moments

It's that time again and I am happy to be participating in Suzanne's, Monday Moments again.  We had a wonderful weekend hanging out, no crazy agendas, things to do or racing around.  We just relaxed and enjoyed spending time together. 

Friday, my dad had an extra day off of work so I picked up Yaya from school, grabbed some lunch and off we went to share it with Pappy AND Nana.  What a treat!  Afterwards, we went outside so Yaya could spend some time on her bike.  We're still working on getting her training wheels off.  I'm hoping the bait I dangled will move the process along a little faster.  Her hope is to have a bicycle birthday party this year.  I told her we would only do this birthday theme if she learned how to ride on two wheels.  She already making plans and wants all the kids to bring their bikes with them so they can make a birthday parade.  Anyway, we must practice and get those extra wheels off by July.

She also had fun jumping in a puddle or two in front of their house.  She still remembers jumping in them from years passed.  I love seeing her letting go and just being a kid.

It helps when you have a pappy who may be the biggest kid of all encouraging you to do all sorts of silly and fun things.  I'm amazed at how far she's come since I first started taking her to the park.  She used to have to crawl up the steps just to walk on the equipment now she slides down the fireman's pole, she slides down slides of every size and shape and she can almost swing completely by herself.  She still needs a little help getting started now and then.  If that weren't grown up enough, Friday she decided to try hanging upside down too. 

My BIG BRAVE GIRL!

Sunday night, my parents offered to pick up Chinese and bring it to our house for dinner.  We seem to be on a bit of an Asian, Thai, Indian food kick lately.  DELICIOUS!  As with every meal, Yaya asked if there was anything for desert.  I've been waiting for the perfect moment to have her try Pop Rocks.  I wanted to have my camera handy to capture her facial expressions.  I love it when something simple like candy transforms a treat into an experience.  Too much fun!

Monday Moments III

 My grandparents arrived on Wednesday and my 2nd cousin, Debbie came in Saturday.  As a result, we're being spoiled rotten.  My grandma loves to entertain while she's in town so her holiday cooking and baking is in full swing.  This means I didn't have to cook all weekend!  It was pure heaven I tell you. Oh how I love the holidays!  If only my waistline did too.  

We had a wonderful time catching up.  Yaya fell in love with Debbie as I knew she would.  Debbie is an artist and she's worked for Disney and Universal Studios.  SHE'S AMAZING!  If I recall correctly, early in her career she worked on some of the costumes in the first Star Wars movie.  How cool is that?!  ANYWAY...She and Yaya had fun coloring and playing together letting their imaginations run wild.  I loved watching them.  Seeing them together reminded me a lot of the fun I had creating things with my aunt, Elaine.  I loved spending time with her and watching her create beautiful crafts.  Tender moments! 

Here's the some of the crew.  My grandparents are on the left.  Debbie (my grandmother's niece) and her boyfriend, Bill are on the right.

After they left Sunday, I took a little walk around my mom's garden.  It was so peaceful and serene.  While I was walking a funny thing happened, I heard the familiar buzz from a hummingbird just above my head.  Just as I looked up in search of him he perched directly above my head.   A second later I felt something wet drop onto my face and in my right eye.  I am pretty sure this little fella peed on me.  Now there's a fine how do you do!  Since he had my FULL attention, I decided to try and snap some pictures of him from a safer distance. There was something magical about the way he fluffed his chest feathers.  I know he was just trying to keep himself warm but in doing so he made me feel warm too. 

Once again, I've joined Suzanne, author of Privet and Holly for her Monday Moments post.  I hope you'll check out her blog and link up to share some of your favorite weekend memories with us.  The photos and sentiments she shares are always so beautiful and inspiring!

Monday Moments- Under the Weather Together

It’s time again for Monday Moments around the virtual water cooler.  I hope you’ll link up with us over at Suzanne’s Blog, Privet and Holly.  She started Monday Moments as a time of reflecting over special moments together just last week and I love it!

I have to say, this past week we’ve just really enjoyed being together again.  Having Bird away on business last week reminded us how much we love and enjoy one another.  In addition, Bird and Yaya caught my chest cold so the three of us were under the weather.  We took full advantage of being sick and I might even dare to say our colds were an added blessing.  The weather turned a bit colder plus, we had a little rain so we had plenty of reasons to hang out and stay warm in our home. 

One night, I tossed together some homemade chicken noodle soup.  We drank hot chocolate and tea together.  We even played some board games.  Bird taught Yaya to play Blockus and the three of us had fun cheering each other on. (Well, maybe not Bird and I.  We do after all hate to lose to one another at any game.)  I have to brag, I played my best game ever and I got down to only two tiles.  If you haven't played Blockus before the goal is to get the most pieces on the board to win.

