Is it true?

Am I really old enough to have a child preforming in Christmas programs?? oh yes... and it is OH SO CUTE! Emma had her little preschool program last thursday and it was priceless. As soon as I figure out how to put video from our video camera on here I will have to upload one or two of the songs. But until then - here are pictures!

Grandma and Jake waiting for the program to start

Sign Language to Away in a Manger

The did the CUTEST little actions to "I took a lick on a Peppermint stick, it used to be on the Christmas tree, but I like it better ... IN MY TUMMY!"

We left Emma's program a few minutes early to rush to catch Kylie's program - she did such a great job singing!! (Kylie is in the front row -center)

And Emma got to catch up with a couple of her best buds from her old school (ya, my preschooler hangs with 3rd graders:) )

gOt SnOw?

I bet if you live in the NW you have some white stuff hangin' around like we do! I LOVE IT!!! Makes for a beautiful white Christmas!! Here are some pictures from last weekend when the snow first started to fall... we got about 6 more inches yesterday to play in :)

Jake and Emma both LOVED playing in the snow.


and of course, Harley just loves it when we play with him, snow or no snow :)

Emma made lots and lots of snow angels in the backyard... and with each one she would stop and draw a smiley face on the head :)

{all} the kids playing together!

O Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas tree soon after returning from Thanksgiving, but it didn't get decorated for an entire week! AHH! That is so not like me!! But we finally got it done. Sabbath Aaron gave me a much needed restful morning and took both the kids to Sabbath School and I quickly put lights on the tree and thought it would be a nice surprise for him and the kids so we could decorate it that night - then I ran and quickly got ready for church and joined them! So Sabbath evening we decorated our tree and put lights in some of our windows, I'm afraid that may be as festive as we get this year. We do have our stockings up - I just didn't get a picture of that.

Ballerina

Emma's dance recital was as cute as it gets! It was held in a middle school auditorium and the ages of performers was from 2 - 12. These girls have so much fun and they just adore their teacher Miss Macy. She very strongly believes dance should be fun and full of life, and if you mess up you just pick up and keep going - no pressure. I love that approach, and Miss Macy makes it very clear if you are wanting your child in competitive dance, her class is not the place. This time around Emma did a ballet number to O Christmas Tree and a tap number to Littlest Christmas Tree. Melts my heart to watch her up on stage - she loves every minute of it!

Waiting to go up on stage

Emma is second from the left (the tallest)

On this one she is the second face on the left you can see

third from the right ;)

posing with brother after the show (who danced in his own seat the whole time)

princess and mommy

Flowers from Grandma

+ 1

Our family has grown by one! We have wanted a dog for sometime now but have tried to be smart and wait until the kids were a bit bigger. Aaron and I both grew up with large dogs, and my most beloved dogs as a kid were golden retrievers named Teal and her boy Goose. The breed is an amazing family dog and in general an all around gentle giant! Well, I started to look at the shelters in our area and on the local online websites for animals and didn't have much luck. We knew that we were not in the market for a puppy - I don't have any patience left at the end of the day - how would I deal with a puppy?? As cute as they are, and even hard to resist!!! We just knew it would lead to disaster for us!

So I was looking for a mature Golden about 3yrs old and good with kids. We looked at several and they were either so old they wouldn't be around long (not a good option for our kids to get attached to) or were in serious need of training (also not what we were in for). Until I received an email about a 4 yr old golden retriever at a pet food store in our small town. I emailed the owner and she said that his owner has had him since he was a puppy and put him through pet therapy training (where they take them to visit the hospitals) and had lost her husband shortly after so started to 'collect' rescue dogs and this guy got put outside and ignored for a year or more. They had no idea how he was with kids, but we decided to meet him. Emma has always been on the timid side with big dogs - she loves them but is unsure, so we also knew that Emma would really have to click with whoever we brought home.

