Trying Texture

here is my feeble attempt at adding texture to a photo. I like a lot of things about this image...mostly the setting. This park is relatively new in lake oswego and it is in the middle of a bunch of farm land. the play equipment is all "progressive" and new. I love the barn in the background too. thanks for the tutorial mindy strauss. if anyone else has tried this tutorial it would be fun to see your pics...come on - be brave. we promise we won't be critical, right everyone?

More Tualatin Wildlife Refuge

i dragged livi and drew out on a hike as an educational experience during one of the last 80 degree days of the season. This park has a nice walking trail with plenty of benches to rest. The welcome center is very nice and definitely kid-friendly. We did see A LOT of coyote poo! I'm not kidding, it was everywhere. We also saw this fuzzy, wuzzy caterpillar...these are one of the only bugs i'm willing to pick up. they are pretty cute, for a critter.

making me smile

This picture of Drew was taken at the nature reserve in Tualatin....it makes me smile though cause his eyes turn "Asian" in the bright sun...they're so squinty.

this is miriam's almost smile...she does smile a lot, but i can never get the camera there in time. it's like she hasn't quite figured out how to do it every time.

baby drew turns 3

where, oh where did those three years go....today is drew's official birthday. my baby drew is now 3 years old...time moves at lightening speed once you have kids. let me just rave about my little boy for a few sentences since it is his special day. drew melts my heart. he has long eyelashes and big shiny brown eyes like marbles. he tells me every day, " i love you very much mommy" or "oh mommy, you're so pretty." not to say he doesn't have his moments...i have had to send him to his room on several occasions when i'm not sure what i'm going to do with him...like when he squeezed half a bottle of shampoo on the new carpet, or smeared toothpaste all over the mirror, or spread shaving cream all over the floor, in his hair and clothes. it is in those moments that his big brown gorgeous eyes come in handy, cause i just love him to pieces. i love the way he is fascinated with how things work, his little eyebrows when he's concentrating on something important. i love it when he bangs his head on something cause then he lets me cuddle him for about half a second, putting his head on my shoulder. i love how he admires his sister. i love his generous little heart - he never eats anything special without sharing it with me and olivia.

So...Happy Birthday sweet boy. may God bless you this year and give you fun adventures, fill your heart with wisdom and grow you up like Jesus.

Sweet Little Face

My lovely little angel baby turned two months old on the 12th!!! She started smiling at 5 weeks, but this is the only smile i've caught on camera so far...it's more of a half smile. So far, she is much like her big sister...sleeps a lot and only cries a little. i feel so blessed - get this: SHE SLEEPS THROUGH the night! I prayed about this sleep issue probably every day of my pregnancy, so it is truly a huge answer to prayer.

firsy day of pre-school

So last Tuesday September 9th was the first day of Preschool for 2008 - Olivia's second year and Drew's first. (I'm only a week behind on posting this) They were both absolutely ready to see their friends and Teacher Patty. Last year I remember having a little lump in my throat when I dropped Olivia off for the first time. This year, Phuong took them and I got to stay home with Baby Mai. As the car pulled out of the driveway, I just breathed a cleansing breath, went for a little run with the jogger, and had a calm, quiet cup of coffee. Here are a few pics of the first day...I have more, but it's 10pm and time for bed. Just for fun, here is a comparison of last year's Pic...


They were already in the car all buckled in by the time I got my camera out...Guess they were ready.

Teacher Patty - She's the Best!!!

Olivia's good buddy Karly Moos

One More Day

Phuong has been gone for the past 11 days and is coming home tomorrow night! Yeah, I'm excited to hear about his fun trip to Burkina Faso and it'll be great to have him home again. Olivia and Drew have been really wonderful kids though - they have helped me their Mommy take care of our new little baby. Although, i do wish someone would hold her after 10pm on occasion. That is usually Daddy's job. I can't excactly wake Oliva up to do that, though it has been tempting. (Miriam did sleep through the night last night - 9:30 pm to almost 7 am!!! so i'm not complaining)

I have tried to make the time go quicky by scheduling fun activities for all of us. We went to Lincoln City for 4 days with my parents, visited the Children's Museum, and celebrated a few friends' Birthdays. it has kept us busy and now there is only 1 day left. It's hard to believe.