Struble Family

2012-01-23T11:09:00.002-06:00

Our 10th Anniversary!!!!

2011-11-10T09:57:00.015-06:00

Ok.. so show and tell time! I've been talking about our 10th wedding anniversary for months now over on facebook.. and have a lot of people wondering what exactly I got Adam this year! So its time to let the cat out of the bag!

Let it be known that while today is actually our "real" anniversary.. we pretended like it was yesterday because we get to go to the 3rd Day Concert (and actually meet the band in person) tonight with the church!! So we wanted to celebrate yesterday with just us! For Once I actually kept the secret and Adam had NO idea what he was getting!! Heee Heee!!

So want to know what I got him????????????????

I got him this......

BED SHEETS!!!!!

Ok.. TOTALLY kidding! But I had you didn't I?? I actually lifted this image from google images. Its not even our bed ;-)

First off all, please note that I am an EXTREMELY sentimental person! I love, love, love anything truly sentimental. For our 5th Anniversary I made him a [small] scrapbook (one he could tuck away into his drawer or tote around) that was entitled "Our Book of 5's". Everything was centered around the number 5. I had 5 categories (things like "5 things I've learned about you, 5 things I love about you, etc, etc). And each category had 5 things in it (so I would listed out 5 of the things I loved about him, elaborated on the idea and completed it with pictures). You get the idea.

So #10 was big. I stewed, prayed, and contemplated over what to get him for this entire past year. Then FINALLY at the Ozark Craft Festival (last month) it all started to come together! This year everything [of course] revolved around the number 10. This is the one [and probably] only time I will EVER be thankful my husband works a 10 hour day!!!

So this is what I did....

Starting at 8:30 every hour we (the kids and I ) delivered him one of these at work:

[Side note.. do you realize how hard clear balloons are to come by? I called every florist, craft store, and party supply store in the surrounding 5 cities and FINALLY found 1 store that carried them! Who would have thought??)

On the bottom, the balloon was tied down with a tube (filled with resin) and a special note. Like this:

And inside of each balloon was a number and a rolled up note. Like this:

For the first one, I added this note:

He was, of course, completely confused. By about the 3rd balloon he was starting to catch on.. realizing that he was going to be getting 10 of these.

Then at 2:00 (well.. I was a little late, but pretty close). I gave him a very special present and a note (like the first one) that started out:

"Exactly 10 years ago today: Nov 10, 2001 2:00pm I was walking down the isle to marry my soul mate. That was the happiest day of my life. That was the best decision I have ever made. That was the day God changed my life forever".... and it went on and on (with more mooshy stuff).

As for the present.....Remember those 10th Wedding Anniversary Pictures we took? Yeah.. I used those to make this:

I actually made the frame from old barn wood. Then covered it in old recipes with modge podge. He loved it!

So at the end of the day he had 10 balloons.

Then when he got home, it was time to put all the pieces together. I was planning on doing this where we went on our first date (a lookout tower over Branson).. but then my brain kicked in and I realized we wouldn't be able to read it in the dark! I also thought about doing it in the restaurant... but it was pretty intimate and I wanted some privacy. So we opted to do this part at home. Good thing. So sitting in our living room floor first he had to open this present...

Its a block of wood. With holes drilled in the top (whoo hoo.. I figured out drilling holes is quite rewarding)! . Once again, covered with old paper with some Modge Podge. The words state "You've Loved me Through It All". Then it all started to fit. Starting with #1, he would place the resin tube into the 1st hole, pop the balloon, and read the note inside. I had listed out 10 things that we have been through together, and wrote him a personal note about each one. Things such as "Through every argument, fight, and make-up", "In the midst of infertility, every operation, and weeks of bed-rest", "During the births of our 3 beautiful children and the deaths of those we love dear", "While opening our own businesses", and the last one..."For richer, for poorer, during better and worse,through sickness and in health since we were 16 years old…...You've loved me-Though it all"

You get the idea. Basically I elaborated on each one, letting him him know how much he means to me, and how he has pulled me through everything over this past decade. [I hope he doesn't kill me for this but...] he broke down on the last one. I had to finish reading it. My husband doesn't cry. Period. He did last night. So I know that it meant a lot to him. So all the planning, all the work, it was so, so, worth it.

So now that its over, we can hang it on our bedroom wall and it will look like this:

Then we can be reminded everyday of how much we have been through together and how much our love means.

So then we went out to eat. Every year on our anniversary [since #1] we go to Olive Garden. Its tradition. So last night was no different. And we splurged. When it came time for desert, I casually told our waiter that we can have desert because we are celebrating our 10th Anniversary and for 10 years, we have spent it at their restaurant . And I surprised Adam with one last gift. I gave him a present wrapped in an old marriage license paper:

When he opened it he found this:

A necklace with our initials, "Est. 01", and the phrase "Thru it All", so he can be reminded daily of this night. That necklace is what I bought him at the Ozark Craft Fair. It is what started it all. It was my inspiration! He loved it! He put it on right away (which is unusual for him).

Then when our waiter brought us our bill, he said "Let me go ask my manager if I can get your desert taken off there since your celebrating this very special occasion". So the manager came to our table, congratulated us, and let us know how much it means to them that we come there every year. It was awesome. So after he left, the waiter brought back our ticket and said "My manager did you one even better.. he comped your ENTIRE meal!!! He thought it was too cool that you come here every year and #10 is big!" I was FLOORED!!!! That really, really, really made our entire anniversary. It wasn't just about the money, it was about the entire experience!

So then we followed up with a movie, and we had some good heart to heart talks. That was by far the best anniversary yet.

So tonight we get to go meet 3rd Day and remember that God brought us together. I'm so thankful, every day, for my husband.. and I hope that he realizes how much he means to me!

So there you have it! That was our #10. Now... what to do for our 25th???

School Week 3!

2011-09-12T15:10:00.011-05:00

So this week we finished up a few activites I wanted the kids to complete last week, but we didn't get around to it. We did some more "A" activites:

And an Apple Tree Handprint page!

Then we moved on to the letter "B"!

We did all sorts of "B" activites! Every week, Essa has a letter collage to do, which she fills with things that start with that lettter (ex. for letter A she did apple cereal, the letter B she filled in with beads ... [even though they kept falling off because they were too heavy])

She did butterfly size sorting, buttefly lacing, buttefly prewriting cards, and lots more! Including: Bottlecap letter match up

And making coffee filter butteflies:

(Which we hung above the girl's bed)

This week the kids had their very first baking class with Jemma's mother-in-law (she used to be a professional cake decorator). They loved it!

He looks so serious!

We then used the cakes to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her!

We worked on our Christmas Cantana. If you can come, please do! We are not sure of the date yet, but the kids are working really hard gearing up. They will be doing a song to handbells:

Playing their choice of song on the piano:

And doing a skit to a very special book... "The Shepards Suprise". It is a tradition that my dad created when Jemma was born that he reads this book every year at Christmas. So this will be a very special skit! I'm SO excited!

We also began our country study this week! The first country we are learning about is the US!

So we sewed together a US flag, and learned what all those stars and stripes mean!

We learned about major landfeatures(such as the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, etc) and labeled some maps!

We learned about the animals in the US, classified them on our animal board, and made animal mini books! We also made some of them out of playdough! (Like Enoch's rattlesnake??)

[By the way, did you know that a rattlesnake grows a new button every year? So you can easily tell how old one is by looking at their tail!]

Which turned into other playdough critters:

Then we had to learn all the different layers of a forest! Enoch had this worksheet he had to complete:

So to make it really hit home, I decided it would be much easier to learn the layers of the forest if we actuallly made one! So we did! We made a forest diorama!

He took all the animals that were listed on his worksheet and cut them out of construction paper, then we classified them into different layers on the forest!
See his bald eagle?

Can you spot the lemur and the monarch buttefly?

We also learned about Dwight L. Moody and the great Chicago fire (back in 1871).. which was So cool- seeing how we were just there last summer!

Then to wrap up the week, we made native american indian war bonnetts!

While listening to none other than Indian music (which we danced around the house playing follow the leader to.... just as the Indian kids do!)

Don't let those sweet little faces fool you! I have a very skiddish dog who absoulty HATED the war bonnetts! She barked and growled, so the children felt the need to chase her around the the house with it, until she eventually ran and hid under my bed! Hey.... I thought we were all raising wild Indians!!

What a FUN FUN week we had!

The "Flow" of our Day!

2011-09-12T14:09:00.009-05:00

I've had a lot of questions about the "Flow" of our day. What we do, how we are set up, and how I keep track of everything. So if your interested, read on. If not, just skip to the next post ;-)

First off... this is my little homeschool corner:

I also have a bookshelf (beside it), another bookshelf in the laundry room, and each of the kids have bookshelves in their rooms, filled full. I've tried really hard to contain all my home school stuff into one visable room (instead of the alternative - which would be taking over my entire house!)

