Pneumonia? really?

My cute Harry has a bad habit of picking at his cuticles (fingers and toes) and thus his big toe got infected. YUCK!  So, I took him to the pediatrician yesterday afternoon knowing that it was pretty bad and we needed antibiotics.  Yep-it was bad.  

Kate was feeling a little ignored and pouted and told our beloved pediatrician that her toe hurt too. So, Dr. R checked her toe out of pure kindness.  Then, Kate coughed.  The doc looked at me and asked, "how long has she had that cough?"  I answered honestly..." a month."  (we had actually been in twice for the cough only to be told it was a cold and not to worry).  However, Dr. R had a listen and told me that Kate has pneumonia!  Oh, I felt like the worst Mom.  We were not even there for Kate and here she is walking around with pneumonia! 

Does this girl look sick to you?

Thankful for these Amazing Women

As we all do, I often contemplate stepping away from the blogging world and then I am quickly reminded of the amazing people that I have come to "know" from being a part of blogging.  I want to tell you about two of them today...

Kimberley at the Seventh Diamond is truly one of the most altruistic people I have ever known. For 2 years (about) I have watched her help everyone.  She is constantly praying for people, surprising them with special greetings, hosting on-line baby showers, promoting fundraisers and raising awareness of special needs adoptions.  Kimberley truly is an inspiration to me.  Her whole life seems to be about helping others. She has made such a difference in so many people's lives. She collects items for children in orphanages, boxes them up and sends them off.  Now she is helping people sponsor orphans with cleft palate and cleft lip.

After many years of waiting to be matched with a baby from China, it is FINALLY Kimberley's turn.  The fees that adoptive parents must pay to the orphanage have recently gone up significantly and Kimberley's family needs help raising those funds.  If you want to help an amazingly giving family bring their cute pie home, please click here and make a donation at the chip-in on the side bar (every dollar helps them) or bid on an item. Note--The chip in takes a while to update but don't worry.  I know they are getting the donations and the graphic will eventually update.

At the risk of being judged....I am going to admit something for those of you who may not be in the adoption community and might be thinking what I used to think.....I used to wonder why people would adopt if they did not have the money for all of the adoption costs.  I know that is awful but I did think that way at one point in my life. I did not think that in a judgmental way but in an ignorant way. Now that I have met these amazing people who have so much love in their hearts, I don't wonder anymore. I know that they have enough money to raise these children but the fees for travel and adoption come very quickly at the end and most people would be hard pressed to come up with it in such a short amount of time.  These families who need our help are reaching out to children who would never have a family.  Please help them if you can.

One incredible side story about Kimberley...her user name on Blogger has always been Red Mary Janes.  Imagine the feeling she got when she saw this picture below of her daughter waiting for her in China!!!  There was no doubt this little girl was meant for them!!!!

Now, there is another woman in blogland that has inspired me in different ways.  Sebi at Pearls and Grace is such an example of how God wants us to be in our lives.  Her faith and her devotion to her family is incredible.  This Sunday, she is giving a talk in the NYC area.  If I lived anywhere near there, I would be there to listen to her amazing message.  Go here to find out more information.  Also, please pray for Sebi or leave her an encouraging word as she embarks on such a big event.

Sebi from Pearls and Grace with her beautiful family!

Sebi and Kimberley, thank you for inspiring me to be a better person.  I wish you both the best as you embrace the big changes coming in your lives!!!!

Our Will

Will is such a kind and sweet kid.  I don't blog about him as much as the other peanuts because he is older and prefers a little more privacy. He is so photogenic and is almost always willing to let me practice my photography skills on him. It is hard to take a bad picture of Will (and I think he is supposed to be in that  pre-teen "awkward phase").

When he comes home from school, he almost always asks,"Mom, how was your day?" or "Did you have a good day, Mom?"  If I had a rough day, he will have a tea party with Kate to keep her busy while I clean up or cook dinner.  He is so mature, thoughtful and considerate. When my back and neck are hurting, he will pick up Kate and carry her for me. He was a hyper and wiggly little guy so it is amazing to see him blossom into such a self-less, giving and kind pre-teen.  I cannot even begin to tell you how proud I am of you, Will.  I don't know how you have grown up so quickly.  It seems like yesterday you were 2 and now you are almost 12!

