treasure 2010

this year my word was treasure. this blog has given me and opportunity to do that. i was driven at the beginning to keep this going but my bad habit is starting a project really well and getting to about 80-90% finished then letting it sit. the hardest month for me to capture in pictures was december. i don't know why. but i was determined to finish. and i did. i have been challenged to get my camera out every day (proud to say i only missed a handful), take better photos visually and emotionally, and make sure i didn't miss any kids in the process. this has given me time to see how i view our family in photos. this year i have learned more about my camera by shooting in manual mode (still learning), and also learn to edit a little better. i also really desired to shoot "better" photos-but i look back and while they may not be perfectly placed or the lighting is still off they are perfect in emotion. i can look back and remember why i took these photos. it is a journey for me to remember what is important. a journey that at times has not been easy with having to let go of stuff that i need to let go of this year then reminding myself every day who and what i treasure. i love that i pick a word. it is simple but so powerful. i am blessed beyond measure to have so much to treasure in my life.
and as great it was to document our lives here i am still trying to figure out how i am going to capture 2011. i do know that i am going to rejoice so keep an eye on both my blogs for new photos and memories.

for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

day 365

grandma zeb has taken a real liking to noah. he has become incredibly patriotic because of her. noah has been given several of grandpa kenny's papers from world war 2, the bible from after he passed away, the shells from his funeral, p.o.w. flags and shirt, and the list goes on. this picture zeb is giving to noah is very special. it is of the b-17 grandpa kenny was shot down in. i remember when zeb had this drawing given to her. there is a history and memories here for me being passed down to my son which i hold dear to my heart. a big one is the pride in zeb's face as she gives these special things to noah. i pray he will cherish memories of these times with grandma zeb forever.

day 364

marlee intense with this very loud piano. sometimes it is watching her bounce off the walls, other times it is watching her move her hands and face in great expression. love her enthusiasm for anything she does.

day 363

naomi has taken on the big sister role very seriously lately. she dresses marlee a couple days a week. naomi will match marlee to herself as close as possible. it is usually the type of clothing-like a shirt and skirt with leggings for the both of them or a fancy dress. today naomi put all the play necklaces on her little sister. marlee loves the attention and it touches my heart to see naomi take care of her.

day 362

my awesome husband carrying out the christmas tree. this year was an adventure taking it down. i unscrew the bottom and kev lifts it up and out of the stand. it seems every year i don't unscrew it enough to get it out of the stand and kev is pulling on it trying not to get tortured by the pine needles or pull his back out. eventually the tree makes it outside. and soon we can laugh about how ridiculously hard that turned out to be.

day 361

naomi creating her messenger bag she got for christmas. she had to cut out each little decal she wanted on her bag and set them very carefully in the right place. it is always fun for me to watch her figure out where things go and see what funny faces she is going to pull while creating. kind of makes me wonder what i look like while i am making something. good times.

day 360

we had christmas with our meyer family today. the kids were pretty excited because santa showed up unexpectedly. the story behind this is dad only told me that he had this costume. so, he disappeared for a bit and everyone was asking where grandpa was because the kids were ready to open presents. santa made his grand appearance and gave everyone a fun suprise other than levi and jackson(who cried). dad was really excited to give this suprise the kids and mom as he is a big kid himself!

day 359

merry christmas.

day 358

christmas eve. santa leaves really special notes for the kids each year always reminding them who we are really celebrating. the kids to enjoy reading these because they are personalized very special to each one of them.

day 357

we enjoy watching max build. he has the mind of an engineer. he is great at figuring out directions and gets incredible satisfaction figuring out something new or challenging. max finds the most creative places to sit and you can't change his mind once he has it made up.

day 356

naomi couldn't wait to try out the "new" curlers in her hair. especially after i told her that is what mommy used to have in her hair as a little girl. it is fun making her into a girly girl.

day 355

uno with marlee. i had been playing with the big kids and she couldn't wait to play with mommy. by her rules of course. havin' fun with her silly little personality.

day 354

christmas break. these two have made me crack up today. jammies on all day. printing out pictures from the computer nonstop to color. laughing at the craziest things on tv. just doing the twin thing today. it's a great day.

day 353

my michigan state only fan, occasional great smiles, too old to hug mom, kisses at night between the bedrail, incridibly sensitive, quarter collector, rock collector, book lover, creative lego builder, star wars fan, always the first who captured my heart and one i love to look at and imagine who you will be as you grow into who God has created you to be.

day 352

future rock star.

day 351

the kids are getting very creative in their indoor play. love hearing their giggles and little talks of where they are going to hide or what they are coming up with next to do to keep them busy.

day 350

max gave us his present tonite. he was so proud of making it at school. he had to get our picture with it.

day 349

these two crack me up. i found max helping marlee brushing her teeth and talking with her how to do it right then watched him grab her toothbrush and do it for her. love these kids.

day 348

naomi swallowed her tooth tonite. i think it got mixed in with her mashed potatoes. we all had a really great laugh about that.

day 347

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. i love my snowmen!

day 346

some days i have to put aside me doing it all and teaching the kids to do the little things. today it was teaching noah how to use the sharp knife to cut up the kiwi. the pride it gave him and me is priceless.

day 345

we all went to jack's birthday party at chucky cheese. the kids all had a great time playing around the whole place. marlee had fun whacking these guys down.

day 344

this dear sweet child of ours is relentless about getting what he wants. we had to put the toybox in front of all the tv equipment to stop him from pushing buttons. he outsmarted us and showed us his great climbing abilities. i think we have a little acrobat on our hands.

day 343

max and naomi waiting for noah's christmas concert to start.

day 342

marlee loving the snow and the sled rides around the yard. mommy having a great time pulling her around and capturing this crooked smile of hers.

day 341

our fully decorated tree and the little helpers who made it perfect.

day 340

noah being a great big brother. levi loves the attention the big kids give to him.

day 339

cutting down the christmas tree. this year we went back to our old place but were very sad that there were not many good trees to choose from. we searched through it all and came upon our short plumpy tree which brought smiles to everyone but naomi and marlee.

day 338

after the kids were all tucked in tonite i headed into the living room and this handprint stuck out to me on the couch (a very dirty one at that). it gave me a big smile and reminded me that the mess in our house is from the little hands that God gave me.

day 337

my little marlee girl. we were telling you your full name the other day and you proceeded telling us it was marlee girl. i love the spunkiness you add to our lives.

day 336

marlee helped me make my first batch of caramel corn this year. she was fascinated by how the popper worked. and she loved how it tasted too. it is a joy teaching the kids how to cook.

day 335

first big snow. this photo is the story of our backyard. max and noah building the pile of snow up to sled off the deck. marlee helping or copying anyone she can. naomi chillin' making angels in the snow. lovin' every minute of it.