I know it is like super 'in vogue' right now to be a "photographer" but I'm secure enough to say I've wanted to have my own photography business for quite some time now! But until I get some more money (or a camera miraculously shows up on my door step) I am happy with my little Canon Powershot and my kiddos and friends as subjects. However, today I decided to put together a logo so my photos can't be used out there in cyberspace anonymously. I'm not really launching a business or anything but maybe one day...

So here is an example of the new logo for Home Life Photography. I named my blogring that when I created it a while back and now I kinda feel that name encompasses what I love about photography and evokes my style. I will never photograph another wedding for as long as I live unless it's just for my own amusement and the bride expects nothing (long, nightmare of a story!!) and I don't really want to do formals or events but I love everyday life and I want to 'photo journal' it. Ok, so thus the name...

Oh, and Michelle, as you can see I figured out the little flowers in Photoshop! Too fun, huh?

Yesterday, we so briefly ran outside and shot some Winter pics. Grandma had given the girls some cute matching outfits and the way we distroy clothes around our house requires a photo shoot anytime they put something new and cute on for the first time cause once those poor clothes are introduced into "active population" they get ruined real fast!! It was a super fast shoot but here are a few highlights...

The boots I found on sale... They are just crazy about these!! I give them 3 days...

My oldest girls! Tacey (5 1/2), Trina (7), and Tyler (3)

My Big Girl is growing up way too fast!! She struck this pose with out any coaching...

Tacey is just so vivacious!! Look at that mischief in those eyes!

We had so much fun (as usual)! Trenton needs his own dedicated shoot all to himself since it has been so long since I just focused on him. He's been so patient! So more pictures to come...

Today I grabbed the camera really quick before lunch here and took a few pictures. It's been a while since I took any pictures of the kids and so I thought I try and get a few. A couple of days ago,though, as I was going through my photo blog I realized that I have very few pictures of Tyler. I quick checked my pictures file on my computer and searched in vain for pictures of just Tyler. Yikes! There weren't very many... Poor baby! I realized that when I do photo shoots of the kids she is so wiggly that the ones of her end up not getting posted 'cause they are all blurry. Her expressions change so fast that I can't seem to capture her "look". But today I tried something new: I got in the pictures with her. Holding her still with all my might we captured one awesome shot with the timer setting. This one is going down as an all time favorite and she was thrilled with it as well...

She is just so precious!! She struggles so much with hyper activity and other behavior disorders but she brings so much joy and delight to our family!! We can't image life without her infectious smile, sparkling eyes, and kissable cheeks! The day wouldn't be complete without her asking to "go crazy" with us (a special Daddy/Tyler joke). Everyone who knows her wants to wrap her up and put her in their pocket! What a darling little dolly she is...

We Love You, Tybee!

I love holidays... but mostly I love the kids enthusiasm about them. They asked several times about what Valentine's day was about. So today we are launching a study of St. Valentine. This year I am trying to put together some family traditions that the kids can enjoy and remember year after year. It's been fun hearing what each of you guys have done for the holiday to promote love and appreciation around your house. Since yesterday was nuts with Jill and the kids coming to sled on our hill (too fun!!) and my class last night we decided today would be "celebration day" around our house. Some precious friends have agreed to watch the kiddos for us to go out tonight since my class was cancelled (wahooo!!!) and with an Applebee's gift card (a sweet Christmas present from Todd's parents... Thanks, Mom and Dad!!)  it will be a free night! I can't wait!

We just got done making cards for family and the kids loved it soooooooo much! Here are some highlights:

Tacey, hard at work... (she got a little help from Mommy)

Trenton, finishing up....

Trina's work of art! (she got some help too...)

Tacey's finished product.

They look so proud don't they?? What a fun time!! Now we are headed into the kitchen to make jello jigglers and then get on to "real school" after lunch.... Hope you all had a fun day yesterday!

Yep it's getting to be that time of year again.... Every year Todd and I swear we are never filing our own taxes ever again but each year we sit down with Turbo Tax and hash through the mess. But this year we decided to try a new tax preparer! She sure looks ready to go, huh???

