4-14

ahhhhh....my four year old and my fourteen year old.  a decade apart.  such a range.  such a connection.  so much happens between those years.  my youngest is busy.  however, my oldest is busy in a much more complex way. she has a lot going on.  she is absorbed in her current "world".  sometimes this is a.....(sigh....word choice dilemma)....challenge.  life is full and fun and demanding. lots of "new and different" all around her.  her little brother often does much to keep her grounded.  he doesn't know he's doing this for her.  nor does she.  but i see it.  he has a way of reminding her of the "constant" of family.  one of the perks of having lots of siblings, i guess....they have fun behind the lens of a camera.  i love that.  sometimes she'll surprise me and disappear with him for awhile, and i'm blessed in turn with these cute images caught on her purple camera.  i love them. 

 i love how she loves her little brother. i love how he loves her.....between these two characters~ our four other unique and equally exhausting precious rascals  kids.  i guess that makes these two my bookends! 

guess who.....

is learning to dress himself more and more these days?

his technique isn't exactly "perfection" yet, but his "back side" sure is :)...

the crew...the good and the bad and the wonderful

wonderful is photographer (and former babysitter to at least five of our kids) Brenna Reilly (go now~ well, maybe not right now :), and check out her site.  her pictures are breathtaking)...she is sweet and lovely and so gifted. 

it's a pleasure to watch her work magic, although i think it might be a wee bit more pleasureful to watch her create lasting memories of other people and their families.  with mine, however, there was the "in the moment" begging and pleading and hoping for a "natural" smile from my kiddos.  there was the "clean-face" checks, the fly away hairs, the ashy skin of my brown boys then contrasted by the too shiny effect of the applied cream...all of that makes picture day somewhat stressful to me, i admit.

the reality is, however, that we are all those things, more often than not.  the crew of us are a messy-faced, food in our teeth, dry skinned, dishevelled bunch sometimes.  much like our unkept hearts, actually! 

just like Brenna does with our portraits (did i mention how gifted she is??) Christ comes in and tidies up~ cleans house, so to speak.  He picks up the mess, the sin, the dirt, the ugliness of our real selves and presents us before God as whole and worthy and beautiful and loved.  SO THANKFUL for that...

the finished product, then, is something of beauty, much like a few of these pictures. 

the beauty of editing a photo is that we no longer see the flaws, but simply the essence of who we were as a family during this season of our lives, October 2011.  

 thanks Brenna, you rock...by the way, if Jeff and I were ever to renew our vows, i'd definitely call you.  hypothetically speaking, of course.  like, only if he were planning it as a surprise, which i'm sure he must be doing....cuz he's like that, you know...ahem....

AJ's dedication

my dear daughter, Joelle, made a slideshow on PowerPoint for AJ's dedication service at church a few weeks ago...most of the pictures have already been seen here, but the really sweet song accompanying it was Safe and Sound by Matthew West (love him), and we thought it was so fitting...

after the service it was really great to have our special (and so supportive, i might add) families (and our amazing pastor and his equally delightful wife and stunning children) over for cake and munchies.  here are a couple pics of AJ taking it all in with his cutie-pie cousin, Jett ...the cake, i might add, was an absolute highlight for that son of mine who shares my love of all things sweet.  he inhaled his piece in like two minutes~ focused and masterful at getting that fork into his mouth each and every bite.  it's hard to hold him back to just one piece, but there were others to follow in the days after as we finished off leftovers.

good day....

fabulous fall family fun

for a few fleeting moments,

 (Korny Korners 2011)

flip through our "fotos"

(AJ going along with the joke and pretending to be "so sad" when Daddy told him this was his pumpkin to take home from the pumpkin patch.  that boy is catching on...)

and find our family

(AJ pumpkin carving in his gitch...doesn't everyone? :) )

frolicking in fantastic fall functions...

(a "pop star", a bedtime/pajama girl, a zebra, a regal queen, mr. smarty pants, and a wacky doctor)

phew...there's my attempt at alliteration and my throwback to English class.  it was so long ago, in fact, that i had to google (yes, it is a verb!)  the word alliteration to be sure that many words starting a sentence with the same consonant was really called alliteration, and it is!  imagine that.....a blog that not only provides captivating photography but also educational snippets to enrich your life.  does it get any better?!?!

National Adoption Month

did you know November is National Adoption Month?  in keeping with the desire to raise awareness of the 140 million orphans worldwide, here are a few links.  grab a coffee and sit a while to see the many ways people are stepping up and joining the movement to care for the "least of these"...

the first two links focus beautifully on foster care and domestic adoption of kids already in the system needing families.  so many already waiting.
Focus on the family broadcast Part 1
Focus on the family broadcast Part 2

interested in short term missions to care for orphans in this capacity?  here's another great link....

David Platt says this, "Orphans are easier to forget until you see their faces and you know their names."  wow.  so true.  hold one, look deep into their eyes, see their needs and surroundings and circumstances up close.  imagine walking a day in their shoes, or lack of shoes as often is the case...life.changing.stuff....

another great organization that is already meeting the needs of orphans in the beautiful country of Haiti is God's Littlest Angels.  Hudson's orphanage.  this was his home for 14 months while he was nurtured and cared for and brought up to a healthy weight until we were finally cleared to bring him home.  GLA has so many needs.  they have stood the test of time in a place where their efforts must always feels like just a "drop in the bucket".  you can partner with them in orphan care in lots of different ways.  volunteering your time in short or long term missions, school sponsorship of Haiti's vulnerable children, prayer, fundraising for their building project, etc...they are a large part of the reason Hudson is a strong healthy active (ahem...) boy today.  love them...

last, but not least.  Children's HopeChest is making a difference.  Tom Davis is CEO, as well as the author of several books that have challenged me personally.  he will be speaking at our church late April 2012!  stay tuned for more on that....