Fisher Family

2011-09-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

I feel like I get to this point in the fall where all I want to do is 'get organized, started, motivated', etc. I go a million miles an hour during the summer and then I stop when fall starts. Yesterday was the start of fall, if we're basing it on the school year. My baby girl started kindergarten. So I'm blogging again to try to get organized.

Let me back up and recap the chaos of this summer.
May-July is a blur. Tons of prep for a mission trip to Peru. Nick and I led a team of 38 to a small town outside of Cusco. Loved it. Grew a lot. Really tired. We went camping right before that in Southern Oregon on the Rogue River for our annual family 'camping' trip. Really we just stayed in a deluxe trailer with hookups. No complaints. The kids loved it and got crazy dirty. It was fantastic. Last year's post on the cinnamon roll guy will sum up how awesome the trip is. This year all the kids got up before the sun and waited for him to pull into the campground. About 8am, they asked the park ranger where the cinnamon roll guy was. He told them he'd died about 10 months prior. The kids were so sad. But it brought about amazing conversation with Reagan about death and the choice we have to make when we're here on earth. Then Peru, then Hume, and we're heading up to Hume again today for Labor Day, then back up to Southern Oregon for my Beautiful Grandma's wedding. Yep, she's gettin' hitched. We're all so happy for her and thrilled that for the first time in her life, she will get to be taken care of. All my Grandma has ever done her entire life is care for others. Her Grandparents, parents, in-laws (I watched this first hand growing up), her husband, her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren. Also ex-cons, stray dogs, and the homeless. She is my hero and exemplifies Matthew 25:35. She is my hero. More on Virgie to come after the wedding on the 10th, which my sister and I will be shooting at;).

I am tired. I am worn out. And it's good. More than just life events, I wanted to share a little about what God's been teaching me this summer.

1. I have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason.
2. I am thrilled that I can ask Him for wisdom and He freely gives it.
3. My way isn't always THE way.
4. The weight of parenting is heavier on my heart than ever
5. Now is not the time for another child to come into our family, which breaks my heart.
6. My heart is for missions and orphans.
7. I don't care what people think. I care what God thinks.
8. I lack self control.
9. I have some of the most amazing best friends in the world. Carrie, Nat, Jennelle, Sally, Kendra, Michelle. I cherish them.
10. The old testament gets wacky sometimes but is so rich.
11. I don't want to waste my life on things.
12. I am more in love with Jesus than I ever have been, and for me, it started with my understanding of Judah's adoption.
13. I am 'a wretched, poor and helpless worm, on Thy Kind Arms I fall' is the greatest phrase I have ever heard in my life.
14. My life is simply not mine. No matter how long or how much I fight this principle.
15. God doesn't need me.
16. I am finding so much joy in praying and watching God unfold the story.

And some non-spiritual things too:
1. I love to repurpose. My new favorite show is Picker Sisters. That'll have to be another post.
2. I love pinterest.
3. I don't love facebook anymore.
4. I have a renewed love for reading.
5. I am so enjoying gardening. It's so relaxing and fun to learn.

I know this post is a little out there, but I think this is just kinda how my brain works...it's everywhere. I don't think in one direction. It's weird, but I'm learning to come to terms with it and at the same time, be organized through it.

So Reagan started Kindergarten! My baby.... I totally cried. Yep. I was that mom. I'm so proud of her as she grows up, and so reminded to be on my knees for her. Parenting is the hardest job in the world.

Back to Mare Island

2011-05-14T22:43:00.001-07:00

So this is my 2nd time shooting at Mare Island and the first time I've been kicked out. Again, this place is crazy weird and I may been trespassing this time... really?! Trespassing what? Please leave a comment if you've ever been to this ghost Naval Base. Still, it leaves amazing room for photography and I love every square inch of it!

While my Grandpa was out to sea in WWII, my Grandma worked at Mare Island. I guess she'd even go down to the ship yards in SF and wait for all the sailors to get off their boats hoping it would be her husband coming home, but in the mean time, worked here in support of the war. So we decided to take a step back into the 40's with my gorgeous cousin, Natalie and our friend Payton to recreate what once was. We even had my Grandpa's Seabee uniform; so so fun! For more pictures and a much more thorough story, visit my sister's blog.

Absent

2011-05-13T16:39:00.001-07:00

My sister just told me I need to update my blog. I should yes, but am not near my computer...I'm in the car. But I will later on tonight....were shooting my cousins wedding in Sacramento tomorrow and did a fun 40's style shoot on Mare Island last night that was so much fun! More to come.....

Meet John Robert, also known as Jack to his closest friends

2011-04-03T21:33:00.001-07:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I love newborn photography? It is just so much fun! And if you know me on a personal level, you will know that I do not ever, ever, ever desire to be pregnant again. As in, factory closed. I do want more kids, but based on my 2 experiences of pregnancy that I've had, I wouldn't choose it. God may choose it, but I am not planning it for myself. Here's a brief rundown as to why Becky does not want more pregnancies:

-I hate getting fat. And I do. If I'm not doing the diabetic diet which leads me too...

-I want sugar and can't have any if I do the diabetic diet because....

-I am married to a man con un cabeza gigante. My bio babes have gigante heads at birth and according to my doc, I have a small pelvic frame. To be clear, this does not mean small hips. This means the part where the baby enters the world and leaves your belly. Mine is small, my babies' heads are huge. I did the diabetic diet to get a smaller baby with my second. Attempt #2 was what the c-section nurses called a "failed VBAC attempt." This leads to...

-Even though I have THE most amazing OBGYN (who has told me I could try again for a VBAC based on his 20+ years of experience and my birthing history), he tells me my body can probably handle 2 more c-sections.

-C-sections. Ever had one? Chances are you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. With my first, I came home from the hospital, only to return to the ER 2 hours later with a raging infection on my incision, followed by 9 days of pumping every 3 hours around the clock to try to re-start breast feeding with my first. (good news: it worked!)

-Breast feeding!? No mas porfa. Basta.

-Let me not fail to mention how I am soooo not a good newborn mother. I need to sleep. Let me rephrase that....I MUST SLEEP. If I don't sleep I am: mean, angry, not self-controlled, etc. I am a train wreck without it. I don't know HOW women go on no sleep. Thank you Lord for my husband!

These are just a few reasons why I, in my own opinion, should never be pregnant again. But here's the cool thing - I LOVE newborns. I love to photograph them for about 3 hours, get my fill, and pass them back to mom and dad. It's great! I totally get my newborn fix and don't have to birth them to experience it! The best of both worlds.

Will I have kids again? Probably not by birth. By adoption? I certainly hope so! We're just gonna get through this "3 under 5" stage we're in before we start talking about it again...

Just One Of Those Days

2011-03-24T08:56:00.001-07:00

The weather was warming up, but it's gotten colder as of late and even rained buckets yesterday. Something about Jude's respiratory system does not like that change in weather. Whenever it gets cold quick, he starts weezing and slips right into a cold. We have a humidifier in his room at night and a little heat, which seemed to help yesterday. Today I'm thankful that albuterol is crazy cheap, that I can pick up the phone and get a refill (will do that later on today) and that we live in a country where Judah can have this kind of treatment for his cold weather induced asthma.

Heart Check

2011-03-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Our pastor has been going through 2Tim2 for a while now and this past Sunday he wrapped up a series on it. I wanted to share it because it was so challenging for me (in the good way!) "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

While driving home from our school shoot I had the best time with my business partner. Somewhere on the Grapevine and 2 am, we talked about what we're doing with our lives. They are quite possibly at least half over. We said we wanted to live our lives for Jesus - nothing more. Not the stuff, not the pursuit of it, not the ways of our pasts, not the old, but the new. We want everything we do to be for His glory, right down to the music we listen to, to the way we treat our husbands, to the way we talk in front of our kids, etc. etc.

And then to come home to hear this message....It's as if the Lord was preparing me. Funny how that works!

Wisdom from Proverbs 9

2011-03-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

v7 He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself. And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.

v8 Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

v9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

v10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

v11 For by me your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you.

v12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

This song is not connected to the above verses, but it's such a great song, so I thought I'd pass it on:

Come Awake

2011-03-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

A. I know I need to change my blog header. (Sorry, Jenna, I suck at this! Also, Merry Christmas everyone!)

B. I just went up to NorCal last week for a 3day shoot at a local elementary school and shot 800+ kids with my business partner, my sister and my cousin. I have never worked more hours in my life. Through a horrid, painful parody of events, my business partner and I left Fairfield (Bay Area) at 5pm in an Oregon-esce rain storm that didn't stop all night...even after we arrived in Huntington Beach at 4:40 am. Did you catch that...AM, not PM. What should have taken 6 hours, took 12. I have never, ever, ever in my life been more exhausted. We worked for 24 hours straight and drank 3 tall starbucks and one 32 oz drink from sick-o Jack-in-the-box in Bakersfield EACH within that 24 time span. How many can say they've had 3 starbuck's in one full day? Our bodies were revolting. My hair is seriously still falling out. Gross. Just so gross, that feeling of that day.

C. My amazing husband spoke at church a while ago and used this video. It's totally on my heart and I just had to share

Olivia & Tyler

2011-02-20T18:57:00.001-08:00

I shot this wedding on December 19th of last year in my home town of Napa, CA. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the oak trees in Napa so I had to shoot in front of them. Since this was my beautiful cousin's wedding, I knew she'd be up for an adventure on a very rainy weekend. She put on her rain boots, her husband Tyler grabbed an umbrella and we went for it! We stopped here for some family portraits. This is right down the road from where my Grandparent's lived. You can see why this little corner of the world is so special to me HERE. Congrats Liv and Tyler!

Such a Wonderful Reminder

2011-02-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

If you've never checked out Amazima ministries, now's the time. You will be floored at what this young mother is doing in Africa.

Meet Kelly:)

2011-02-04T20:26:00.001-08:00

Kelly is in the Rwanda program with me and has recently received her approval. I cannot wait until she receives her referral! Kelly sent me a msg that she'd be in Huntington earlier this week so we got to meet up! We went to the Sugar Shack, which is the best kept local's secret in HB, and then walked the pier. This photo shows just how windy it was! In hindsight I should have just taken Judah off my back for the photo:).

I had such a great time getting to know another Rwanda mama and connect with her in such a great way...her babes are, right now, sleeping in the same orphanage Judah was in. Perhaps one even slept in the same room with our precious boy. Kelly I had SUCH a wonderful time getting to know you and am praying for your referral to come quickly! You are an inspiration and a joy to be around, Kelly! If only you guys didn't live in TN!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of GOTCHA DAY!

2011-01-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

One year ago...yesterday... we met our boy. His given name was Christian Cyusa. We named him Anderson Judah Fisher. He was 9 months old and weighed 24 lbs. Go HERE to see the original post. This year has stretched me in ways I never, never imagined. I cannot believe how rich my life is with people who have invested in us and love on our family. I am so thankful for the challenges this past year brought us, and am excited at the same time, to start a new year:). Judah fits in better now than ever. He's learning his place in the family. He's learning to love us as we learn to love him. It's pretty much just like a newborn...you don't know what you're going to get until you meet the baby, and then...you just love them!

I was a little hesitant to show Judah the video of his 'Gotcha Day', but when I put him on my lap in my office to watch it, he was glued to the computer and kept saying his name over and over. I have no idea if he remembers, but I teared up with him just watching it together, remembering all those feelings of excitement and joy the day we met him. I held him about as closely as the day I left with him in my arms from his orphanage. I'll never forget that feeling. It was so special and I'm so, so grateful for this little miracle in our lives.