Last tuesday night Harley came over to meet us at our home. The moment he walked in, Emma gave him a big hug and he licked her cheek. He then walked into the living room and laid down wanting some love. After we all had our chance petting him we took him outside and realized that he played fetch with Emma effortlessly - getting the ball for her and gently dropping it at her feet - over and over and over again. After he left we immediately knew he was meant to be with us. The next morning I called his owner and said if she felt he would be safe and happy with us, we would love nothing more than to adopt him. She cried and said after she left she just knew he would be so happy with us. So wednesday after I picked Emma up from Preschool we went and picked up Harley - and we have been having fun ever since!! ;) Since his previous owners own a pet food store they said that as their 'thank you' to us for giving him such a wonderful home they wanted to help us with food and such for him. We left with a car full of toys, collars, leashes, dog treats, dog toothbrush, dog calming pills (though he has not needed any), bowls for water and food and a mat to put it all on. They said to be sure and come back in when we start to run low on food (not likely to be soon with the two 50lb bags they loaded in my car - with a tub to put it all in!!) and they would make sure we had more.

He and Emma are joined at the hip. When Harley is inside he is the most gentle boy ever and is completely house trained! When he is outside he loves to play fetch and bury his bones... thanks for reading if you made it this far! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past few days with our new buddy.

Meet Harley:

(the coolest dog ever)

Emma's new best friend...

(yes, thos are TWO sets of sunglasses, I have no idea where she comes up with these ideas;) )

Jake's buddy...

Emma's gaurd dog ;-)

my new model... though he tends to tire of his picture being taken... hehe...

My lil' Christmas Tree

Here is my lil' Christmas Tree in her dance recital outfit - her recital is this friday evening and she has two numbers for this recital! Usually she only does one! She is so excited - we took these pictures last thursday before dress rehearsal.

Oh BaBy!

No baby for me - this is my beautiful cousin Sasha ~ she and her hubby are expecting a baby girl Dec. 31st, but the Dr. told her last week to have her bags packed because she could come any day! They are naming her Ellie, and for now are calling her Ellie in the Belly - isn't that so precious? Andrea hosted her a beautiful shower over thanksgiving and I got to do a a mini session with them. I'm loving how they turned out and she was gracious enough to let me share her baby belly with all of you! I am still working hard on my website and hope to have it up by January 1. Until then you can always check out http://www.tinalelainephotography.blogspot.com I am still squeezing in Christmas pictures if your interested - email me @ tinalelaine@hotmail.com

I have to post a few picture of the shower too, it was so lovely! My aunt Connie made this amazing and beautiful banner that says ' E L L I E ' and it is decorate with all sorts of vintage charm...

Some goodies we served...

And the little present for everyone to take home.... these are just too cute. They are envelopes on the inside is a tea bag - and the sweetest little saying on the back. *I will go get mine and update this later with the saying*

Back!

Whew, we made it home. Why is it the car ride home is always twice as long?? We had a lovely trip to washington for thanksgiving - and I am currently ignoring the MOUNDS of laundry that are waiting for me in the laundry room entrance. I felt it was MUCH more important to post something for all of my devoted blog readers!

Not only was it a great time spent with family, but I was able to do a maternity session with my gorgeous cousin Sasha who is expecting a baby girl, little miss Ellie Grace due on Dec. 31st! We had the BEST time with the photo shoot - I wish I looked that good prego!!! I'll post some of those later after her approval ;) and I also got to do a maternity session with a good family friend of ours expecting a baby boy this next week!!! How amazing to be able to intertwine family and my photography passion all at once!

On to some fun pictures!

Matt, Aaron, Andrea and Uncle Tim sporting THE jersey of the day!! (seahawks, OF COURSE!)

Jake borrowing Uncle Tim's hat!!

The girls helping Uncle Matt make Waldorf Salad...mmm!

My baby girl all dressed up for Church.

Jake's early Christmas present from Nana, he is LOVING this and it is all he played with when we got home!! So cute, it has a spot to stack mega legos in the dump truck when it is lifted up.

An action shot from the rousing game of PIT!! SO fun!

Aunt Connie always has the greatest little gifts for the girls, this time it was stick on nails (that were lovely and ended up all over the house :) :) ) and a dress-up sticker book that kept them entertained for HOURS on end. Thank you Aunt Connie!!