We start every morning with the Pledge of Allegiance, then onto our calendar board.

Here we cover the date, the color of the day (and sing the color song so we can learn to spell it), our address and phone number, we make the date with money, the weather (we sing and graph the weather for the day), how many days in school (covering place value), memory verse, skip counting, and lastly, our shape of the day).

Each child also has their own school binder, with their own calendar things in it. They all have the weather graph, and Enoch also has place value (days in school), make the date with money, his own calendar, and a page to write the date.

Then we move on to group time, which everyday is different. I make a calendar for the week with the things listed that we need to cover. It looks like this:

From 3rd Week of School

(Don’t let all those “FREE”s fool you. Thursday is NOT a free day, but they don’t have workboxes that day [I’ll explain that later]. Instead, we spend the entire day on our major art project for the week [an art piece from the country we are studying] and working with the Russell’s on our Christmas Cantata!)

We do Bible, geography, science, history, music, and art all together as a family.

Then its off to workbox time! I have a drawer set aside in my filing cabinet for the kids. Each child has a color of file folders assigned to them and they are given up to 12 folders to complete a day. Each folder has a number on it. They are also given a workbox strip, with numbers 1-12. They go to the file drawer, get out folder number 1, do whatever is in the folder, then take the number 1 off their strip, attach it to the folder, and put it in a little black crate next to the filing cabinet to signify its done. Then they move onto number 2, and they work all the way through the folders- then the school day is over! These folders contain a lot of their core subjects (grammar, writing, reading, math, math drills, spelling, etc), but also fun stuff, (like PE, snack, and any fun activity I think they would enjoy [Enoch made a flying pig the other day]), to help give them a little fun time to help the break up the day. I will be honest, it is A TON of work to fill these every night (it takes me about ½ an hour)… but it helps the day run smoother. Each child picked their own character at the start of the year. I love it that Enoch picked Inspector Gadget (that was my favorite when I was his age), and can you guess who picked Hannah Montana?

From 3rd Week of School

As far as planning for this, my weekly planner has little numbers off to the side, and I color coded my children, so I know which activity goes in which folder for the day.

From 3rd Week of School

Then for my legal requirements, the state of MO only requires that you complete 1200 school hours- and keep a log of said hours, and a sample of some of their work. So the first week I was finding it hard to keep track of those hours, I needed a system. So I created this sheet:

From 3rd Week of School

I keep it beside me as we work, so I can easiy jot down how much time we are spending doing what. At the top there is a space for the date, and our core hours (as listed by the state law):

From 3rd Week of School

Then on down is a list of the non-core hours that we usually do, and a little note section to keep track of any important things we did that week:

From 3rd Week of School

It has helped my day flow so much smoother!
I hope that has answered some of your questions, and encouraged you today!

DISCLAIMER: Let it to be known that we do NOT school Mon-Fri, but instead, Tue-Sat. We decided God wanted us to homeschool for 2 MAIN reason. Number 1: to put God first in EVERYTHING. Number 2: Family! Adam works Tue-Sat, so thats when we school. We don't school when Dads off. That way, Mon is left for our family day!

Our Behavior System!

2011-09-12T13:10:00.005-05:00

I have really been torn over what to do about our behavior program. Its not that our kids have “bad” behavior, but they really need to get a grip on their attitude sometimes… and I have been praying about how to deal with it. Then I came up with this (borrowing ideas and putting things together from others to make it work for us). So this is our new system, and I love it (so does the kids)! This is how it works…

Posted on my fridge is this

If you notice, each kid has their own clothespin with their name on it:

First off, I’ll explain the clip up chart.

At the beginning of the school day, each kids begins on the green spot “Ready to Learn”. This way they advance up, or down- depending upon their behavior. I like this better than starting at the top and only advancing down when your in trouble, as this gives me room to compliment good behavior. Throughout the day, if I notice them following our school rules (such as working diligently, or being kind to others)- I tell them to “Clip Up”… then they move their clothespin up a notch. If I notice them NOT following the rules-I simply tell them “You weren’t following the rules. You disobeyed this rule: __________(fill in the blank). Please go Clip Down”. Then they have to move down a notch. This works awesome for me… as having to clip down really upsets them, whereas clipping up makes them all giddy. They even have the chance to go to the “Top of the Chart” … or even “Off the Chart” (where the clothespin gets clipped on ME! At the end of the day, they earn tickets- based upon where their clothespin is.

They keep all their tickets in the front of their school binder (each kid has their own)- so no tickets get lost.

At the end of our school week (which for us is Saturday).. we have “Celebration Saturday” and the kids can either choose to cash in their tickets, or save them up for a bigger prize! Our rewards are as follows:

Its working great for us. Its fun to watch them pick out and save up for their prize! If your interested in this program, I wouldn’t mind to email you my documents I created, and of course, if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Back to School Pictures!

2011-09-12T12:01:00.003-05:00

This year we did a Back to School Photo Session! After all, public school kids get photoshoots... so shouldn't ours?? I was so pleased with the way they turned out. Mom got me some school frames for part of MY school supplies for the year, so I printed them out and have them framed in my little "school area". I am really enjoying looking at them through the day. Enjoy ;-)

First Day's of School!

2011-09-05T15:23:00.004-05:00

Its hard to believe... but we have already made it through our first 2 weeks of school! Oh.. it has flown by so fast!

So the first day of school... we took pictures (doesn't everyone??)

As to why I felt the need to make them wear shoes and backpacks.. I have no idea! Not like we actually "go" anywhere for school! Guess I just thought it was cute!

With Essa, I will be doing a letter of the week.. so she can learn all her letters and letter sounds! So first up... the letter A! We concentrated the core (no pun intended) on apples - so we made cute little apple cupcakes (thanks to Enoch who cut out all the apple shapes from fruit roll-ups)
We did apple taste testing - and graphed our results, apple sorting (by size), lace cards, letter match-ups, number trace cards, cut and past, and on and on and on. I have apples coming out of my ears ;-) We also (of course) worked on writing our letter "A"s. Enoch is working on his cursive, and Eleesia finished her writing early, so she was helping Essa write her As with shaving cream!

We are doing a HEAVY geography unit study this year- learning about all the continents and countries. But first off is a 2 week introduction (convering continents, oceans, etc). So we made a paper mache' earth!

(Complete with the continents painted on it and everything!)

Here is our completed globe:

We learned all about maps (mapping Enoch's room to scale and everything). Here.. the day was beautiful so we we headed ouside to map some contour lines!
We painted some ants!
And we celebrated what will supposedly be the last hot day for summer with some Ava Drug Store Ice Cream!

So there is a snidbit of what we've been learning about these past couple weeks! I'm excited- this will be our first week of country studies!
First up.. the great ol' US of A!

So what have You been up to this Summer?

2011-08-07T20:23:00.008-05:00

I don't know about where your at... but here it has been TOO hot this summer! It has been so hot, that we don't even want to go outside! Awful! We have hit some records... and I do believe at one point this past week my outdoor thermometer read 114!

So... what have we been up to? Staying indoors making play-dough pops! That you can eat!!

From Summer 2011!

Doing our nails (the girls 1st set of artificial nails.. and they LOVED them!)

From Summer 2011!

Playing games! Mom played "Minute to Win It" all day with the kids all day yesterday. They did several different games .. but this one is where you put a cookie on your forehead- and using your facial expressions ONLY (no hands).. you had to get the cookie into your mouth.

From Summer 2011!

Doggie sitting.. and kid sitting (a dog for each kiddo works great for us).

From Summer 2011!

And making presents! I made these for a friend who is expecting twins. They had a VERY hard time conceiving and she has been on bed rest nearly her entire pregnancy. She is doing her nursery in owls... so we made each twin 3 onsies with their name and owls on them. Then to package it I made a cute little owl.. but the best part is--

From Summer 2011!

It has a pocket built in on the back so all the onsies roll up and fit inside! Then she can use these cute little owls for decor - or to hold pacifiers, etc!

So what have YOU been up to this hot summer??

Joplin Disaster Relief

2011-07-23T15:38:00.027-05:00

Last weekend we went to Joplin with our church to help with the disaster relief. The kids have been wanting to help ever since the tornado did it's damage... but the church has been working with Samaritans Purse with cleanup, and lets face it 5 children all 7 and under might not do so well around all the dangerous debris. However this time, the church with with a new organization: Mission Joplin.

They converted an old bus barn into a warehouse and they also have 2 houses full of clothes, baby supplies, toiletries, household items, etc. and they are outreaching to the community to help in any way possible. Joplin [in general] has SO many donations coming in- which is great; however, they are short manpower to sort and sift through everything so they can get it distributed. So we thought this was the prime time to take the kids and help- after all, they can sort things!