Thankful

2010-12-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

This is just one very small reason I can be thankful. There are much more important 'small' things to be thankful for, towards the bottom of this post. I took these shots on my Canon 5D, Mark II the other night with a 50mm 1.4 lens. These images are straight out of the camera. Not one action, not one adjustment. I am thankful for my camera and lens..oh and for the sunset! I shot these off 13th and PCH while Nick pulled over and I stood on the window's edge of my door. You can see all the way to Catalina...a rare, clear day in SoCal.

And now for the even better reasons to be thankful... these are our kids with the Prince kids. We spent the other night walking around downtown Seal Beach with Jay and Carrie. They are our best friends. We have been through every facet of highs and lows in our marriages together. We have laughed till we cried together and we have cried till we laughed together. We've been on the world's GREATEST vacation with them (before kids) to Maui and ate like vikings, soaked up the sun with Maui babe (sooooo rad), and surfed together. That was more hysterical for Carrie and I since we don't know how to surf, really. I think we ended up laying on the beach while the guys trunked it in 80 degree water for like, 5 hours or something ridiculous like that. We have road tripped together, commuted together, and practically lived together. That's still the dream and C, the compound will one day happen!! We love them like family and love that we get to spend time together as families We can tell them anything and trust them immensely. And they shoot straight with us. Jason and Carrie are a true picture of friendship and love. We love you guys!

Sarrouf Family

2010-12-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

This is the Sarrouf Family. John is one of the pediatricians in our kids' office and we all go to church together. Over Thanksgiving when Reagan had her kidney infection, John graciously opened his office after hours to load our poor girl up with antibiotics. He didn't have to do it, but did it anyway to help save us a trip to the ER. Oh, and did I mention he even dropped off a pee sample cup for Reagan at our house the night before just so we didn't have to load all the kids in the car and get one at his office? What a guy!! We adore this family and our kids love playing together too:)

Viva Los Garners

2010-12-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

Meet our pastor and his family: Bruce, Charise (or Sareesh, as my girls call her), Ryan and Evan:

Tutu's & Tiaras

2010-12-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

Reags & Reese had their BFF's Addison & August over while their mom and dad went on a date. The girls asked for a princess shoot in the studio, so we gave the princesses what they wanted.

Wrapping Up The Year, When I Should Be Wrapping Gifts

2010-12-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I wish I had time to get my shopping done, and I will but for now, I'm trying to get through all these end of the year shoots. Here's a few I've been having fun with:

Something fun and new (for me at least!)

2010-12-04T10:52:00.001-08:00

So I'm working on getting my business to a whole new level and this is one way...my albums being displayed. So this is kind of a test, to see what my albums will look like to the client and for me to share them, etc. Here's one I put together for about the coolest, most easy-going bride I have EVER worked with. God bless brides like Nikki!

Judah's turn

2010-12-01T17:51:00.001-08:00

Well, all I can say is that I'm thankful this didn't happen last week. This is Judah's second occasion that he's needed a breathing treatmet and may hint towards asthma (so I hear) but for now, he'll be on steroids and albuterol to help him breath better. Poor babe. He's been weezing for about 2 days now in addition to a bad cold. Oddly enough, when I asked Judah to smile for this picture he said 'CHEESE!!!!!!' This kid is the greatest.

Date Night!

2010-11-30T19:18:00.001-08:00

Tonight I got to take Reagan on a date for obeying so well this weekend. First we went to the library then to starbux for some hot chocolate. Here she is lovin' the sugar!

Referral-aversery!

2010-11-30T09:35:00.001-08:00

One year ago today, we very unexpectedly received an email of our son in our inbox. I couldn't believe it. Nick was out doing something (which we can't remember what it was) and I woke up early to the email. I didn't even think to wait to open it together; I was more just confused at who the person was sending me an email. I had no idea it was our son...until I opened it and saw the letter from the Minister telling us that we had been given a son named Christian Cyusa (say it like..shoo-sa). Without thinking, I opened the attachment. Nick walked in to the house about 10 seconds later to see me sobbing like a baby and pointing at the computer; I couldn't even talk I was so happy! I just kept looking at that little face wondering, "how in the world is this child mine?!?!" It was just like the first time I saw Reagan and Reese. I waited for about 2 hours after delivery to hold Reagan, and I'd have to wait about 2 months to hold Judah. Nick and I thanked the Lord together and then I called my sister on skype, where my mom was also, to show them his picture and tell them we had a baby! We were all crying together; it was really sweet.

This year has been awesome. Horribly challenging, but awesome in growth - for all of us. We feel blessed to have 3 arrows in our quiver and while it's pretty jam packed in there, we would like to fill it with more arrows....just not anytime soon. ;) Judah fits in perfectly with our family...he loves his sisters and he knows that we are his parents. I think we're still battling trust issues but through some good advice and a lot of prayer, we feel like Judah is trusting us more and more each day. He had 2 teeth when we met him at just about 9 months old, and now he has a mouth full of teeth. He was anemic so he didn't have a lot of hair, and now has a full head of hair. He is warm, FUNNY, adorable and crazy smart. He's counting to ten (with help), learning his alphabet and loves to sing, "Oh Happy Day." I simply cannot imagine life without BIG J.

If you have ever thought about adoption, consider this little guy....you may just have a little boy or girl waiting for you to come get them. And what a difference a family and LOVE can make in the life of an orphan!!

Facelift

2010-11-29T16:06:00.001-08:00

No I don't want one, but my blog needed one!

My business partner, Shelly, took our family shots about a week ago and I love them! Thanks Shelly!

6 people?!

2010-11-28T13:57:00.001-08:00

WOW! In the past 2 weeks, I have talked with 6 different women about adoption! I'm thrilled!

Nick and I have been praying that there would be more friends and family around us that would open their hearts to adoption and to foster care. This does not mean bringing a new child into your home per se, but it certainly is a command of Jesus to take care of orphans and widows, so please don't hear me say if you don't adopt, you're not following God's will. We had families support us that were barely making their rent, but the creativity of the support was so amazing!

Heres what did it for us from Matthew 25:

31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Besties

2010-11-27T20:03:00.001-08:00

Though this is my worst image of 2010, it's one of the sweetest because it shows Jude with Reese as best friends...they have such a kindred friendship lately and can 'sometimes' be seen running hand in hand..like in this shot. We've begun to call them the twins, they're that mischievous together. I can't wait for the years to come...

Hospitalized

2010-11-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

Well I really wanted to title this post originally as, Judah's first Thanksgiving, but it didn't quite work out as planned. Little Reagies got sick. It started out on Monday morning like this first picture. There were no symptoms the night before. She was jumping around and was as happy as could be.

By 10am on Monday, this is how she looked. Poor baby...
I got in the shower at 11am, and found her laying on the floor of our bedroom, just outside the bathroom...stripped nakies. Poor babe...
So I called the doc at noon, after she had thrown up 5 times and her fever was up to 104.5. We went to the office and he thought stomach virus or a UTI, so as a precaution he started her out on an antibiotic. We couldn't get enough urine for a sample, so we went home with a cup. Monday night she had her first dose of meds. We kept her in bed with us and she had fevers throughout the night but was battling them with tylenol. Tuesday morning we took in a sample that *gross* looked like orange curdled milk. When the doc called on Tuesday at 4p to ask how she was and if she was throwing up, we said no and he just told us to keep fighting it with tylenol and wait for the drugs to kick in. 10 minutes later she threw up. Checked her temp at 5:30p and it was 103.5. Gave her drugs and tylenol and anti-vomit meds and she threw them all up. Within a half hour, she was up to 105.1. So we called the doc back, and he opened up his office to shoot her up with 2 shots in the legs of antibiotics. He said he's be shocked if that didn't take care of it. Within 2 hours of coming home, she was chowing on taquitos and running around the house. So we went to bed (again with her next to us) and set our alarms to wake up and check her temp. But before the first alarm went off, I woke up to the sound of her throwing up at 12:30. I took her temp and it was up to 105.0 again. We called Nick's parents to come over to watch Judah and Reese, and raced to the ER. Here she is getting a lung x-ray:
By 4am, we were transferred by ambulance to CHOC, the best children's hospital in Orange County.

Once at CHOC, she was treated, literally, like a princess:

That day we just laid low and tried to sleep as much as possible. She was up and down in temps all day. On Wednesday she got a renal ultrasound, as the specialists were leaning towards a kidney infection. This is her just before the ultrasound...just starting another fever. Poor babe...

And then she perked up again with her new dog puppet, french fries and chicken fingers:
And then she crashed through a fever:
This is Thursday morning, Thanksgiving day. Our doc had just come in to tell us that because she had gotten a fever at 1am, we would not be going home till Friday at the earliest, as they need a full 24 hours of no fever to be released. Reagan was just thrilled be changing clothes, taking down her hair and being disconnected from her IV.

Then at about 1pm, 5 wonderful doctors all came in our room to let us know the FINALLY got the cultures back from the original blood and urine (it takes about 48-72 hours and they rushed ours to the front of the line) that concluded she had a kidney infection with an e-coli bacteria. Gross, again. They also said that they had been giving her the correct meds all along to fight this very popular UTI bacteria, and with the information that she could take the meds orally, she didn't need to be on an IV anymore sooooo.... WE COULD GO HOME!

It's been the best Thanksgiving I've ever had.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-11-17T16:01:00.001-08:00

Nick and I got married 9 years ago today! We dated for a year and a half, and were engaged for 7 long months. We went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, and I seriously don't even know where those pictures are. So sad.. BUT, I do have pictures of our wedding for you:

We had 4 flower girls; Natalie, Chelsea, Sophia and Hannah. We had 2 ring bearers, Noah and Jacob, 2 aisle runners, Luke and Josh and one very adorable bible boy, Matthew.

I had 7 bridesmaids, from the left. Julie (who I grew up with as neighbors in OR and lost touch with until she called me in college and told me she was into my cousin David from CA. SO weird!) Amber (Nick's sis) Carrie (still my BFF to this day! BTW C, I am LOVING your hair right here!), Ray (my sister Rachel), Olivia (little cousin who is getting married next month I can't believe it!) Cousin Crystal, and sis in law Paulina.
OMG we had a lot of guys. Ushers and groomsman from left to right: Andy Vanden Akker (Biola), Josh Hickman (HS), B-RAD (Nick's roomie at Biola), Noah (Nick's bro), Eddie (AYAY, Biola), Jon (church), Bryan or BD (church), Kyle (Biola), Jason (Nick's BFF from Biola & Carrie's husband - from above - we're still BFF's), Tim (holding the contents of the following picture intact in his tux so they don't cha-ching all over the parking lot), Bucket (aka my brother in law Karl), and Jake (my brother):
When asked where the rings where, Jason (Best Man) asked each groomsman if they had the ring to which they proceeded to take out of their pockets something of significance from their friendship to Nick. For example, one pulled out a pinwheel (don't ask), another an egg (b/c when Nick introduced himself to a prof at Biola, the prof said "Oh hi Egg, how are you today?"), and then Tim at the end of the line opened his tux pawn shop for Jason to shop through to find the right piece of jewelry. This was, and always will be, THE greatest 'Do you have the ring' moment. The guys thought of it themselves!
Shortly before this moment the pastor, Jim (all the little boys' dad from the first picture) was about to announce us husband and wife and said, "Becky I am just so sorry to do this to you, but your dad has a little something special for you." Mortified, shocked and nearly peeing my pants, I looked down at my dad only to hear "WHO LET THE DOGS OUT" blasting from the speakers and my father standing in the front aisle dancing solo, exactly like Elaine from Seinfeld dances.

I'm not kidding.

was

that

amazing.

This is the same man who performed live sizzling bacon at my high school graduation party. During the performance one of my friends leaned over to me and said, "I feel ... so ... bad for you right now."