One funny story....The day after Will had been away at a camp for week (eating off his diet and getting little sleep) he had to take a standardized test for admission to a private Christian school.  I knew it was not the best day but he is a very bright kid, he usually tests very well and I had no choice.  Anyway, the test involved an essay.  Will was asked to write about a hobby he would like to try but never has never had the opportunity.  He chose to write about shooting things (paintball and skeet).  I laughed so hard (inside) as he told me the detail with which he described his essay on how he would really like to try shooting hobbies because he has never been able to do them.  (I never allowed play guns and we don't hunt---I only recently allowed nerf guns). Dave and I can just picture the admissions board reading it and thinking "yeah, like we want this kid who is fascinated with shooting!"   The irony is that Will had no idea that might not be what a school would want to read.  Even more ironic is that Will is so gentle and loving.  Oh well, luckily we applied to several schools for him:)

Like mother, like daughter

All of a sudden Kate wants her camera. She also told me she needed her laptop and her I-pod (in her purse of course). Oh dear. They are little reflectors of who we are, aren't they?

P.S. she does not have an I-pod or laptop just in case anyone was wondering.....

I heart faces black and white

I am entering this photo that I took last week in the I heart faces contest.  The theme this week is black and white.  Take a look at more great entires here. 

You can also click on the button below.

Photo stats:
Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 500
Manual Mode

Weekend Away

Added:  Dave and Kate are both sick but I am slowly catching up on my photography blog (I don't want to get too far behind in my 365 project).  You can click here to see.

My dear friend, Bagel, flew into Houston for a long weekend and we drove to Austin for a photography workshop....

We had a great time and I have tons of photos to edit (yes, we learned a little of that too).  I will catch up here and on my other blog soon.

The Truth hurts

He said I am on the computer too much.

And he is right.

I asked him if I should stop blogging. 

And he said, "No, you love your blog.  It makes you happy."

And he is right. He is very wise for an 8 year old.

Now I need to find the right balance.  Balance between spending more time with each of the children, kid activities and being a good wife and sometimes indulging in my hobbies.  It is hard.  It might take a while to figure it all out. The truth hurts.

Valentine Dinner

First, our husbands sent us to the spa for massages and pedicures on Saturday afternoon while they took care of the children and cooked and cleaned.  It was so relaxing.

Since we rarely have our photo taken together, we had the sitter take this one...

The first course was at Linda and Bill's house.

Bill had prepared an impressive first course feast that included champagne with raspberries, French wines, herbed hummus on endive.....

 

salad with sauteed pears, gorgonzola, cranberries and walnuts

a beautiful assortment of cheeses and prosciutto.

We were 3 happy ladies!

Next, it was off to Marjo and Cameron's house for the main course....

Grilled sea scallops with cilantro pesto and avocado vinaigrette (I had shrimp because I don't eat scallops).  The vegetable was a sweet potato cassolette with chipotle cream.  It was AMAZING!

Finally, we arrived at our home for dessert.

Dave prepared a blueberry galette with vanilla ice cream and Grand Marnier creme brulee.  It was all delicious!!!

Dave also bought all of the women a box of our favorite Swiss chocolates.

The menu read...

At La Cuisine de Cupid, Chefs Bill, Cameron and Dave put their hearts into every dish to say 

"Oui, we love our wives!"

We love our husbands and feel so blessed.  It was a GREAT night.

P.S. For those that have asked--- Yes, our husbands truly cooked it all.  No help!  They help each other serve it too.  We purposefully "invite" couples to do this based on the facts that A) we enjoy their company B) the husbands are good cooks and C) they live close by.  I will try to get recipes for y'all!  It truly is one magical night a year!

Harry!

I know I ought to be posting photos of our dinner (which was great) and the painted built-ins (which look fabulous)....but Dave and I are both down with the winter crud virus. I will update things here once I am feeling a bit more human. However, I took this of Harry today and had to share.  I think it is a riot.  He was sick of me taking his photo and got in my lens (face).  

I decided to enter this photo in a contest for kids faces.  This week's theme is wonder...he was "wondering" when I was going to be done taking his picture!! LOL

Wish me luck! This is straight out of the camera.
Go here (I heart faces) to see the other entries.

