Pictures?

Even children who like to have their photos taken will balk at doing so when the thermometer reads 15F--even if you only ask them to stand inside the doorway.

It's cold, Mommy!

Pulling in reinforcements.

I give up.  Just give me your silly faces.

Apparently, though, it doesn't keep them from taking photos of each other.

Now That's What I Call a Snowfall!

It doesn't get much better than this. . .

The view from our back door

These were pole bean towers in the summer.  Now they match the snow-covered trees.

You'd think our school district would declare a snow day when the teachers get stuck in their driveways and the buses can't run.  Nope!  The kids still went to school (It was optional, but they didn't want to miss their Christmas parties) with Daddy.

My youngest daughter wouldn't wait until the kids came home at noon.  She wanted the snow all to herself, even though it was almost deeper than she is tall!

This is hot chocolate weather, for sure!

A few days ago we had ugly, brown ground starting at us every time we looked out the window. The kids have been praying and praying for a white Christmas. I think their prayers were answered. . .abundantly!

Merry Christmas, 2010

It's a True Talent

My four-year-old hasn't quite kicked the habit of "helping herself" to many of her siblings' possessions while they're at school.  Today she "borrowed" my oldest daughter's deodorant--and used it (but at least she used it correctly).

Now before anyone judges me as being a distracted mother, let me fill you in on her strategy--or ability to seize the moment, rather.  At lunchtime she spilled a cup of water on herself accidentally.  I sent her to change her clothes while I cleaned up the mess and took the wet laundry into the utility room.  She's quick--in more ways than one.  Somehow while changing her clothes the idea must have dawned on her that deodorant was needed.  She sees her teenage sister using it; why not her, right?  So she helped herself. . .and hid it in her room for future convenience.

I noticed the scent, but thought she had put on some lotion, which she is allowed to get for herself. . .now that she's learned not to put it on the carpet.  After supper, however, when my oldest complained of the missing item, I made the connection and sent the kids on a search.  The deodorant was found and returned to its rightful place.

As we headed downstairs for a family night, my second daughter confided to me, "It's okay, Mom.  I know where all her hiding places are."  Instantly a little head popped around the corner and exclaimed, "Nope.  There's still one!"

Thank you for participating in the Jessica Sprague Certified Digital Designer Blog Hop

Thank you to those who participated in the Jessica Sprague Certified Digital Designer Blog Hop, and thank you for visiting my blog during this hop.  I enjoyed sharing my designs with you. 

Thank you for your kind comments.  Have fun playing with all of the digi goodies you gathered up!  If you use some of my designs in your scrapbooking or crafting, let me know.  I'd love to hear how you used them!

Thanks again for hopping!

Friend-ly Photo Shoot

A friend of mine asked me to take some photos of her family.  This is a family that loves to spend time together and you can see that feeling reflected in the photos.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity, Bobby and April!

Blog Hop!

Whether you're new to digital scrapbooking or simply want to add some more delectable goodies to your stash, you won't want to miss this!

As a member of the inaugural graduating class of The Art of Digital Design at JessicaSprague.com, I will be participating in a huge blog hop November 11 - 14.  Over 40 designers (including yours truly) will be offering some of their designs for FREE in a collaborative "Christmas Traditions" kit.  It's going to be amazing!

I can't resist putting up a couple more photos

We're all baby lovers in this family!  You'll notice the band-aid on the poor little guy's hand.  He had some minor difficulties with his lungs after the birth, so he was poked and prodded to no end.  Luckily, after an extra day in the hospital, Mom and Dad were finally able to bring him home and he's doing great!

I have a new nephew. . .

. . .and my sister and brother-in-law were kind enough to let me come and try my hand at photographing a newborn--a three-day-old newborn to be exact.  So after three hours (with many breaks for kissing, cuddling, and feeding) and 208 photos later, here are a few of my favorites:

His big sister has already staked her claim on her baby brother.

"This makes two of us boys, now, Baby!"

My brother-in-law is a professional balloon sculptor, and since their son was born in October, we decided to go with a balloon pumpkin patch for a background.  He didn't seem to mind.

"Frozen" Moment

Here are a few photos I took of the "frozen vegetables" (quoted by my brother, Paco).  I found an exceptional beauty in the ice-coated plants. When the sun touched them, they shriveled into blackened, soggy masses. While the ice still held them, however, they were frozen in majestic detail.

When a Mistake Is a Good Thing

Our garden is gone.  Our beautiful, flourishing, full-of-ripening-vegetables is gone.  Last night we let the automatic sprinklers run.  Combine that with an early frost and. . .gone.  Our garden is gone.  I woke up to an ice-covered, blackened mass of vines and leaves.  But after crying a bit, I realize now that it's okay.

