pictures from the park

Yep. A mouth full of graham cracker.

He is my little explorer.

I love this picture. He isn't upset about falling, he's squinting because the sky is so bright. He was just laying in the grass being goofy.

Such a stoic little man.

This is just shortly after he ate a huge handful of sand. I looked over at him and he flat out bent over scooped up a handful and put it in his mouth. He made the same face he does when he eats something that doesn't taste that great. Luckily, he didn't go back for more.

I love his eyes.

Climbed up the big slide on my own!

a day in the life

Today, Titus and I went to the park and he played with Lincoln while Ashley and I could chat and take pics. Oh I see lots of fun in our future.

This picture is about halfway through the morning. This face literally describes pretty much exactly how I think my son feels about the camera. I shot maybe 75 pictures of the boys, maybe 15 included an actual face and ZERO included a smile from either one. I'm impressed at 14 months my child has figured out how not to smile for the camera.

I love this picture. There are so many things about it that I love. Titus and his buddy Lincoln. Lincoln is 7 months older and bigger than Titus but they are starting to love each other although they still just like to poke at one another. Titus is pretty sneaky about it but he watches what Lincoln does. My little man was pretty apprehensive about walking on the bridge. I have no idea why. But after watching Linc run across it a couple of time, he took to crawling on it and then walking. My other favorite thing about this picture is the two strollers in the background. Looking at this reminds me of where my life is right now and how absolutely wonderful it is.

Later that afternoon, Titus went over to his Grandpa and Grandma's. I had a couple hour break where I could have napped but instead cleaned the downstairs. Titus returned with a couple bumps on his noggin. I am just torturing my mom by sharing the pics.

These are a few of the carnations that are sitting on my dining room table. My husband brought them home for me Sunday afternoon. He is at camp and it is just torturing my soul. We have a thing - when he is away from home he calls at night, usually late and prays with me and says Good Night - well he didn't call last night and he called early this evening to say he couldn't call at night this week. Oh, my little heart just broke. Oh and yes they are carnations and once upon a time I despised these cheap flowers, but now have fallen in love with their simplicity and longevity.

And tonight after the Titus man went to bed. I busted out the crafty stuff and made this card. The beauty of it is that my picture makes the card look so much greater than it really is.

Oh! And Titus pooped in the bathtub tonight. This is the second time this has happened. And once again Brion is out of town. I am beginning to think that this is my little man's way of acting out while Daddy is gone. Lame.

More...

So I enjoyed shooting some pics tonight, amongst socializing during the Ice Cream Social. Titus had a mini-meltdown when he woke up from his nap so we were late and I was stressed.

I just want to shoot and learn - shoot and learn. Titus is my only model. To scared to ask anyone else and he won't sit still long enough for anything. Thankfully tonight some kids kept his attention for me for a few minutes before they got in the way.

Got several that I will keep. Played with some actions in CS4. Love it.

My little man. I am so thankful for him and his precious smile filled with joy.

And this last one is my favorite. No - you can't really see his face. But I just love the way the light is hitting his hair and since I know him I know what his little mind his up to. I just love this kid.

loving my new (used) rebel xt & it is loving me too

There is an awful lot to remember and I must remind myself that the camera has only been in my hands for a few days. I accidently shot a bunch of shots with my ISO at 800 so they were grainy, I accidently shot in jpg not raw for far to many, I had hard time with some shots the other night but I had hit the timer button instead of the one shot button (secretly I thought my camera was broken, it wasn't), and now must remember what all the dials do in all the different modes. Good thing is just typing about it is making me want to go downstairs and play with the camera some more.

so far i've just been trying to master the manual (or creative as the manual calls them) controls. I've been having so much fun. Just keep rereading the manual and practicing with the camera.

I'm taking it with me to the park tonight (Church Ice Cream Social) but I am pretty sure the

light will be worthless (look at me pretending to know what I am talking about already).

Here are a few so far. Nothing too exciting. But hopefully more exciting things are to come.

The outside shots are just me discovering the joy of my aperture and focus points and I am

sure more but I can't remember all I was learning at the moment.

Meet my models - in the back is C for Camel, in the middle is D for Dophin and in the front is N for Night Owl.