Back to the wedding.... I knew he would try something outrageous, but this certainly exceeded my wildest fantasy. I just shrugged my shoulders, lifted up my hands as if to say, "you know it; let's do this!" Why Who Let The Dogs Out will always and forever remain a mystery to me and every attendee at the wedding. Wedding Day takeaway? My dad loves me and has ALWAYS loved embarrassing me. He says it's what Dad's are supposed to do. I wasn't offended in the least, I felt totally loved and it made for a great start to the reception. It's the funny story gift that keeps on giving.

I love my husband. When I fail (regularly) he is there. He is gentle and patient. He helps me see my error and challenges me to grow in the most gentle of ways. He believes in me. He's the reason I'm a photographer. He's passionate about his ministry. He loves his kids. He loves me. Unconditionally. He admits his mistakes. He makes me breakfast almost every day. He makes me coffee every day. He helps with laundry. He helps with dishes and cooking. He gets up with the kids during the night 90% of the time; and wants to so I can sleep and be a better mom to the kids the next day (becky + no/interrupted sleep = angry bear). He is full of good ideas. He helps me on Photoshop all the time. He balances me out. He is super creative. He gives people the benefit of the doubt. He is super handy - he built a fireplace into our living room where there was no fireplace before. Then he built the mantle. He is quick to forgive. He's pickin' funny! He's a great listener. He loves Jesus.

I seriously feel like I could go on and on. I guess I just want to honor my husband today. I don't regret marrying him 9 years ago in the least...and I'd do it all over again. Except maybe just on the beach in Jamaica or something rad like that. And for sure a different dress. We've been like most marriages, up and down, but Nick is a rock for our family. I am ever thankful for him and for his grace and love towards me. Though he does fail just like the rest of us, he is a great example of Christ's love & care of the church. I love you Nick!

the front yard, etc

2010-11-15T09:02:00.001-08:00

So the front yard has probably taken the most beating out of anywhere at our house. We have been wanting to do a front patio for outdoor seating and saying hi to our neighbors, etc since we moved in. If you look at the picture at the top of my blog, you can see what said patio space used to look like. That was when it was thriving and lovely, a couple months after we moved in. Unfortunately, Nick and I are still in the habit of killing off all living things (remember our garden this year and only ONE lone pumpkin survived out of about 20 plants?) so the front garden area quickly turned into a weed jungle. It was the prize of the neighborhood, let me tell ya. So we started looking for all things patio on craigslist and ended up getting every last bit of this sucker for FREE. Yes FREE. From the tools we needed (borrowed 'em) to the sand, to the brick to the adirondack chairs; this entire project didn't cost us a dime! Just a lot of elbow grease and time. I'm way into repurposing things from craigslist and actually selling all the 'junk' we don't need and/or use. We have way too much as a family and I love to purge, so craigslist is my bff these days.

Here's the project about 1/2 way through: (notice the kids' shovel? We totally put the kids to work!)

The finished product: (I am painting the chairs today)
This was my goal...sitting on my porch drinking coffee every morning with Jesus. Granted, this dude isn't Jesus, but he's our amazing General Contractor neighbor, Brian, who walked us through each step of the process to make sure it was done right. We finished about 2:30 in the afternoon, and even though it wasn't morning, Brian and I toasted to some coffee on the porch.

Big News

2010-11-06T09:12:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I'm officially saying it, but we're callin' it....

WE HAVE A POTTY TRAINED CHILD IN OUR HOUSE!!!!

It happens to be our second born, but we're so stoked, none-the-less. We'll be working on night time training now soon. Good job Reesie girl! We're so proud of you!!!

My Reagan Dorothy

2010-11-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Right before Reagan was born, we couldn't wait to find out if "it" was a boy or girl. When Nick shouted out, "it's a girl! It's a girl!" I was just soooo relieved. I wanted a girl so bad so I could name her after my grandma Dorothy, who had passed away 2 months prior to Reagan's birth. So the day she arrived, naturally I was thrilled.

Everything about Reagan's birth was difficult...and really, what delivery isn't? My doctor warned me that she was getting too big and that I needed to start the diabetic diet or face the reality of a possible c-section. After that appointment I went to Taco Bell for my staple meal of a chalupa and a gordita con Dr. Pepper gigante. Later that night I'm certain I had a heaping bowl of ice cream. The day before my due date, my doc wanted to induce me because she was getting too big and he didn't want me to have a c-section. So at 6 am, I was induced. I made it to a 3 before I just couldn't handle the pain anymore, only to realize that Reagan was OP, or sunnyside up, which explained my pain level. Sitting on my PT ball made me feel like throwing up. So, epidural it was! About 18 hours later, and an unknown anesthesiologist accidentally 'turning off' my epidural (yes it happened, and I felt like I got hit by a mack truck), getting a fever and my cervix swelling at 9cm dilated, I ended up in the OR laying on a table having absolutely no control. I should have just learned then, that God would control everything about my children, and I was just the parent.

She was a tough baby; cute as could be and super funny, but she didn't like to sleep...for 6 months. We learned at about 4 months she had colic and probably wanted to sleep just as much as we wanted her to. If you know me, you know what a psycho I become when I don't get sleep. If you know me you also know that I love to schedule my babies. I'm not super hard core, but I do stick to a routine for the sake of survival and more so for my kids to have routine. I like to know when my kids are going to wake up and I like to know when I can grocery shop. I could go on and on, but I'll save the benefits of a routine for children for another post... Here's a little glimpse into those first 6 months.

And another glimpse into how stinkin' cute she was!

Yesterday was one of those days as a parent that you just want to forget. I failed miserably and Reagan felt my failures more than the others. Bottom line, she is the child and I am the parent. I don't know about you, but I certainly am feeling lately, that this parenting gig is more about God growing me, than me growing them. I love my kids, and I'm thankful for them on so many levels. They teach me so much about my walk with the Lord than anything else.

I got to work last night for an organization here in Orange County. As I was driving to the event, I was listening to the local christian radio station and just feeling like such a jerk for how I treated my little red head. (I know you parents can relate to what I'm saying!) The DJ came on and talked about how his 7 year old girl was so sad because the kids at school were making fun of her for the way she looked and it literally made me cry. He busted out his bible and read Psalm 139 to her...

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb; I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also Your thoughts to me O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You."

I found myself driving on the 405 to this huge corporate event where everyone would be dressed to the 9's in tuxedos and shelling out thousands of dollars, crying my eyes out, feeling so foolish for how I treated Reagan; that God formed her in my womb and how precious she is to Him. How self-focused I have been in my parenting, and what a privilege it is for me to parent her, and how important it is for me to treat her absolute love in consideration of just this one passage of scripture. Nothing like conviction! (PS I blasted the air conditioning on my eyes to take away the puff and it totally worked!)

The DJ played this song (in the video below) and I very quickly realized that we are raising our children in the epitome of self-absorbedness of Orange County. Southern California truly is so unique that it should be it's own state. Though I was born in NorCal, I was raised in OR, where it's below 60 for the majority of the year and raining. I was constantly dressed in warm clothing covering most of my skin from the elements. It didn't matter back when I was in school if my eyebrows were plucked or where I bought my clothes from. It didn't matter what purse I had because none of us purses except for prom and winter formal where we splurged for one that matched our dresses. The definition of status was different then. I understand that was years ago, but Southern California is a whole different animal. When I met Nick, I told him that #1) I planned on adopting and #2) I would never raise my kids in SoCal. Well, I'm 1 for 2, so I'll take that!

After hearing the song on the radio and the rush of conviction on how I need to relate to my children in our society, I just couldn't wait to get home and hug on my little girl and try to love her like Christ loves me. And to treat her beautifully, like she is. My kids are all so precious to me and yesterday was just such a great reminder of that. I hope this video speaks to you about your daughters, as much as it has to me:

Earthquake Weather???

2010-11-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

So we've seen this kind of weather in the past, but this is a little crazy. Today it was 98 degrees.... In Huntington Beach... In November! Some call this earthquake weather, because on occasion, this kind of Indian summer has preceded an earthquake. I'm just trying not to think about it, and stay cool. We took advantage of it last night and headed downtown. We found a Ruby's waitress offering balloons and she told us that kids eat free on Tuesday, so we went for the long walk down the pier. Here are some of the pics. I sooo wish I had my camera with me, but the cell didn't do too bad of a job.

Me and Reese. Pretty sure I love the ergo and pretty sure she's picking her nose.

I forced Nick to smile for the camera.
This is a little montage of the end of the pier with 3 shots. There was no wind (miracle in and of itself) and the colors were spectacular.

Happy Halloween '10

2010-11-01T09:53:00.001-07:00

I never got around to posting this picture, so I thought it was high time. About 3 weeks ago I got to go with the girls to their pumpkin patch field trip with their school. It was a lot of fun and the girls has a blast!

Onto Halloween night. This is DJ Lance Rock, from Yo Gabba Gabba. It's Judah's favorite show.
More rock:
Token family portrait:
Reesie our lil' lady bug:
Reagan the gymnast/ballerina. She was a tiger on Friday and a leopard on Saturday. She likes to keep things movin'.
Yo Gabba:

The Eve of Halloween Eve In Huntington Beach

2010-10-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you Santa Ana's for making this weather SO radical!

What Have I Been Up To??!

2010-10-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Meet Bentley...

And meet the Kalma Family:

Bakerellas

2010-10-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's cold and rainy. So we made pumpkin bread:)

Readoption!!!

2010-10-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

How I have not blogged about this particular post is beyond me..Ahhh yes, it's daily life that keeps me away from it! Anyway, this is a really, really, REALLY big day that we experienced on Sept 22nd. HUGE in fact!!! Judah was officially readopted, is now waiting for a CA birth certificate and is officially an American citizen! We'll still go through the process to get him a certificate of citizenship, but my good friend Suzanne and I are still trying to figure out how that puzzle fits together in our timelines of readoption. So here are some pictures of the day, though a bit out of order at first.

We had 3 of our closest friends/families come to support us. Unfortunately it was in the work day and week, so many others were there with us in spirit, but the fact that Michelle, Carrie and Julie made it out there (with children in tow!) meant so much to Nick and I. Thank you ladies, for supporting us in the HUUUUUGGGGEEEE Stateside conclusion of Judah's adoption! It meant the WORLD to us to have you join us on Judah's most special day! Love you girls!

The kids did great!

Reese? Not so much.

Judah couldn't wait to bail.
Attempt #1:
Attempt #2 not much better
The whole crew sans PJ (thanks for taking the picture PJ!!!)
One of my very best friends, Carrie. Her heart is so, so passionate for the orphan and she loves on my kids non-stop. I watched the birth of her first born and we've been friends since college. While I have never delivered a baby naturally and would have needed the support of this amazing friend in the room with me, Carrie has been there for me with each of my kids' first moments with us. The love she has for Judah is just so, so special. She is the picture of a truly faithful friend. Thanks babe for coming to support us and enduring the blessed nap hour with all 3 of your children!!
My wonderful friend, Michelle who is about the most thoughtful person I have EVER met in my life! Even with 6, yes SIX children, Michelle threw a sensaria party for me in support of the adoption. Talk about a creative way to bring in cash for Judah!! Thank you, Michelle and Dennis, for taking time away from school and work to come support us!!!
And then there's Julie... This woman has done so much for our family to bring Judah home! In our effort to pay for the remainder of our adoption expenses (about 10K) we sold our condo and were housesitting nomads for 9 weeks last summer. We moved to an apartment (in the hood no less!) and then to our new home. Julie and her entire family helped us move... both times too! They have given deep from their pocketbook and hearts to ensure Judah's homecoming. Her heart is beyond passionate for the orphan and she loves Judah unconditionally. (She also watches Judah for me once a week so I can work!!)
Family pic in front of the court house
The after party:

Carrie looking beautiful as always:
The kids kickin' it spa-side. Yes, that is my nephew's backside:
Gavin, Carrie's son, rockin' the goggles, baby!

Wow it's been forever....