Nanny and Emma working on Em's sticker book.

And how could I not include a picture of our feast? Mmm... all the traditional goodness.

Things are looking UP!

Oh, we are so grateful today. Aaron had his final interview with a company in Caldwell and was signed on today. There is SO MUCH relief and excitement in this house. I cannot even begin to tell you the weight that has been lifted after nine months of searching for a new job. I love and appreciate all of the effort, emotion and time my hubby has poured into providing for us. Thank you so much to each and every one of you that has been diligently praying for us. As most of you know the previous situation - we are a bit 'gun-shy' and Aaron says he will feel a lot better when he is there and working come next Monday morning. But for tonight, we are so very thankful and feel especially blessed.

(I will try to update on Mandy tomorrow. She is slowly healing and has woken up. As of yesterday she was moved out of ICU and into a recovery room, they are not sure how long she will stay there. more later - but I am headed to bed!!)

ohhh... and i'm not going to go back and proof read this, if there are typos too bad :) I'm too tired... tired and happy.

Coveting Your Prayers **UPDATED**and again**

A dear family friend of ours, Mandy Castanon, had an MRI a few weeks ago to discover she had several benign tumors in her brain. One was pushing on her optical nerve, another on her pituitary gland. They were removed through a 10 hour brain surgery on Monday. My understanding through talking with her family is that she was in a sedated state for 24 hrs following the surgery and now that they have taken her off the sedatives she has not yet awoken. They did a test to see what level of awareness she had, and she has scored lower than the doctors and family had hoped. She is still in need of the power of pray. Please take a moment to offer up Mandy and her Family in Prayer. Some of you may know her in relation to her brother Nathan Castanon that passed away in a car accident in 2002 near Walla Walla coming home from Mandy's game at the friendship tournament. She is also the beautiful girl that sang 'The Prayer' at our wedding.

I will update my blog when I know more.

**WEDNESDAY 1:20pm** breathing on her own and moving her extremities, but is still taking awhile to wake up after the surgery

**Wednesday 10pm** Great news!!! She is waking up!! I went to see her parents tonight and they were headed home for some much needed rest. Her mom was SO excited and with good reason - as they were leaving and saying good bye Mandy opened her eyes a crack and said "I love you Mama". YAY!!! The MRI today was good and she is breathing on her own now! Such wonderful news, thank you SO MUCH for your prayers. I know each one was heard.

Cinderella and her Prince

This evenings conversation with Emma went something like this...


Me: Emmy, time to put your dress up clothes

away and get ready for dinner!!

Emma: WHAT?? (hollering because she can't

hear me... poor babe has fluid in her

ears)

Me: EMMA! Put your dress up clothes away

PLEASE! Dinner is almost ready!

Emma: But I CAN'T take my dress off!

Me: Well come here, I'll help you.

Emma: But I C A N ' T take it off yet! My

prince isn't here to dance with me!

Me: Um, your prince? Honey, you can dance

later, it's time for dinner

Emma: NO! My Prince Daddy isn't home yet

and I can't take my dress off before

we dance!!! (pleading little eyes)

so there I am, trying not to laugh/cry/go grab my camera.

Me: Ok, you can wait for Daddy, one quick

dance, then dinner - ok?

Emma: YAY! MY PRINCE!!

***


I did hold back from grabbing the camera... at least until Aaron got home and they had their dance. She just absolutely adores her daddy and he can't ever refuse a dance with his girl :) I LOVE moment list this.


And now that dinner and dancing is long gone and bedtime is approaching, miss is back in her princess dress only this time Cinderella and Daddy are playing a car racing game on the XBox. Better go get my camera again...


- as for the Jake update - he's been in bed since 5:45pm, got him up to give him motrin, then back down. Poor baby :(
















OH! And two more small things, can you see Emma's black eye? Sweet girl has my same sense of coordination and grace *sigh*. AND I'm sitting here eating 'runts' candy from Emma's halloween bucket ;) since WHEN did runts have pineapple ones?? mmmm