These are our not so blue blueberries. But they are coming!

And this is my son. These are editted shots and my over critical eye sees so many things wrong with them that I'm having hard time posting them.

Look for lots more in the next two weeks - the husband is away at camp!

8 Things - For Fun

8 Things

Cheri M.  tagged me.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Going Part Time.

2. Hearing Titus Talk.

3. Watching my children grow to love Jesus.

4. Summer play dates for Momma.

5. Continueing to make new friends & deepen the relationships I have.

6. Titus’s baby sister or brother.

7. New babies at the church.

8. Being married for a long, long time.

8 Things I did yesterday.

1. Woke up at 5:15, made waffles for breakfast.

2. Arrived at work/church promptly at 7:30. Ran around like crazy.

3. Rolled ankle in foolish move at 8:15

4. Continued to walk around on painful ankle for a few more hours.

5. Taught a lesson on Faith: Trusting in what you can’t see because of what you can see.

6. Demo’d an Uppercase Living Party that was very fun.

7. Let husband take care of ankle with ice and love.

8. Snuggled my boy.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Balance being a mom, a wife, youth pastor’s wife, & a children’s ministry director perfectly.

2. Always have patience with Titus and never raise my voice.

3. Go on a trip to Ireland.

4. Be more flexible with others time schedules.

5. Sing & do the motions to fun kid songs for church. I am not good at that.

6. Make 2 of the 3 meals everyday for my husband.  

7.  Figure out how to manage all the piles of stuff that just show up around the house.

8. Go on cruise to a warm place.

8 Shows I Watch:
1. So You Think You Can Dance

2. CSI (Las Vegas, New York, Miami)

3. Psych

4. How I Met Your Mother

5. Big Bang Theory

6. Chuck

7. NCIS

8. Project Runway, Top Chef, Design Star & Next Food Network Star 

Time Flies

this is 3 weeks old 

this is 48 weeks later... 

Titus will be ONE YEAR OLD on Monday! 

WOW! 

The bouncy house will be here just before 11 on Saturday, 

followed by an army of our closest friends and family! 

We are throwing a party! 

For more pics from our latest photoshoot with our 

super photographer

visit:

FourthLight Photography

girlfriends, babies, and tears

I just had my first real girls day since I moved to Oregon almost 3 years ago. 

Yes, I have had my girl friends from up north visit, and I am so thankful for those visits. I have a weekly appointment with a wonderful "girl" whom I don't think I would survive with out. But today I traveled 2 or so hours up the coast and went shopping with A. 

A is my new friend. She's not new new. But today I would definitely call her my friend. Friendships between girls are hard. Hard to develop. Hard to maintain. Hard to deal with sometimes. And now I am a mom, so there are kids in the mix and if your kids pushes, steals, jabs eyes out or throws scissors at mine... I have an even harder time trying to be your friend. I'm not giving out ST ENDS to my BE FRI anymore, but I do truly appreciate the relationship God is forming in our hearts. 

 So far I think she's the only one I can shop with. We shopped for like 4 hours and I wasn't annoyed once! I wasn't expecting to be annoyed and was so excited about shopping for Titus clothes at the outlet mall that I forgot what a horrible time I have shopping with people until we got there. But I didn't! It was awesome, and I enjoy are conversations and they are honoring to God. I appreciate a girl who can share her struggles with out gossip, it encourages me to do the same even more! Just as God intended! 

 

I had a wonderful day! & my bucket is full!

Side note: I follow this precious blog from time to time, along with another hundred thousand people or so.  I can't do it everyday because I am reduced to a weepy, snotty mess most everytime I read. So I usually wait, till I have no husband (he's gone for the night) and my baby is asleep. Although after reading said blog and finishing this post I will be promptly heading upstairs to kiss my baby boy. Good night!

I know we (I) haven't updated for awhile. BUT WE'VE BEEN BUSY! 

Titus is growing like a weed. 

His favorite things; small plastic balls, his helicopter, large bouncy ball, wrestlin' with Dad & pirate booty. 

He's a happy kid! We're a happy family, busy adjusting to both Brion and I being in full-time ministry has been a challenge and we are both looking forward to the day I go part time. It is in the future. It has also been an adventure and everyday just gets better. 

