Christmas Eve

PJ'S ON CHRISTMAS EVE
our kids always get new pj's to open on christmas eve
the tag reads' open me christmas eve'
christmas morning kids are all in new pj's for moms pictures!

ISLAND PRINCESS FOR SHILO

FLANNEL BOTTOMS FOR CHASTIN x2

waiting for Santa

homemade cookies

ice cold milk in a snowflake glass

cards from chastin & shilo thanking santa...

all through the house christmas lights glow

candles are lit

stockings are stuffed

mom can't sleep~she is more excited than the kids....

Our Silent Night

So here it is...

Our Christmas card front...

It took forever-

1st time- camera battery dies 2 shots in

2nd time around- card dies, won't write to the card

{go to Costco for new 4GB}

3rd time- camera says card needs to be formatted

finally break down and use Jordan's Canon-

At least it's done, and if I do say so myself, it still is pretty cute:)

The bottom reads ~
May Your Night Be As Silent As Ours...2007

{note- for the final card it was cropped closer, the background is almost pitch black and all red eye was edited, then printed on matte paper with a white border}

Christmas Wish List

so i was wondering 'what's on your christmas list'?

it's that time of year, and when i was a kid we made wish lists, and then somewhere between then and now i quit. so for the first time in a while i made a true christmas list and e-mailed it to family, and wrote one out for john.{ don't worry- i asked them for their lists too!} so i thought it would be fun to see what's on your list...post & share away!

• meet the fockers dvd
• oprahs new book
• crop- a- dial
• nick & nora pj's
• steve madden slippers
• newest book by dr.oz

i seem pretty easy to shop for i think,

no expensive camera equipment or concert tickets to ask for as in years past

although i would really love to have a baby if i could ~ that would be a GREAT christmas gift!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS !

Robbery

Holy cow!
I just got back from safeway on 175th and 15th. still shaking! i'm done grocery shopping i come out to the car and a flood of people come running out after me! i am shocked! safeway is being robbed! i was just in there! i haven't even gotten in my car yet, just returned the cart, checking my receipt, yelling screaming all coming from the people who are running for their lives out of the store.
it's being robbed! right now, as i get in my car, the people who were in line right behind me didn't come out... what was happening? i was instantly shaking and dialing 911. there was an old couple who were hiding behind the cart i had just returned. people were getting in their cars and speeding away. i looked behind me to see a group of boys and girls all running into the 15th side of safeway. 16-20 years old. i still can't believe it! 5 guys stand outside arms folded guarding the door, people run in with guns held above their heads, tall black girl dances outside the store like this was no big deal! smiling and waving her arms! What! What in the world! i take off out the 175th side exit, turn right, wait on hold, back up back into the parking lot, head towards the light at 15th and 175th, what will i say to the 911 guy, what did i just see? i can't process what to say. i tell the operator that something was happening in the store and i wasn't sure just what. i told him people came running out terrified and if he could send someone out to see. he told me to wait, then confirmed what i thought i had seen, safeway was being robbed.... and i was just in there, talking to the young guy who was ringing me up, last thing i said was have a good night, and he said you too! what would have happened had i stayed to look at my receipt like i was going to, when i decided to get in the car because it was cold. i even checked beside my car, as i was taught as a child growing up in l.a.
the choices we make- strange how things turn out. i was going to park by the 15th st entrance when i thought it was getting late they might be closing that side soon, and i don't want to have to walk across the dark parking lot, by myself so i parked at the other entrance. i will never forget the terror on the old couples face as they huddled together behind the carts and a small bush.
was it really worth it? how much could they possibly get? $300 or so? was it worth scaring all of these people? why? Why? why would you even think this is a good idea! the operator told me to get away from the store so i drove slowly by where the robbers were to see if i could tell them anything else, but i couldn't, nothing more.
was the car next to me that a man came running out to and sped away part of this crime? was the next car the pulled away at the same time part of it? was i in the store with the robbers, casually doing my shopping, were they watching the place?
was the cashier that i was talking to o.k? how about the old couple? the look on their faces will not leave my mind. as they hold their little table top christmas tree, innocently spending some time together. just as john and i might have, we could have asked mom and dad to watch the kids and gone together and been trapped inside with the gang members fit of rage. i don't know what kind of place we live in where you can't run to the store in a small suburb and be safe.... just makes me sad. i guess i wouldn't have been so surprised if i had been there in the middle of the night, but it was 7:45pm on a mon. night.
it's all so sad to me.
and to think that lately i have been kind of short with my family because i have taken on too much- i could have left my family with that feeling this night, and never gotten to tell them that i was sorry for being impatient for my own short comings. i have learned a lesson tonight. more than one lesson.
john is always so strong. i came flying in the door after finally getting my shaking key into the door, and was shaking and just scared to death, and he was strong and comforting as usual when life throws me against a wall. thank you john, for that. and i thank my heavenly father for watching over me again, and again.
i am sorry for my rambling, it might not make sense, but it's out. and maybe i will feel better, knowing that you too can pray for the people in that store, the old couple buying a christmas tree, the mother & daughter buying baking items for cookies they were laughing about making together, the young guy who rang me up, the other young checker who waved goodnight when i wished them a good night. the store manager who helped me look for almond bark, tonight i pray for them. for their safety and their peace of mind.

catch up

I have a few things I wanted to share.



