Oh Christmas Tree

We put our Christmas tree up a week earlier than we usually do, mostly because we knew it would be a bit hectic around Thanksgiving and Larry was bored last weekend. We got this tree on sale last year after the holidays - which is seriously the best time to buy! It was a $400 tree and I paid $100 at Lowes. We were a bit worried that it wouldn't fit in this living room even with the vaulted ceiling, but it just barely does. The angel is sitting on a lower branch because the top is 2 inches from the ceiling. It is a 9 foot, pre-lit tree and we love it! No more hassle with lights or dropping pine needles. Although, I do miss the smell of a freshly cut tree. They have candles for that right?

New Tricks

I love learning new things, it's one of the reasons I love photography and photoshop. I get to create something fun and different out of something average. I took my all time favorite photo of the boys used layers to add a texture. Here is the end result....

The boy who cried wolf

Shortly after Halloween, Jared got sick. Big surprise (said with thick sarcasm). He had enough candy to feed a small country and it weakened his immune system enough for him to catch whatever was floating around. So I kept him home on Monday and Tuesday. He thought he was well enough to go to school on Wednesday, but I got a call from the school because he just wasn't able to finish the day. So Thursday was his lucky day, he was mostly better and went back to school.

Well this whole week, David has been jealous of the attention Jared was getting. He would come up to me and tell me that he's sick too and wants some "special juice" (i.e. gatoraid) and I'd give it to him because he amused me with his imitation of a sick child. Friday comes around and David puts out his regular act of fake coughs, scratchy throat talking and asks for special juice because he thinks he's sick. I treated it like any other day and sent him to school. About an hour into school, the nurse called me and told me he had a temperature of 103 degrees - yikes! So I picked him up and gave him the sick treatment ..... you know, blankets on the couch, gatoraid, a movie and lots of cuddles. If he didn't feel miserable (for real this time), I think he would have enjoyed it. His temperature came down on it's own with lots of liquid. He does officially have a cough and his voice is hoarse. I guess the old saying of "fake it till you make it" is particularly true in this case. Although most people use it to gain success.....


Isn't this pathetic? And he wasn't really sick in this picture, it's his imitation of a child who is.

Larry should know better than to fall asleep on the couch with Jared when I'm armed with a camera. Silly boy. :)

Happy Halloween!

We went to a Trunk-or-Treat at my church last night and had fun. David went as Superman and Jared was a pirate. I didn't get pictures of the boys, but will tonight. Larry and I dressed up too, can you guess who we're suppose to be?





Here's my shameless project showoff. I finally figured out what to do with a blank wall in my house. I am not the clever designer so I copy other people :) A friend posted a picture of what she did to her wall and I pretty much copied it exactly - I know my frames are different and so are the sizes, but other than that.... I'm a copycat.

Brothers

Last night we were in town and the boys got a balloon. David LOVES balloons and was so excited about his. We got home and as we were walking to the front door, David's balloon caught on something and he lost his grip on the string. Larry chased after it because it was still low to the ground, but a gust of wind took the balloon up too high. The balloon flew away. David's little chin quivered, he had the most devastating look on his face... like he'd just lost a best friend. I offered him cookies in place of the balloon and he accepted the lesser substitute. As he ate his cookie, he watched Jared and his balloon with a look of envy on his little face. This morning, David woke up and found a balloon on his bed. Jared had given him his balloon. He was so excited, it was like Christmas morning.

When I think of good brothers, I think of my boys. They don't always get along, in fact, they can be downright mean to one another at times. But I can tell they love each other and they do things for one another that just makes my heart melt. I'm so lucky to have them.









I took these photos this last weekend, there was a canola field near my mom and dad's house. The boys enjoyed being the center of attention and of course, I loved taking photos of them.

My latest angel, JaXxon

I met JaXxon yesterday, a nurse at the hospital called to request my service. He was born early in the morning and was on life support when I met him. I only took a couple of photos and offered to come back when the tubes were out. I would make better images that way, sweeter memories for the family. So a few hours later, I was called to come back in. The mother told me she could feel that this session was a form of therapy for her. That made me feel good. My mom came along and assisted me with my equipment so I could get the best shots. Here are his precious feet. I have more on my photo blog in black and white.



For those who don't know, I am a volunteer photographer with an organization called 'Now I lay me down to sleep.'

Tagged!

I was tagged by this gorgeous hawt mamma!


7 random things about me....

1. When I eat Skittles, I try to eat my least favorite colors first and save the best for last - the green and red ones.
2. I sometimes take my camera with me on mundane errands, who knows when the opportunity to take a compelling image will present itself. I never forgot the time I had my camera packed too far in the trunk on a road trip and we drove by a large field on fire, a crop duster flew through the smoke and over the road to dump fire retardant onto the fire. I kicked myself for not having my camera more available.
3. I have to have the lights on in the house while I'm locking up at night.... just to make sure I'm not locking myself in with the boogie man.
4. Jeans are the hardest piece of clothing for me to shop for. Seriously, I will try on more than 20 pairs of jeans before finding that perfect fit. And when I do, I usually buy two or three pairs.
5. I once dyed my hair black thinking it would look natural with my black eye brows. Well it didn't. The hair dye also claimed it would come out in 40 washes, it didn't.
6. I just finished reading "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis yesterday. It was amazing.
7. I bite the inside of my cheek as a nervous habit.

I'm tagging Linsey, Katie, Brad, Michelle, Debbie S., Jan, and Annie.

This made my day!

It's a ninja cat, it moves without being seen and the music goes perfectly with the little clip. Seriously, I keep watching this one, it's hilarious!

10 Years

Jared Benjamin High
September 23, 1985 - September 29, 1998

Here are some of my favorite pictures of my sweet brother.....

September 23, 1995

My brother, Jared, was born 23 years ago. So today I might make some dirt cake (his favorite) for us to enjoy.

Taken by my dad


One of my favorite memories of my brother.......
One day while beginning to drive home from church, Jared, who was about two years old, got out of his car seat and moved behind the back seat of our van. This van had two vertical doors and he opened one of them. The door swung open with Jared hanging and swinging on to the door, having a good ol’ time. As we drove down the road at about 30 miles per hour, we began hearing horns honking and people were pointing with terrorized faces. This gave us a hint that something wasn't right. We stopped slowly and mom ran to the back of the van to investigate ... and there Jared was, hanging on to the door, smiling. Jared was having a great time but mom and dad were "freaked". This boy was destined to be a stunt man for the movies, we just knew it. It didn't take long for us all to be laughing about this incident. - partially copied from www.jaredstory.com with a few of my additions.