The Orchard....

Last week I had the opportunity to take Cadence & Grayson to a nearby orchard to celelbrate a friend's birthday (Micah was in school)....these are just a few quick pics from our adventure...

Cadie's Turn...

Today was Cadence's first day of preschool. She'll be going to the same preschool she did last year & will have the same teacher - but this year she'll go three mornings rather than two. In fact, 12 of the 15 kids in her class were familiar faces when she went to school today :) Most of these photos are from this year - but I included one from last year for good measure - it appears that my little girl is growing up wouldn't you say?

what a difference a year can make....

Yesterday was Micah's first day of school - I've attached a couple photos from his first day of school from this year (red shirt) along with one from last year...my oh my how he's grown up - wouldn't you agree? - although I confess, he does need a haircut....

the tooth fairy....

Yep, you guessed it on day 6 of our family vacation Micah lost his first tooth. It was a bit traumatic for our little guy as it was lost, sadly, when he swallowed it along with a bite of hot dog. Micah was very sad & very concerned that the tooth fairy wouldn't leave him anything under his pillow if he didn't have his tooth. So after much conversation it was decided that he would leave the tooth fairly a note explaining what happened. So Micah penned his note to the dear fairy explaining that he had lost his tooth but he still wanted (cross that out) would like the money! And indeed she was a gracious sort - leaving four shiny quarters under his pillow.

a trip to the zoo....

Being swamped with work lately - I decided we needed to get some scheduled family time on the calendar! ;) So yesterday afternoon we went to the Como Park Zoo & Como Town amusement park & spent the day having fun together....

once upon a time...

alrighty then...by ann's request (www.ejdar.blogspot.com) I will fill in my once upon a times...:)

20 years ago...

1. I was 14 years old & finishing my 8th grade year at Parkers Prairie High School.
2. I thought that I would be a writer or a graphic designer when I grew up.
3. I believed there was no one on earth more annoying than my 6 year old brother :)

10 years ago...

1. I was working as a the Youth Ministries Director at the fabulous Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Park River, North Dakota.
2. I was single & not sure if I would EVER meet Mr. Right....
3. I got my first "almost new car"...a groovy little silver Escort station wagon :)

5 years ago...

1. I was living in Camas, Washington with my hubby & my beautiful little red-headed 1 year old and was expecting a new baby in December...a little girl!
2. I was preparing for my 4th annual Mexico Mission trip to Tecate, Mexico with my youth group from Zion Lutheran Church - where I was the Director of Youth & Family Ministries.
3. We had bought our first home & were living in an odorable little 1938 tudor style home on a double lot with old wood floors & leaded glass windows...trying to decide whether or not to move the nursery.

3 years ago...
1. I was adjusting to life as a stay at home mom - after leaving my youth ministry position at Zion in Buffalo to focus on my little ones - micah & cadence! Oh & I was pregnant with number three! - grayson arrived in january :) completing our little family.
2. I was feeling rather lonely having made very few connections in Buffalo & craving friendships but not knowing where to find them.
3. We were about to purchase our first home in Buffalo - and we had to do it quickly! homes were a hot commodity often selling before they were listed or within 2-3 days of being on the market!
4. We had just begun "church shopping" trying to find a place that would be a good fit for our famiy here in Buffalo.

1 year ago...

1. I was taking my kids to Bible School - just like I am this week!~
2. I was finishing up my second wedding shoot! - after "swearing" I would never take on the responsibility of being a wedding photographer...:)
3. I was feeling really blessed that I had found a church family at Buffalo Covenant & a marvelous group of friends through MOPS...