So we went- and worked- outside- in the 100 [actually over 100] degree weather. We didn't do it for a pat on the back, or to be recognized. However, we did it to glorify God. It was amazing.

We worked the first part of the day sorting clothing in one of the houses. It was tough though. Five of our 7 kids (between Jemma and I) can't read. So sorting "Women's size 7 jeans" and "Men's 32/30s" is actually a lot more difficult that than you would think. So in the afternoon they moved us over to the warehouse (bus barn) to sort some more practical items. The kids moved boxes, and diapers. They sorted toys and we sorted books.

On the way home (after working all day in that rancid heat) we drove through some of the neighborhoods that were destroyed. I had been back to Joplin since the storm hit, but only went down the main roads.. which was mostly commercial buildings.

It didn't seem all that bad to me. Don't get me wrong, seeing business completely
leveled was extremely sad. However, seeing homes demolished hits your heart in an entirely different way. These were peoples lives, their memories, their world.

So I'm going to share with you some images I took of Joplin for those of you that haven't made it up there since the tornado..... or for those of you that don't live around here and haven't made it up there period.

You have to know, that pictures don't even do it justice. I captured just a smidgen of this amazing little town. Driving through, both directions looks like this :

But with all the devastation, there are cleanup crews and volunteers in every direction...offering prayers, clothing, items, food and water. You see a lot of this:

This was the high school...

I love the fact that the only letters left on the sign was "OP".. so someone turned it into "Hope"

Matter of fact.. the entire town is SO strong. Every where you look there are words of encouragement- such as this:

They are banning together, and they are becoming a strong city because of it. In the midst of such tragedy, you can see God at work. We pulled up to this house- in which I had to turn into a lesson for the kids....
We pulled the car over and made all the kids look closely. I brought up Psalm 91:7 which (for those that don't know) states: "A thousand will may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you". This image is that verse in action. I explained to the kids "See the house on the left? Look at that, its completely in tack.. still standing strong. Now look to the house on the right.. its completely flat. Gone. Nothing left. Do you suppose those people in the house on the left were quoting Psalm 91?" Its a real life lesson in action of how powerful the God we serve is. They took that home with them, and days later Enoch was asking me to look up Psalm 91 in his bible so he can read it for himself. I love, love, love that chapter. It has to be my favorite!

Its insane though how steel can get wrapped around trees like this:

And in the trees like this:

If the wind is that strong.. how strong is our God?

So with neighborhoods that look like this:

Driving through, Eleesia says to me "Mommy, this is really sad". I said "I know Eleesia." She replied with "No Mommy. This is REALLY sad!". It brings tears to my eyes. It was important to me for the kids to "get it". To see others helping and doing their part. That's what its about- working together to accomplish things for the glory of God. Its important for them to know that in the midst of every storm, you can still find God's peace. He's there. He's everywhere. And together- we CAN overcome.

School 2011-2012

2011-07-22T11:10:00.003-05:00

I've had several inquiries about what cirriculum we will be using this year.. so for those of you that are interested- here is the lineup!

We are having a very heavy geography year! I'm VERY excited about it! The kids will not only be learning about the 7 different continents, but countries within those continents! They will be learning about the countries flag, culture, animals and their habitat, terrian, missionaries from that country, do art and cooking native to that country, and listening to music in the native language!

For Bible, Science, History, and Geography we will be doing My Father's World. It is a 5 year cycle beginning this year- then next year we will begin from Rome to Reformation and go all the way up through modern times! We will be using SEVERAL different books.. including things such as: Properties of Ecosystems, Window on the World, Geography from A to Z, Global Art, and many, many more!

For spelling I'm excited to start a new spelling program this year: All About Spelling! This is awesome, because Eleesia AND Enoch will be able to learn spelling using concrete rules! Eleesia has been begging me daily to get started- so I hope it won't dissapoint!

For grammer I will be using First Language Lessons ! I'm excited to start this program new as well this year, I'll have to let you know how it goes!

Handwriting will be built into nearly every subject. Enoch and Eleesia will do dictation and copywork from our memory verse every week. We will also be writing short stories with story starters, and of course- nearly every subject will require handwriting at some degree. Enoch is excited to learn curisive this year using Cursive Connections, and Eleesia is excited about her book-I can Write Manuscript. Essa will be doing a "Letter of the Week" curriculum using various things pulled from several websites (my favorite being "Confessions of a Homeschooler and Homeschool Creations). This will include handwriting, puzzels, crafts, lace ups, and much much more all themed for that week's letter.

As far as reading, Enoch has already gone through 'formal' reading (as far as the curriculm will take us- which is to 7th grade), so he will be doing independant reading, and will be reading aloud to me and his sisters from Hero Tales, and Christian Heros, Then and Now- which tells all about the missionaries we will be learning about from the country we are studying. He will also (of course)be reading his Bible chapter, and various books he finds (I can't keep the child away from books)! Eleesia will continue learning to read with Hooked on Phonics- Reading.

For math we will be using Primary Mathmatics.

We would also like to include PE, piano, spanish, and typing this year. We already do sign language- especially with our memory verses, and the kids love it!

Enoch is planning on being in the science fair again this year (last year he took 2nd place), and this year Eleesia will join him as well. They allow entries as young as 4, but I don't push the kids too young. This year though, she will be ready!

We are also REALLY hoping to be able to have a Christmas program this year, so hopefully that will work out and you guys can all come and be a part of it!

So there is the lineup. If you have any questions reguarding anything .. feel free to ask! ;-)

Our Florida Vacation

2011-07-22T09:52:00.034-05:00

This year our family vacation was a bit different. We always go over Christmas, but I had a complete hysteroctomy scheduled for Dec 28, so we were unable to go this year. So instead, we scheduled our vacation for the end of May/first part of June! We had a blast! We stayed in a beautiful 2 bedroom condo in Pompano Beach (just north of Miami, FL) for the week.. where I think the kids and I ended up taking jacuzzi baths every night!

All I heard for 2 months prior to going to the ocean every single night at bedtime was the kids asking if they can bury me in the sand when we get to the beach. Of course you can! Why would I deprive them of such great joy?

But of course- I got to bury them too!

We made sandcastles..and the guys jumped some waves!

It was so relaxing!

This was at the condo-in between 2 of their pools. The kids were modeling their Cinderella outfits I made!

We went on an airboat ride and got to see a lot of alligators!

Then we were entertained by an animal show! Sorry folks.. you couldn't PAY me enough to stick my hand here!

The fact that my animal lover (Eleesia) shook hands with the alligator didn't suprise me... however, I WAS impressed with Enoch actually touching it!

Adam took his picture with it! Essa wouldn't go anywhere near it (can't say that I blame her much)!

We were able to look around the alligator farm for a bit!

... and tour the gift shop- where Essa insisted on trying on every single one of their hats AND having her picture made wearing each one!

Then we got in some major beach time! The sky was amazing!

Essa LOVED picking up all the coral! It was SO amazing because you can see all the holes in it for the sea animals, and some still have shells in them! We brought a ton home!

Eleesia loved picking up everything she could find!

We hit the beach during sea grass season! Oh well.. we loved it anyways!

Seriously.. how can you NOT love this?!

Enoch getting in some waves!

This looks more like a painting to me than a photograph! I love it!

Like father, like son!

I enjoyed the view!

While everyone else made sandcastles!

Then we took a trip down to the Keys for the day! How can we be that close and NOT go?! It was beautiful!!!

We went snorkeling in Key Largo...

Then we went shopping in Key West...

We had to make sure we took a picture at the Southern-most point for my Dad!

With the recomendation from some locals.. we went through the backdoor of Starbucks and got to see an amazing view of the entire island! It was gorgeous!

Apparently, the sunset is a HUGE deal in Key West! They have a "Sunset Celebration" every single night.. so upon another recomendation from another local- we headed down to the "Sunset Celebration"! I'm SO glad we didn't miss this! This was a HUGE part of the island.. and I'm glad my children were able to experience it! They had street performers and vendors.. it was AmAzInG!!

We watched the flame thrower! He was awesome!

Enoch absolutely loved it! His face was lit up the entire time!

Downtown life went on until 4 am!

Back to Pompano... we went to the park!

They look so small standing by that great sea mass... so I had to write it right on the image!

We had to take some family pictures before we headed out!

Then, the day we had to check out of the condo, we woke up the kids at 4 am with some exciting news! We had a little "detour" on the way home... DISNEY WORLD!!

Inside Cinderella's Castle!

Riding rides!

This one looks haunted to me!

Then we took our time coming home- through the Smoky Mountians!

We took a picture like this with me, Jemma, and Jonna YEARS ago and I love it! So I wanted to do it again with our kids!

I love this one! Adam is saying "Seriously.. Another picture?" and I'm saying "Suck it up Bud!" .. he he!

In the Smokies!

