January 3, 2010
Hi everyone! Did you think I disappeared off the face of the earth? No? Well, can’t say I’m surprised. I know the only people who actually read this blog are a few close friends and family. You’re all my friends on Facebook, so you’ve been kept fairly up to date. 
I’m not real big on New Year’s resolutions, but I would like to blog more consistently this year, even if only for myself. Facebook updates are quick and easy, but not quite the same as blogging, you know?
So, how to keep myself being more consistent? I’ve noticed that for me, photography and blogging seem to fall in the same category. Creative outlets that help preserve memories. I always seem to get distracted by life and forget to pick up my camera. (Take my parents recent visit, almost no photographic evidence.) I also seem to get stumped as to where to start when I sit down to blog. I’ve noticed that having a photo seems to inspire my blogging. So, I’ve decided to follow in my friend Amy’s footsteps and take up a Year in Pictures Project. I really hope I can stick it out, and I hope my pictures will be fun, beautiful and full of memories. hopefully I can grow as a photographer and a blogger!
I know I didn’t start right at the beginning of the year, but hey, we’re only three days in, right? Here is my picture for today. Christmas break is over and today was all about squeezing in every last bit of relaxing we could before school starts again tomorrow. I am so not ready for that!
February 9, 2009
At the end of January we traveled down to California. More about this in a little bit. While we were there I stopped by Forest Lawn where Christoph’s grandparents are buried. It was an unplanned trip, but we were in the neighborhood and I felt compelled to stop. I mean, we aren’t in that area very often and it seemed wrong to pass up the opportunity. Of course, explaining what I was doing to the kids was a little mre complicated.
I mean, what do you say…This person who was related to you, but you have no memory of, is dead and buried here and we’re stopping by to visit? I mean the whole concept of visiting a graveside is a little strange. Especially for a Christian who knows that it’s just the person’s body and they’re no where around. So, that got me thinking, why did I feel the desire to stop at all? 
I think the reason is because I know how much she meant to Christoph. She played a huge part in making him who he is and I know he misses her. She was kind to me and I know she would have loved to meet her great-grandkids and hold them and spoil them. So, we stopped. We left some pink roses because pink was her favorite color. It was nice to sit on the hillside for a minute, look out over the city and tell my kids a little about their great-grandmother and what a neat lady she was. Nana, you are not forgotten.
January 1, 2009
I was hoping to take a picture of Emily singing in the Christmas Eve program at our church, but we weren’t supposed to use flash and I didn’t get any good ones. She did a wonderful job singing her little heart out. This was one f the most hectic Christmas Eves I can remember. Usually we stay home a spend lots of time with family, but Emily REALLY wanted to participate in the Christmas Eve service, so we worked it in. Somehow there were a hundred little things to get done during the day. In the evening my in-laws came over and sung carols together while I made dinner. It wasn’t quite the traditional Italian feast I grew up eating, but it was still Italian. Then we dashed out the door for church, enjoyed the service and came back to our house for dessert.
We have a Christmas Eve tradition of opening one present before bed. I loved this tradition when I was a kid, so I’ve carried it on with my own kids. the presents from mom and dad aren’t under the tree until Christmas morning, but there a still ones from kind friends and relatives to choose from. It gives a little foretaste of the next day’s delights. I love this picture of Emily. You can see the anticipation and excitement filling her eyes.
December 23, 2008
I can’t believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve! This month has sped by. Today we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law who is visiting from Indiana. She is due in February. It will be my first niece/nephew! (they’re keeping it a secret) It wasn’t a big party just my Mother-in-law, two sister-in-laws, and me. We went to a local tea room and had lots of tiny, pretty, yummy food. It was fun!
Today I feel like I really didn’t do much of anything. Somehow, the day after I work always seems to pass in a fog of tiredness and lack of focus. Despite feeling unproductive, at the end of the day it was nice to sit on the couch with my honey and put my feet up. Doesn’t get much better then that.
I had to work today. Today was also the birthday of my good friend’s second little boy. I was so excited and happy to hear that everything went well for her and that her baby is healthy and doing great. It somehow seemed appropriate to go to work and care for other people’s babies, since I couldn’t go visit her in far away Cali. I was hoping that as I cared for babies here in Oregon, some other kind nurse was taking good care of her and her little one. Congratulations Heather!
December 20, 2008
We have a full house. Family is here for the holidays, which leads to much chaos. Happy chaos at times, but still. Today I played Trivial Pursuit while baking cookies and cleaning the kitchen simultaneously. Moms are the queens of multitasking. Now another game is in full swing, but since I was putting the kids to bed, I had to sit this one out. It gave me a chance to catch up on my daily photos. =)
Today we decorated our Gingerbread house. The girls have been chomping at the bit to get it done, but we’ve been too busy until now. I think they had fun choosing which candies went where. Of course there was plenty of sampling. =) Usually we get our gingerbread house kit at Costco, but this year I decided to try the smaller and more local one available at the grocery store. I must say I like the Costco one better. The frosting that came with this one just wasn’t thick enough, the candies kept sliding off. I seriously can’t believe that Christmas is in six days. I felt a bit like we weren’t going to get around to very many of our traditions, but we seem to be keeping most of them firmly in place.
December 14, 2008
It snowed today! This morning there was a thin layer over everything. The snow was still coming down, but not sticking very much. The girls, needless to say, were pretty excited. On the way to church Katrina looked at me with shining eyes and said, “It’s Christmas time, Mommy.” That just about sums it up. All the snow had melted by this afternoon and everything was just wet. Then at about 6:00pm it started snowing again, and snowing and snowing! For us, this is a lot of snow. I’m fairly certain school will be canceled tomorrow!
We usually get snow for a couple of days each year. It’s just about the right amount for me. Enough to be fun, but not enough to be a hassle. Usually, the snow doesn’t come until January, but this year it’s come early. Part of me thinks this is really fun, it makes Christmas seem more Christmassy. The other part of me feels a little stressed out. I’m trying to get ready for our Christmas company (arriving Wed) and having two kids not going to school wil make that more complicated. I also worked an extra day so I could hire someone to help me clean (yea!) and I’m worrying that they are going to cancel on me because of the weather. I know there’s no point in worrying, I’ll just do the best I can, but it still sneaks in every once in a while. Snow is so beautiful, I’ll just have to remind myself to look out the window and know that will make me feel better!