2010-10-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I got to post about normal every day life. I don't know if anyone else feels like this, but I feel like I constantly have something going on. Now, due to the nature of reading a sentence vs. hearing a sentence, please do not take my previous post as a complaint. It's just a statement of how life is these days. I think anyone with kids who works from home can relate. There is always something going on. Since coming home from NorCal this week, I'm really trying to get organized at home and in my business. On the business end its means all the usual stuff, edits, returning emails, designing albums, retouching images, etc. On the personal side that means laundry, clean carpets, clean toilets and an updated blog. So far, the latter is the only survivor...and that might be cut short depending on when nap ends. I'll start from about 3 weeks ago (yes it's been that long that I've felt like I have the freedom to blog...and I only blog when I'm caught up on business. I had 2 requests from friends to blog... Ladies, you know who you are...and I thank you for it:) )

Anyway, 3 weeks ago...okay maybe more but I don't have time to go look at my ical to figure it out....we had the Dokolas' and Watson's over for a BBQ. It was a fun reunion and sweet time of catching up with our friends from Rwanda. The kids all did great together and it kinda seemed like the Rwandan kiddos may have even remembered each other!

Desmond cracking himself up:
But do you see Brian's face too?? How funny is that?!
The posse... Dang that's a lotta kids.

Laundry basket races:
Des and Jude:
The 4 together: Judah, Trianna, Desmond and Kalysta. Just missing Charlie, Isaiah, Carington, Tabitha, Kaylee, Surge, Savanna, and Samuel

Meet Matty

2010-10-11T07:55:00.001-07:00

Matthew Allan to be exact.

I drove up here, to Fairfield, on Saturday morning with the kids so we could all meet the newest member of the Polk family. We're driving back home tomorrow after I assist my sister at a shoot for her kids' gymnastics gym.

This is my brother and sister-in-law's first son, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in love with the little guy. He was 9 days overdue, and when he finally decided to make his grand entrance, he came too fast for his blessed mama to get an epidural. Let's put this into perspective.... My sister-in-law, Paulina, is all of 105 lbs AT MOST when not pregnant. This baby came out at a whopping 9 lbs, 12 oz. Are you kidding me?! Basically, she's my hero and I'm totally impressed. It gives me no greater joy then to photograph a newborn, let alone my nieces and nephews. Keep em' coming guys!

Phillip on Mare Island

2010-09-23T11:22:00.001-07:00

So much has gone on since Sunday...I cannot believe it's Thursday. So, I'll start at the beginning. We headed down to Mare Island in Vallejo. For those of you NOT familiar with Vallejo...let's just say it's dangerous after dark. Very dangerous - as in, you do not go there. It's very comparable to Oakland if that gives you a better idea. And so we thought, "Hey why not head down to Mare Island?!.... at sunset." Now let's add this element...Mare Island is an abandoned Naval Station. My Grandma was stationed there during WWII while my Grandpa was in the Pacific, so I feel a sense of appreciation for the property and it's sheer magnitude; the place is huge. There are several boat docking areas, where literally if the wall comes up, an entire ship could fit in this particular space. So it's also crazy creepy. It is 100% an abandoned naval station....so when you're shooting someone with a camera, and you hear strange sounds coming from the building with broken out old cool windows, you wonder, "I'm shooting and someone else might be shooting... am I seriously doing this right now and will I 'appear' on the news in the morning?" We saw a parked limo, winnebago, and merlin outside one of the 100+ buildings there. That was just ONE of the many, many weird things we saw just to give you an idea of just how CRAZY Mare Island truly is.

It also yields some freaking amazing locations:

Lights, camera, stands, action!

2010-09-19T10:55:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting in the Long Beach airport AKA the easiest and greatest airport ever, waiting for my flight to Sacramento. I'm assisting my fabulous sister in her first school shoot. I'll be working mon and tuesday and flying back in on tuesday night for judah's re-adoption hearing early afternoon on wednesday. If you want to check out how rad my sister's stuff is, check out her website: www.rachelwurzbachphotography.com. (I wish I could add a link here, but you'll have to just go to the site the old fashion way - copy and paste). This is the first time that I can remember flying without a child with me. I totally miss my family already, but really, I'm going to be working non-stop, so my kids probably wouldn't enjoy themselves anyway:). So, I'm going to do my best to soak up the alone time. I get to see my sister in law as well, who is great with child. Nick's birthday is tomorrow (we'll celebrate this weekend) so we're both pushing for this baby to make an appearance on his birthday. I think my sister in law would appreciate the baby coming out tomorrow as well.

The Dokolas Family

2010-09-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

Meet the Dokolas Family: Nick and Laura, Alyssa, Miranda, Triana, and Kalysta. This is one of the 8 other families we traveled to Rwanda with. In fact, Nick and Laura met us at LAX...we traveled the entire LAX-Dubai (16 hours), Dubai overnight (went together to see the world's tallest building) Dubai-Nairobi (sweat together for 6 hours in said city) Nairobi-Kigali (teeny-tiny airplane) way and back together. They live in Bakersfield, affectionately known by all Californians as Bako, because it's SOOOO PICKIN' HOT! They came down for a couple days and today we got to do a shoot at Bolsa Chica. Bolsa is my favorite HB beach to shoot at, namely because it's the only beach with rocks. The girls did amazing! My first, yes FIRST shot of the day is a total winner because of this smiling crew! Thanks to Nick and Laura for making the trek - we love your family and your girls are entirely beautiful; we absolutely cannot wait to see the 5th little girl join your family, hopefully sooner than later!

(Later on today we met up with the Watson's as well (another family we traveled with) and had a BBQ at our place. But that's for another post because the pictures are pretty funny to see all of the kids together:) )

Yesterday

2010-09-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is how the day started out:

If you recall, we have been gardening in our backyard. I use the term 'garden' loosely, because as you can clearly see, we have nothing to show from a summer of gardening, save for some pumpkins. (See the only foliage in the back?) So, we've decided to replant, and we're doing it an entirely different way - we're going to square foot garden, and we can't wait! So far the project has cost us all of $0 dollars, and we're hoping to keep it close to that figure. I'm trying to find everything free on Craigslist and so far it's working. These next two weeks we're going to focus on composting and I'd like to use the bokashi method, which produces some HUGE fruits and veggies. We'll see. Anyway, after we spread out what felt like a million wood chips on the back row and discovered it was only enough to cover the back row, we opted for a family date night to Boomers. The day quickly went from dirt and yard work, to excitement and fun!

The girls rollin' on the train:

The ultra-lame penguin ride, that even the girls thought was ridiculous:
Judah on the train and LOVING it:
Jude and Daddy on the balloons. Again, LOVING it:
Daddy with the girls on the ferris wheel. This was the only time that Reese was looking out of the ride - she is PETRIFIED of heights. Duly noted:
It was a much needed and relaxing day and we're thankful for family date nights. After we put the kids to bed, I crashed on the couch and was asleep by 8:30. Nick got up with the kids and fed them, and let me sleep in till 7:30. I literally slept almost as much as Judah! And it felt great.

Nick

2010-09-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Nick is my husband and he's amazing. We've been married 8 years...this November will be 9. I can't believe how fast time's gone by. If anyone close to us knows something about our relationship, it's that Nick is super patient, and Becky is not. Our first year of marriage was pretty tough - not gonna lie. We both had a lot of growing up to do. We were 22 for crying out loud! It could have been the fact that for the first 5 months of our marriage, we didn't get a huge paycheck. And when I use the terminology, 'huge', I mean not enough to cover our rent... We literally lived off of wedding gift returns (sorry for all those of you who gave us amazing wedding gifts, but they were extremely useful!) We lived in a loft in downtown HB, about 400 square feet, that Nick's incredibly benevolent aunt and uncle rented to us at about 40% off the normal rent. We ate dinner every Thursday night at Nick's parent's house, did our laundry there, and when they weren't looking, took food from their fridge to ours. (Okay we stole food from them, but years later we discovered that they fully knew about this and thought it was funny.) We only used one car and I biked to work (a small super local preschool). My in-laws asked us if we wanted to have a southern Cal reception (b/c we got married in Napa) or if we wanted the cash they would have spent on it. We opted for the cash. All of these things helped us make it through that tumultuous first year, and we grew a lot together!

In our almost 9 years of marriage we have traveled to 10 countries together, vacationed in Hawaii with our best friends, almost moved to Germany, have been given 3 beautiful children; 2 by birth and one by a selfless mama we'll never get to meet, had countless arguments about things of a ridiculous nature, moved 10 times in one summer to pay for the adoption, and have had one pet.... a very naughty basset hound named Flash, who we don't miss, and we know none of our friends and family miss either. Through it all, God has protected us and grown us, and to those closest to us, who really know us, we're so obviously not through yet.

But, Nick has been a rock to me. This year he's truly stepped up to a new level.

New level =

-daily devos in front of the kids

-family prayer time

-marriage prayer time

-more patient with the kids

-reading the bible to the kids

-stepping up in cooking, cleaning & bill payment

-integrity abundance

-exercising

The list could go on and on, but I am so proud of him. A couple week ago, he got to speak at our church, where he's the youth pastor. He gets this opportunity a couple times a year and loves it, but usually I am sitting in the back with a good friend literally sweating and wiping my palms with nervousness. And for those of you from Crosspoint, you know how hard it is to sweat in that auditorium with the AC on full blast freezing out all the women in the house. Anyway, we sang Arms Open Wide, by Hillsong United before he spoke, then we sang it after he spoke. I was so proud of him. Check out the song and then check out his podcast.

Old Friends

2010-09-01T15:01:00.001-07:00

Today Suzanne and I met up in the cutest little town in America, El Segundo. We walked around with the strollers for a while and then ended up sitting down for what turned into brunch at a little restaurant. We had such a good time catching up and letting the boys play together. If you don't know, Suzanne and I traveled to Rwanda together to get our boys, Desmond and Judah. They slept in cribs next to each other. And when I say 'next to each other', there was no room between their cribs. They literally could stick their hands into one another's space. So cute!

When we first took Judah out of the orphanage with us, he met Desmond outside as well. Judah had been crying pretty much non-stop, if he wasn't asleep, and we really thought it would calm him down to see Des. WRONG! Judah flipped out and for the entire day, Judah refused to be around Desmond without sobbing uncontrollably. Suz and I kinda think they were frienemies:) Today there was no crying, just a lot of fun, thank goodness!

Desmond sharing some of his pancake with Jude:

Me and Suz outside the restaurant:
Des kickin' it, resting easy. (He was actually dancing in his high chair and it was adorable!)
High five mom!
who knows?! But dang, that's adorable.
Desmond showing Judah how to suck his fingers:
Goofin':
Judah laughing at Suzanne:
Suz with the boys:
More clowning around:
Oh I just had to pinch him and hug and kiss him, I missed him so much!
Cute:
Non-stop eating from these two:

Wilfert Wedding

2010-09-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Meet David and Rachell:

They Made It!!!

2010-08-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

We've been praying non-stop for the last 24 hours for our friends here in Orange County, the McGhee's, who were sooo so close to completing their dossier for Rwanda. Yesterday at 10am PST, their AMAZING agency, Gladney, called them to say there was a long-shot chance for them to get their dossier into the Rwandan Embassy in DC in time before the close of business TODAY, August 31st, 2010. Tristen and Max went for it, and drove all over Orange and LA counties to get everything done yesterday, FedEx'd it overnight to DC, had it picked up by a courier who took it to the State Dept for authentication and then over the Rwandan Embassy for it to be registered by the end of the work day; thereby sealing their chances to apply for a baby in Rwanda. What they did in less than 2 full days, normally takes about a month.

You can read the full awesome details on her blog, but basically God totally took care of the race against the clock and they officially made it in time. Praise God!

My favorite people!

