Game Night

We didn't set out planning the addiction...

As I'm sure anyone will attest who has ever been "addicted"...it's not really a plan...you sort of fall in...

We stumbled across a game back in March of this year and I must admit, although I'm not the most competitive person...

and YES, I know some of you will argue this point with me...just know that my competitive nature comes out only when I'm feeling safe and secure within the confines of people who I know love me OR I'm so stinkin' angry with someone that I will be more than happy to throw a few elbow jabs their way to make my point...

Okay, so maybe I am a leeeetle bit competitive...

I'm more giving with my children...that's some kudo points right?

well...I'm more giving as long as I know that I absolutely can't win and then I'm cheering them on...now, if I see a little twist that can push me to the forefront...look out baby...Momma's Comin'...

Oh...are you getting the picture of Game Night at our house yet?

Yes, so anyway...

We came across a game called Rumikub

It starts out simple...just picking tiles and putting them in order...

Looking for 3 of kind, or straights...your first placement has to add up to 30...

In the beginning we thought it'd be "educational" and have the girls add up the numbers in their head to get to 30...

NOW, we're in such a doggone hurry to get the game goin'...they just start crankin' numbers...because...

STRATEGY people...STRATEGY!!!

The amount of analytical and strategical planning that goes on during a game is unbelievable...

Okay...well, then there is Little Munchkin...

But, seriously, we're all thinking and watching and waiting for the opportune time...

And then Little Munchkin starts the portion of the game called "distraction"

Daddy LOVES it when this happens..

cuz, he's not  competitive or anything either...

We're all pretty INto the game...we want all the options laid out for us...

See...what happens is, once you lay down your =30...you can then take ANY one elses tiles to help yourself get rid of all YOUR tiles...you can mix and match combinations...

It's in a split second and it hits you...or in MOST cases, it hits Sweetpea

She sees a way to formulate the entire floor...

to rearrange and mess up everyone else in the process...

and BAM...she's done!

We are always amazed at how fast their little brains can work...

Anyway...so GAME night has become EVERY night here throughout the summer...we can't seem to get enough and I must also admit that there are many a morning where the game stays laid out from the night before so that the girls and I can continue...

As I said...it's an addiction...

I know full well...

that I can be a pathetic loser fishing for verbal affirmation...UGH...I'm SUCH a words person...they can cut me down or make me feel like a hundred bucks...

it baffles my husband...this words addiction that I have...why does it matter what other people think or say?  why do you care? 

Yes...and I can see your point...

Okay...NO, I can't see your point...b/c for some reason, I'm wired in a way that words DO something to me...like when I read a book...ohhhh, I've got a good example for this one...(be patient with me as I run around the barn a few times in order to get to my point)

I read this book called Inkheart...and in the story, there's another story that is being read...and in THAT story the people COME OUT OF THE BOOK...the reader just READS THEM OUT...he basically brings them to life...

THAT'S what words do to me at times...I'm amazed at their power or rather, the power that I allow them to have (I believe THAT is a more accurate statement...ahem) And I understand this full well. But all the same, they affect me...when I read a story, I become part of it...when someone talks with me, I usually spend time mulling over the conversation for days...when I receive criticism, sometimes it's all I can do to keep going...when I receive praise, I'm giddy...

Yeah, I know...I give "words" too much power...and it really is something I'm working on...more specifically, I'm trying to separate the "emotion" from the "knowledge" that words give me...and, without tootin' my own horn (hee hee, I just said TOOT again...wayyyy too much time spent discussing toots with my 3 year old again...but THIS is besides the point) I AM doing much better with all that...

Okay...so where in the world was I headed with this post? 

Oh yeah...I posted the wedding pictures over at the wedding blog...

I could tell you my fear and trepidations that I had prior and during the wedding with regards to the blazing HOT sun and shadows and the fact that sweat was trickling down my back and that I was thanking God that I wore double layer capris b/c not only would my thighs have been slipping all over the place if I had worn a skirt, but seriously...I would have looked like I peed my pants after about 2 minutes of clicking...

I really could go on about the sweat...b/c I'm just gross...and I sweat...I can sweat with the best of them...If I were challenged to a sweating contest with... with... ((Okay, my mind is completely blank but insert a person who sweats a WHOLE LOT))  then I'd win!

yeah, so that'll show you!

((You're not really believing that I"m much of a words person are you?...Can she even PUT a sentence together with a complete thought???))

Doggone it...we're back to the pathetic loser thing again...

Anyway, if you get a chance...hop over to that CTPhotoMemories Weddings thing on the right and take a look...and then, if you want to "make my day" you can leave a comment too:)

thank you friends!

And so...

Yep...

Got nothin' goin' on in the ole upstairs room...aka "brain"...with regards to a blog post...

And so...