So this is the Alpine Slide. We went on this when we were kids (I was probably 5ish??) and I've wanted to do it again ever since! We FINALLY got to do it! You ride this (rather scary) ski lift to the top of the mountian...
.. and SLIDE your way all the way down!

Such fun!

All in all.. it was one amazing vacation!

Minivan Express Front Row Ticket!

2011-07-13T17:21:00.003-05:00

I have 3 kids, and 2 front row seats in my van. This sets itself up for lots of arguing! When I was a kid, I always got the back seat. The oldest child got to ride up front (after all.. they were the oldest). But I wanted to create a system where every child had the chance to get a front row. So I thought we could settle the debate by taking out 1 of the front row seats. In theory that made a lot of sense. With only 1 front row seat- surely we can take turns and rotate out. However, how in this WORLD am I supposed to remember who sat up front the day before yesterday when I can't even remember to tell the kids to grab the library books. So when the kids jumped in the van yesterday and for the umpteen time began arguing AGAIN about who gets to sit up front- I decided to take some action!

Introducing.... A front row ticket in the minivan express!

From now on- ALL 3 kids sit in the back- period. UNLESS.... you have front row ticket! Now every child has an opportunity to earn a front row ticket, and then and only then can you exchange your ticket for a front row seat on our trip to town. So- you ask.. "How do you earn a ticket"?

Throughout the day I am watchful of extra good attitudes. Attitudes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. I'm looking for someone to take that extra step- do something nice for their siblings "just because", go above and beyond what is asked of them. If I notice it- they earn a ticket! We have only 2 rules: NO asking for tickets and no pointing out their good deed. If they do, they forfeit their front row pass.

We'll give it a go! I designed a ticket in Photoshop, printed them out and glued them back to back (so both sides are pretty). Next step is lamination or contact paper for protection. Then they all went in an envelope in a special place here in the house (for distribution), and I have another envelope in the van (for collection).

Want your very own tickets (to use for your family)? Just comment below (or message me), and I'll get you your own set of tickets for you to print out for FREE!

Enjoy ;-)

2011-01-02T09:42:00.010-06:00

I'm getting caught up on my digital scrap booking for the entire year of 2010, so I thought I'd post all my digital scrapbook pages here as well to share with you all what is going on in our lives! So the next several posts will be an overview of our 2010 year! You can click on the images to make them larger so you can see them up close. My plan is to print all my digital scrapbook pages (once I'm all done) in a 12x12 hardbound custom portrait book. It should turn out beautiful! I'm excited. If it all comes together according to plan, it will be the first book I've ever ordered for myself (even though we've ordered tons for our clients from the studio) ! So have fun looking at our 2010 year in review ;-)

I'm doing to start with Jan '10. We actually had lots of snow this year! The kids had such a great time sledding, building snow men, and ice skating on their Gramee and Pop's pool!

2010-08-18T13:57:00.058-05:00

I'm SO far behind.. I don't even know where to start!! So, I'll start with the most current first, and as {if} time allows, I'll play catch up! We have been SO super busy this summer, I barley remember any days spent at home! The kids are lovin' [maybe way too much] mom and dads pool, and thus, many hot summer days have been spent there!

Nothin' better than eating home-made ice cream at the pool side!

She has learned (and learned to enjoy) going under this year!

Seriously.. it was the hair that made me capture this image!

And I really like these of Eleesia.. she is doing SO good learning to swim!

Eleesia finished up another year of dance in June, and we have decided that we are going to take a break for a while. It just comes a point in your life when you must re-evaluate your circumstances and determine what is eternal and what is not. Currently, we are breaking from most trivial things in life until we can get some things revamped and on schedule in our lives.
.... priorities......
Regardless, here is her last (at least for a while) dance recital. It was SO adorable [and looking at these pictures makes me miss it already]. The theme was the "Night at the Museum" and she was a security guard. To top it off, the fire alarm started going off right in the middle of the performance and the entire audience had to evacuate (come to find out .. there was no fire, but instead a pressure imbalance in the sprinkle system).

This was Enoch's first year of coach pitch.. and Adam was indeed, the coach. He liked it.. it was fun. A bit too competitive at times (at points I just wanted to scream.. "THEY ARE ONLY 6"!) but alas, it was very entertaining!

At the trophy ceremony (with Aybrin)...

Besides the pool, we spent a lot of our days on the lake! The kids LOVE tubing.. and Adam so enjoys the wake board! Its so fun [and cute] to hear Essa yelling "Why did you stop.. I'm NOT done!"

Enoch with his uncle Nathanael

And a beautiful rainbow I saw one day on our way home from the lake.. perfect ending to a perfect day!
The Sparta's 4th of July event was fun this year (as always)... Adam ended up driving kids around all evening...

While Nathanael and I worked the ticket booth! {and the kids were down on the lake with mom and dad}

If we were not in the pool, or on the lake -- we were fishing! Through some contacts {my hubby is great for that}, we were allotted permission to use this AMAZING fishing hole!

I {mostly} would read.. the girls would play..
pick flowers,

and play with worms

{hence the little dirty fingers}

while the men fished...

We have also taken a few mini vacations this summer.. including Chicago (more to come in a later post), Adam and I went to St. Louis (once again, at a later post), and an overnight trip to AR to stay in a condo for a night. The scenery was gorgeous...

and this was BY FAR The biggest bathtub I've ever seen in my life! I want one!!!

Then a little put-put...

where Enoch scored his first hole in one!

I have been doing TONS of sewing! We have been sewing tons of the kids clothes (pictures to come later).. but also fun stuff such as this organizer that fits on the back of your umbrella stroller, and converts to fit over the seats in the car too...

I've also made a messenger bag to hold my lens (SO much better than carrying around my heavy backpack/camera bag everywhere I've been tromping around), and a couple little clutch purses. Plus {my personal favorite}.. one AMAZING purse organizer!! It took my purse from looking like this:

To looking like this:

{please ignore the fact that I sewed the elephants upside down.. I didn't realize it until it was all sewed and I was not about to rip it all out and start all over!}

The best part about it was I designed it and created it, thus, it fits my needs perfectly! So here is the little clutch purse I was telling you about: (its complete with a divider and pockets on the inside)...

Just because schools out for summer didn't stop us from learning! We participated in all the local reading programs. Here is one from the library.. it was a pirate party and they were all supposed to dress up like pirates...

How can you NOT look at this and smile?

Of course.. we geared up for the kids' annual cousin camp (which they had a BLAST at)! We screen printed all their shirts this year...
I think they turned out SO cute... (the fronts had their name on them)

We've also been trying to keep up with a fairly good sized garden . This year we have many veggies, but we are also going to try to harvest our sunflower seeds..

With school is just around the corner (next Tues), I can't help but wonder what this year has in store for us. Last year we had SO much fun, and participated in some new and different things (such as Enoch's first science fair...)

The kids are SO excited! We are finalizing all affairs before the big day (making final copies, organizing for the daily schedule, etc). Gearing up! Well, with all 5 kiddos snuggeled in their sleeping bags in the next room (its date night for Jemma and Ben this week).. I'm realizing what time it is.. WhOoShE.. time for bed. Night all!

Turtle

2009-09-24T14:18:00.021-05:00

Have you ever studied a turtle? I mean REALLY studied a turtle? How does it turn over when it lands on its back? How can you tell how old they are? Why do they cross the road? We studied them this week.

Welcome to school.

This is a "3 Toed Box Turtle"

It is approximately 6 years old.

You can tell how old they are by their bellies. Once they get to be about 15, the lines all become very smooth- which makes it very difficult to tell their age. However, younger than that- you can count the lines (similar to counting the lines on a tree). They live to be anywhere from 30-80 years old.

And by the way... they cross roads looking for mates, or if their young- to establish their homes.

This is my belated Birthday Present. They look BEAUTIFUL! However, I do have room for a few more (see Exhibit "A") .. which I already have ideas for.

(PS. Enoch is reading this-- he read nearly every line on the last entry).

So this is what you see when you walk in my front door. Except I do have 4 more above the piano (on the left just out of the frame), and down my hall.

And Enoch wanted to be in one!

So I got a new lens. Its a fisheye lens. I've been believing for it for over 2 years now. I'm so thankful God is so faithful. I have lots of ideas for the use of this lens, but it has a steep learning curve so I'm just practicing now!

Eleesia laughing with one of our new puppies!

This is how we spend our evenings....

This is our neighbor.. "Ms Agnus" (yeah, you should hear Eleesia say that one!)

So I hear it nearly everytime I leave the house.... "WOW you got your hands full!" or "you have SO many kids" , etc etc etc. - Which would be a fine comments in and of themselves. But its said with snarled noses. ESPECIALLY when I'm out with Jemma and we have all 5 kids.It gets so old. How dare they say that in front of my children. Do they know how hateful it is? Yes, I know I have my hands full. Yes, I know I have "A LOT" of children. And every single one of them is prayed for, well taken of.. and could not be loved more. Children are a gift from the Lord... and I have been well endowed. I'm thankful for that- every single day.

