Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did! Since living in Maryland it has been nice to have some family around for the Holidays. We have been blessed to spend the last three Thanksgivings with Ben's Uncle Phil and Aunt Joyce. They live about an hour away so the drive is not bad.

Phil, Joyce, Jeanne & Ben

This year Juliet, Phil & Joyce's daughter and family came to visit from Missouri.

Juliet's husband, Mark and his boys.

Our friends and neighbors Nicole and Josh also joined us.

One thing I love about Phil and Joyce's is that we always play games. Speed Scrabble to be exact. I LOVE it! If you have never played, ask us how. We would LOVE to show you. I am usually pretty good but Phil has become the master of 2 letter words since the last time we played.

Gratitude is certainly what my heart was full of. So many things to be grateful for:

A wonderful husband
Family
Friends
Our health
Ben's job
My animals
My faith

What more could a girl ask for?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Black Friday

Tonight I went online to do my Thanksgiving Post. First, I decided to check out the news for the day. I also wanted to see when the term "Black Friday" began. Anyway, I was horrified at what I found....A man working for Walmart was killed today as he was trampled by hundreds of people "getting deals". It was reported shoppers refused to leave the store after they tried to close it for investigators to do their job. They stood in line and wanted to get their purchases. Are you kidding? Then there were 2 people killed after a shooting in Toys R Us. Thankfully it was the two gunman and no one else was hurt.....So I have come up with my own reason for the term "Black Friday". Could it maybe be because of the death we now see as we rush out early in the morning to get that "SPECIAL" deal?

In light of today's news, I think I will skip any "SPECIAL" deals the day after Thanksgiving. I really value my life a little more than saving a little money. Seriously, what is this world coming to?

Listening to the news this evening has made me grateful that Ben and I have decided for ourselves that we would focus on the true meaning of Christmas this year. We are only doing one gift and then we are going to spend our time and resources serving others. Just as the Christ did.
Living in America...we are truly spoiled. It is my prayer that we all take a little extra time this Holiday Season to remember what it is about. I know that many of us already do it is just always nice to be reminded. At least for me.

So...thanks for listening to my rampage. I just was truly blown away when I saw the news. I think I will do my Thanksgiving post tomorrow when I feel a little happier and a little less disgusted.

Goodnight Everyone!

I am Esme, too!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Yep, who am I? None other than Esme. Not bad. If I were Bella I just might have to cry. For all you Twilighters you know she is good at that.

Can wait for the movie. Of course I am going to the midnight showing. So glad I have friends like Sommer and Tracie to share in the madness.

I LOVE Fall!!!!!

So what do you do when you are a photographer and you want your picture taken?
Do it yourself!

Over the years I have learned as a photographer you take picture after picture. You capture those special moments for others and then totally forget about yourself. I have been so busy with Fall portraits and I just love it! After hours and hours of admiring the beauty of other peoples pictures I realized I don't even have one of Ben and I in our home. Seriously, I am a photographer and I can't even manage my own portrait. Well today I decided I had enough and since Ben had the day off we decided to do pictures. We wanted to capture the beauty of Fall before we move to El Paso and have nothing but dirt and rocks. Ben was quite cooperative (is attention is easier to keep than a 2yr old. Plus he listens better) and it made for some great portraits.

We have decided the one above is the big one for the wall.

I think this last one is my very favorite but as always Ben and I have different artistic styles. He wants as much nature in the background and I like to actually be able to see who it is a picture of. None the less we will have a place for them all.

I hope you all have had some time to enjoy the beautiful leaves, the great weather and joy in knowing Heavenly Father made it this beautiful because he loves us so much. He wants us to enjoy.

Happy Fall Everyone!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! What are you, 40?

It sure is hard on days like today being away from family.. My parents are celebrating my Mothers birthday right now at the Bambara Room in the Hotel Monaco , Salt Lake City. As I sat in Maryland eating my grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner I had dreams of Bambara dancing in my head (it is my favorite place to eat). Anyway, more than that I miss being able to be with my Mom today. I would have given anything to have been able to hug her and sing Happy Birthday in person. Since that wasn't possible....this little tribute will have to do.

Some facts about Debbie Jean Parr:

She totally looks 40 (or younger) but trust me....It is not her age.
She would give the shirt off her back to anyone who needed it.
She loves her dog Chewy more than anything. (even us kids, ok so maybe it's a toss up).
She loves fries from Del Taco.
Kids of all ages love her. The neighborhood kids often refer to her as Aunt Debbie.
She has a contagious laugh.
After she spends time with her sister, Colleen, she calls me Colleen for a week. Who knows why, we aren't really anything alike.
She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES ice cream.
She loves to read.(I got that from her)
She can do ANYTHING! I mean anything people. She once built an addition on the back of our house. Just a funny little note to add...her and my father have to chose a boss before they start a project or otherwise it is a disaster and they will argue.
Most importantly she is good, kind, funny, loving and I am glad she is my mother.

Happy Birthday Mom. You have been on my mind all day. Before you go to bed tonight just imagine me there with my arms around you...giving you the biggest hug possible. Thank you for teaching me how to work hard, to always forgive, and to love everyone by loving and serving the Lord. I miss you! Jo

Happy Halloween!

HALLOWEEN was great this year. We started off our evening by visiting our little nephews. The perfect start of their Trick or Treating was a treat from Uncle Ben and Aunt Jeanne. They looked so cute in their costumes. Brandon was a dragon. You can see part of his costume on my head and Nate was the cutest lion ever!

Then Ben and I headed home to hand out candy to all the kids. Look we didn't even have to dress up. It was perfect.

Although, I do have two sides. The bad witch......

And the good witch. I'm sure it is no surprise to you but Ben prefers the good witch.

We had some cute trick-or-treaters. We wanted to tell you about a few of our favorites. We had a little pirate girl come to trick-or-treat. We gave her some candy and off she ran back to her dad. As she was running her dad gave her a loving reminder. What do you say, he asked? She replied. See you later! So cute!

Later, we had a little alien girl. The costume looked familiar but I wasn't sure what Disney movie it was from. As she approached I asked, I know who you are I just can't remember. Can you help me out? She replied with a big smile. I'm Edith. I just love the innocence of little children. I guess that is why I love the trick-or-treaters. You never know what you are going to get and the little ones are so cute as they come to your door.

As Ben and I continued to sit on the porch and hand out candy our little kitty Nala tried with all her might to scratch her way out of the window. You think that she would give up but she was determined to make her great escape. Poor Kitty. I hope she enjoyed seeing the children as much as we did.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.