2010-08-31T12:41:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow one of my best friends will be taking her oldest to first grade. So today I get to spend some quality time with her younger two. This is us on our way up to the store for some groceries and I have to mail some stuff out at the mail stop. I love these kids to death and my kids LOVE having them play with us!

Reagan is MY laundry super hero

2010-08-29T14:23:00.001-07:00

While getting this load of wash into the dryer, and putting the dryer sheet in, starting it and reloading the washer and starting it did take Reagan about 10 minutes, my kid's doing laundry! This is so awesome.

Laundry Super Hero

2010-08-26T13:10:00.001-07:00

This pic was taken by Reagan after she put her princess cape on me and dubbed me a super hero. I happened to be doing my laundry when she took the photo. Ahhh the glorious life of a mother!

2010-08-24T09:03:00.001-07:00

When I opened my bible this morning I looked up at Judah and instantly, for some reason, my thoughts went to his birth mama. We were listening to 'Another Hallelujah' by Campaign, which is the song we used in our video of our gotcha day. I know I won't be able to eloquently put into word form what I feel for her, especially today, but I just can't stop thinking about what she must have felt like to give away her biologically-born child, to a complete stranger.... and walk away. Did she look back? Did she run for her life for fear of being caught? Did she hide out to watch what would happen; or have a friend do that for her? Does she know Judah went to HoH? Could she have possibly seen my tears of joy as we emerged from HoH with her biological child, my adoptive child, in my arms? Would she have even recognized him? I don't want to romanticize the whole ordeal, but I think about these things. What did she name him? What was her labor like? Did she know who his father was? What does she look like? Does Judah have siblings? I can't explain it, but I'm sure every adoptive mom knows what I'm talking about.... I mourn for her loss. I mourn because I know what a good boy she gave up. I just cannot imagine doing what she did.

And yet God is sovereign. Judah was truly picked to be in our family...before the foundation of the earth was laid. Sometimes I look at our little guy just baffled. How did this once-orphaned, beautiful child, end up sitting at my table eating whatever he wants; healthy, happy and part of a family?

And then I think about the children we left behind. Oh that was heart breaking...

When we went to his orphanage I tried to kiss and hug every child I could get my arms around; just to give them some eye contact, affection, something extra, anything. I remember thinking, "I might be hugging little Roman right now..." I can't wait to see if I remember him, when he goes home with his parents. What if I hugged a child that would be my own one day? Nick and I are obviously a little tired these days, but it's getting better. We currently want to do this again, maybe for a little boy and girl? Reagan told me that she wants to go back to Judah's orphanage and get a little sister and name her Jostada. Whatever on the name, but it's just cute that she's thinking this way now too. She's moved from wanting a baby sister in my tummy, to a little sister from the orphanage. Too sweet.

You know when you feel the Holy Spirit groaning within you and you just can't understand it or grasp it? That's how I feel about orphan care. I just want to be willing to go, willing to stay, willing to do whatever the Lord calls me to. We were inspired and convicted to adopt because of James 1:27...the big huge charge to take care of orphans and widows. I had no idea when I read that verse as a kid that I would be where I am now in life. I don't want to waste time either...I don't want to get to be 60 and wonder, "what have I been doing with my life to serve the Almighty?" Saving to pay off my mortgage? Saving to put my kids in private school or take a nice vacation? I want to live with an eternal perspective. I want to invest in eternity. For me, that looks like something involving caring for orphans and giving them the life saving medication of Jesus. Will I still take vacations or pay off my mortgage? Yes, but my perspective on it is all changing and I'm thrilled...

What does it look like for you? Is God telling you to step out on faith in support of adoption, whether that's financially giving to an adoption, serving a family that needs help with an adoption, or actually bringing in a child with no parents, into your home? What will you do? One very young family, gave us $1000 for Judah. ONE.THOUSAND.DOLLARS. HOLY COW, that's a lot of money! They went without, in order to give to him. They sacrificed and gave. There's pain in the offering on whatever level it's given, but God has so blessed them. I can't wait to see what other blessings He gives them. Your blessings are waiting for you. Judah was one of our blessings..the greatest of this adoption, hand's down. Maybe you have have a cute little blessing waiting for you too.

Court Date!

2010-08-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Even though this isn't even comparable with THE court date, where Christian Cyusa (AKA Judah) became ours in Rwanda, this court date is huge, because Christian Cyusa will officially become Anderson Judah Fisher in the eyes of the state of California. He'll then be eligible to be issued a CA birth certificate, which will allow us to get his US passport. After we go to court, Suzanne and I are going to go back up to LA federal building where we've met so many times before, to apply for Desmond and Judah's certificates of citizenship. For now, the readoption is taking front seat. If we didn't readopt, Judah would be subject to the naturalization process which takes years.

This court date is such a big deal and has been so long delayed. Not only is it mandatory, but the adoption will be finalized in this country. Here are some benefits of readoption: (Thank you Steve and Melissa for the details I stole from your blog!)

-Readoption ensures that the validity of the adoption cannot be challenged in the event of a change in the political situation in the child's country of orgin.

-Readoption protects the adoption if it was tainted by fraud in the foreign country.

-Readoption can assure termination of birth parent's parental rights as not all foreign adoption proceedings do so.

-Readoption protects the child's right to inheritance in the United States.

-Readoption protects your child in the event they have trouble with the law later in life.

-Readoption will make the child's life much easier as they get older because they will have a US birth certificate. Having a US birth certificate, in addition to other important government documents, will allow for the child to register for school, register for extra-curricular sports and activities, apply for a driver's license, apply for college scholarships, work legally, enjoy voting rights, and enjoying all other rights and privileges that US citizens enjoy.

We will be getting the specifics of the court date in the mail next week, but we do know that it's September 22nd at 1:45 and will be the OC court houses off The City Drive in Orange. We would love for our family and friends that can make it to come. We'll post details as soon as we have them, but if you'd like to be there, please let us know!

New Friends

2010-08-19T09:37:00.001-07:00

Meet Trina. She is in the AW program and is has been waiting along with many other families for her approval from the Rwandan government now for about double what we waited. She's been waiting for around 10 months. It breaks my heart when I think about all those adorable little faces that we saw when we met Judah, knowing that there and parents ready to pick up their kiddos in heart beat. Trina has such a good attitude in this wait! It was so much fun to meet her and other Orange County Rwanda mamas, including 2 others from the AW program! I can't wait to see the Lord visibly move in Rwanda with regard to orphan care. Pray with me for this to happen!!

I am a mom

2010-08-18T10:21:00.001-07:00

And I love it! After a busy few weeks with work though, sometimes being a mom, is all I want to be. I love to do things more like this:

Than things like THIS.

I want my time spent as a photographer to be more than just productive. I want it to be worth it. Taking time away from my kids must be worth it. I do the 'work', so I can be with my kids. Today is a great day with my kids. I'm going to an Orange County Rwanda Mama pool party in Rancho Santa Margarita today and I can't wait to meet another mom from our AWAA program, see an old friend, and meet new ones! Today, I'm so grateful for the work, because I get to do things like pool parties! Pictures coming soon:)

3 down. 1 to go.

2010-08-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Weddings, Weddings & More Weddings!

2010-08-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

This is what I've been doing. 2 down, 2 to go.

Reesie-girl

2010-08-16T19:18:00.001-07:00

I have no idea how this happened. I was just cleaning up dinner and this is what I found. Mom of the year over here in HB!

My Good Friend Kara.

2010-08-16T13:23:00.001-07:00

I just want to give a little blog shout out to my good friend, Kara. She is a fellow Rwanda mama and is so awesome. Our sons have both battled giardia together and her attitude has helped me get through the ugliest and stinkiest of diapers (if your child has or has had giardia, you know what it means to have someone going through it with you!) Even though we've never actually met in person (yet), we share a common bond in our children; all boys from the same orphanage in Rwanda, which is amazing for any adoption. Among many things this friend I've never actually met has done, she has:

-invited me into her home so I could attend a photography workshop near her house

-encouraged me countless times

-offered well-thought out and creative medical ideas (she is an amazing nurse practitioner and midwife

-made me laugh so hard I want to pee my pants

-made me recognize I need other Rwanda mama's in my life for sanity's sake

-helped me cope with the changes of having a newly adoptive child in my family

-helped me to see that it's okay to be REAL.AUTHENTIC.GENUINE

-inspired me to give more of myself to my children

-prayed for me on many, many levels.

I love you, Kara for so many reasons. You are so thoughtful and authentic. It inspires me to be real about the struggles of adoption and to not be afraid of them! You're the best! xoxo

Mass Family Fun

2010-08-11T13:37:00.001-07:00

So Tuesday was about one of the best days I can remember in a long time. Since Nick took the kids to Hume for the week, his boss sent him home early on Monday and gave him Tuesday off, which was then declared 'family day'. It was awesome. In the morning I got a ton of work done that I needed to do, then we went to the Orange Circle in ... you guessed it, Orange to go antiquing. Oh my jackpot I love this place! There's an antique shop on every corner and I needed to get a few new props for some upcoming newborn shoots. I was thrilled with my finds. The Orange Circle is where the movie, That Thing You Do was filmed:

We had a great time, I got all I wanted/needed and we finished out with a trip to Cherry on Top. YES!

Tuesday night we spent the evening with some of our good friends, Bryan and Jess downtown at the HB Street Fair. Judah and their son, Landon, are good buddies:

Having this family time was just what the doctor ordered. I'll post some pics soon of the newborn shoot so you can see my newest treasures!

I Heart Crystal Cove

2010-08-08T20:05:00.001-07:00

This was my shoot location tonight. Are you kidding me?! How have I not gone here before? It doesn't get more beautiful than this. I am so thankful that this is my job and I actually get to dip my toes in the ocean for a living!

HUME 2010

2010-08-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hume Lake Christian Camps is a camp I grew up at every summer from ages 3-11. My parents were the "lead" disciplinarians for what is now about 1000 high school students that come to Hume during the summer for a total of 10 weeks. It's where I first met Jesus and it's very near and dear to my heart. I haven't missed a summer in about 15 years. It is the creme de la creme when it comes to Christian camping ministries. Hume's located in the beautiful Sequoia National Forest in the Kings Canyon National Park and is about an hour east of Fresno in the Sierra's. We took about 40 high school students and 40 junior highers. Our church goes to Hume with our students during week 9 and every year it's a blast. This year is no exception! My good friend Jenny, whose husband is a counselor in the class, and I always rent a cabin and take the kids up while our husbands stay in the cabins. Lesson learned for this year: we're bringing a nanny next year and getting a cabin that actually has ceilings. (Jenny that was for you.) Weird. Anyway, we had so much fun and our kids loved every second of it. I still am on overload of Yo Gabba Gabba, which was on in our cabin 24/7. We did s'mores by one of the fire pits, watched our students play mass amounts of volleyball, swam in the lake, cooked a ton of easy meals, hung out with friends, ministered (hopefully) to students, and grew with Jesus. I cannot wait to get back next summer!

The evening of s'mores:

Ryan and Judah:
Singing "all the single ladies" chipmunk style:
Single mom for the time dad was gone:
Reags and Ry lovin' the water:
Judah serenading his betrothed: Mia
More single mom:
Before our drive home:
Jude, rockin' the shades:
The amazing Brit, one of our high school counselors with the girls:
Each morning, the love birds ate their bananas singing Yo Gabba Gabba, "Don't, don't, don't bite your friends!"
S'mores night waiting for daddy to come out of chapel:
Hammy hams:
Jenny, and the rest of Hume, got to witness Reagan throwing a fit because she didn't want her pee alarm to come off and diapers to go on:
Family portrait attempt # 542:

Jenny and I:
These family portraits just keep getting better:
Kids having a blast on the beach:

Jenny's daughter, Ryan, with the girls on the dock:
Posing it up:
Judah smirking as he says, "Charlie & Isaiah come visit me!"
If I've said it once I'll say it again, "Nice face, Reese."