What a cutie pie!! Her favorite thing in the world is pushing buttons on the lap tops... I think Teggy will make a brilliant Tax Preparer!!!

It's funny how good you feel when you finally feel better after being sick! It's almost a euphoric feeling of just a blissful lack of pain!! lol! Yeah, I know.... silly but I really do feel so good to feel good again!! I recovered really very quickly for being so terribly sick. I could have been sick much longer but our prayers were heard and I am back on my feet and none the worse for wear, really. I don't think I have ever been that sick in my entire life but I'm totally back to health now and so grateful for it!! My house is finally back clean and in relative order again and I washed everything in my room small enough to fit in my washer and got my husband to move back in (hee hee, he couldn't take my tossing and turning from the fever and moved downstairs for a week....) so life feels back to normal now.

School starts back full swing for the kids and I today so I'm headed off to get the kiddos going but I wanted to thank you all for your thoughts, notes, calls, help, meals, and prayers!! My friends here just rallied around me and made sure everything was taken care of and the kids and Todd had everything they needed! My mother-in-law showed up on Monday (one of my worst days by far...) and cleaned the house for the afternoon and even took Tyler (the very busy 3 year old) with Trina for support and loaded up my laundry pile in her van and three days later brought home everything clean and folded!! That was a huge help since Tyler is a one man wrecking crew at this point and my laundry was getting out of control! THANKS, MOM!!!!!!!! What a huge boost that was!!! But everyone who brought food, took the kids, cleaned with the kids, and brought movies and treats for me were just such a special blessing and to all I send a huge HUG!!!! Thanks a million, guys!! You are the best!!!

Yep, somehow I have contracted Mono... I thought I knew a little about this stuff but I was shocked to find that it is the most painful illness that I've ever had!! I am drugged up to the hilt right now in order to type these few sentences while lying in bed. I am covered from head to toe with a horrible hot, welty rash on top of the worst headache and joint pain! I look like a total feak! The poor kids try not to be disturbed by how I look but it obviously bothers them. And as if pain like nothing I can relate it to weren't enough, I started vomiting today on top of everything else!

My sweet babies have been waiting on me hand and foot and trying to be grown up and take care of the house all by themselves. Their extremely stressed daddy hasn't been able to be home much so they have really taken on a lot for being only 8,7 and 5! Tegan and Tyler have been completely cared for: from changing diapers, bathing, dressing, and feeding by Trina and Tacey! Trenton has fixed all the meals and kept the kitchen clean and run the dishwasher as well as kept laundry going. He comes in and out of my room reporting on their progress, keeping my water filled and bringing me little bits to eat. Several times a day he brings Tegan to sit with me for little short periods of time when my pain is managed enough to handle her climbing all over me and my bed. She seems to cherish those moments! I know she misses me being the one who does all her care... But she has been very patient with Trina and Tacey.

If you think of it please pray for me. I don't know how long I will feel this totally incapacitated but from what I understand it could be weeks! I have no idea what I'll do about school... For now I guess I just have to take it one day at a time and see how long this lasts. I'm honestly really scared. It's disturbing to look in the mirror. Apparently this rash only appears in about 15% of Mono cases. I just am afraid of pain like this for weeks! I want my Mom!!!

Ok, now I'm getting nervous. I got home from my Business Communications class last night and now I'm biting my nails. This lady has got quite a lot in mind for us this semester! I'm not sure why but I'm just not real excited about learning about the corporate world and how to communicate in it. Probably that feeling has to do with my experiences at Target and how things ended there. It wasn't all bad but I had a horrible supervisor who I jumped though hoops for only to find him even more critical than before. But then when I up and quit he goes on about how I could have gone anywhere with Target ("even without a degree??" yeah, right!) and that I was one of the best employees they had! What?? Is that how you treat your best and most indispensable people? All that is ancient history now but I just have this lingering distaste...