We also get the "how do you have time to manage a home, take care of your kids, homeschool, and run a business". Well, its not easy- but somehow we make it all work. For example, we mix things when possible. Just last week God granted me an amazing idea to bring the story of Moses back to life with a baby portrait session. So we had to go to the river and try it out first. What a better time to do our nature study?

We try to do nature study at least every week. Even if we don't leave the house to do it. Here is a huge frog we caught outside. We then looked it up in our nature study book to classifiy it and learn about him. This guy was HUGE.. pictures don't do it justice!

And Ms. Maddie had puppies!! She had 5, but only 4 made it. They are now 3 weeks old and soo precious. The kids love them!

And some of Essa. She decided she wanted to get her ears pierced. Our rule was they had to be old enough to request it, know its going to hurt, and still want it done. She classified. So I wanted to capture some final ones of her "virgin" ears. I also wanted to show how long her hair has gotten. Its just so white you can' t see it!

She looks just like her Daddy in this one...

And then after they were done... she loved them!

And here is one I got of Jemma during a photo session . I thought it was just too beautiful not to post!

Well thats about it for the Struble family . Enoch has art class and Eleesia has dance on Wed. Then we always stop buy to see Grandma. We have baskeball on Thursdays and tae-kwon-do on Fridays. We are busy... but are having SO much fun!

2009-08-26T08:10:00.004-05:00

Just a few more pictures!! My Aunt Bonita has been asking me to take these dryer series pictures for over a year now... and we finally got around to it! The kids had a blast at the laundry mat (well.. actually we bribed them with Sonic- but hey- it worked!) The hunting ones with Enoch and his Daddy I have also been wanting to do for quite some time. It off sets the girls on the brick wall and they are going up on my wall. I painted my living room a couple weeks ago- and I'm getting all new pictures and frames to go up as my belated birthday present. There are 3 20x24s (one of each of the kids) when you first walk in, then a collage of 8 13x19s and 5 11x14s. It is going to be beautiful when its all done. I'll have to post some pics.

We are doing so well with school. The kids are loving it! We are learning so much. We do phonics, dictation, math, and Bible, and music everyday. Then we alternate art, history, science, and computer throughout the week. We will also be visiting the library every Wed (right after art class). I love how when your teaching at home, opportunities to teach just present themselves. We have already had a wood-working class today- and science as we learning about oxygen-rich blood and how that all works.

We will keep you posted how we are all doing- as of now though- school is calling.

Our Summer ;-)

2009-07-21T11:01:00.026-05:00

So.. once again- completely out of order- but oh well ;-)

So first off.... I'm in love. With this:

and this....

and this and this and this...

and all of the above. Now just to pick out which ones I want for my wall collage :-)

Oh... and for a little behind the scenes.... Welcome to the life of a photographer!

And some of the girls 4th of July portraits this year...

and some from our Bubbilicious Event we had at the studio this summer (last Sat.)

It was so much fun! We have been staying SUPER busy this summer. We have been swimming at Mom's as much as possible. And we have been going out on our boat every Sunday after church. The kids just adore the water... and we are taking the time away from school to enjoy ourselves as a family! Enoch finished his last summer of t-ball (next year he will be playing baseball.. tear tear).

And some from the pool. nothing says summer more than popsicles ate at the poolside! The girls are really doing well swimming. Essa even jumps in and goes under.. its quite cute! They are very independent in the water- so if your close to them they will use you to kick off from!

And Enoch decided he wants to start folding and putting away his own laundry. I'm a bit of a perfectionists myself- so at first I wouldn't let him. I finally gave him the change- and I must say he completely blew me away. He does an amazing job. now he approaches me and says "Mom, can I do the laundry to help you out?" In ways, its sad to see them grow. But on the other hand- I love it. It helps so much.

And my 2 1/2 year old still bathing in the kitchen sink. (Ok... not on a normal basis, but when shes really dirty and I'm trying to clean the kitchen)!

And I did some bath time portraits of her for the month of June. I did them last year and when my computer crashed I lost them. I've been devastated ever since. So before she gets too big I thought I would do them again! And yes... I'm happy with the way they turned out!

And I just adore this one of Enoch i took last month as well. I wanted to show off his "foe-hawk". (And yes, that is the technical word for it-- I didn't make it up).

And Miss Eleesia in her tap shoes taken in May.

And Enoch has been in tae-kwan-d0 since Jan. but we finally bought him a uniform. So the first day they got it- they wanted to show them off!

And this was bike day at Mom's school back in May. We went to bike day, and water day as well. The kids had so much fun!

Just some more of the girls!

And this is the way we clean!!

So I must tell you this story. For our school project (in May) we watched tadpoles turn into frogs (collected from the nearby river)-- and catipillars turn into butterflys. When it was time to let them go, Enoch says "Mommy, do you think they will love me and want to stay here in our garden so they can see me?" Well, what do you say to that one? So sure enough- as soon as we let the thing go- it flew in a complete circle and landed no where else but right here...

So he says "MOMMY HE DOES LOVE ME!" Seriously.. how precious is that?!

And some of Enoch's t-ball portraits from this year...

This next one is his favorite because he doesn't like his hat!

I love this one... and apparently- he loves me.

And I wanted to share with you all Enoch's invitation we had for his "Reading Party" back in May. We celebrated because he got thru his Kindergarten Hooked on Phonics Program! Now we have moved on to 1st Grade!!

So here is a little clip of him reading...

So thats about it. I'm going to K.C. tomorrow to have Lasik Eye Surgery done on my eyes... I'm SOOO excited about that. And Adam bought a motercycle he has been working on fixing up. We are getting a lot of water time in.. and re-doing the studio (we ripped up the floors- so we now have hardwood floors). I'm also about to re-do my house. So.. things have been crazy and exciting. We are gearing up for school next month (trying to get everything organized so we can see what we need to buy for school supplies). So there are a just few pictures from our summer (well.. I guess since last April). But at least you can see whats up with our lives! Life is great!!

Just an Update :)

2009-04-10T22:37:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the past month or so :)

First off, this is what I caught Enoch doing the other day! When I asked him where he came up with this idea he said "I just thought of it". Now its their new craze!

We went to St. Louise last weekend for a photography convention. The kids had fun swimming and hanging out!

And yes.... puppy goes swimming too.

And then we went to the Science Center. The kids had a blast!

And these were from the Easter egg hunt last weekend. The kids hit 2, one at Sparta, and the other at Ozark. Essa was not AT ALL interested in hunting the eggs... until she found out they were full of candy. Then she was all over it! And of course, puppy had to come along too.

And Eleesia with her Gramee.

And these are some I took for my Dad of his tulips. Since he is in Mexico, and unable to enjoy them, I thought I would take some pictures to show him how pretty they are this year!

And one last one of Essa eating chocolate pudding.

Enjoy your Easter weekend!

Some of Enoch's recent drawings!

2009-03-26T16:20:00.003-05:00

So this kid loves to draw! Just thought I'd share some of his most recent work. He got a book from the library about drawing cartoon animals, so heres a couple from last week...

Our Easter Photos

2009-03-12T15:35:00.011-05:00

So here they are.. our Easter pics for this year! As you all know, we have to do ours WAY early (not only do we have to have time to process, send them to the lab, and get them sent out- but we have to do them even earlier as examples for the studio). I didn't get a lot, we were messing with the backgrounds, etc. We took pictures all night, but its hard enough to take pictures of just them, not to mention the distraction that 6 bunnies, 12 chicks, and 3 ducks add to the scene! So here are a few I have done!

First.. here are all 5 of them!

And one of Jonna. The day she got her permit (how scary!)

And of of Jemma's kids. Aren't they cute?

And now all 6 of them...

And finally.... ours!
And this our Easter cards for this year...

And now for some individuals...

These are the dresses I made for the girls for this occasion. The print is little chicks. I thought it fit!

She thinks they are great when she doesn't have to hold them!

And this is for the summer event we are doing in June. We took the pictures early.. once again, as an example for the studio. I think I'll put this one on my purse! Once again, I made the dresses :)
And this is SO our life! Check out Abyrin's face, and Essa sticking out her tongue!
Typical Enoch! I was snapping pictures, and all of a sudden I turned around to find this! TOTALLY his idea!
Enjoy the resurrection this year!

Update!

2009-03-09T09:26:00.018-05:00

So these are TOTALLY out of order, but I'm WAY behind, and if I take the time to put them all in order, it will take me 3 days! It already took several hours just to get them posted! This is a recap going all the way back to Jan. Here we go...

These are some I snapped of Essa on Saturday. Her Great-Grandma Blankenship bought her this outfit when she was born, and of course- she can still wear it. It used to be a dress, but now its a shirt. I adore this hat!