We made a choice yesterday.  And apparently that choice required a sacrifice.  My husband, James, has spent the past ten months working on an accelerated Master's Degree. It was necessary, for job stability, and it fulfilled part of a dream that's he's had all of his adult life thus far.  Today he begins his Doctorate program, which again, is necessary to get where he needs to be.  The past ten months have been hard on us, and our children have been very understanding.  So yesterday we chose to leave town and have a day out, just for us, with no deadlines, no assignments waiting for us when we got home.  Simply a day out.  And we had a wonderful time (photos forthcoming).  So when we came home last night, James and I were tired, too tired too listen to that little voice that said, "Did you see the fall colors in the mountains?  Autumn is coming.  Do you feel the change in the air?  Autumn is almost here."  We needed an evening together, so we ignored the little voice, spent some valuable time together, and went to bed.  And our sweet little garden was sacrificed. 

But our family was not.

We could have spent the day at home, catching up on the yardwork, picking the vegetables.  If we had, we would have been in-tune with the weather more and would have recognized that the smell in the air meant frost.  And we could have turned off the sprinklers.  We would have saved part--if not all--of the garden.  But we chose our family.  Those little children are just as tender as the plants in our garden.  If we do not nourish them with love, and show them that they are important, that time with them is a good thing, then how can we hope to see them grow up as unselfish, thoughtful, productive beings?  We have spent a lot of time training them and teaching them to help around the home.  They themselves spent hours helping us tend this same garden.  And they deserved a day off, just like we did.  So we went.  And we were tired.  And we made a mistake.

And I can't regret it.

For My Peeps: Beady, Baleful, Bug Eyes!

My fellow amateur photography group (affectionately called My Peeps--Thanks to our clever Sheralee) set a challenge to take a photo reminding us of the letter B.  I originally had a cute idea involving my kids, but when I went searching, I came across this little guy.  I immediately thought of "B"eady, Baleful, Bug Eyes.  These grasshoppers are everywhere this time of year.  When we walk through the grass they jump on our legs, when we rummage in the garden, we find them clinging to all the vegetables.  Ick!  It amazes me that a critter that is so cute and tiny and green in the spring can turn into these brown, ugly, scratchy, nibbly pests!

I wish I had a true macro lens for this shot, but I did the best I could, especially without a handy tripod.

More Chicken Adventures

Conner goes outside to gather eggs from the chickens.  Conner puts eggs in pockets.  Conner decides to practice catching chickens.  Chickens do not want to be caught today.  Conner slips and falls.  Conner returns to house. In the meantime,  Mommy is desperately trying to edit Daddy's final assignment so they can be finished with his accelerated Master's program FOREVER.  Conner wanders all over house trying to find Mommy in order to tell her that his shorts are covered in mud and dripping egg.   Daddy tries to intervene, but Mommy sees Conner's shorts before Daddy can hide Conner from Mommy.  Mommy decides to write story on blog instead of having nervous breakdown.

And here is the version I wrote first, which is a little more "embellished" (It's a little more "wishful thinking," although I do tease my hubby about "owing" me photo toys for every week's assignment that I've edited.  James always says that I've earned the Master's degree just as much as he has!):

Conner goes outside to gather eggs from the chickens.  Conner puts eggs in pockets.  Conner decides to practice catching chickens.  Chickens do not want to be caught today.  Conner slips and falls.  Conner returns to house. In the meantime,  Mommy is desperately trying to edit Daddy's final assignment so they can be finished with his accelerated Master's program FOREVER.  Conner wanders all over house trying to find Mommy in order to tell her that his shorts are covered in mud and dripping egg.   Daddy tries to intervene, but Mommy sees Conner's shorts before Daddy can hide Conner from Mommy.  Mommy has a nervous breakdown.  Daddy promises Mommy new tripod to make her feel better.  Mommy does feel better.  Mommy decides she will help Daddy with four more years of a Doctorate degree so she can have additional photography equipment to make her feel better.  Mommy gently reminds Conner that he will need to be more careful with eggs in the future, so the Hodson family can spend less money on food and more money on schooling and photography equipment.

Chicken-sitting the "peeps"

Yes, you heard right: we are chicken sitting for some friends while they are on vacation.  We have several chickens that we keep, so our friends asked us if their little "peeps" could run with ours for a few days.  "The more the merrier," our kids said--especially Conner--so here they are.  Of course we can't babysit a few chickens without a scrapbook page being made, right?  So I ran down to the coop yesterday to catch a few shots.  This is one of them.  Notice the "peepers" on that "peep" focused on me?  Well, about three seconds after I snapped this photo, she decided she didn't like being a subject and flew at me.  Luckily, the camera and I survived, and I still managed a few more shots, but this is probably the best of the bunch.  But it makes a great story, right?