Shilo calls Eggnog Eggmilk, I think it's funny...



Chastin told Shilo that on Christmas Eve 'virgins of sugar plum fairies will dance in our heads'
that too I thought was pretty funny!


my new favorite drink is something my grandpa use to drink on cold winter mornings-
i mix decaf instant coffee granuels with dry non fat milk and add boiling water. i love all things flavored coffee, coffee ice cream from b&r, coffee flavored nipps, and so on. i figure that it must come from my grandpas love for the flavor, because he use to give me the nipps and coffee flavored italian sodas. but my all time favorite coffee flavored treat is tirimisu.
i know, i know, i can hear a few of my friends telling me about the caffine in some of the treats, but really it's not any different than a diet coke or a pepsi or even a dr. pepper or mountain dew. so there you have it, my not so secret treat.






My new favorite shoot-













this was the easiest family to shoot!
their personalities shine through each photo! it was such a pleasure to go with them to Kerry park and spend some time capturing them in some candid moments. i am not going to post any that they might use for their christmas card, but i will post some of the girls in the family soon. paige did such a great job picking the colors for them all to wear, i wish i had thought of pink and grey myself!
thanks for the invite paige- i had a ton of fun & am glad that the weather was so nice and that eric had the perfect park in mind! it fit right in with the seattle backdrop idea you wanted.
{if only sarah and bretts shoot turned out this good}.

Checking off my list

So as many of my readers know, I have had one very busy weekend. I really enjoyed all of the different events the weekend held, but I'm glad it's over. I am actually sad at the same time that the weekend went by so quickly. I don't feel like I actually ever took the time to soak in all that it had to offer. I am sure that we have all had weekends that left us feeling blurry headed and exhausted. My exhaustion stems more from an emotional standpoint than a physical one.
Right now I feel as though I hurried through each event to keep on schedule, and now I regret it. So to fill you in- the weekend went a little like this...

Thursday

• Rush to get Chastin & Shilo's hair cut and mine colored
• Tell Chastin I ordered him a cake because I don't have time to make the cake he picked out after all. Upset 8 year old- upset mom= failure
• Thursday night wait in dumping rain for Great Grandma to arrive on the train, run into Burlington Coat factory to see if they have suits in Chastin's size. Which they did, and I never made it back to buy him one to wear after the baptism. Another failure.

Friday

• Start work at 8:30, take Shilo to dance, get yelled at by a dance dad for using my cell phone in the hall to make a schedule with a daycare mom, walk/run on treadmill during nap time for 70 min.
• Friday night get to have dinner with good friends and enjoy some girl time!

Saturday

• Go to work for Ballard Camera from 8:45-1:30
• Drop Chastin and Shilo off at church for primary service project
• Miss Jordan's last soccer game where of course she wins for the second time in the season. And to top it off- against an undefeated team. Defeat for mom
• Rush home- set up for Chastin and Shilo's Birthday party
• Take Shilo to Urgent Care in downtown Seattle from 7-midnight,to find she has a fever of 104 and a UTI. Another point lost for mom. I have let my 4 year old daughter get an infection.Uhhh. I don't know how much more I can handle by this point. Shilo sleeps in the car on the way there and on the way home and stays awake in her bed talking to her new lions she got for her birthday till the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday

• Another day of going to bed last and getting up first.
• Late to Sacrament Meeting, Shilo stays home with John and Great Grandma.
• Run home during Sunday School to retrieve plates for Baptism and pick up Great Grandma.
• Panic about being prepared for Chastin's Baptism- and due to lots of help from my wonderful husband and great friends all ran smoothly. Big thanks to them! Score for mom!
• The most important piece of the whole weekend went the best!
• Come home, unwind for once in two weeks, finally get some sleep.

I feel like every time I achieve something, the first thought that goes through my mind is "something off my list" and I have decided to not live that way anymore. When someone says " can I help you?" I vow to say "Yes" I am choosing to let go of some of my control. I know it will be hard, and that some of my grand ideas will have to wait for another chance to be put into action. But I am willing to give it my best, for a better quality of life. I want - I deserve to enjoy each moment that I am given; to experience the lesson, the joy the moment has to offer. Maybe I need to give myself some credit and treat myself as I would someone else. With kindness and love and patience. I don't have to do it all, and I don't have to plan so many things that I have to have a list to check off.

So there... Another thing off my list- {update blog:)}

IT'S GREAT TO BE EIGHT!

November 1st 1999
The most wonderful event to ever happen to me {up to that point} Chastin Zaine Barnes entered this world.
Via C- section @ 4:00am on the button!
Due- October 10th! Way over due!
He lived in intensive care for a week then came home to our place in Edmonds.
We couldn't have been happier or more tired!
He stayed in our bed and hardly ever cried or slept.
Now it is eight years later and we still couldn't be happier!What a wonderful boy!

Shilo and I brought Costco pizza and juice boxes to Chastins class to celebrate his birthday! It was a total hit!
John always brings home a special gift for Chastin and Shilo on their birthday. Something he picked out just for that child, and doesn't tell me so I can be just as surprised, I always know to have the camera ready when dad gets home with a gift in his jacket.

Here we are out to dinner at Rubys Diner with our good friends the Blasers. We had a wonderful time celebrating Chastins special day!

We were so glad that Chastin was able to have a wonderful day filled with friends, family and lots of FUN!