Eli Laughing

Here's my first time EVER posting a video! yeah! I've joined the youtube craze!
Eli laughing it up...until he discovers the camera is watching him. :)

A Dog Park Kinda Day

Eli, the dogs and I made a trip out to Marymore.

The sky was crazy that day! The sun was out briefly and then came the clouds. So beautiful, but chilly.



Some how that didn't matter to the dogs...swimming was on the agenda.



Great Danes are so majestic! But apparently not to Conner. We had to leave as he was trying to pick a fight with them. Seriously!

Visiting Friends!

Last Thursday, Eli and I went down to Ballard and visited with my friend Angie at The Quilting Loft. I also purchased a new pattern and some fabric to try and whip out a skirt. OH MY! It's interesting :) so far so good, though I'm a little rusty so I've had to read the directions over about 5 times to make sure I don't screw up...hee, hee! I'm at the point of the zipper and I think I'm gonna have to make some help calls.

As I was down in Ballard, Eli and I visited the Locks. We passed the Lock Spot Cafe which brought back some fond memories. That's where Justin finally broke the news (this was before dating) that he wasn't hanging out with me because he was bored :) Once that news came out of his mouth, I thought I was literally going to puke. The bummer thing was that my dinner had just arrived and I was no longer super hungry for that basket of fish & chips!! So funny. I'll never forget that great turning point in our relationship. I was 'wild carded' !! That is, as I came to learn, Justin's nick name and he's been throwing wild cards at me since. I love you dear husband. You never cease to amaze me!!









It was chilly out, but the sun was shining and made it a little easier to bear. It was a fun outing :)

Snow!

I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning...well, Eli did :) And noticed as I made my way to the kitchen that it was a little bit lighter outside than normal. It had snowed! I hadn't realized that it was going to so it was a lovely surprise. At around 9:00, the sun began to shine, making everything so bright a beautiful!

Monday, Monday

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

We had a great weekend. My sister Jennifer, her husband Tim and their children June and Willem came out for a visit. Justin & Tim were busy all day picking up free fire wood while Jen & I played with the kids inside on a rainy day. June kept the babies well stimulated. She's a crack up, that kid!

This morning I woke up to my husband getting ready for work. Once he left, I contemplated waking Eli up for breakfast, as it was nearing 8:00 and he was still asleep. I decided to wait a little longer and poor myself a cup of coffee with some breakfast and a book that Justin and I have started to read with our young-married couples group. I'm enjoying it so far! It's titled The Son of Laughter by Frederick Buechner. I'm only in the middle of the 2nd chapter, but I would recommend it already. It's the retelling of the story of Jacob.
I'm a big fan of breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day, you know.


Our home faces the east, so when the sky is clear the sun rises into our living room, kitchen and dining room. I love it, though it's amazing how the sun brings out the dust and the spots of dirt that you didn't quite see with an overcast day. It's reminder to me of how the Son does this with our hearts :)


It's nearing 8:30 and I hear a peep from Eli's bedroom. I wish he wouldn't notice the camera as I try to record him talking to his mobile animal friends. He stops talking once he sees me. Probably wondering what happened to my face. What a nut! He joyfully coos at them and makes conversation with them when he's bored. It brings me such joy to see how happy he is.

Monday's aren't so terrible. A beginning to another week, full of possibilities!

The 10th Of January

Hi all! So, I've decided to join in with Rebekah on her adventure in taking a picture every hour on the 10th of each month.
I was not successful at taking them every hour, but I gave it a whirl :)

I've been looking at the SLR's and would love one because I've seen what amazing pictures they take, but that purchase is on the back-burner for now :) So in the meantime, my little handy dandy Sony Cyber Shot will do.

Last night when I was taking some pictures of Eli, I realized 'hey, I haven't really explored using other settings'. I'm sure every average person just sticks to the easy automatic settings and lets the flash go at all times. With a little playing around, I figured out how to get my camera to capture shots the way I wanted :) how nice!
You'll see the progress below.

Eli's a happy fellow waking up from his nap! (dog-gone flash! always makes things too bright... hmm..)





There's my dog Ginger! Making a wreck of the back yard.



My guitar... staring at me asking 'when are you playing me next?'



mmm...baklava. oh wait! must cut the husbands hair first.



oops...looks a little like a wig...still new at this, sorry honey :)



oh yeah...almost forgot. Hey! That's more like it!



Hot dog! I can take pictures in sepia tone! oh, my little munchkin... smooch!


Hello doggies.


Conner's got that guilty look in his eye! What a cute face.



Well, that's all for now. I'm excited for next months pics :)

The Holidays

I'm so thankful for family. We had a great holiday season. We where fortunate to spend it with BOTH sides of the family this year! We did get a tree very late in the game, but it was fun to decorate and Eli loved the colored lights!




We spent Christmas day with my family and then left on the 28th to Portland Oregon to celebrate Christmas and spend the new year with Justin's family. Justin & I played music for my family; my fist time EVER playing guitar and singing in front of anyone. I was the most nervous I've ever been!! They seemed to enjoy it just the same though.
My parents got Eli his first official Seahawks gear!! (couldn't get the red-eye out:) He and his cousin Willem where sporting their gear quite nicely on Christmas day and the first playoff game. I think it gave them good luck against those Redskins :) Go Hawks!



We made our first stop in Portland to visit with Justin's cousin Aaron & his wife Kristin. We had fun the next morning by taking a walk to a nearby park with their two children Jonathan and Holly and their dog Lucy. Their youngest Holly loves the mud. Their eldest Jonathan does not :) Holly so kindly handed down the blue outfit that Eli is wearing in the pictures below. We've already made so much use of this little blue berry outfit! Thank you sweet little Holly :)







We then headed to Mt. Hood with Justin's family and stayed at a rented cabin in the snow. There, we took Eli out for his first walk in the snow with Grandpa Cris and cousin Caleb.
We had a great time relaxing at the cabin as others went to the mountain for skiing and snow boarding fun! Isabella, our niece, loves helping Justin play the mandolin :)







Eli is getting so big! I can't believe it. He's really smiling now and making fun noises with his mouth. His favorite right now sounds like light sabers hitting each other in a battle from star wars! He is such a boy!! He is happiest on the changing table, funny kid.



Justin and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary December 9th by going out to dinner to the Cheesecake Factory...yummy! We've had a 'more than we can describe' blessed first year and and very excited for the years to come :)