I love it when Yaya climbs in my lap and snuggles.  Saturday, was a morning I won't soon forget.  When she climbed into my lap she whispered, "I love you momma" with mischief twinkling in her eyes.  Then, she pulled the blanket over our heads and she started whispering and creating wonderful characters and stories for us to play out while hiding from daddy.  Who doesn't love playing under the covers?  I've always thought of it as a magical place where imaginations can run wild and squeals of laughter rule.

We had fun getting fancied up one afternoon to surprise daddy.  When he came home he told us we looked so pretty he had to take our picture.

While walking outside, I noticed this tiny plant in our front yard. I have no idea what it is but the way the raindrops glistened on it it reminded me of a giant snowflake.  I've been watching the world change color outside my windows this week.  Each day as I sit across from my family at our kitchen table I see a world of color surrounding them.  I only wish they were in the middle photo to give you the full effect.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to run across the street to capture their beauty up close but I'm glad I did before it was too late.  

How about you?  What did you and your family last week or weekend?

A little of this and a little of that...

  Though it be a little late, I'm joining Suzanne from Privet and Holly in her post from a new series she's starting called

Monday Moments is a time to recap the weekend prior around a "virtual" water cooler.  To play along this week or perhaps next week simply click on the Monday Moments link above and add your post to her link.  I think you'll fall in love with her and some of her other readers as I have. 

Life around here has been pretty busy as of late.  I am happy to tell you Bird was recently accepted into the RIT Executive On-Line Master's Program.  Last week, he flew to New York to meet his professors and classmates before they begin their 2 year on-line journey together.  I am very proud of him for continuing his education by pursuing his second Master's degree, this time an MBA.  This program is going to bring many changes to his life and ours and I'm excited to see the outcome.  We are thankful most of the financial expenses will be covered by the GI Bill he earned while serving as an officer in the United States Air Force.  At the end of this two year master's program the students are given the opportunity to travel to Europe or Asia for a week.  While in the designated country, the students will work with an international company to help them create a new business plan for their final project.  What an amazing experience and way to finish a hard earned degree!

I have been working hard making my photography cards and stepped out into the "real world" last weekend at a craft fair.  I wish I could say it was a huge success but I can't.  The good news is it had nothing to do with my cards.  It was the event's first year and it was not well advertised as far as anyone could tell.  Mom and I counted 19 vendors and maybe 10 customers came all night.  I sold 8 of my cards which isn't bad odds if you think about it but the cost of the booth/space was much greater than the few dollars I earned.  I learned a good lesson and in the future I will ask more questions before signing up for events like these. 

That said, the weekend wasn't a complete bust.  My mom and I hosted a JBF or Just Between Friends holiday open house in her home on Saturday.  I invited several moms who make and/or sell products to be vendors.  Those vendors included Tupperware, Mary Kay, Blossoms & Bows, Paper crafts and my photo cards.  Each vendor was asked to invite at least 10 friends/customers to come to the event.  In doing so we help create new clients for one another.  The open house was held for 31/2 hours and we all felt like it was a big success! I was blessed to sell almost 200 of my photo cards so I was thrilled!  Even better news is one of our friends/customers is planning one in her home in early December.  YEAH! 

In other news, I wanted to give you all an update on our little Yaya.  Back in September, I asked for prayers on her behalf in adjusting to her new school.  She has done very well and has settled in nicely.  The transition wasn't much fun at first but she is thriving in her new environment just as we hoped she would.  Now if we can find ways to help her be more successful during times of school/class transition in the future we'll be really pleased.  Any suggestions you have would be great! 

In addition, some of the moms from her class have joined together and formed a prayer group every other Thursday morning.  What an amazing blessing!  Finding and getting to know the other parents/families in her class who believe in God and pray as we do has brought such a peace to our hearts.  It's cool too because we found our kids love hearing we are getting together to pray for them and their time together at school.

Last but certainly not least, I feel like it's time to share an update on the adoption front.  We are still patiently waiting to be chosen.  I'm sure you'll understand when I admit some days and weeks are easier than others.  As our two year anniversary of waiting quickly approaches our anxiety grows.  Yaya still talks about waiting for her baby sister, "Sally" to come but has added a new name to the mix.  She has decided she also loves the name "Isabella" for a baby sister.  We continue to remind her the baby could be a boy not a girl and encourage her to think of some boy names too.  So far the name she came up with for a boy was, "Blue, because blue is a boy's color."  Um, OK?  We'll see about that...  Another thing we've explained to her is the baby may already have a name given to him or her by their birthparents like hers was.  She loved hearing the names we had chosen for her and why we liked them but she joyfully admitted she likes the name her mommy, Terra gave her much more and we do too.  It's perfect for her.

We're told two expectant families are currently looking at our adoption profile and are due in January.  Will you please help us pray for them and for all the women/couples who are considering adoption as an option for their child(ren)?  Thank you.