where has time gone?

oh geez...it has been way too long. i have started blogging in my head throughout the day and i have discovered that it fulfills my need to talk to the computer. so by the end of the day, i feel like i've written a book! yes i'm sure there's something not normal about that...but its ok. that's me! :) i just endured the worst weekend ever...i was supposed to go to my first women's retreat with my girlfriends but instead i got the flu. the absolute, most standard, the flu shot would have saved me, flu.....my friend drove me to the doctor just to make sure and they swabbed my nose...surprise surprise....influenza. and for the next four days i did not MOVE from my bed. awful! i don't think i've ever really had the flu. and then the tamiflu made me throw up all night! oh that was joyous...
so enough about me. the kids are doing well. they also are on antibiotics from the wretched cold that won't leave....but other than that fine. :) they are my constant subjects for photography and i have to say that they are stunning to photograph. i truly love being their mom and i love watching the age they are all at. jade is almost two and that blows my mind. she loves to dance, sing, crack us all up. ronan is settling down and mollie (the dog) seems to really be helping him. he loves to cuddle with her and run her around the back yard. she is so patient with him (bordering on absolute stupidity) and loves him back. zander is growing up a mile a day. i swear he's the size of the 10 year old across the street. he's an awesome little boy and learning more and more every day. still all i hear is that he wants to be a scientist when he grows up.
any suggestions for jade's bday? themes? what do you do for little girls?

A coming of age...

Jade is now officially one of our kids. She has joined her brothers in the ranks of the ER and has broken her arm. today at mcdonalds she got pushed out of the entrance by her brother. now mind you, she was blocking the entrance and wouldn't move, so she want innocent. but she fell and caught herself with her left arm and got a buckle fracture by her wrist. she was a trooper but cried and cried and i knew something was not right. so off we went and they gave her a temporary splint and will have to get it casted on monday or tuesday when the swelling has gone down. my poor little girl! sleeping is NOT fun for her cause she's a stomach sleeper and a pretty active roller when sleeping (much like her dad). she keeps waking up and i know its going to be a long night...pray for my baby!

Zander's Hip Hop

At our church we had our christmas concert this last sunday. Zander did a little hip hop thing with the kids. it was cute! hope you enjoy!

o where o where has my little brain gone?

well here i am! it has been impossible for me to sit down and blog for a while! but bens' in vegas for work and i finally got caught up in my editing for daisyportraits, and here i sit. my poor darling dog got spayed last friday and she is still not recovered. she just lays here and glares at me! i'm loving the christmas season and seeing my lit up tree and all the christmas lights outside. ben did a great job outside decorating. he even built me a mantle over the fireplace so that i could hang stockings! :) the house is coming together. we still don't have a front window and our closet fell three times, but the yard is done, the trim is mostly done inside, and we've painted two rooms! so yea! although i am saving some projects for opa when he comes at christmas! :) hehehe....
so updates on the kiddies....zander is doing great at school. he loves every moment of it! he's reading books now and is speaking chinese all the time. it freaks me out a little...not going to lie...he absolutely loves where we live now and loves that he lives in a 'cul''d'SACK'. we have tons of neighbors with kids and zander adores playing with them. he'll just go sit in the front yard until someone comes out...slightly frightening...but cute. :)
ronan is still my little pistol. he's a different kid when zander is at school. he and jade are becoming quite the buddies. they play well together until zander comes home...then they all fight. he's still peeing on himself randomly but at least he pretty much changes himself when he does it. i don't know what else to do with that. he peed in the trash can in his room the other day...five feet from the bathroom...grr...he's singing all the time now and i love it. he heard a recording of ben singing and now he sings that song at the top of his lungs. i'll even hear him outside belting it out on the swing all by himself. :)
jade is growing up toooooo quickly! she's so grown up and talking all the time! she loves loves loves to dance. she will shake her bon bon for anyone. she's been diagnosed with exzema (no idea how to spell that) all over her face and chest. we have to keep her lathered up on lotions to try to help. i think its the dry air and running the heater all the time. but other than the itchiness she's doing ok with it.
ben is in vegas as i mentioned for training for work. training...yea right. he's just gone a few days but i'm already missing him. he's loving work and doing a great job still. he's got less than a year till he gets is bachelor's degree too! wooo hooo! that's exciting to me!
umm...i'm still doing photography. i have my business license and my name is officially registered. i've been really busy with the christmas card season but i really love what i'm doing. please please please give me a call if you want some shots taken! so that's it with the annens....i can't promise more updates but i'll try!

Christmas Cards and Ideas

Its that time of year! while i'm busy snapping people's pictures for christmas cards, i have done a little research on cute, affordable, and high quality christmas cards and photo gifts. I'm really happy with SHUTTERFLY's brand new holiday line. Its one stop shopping for all the stuff i need for photo gifts. and let's face it, photo gifts will always be great gifts! i haven't taken our family picture yet, but i'm already planning it around which card i like the best. i really like this one http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/snowflake-wishes-noir-holiday-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?sortType=1&storeNode=93480 but then again, there are so many to chose from. head over to their site to see which one might fit your needs for christmas! and oma and opa, or any of my other distant relatives, if you see some other gift you might be interested it, please let me know! :) I love getting everyone’s Christmas cards every year in the mail! I love seeing how each child has grown or where the creativity behind where each family has taken their picture. So make sure you update us with our new address! We’d hate to miss seeing your smiling faces!

CHECK THESE OUT!

Christmas photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

· holiday photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

· Christmas ornaments to http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/pewter-ornament

· desk calendars to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars

· photo albums to http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books/simple-path

·

Mollie

we have a new dog...who knew. her name is mollie and i love her. occassionaly i have a panic attack thinking about the fact that we now have a dog. but mollie is a great easy going dog. she has never barked yet, she loves to lay on you, she's great with kids, and she's housebroken! its the best of all worlds. we prayed hard that we would be able to find a dog that was perfect for our family. ronan has begged for a dog for forever and we thought it might help his adjustment. today she took a nap on his bed and that just made his whole day. she was from a military family that was recently transfered overseas. so they couldn't take her with them and she is only 8 months old. we found her on craigslist after days and hours of looking at the pounds, humane society, pet stores, etc. but i kept praying and as soon as we saw molly we knew. she's perfect. and she's very little work! (my kind of dog!) i am normally not a dog person...in fact i pretty much find them to be too much effort. but molly is different. she stole my heart immediately and she never leaves my side. ben is shocked at how lovey i am with her. she's an english setter mixed with something else. but she's a medium sized dog with a gorgeous coat. i'll try to post a picture soon.

We are HOME!

it has been a long road. i'll save you the details and disasters...but we are going to get there eventually. i love our neighborhood and i love our neighbors. the kids love living in a cul d'sac and riding their bikes around. i will get pictures up soon i promise. i just don't want to post them till i get things a little more unpacked.

halloween was wonderful and we had a great time wandering around our new neighborhood. zander was a dragon, ronan a knight, and jade a princess. then ben and i were a queen and he was the castle. zander came up with him being a castle and i loved it. and since we had so many extra boxes it came together nicely. we trick or treated with my parents and the kids loved having their geegee and papaw around.

the night before halloween we had a halloween party with our small group plus some. the kids LOVED it but it was a little exhausting for the parents. there were a LOT of kids! we were going to have the party at our new house but our wonderful dear friends offered their house. i am SO glad they did cause it was just stressful trying to get the house ready for people to come. and not to mention ben was gone thursday thru saturday before the party. so all in all, a great wonderful halloween. here's some pics