Bubbles can be Dangerous

... so tread lightly and always carry protection.

"Stop! Or I'll shoot."

Hangover

This is what I imagine what toddlers would look like if they went out partying at night.

Now, that's what I call a hangover.

Traditions

During this time of year, I tend to get a little sentimental.

For me, Christmas is all about the traditions that we share with our family and friends.

I look back at the traditions of my past like gathering at my Grandma's house and singing Christmas carols around the piano and all the Christmas concerts that I used to preform in as a child.

I am reminded of how life as changed as I think back upon all the Christmas and New Year's Eve parties that Jeff and I used to attend as a newly married couple.

And I can't help but smile when I think about all the traditions that we have started with our kids. Like making cookies for Santa, talking about Advent and baby Jesus, going to church on Christmas Eve with friends, the pure delight and joy of the kids on Christmas morning and just being able to gather with family spending time together.

But this year, when I think about all these traditions that this time of year brings, I not only smile about them but I say of prayer of thanks for them. I am just grateful to have all my family and friends around me.

In these days and weeks leading up to Christmas, there has been a lot of sadness surrounding my life. I go online and read a story of a mother losing her child in a tragic accident. I go into work and watch a family looses their father, and another family learns there is nothing else we can do to heal their mother. I hear about people not able to afford presents or food for their kids. I know of marriages hanging on by a thread.

It is just so sad.
It seems unfair.
It seems wrong.
It just shouldn't happen,
especially so close to Christmas.

But sadly, this is part of life. Life is full of good things and bad.

So this year, when we celebrate Santa and the birth of Jesus, I am going to try and smile just a little more. I am going to hug my family a little closer. I am going to try and enjoy and take in every minute, even the ones that stress me out. I am going to pray a little more.
And most of all, I am just going to be thankful for the time that we have together.

From my family to yours I wish you all a Blessed Christmas
and a very Happy New Year!

And I am going to end with four people that bring me endless amounts of joy and laughter.

Photos by jbjohnson photography

The Smile Maker 2000

Have you even been in this situation?

You have your camera ready and aimed.
You are just about to push the button when your subject looks away.

Your mission is simple, you just want to get a picture of your child looking and smiling at the camera.
But instead of a smile, they are wearing a huge frown or better yet, they refuse to look at the camera all together.

Yes, we have all been in this situation.
It is frustrating.
It is maddening.
It makes you want to yell and scream.
Because when it come to cooperating with the camera, children are just not willing.

Until now....

I want to introduce you to a product that is going to change the way you take pictures.
Never again will you be at the mercy of your children.

The Smile Maker 2000 is going to change all that.
It is really a simple device but the results will amaze you.

This is how it works.
When you want to take a picture of your child, place their little sweet face in the device.
And as you push the button to take the picture, the device goes into action by not only holding your child still but also making them smile.

So your mission of a great photo of you children with a smile on their face is now complete.
I believe the results, really speak for themselves.

You might expect to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for this device
but that is just not the case.

You can have beautiful, smiling pictures of your children for just three easy payments of $29.99.
That is price is nothing compared to the joy and pride you will get from looking at these photos for years to come.

Contact me and lets make your children smile together.



Just in case you didn't get it, this post is all in fun.
The 'smile marker 2000' is really just my husband's hand.
So technically, you already have a smile maker.
But if you want to send we three payments of $29.99, who am I to say no.
Again, I am kidding. Don't send me anything. Unless, you really, really want too.

Clearly, They are Way too Smart for Children's Books

The Joy of Photos Stories Giveaway

"Mommy, who is that?"
"Mommy, where am I in this picture?"
"Mommy, is that you when you were little?"

I have very fond memories of pulling a huge blue vinyl photo album out of the cupboard to look at as a little girl. I remember laying on the floor studying each and every page over and over again. Trying to take in each and every detail of every photo.

I also remember sitting in my Mom's lap looking at that book with her. She would tell me the stories that went along with each picture; stories of when she got married, stories of how I was born, stories of me as a baby.

I think this is one of the reasons that I love photographs so much. To me they are not just pictures of people and places but they are keepers of stories, of history, my family's history.

I love to take photos to preserve this my family's story. And now that photos are for the most part digital, that makes taking, storing and sharing photos a whole a lot easier.

But with this with ease of taking, sharing and storing, there is something that is lost.

With digital photos being on the computer the whole part of sharing their story is lost. Sure my digital pictures all tell the story of the events that they captured but who gets to hear that story when they are all nicely organized and categorized on the computer? I have not prints to handle, no books to look through.

The whole process of retelling the stories of our families past is lost on my children. They do not know the joy of sitting on my lap and listening to me tell them of their birth or the first time the tasted birthday cake.