And because I couldn't decide which one I liked better... I posted them both!

Eleesia goofing off at the studio...

I don't think people really believe me when I say she eats, sleeps, and pees with this thing! Obviously the people who try to seperate her from her puppy have never experienced firsthand the love kids can have. They have never had to blow dry a puppy just so the child can go to bed.

She is such a girly girl! Mom was rolling Grandma's hair (as she does every Sat.), so of course, Eleesia had to have hers rolled too! I thought it was just too cute for words!

And some from Eleesia at her dance class! This is how she really feels about dance!

Some while we were cleaning the studio. This is SO our life!!

And Jemma taking a break from heavy mopping!

Here are some one of the bunnies we are having at the studio on Sat. We are SO excited about this event. We are bunny sitting him until our event is over. This is when we first brought him home. The kids LOVE him!

!Playing with my new flash in the hallway! I call this "Hallelujah"

These were taken during that snow we had back in Jan.
She likes the taste!
Making snow angels!

Want to know what I shoot when my subjects get tired of me?

And when all else fails....

So we went to the zoo last week when it was absolutely gorgeous! The girls are wearing the dresses I made them for this Sat. bunny and chick pictures. The print has little chicks all over it. They really wanted to wear them early, and what better place than the zoo!

One of my fav. animals!
Navigating.... hmm.... SO their fathers genes!
And my other fav. animal? I'll give you a clue...

Us goofing off one day. I LOVE Eleesia's expression in this one!

Brotherly love!

And I finally got a good one!
So this is so her....
Then the VERY next frame...

Oh where does she get this curly hair? ME ME ME ME, and in case you didn't hear... ME!
Here are some of Jonna this past snow! We had such a blast- but it was FREEZING!!

I never posted any from Essa's Birthday party- so here you go!
Check out her shirt. This is opening the card (with money of course) from Great-Grandma Brodrick.... a family tradition!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-13T11:27:00.007-06:00

Just wanted to say Happy Valentines Day! May your day be filled with lots of hugs, kisses, and love! Here are some pictures we took of the kids to commemorate our love! We bought them big suckers, the boys had lips and the girls had hearts. It was quite the sticky mess, but hey it was fun!

After the shoot, I brought them all home with me (Jemma and Ben had a Love Bug meeting to go to), and we painted outside... Gotta love the nice weather!! Enjoy.. and Happy Love Day!

Essa's Dedication/Presentation

2009-02-05T16:08:00.006-06:00

A year ago October, Grandpa dedicated Essa- as he has done with all our children. However, we wanted to have her presented again in front of our church family. So our pastor dedicated her again a couple weeks ago. This is the first dedication we have had at church since she has been born (hence why she is so old)!

Mom bought the dress, isn't it beautiful? And we took portraits (of course) of her in her dedication dress. So we wanted to share a few....

And this is what she was working so hard for...

For Essa, there is no greater reward. She LOVES food! And she is one smart cookie too! Even though she was being feed, she still hid one behind her back for later :)

2009-01-30T00:02:00.004-06:00

Sorry you don't get one of Essa... the day I took these she simply wasn't in the mood. She wouldn't leave my lap... so she's on the other side of the lens:) I will be taking some of her soon though in her dedication dress, so I will post those when I get those up. Her birthday party (her birthday was this past Tuesday) is also on Sun.... so we should be posting some of those too! Keep your eyes open!

Enjoying the SNOW!

2009-01-29T23:32:00.011-06:00

So is everyone enjoying the snow?! Our kids are having a great time with it! We went out yesterday for a photo shoot in the snow (we have been planning this for quite some time). Then they were out in it again today making snow angels... followed by warming up with some hot coco! So I've posted a few from our shoot yesterday. If you want to see more (some scenery ones and some of Jemma's family), then log onto the business site (http://www.captivatingtimephotography.com/) and click on "CLIENTS" and type in " snow " as the password. That will pull up a few for you too look at :)

Here is one of Enoch break-dancing :)

WAY behind!!

2009-01-24T09:48:00.021-06:00

So these are WAY overdue! Sometimes I feel like I'm just treading water trying to stay on to stay on top of everything!! Hope everyone had a good Christmas and happy new year! In case you all did not know already, we all loaded up and went to Florida for Christmas. We knew the idea of having to spend Christmas here at home without Pop was simply going to be too rough, so all 13 of us hit the road! We had so much fun.. laying out on the beach and swimming (at least the kids) in the ocean for Christmas!

So here is a real quick run down of Dec. and Jan.

First of all, we did dissect a cows eye for Enoch's school! I'm not posting pictures because my computer crashed (for literally the 4th or 5th time), and all my pictures are not back up on my computer yet. So maybe later. I know you are just SO anxious to see bloody gooey eye balls!

So Enoch turned 5! Can you believe it? They grow TOO fast!! He had a good birthday. He chose a Kong-Fu-Panda theme, and once again... no pictures. Sorry.

Then we left for Florida. Here are some pictures I CAN share with you!!

First.. the much talked about 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 picture! For those of you that don't know... our kids (Jemma and I's) are ages 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1! So we thought what better way to commemorate than with these huge numbers we made and used on the beach :) There are lots more on our business blog, but here's one!

And here is one from Adam and I's TTd (Trash the Dress) session... I think this ones going in our bedroom!

And of course... Essa's puppy. Her birthday is the 27th and we are doing a puppy theme (since shes attached to this thing at the right hip). So I took pictures of her with her puppy on the beach and made this beautiful 20x20 collage. Adam made her a gorgeous frame from old barn wood, and this will be the center piece of the table (since they don't make decorations with puppy's that look quite like this) :)

And here are some of the individuals... and yes- she really did take a nap (and quite a long one) on the beach!

And here is some scenery through the great Smoky Mountains! This was on our way home:)

And back the beach...

And a nice family one...

Or two....
And this one was just too cute! She always picks up the camera and yells "Cheese"! (See the puppy? Did I already mention.. right hip (or I guess in this case left one:) )

And I rarely am actually in the photos, I'm usually behind the lens. But Adam picked up the camera.. and I adore what he captured!

And here is some from Christmas day...

Daddy's turn! The other two were too busy to sit on Daddy's lap long enough to take a picture!

These are some of my favorites! I think they deserve a place custom framed in my bathroom! I already have all 3 of the kid's feet impressions (molds) in their bathroom in a shadow box. What better to accompany it than pictures of them playing on the sand?

So this is Enoch...

And Eleesia...
Eleesia again (I couldn't decide which one I liked better)

And although I didn't get a silhouette of Essa (she wasn't too fond of the crashing waves), I did manage to capture this precious one of her dancing on the beach. This is pretty high up on my list of favorites from the beach! (I think it makes the top of Moms list)

Once again.. couldn't decide between color or b/w

And I adore these of the girls!

And here is some from Christmas Eve. We rented a boat and went to Shell Island, a completely deserted island, that was absolutly georgous!

So here is Jonna and Essa...

And Enoch...
And Adam and I...

So thats pretty much it for the beach pictures. However, there is a TON more on our business website (including some breathtaking ones of Jonna), so go check it out! The address is
www.captivatingtimephotography.com

Then click on "Enter Blog" and scroll down!

So now onto Eleesias birthday! Her birthday was the 30th (of Dec). We try to always do something fun on their birthday (especially since their party is usually not the same day). So for Enoch's we went to Chuckie Cheese. Eleesia wanted her nails done, so for hers we headed to the salon. Now she keeps telling everyone that Daddy is going to dye her hair pink and purple. Wonder were she got that idea?

Then her party was the following Sunday. It was a My Little Pony Party seeing how she is SO into horses!

She has been telling us for a while that she wanted her ears pierced. Our stipulation was that our girls had to be old enough to understand that it was going to hurt yet still want to get them pierced. So after warning her several (probably close to 500 times) that it was going to hurt, she still requested it done. So on the day of her party, we went to the mall and had it done! She did so good, she barley cried, and she REALLY likes them! She shows them off to everyone! So here is what they look like!

And last of all, has everyone been enjoying the awsome (very few) beatuful 65 degree days? We take it in all we can! Here are a couple pictures of the kids during one of these awsome days! We usually end up outside when the weather is so nice... this day they rode their bikes, but the sky was AMAZING... so we had a little fun!

So thats it for now! I have to get to the studio soon and take some of Essa in her dedication dress (we just had her presented to the Lord at church on Sunday)... so be looking out for those! I'll keep you posted :)

Gearing up for Christmas

2008-11-15T03:13:00.004-06:00

Well... with the studio we have to do these things early as advertisement. Daddy was Santa... hence why they kids are so happy. Usually my kids hate "Santa" and scream to the top of their lungs. Oh... the wonders of modern photography. All the Santa, but only his parts!! He (Santa) is coming to the studio by the way on Dec 6. If you want to stop by... check out the business blog (captivatingtime.blogspot.com) for more details.