OC FAIR

2010-07-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well tonight we went to the Orange County Fair and had a blast: it was awesome! The kids did great and loved every second of it. Judah indulged in his corn dog thoroughly but wanted to be on every ride with his sisters. He could NOT get enough of the petting zoo...he wanted to touch the animals but flipped out every time he got close. Then he'd laugh hysterically and try to cuddle. It was just plain adorable!

POOL!

2010-07-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about summer right now, it's not even funny. Today was the first day I got to take all 3 of my kids in a fresh water pool together! We're also heading to the fair tonight and the kids are beyond fired up about the pig races. So fun, and apparently this year, there's deep fried butter to add to the deep fried snickers bars. Sweet. Here's some shots of the kids at the pool today:)

HOLY COW!

2010-07-28T16:35:00.001-07:00

We are free of giardia!!! I cannot, cannot believe it after this mornings diapers, but hey, I'll take it! I know full well that it could have just "not" shown up on this test, but for now, I'm relishing in the thought of all 3 of my kids getting to take a bath together...and the swimming pool. We'll be hitting Grandma's pool in the morning. Heck yes!

Just in case you're dealing with it, we did 3 rounds of Flagyl, something else that started with an "M" and then the final drug of choice was Tindamax. Thank you, sweet Jesus, for Tindamax!

Up next.....potty training Reagan. We have been at it for 2+ years now. She cares, then she doesn't care. Nothing has worked. EVERYone thinks they have the solution, and guess what? They don't.

We have tried: Bribes, new panties (sorry Adrianne, I know how you detest this word - lol), m&m's, dates with just us, potty charts with stickers, pull-ups, special potty seats, asking her every 10 minutes, taking 2 month breaks then trying it again after she says she wants to, the Everyone Poops book, timers, poop-in-the potty songs, ice cream, gogurts, time outs, preschool where everyone in her class is potty trained, gum, testing her bladder/urine for size and/or infection, ignoring it, training her younger sister, making her clean it up, and even a trip to Disneyland offered by my Mother in Law. NOTHING has worked. There's really 2 issues going on with Reagan...pee and poop. I think the poop thing is under control now that we've taken her off dairy. It's amazing! Before she'd poo her pants and say, "mama...I pooped in my pants... BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT!" As if that is better?! Since taking Judah off Cow's milk we decided to take both girls off it and we're not looking back. Then there's the pee issue. And still the "just a little bit" situation. All that to say, we now have this amazing little contraption a friend is letting us borrow.... The Malem Ultimate 1... and I love it! It attaches to her undies and when even a little moisture hits them, it sounds off a vibrating alarm and scares the dickens out of her; pretty much it's a Pavlov's dogs device - and WE LOVE IT! She's even passing on the diaper at night. She's doing great so far and actually really likes it to 'help' her remember to go.

SIX WHOLE MONTHS!

2010-07-26T15:29:00.001-07:00

Judah has been with us for just over six months (6 months and 2 days to be exact). He has been such a joy to have with us! Yes, there have been tough moments, and as I recall with my first born, I too had tough times with her. Overall the experience has been so growing for all of us. My girls have been forced to share and consider others first and we have been forced to be patient - does it get any better than forced behavior modification?! Judah is hysterical! He makes us laugh every day and is super smart! He is 15 months old, but has the vocabulary and size of a 2 year old. He is dressing in size 2T and wears size 6.5 shoe. The boy eats a standard 2 bananas each morning followed by about 3 hours of snacking....not kidding - it's like he's staving or something. By the time he's finished snacking, it's lunch time and he eats a full meal. He naps for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours solid, wakes up smiling and wants his almond milk and snack; usually an apple, grapes or watermelon. By the time dinner is about to start, he's famished and ready for his supper, where he eats nearly a full-size adult meal. He takes a shower with the girls, gets in his jammies and then he asks for 'yo yo ya' which means yo gabba gabba. After his daily dose of DJ Lance Rock, he goes to sleep happily. He's the easiest of our 3 and fits in well. He also has 2 little mothers who follow him around all day...hence he has learned how to run and consequently looks like he's running through a barrage of tires at football camp - it's hysterical! We love Judah just like our biological daughters and are seeing more and more progression as time passes, and are praying that he feels more and more like a Fisher each day. Here's a little vid of all the kids playing in the slip and slide yesterday. As you can see, Judah

likes the atmosphere just fine:

Is It Possible?!

2010-07-23T10:00:00.001-07:00

This is Jude coming out of the lab after we dropped off a sample to test his stool for giardia. We're hopeful that this time with the meds he took, to have rid his little bod of the parasite. I have noticed a change in odor (which has always been the tale tell sign for me) but only occasionally and nothing new by way of the other markers. So, we'll see if it's gone. We've discovered that having all 3 kids shower together is easier for us and safer for then to not accidentally drink the water so that's been an absolute blessing for us! Please say a quick prayer for Big J for this bug to be GONE this time around. He's had giardia now for 6 months that we know of.

Size 8

2010-07-23T09:49:00.001-07:00

This morning when I was getting Reesie ready for preschool she picked out her pink boots to wear, which are size 8. I've been having having a hard time with this little girl growing up. She is just so sweet and adorable that I don't want her to leave this stage. So this morning when I was putting her size 8 boots on, they wouldn't fit....and I panicked. I started shoving her little foot as hard as I could into those boots because if they didn't fit, well then she'd definitely be 'big' and I just couldn't stand for that. Nothing was going to keep Reesie girl from fitting into those boots! I even called Nick in to help me when Reese said 'boots no fit mama!' My wise husband took off the one boot that was literally hanging off her foot and discovered a sock in the bottom...and lo and behold, another sock in the other boot. I breathed a sigh of relief that my little girl would still be 'little' for at least another month.

Walk In Love

2010-07-21T09:30:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when I read my bible, I get stuck and keep going back to the same passage. Right now it's Ephesians 5:1 &2.... 'Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.'

I'm just going to keep going back to this one...

A Safe Place

2010-07-20T11:10:00.001-07:00

Why does my son retreat to himself when he's hurt whereas my girls come running to me with tears in their eyes and arms outstretched begging for me to pick them up? Why does Judah look down when I reprimand him and bury his head into whatever furniture is next to him and cry quietly? Why won't he run to me begging for my attention when he's hurt?

Lord may Judah realize he is a Fisher now. May he know us as mommy and daddy; that he doesn't have to cry by himself, but has respite in his family. And may he know one day, his ultimate respite is in You, and You alone.

We made it!

2010-07-19T12:43:00.001-07:00

Judah came with me to work

2010-07-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

We flew up to norcal this weekend. It was a blast! This is J on the flight home. He prefers the floor:)

Reagan's Debut

2010-07-16T18:03:00.001-07:00

Here is a short film of Reagan singing songs she 'learned' at VBS this week. I say learned in quotes but really ... These are 100% Reagan. Enjoy and turn up the volume!

Biking & Blogging

2010-07-15T18:14:00.003-07:00

I'm sure it's probably not the best thing to do, but now that I have blogging capabilities on my phone, I can't help myself from snapping a quick photo while biking to the grocery store, where I stand in the check out line...blogging! Here we are on our way to Sprouts on an amazingly beautiful day to get dinner as a family

Big J lovin' the wind whisking past his face

2010-07-15T18:14:00.001-07:00

This boy loves bike rides!

Becky the animal rescuer

2010-07-13T19:06:00.001-07:00

These little ducklings hatched today at my in-laws' .... Pool side. Smart ducks! They all jumped in the water and sadly couldn't get out. I came up with a diego style effort (against my better half's judgement) and used the pool cleaner thing, to scoop them out. The mama was flipping out and after about 5 attempts, I finally found a way to scoop half the ducklings and quickly get the other half. Unfortunately during my efforts to get said other half, the first group jumped into the jacuzzi. Finally I got all of them out and they safely reunited with their mama after their day-long separation.

Did it work?

2010-07-13T18:51:00.001-07:00

Djldjek

Confused

2010-07-13T18:11:00.001-07:00

Clearly I am confused as to figure out how to blog a photo with a post...

CIMG0114

2010-07-13T18:07:00.001-07:00

Alright, I know this picture looks confusing. This was posted in an effort for me to figure out my new app for blogging on my phone. I got it figured out (YAY!), but this picture was thrown in the mix. So I'll explain: there will be more pics to come, but this was a shot of Reesie taking a baking soda bath. This cute little thing gets THE.WORST.DIAPER.RASH.EVER. She developed a horrible rash from the sand at the Ranch (this is where we are in this pic) and from her life jacket. So, she kicked it bucket-side, with a juice box for nearly an hour. In fact she refused to get out. It was pretty cute. Hope that clears up why in the world this picture is on the internet.

testing

2010-07-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

I just found a new app for my phone that will allow me to blog straight from my phone .. And this is the test!

My Business Partner

2010-07-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Her name is Shelly and she's fantastic. She just had a baby. His name is Bo Radman. He's pretty cute if you ask me!

Indian Mary 2010

2010-07-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

So we went camping on our annual camping trip to Merlin, Oregon, home of the world famous Lil' Pantry, Ray's Grocery, and countless river queens that I will not be posting pictures of. Merlin is just outside Grant's Pass and is right around the area that my Grandma and mom grew up in. We go "trailer" camping with full hook ups and besides a major sewage tank explosion (literally, an explosion) late one night, everything went great! Here are some pictures from the week long trip:

Happy 4th of July!

Jude and his beyond white cousin, Will rollin' in their ride:

My beautiful niece Tatum:

My sister and her girls:
Me and Reags:
Me and my sis:
4 generations. My mom, Grandma, me and my kids:
The adorable-ness is killing me:
My brother Jake and sis-in-law Paulina and their daughter Jo-Jo:
Meet Virginia. This is my only grandparent I have left. She is the JOY of every trip we take. I would not be the woman I am today, without her influence in my life. She is hysterically funny and I always have a good laugh with Virgie:) That's her pointing her index finger at me telling me what I really should be doing. It's pretty much a staple Grandma move:
Jude kickin' it around the fire early in the morning:
This is the cinnamon roll guy. Every year since I was a kid, this dude has rolled into camp every Friday, Saturday and Sunday to sell freshly baked, warm cinnamon rolls. We usually get the boysenberry...freshly picked too! Right about 7:30, my niece Tatum barreled out of her trailer shouting, "THE CINNAMON ROLL GUY IS HERE, THE CINNAMON ROLL GUY IS HERE!" It's kinda like when the ice cream trucks rolls into your neighborhood and the kids go crazy. Except this is once a year, and DANG those cinnamon rolls are good!
See! Here's Hailey (my niece) indulging in them:

Jess & Chris

2010-06-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

Just another day at work

My Little Composters

2010-06-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Each night we take our food scraps (sans dairy and meat) to the garden to compost. I'm going to plant leafy vegetables in the shaded area of the garden, and instead of drenching the ground with compost, I'm just putting it in every 2 feet, straight into the ground. I dig the hole, and the girls throw in the scraps. They love it! My neighbor told me about this technique and her vegetables are outstanding! So, we'll see. For now, we'll just keep digging holes in the ground right before bed time.

On another note, God is so amazing! We're headed up to Southern Oregon for a camping vacation with my family. We've been doing it every year since I can remember. Our portable DVD player broke (ie one of the children ripped the insides apart - still not sure how that happened) so Nick went to go pick one up that we found on craigslist tonight. When he got to the seller's house, they struck up a conversation about Nick having gone to BIOLA (he was wearing a BIOLA sweatshirt), being a pastor, and this guy having gone to Fuller. When he walked into their apartment, his wife was working on Lightroom, which is what I edit photos in as well (PS Susie if you're reading this and haven't bought it yet, BUY IT - oh and read Crazy Love too!). Anyway they straight up just GAVE the DVD player to Nick saying they just felt like they should give it to us! How rad is that!??! Thank you Lord for free stuff!