Sarah--Here are the photo stats (50mm lens)

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
Focal Length: 50.4 mm
Aperture Priority setting

Happy Heart Day!

Love is everywhere... originally uploaded by dolpharius.

These are a few of my favorite valentine images from flickr. This first one is from Dolpharius' stream.  This next one is from Ziasmommy.  She has been so helpful and encouraging to me lately and I really appreciate it!!!

A few people have e-mailed me some photography questions lately and I am very behind in answering them. I feel funny attempting to answer because I am a complete novice with a passion for photography.  I am flattered that y'all have asked.  And thank you for all of the kind and encouraging comments on the photography blog.  They seriously make my day! Here are some answers to questions I have received:

~I have not taken any classes yet but plan to take two workshops this year.  One is next weekend.  My friend, Bagel is flying in from VA to attend with me and I cannot wait!

~I usually shoot in Aperture priority but will also use auto for certain situations (poor lighting, events I really don't want to mess up). I have shot a little in manual but I need to learn  a lot more.

~I think Flickr and Clickin Moms have been GREAT forums for learning.  The people on both sites are very helpful, encouraging and supportive.  Flickr is free for a basic account and Clickin Moms is very reasonable. Join the groups and forums. Read as much as you can. You can click the image on my sidebar to find out more or to join Clickin Moms.

~I do not post process (edit) many of my photos.  I don't have the time right now and I also want to look back in 10 years and still love my photos.  I am afraid that if I saturate or use vignettes too much, the photos will look trendy down the road. Also, I prefer a clean, soft look. When I do edit, it is usually to smooth out my skin or Kate's (she has eczema and I get forehead shine) or to convert to black and white. To do this I will use either Photoshop Elements or I-photo.  I love picassa but it is not compatible with Mac. In reality, probably 98% of my photos are straight out of the camera (sooc).

~I have a Nikon D-80 and I have 3 lenses (50mm, 85 mm and 18-155mm).  I really want to upgrade to a D-300 or D-700 when the time is right.

~The painted shelves look GREAT. Thank you for asking. It looks like a totally different room. The dark built-ins were sucking so much light out of that room.   They took several days to paint (they plastered too) and they are taking forever to dry.  So, once the room is back together and they are dry...I promise to post a photo:)

(let me know if I did not answer your questions)

Tomorrow is the big Valentine's progressive dinner at our house.  I hope you all have a love filled weekend!

Girl obsessed

I am beginning to see Kate's personality is such that she becomes intensely focused on one thing.

Her current obsessions include:

1) Ballet

Whenever she is home and awake, she wants to wear her tutu and ballet slippers.  She dances around her room.  She will occasionally take a break to read her favorite book.....

2) Green Eggs and Ham

Yes, Miss Kate wants to read "the Sam-I-am" book exclusively now.  She has also taken to using the phrase..."I do not like......(insert anything she does not feel like eating/wearing/doing at the moment here)....."

3) Beautiful dresses (well really only these two below) 

She is running toward me here (bad photo) but I love that both her feet are off the ground!

Kate is in serious rebellion against all skirts and pants.  It is driving me MAD!  I have some adorable skirt and pant outfits that she refuses to wear.  She also refuses tights, sweaters, or leg warmers. And when I say refuse, I mean you would have to have two people literally pin her down to get them on her!  Good thing it is not too cold here. She asks to wear these two dresses every-single-day.

4) "drawing"

She wants to "draw" on everything with pen.  Yesterday as I was blow drying my hair (and I thought she was quietly watching her pal, Diego) she drew all over my white sheets in blue ink!. I am a bit of a sheet snob (many of you already know this).  These were not my " great deal at Tuesday Morning Sferra sheets" either.  They were my "paid full price" good white sheets! I was too mad to take a photo.  They are soaking and will hopefully be okay but the jury is still out.

5) taking off her shoes!

As if the sheets were not bad enough yesterday....Kate took her socks and shoes off everywhere we went (Target, the post office, the bank and the paint store).  I got so sick of putting them back on, so I just shoved them in my purse at each place and put them back on in the car at the next place.  Well, when we got home I realized that we had no shoes.  Yup, she took them off at the paint store and I was so used to her being barefoot that we left without them.  The paint store guys know me (sad but true~I am there a lot) and they got a good chuckle when they found these in the store:)

Urban Market

Sunday morning I went here and it was awesome.  These are the things I love about living in a big (design minded) city.
Here are my finds....

