Biking...with a Camera of course!

Good day! Thought I would share some photos from a recent adventure...we packed the little guys up in the bike trailer that we bought last year and went for a bike ride. First time on my bike for me this summer and the little guys really liked it! So to capture the moment of course I had to bring our little camera. Wes could not believe that I would take photos at the same time as riding my bike...quite the adventure for someone who isn't too graceful to begin with. I think I only nearly fell of my bike or hit a curb 3 times. By the end of the ride Wes was annoyed with my last near curb hit and said he didn't want to pick me up off the ground. He doesn't quite understand my desire to capture everything through photos. I sure had fun though!! Here are the photos to prove it.

Note the wind blowing in my hair...."speed...I am speed!" (Lightening McQueen)

Back Yard

Howdy! Today I am so thankful for our back yard. I don't know why it hit so hard today...maybe I am feeling a bit undeserving. Wes, Aidan and I sat out on the back deck after church today and we ate nachos and had some good conversation. Conversation about God, music, lyrics, having Jesus in our hearts, etc. It was great. I can't say that I had all the answers, and Wes is so good at relating to Aidan about things he experienced when he was growing up. It was great and not done nearly enough nowadays. Thank you Lord for a beautiful day today. Thank you for the conversation we could have and how our conversation turned to You. Thank you for blessing us with the comfort and beauty of a back yard we can make memories in.

Above are some photos of the boys in our backyard enjoying themselves and the beautiful weather we have been having.

Shopping vs. Park - Park Wins!

Addison jumps for joy! Just recently figured out how to jump with both feet in the air at the same time.

Asher and his best friend "Shadow." He loooves to find his shadow with his hand...provides hours of entertainment for him.

Good evening! I am getting ready for bed, just wanted to write a little before I head for my much needed beauty sleep. I was thinking about something I often struggle with: SHOPPING. As a "home-maker" I find myself often going "shopping" to get out of the house, to break up our day...something, anything to do as some of the days when Wes is at work seem to drag on and on and on. I face this little battle at least a couple days a week, depending on how many days Wes works. So on Monday I found myself in the same battle...here rolls 10 am and the little boys NEED something...a change of scenery usually as they have been up for 4 hours already (ya, sucks I know) and are bored of our house and yard. This is a crucial time in our house, if we don't go out somewhere then Asher usually needs to go down for a nap which means that he won't nap after lunch at the same time as Addison which in turn results in no "mommy/quiet time" for me. So, we usually go out. Should we go to Superstore ( I like shopping there because I can get both the little boys sitting in the front part of the shopping cart) and "look around?" You have to know me...I love to give gifts...so for me to go into a store and come out empty handed is darn near impossible. I also love to buy things for the boys and other kids I know...and if I see a sale or good deal it is so hard for me to resist. So, anyhoo....as the kids were all loaded in the van I ran back into the house and grabbed my camera. I thought..."Shauna, you don't need to buy anything at Superstore" so we headed to the park. This is my first attempt at taking the 3 boys there on my own and I was a little nervous about it thinking they may head in different directions or run onto the road or maybe I was just making excuses to not do it. Aidan (our oldest) wasn't that excited about going to the park at first but in the end it seemed like he was having a good time too. I will tell you what.....I am sooooo happy we went to the park. One battle defeated...one less shopping trip...one more time to make memories with my boys. I ended up taking just over 100 photos of our 1.5 hours at the park. Not to say they are all great...but I really had fun and so did the boys. No one ran on the road or anything. Thank you Lord!

P.S. My husband was proud of me too :)

Beautiful

Great morning to you! My husband is off of work today and he got up with the little boys today and I got to sleep in until 9am!! Wow...that is like a little piece of heaven to me! My husband also make me one of the best cups of coffee...such a sweetheart he is!! The older boys are gone out to the lake fishing and I am home with the little guys. As you may learn about me I looooove to take photos. Thought I would show you a little of our recent project and the beauty that flowers can bring to a yard.

Note: Our boys haven't tried to pull them out or eat them yet....YAAHHH! Ok, they may have been a little stomped on as Aidan runs to catch the football but what can I expect with a house of boys? Lovin' it....

Of This World

Well hello again! Been a while since I wrote. I was torn with the use of "time" I could spend on this kind of thing. I was recently inspired by a woman who leads the Women's Ministry at our church and find myself encouraged by reading her daily blogs. So I thought I might give it a whirl, if I could encourage one person out there all the better.

What I have been challenged with as of late is the idea of being "of this world" as we have to live in this world. There are so many things that can take us away from Jesus and the person He wants us to be. So many things that people can idolize...new houses, new vehicles, "bigger and better" everything and I am torn by it at times. Jesus wants to be our only idol...He is Lord, He is Soverign and He is all Powerful.

A few months ago I found myself getting "caught up" in wanting to make cards again and spent too much time browsing through websites and catalogs with the excitment of how much I love to paper craft. Last year I gave all my stamping stuff to our oldest son's teacher because I really didn't have the time to do it, and I decided I needed to make a choice between stamping and scrapbooking because of the time constraints I face in our busy life...so there went the stamping stuff...simplify.... I remember my sister in law telling me I could pray about it and at first I thought it was kind of silly, pray about stamping? OK, so I tried it...I prayed that God would take that excitement out of me for stamping, I prayed over and over again and within a few days I let it go...I wasn't excited about looking at it...I didn't long to see the finished products. How easy was that? I will admit that I still absolutely love looking at a handmade card and appreciate every single minute of time someone put into it to create that little masterpiece. I decided that my love of scrapbooking will hold lifelong memories that I can pass on and I thought that was more important, so now that is my hobby...something I loooove doing when I make the time (which isn't nearly often enough.) This ties in so nicely with my love of photography and my attempts to capture "life" through a camera.

So, all in all...I know we all have battles...every single day as to how we don't have to be "of this world." No matter how big or small...how have you prayed against being "of this world?"

Note: So much more I want to say here but I smell a poopie bum and hear that our oldest son is out of bed so I have to run...never a dull moment in the house of 3 boys :) Bless your day!