next set

I think I really like all of these ones. I don't think I've ever seen my little brother happier.

my little brother's wedding...

I'm just going to have to do this a few at a time. Some of my favs (but not all are), completly unedited except for resizing.

Yes, I love this one.

google desktop

Wes installed google desktop on our computer. It is a rocking search engine. It searches my computer, very, very, very quickly. It is helping me find duplicate files. For instance, I just learned that all the photos in Img0063 are also found in Img0066. Say bye-bye Img0063.

purging photos

Every time I want to upload more photos from camera to computer, I have to delete some off the computer. Yes, I have about 144 gig of photo files on the computer. I'm currently working on purging so that I can upload from my little brother's wedding. Anyway, I came across this photo and I must say, I rather like it.

I think I shall keep it.

Wasn't I a cutie?

No, seriously, it's like looking in a mirror and seeing a reflection of myself 31.5 years ago.

sad

I am deleting duplicate and bad photos. We keep running out of room on our hard drive. My photos take up a lot of space. Anyway...

I am on the folder titled "church in the park aug 08." It makes me sad to see all the faces and realize they won't be there this year. They no longer call Ethnos their community. So many faces that I miss. It makes me sad.

What to wear?

So I've never been to a wedding where I knew I would be in the photos and I wasn't assigned something to wear. Worse yet, my whole family will be in the photos. Yes, my little brother is finally getting married. Now I have to dress my family. So I thought I'd start with an easy one, Adaya. She just needs to look super, fabulously cute. So the question is...

This

or that

or something else. What do you think?

book drive

Bolt

I rented Bolt today. A couple of friends recomended it. So I thought the kids would like it. We watched the first couple minutes before turning it off. Josiah was freaking out. He actually got up and left the room. I guess I watched it too long, thinking it would get better. Um, scary movie. It's PG. Really Disney? What happened to family friendly animation?

The kids are eating their pizza and watching School House Rock. They seem to like it. :O)

I guess Wes and I will watch Bolt tonight after the kids are in bed.

It's a photo contest.

It's supposed to be something creative. I did something creative. No one else did. They just did the patterns. I did something new. They just did the patterns. I went beyond. They just did the patterns.

It doesn't even look like I'll squeek out a third place. I am sad. People are voting for the waffles now. She didn't even do the fruit that goes with them. Sigh. I am sad. I think I'll go cry now.

So much for getting free patterns to make for Adaya... And my niece...

Have you voted?

Seriously, I need more votes. Please go vote. I have 23% of the vote. That is not enough to win. At 100 votes, I am in second place behind 29 votes. And on my tail is 22 votes. Please, please vote and vote for number 12, the corn stock. It is awesome.

VOTE NOW

Go here and vote for number 12, the corn stock, my photo. The person who gets the most votes, and thus generates the most traffic, gets 3 free patterns.

Fun Felt Food

Go ahead, say that ten times fast.

A couple weeks ago I was at a local children's chain store. Adaya was playing with the kitchen set which is always out. I picked up a piece of play food. It wasn't your typical plastic or wood, it was made from various fabrics. I decided that I could do that and it would cost so much less. So a few days later I went to another local chain store where one buys fabric and craft supplies. I browsed through the pattern section and found nothing. Back at home I sat down at the computer and started my hunt. That's where I found Bugga Bugs. There are all kinds of fun felt food patterns for sale on her Etsy site. They are terribly cute. I bought five and of course got the sixth one free. Love them. Loving making them. I've only done corn and a shopping bag thus far. But hey, I only just got the patterns. I'm hoping to have them all done for Adaya for her birthday or Christmas at the latest. You should go, sign up for the Bugga Bug newsletter, and get your free strawberry pattern.

I'm going out!!!

Adaya nursed for the last time last night.

Tonight, Myself and six other mommies are hitting the town in style. Our limo arrives at 8...

A niece!

You all missed Spring and Summer, because Autumn is here.

She made her grand entry Tuesday evening.

Check out Stephen's blog and flicker.

coming soon...

...The Smiths were here.

Sweet. Seriously.

The site, his idea.
The address, my idea. Thank you.

www.thesmithswerehere.com

Josiah and the lottery

Today, I entered Josiah in the lottery, the school choice lottery. Who knew going to kindergarten could be so complicated?

In the Portland district, you can choose to move your child to any school you want. If you win the lottery, that is. Every child can have a spot at their neighborhood school. You can also enter the lottery for up to three other schools. It's kind of crazy, really. If you win the lottery, for one of those selections your child can transfer to that school.

We only entered for one school. We probably wouldn't have done it at all, but there is an "option program" called Odyssey, located in the same building as our neighborhood school. We're not completely sure it's the best fit for Josiah. We're not sure he shouldn't just go to the neighborhood school. But, we thought we'd enter him in and if he gets one of the coveted spots, try it out. If it doesn't work for him, we can always take him out. But it's a lot harder to get a spot later on in his education. While this year there are probably around 25 slots for kindergarten, there may only be 3 or 4 next year for the 1st grade.

I've also thought about different charter schools, I think I like Opal. But that is a different lottery, next month.

God opens doors and shuts them. I believe He can place Josiah where he should be. So we will just have to wait and see which doors open.

Adaya, Aunt Amy, Autumn, and Uncle Stephen

Christmas Day nap with my future aunt

lego dino created by Josiah