I'll just leave you with one of my joyous lists of information and bits of knowledge I have acquired over the past few weeks:

1) I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of editing having to be done on some photo shoots recently...I am thankful for some extra cash for the family...but hoooweee I'm 'bout ready to throw this computer monitor into the garbage can....

2) I left our garbage can uncovered in the garage and there were hundreds of maggots there after the garbage man left in the morning...

3) I now have the feeling of creepy crawly things all over and it all started with that dang computer again!!!

4) It appears that I currently am suffering from small bouts of insomnia...I laid in bed watching the clock for TWO hours last night...I MADE myself do it because I'm stubborn and I was going to beat my body into submission and sleep...and then I did until about 8:30 this morning wondering how I got so lucky that my children slept so late...until I heard their little whispers down the stairs..."Mommy is still sleeping and if we're quiet, maybe she won't notice that we've been up for awhile...watching TV..."

5) Apparantly a three year old IS quite capable of utilizing an Ipod Touch and can quite easily purchase random applications...who knew?

6) Making cupcakes on your ipod touch is much fun, but not as much fun as seeing how fast you can unroll toilet paper!

7) Cheesecake Factory's 30th Anniversary cheesecake IS the best cheesecake ever made and the calories incurred can be cancelled out by drinking lots of water and hauling green beans from the garden...just trust me...well that, and don't step on the scale for about a month...it's 6, one half dozen the other...

Have a great day!

typical me

I found this shot on my wedding excursion with AM to Maryland 2 months ago...it made me smile...

Not sure if this was before or after we named our GPS guide who we believe was sczichophrenic... and YES I know I spelled that wrong, but it's late and I"m not doing a spell check right now...

the whole point of the post was to share the picture...and so...there it is...

Looking forward to a great, relaxing, non-kitchen cleaning weekend...although, I do believe that the bathrooms are now in need of attention...unclogged the toilet for the 4th time this week...makes me wonder what I'm actually cookin' in that kitchen of mine...hoooooweeee...

I'll leave you with that thought...have a great day!

Housework, photography & worship

Okay...so that's a title for ya!  Got a million little things on my mind and couldn't decide what to write down...

If you know me well enough, it basically just comes down to me just spittin' out whatever comes into my head at any particular moment...and so now, you reap the benefits of that little personality quirk...welcome to my brain!

After 5 hours in the kitchen this morning/afternoon...it finally was clean...why does a kitchen take that long to clean?  Well, in between making breakfast & lunch, filling up the pool, watering the garden, changing Little Munchkin in and out of bathing suits, fixing snacks...well, it just took awhile to complete the project called: Operation Clean Kitchen!

Throughout this whole "ordeal"...(don't you like how cleaning the house becomes an "ordeal" in my head?)  I count it a blessing to be a stay at home mom (SAHM)...but there are days that I wonder what I actually accomplish...I do like to tell myself that my children may not remember that the house was clean, but they will remember the fact that I made chocolate covered giant marshmallows and created a new hair style for their American Girl doll...and so, that sometimes helps me look past the sticky syrup on the wood floor that's been there for about 2 days and the burnt pine nuts on the stove and the pretzels crushed into the rug and the sour buttermilk in the fridge b/c the garbageman doesn't come until Monday...

you get the idea?

Also going through my mind as I was pondering the memories that my children will recall in the future...I was struck again by my whole love of "memory" and "taking photos"...at times, THAT becomes an "ordeal" as well...but my good friend (who also happens to be my pastor's wife) gave me an article the other day and knowing that I cannot write as eloquently as this photog/author does, I'm going to quote her...I hope you enjoy...I only copied bits and pieces of her whole article...but I hope you understand the scope of what she was trying to communicate.

Compelling Worship By Sally Morgenthaler

Good photography has often been confused with what is pretty.  But good photography isn't so much about the pretty and the beautiful as it is about what is true...It isolates moments in time so we can descend into a subject without distraction, developing new perspectives and insights as we relate that subject to our world.

Worship that is compelling takes care to provide the contrast necessary for people to experience God in specificity, not just as a wide-angle wash of general goodness.  Aspects of God's multi-hued, even paradoxical character deserve intential focus...

Not long ago, I came across an album of family photographs that predated my photography classes...The images were recognizable as generic scenic....most shots were not identifiable as to state or monument...sky was washed out, landforms lacked definition...shots of family appeared as distant figures...In a word, what i had produced were snapshots, not photographs...missing were the deep shadows, furtive sideways light, mornin dew, children's faces as they hunched over, laughing, as two lizards buried each other int he sand...Missing was LIFE in it's contrasts and marvelous detail...Life in focus and courageously specific!

Taking a tip from photography 101 (with respects to worship):  Know your subject (God), move in closer, then maximize the contrast!

Photography and memory making for me has built up in me a type of worship...and a way that God shows and reminds me what is most important in this life...

So, although it took me 5 hours to clean that silly kitchen today...it's okay...b/c i moved in closer with my kiddos and added some contrast to this thing called LIFE...