Fall Pictures

2008-11-15T02:12:00.008-06:00

I had bronchitius for the entire month of October, and it got so bad I think it actually tunred into phenomina. However... I adore fall! It's by far my favorite time of year. So I had Mom make the girls some matching outfits and we took pictures when it was literally like 40 degrees outside! We were FREEZING, but got a couple good shots! So thought I'd post our new family photos!

Jemma's came out great too!

And Essa is the only one that would allow me to take an individuals (wonder why)!

And this was from earlier this fall. I LOVE this picture!

2008-11-15T02:11:00.000-06:00

Just another picture of Essa's puppy. She is totally addicted to this thing! I had to wash him the other day. That's a lot harder than what you would think. I snuck him into the washing machine, and about 2 minutes into the cycle she started looking for her "puppy". She screamed the entire thing for him, until he was washed and dried. Needless to say, he tumbled in the dryer alone to make for faster drying time! Guess he's deserving of a "real" portrait!

2008-11-15T01:07:00.008-06:00

I'm vowing to keep up with this blog better! We'll see how long it will last:)

So... I've decided to start posting what Enoch is doing in school. As you all know, we are homeschooling the boys- and they are in kindergarten this year. Enoch loves it, he is learning so much and having so much fun! So I thought I would post a little of what he's been up to. Currently our unit is "Attentiveness" and will continue with this unit for several months. We started this new unit a few weeks ago. It started off learning all about the ear. They had to learn all the parts of the ear, and draw an ear and label all the parts...

And his memory verse at the bottom from Proverbs...

We made a big ear they had to craw through with and ear "drum", "hammer", etc. He now knows the 3 smallest bones in your body. He will also proudly inform you that the semicircular canal controls your balance- and your cochlea contains hair and water that sends signals to your brain that causes you to hear. At the end of the week we visited an ear dr. and we were able to look in our ears with a machine that was a lot like a magnifying glass hooked up to a big tv screen! The boys got to see their ear-drums and learned that a "healthy" ear will reflect light back to you! The dr also showed the boys all the different hearing aid styles and sizes and even sent us home a ear model. Also included in this weeks lesson was learning about bats and their Echolocation hearing. How they send out signals and listen for the echo back to find food. This just happened to fall on Halloween... which Enoch had already determined to be a bat for Halloween, so this turned out perfect.

The past couple weeks we been learning about orchestras, instruments, and music theory. Enoch had to learn the different musical families and he can now tell you what family all the different instruments fall into- including the Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, Percussion. He also drew the arrangement of the instruments in an orchestra. He drew a violin and labeled all the parts- and we took a trip to the music store and classified all the instruments.

O course, we are still doing our phonics, etc. So I've attached a video of Enoch reading. He is picking it up so quickly... and is getting quite good at it :) We are getting them a Wii for Christmas, and Enoch now knows about it because the Wii box was upside down and backwards at the top of my closet but he read the words and informed me it was a Wii because Wii is spelled "W- i- i" and that's what the box said (he read it even though it was upside down and backwards). He can think backwards. When he writes, it spells the word out on the line. However, if he runs out of space (for ex. if what he is spelling is 2 words) I'll tell him to write it below the line. The first few times we did this he would write the letters upside down and backwards. I was getting onto him at first, until I realized what he was doing. He writes the letters upside down and backwards so that if you were to turn the paper upside down- the word wold fit perfect on the line. Crazy how his little 4 year old mind can think this way! Anyways.. here he is.

He simply loves to draw and write. His new found character he is into is Yoshi from Mario.

I caught him drawing this a few days ago...

And something else I found. Not sure why he decided to draw a turtle, but he did. Check out the detailing around the shell!

So that gives you an overall of what we have been doing. Certainly there is a lot more involved than what I've mentioned, but you get the overall. Next week we are learning about eyes and vision. He will have to draw and eye, learn all the parts and dissect a cows eye. I'll be sure to post about that one :)

Fall is Here!!

2008-10-19T10:52:00.037-05:00

Well, I haven't posted since Aug, and we are pushing Nov. Oopps! So I have a TON to post and update everyone on. Things have just been so crazy..I'm sure you all know how that goes.

First of all, the business is doing great! We are booked (have have been for a couple months) for the remainder of the year, and almost Jan. as well. We also have a waiting list that seems to grow everyday. I looked at my calendar a couple days ago and I literally don't even have 1 day between now and Nov that I don't have something going on. Its crazy!

We also got test results back from Essa, from when they put her under and scoped her in K.C. Everything came back normal. So that was good news. She still only has 2 teeth on the bottom, and 3 on the top. Shes doing well though. Shes growing up mentally, and is starting to fight for her own.

Eleesia is going well too. We took her horseback riding yesterday, and she found a new love! She ADORED those horses. She lead them around, hugged and kissed them, and had a great time. I can' t believe that she wasn't at all intimidated by them! It was amazing.

Enoch is doing very good with school. We took a couple week vacation and returning this week. We had to buy some new curriculum (the old curriculum he was too bored with) so hopefully we will like it better. We are learning about butterflies, and have a Caterpillar in a jar that we are hoping will turn into one!

So here are some pictures... and I'll tell the stories as we go along. This is what we have been up to for the past 2-3 months.

This is Essa's puppy. She has carried this around for over a month, ever since Jonna gave it to her. She won't eat, sleep, or even take a bath without her "Puppy"!

Enoch getting crazy with the mud... he even "decorated" his sister too.

They love each other!
A baby frog we found in our mailbox. Essa tried to eat it. Guess she thought it was food!
Playing in the leaves!

We took the kids to see Aunt Gails horses yesteday. They loved it!

While we were there, Enoch picked me flowers!

A picture at sunset! Our Oct. picture
Wild Thing! Her hair is finally growing. This is her when she first woke up. She is such a morning person!

These are our Sept. pictures... with Jonna. For Mom's Birthday!

Sorry these are out of order.. here are more from Oct.

Now some from Aug.

A dress Eleesia is modeling...

We went for a little swim!

Outside at Gramee's!

Jemma and I

2008-08-19T15:03:00.011-05:00

So I never post pictures of myself, but Jemma and I took the camera, our big bertha soft box and strobe and headed out into the field a couple nights ago. We had so much fun! We set the camera on self timer, and got some pictures of us for our "About Us" page on our website. Once again... the photo techinque that I think is WAY cool!

I'm LOVIN' the Weather!

2008-08-19T14:47:00.007-05:00

Ok, not "loving" but REALLY enjoying! Its SO nice that the humidity has gone down a little so we can resume our outdoor shoots! There for a while even stepping out the door about knocked you down, and now my windows are open! Praise the Lord!

I need to get more pictures of Eleesia on the blog soon- seems like lately I've posted mostly Enoch and Essa! Eleesia has been a little under the weather lately. She had a little accident and they had to put her on antibiotics-which later we found out that she was allergic to, so she broke out in a rash from head to toe! So.... its been quite difficult to photograph her lately- Photoshop can only do so much! She's finally recovering, now shes been cranky because her back molars are coming in (oh dear). So I actually have tried to photograph her lately (we went downtown Springfield last week), but it just hasn't worked out!

Anyways, just wanted to clarify that I do love her just as much as the other two :)

So... this is Essa in the cradle that was built by their Great- Great Grandfather. Isn't it gorgeous?! Every child in the family from each generation has since slept in it- and we are about to have to give it back to our Grandparents for further circulation :( so I thought I'd get some pictures before we have to return it. (I'm also quite obsessed with a new lighting technique I've learned!) I think they turned out beautiful! I'm excited fall is almost here.. I can use this technique more often with out being knocked down by the humidity!

Have a great day!

The Kids

2008-08-10T00:10:00.004-05:00

I mananged to get a good one with all 3 kids! (Amazing!) This old footstool is one my Grandpa picked up, so its pretty special to me :)

Essa

2008-08-09T23:57:00.005-05:00

We got new lights for the studio, so I thought I'd play with them! Here are some pictures of Essa with her Great-Grandpas hat. I really liked this idea, and what better hat to do it with than her Great-Grandpas? I thought they turned out cute!

2008-08-09T16:58:00.013-05:00

Well... I thought I would take advantage of this rainy day and update a much negelated blog :) We have had such a wild and crazy summer! The kids are doing great. Essa finally started walking, and finally just got in her bottom 2 teeth. She is really growing up (not so much physically but more so mentally). Eleesia is doing great as well. She really enjoys being outside in the pool, and thinks she can swim just aws well as the boys, but she still needs on her floaties to keep her head above the water :) Enoch has really taken off this summer. He has become quite the good little swimmer! He can now jump off the diving board ("with no floaties" he proudly exclaims) and swim all over the deep end of the pool. He can also dive down to collect jewels on the bottom of the pool! He adores swimming, and we can hardly keep him out fof the pool! He is also learnng to ride his bike without training wheels! So here are a few pictures from our summer experience!