I❤Futból

2010-06-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

I look forward to World Cup, like most look forward to the Olympics. And can I just say, if you don't look forward to even the Olympics....well, that's just unAmerican. Yep, I said it. That being said, I love sports. I grew up playing sports and learned so many valuable life lessons -that I would not have learned - without them. My favorite sport was soccer. My kids have no option but to be athletes...Not kidding. They will be:

1. God's children

2. BFF's

3. Athlete's

Yesterday's World Cup match against Algeria is being called the greatest US victory since the '30's. It was fantastic! Opportunity after opportunity came and went, and at one point my facebook status read, "how many opportunities will we squander!!" PS I'm totally that facebook geek that spoils the score for everyone and likes to commentate throughout the match. To get into stoppage time and know that we only had 4 minutes to score, or be eliminated, was ultra intense. My kids were laughing hysterically at me jumping up and down on the edge of the couch anxiously anticipating a goal in the final hour. Well you know the rest, Landon Donovan (who I actually saw at LAX 6 years ago and almost peed my pants) scored in the 91st minute. It was unbelievable, victorious, totally American, and gave the US the taste of success they needed to push ahead. I liken it to the Miracle on Ice against the Russians; it was that epic.

I asked my mom for some pictures of me as a kid playing Cascade soccer in Oregon, but she's going to get them to me later. For now, I thought I'd include pics of my college soccer days at BIOLA University in La Mirada. My, how time changes the way a person looks!

One of my best friends to this day, Sally and I before a match. We were apparently 'good' at blocking out opposing players with out backsides, hence this photo:

My last collegiate game (*sniff, sniff) with the rest of the seniors. We all played 4 years together. These girls each challenged me to grow spiritually and sharpened me like iron on iron. I still keep in touch with them and love them each dearly!

At a beach bonfire. I'm the one holding the Dr. Pepper. Oh how I still love Dr. Pepper.

Me and Towne..we were both from OR. She is an amazing woman who LOVES Jesus.
My first year with our coach's wife.
Again, Sally and I. After our last game:
More Sally and I:

Summer Has Officially Arrived

2010-06-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a blast.

#1: We bought a pool at Target for $3.99. (They're on sale till Saturday!)

#2: I actually got to read a bit sitting on my patio while the girls played in the pool..all day long.

#3: I told them that if they went to bed quitely and without a fight, they could play in it again after nap. AND THEY DID!!!

They will be playing in this pool every day from here on out.

Birthday Bash!!

2010-06-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I would finally post some pictures from the combo birthday party we had for Reagan and Judah. We had a Dora and Diego party and thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, the party was a success!

Judah's BFF Desmond came to visit us too:) He had a great time and it was WONDERFUL spending some time with his mommy and daddy too!
Reesey thoroughly enjoying her share of cupcakes:
The big birthday boy getting his first taste of cake! And BIG J with one of his "aunties", Rebekah:)

FishFace

2010-06-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Fishface is so much fun for me! One of the cool things we're doing is to show the parents exactly what their set will look like for their child's portrait day. In making the form for this, I did this mini-shoot with Reags. Here are the pictures we ended up using for our presentation packet, and they show an example of our sets.

First Bloom

2010-06-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

My garden is growing! ....

.... despite the fact that we put in WAY too much compost and discovered that we were burning up our plants. I'm too ashamed to put up pictures of my burnt strawberries, so I'll only put up my thriving plants:)

Meet our neighbors: Rachel and her son Maron:

Our First Family Portrait

2010-06-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

So we're shamelessly applying to be on a home makeover show about overhauling your garage. I totally want a studio in there. Part of the application includes taking a family picture. Since we didn't have one, we thought tonight would be the perfect time to take one, right?!

What Have I Been Up To??!

2010-06-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

You're lookin' at it. This little baby right here, has kept me up more at night than my real little babies. These are my business' golden ticket. This is what my business partner and I are taking to the streets to schools to present the goods on what school portraiture is supposed to be like: ADORABLE. EASY. FUN. DONE! Our biggest thing is that we give 5% back to the schools of all orders, including our online sales. This packet will show a principal/director how easy Fishface makes a school photo shoot happen from start to finish. I cannot WAIT to land some accounts, because this presentation packet has made me work for it! The foundation is laid though, and the questions and guessing of "how to" is out the game. Now it's just time to work.

The THIRD time was a charm!

2010-05-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Judah's paperwork is officially filed with the Orange County courts to begin his readoption process.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda confused about what the "process" is for, or looks like.

I know that by law, I am required to do this because of the type of visa that he came home on. I know that this will enable him to apply for a birth certificate, which will eventually get him a social security card, a passport and citizenship, so that's good! I know that we need to have our social worker out to the house to write a report for the court. Once we have this report submitted to the court, they will call us to set up a hearing time. At that hearing, we'll be allowed to take a picture with the judge and invite friends and family. There's still a lot of confusion on my end, but this is the general gist of what's going on.

Back to Third time's a charm:

I had my babysitting in place (THANK YOU, JULIE!!!) this past Wednesday and took off with all my necessary paperwork to the court. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I was greeted at the door with a sign that said, "Due to the fiscal crisis in California, the courts will be closed today and for 12 Wednesdays throughout the year." THANK YOU, Governor Schwarzenegger for YOUR mismanagement of MY tax dollars. I was thrilled. Really.

The next day, I put the girls in school and took BIG J down to the court house again. After finding out where I was supposed to finally go inside the courts, I waited in line. And waited. And waited. J did great! When we got to the front of the line the lady at the window looked over my documents and said I didn't have the right paperwork. I had Judah's adoption decree, but I didn't have his translated adoption decree. She said they also needed copies of all of it. And $20. I got back in the elevator and as I did, a couple walked in bringing their conversation with them: "Well if he's got a restraining order against you, then you need one against him!" Awesome company; thanks guys. This should be a fun elevator ride.

So the next day, Friday, I again put the girls in school, checked and triple checked my paperwork, and loaded up J-man and we cruised down the 22 to Orange and made it there in about 25 minutes. When I parked in the garage, I organized all my paperwork, only to realize I had FORGOTTEN the translated adoption decree. ARGGGGGG! I could see it in my head sitting on my counter, just as I had left it. AHHHHH!!!

Just moments after I had pulled into my parking spot, I backed out, merged on the 22 yet again, and headed home. UGH. I grabbed the translated decree with disgust and peeled back out of my driveway. Back on the 22 and pulled into the parking garage. Only this time it was a different scene. EVERYone and their mom was leaving the courtroom. Everyone was pulling OUT of the garage and not pulling in like me. Since I was there now about 10:30a, it looked like everyone was just done with their day in court and I was the only one going inside. I very quickly made it past security and the best part is, the security guard found my keys in Judah's stroller that I had lost the day before! Was this experience too good to be true??! I got an elevator, no problem and made it to the 7th floor where there was NO line AND the same lady that helped me the day before! I pulled Judah out of the stroller and showed him off. Worked like a charm! Everything was in order and the process took all of 10 minutes! She gave me a receipt, and even made a *free* copy for me. Thank you BIG J, for being oh-so flirty and cute with the ladies. (I'll hate myself for having said that in about 15 years).

I was in and out of the court house in 20 minutes! Record time!!! I have a call into our social worker to schedule a visit and now we just wait. Can't wait for this boy to become a citizen!

additionally....

2010-05-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

I added a few more details and pics in the post below this one. I thought of a few more details last night that I wanted to include.

Happy Birthday BIG J!!!

2010-05-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

BIG J is officially a YEAR old....we're pretty sure. Since his birthday can't be verified, we're choosing to celebrate his big day today. It's this day a year ago, that the nuns at his orphanage estimated he was born.

He was a surprise to us...We felt like it all happened so fast. We started thinking about adopting a baby when Reese was about 6 months old. That was July of '08. We decided quickly on our agency, and the Rwanda program, but waited till Reese was a year to apply. We actually applied on her first birthday. Crazy?!? YES! I had a rough idea of how long it would take and how much money it would take, but our expectation was slightly off. We paid more and waited longer. BUT, HIS timing was perfect.

We got notice of an approval late one Friday night in November...It was amazing! Then, to my GREAT surprise, on Monday morning, I saw an email from the Minister in Kigali with a picture of my little boy!!!

Here's a little bit of a lead up to seeing what was going on in his life, even before he was born.

May 13th, 2009, ironically the day of my son's birth, I met Suzanne Watson for the first time in LA at the federal building when we dropped off our home studies with our 171H's. It was an amazing friendship from the start and the start of a life-long connection! I love my adoption BFF!

This is the day we submitted our dossier to the state capitol for certification. My sister, good friend Nicole, and my niece Hailey were on skype with me when I was waiting for our dossier to arrive back from Sacramento:

When it did arrive, I quickly ran to my inlaws' office to make copies of our dossier in triplicate for submission to our agency:

And then we waited...

For halloween '09, I met some girlfriends at Tanaka Farms in Irvine at a pumpkin patch. Little did I know, this was the day we were approved. I remember being so frustrated at this point...no one had ever waited this long except our group of families. We were very, very anxious.
Nice face Reese.

Then, we got our approvall! I was so frustrated that Friday that I hadn't got an approval letter from my group and I hadn't; only thinking of myself. I found out later that night that we had been approved indeed, but the letter just wasn't sent. On Monday morning, we were SHOCKED to see our little man; approval and referral in the same weekend!

Before we knew it, we were off! We left LAX on January 22nd with the Dokolas Family. We met the Thomas' in the Dubai airport. It was a total JOY to meet the amazing SUSIEHEREONLY who I had talked with so many times before. If you talk to susiehereonly, you know how awesome this girl is! :) We were mere HOURS away from Kigali where our sons lived!

And in a blur of time, we were meeting our son; Christian Cyusa who we would call Judah or "Jude" for short. We were introduced on Sunday morning, January 24th, to our son for the first time. It was a wonderful moment, and we were so thrilled to be sharing it with so many other families meeting their children for the first time too.

Our wonderful POA brought Judah to us with tears in her eyes....it meant a lot to her too!

Things moved fast. Here's a shot of us signing for our travel letter, which allowed for Judah to spend the night with us. It was a great moment! OH and here's a picture of Adrianne too, getting her letter. LOVE THAT GIRL!!!!
Here's a shot of us after we filed our paperwork at the US Embassy in Kigali. Needless to say, it was a rather long day. Thank you BEN, for getting us through that chaos and MAKING IT HAPPEN! Seriously, where would be without our fearless leader...and lieutenant, lest I forget. That was a long day...
Here's a group shot of all of us with our babies. We miss this crew every day and are bonded to them forever.

Soon were bonding with Judah...slowly but surely. We're still bonding each day:) We also were allowed the opportunity to find out as much as we could about Judah's past. While we'll keep those few details be told by Judah if he wants to one day, we do want to share just a couple of pictures. I think when I saw the reality of all that was happening around us, I realized just how real it all was. Children are 100% abandoned in Rwanda. This is the location where Judah was abandoned, at a church. I want the reality of it to sink in, if you're reading this. I am praying that your heart would be stirred to do more for the orphan population around the world and would love to talk with you if you are stirred!

We came home February 6th, after a 5 hour flight from Nairobi to Dubai, and a 16 hour flight...YES 16 HOURS on a plane with a baby, flight to LAX. We had a super warm welcome by so many of our friends and family holding signs saying "Muraho!" and "Welcome Home Judah!" As we walked out of customs we could hear a rumbling chanting from the terminal screaming, "JU-DAH! JU-DAH! JU-DAH!" It was the best present we could ask for. It felt just like when we had the girls at the hospital and everyone came to visit us. It was very, very special!

