Get Ready (Shannon)

I am finally back in my office and ready to sort through the myriad of images I've taken over the past couple weeks (and I found a bunch I hadn't even looked at going back to November). As soon as I'm done editing, I'll be posting a ginormous blog with updates, photos, and maybe even a video or two! Check back real soon!

Our Weekend.

We have had a busy couple of days. Since Friday, Matt has snow blown the driveway 3 or 4 times (and he'll be back out again tomorrow at 4 a.m.), we went to a birthday party for our friend Abbey, we ate at the carry-in dinner at church, hung out at Mom & Dad's, booked some photography jobs, met some new friends, went grocery shopping and had some fun hanging out at home! Phew! Lilly "helped" her daddy with the driveway by pushing her lawn mover through the snow for awhile. The real snow blower was a little loud for her and we mostly watched Daddy do the real work from the window in the foyer. The snow was fun, nonetheless!

Saturday morning, Matt's practice was cancelled, so he stayed home and helped Lilly build pillow houses. And then he just threw pillows at Lilly for awhile. She liked it. (Notice the wind in her hair form the force of the pillows.)Last year, Lilly & Judah made a whole bunch of new friends, thanks to the wonder that is Facebook. I reconnected with 4 friends from high school, all of which are mommies now, too. We've been having fun getting together for playdate for the past 6 or 7 months. Saturday afternoon we got to help my friend Khara celebrate her daughter's 3rd birthday at McDonalds. Happy Birthday, Abbey!

Tonight, Lilly was super excited to drink from her new twisty straw that she received in her goody bag from the party.Judah loves this jumper that another high school friend, Rachel, is letting us borrow. It has been so valuable to us! Thanks, Rach (& Lucas)!

home slice.

Tonight we hung out at home for the evening. Matt put on a CD and Lilly spent a good hour worshipping before bedtime. Here are just a few of the photos I took. The rest of them can be viewed HERE.

Matt's New Instrument

In 2008, Matt added a few instruments to his collection, including 2 banjos and a didgeridoo. He has been watching lessons on YouTube on how to play the didgeridoo, and he is a quick study! It's a funny instrument, and he can't wait to be able to play it at church!

Our little man's growing up...

Mr. Judah-pants is thisclose to being able to crawl. He can get up on his hands and knees, but than he just rocks and smiles. He has mastered rotating army-crawl-style in a 360 degree circle, and he is great at moving from one end of the floor to another without me ever seeing him! I just know he'll be crawling any day now. What a big boy!Tonight I stayed home with the kiddos while Matt was at Soul Pardon. Our babysitters apparantly think they are allowed to have their own life every once in awhile! The nerve! I was feeling lazy, so I let Judah put Lilly to be for me. He did such a good job!

"I'm sittin' in the railway station.."

Tonight, Lilly, Judah, Matt & I met Dad at the Niles train station to greet Mom as she got off the train from Kansas. It was a BIG deal for Lilly, as she normally is asleep when Mom's trains get in, and doesn't get to see one up close. When the train pulled in to the station, she raa toward the platform yelling, "Chugga-chugga choo-choo!" over and over! She was so happy to see Mom, and I am pretty sure Mom got choked up at the sight of Lilly's excitement.Yesterday morning, when we were getting ready for church, I decided to take a picture of Lilly in her new dress for my Project 365 album. (If you don't already have one, you should start one today!)After I took the picture, I got a closer look at her arm, and saw that she gave herself some new "tattoos." Just like Daddy, I guess.

Lindsborg: The Tourist Capital of McPherson County

On Monday, Matt & I, Ann & Andrew, and our cousin Kelsey strapped on our cameras and set out for Lindsborg, the town I lived in before we moved to Kentucky. We walked around town and took pictures of everything while I reminisced about the good ol' days. Here's the link to the entire Facebook album.The best part of the excursion for me was when I got up the courage to knock on the door of my old house and ask the owners if I could walk through it. I took Ann on a tour down memory lane in that house. She didn't remember much, but it was a neat experience for me. The owners were very nice and I am glad to know that they will be restoring the house since it's been sitting unmaintained for almost 20 years now. I even got to walk through the woods in the back yard and I found the old trees that Nic & I (& a whole bunch of friends) played in when we were kids. I have so many good memories of that place...it was good to go back. When Matt & I were looking for a house a couple years back, I found myself looking for houses that reminded me of the one in Lindsborg. Never did find one. I thought it would be weird to take pictures of someone else's house, so I left the camera in the car. This will have to do...

Kansascapes

I took some time to photograph my favorite place in the world while we were on our trip. Here's the link to the facebook album of my favorite Kansas sunrises, sunsets and scenery.
This last one is the skyline of my aunt & uncle's farm, where we stayed while we were in Kansas.