Half of a photo shoot

Before we went to Oregon this year, my mom and I planned a "photo shoot" for her and my dad. I looked forward to it, as an amateur seeking practice (and as simply a time to take photos of my folks). Unfortunately, we never found the time. And that's okay. It was a busy time, and I ended up having the impromptu landscape shoots with my dad. But I did manage to catch my mom one day in between yard work and grandkids. We took the photos in her little bamboo grove. And I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.

So here is my mom. This is the woman who raised six children, never asking for recognition for herself. This is the woman who was always there at the end of the school day, or late at night if I needed to talk through my "teenage woes." This is the woman who never missed an opportunity to express her faith in God or her love for her children. This is the woman who showed generosity and compassion for others. This is the woman whose footsteps I follow, a woman who chose "homemaking" over a career, yet strove to improve and educate herself wherever she felt necessary. This is the woman who still stands by my father, in all times and all circumstances. This is my mom.

Father-daughter bonding moment

One of the reasons I discovered an interest in photography and storytelling was because of my parents.  As a little girl, I would "borrow" (sometimes for weeks at a time) my mom's photo albums.  She took photos of everything and recorded the events for us.  My dad, on the other hand, was the creative photographer.  During our two-year stay on Midway Island, he took slide after slide of "goony birds" (albatross), the beaches, and the lagoon.  When we moved to Oregon, he used the darkroom in his dental office to develop incredible black and white photos.  Many of our weekend family jaunts included Dad taking photos of waterfalls, Dad taking photos of the coast, and Dad taking photos of the fog-filled forest.  Well, it's my turn now (insert gleeful squeal).

I'm very much the amateur photographer, but I love it.  And I take every chance I can to try something new.  We took the kids to a waterfall near my folks' house (we'll see if my family members recognize it when they see the photos) and while my mom, hubby, and two brothers played with the kids, my dad coached me in taking some waterfall shots.  The photos turned out great, but more importantly I got to spend time doing something with my dad that I had wanted to do since I was a little girl.  That in itself makes these photos more priceless than all the gold in the world.

Sunrise in Oregon

Princess

While the younger girls were getting "sparkly" my oldest was adding a few sparkles of her own, in the form of dress-up clothes.  Yes, my girls are girly-girls.  Hey, I've got four of them; we may as well have fun with it!

Spider

With plenty of trees to spread webs from, it's no wonder the spiders love my parents' yard.  I thought this was a particularly handsome spider myself.

Fish pond

My dad lived in Japan for two years, and he's always had a fondness for Japanese gardens.  When they built their house several years ago, most of their time and money went into creating a backyard pond.  When we visit, our kids love to feed the fish in Grandma and Grandpa's pond; I like to photograph the fish.

My folks don't keep pets, but they do like their fish!

These are the fish's swimming patterns.  They're a cozy little bunch.

Sparkly Kids

"What has my sister done to me?!"

Grandma has the coolest "beauty kit" for kids, full of bright, colorful goodies (or goop) that can be spread all over kids' faces.  My second oldest daughter took the role of makeup artist for her younger sisters; these photos show her "masterpieces."

And here's the artist herself:

Romantic getaway

We've been visiting my folks in Oregon.  My husband and I don't get to leave the home for a date very often, so my parents encouraged us to take a bike ride through the forest.  My folks are fortunate enough to live near a paved nature trail that lies within walking or biking distance.  So we borrowed their bikes, grabbed my old Canon Powershot 6 MP camera (the dSLR was too bulky for a bicycle ride), and disappeared for a couple of hours.  Can you tell that we had fun?

It's a forest--of sorts.

I grew up in western Oregon, with a forest in my back yard.  Now I live in eastern Utah, in the middle of the desert.  As you can imagine, it's been a bit of an adjustment.  Several years ago, we built a house.  The next summer, I started planting.  But the plants that you can grown in western Oregon are very different than the ones you'd choose for Utah.  I added a new word to my vocabulary--Xeriscaping--and took on the challenge.

One of the first plants I added to our home was a hollyhock.  It was available in the early spring, when I was desperately searching the nursery for anything green, and my gardening books assured me it was "drought tolerant when established."  It survived.  So the next spring, I sowed some hollyhock seeds next to it.  Next year--wow!  I swear those little plants must be related to the beans in Jack and the Beanstalk because they grew like crazy. . .and multiplied.

I love waiting for them to pop out each summer.  In the spring, the kids and I chop down the last year's stalks (and I do mean chop--I have to use my large pruners).  Then we wait for the magic.  One day we can see a carpet of green spread along the west side of our home.  A week later, it seems, little stalks have shot upward.  Then the heat of summer arrives and suddenly the entire side of our home is covered by these lofty, friendly flowers.

Our trees may be small, but we have a forest--an entire grove of hollyhocks.