Anyway, I hate to admit that I find myself not look forward to spread sheets, graphs, power points, debate techniques, and meeting formats. But I don't know... Maybe it will be better than it sounds. Tonight I find out what my last class is like (Art History) and then I should have the basic picture of what kinda craziness this semester is going to be! I wish I wasn't so freaked out now. I just feel the work mounting and since I always feel behind with the kids schooling and my house work as it is now I feel this rising panic... He is sufficient! I just have to keep that at the forefront of my mind.

On another note, Trina finally started reading yesterday!!! Whahoooo!! She really has had her own pace going here and I haven't felt that I needed to push her super hard but as I was working with her yesterday she just started making all the sounds go together and we just about did a jig! She is really proud of herself and can't wait to practice more. Both my sister and I struggled with reading so I have been really laid back about Trina's lack of interest and early frustration point. I knew that is would come together when she was ready but I never saw it coming yesterday! I thought it would be many more months before she would finally see the words as a story. There just seemed to be such a block there but over night it seems to be gone. She is so bright and has such a servant's heart that Todd and I decided to just let her be herself and somehow just knew that it would click for her one day....

I shouldn't be surprised I guess but my first two nights of class went great! and.... I think I can do this! My economics class is going to drive me nuts since my teacher is as liberal as they come and wants to discuss topics like how our "current administration" is destroying the world as we know it by making bad economic decisions and how much he hates rich people!  He went on and on about how if you've got 10 million why in the world would you want 11? I felt like asking him if he has $10 why in the world would he want $11?? I mean the only thing he could really do with another dollar is buy a coke from the pop machine down the hall and Lord knows he doesn't need one of those! Good grief! How stupid! And of course the only example he used of ridiculous wealth was Dick Chaney! Can we say, "John Kerry"?? Sheesh! Oh, and all you Texans would be just thrilled to know that it's all your fault that our gas prices were so high last year! Oh, yes! Why didn't you guys tell me you were all getting rich speculating on oil? I had no idea! *eye roll* His facts were poorly cloaked in his liberal propaganda but he seemed nice enough and very laid back so I think the class should be easy to pass.

As to my English class... I am going to LOVE this class!! I have always loved writing and can't wait to gain feedback on what I can do to improve and maybe do more with this interest. The teacher seems great. He is a fulltime high school English teacher at one of KC's finest public schools and he is clear on what he wants and how much he hopes to help us succeed. Over half my class is around my age and I already met 2 other moms and we talked about helping each other. I'm just so excited I am bustin'!

*edit* Oh, and I wanted to thank all of you for your out pouring of support! It means so much and I'm sure as the days and weeks go by will become even more so! You "Xangans" are the best!! Don't know what I'd do without you chicas! *end edit*

I have no idea what to expect... When I walked down that isle to get my high school diploma I was so elated and remember thinking, "I never, EVER want to do any kind of school ever again!!!!!" Of course only a few weeks later I left for cosmetology school in Indianapolis and when that year was over I was out of my ever-lovin' mind I hated school so much!!!!! The next isle I walked down was to marry Todd and I thought I would never see the inside of a classroom again but little did I know schooling was going to be a major part of our lives for a very long time... Funny how God's sense of humor works!

So here is little home-educated Jessica who hasn't been inside a public school since I was 6 years old (and barely remember even that!) embarking on the unknown world of community college classes! Yikes! I am taking the full schedule of 12 credit hours: Art History, Business Communications, Macro Economics, and English 101; all evening classes every night of the week but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tonight is my first night of classes and I'm a excited to see what this is going to be like! I may have bit off more than I can chew but I have to give it a go and see what I am capable of.... LOL! I should stick out like a sore thumb! Stay-at-home mother of 5? "I know, I look like I'm 19..."  "No my kids all don't have different fathers!" And "No. I didn't drop out of HS to have a baby and am just now finally thinking, 'Aww, shucks... I think I'll go back to school so the govenment will pay to have my kids in daycare for more hours of the day!'" Maybe I'll get lucky and nobody will speak to me.....

Anyway, I really covet your thoughts and prayers as I struggle to add this to my already precariously balanced juggling act. I'll keep you posted on the status of my demise...  Hopefully, it will all be a breeze and I'll be relieved to see how smart I never knew I was! Ha!

TTFN!