We are making some changes in our church and heading towards a family ministry focus. I am getting to do some of the things in Children's Ministry that I thought I would only dream about!

Oh and Titus will be ONE years old next month! I can't not believe we are that close to toddlerhood.

Captions by Titus! 

Seriously, my parents thought it would be a good idea to teach me to use chopsticks! Mom doesn't even know how to! Looks like I am figuring it out so far!

My hair doesn't look like this very often. Who knows, some day maybe I will get a hair cut.... Oh and those are my favorite pirate jammies!

This is Dad and me on the bus on the way home from Seattle. 

I rode all the way to there and back and didn't fuss much at all! 

If Mom had let me this would have been the place I spent the most time on the bus. This is the little plastic shield that protects the bus driver from the rest of us, well not me! 

This is my buddy Seth that we got to see while we were in Seattle, he's 6 months older then me. Check us out back in July!We sure have grown up! Oh excuse the bottle in my mouth, but Mom waited till late the night before we were leaving to finally take a picture and I was tired! 

Update & Camera Dump

"I've found the cupboard, I've opened it and now I can chew on the containers of cereal I don't even like to eat. BTW - anyone need some baby cereal?"

"HA! MOM I FOUND YOU!"

 (This was my first time sneaking into that Kitchen place and surprising my Mom.)

"Oh ya, this is the life."

"Why are they always taking pictures of me when I am just trying to play my piano?!"

"So my mom thought it was pretty silly that I let this stuffed Caterpillar wrestle me to the ground, no joke, this is not staged."

AND NOW THE UPDATE...

Well, it has most certainly been too long since we've updated. If only you all knew how often I check everyone else's blogs in anticipation of an update. I do feel guilty for not updating often here. 

It's been a WHOLE month and a day since the last update - and well lots has changed but probably not much we haven't told you about in person, through a phone call, or email or even facebook, myspace or twitter. You name it and we probably try to communicate on it. 

Regardless, Titus will be NINE months old this Wednesday, he's super fast crawler, climber and cruiser. He knows he's so fast at crawling that I am not sure how much interest he'll have in walking for awhile. We shall see. He's starting to stand on his own, for a few seconds at a time. But he likes to jump so much or crawl so much that practicing with him is nearly impossible, put your hands under his arms and he thinks your going to jump him or let him down in standing position and he goes to the floor to crawl. He's really good at holding his breath as he revs up to cry, the beauty of this is it is usually out of pure stubbornness not pain or sadness. He had his first fever earlier this month, he was definitely sick, poor little guy he was so cuddly and sleepy. And I was a worried Mama, but that is what mamas are for. It was over in less than 3 days and he was back to normal, sadly I missed the cuddle bug that he was when he was sick. 

Brion is the new youth pastor at (our church) Hauser Community Church his official start date was February 1, but he'd been easing himself into it all month. He started the month off with a nasty tonsil infection, a touch of a flu and a cold that wouldn't quit. The antibiotics started to help in a day or two, but he had to "call in sick" to HS Youth Group the first night. He's much better now and the lovely white flora that had been growing on his tonsils is gone. (Yes, you may make a face and go "YUCK!") 

We are a busy family now. As of right now our schedule is a little crazy outside of the normal work week. Our normal work week consists of roughly the hours of 9-4  Tuesday -Friday, somedays start earlier and end later, and sometimes they start later and end earlier. We also attend church Saturday nights (it's work but we attend service) and work Sundays from 7:30 to 1pm. And now our busy Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings.  Tuesday - HS Youth Group, Wednesday -  Awana, Thursday - JH Youth Group. All of these run us a few hours, from 6-9ish. Needless to say our Friday nights are pretty special to us.  

AND we're moving. Essentially into a parsonage. It is the house of the previous youth pastor and the youth group currently meet in the GRAGE which is actually a large 3 bay garage on the property. We're very excited to move, not excited to pack, but ready to move. It is a 3BD 2BATH house! We'll have a guest room! And space.  We have a lovely apartment now but the baby stuff is starting to over run us. 