So far this year I have...
1. enjoyed being part of the steering team through MOPS
2. celebrated the milestones of Cadence starting & completing her first year of preschool & Micah starting & finishing his first year of kindergarten :)
3. struggled through the reality of my micah's special needs & challenges - prayed a lot - and tried to get him the help/resources he needs to succeed.

yesterday...
1. I took photos at vacation bible school :)
2. I spent a big chunk of my day editing photos from my summer weddings (that I said I would never do but am now doing on a very regular basis!)
3. I enjoyed visiting with the "other moms" at vbs - during my photo breaks...and I ate a caramaled apple that got stuck in my teeth. :)

today...
1. Edited more photos! :)
2. Took the kids to have lunch with friends at McD's - which was a crazy crazy zoo of a place :)
3. I kept an eye on the sky - watching the thunderstorms & wondering what would come of them?

tomorrow...
1. I will take more photos & edit more photos....
2. I will bring my kids to vbs
3. I will make sure to kiss my hubby before he leaves for work :)

in the next year I...
1. am excited to have micah evaluated so that he can get the help/resources he needs to thrive! :)
2. hope to be healthier.
3. hope to build deeper relationships with my friends & my amazing God.

springtime...

It has been a crazy bouple of weeks...lots of the endings & getting ready for the summer - just last week Cadence had her spring program marking the end of her first year of preschool! She will have the fabulous Mrs. Merz again in the fall at St. Francis preschool three days a week :)

a day at the park ,...

no, i don't usually dress my little girl up for an outing such as this - it just happened to be after her preschool program & we didn't take the time to get into our play clothes...:)

Here we are - just a few quick shots taken at the park this afternoon! It was too pretty & green to resist a few quick snapshots :)

First Dance Recital

Now, I will be the first to confess that when it came to Cadence's first dance recital I was a bit taken aback by the sheer consuming energy behind it all. My little girl is FOUR - and overpriced dance costumes & make-up are not my idea of a necessity for my little girl who goes to dance once every other week - but my lack of enthusiasm in no way affected my girly-girl who was so ecstatic about her tutu & being on stage! I honestly don't know if I've ever seen her so excited :)

So there we were on the first night of the rehearsal - watching the 6 little girls venture out under the bright lights onto the stage in their white & silver tutus to find their baby dolls which were snuggles in their individual cradles....and I think my heart sank into the very pit of my stomache when I realized almost at the same time that Cadence did that there was NO DOLL in her cradle! I braced myself for her inevitable tears & am fairly sure that if I had not been in the balcony I would have rushed to the stage to rescue her & find her little "Ally"....but once again my attitude did not reflect on hers...

In amazement Ken and I watched as our sweet girl seemingly unphased just kept dancing! - rocking her non-existant baby in her arms & going through each step of her routine as if nothing at all had happened....Bravo sweet Cadence :)

After the recital I asked her, "How did you feel when Ally wasn't in her cradle?"
Matter-of-factly Cadence said, "Well Mom, at first I was a little sad - but just for a little bit & then I remembered that Miss Crystal never has a doll when she dances with us - so I just did what Miss Crystal does. Do you think Miss Crystal is sad that she doesn't have a dolly?"

Anywho - now that I've had a few weeks of post-recital to breathe a bit - in hindsight despite the over-doing and all, I wouldn't have missed her first recital for the world & I'm fairly convinced I'll need to start bracing myself now for the inevitable recital number two!

a belated birthday blog...

My posting has rather lacked in updates as of late - it seems we've been busy enough just trying to keep up with our family! :) But I did want to post some photos from Micah's 6th birthday celebration...

We had a fabulous day with Grandma & Grandpa and then the following Sunday we went along with Micah's friend Austin to Nickelodean Universe at the Mall of America for another fun day! Micah was especially thrilled about his ride on the fairly Odd-Parents Roller-coaster that took him not only up & down the rails - but spun in circles at the same time - even Austin was brave enough to attempt it with him, repeatedly!

Finally! A new post :)

That's right! I've finally managed to get a new post on my blog...amidst weddings, weddings & more weddings...Christmas cards....computer crashes..etc - extra time has been evading me as of late...but today I managed to get outside with the kids before the polar snap hits tomorrow, to shoot a few little photogs of the kidlets! Enjoy :)