2008-06-27T08:44:00.002-05:00

We are doing this for some future clients for the business, so we thought we would try it out with Essa first! She had a great time! You can see more on our business blog at http://captivatingtime.blogspot.com

Meet Mattie

2008-05-23T01:06:00.003-05:00

Enoch has been bugging us to get him a dog. So, we finally did. We had been looking around and praying about it- and God just dropped it off at our doorstep. It was given to us by some people who had found her and couldn't find her owner. She is perfect. She is already potty trained, has out-grown the chewing up everything phase, and gets along very well with the kids. They love her. So here she is... Miss Mattie!

A Recent Family Photo

2008-05-23T01:01:00.004-05:00

I had Jemma take a few family picures of us for a HUGE gallery wrap I bought to display at the studio for our grand opening!! I have been wanting one for nearly a year, so I was SO excited to finally be able to get one! It looks BEAUTIFUL, and of course, it won't stay at the studio- I'm bringing it home! After I deleted all the photos where the kids had their fingers in their mouths, up their noses, eyes closed, or making mean dinosaur faces- I was only left with 2 that I loved. This is our typical life!

The Update on Essa

2008-05-23T00:42:00.000-05:00

Well, we just returned from Kansas City. There we went to Children's Mercy. It was a very nice trip. We were able to have dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. We also were able to go swimming and visit the KC Zoo. It was absolutely beautiful! We, of course, ended our trip with the hospital and here is the update on Essa...

They were supposed to run a growth hormone stimulation test on her, but upon arrival, they decided against it. It is a very involved test (last 3 hours and giving medicine and taking blood every 1/2 hour for the duration of the test). Their reasoning for bypassing this test is because she is still so young that they have plenty of time to resolve this matter before it becomes permanently damaging to her body. So therefore, they want to continue to monitor her and look for other solutions before they put her through so much. So, we are going to see a Gastrointestinal Specialists (also from KC, but will be coming to Springfield to meet with us) in September. There they will evaluate her and ensure that she is absorbing all the nutrients from her food. Their question is since she is in taking so many calories- where are they going? This has been our question for several months now! So we will meet with them, then we have another appointment set up again with the Endocrinologists Specialists in Dec. If the results come back normal from the GI dr, then they will look into doing the specialist tests. They said that even if they do nothing for another year, she still has plenty of time to catch up. Thank you everyone for your prayers and concerns. I simply can not believe the support we are receiving from all of you- it means so much to us. Thank You! So... here are a few pics from our KC trip!

2008-05-23T00:41:00.006-05:00

Eleesia LOVED this baby monkey. The zoo employee informed us that he is still a baby and likes to suck his thumb!

2008-05-23T00:26:00.004-05:00

2008-05-23T00:14:00.004-05:00

Our New Studio

2008-05-22T23:42:00.004-05:00

For those of you who don't know already, my sister and I are getting a studio! We are getting so busy that working from home is simply not feasable anymore, and we had to find a new place! God truley placed this in our lap, as it is right beside the barber shop (which we also own)- and on main street where everyone drives by all the time! Its awesome! Our grand opening is May 31 from 1-5 pm. The mayor will be preforming our ribbon cutting ceromony, and there are TONS of free giveaways from local businesses. We're talking HUNDREDS of dollars worth. For every family that walks in the door, they will recieve 1 free family photo, and be eligable for the give-aways- and free food! It will be a HUGE party! Also, we are running some AMAZING 1 time only specials that will be revealed on grand opening day. If you absolutly can not come, but are interesed in the specials, contact me BEFORE May 31st and I will let you in on them! Here is a picture in front of 1 of the new backdrops-I will be posting more later!

Jonna

2008-03-29T20:57:00.003-05:00

This is a beautiful picture of Jonna that I just had to post. For those of you who remember when she was so young, she is really growing up and turning into one beautiful lady. She is all about hats now, she is totally our fashion diva. This one she swiped from my Grandpa Junior.

Eleesia's Nails!

2008-03-29T20:53:00.003-05:00

As you all know, Eleesia is my little princess! She is such a priss! So, Grandma and I took her to have her nails done the other day. She loved it. She was a bit leery at first, and kept wanting me to do them, but eventually she let the lady do them. I posted a couple pictures below. Of all the colors to choose from, she picked bright blue. Go figure. Enoch got a special treat during this time too. He was able to visit Gramee at her school. He played with the other kids his age in his Gramee's class. He told me all about the fun time he had!

"Field Day"

2008-03-29T20:47:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know... its been too long since I've written. Life has been too crazy lately. As you all know, my Grandfather passed away. This really hit our family hard. Easter just wasn't the same without Him. I didn't think I would make it through!
Anyways, we bought a new chase lounge for our business. We bought it especially to do some unique outdoor shots. I'm all about being different. So, we used our kids as Ginnie pigs (of course!) and in turn, got some good shots. Check out the slide show below, as it reflects the updated photos. We are running a Home-shooling special on May 5 (doing homeschooling photos for all the local homeschooling kids)- we will get much use of the couch that day. If anyone you know needs more information on this- refer them to our website... www.captivatingtimephotography.com

Enjoy, and as always, I LOVE hearing from you guys. So please drop me a line sometime!

A Few Pics

2008-02-15T12:44:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to share a few pictures of the kids we got of them all together. This is my cool suite case- find. I just love it. We will be using it tons in the future for more photoshoots. Adam and Nathanael fixed my old mailbox at midnight last night (it was all dinged in). It had been run over a few times I think- and all the strength within me couldn't ding it out. So they put a jack in it and fixed it for me. I'm soooo excited, as we have an infant shoot tomorrow - and of course- we are using the old box! So... enjoy the pictures!

The Boys Were Away and So We Played!

2008-02-11T15:17:00.001-06:00

The guys went to a "wild game night" (and that is game you eat, not a game you play) at church the other night, so us girls played and took tons of pictures. You can see them on the slideshow at the top. Just click on the thumbnails and they get bigger. We just can't get away fron the pink and purple tu-tu. We just love it! Enjoy!

Beautiful Day!

2008-02-05T17:05:00.001-06:00

Just a couple days ago I was showing you all pictures of kids playing in the snow. Today, I'm showing just the opposite. Yesterday was an absolutely GEORGOUS day! It was 76 degrees outside (gotta love the Missouri weather), so we went to the park- of course! The kids had a blast. Eleesia's favorite thing at the park by far is the balance beam (makes me wonder what she'll be like when she grows up). The highlight of our outing was meeting my Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and Jonna there. For those of you that don't know, my Grandpa is currently defeating cancer, so this was a HUGE accomplishment that he actually left the house and go in the car! We were SO excited! He wasn't able to get out of the car, but regardless, he was still able to enjoy the beautiful weather. Eleesia ran to him. She sat on his lap the entire time they were there and watched the other kids play. It didn't matter to her though. She would rather be on Pop's lap than anywhere else in the world. I'm so grateful for this experience. Glory to GOD!

More pictures

2008-02-03T17:03:00.000-06:00

Playing around with my camera again. Enoch was finally in the mood to take some pictures, so I happily obliged. Here some good ones! Enjoy!

The Snow!

2008-02-01T16:59:00.000-06:00

It has been snowing here. We got around 5 inches, and the kids LOVED it! This was Eleesia's first time to get to play in it, and by the look on her face, she thought it was great! Enoch was dying to go outside and make a snowangel, but once outside quickly changed his mind because he "didn't want his pants to get wet". He is such a mess! Anyways. Thought you guys would enjoy some pictures of them playing in the snow!

Christmas in January

2008-01-31T11:01:00.001-06:00

While I had my photo equiment set up, I went ahead and let the kids play with the props we got for next years photo shoot. They had fun and I got some great pics. Yes, they are Christmas props, but oh well. Christmas isn't too far over yet- right?

Essa's 1st Birthday

2008-01-31T10:58:00.001-06:00

Essa just turned 1!! HOLY COW! Where does the time go!? Anyways. We had a party for her here at the house with TONS of attendees. Her Great-Grandparents drove 5 hours 1 way just to come, which is a big honor for her. They haven't missed any of the kids' 1st birthdays. Birthdays are so important to us. We had a big fight with silly string afterwards, which was a ton of fun. I waited till the next day to give her her cake, and boy did she have fun! She ate almost the entire thing. It was such a blast! Hope you enjoy the photos!

Why I posted Here

2008-01-31T10:44:00.000-06:00

Ok, so we are trying to go at it this way. I never update the kid's website because it is always messed up, and won't allow me to add recent photos. So, I decided to get up to date and create a blog! Hopefully this will be easier to posts current photos so that everyone can see how the kids are growing. We do myspace too, but I just like the idea of a blog better. So we will give this our best shot! Hope you like it!!!