Although, if you come to visit...I wouldn't accept any leftovers that I may offer...stick with packaged granola bars or canned soda...just to be safe!

I'm Back...sweat and all!

Whew...I made it!

I actually GOT ON THE PLANE whilst my baby had a fever and I flew to Florida...to do a job...or as my darling Italian Stallion would say, "goin' on a business trip...piece 'a cake!"  He likes to rub it in now that I finally agree with him that business trips aren't necessarily all they are cracked up to be...

However, I must interject that 48 hours of not having to change a diaper, answer a question about cheesesticks or cookies, buckle a 5 point harness in a car, be awakened with cries for water, blankies or "just cuz"...was kinda nice...but outside of that...WHEW!!! 

Upon arrival, I was whisked away to the beautiful, sandy beaches of Naples...I met up with Sweetpea's former teacher and I started clickin' away with my camera...about 375 shots later, I actually stopped...I worked on my metering, the lighting, getting to know everyone, figuring out poses, getting the lay of the land...

And then we went to the dinner...where I scarfed down 2 racks of ribs...I'm going to blame the sweat that allowed me to shrink a dress size so that I could fit all that meat down my throat...but in all reality, I was wearing a stretchy skirt and I was "plum hungry!"

I collapsed into bed that evening in my nice hotel room...until I realized that there was actually free wi-fi and then, well, I was up until around 1am just playin' around with the pictures and sending emails to people that were already asleep...but, this is what we DO when we're on a business trip right?

The wedding was gorgeous and HOT and so fun and HOT and the girlies twirled in their dresses and I wrung out my shirt from SWEAT...if I fail to mention the strength at which the sun was beating down my back as I ran back and forth throughout the entire ceremony and then BRILLIANTLY decided to run out on the sand barefoot (IN THE SUN) to get that ONE shot through the tall reeds...

let's just say that noone was comin' too near the photographer for the remainder of the evening...good thing I had to stand back in order to "get them all in view"...cuz hoooooweeee...I had a rich aroma and it wasn't the seasalt whisping in the breeze!!!

Anyway...I took 1000 pictures...yep...ONE THOUSAND...give or take a few...more on the give side...I have a LOT of editing to do...and I have a family photoshoot to finish up by Friday...so I'm hoping to get some pics out here soon...

I'm happy to be home with my baby...who has fully recovered from her fever...(turned out to be roseola) and my older two started swim lessons...FUN TIMES...

can't believe summer is nearly over...makes me wish a little bit for this again:

And though it WAS beautiful...I'm remembering the sweat trickling down my back at the moment and I"m here to say that home is just wonderful for me!!!

Learning

I"m in a new Bible study...remember my post from here?

Yes, well...I'm learning quite a few things...which is REALLY awesome...and I promise to share some of those things very soon...

but, another thing that has been going on in my heart is the whole "passing blessings onto the next generation"...specifically...my girlies!

I've been wanting to "give" my girls special verses...now, please understand that I'm not creating verses out of thin air or anything...I just wanted to point them to specific places in the Bible (of which I know more than them right now) that stand out when I read them...and they stand out b/c it makes me think of them...of their personalities or their love languages...

Anyway, my plan is to continue to read and compile a short list for each of them...not that I have all the answers or that my picks are best...I KNOW that God is going to direct them to certain passages one day that they will claim for themselves...but until then...here are a few that make me picture their sweet faces when I read them:

SWEETPEA:  Psalm 139
I prayed this psalm all the time while pregnant with her...it was probably all the talk about "wombs" and such...but I also see words like, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made"...My Sweetpea gets fearful at times..."even the darkness will not be dark to you" it says..."You searched me and know me"...My firstborn desires to be known and loved...she has "anxious thoughts" (as does her mother)...I just love this whole passage...and so, at the top of her list is this psalm.

PEANUT: Zeph 3:17
This one stands out to me for Peanut b/c Jesus "rejoices over her with singing"...and my little girl is a music kid...she loves it...it gets inside of her...and I want her to always know that she is delighted in...she is rejoiced over...her anxiety comes in quietness and silent tears...she's more internal/introverted...and I love that it says that "he will quiet you with his love"

LITTLE MUNCHKIN:  Hab. 3:18-19
Little Munch is my stick of dynamite...I LOVE her enthusiasm, her determination and even her stubborness at times...although the parenting or lack thereof sometimes makes those things a hinderance...but I love how these verses talk about being joyful...she's always smiling and laughing and giggling...and then it says that he will "make my feet like the feet of a deer...he enables me to go on the heights"...I see such great things for Little Munchkin...that doesn't mean that she must be a famous actress, or lawyer or be in the gifted program at school...I just see her living life to the fullest wherever she is...and I LOVE her for it!

So anyway...those are just my thoughts and the beginnings of my list so far...just wanted to share it...I'm sure I'll be back to crazy Italian household antics here very soon...havea  great weekend!