Here's a shot of my parents with BIG J the day we came home:

And here's a picture of my sister with BIG J the same day. No, we are not twins, but some still think we are.

Since coming home, Jude has fit in well, and seems to be enjoying getting to know his sisters.
My family up North has gotten to hang out with Jude several times and all his cousins are just in love with him!

Can't wait to print this in canvas for my wall! These were taken on my Grandpa's property in Napa. It's beautiful! It's always been like this too... I was so thankful to get Judah up to Napa in time to meet my Grandpa before he passed away. I was Judah's age when I enjoyed their home. My dad came home from the hospital when he was born to this home. These pictures have so much meaning to me.
Here's my sister again and Jude:

And now that we've been home for 3 months...YES, 3 months! he's fitting in better and better each day. We're all getting used to each other, but he really is such a sweet boy! I'll end on a couple of birthday pictures from today, starting with him sitting in his car seat, all turned around like a big boy. Notice his feet already over the edge.

Enjoying cupcakes for the first time:

Picking up his new lactose-free milk at the grocery store:

We love you Judah and are thrilled you are part of our family!

I love Wednesdays

2010-05-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Okay let me preface this post by saying I truly do love my kids more than Wednesdays, but I still love Wednesdays!

TWO reasons:

1. The girls are in school in the morning. Nick takes them and brings them home and then we enjoy lunch together.

2. My wonderful friend Julie picks up Judah for me or comes over here while I lock myself in my office to work and watches the boy all morning. It's spectacular.

Today she and her 2 older children picked up Judah and took him to Disneyland. They had a great time and Judah loved it the whole time:) Shocker, right?!?

In other news, I'm learning to enjoy having 3...I feel like it's a matter of "getting used to the chaos" as one friend put it. If my expectation is lower, then really, it can only go up. Reagan has typically been my fiery little redhead, but lately has just been as sweet as can be. She helps me fold towels, puts her dishes in the sink, feeds Judah for me, gets him out of his high chair, gives him his bottle and vacuums for me. She's taking so much pride in this and it gives me SUCH joy too! She's been obedient beyond recognition by saying, "okay mom", when I ask her to do something and rarely has been combative or a complainer. Something has changed in her and I'm convinced it's the Holy Spirit taking control of her life. I love it!

More "other news"..

-We're getting Judah tested again for a 3rd time for giardia. Pray for negative.

-BIG J turns ONE tomorrow! We're having a combo bday party for him and Reagan at my inlaws...pool and pizza; can't go wrong.

-next Wednesday I'll be heading to the OC courthouse to formally begin the re-adoption process for Judah. After we submit a joinder and some forms, we'll have our social worker out to the house. Once that's submitted to the court, we'll appear before the judge for a ruling to state that he is officially ours in the state of California and *I think* will be issued a birth certificate for the state of CA at the very end of this process.

-After we get the birth certificate, we'll apply for the certificate of citizenship with the USCIS ($420), and will likely take up to 8 months to get this form.

-Next we file for a passport. This does not make BIG J a citizen. ($85-not bad!). Both Nick and I have to go with him to a passport office to apply. We need to bring a certified copy of Judah's final adoption decree that we received in Kigali, his certificate of citizenship, and both parents passports and licenses.

-Then we need to get him a social security card. To do that, we take his: Rwandan adoption certificate, Rwandan passport, certificate of citizenship, our driver's licenses and passports, his Rwandan birth certificate, and the social security card application (FREE!) to the local social security office and the card will be mailed a couple of weeks after that.

-Register with post office for whatever reason...

-AND, submit a G-884 form to get all our paperwork back from the USCIS.

Apparently after we have a social security number for Judah, we can file for our tax credit. We're going to try to get this done by the end of 2010, but it really depends on the certificate of citizenship, so we may be looking at filing for the credit late spring of 2011...at least I'm hoping we can!

Now you know all you ever wanted to know about re-adopting a child from Rwanda! I just keep telling myself..."one step at a time..." Right now, I just need to get his docs down to the courthouse and get our social worker out after that. One step at a time. I think you just get to a point at this stage in the adoption where you are just tired of forms and paperwork. I am thrilled that Judah has a green card though..this is a huge step towards citizenship!!

Wow, if you made it all the way down here in this post, I'm totally impressed!

Adelyn

2010-05-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

I love Spring

2010-05-07T10:07:00.001-07:00

"I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." John 15:1 & 2.

These photos bring me joy. Spring, brings me joy. A new, fresh beginning. Starting over. The pruning is paying off.

While it is indeed paying off, there's still pain in the growth. Growing pains always hurt. With growth comes change. The plant doesn't look like it did during the dry, cold winter. It should begin bearing more fruit than last season. The fruit should be fuller, more sweet, and bigger than the previous season.

I hope these photos can bring you as much joy as they have to me.

Adventures in Parenting

2010-05-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

This is the ultimate copy blog from one of my best friends, Carrie, who I spent yesterday with at Disneyland with our six, YES 6 kids. Carrie is a WAY better writer than I am, and apparently didn't pass out at 11:30p after getting home and unloading 3 totally asleep children by herself into her house. I however, did, so I'm copying her blog, which tells the story. I'll insert bits and pieces in a different color of my recollection that might add to the flavor of the post.

Tonight one of my oldest and closest friends, Becky, and I thought it would be fun to take our kids to Disneyland since both of our husbands are out of town.

We carefully planned out our afternoons to include naps of all of our children, making and packing dinner, packing the car and readying ourselves. By the time our kids woke up from their naps, we were good to go.

Our parking spots were close to each other and as we packed up the strollers (BOBS!) we enthusiastically pumped up our children about the adventure that was ahead. [Carrie arrived in the parking structure about 5 minutes before I did and literally stood in the spot across from hers and endured stares from about 100 cars passing by as if to say, "lady, you CANNOT save spots. MOVE!" What a great friend!]

The stares began on the tram...2 young moms with 6 children ages 6 and below. And Becky's include a redhead, a blond and a black baby...what did we expect?? The stares continued throughout our night with comments like "that's craziness" to "are you guys babysitting(personal favorite)?" [Reese isn't exactly the best poser for photos....+ Violet and Judah are hiding in this picture].
As we entered the park, I organized our children, started the food distribution and planned our first move as Becky gave a lecture to a group of young girls on abstinence (2 of her 3 were screaming)...I'm not kidding. [Dude, don't have sex before marriage. You could very easily wind up with what you're looking fearfully at. Kids are THE best birth control!].

The first ride at CA adventure was the Bugs Land ride that we waited for 20-30 min for a 30 second ride...ok. So not worth it. Ezekiel was excited about the watermelon "juice" sprayed on us, but come on. I'll squirt him with water next time. He'd probably be just as happy.

We then decided to head to D-land to go on Pirates. Yeah, I thought it was a good idea. The line was quick and though we had talked about it at home multiple times, Ezekiel started to panic. He was trying to object, but I told him not to worry: "its all fake!" Obviously that didn't comfort him because he was wailing as we parked our booties on the boat. I thought he would relax and enjoy the pirates. What I forgot was the dark beginning. And the DROP. And the skeletons. And the guy getting hanged. Ok. Not a good idea. I told Becky in the middle of the ride "I guess I'm not Mom of the Year" and Ezekiel said "no, you're not." 95% of the ride was spent by my 3 hiding under Violet's B (special blankie). When we got off, my boys told me they were terrified and Becky's were wailing and mad at her for making them go on it. Wow...lack of discretion there. [Reagan and Reese were both hiding under our blankie as well. Judah however, was fired up to be there!].

To attempt to reverse the affects of the traumitization, we then went to Small World, where our children were once again happy and loving us. Phew! That was close. [Judah literally jumped and laughed the entire way through. Best ride at Disneyland hand's down!]

Since it was close to 9 when it was over, and the fireworks were at 9:25p, we decided to stay. Cause its Friday night! We can sleep in in the morning. Oh wait. My kids DON'T EVER SLEEP IN. But I romanticized that they might. So we stayed. We tried to get close to the front of the park but everything was blocked off. So we found a good spot and as the first round of fireworks exploded, I looked at my 3 in the BOB with a smile and expecting joyful responses. Gavin and Ezekiel were covering their ears. Ezekiel was sobbing and Violet was covering her head with "B" yelling : "HOLD YOU! HOLD YOU!" Hmmm...not awesome. The fireworks show consisted of my sitting on the ground holding Ezekiel and Violet as they told me over and over it was too loud.

We made it to the end and started booking it to the main entrance. Except you can't really "book it" when 100,000 other people are also making the same trek. So we actually dawdled along until space opened up and we aggressively made our way out. Various kids (of the 6) were crying, throwing fits, whining and asking for food at this point - which we ignored. The goal ahead was to GET TO THE TRAM. We made it and I played peek-a-boo with Judah most of the ride trying to keep him from crying.

I got the kids into jammies and car seats and almost cried when I realized it was close to 11pm. My kids are going to be sloppy messes tomorrow.

BUT we did it. We conquered D-land as "single moms" and though it sounds dicey...Becky and I were able to laugh it off and enjoy being together. We know we were "birth control" to many. We know our kids had fun..despite being traumatized, injured (Ezekiel hit his head at least 2x and also injured his foot), and exhausted. Its an adventure for the books. [Let's just say trying to fit the BOB through the gates at disneyland isn't exactly easy when your child sticks his leg out the side...].

We had AN AMAZING time together and I can't wait for more trips to the big D with the Prince's again! xoxo C!

He's Walkin'!

2010-04-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Judah learned how to walk this week! So I thought I'd show off his sweet walking action with a movie. Unfortunately, as Judah is the 3rd child, he's not exactly getting the sweet video action his older sisters got. So, it's a pretty basic video, but I hope you enjoy none-the-less!

Bike-A-Tron

2010-04-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Reagan and Reese just participated in their preschool's trike-a-thon, or as Reags calls it, her bike-a-tron. They loved asking for pledges and supporting their school and had a great time!

ADOPTION IS POSITIVE!

2010-04-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

In recent news you may have seen the story of the woman from TN who "returned" her adopted Russian son, by putting him on a plane with a note saying she didn't want him anymore. This, is not a clear picture of adoption.

I will show you what a clear picture is though. Reagan LOVES her little brother and he LOVES her. How much? So much, that when he cries, he reaches out for her first instead of me! I'm secure enough in my motherhood, but c'mon, that is just the cutest thing ever! My kids will grow up appreciating other people; different from themselves. They will learn to work together and they will love each other. Here's a snapshot of our first year together. Though this comically shows where they're at now, I can't wait to see a snapshot 15 years down the road of them together....but maybe not in the bucket;)

PS Sadly this is the only picture I have of them together:( & Judah was quickly expiring. I need to invest in some photos of my kids!!

Reagan's New Year's Resolution

2010-04-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

Okay so it's totally backwards, but it's really cute!

"I want to learn how to Roller Skate"

Blogging Hiatus

2010-04-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Not for any particular reason, other than I have no idea how people adjust to 3 kids! I'm hoping to blog more about what we've been up to, but for now I'll start with this one.

A couple Saturday's ago we had a busy day...2 birthday parties in 2 different cities, followed by a beach engagement shoot in Laguna and then a family shoot at my house. WHEW! What's even better, is that morning before things got started, we cleaned out the garage because that's where I set up my studio, and Nick took amazing care of the yard. He was so thrilled by his handiwork in fact, that he made me take a picture of the hedge, and I promised I'd blog about it:)

Here's a collage of the engagement session:

Here is the hedge. Well done, husband!
And the garage with 2 little lovies that helped so much:)
Driving home WIPED out from the beach shoot.
Nick watched them in the peak of nap time during my shoot. We were in Laguna Beach..one of the more beautiful places on earth, I'm convinced!