So I am decided to fix this issue and give my children the joy of sharing photos by making this, a photo book. I am hoping that this will be the first of many.
I made this photo book with Free software from Freeze Frame Publishing. I went to their site, downloaded the Free software and in one nap time, I had made a book of photos. A tangible book that my children can hold and we can look at together.

The software was really easy to use and one great feature about it is that you don't have to stay on-line to use it. Once you download the software, it is yours. You can work on your book anywhere. It is really cool for those who use a dial up connection or where there is no WiFi.

When this company contact me for a review, my first response was to say no. I really don't like to do reviews but I was so impressed with this product that I really want to share it. And I especially want to share the joy of sharing photo stories with you and your family.

So to one of my lucky readers, Freeze Frame Publishing is offering one of their 8.5 by 11 photo books. It is has 20 pages and can hold up to 60 photos. You can check out examples at their site or you can see the one that I made here.

If you would like to be in the drawing for this photo book, then just leave a comment telling me so. I will leave this give away open until Friday and announce the winner this weekend.

You won't be disappointed in this product. And I know that it is still summer but we will all blink and it will be Christmas, what a great gift one of these books would make. Oh and Freeze Frame also has software for making calendars.

Now go and share the joy of photos and their stories with your kids.

The Power of Fruit Snacks

One the things that I always want whenever I take a picture is a picture of all of my children, all together.

I have bribed them with chocolate and candy, begged and pleaded with them just to sit still for a few minutes so that I can get the 'perfect' photo.
And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Then it happened, I gave them fruit snacks and they all sat down, together, to eat them.

Who knew, fruit snacks were the key?

My Attempt at Being a Photographer

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I just love these photos. They seem to capture each child's personality. I am just so in love with these little faces.

*****

If you want to read about some of the hijinks these faces get into then please head over to Debi's at Who Says 8 is Enough. I am guest posting over there.

Please Let Me Take Your Picture

Nonna and Papa went to Disney for spring break. There were nice enough to bring back shirts for all the kids. To thank them, I thought a nice picture of all four kids wearing their shirts would be nice.

The Goal:

Get a nice picture of all 4 kids in their new Micky Mouse shirts.


The Results:

Mission sorta complete.


Why is it impossible to get a photo of all four kids? I have tried rewarding with chocolate or other special treats but they are on to me.
They see me come with the camera and they run.
Not good, not good at all.

Just A Cool Photo

I want to keep her just this way. A little girl with pigtails who loves to go down the slide. She is mine and world you can't have her.

Just A Few Of My Favorites

Loving The Four Seasons

Sometimes I wish that we lived in a place with just one season.
Nice weather all the time.
But if that was the case then we would miss all this beauty.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

This post was inspired by a question asked by Spoiled Mommy,
What is your favorite season?

An Awesome Afternoon of Fun

I had the pleasure of an afternoon with just the babies. We could not ignore the call of the out doors. It was such a beautiful day. The sky was so blue, the air so crisp, we just had to go out and enjoy it. We wondered all over the yard, found lots of flowers and sticks to look at, and had fun playing on the swing set. I took the opportunity to get down, on their level, and snapped some photos.
I am kind of proud of how they turned out.

Smile for the Camera

Today we got all dressed up to go out for brunch. What a perfect opportunity for a family photo. I think this is the first time that all 6 of us are in a photo together. Yeah, nobody is crying or making silly faces.

Our Family.Jen and Jeff
Quinn, Hayden, Jacob and Claire

A Day Away

Our day at Keller's, a picture review of all the fun.

There's Hayden is all his glory. The first thing he did when we got there was ask to go into the lake and we had to pull him out when it was time to leave.
Part boy, part fish.

The big thing to do is swim out the middle of the lake. Grandpa helped Hayden do this, he thought that he was so cool. There is he in the pink tube.

Quinn was not thrilled with the beach. This was the only time during the day that he actually left my lap. He is a sucker for a ball.

Claire likes the water but was not thrilled with the taste of dirt.

Jake and Claire playing in the water with Grandma and our two newest babysitters. They were awesome.

I took this picture of Jake because he looked like he had been eating a dirt sandwich. Only the picture doesn't do justice to how dirty he actually was.

Good to know that with all the beauty and fun outside stuff around us and people to play with, the thing that Hayden sat the stillest for was watching video games.

Of course, there were frogs. Here are 2 that Hayden caught, a little one (sitting on top of the big frog) and a big one.
Just FYI, that dark thing is a stick NOT what you are thinking that it looks like.

Lastly, rocks. Hayden "dove down to the bottom of the lake to get these. Please mama, take a picture of my rock."