stacie's sacred space

celebrating johnny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a diamond in the rough

i've got thousands (like over 26,000) of pics in my iphoto library.

i once cleaned it out then i switched computers and it rebuilt thumbnails and i get behind on editing after taking 150 pics in a day sometimes.

janie loves looking through the old pics.

and one of the treasures i find is looking where she left off (and deleting some of the junk out of that time period), then finding one like this.

 

a. joan took this one and sent it to me a few years ago.

i love the heart she found!

it's an awesome pic.

beauty is everywhere, i just have to keep looking for it.

some of my recent favorite shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i don't even know if i took a single one of them though.

all the photog credit goes to andrea and justin ... two very creative souls who happen to be my niece and nephew!

thanks for playing with my camera guys!!

a natural playground

laid back unscheduled weekend days sometimes just call for family adventures.

we found a new gem in town.

check it out:

 

it's less than a half hour away.

 

it's a short walk from the car to the waterfall.

 

it's mostly shaded.

 

janie told us that this was her dream come true ... finding this waterfall.

 

 

it's just the hunt we like to go on: finding natural playgrounds.

 

 

we were all in awe of this beauty.

 

let me just say i cannot believe i didn't find this spot with some of my college friends or earlier than june 20eleven but i'm happy we found it now!

 

we'll be back for some more of that protection from the big trees, skipping rocks into the water, climbing around on slippery rocks and feeling the refreshing mist from the waterfall.

we also decided we really want to see it in the different seasons especially winter.

it's all good.

 

rockin' out

santa brought joey these cool headphones for christmas.

joey didn't ask for headphones or even really want them.

we got the chance to talk about surprises and how christmas isn't always about getting just what we want.

it's good to be with him through life's surprises and disappointments.

he didn't get exactly all he wanted.

we're always experiencing life and learning over here!

and these turned out to be pretty fun for (almost) everyone in my tribe!!

 

 

fall family fun in photos

here's a glimpse of our evening together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i'm too tired for any more words right now.

goodnight!

 

our halloween groove

i'm gettin' a halloween groove on today! i don't mean to be scrooge when it comes to holiday decorating. i just know, what comes out must be cleaned up (and stored and remembered for next year) so i hesitate at how much we get out for the holidays around here.

 

i'm a big fan of things that keep the kiddos busy though! so instead of sitting in the dance hallway last night, my friend angi invited me to ride to the grocery store (without any extra kids! yippee!! too bad we didn't have a couple hours instead of about fifteen minutes) with her where we picked up black beans and split peas for sensory boxes. that cool homeschoolin' mama is full of cool ideas for kids! thanks, ang!! then this morning with three kids in tow (asking for almost everything at target), i ran out and picked up tiny halloween buckets and confetti, of course. and here's the result!

 

 

 

 

 

there's more fall fun to be had this afternoon for this family! daddy's even getting out of work a little early for it. hooray for family time. it's my favorite!!

surprise!

today, i decided to surprise the kids after school and take 'em to the zoo. johnny's been beggin' for a trip there for a while. it's been on my mind when i look at openings in the calendar because i want to do the things they want to do ... especially while they want me hangin' with 'em. the time johnny and i  (and jeffrey too) have together is just, well, short while the kids are at school especially to make it to the zoo and back. and i don't like rushing! so today it was the five of us. we ran and looked and posed and played and petted. it was a beautiful fall afternoon. now i'm tired but they wear me out even when we hang around home :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

i'm sorry i don't have a good shot of joey alone ... he's either too fast for me or he's helping me or he's not interested in my camera and what i want to capture for bloggin' :)

 

 

 

i even splurged and spent $5.11 on dippin' dots. they really do make kids happy!! and that nice surprise took us over the hump. lots of great fall weather in the forecast and the weekend is just two short days away. hooray!

my five favorites

we've gone our separate ways on this ordinary day. this picture is far from ordinary though ... these guys are extraodinary to me in so many ways! they love me just the way i am, they smile when i take tons of pics, they teach me, they help me around the house, they color with me, they hug me, they challenge me, they kiss me, they giggle with me, they walk with me, they even hold my hand sometimes, they talk to me, they cuddle with me, they raise me. 

for them i am forever grateful!