Some botanicals for Kate's bathroom, some ironstone, a bird for Kate's room (story to come), five sterling filigree vases that people were vying for after I bought them, a porcelain bird that I might have made into a small lamp, a valentine trinket for a friend,  and a beaker thing for flowers.

I love this FABULOUSLY old olive jar.  I have looked at these in some antique stores here and they go for $800 and up.  This one has a crack and is missing a handle in the back (where no one will see)...so I got it for a song.  It weighs almost as much as I do.

This was the BEST deal though.  I got this Biedermeier style antique chair for $25!  It has the original horsehair and springs which are in GREAT shape BTW).  It just needs to be re-upholstered. It might become my desk chair.

Shabby Chic sells a reproduction (below)

Then I spied another antique Beidermeier chair that is similar to mine (still a different wood) on-line.   I definitely got a deal!

I also found two of these paper thin, delicate, pink Limoges cups. I knew Kate & I would drink "tea" out of them or I could serve pots de creme in them.  When Kate saw them, she gingerly picked one up, gasped and said, "Oooohhhh, fancy nancy Mama!"

Aside from the great finds, I  was able to meet Hoot's Mom. She lives in the area and we met at the market.  I really enjoyed her company and I cannot wait to spend more time with her.  She got the BEST deal on a bed!!!

Project 365

I started a photography project where I take one photo every day for a year. (I actually take many more than one but I choose one each day;) I post them on my photography blog.  My goal is to push myself to improve my photography skills. I don't write much on that blog but if you are interested in the photos, feel free to check it out. The above photo was 1/365.  

Mish Mash

There are a couple of things I want to post about so hang in there.  This might get long.

First, the gracious and generous Kimberley at The Seventh Diamond is helping to raise money for some special babies in China.  These babies are orphans and they all have cleft palate.  A wonderful foster home has agreed to care for them but they need sponsorship.  Please go to Kimberley's blog and see if you can help these little angels.  You can also go to this blog set up just for the cleft palate babies.  Imagine the difference your contribution will make. Our family sponsors a special needs orphan in China and my children love getting updates and photos of the little girl we help.  I love teaching them that God wants us to "adopt" his children in any way we can. Someday I will share more about the darling angel that we sponsor.  She is very special.

Last weekend when we were in Dallas, Eloise graciously invited our family to dinner at their home.  We had such a nice time.

First, Eloise and I spent the afternoon chatting and browsing the shops.

Eloise bought his tres chic Philippe Starck Ghost chair for her daughter's room.

I am helping her carry it out.

I have my eye on this petite version for Kate and might get it when I get the crib out of her room. Isn't is precious?

That evening we had a delicious dinner at their home.  Everything was so lovely.

Kate was "full of personality" that night and was even kind enough to throw a tantrum or two for our entertainment.  She adored Eloise and Dots and Vivian and the cats and Robert and especially...."Hockey Boy" who was on his way to a dance.

He looks so handsome in his "Texas Tux"

After dinner, Eloise indulged Will in a game of Stratego.  He has made her promise to play either Risk or Axis and Allies when she comes for a visit.  Will loves a good strategic game.

Then Dots lead us in a game of Balderdash.  I loved that game.  Kate was on my team and we won:)

Our families really got along well.  Eloise and Robert are so warm and gracious.  Their home is beautiful and their children are a delight.  I cannot say how much we enjoyed our time with them.   Thank you Eloise and family!

Now for a little sneak peek:)

This is what my family room looks like now.  (the sofa table is out on approval~which was not very smart of me since I cannot really tell how it will look with 1/2 the room sealed off). I  should have moved that throw too.

Hopefully they will be done today but it will take a few days to dry.  So I will post the photos next week sometime.

Finally, my Will comes home today!!!!  He was away from home for the first time this week on a school trip.  I was a NERVOUS WRECK the first day or two.  I prayed a lot and talked through it with some friends (thank you).  It is SO hard to let them go.  I need to write a post on that soon.

This is Will the morning he left.  His way of saying goodbye to his brother and sister!

Isn't he the CUTEST?