Oh, yes I am still working full time and will be for little while longer, but eventually I will go like 3/4 time and share some of my responsibilities with another person. I am very excited to see who God has picked out for that role!

We are doing some amazing things at the church and mostly we are starting a family ministry. I am so excited about doing ministry the way I see that God has commanded it and reaching out to families to help them raise their children. Instead of just trying to reach the children. It means change and its not always welcome. 

Well, that's enough for now. Its taken me long enough to write all this. I should probably go pack a box or two or maybe a nap.... hmmm....

Bathtime

Titus enjoyed a bubble bath this evening. We took advantage of the opportunity to shoot naked baby bum bath pictures. And then just after his bath I ran into some naked baby bum pictures of Brion and I as wee little ones. 

Much to my surpirse. Titus looks more like me than I expected. Unlike most other moms and dads in the world we had not compared our baby pictures with Titus much. Or at all.

And I don't know how old Brion or I are in these pictures. 

I like to eat bubbles. A lot. 

He really enjoys testing the water. So he'll get on all fours and dip his face in. 

Tonight there were so many bubbles in the tubs that all he would get was a face 

full of bubbles. I am 99.9% convinced that eating a bunch of Johnson & Johnson No More Tears 

Baby Shampoo bubbles won't do much to him. But time will tell. 

A baby Brion in the bath. 

Such a cutie, but didn't look as much like Titus as I expected. 

A baby Rachel, apparently just playing naked in a play pen. 

That toy thing in the background...

I totally remember that from when I was a kid. 

Family Pictures

Titus's first candy cane. Yes it is wrapped. :)

Titus and his GREAT-Grandma.

The happy family! It's hard to keep those fingers out of his mouth right now!

Seester and Brother!

Titus and his Grandpa and Grandma.

Titus and his GREAT-Grandparents.

Four Generations of ladies. From left - My Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma and ME. There are Five generations of us including Titus.

Titus and his GREAT-GREAT Grandma.

The whole family!

Christmas was wonderful! Titus had a blast and enjoyed the whole day with people gushing all over him. More pictures were taken then had been in a many years. And again this year we all said "Wow, we have too many presents." And we did, but can you really have too many?

It was a wonderful Christmas and we truly are thankful for the birth of our Savior.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from The Spores!

The Biter Biscuits

I must warn you the following pictures can be quite disturbing                                                            if you are not familiar with what a Gerber Biter Biscuit is capable of. 

You can purchase this product for a mere $1.82 for just 12 at a Wal-Mart just outside Eugene, Oregon on hwy 126. 

Let me set the scene. 

It was a Monday. I had just returned the day before from a weekend long trip to Portland with 15 teens and 3 other adults. One of the vans broke down about 2 hours out of town, so we had to rent a vehicle while said broken down van was being fixed in the wonderful town of Drain. And yes I really do mean wonderful and the town really is called Drain. 

So on this Monday, Brion and I and Titus were going to drive to Drain pick up the now fixed van, Oh by the way, the wheel almost fell off, God totally saved us, and the Drain Church of Christ gave half of our girls a ride to Eugene from Drain to get to the rental car place. It was totally awesome. And after all that we were only 20 minutes late to the event. Next year - we make it on time. 

 Ok - so we pick up the fixed van in Drain, take the rental back to Eugene, drop some OCC shoeboxes off and head to find a place to eat. At this point Titus has pretty much been in his carseat all day. He even hangs out in while we have dinner. So as we leave Applebee's (It is always my goal while on the I-5 corrider that I get to eat at mainstream restaurant we don't have in Coos County, not hard to do, although my goal that day had been Red Robin, it was on the other side of town.) We stop at Wal-Mart, Titus is starting to fuss - can you blame him? We pick up some things - I buy him some new bibs and some biter biscuits. I think - and yes I really did think... 

My friends have told me these are pretty messy, but Titus does pretty good with graham crackers, he'll probably do okay with these. He can't do it.

The thing is my dear friends really did warn me, but I did not listen. We had two hours to drive still. I didn't think my options were that good. When really I could have just walked over to the grocery side of wal-mart and bought some graham crackers. 

BUT I DIDN'T

AND TWO HOURS LATER WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR

THIS IS WHAT WE DISCOVERED..