Fall Family Pictures

We recently had our neighbor take some pictures of our family at our favorite park. It had been over a year since we had any pictures taken of our entire family (although there is no shortage of the pictures that I constantly take!), but I just wanted to capture a few of our family at this stage (and before I have a three year old in February!). Life changes so quickly and James has grown so much since our last little photo shoot (see the picture at the top of the blog!). I wanted to go ahead and share a few of the pictures on the blog but I'm saving my "favorite favorite" pictures until after Christmas when we'll give out pictures to our families. :)

I am really happy with how they turned out. James is in a stage where he has his own ideas about how things should be done and was quick to let "Mis Chel" (Michelle) know where he wanted to stand and sit! A smile was also hard to come by because the pictures for him were a chance to be a tiger licking his lips in the jungle! Yes, this is true! You cannot make this stuff up! Michelle has two boys of her own, so she understands - but she was a trooper. :) And we still managed to get some good pictures of our little tiger to frame and share with family...soon!

(I also plan to update the blog with some of these pictures, but right now blogger is telling me the blog is full. I can add pictures to new posts, but not at the top of the blog or the sidebar, etc. Do any of you more knowledgeable blogger friends know what I can do to fix that problem? Will I have to start a new blog or is there a trick I don't know about?)

 ("I'm licking my lips like a tiger in the jungle." - here is the proof!)

Every once in a while....

Every once in a while...





I find myself in exactly the right place...






at just the right time...






and I capture (with my so far from professional little camera)...







the most perfect and sweet, real-life moment...








of my two most favorite people.

I could not love this and them more.

I said that if I had a desk, I'd put this picture on it. But since my "desk" is wherever the two boys pictured above are, I think this picture will find a home on a dresser, counter, or wall that I pass often very, very soon!

2 year pictures - on a budget!

I really like to get some good pictures of James (and sometimes of all of us as a family) about every 6 months and update some of the pictures frames in the house, because at this age he is just changing so fast. This year when his birthday rolled around we just really didn't have the budget to pay anyone to take pictures of James, and so Stephen encouraged me to give it a try this time around. I was able to get some pictures during his birthday weekend and then a few days later at a local park, and I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I am far from a professional, but having such a cute subject to photograph definitely helps! Here are a few of my favorites of James at 2:

18 months in pictures :)

A Month of Thanksgiving

This little man has been wearing this Thanksgiving outfit made by his Nana and passed down by his big cousin Jonathan quite often during the month of November! But I guess it's appropriate because giving thanks really shouldn't be reserved for one day out of the year anyway, right?

As Thanksgiving Day approaches we have been reflecting on the many things we have to be thankful for! This (almost) 20 pound little Turkey pictured below is one of our biggest blessings!!

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 7:17

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 118:21
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

For family, for friends, for our precious son,  for a job that provides for our needs, for the country that we live in, for our good health, for Salvation through Jesus Christ, and so much more...we have SO much to be thankful for!! What about you? What are the things you are most thankful for this year?