Updates through pictures

Lots of pictures for your enjoyment.

Heidi and Daddy (in his work uniform).
He has been working for 2.5 weeks. yay!

Me, Bo, Heidi, Aunt Laura, Uncle John

Aunt Laura and Heidi enjoying the hammock.

Heidi and Aunt Laura, cuddles during a nap. 

Heidi in Baltimore, MD

 

Me, Heidi and Bo (who really wanted to be on the bed)

First time apple picking, Amsterdam, NY

Introducing music early, at
Great-Grandma's baby grand piano

4 generations

Catherine, Great-Grandma, Grandma, Heidi

Long-time family friend Catherine, and Heidi

Out for a stroll along the Erie Canal.

Heidi and Grandma, Piseco Lake, Adirondacks, NY
Look at those beautiful, colorful trees!

Heidi with her helmet.

Heidi has been wearing the helmet for close to 2 weeks now. The arrow was to help me with positioning, which I no longer need. She is not bothered, but does like to scratch her head when the helmet is off. Heidi wears it 23 hours a day, including naps and night time. We are praying her head is malleable. Heidi was rolling, but needs to learn this skill again while wearing the helmet. She started scooting forward the day before she received the helmet, and had become faster with the scoot. Heidi is most motivated by electronics. ha. Unfortunately, insurance declined covering the helmet, as her numbers were not significant enough. But we felt that if there is a treatment out there, we should take advantage of it. 

Heidi's 1, 2, 3, and 4 month pictures

Notice how much Heidi has grown. Looking back over the months, her personality is starting to develop. She has baby chub on her, and she has a precious wonderful smile. She has started giggling, and she has definite preferences, and is letting us know! Heidi is rolling from stomach to back, and back to stomach. So much fun!!!! And so appreciative that I get to spend my days with her.

P.S. - these pictures are a lot of work. It's surprising how such a little one can be so challenging and disinterested in the process. We will still press forward....

I was able to put my camera to good use the past few weeks. The Pastor (who married us last year) finally finished his Doctorate of Divinity. I had the pleasure of going to the (long) ceremony. I felt a little pressure to capture the important moments of the day. I think they urned out pretty well! Congratulations to Doctor Reverend Dwight Nash. Awesome accomplishment.

Look at that program. It was like a book!

For the ceremony, the largest church I have ever been it.



Dwight's walk across the stage. I was on the right side of the stage initially, and when his portion of the ceremony started, we realized I needed to switch sides. I sprinted, and made it, so I could get his face and not back of the head.



Proud family.

Favorite picture of the day :)

On another note, one of my girls in my Youth Group, had her final singing concert of he year, and final Middle School concert. I cannot believe that she will be in High School next year. I had such difficulty getting clear pictures during the concert. The kids kept moving in and out of the lighting, and add in dancing movies,and I was challenged! She had a solo in this song... great job!!

A little of this, a little of that

I have been hearing about a popular website for awhile now. It's called Pinterest, where one can post and save different ideas about anything. Now, I haven't joined because I have lots of fun ideas already, and do not need more. But by using links from facebook, I have found a couple new websites for recipes. But then poking around, I found the follwing idea and wanted to try it. Grandma is always needing more magnets to keep all her pictures on the fridge. I liked this idea as I could customize each one. Here is what I have come up with. What do you think? The first set are snowflakes, and the second bunch are fall leaves.

I have found a few blogs which describe home life raising large families. And by large, I mean 10 kids, some biological and some adopted. It is neat reading their struggles and joys, and how they rely on God. Not that I want that many kids, but I feel as though God is leading me to help kids even more in-depth than I am through work. Time will tell as to Gods plans, Kelby's ideas, and where life leads us.

I had to say goodbye to a family whom I had worked with for awhile. This boy captured my heart, and I will always think about him. I'm not sure why I become closer to some kids over others. I wonder if at some point I will feel less, but then my heart continues to open and love. I always try to enjoy my visits and have fun; because if I am not having fun, than neither is the child and they are less motivated to learn. J, you have a piece of my heart. Now, my heart is growing to love new kids.

Here is Sophie tired after lots of playtime. Kelby thought she looked cute panting. I'm not sure about that deer skull in the background...

 Sophie and Skipper are fun to watch together. Sophie follows Skipper on walks, and where he smells, she smells. Sometimes she is in Skippers way, and he uses his body to push her over. Sophie watches Skipper as he chews on a bone, and the second he stops, she runs in to get the bone, and runs away carrying it. Skipper has learned that sometimes Sophie leaves food behind in her cage, and when she gets out, he goes in looking for food. Once in awhile, we let the puppies in bed to cuddle. Here I am going to sleep, and I called Kelby in to take a picture. They are both in their preferred positions, Skipper under the blanket next to me, and Sophie on top of the blanket but still getting body heat from my legs. hehe

Sophie loves to try and play with more than one toy at a time. Here she is, unable to decide if she wants to chew on the monkey, or the ring. 

And I couldn't end a post without a picture of Skipper. Typically, he has a scared expression on his face when he hears the shutter on the camera, but not this day!

A Park with the puppies

One advantage to my job is that I have some flexibiliy in my schedule. I try on friday afternoons to use my flex time in order to leave early. I had driven by this park for my job, and I knew I wanted the puppies to go with me. It was a beautiful day, with lot of space for Skipper and Sophie to play.

I tried to get a few nice pictures, and it reminded me how hard it is to focus two dogs at the same time.

I received my first fixed lens from Mom and Dad for Christmas, and was able to try it out. I wanted a picture of a butterfly, and wow I had to work to get it. I have a stronger appreciation for all animal and nature pictures after this. It took me around 45 minutes to get a remotely ok picture. Every time I moved closer to the butterfly, thet flew away. Can you believe that! I next tried sitting next to a flower, but now I was at the total mercy of the butterfly. And then one time, instead of a butterfly, I captured a fly. Cool!

  

On our way home, I took a detour to see if I could find a house that I had driven by years ago. I found it, and I love this house. I love older homes, especially in this style. Sorry for the crooked picture, I was driving and didn't want to stop and become that creepy person. But I would love to live in a house like this one day... hopefully sooner rather than later.

Picture time

A Picture post for you. I've already discussed these activities, so there will be fewer words than sometimes. Picture quality isn't the greatest, as I focused more on capturing events than making great pictures. 

Craft time:

Here I am frantically working on another scarf, with both
dogs. Notice Sophie's collar, it was a happy day when she
no longer had to wear it!



For the DIY Christmas, here are 4 of the scarves

I made. From left to right, Me, Mom, Grandma,

Aunt Ann. I used two different patterns, a

Basket Weave for mine and Ann's, and a

revised Shell Stitch for mom and Grandma!





 Buying our Christmas tree:



Christmas Lights:

Our outside Christmas display, thanks to Kelby.



 Christmas Morning:

Christmas morning with TWO puppies.
They loved their new toys and treats.




Here is Sophie with her head down her Christmas
stocking, looking for more yummy treats!









Finally - Wedding Pictures (part 1)

Here are some of our wedding pictures. I cannot believe it was almost 5 months ago. Some of these are the "standard" pictures that you expect to see at a wedding, with the different family members.

Marriage ceremony, with Dwigh Nash, our pastor.



My parents added a son-in-law!





Kelby's dad, step-mom, and mom.



Us, with the sisters.

Us, with my Grandma, Gene, and Kelby's "Pawpaw" and "Mum"



My Grandma, nothing else needed.



Here is the classic picture, of Laura sitting on my lap.



Don't I look elegent in this picture? I think I do....