Escapee

Turn your head for a second with an open front door and she's gone!

Naked and all. The neighbors are used to my naked babies.

She's a cranky baby that isnt happy to have her diaper back on.

She's a Super Model

She really knows how to turn it on for the camera. I love it! Perfect little subject to practice on. She doesnt know however, that lifting your shirt and showing your belly may be a bit too "Britney Spears". It just something she does when she get's embarrased. What a doll, although she is definitly getting a little attitude like a super model. Lovely!

Whitney Girl

Took some pictures today of my friends little six month old girl Whitney. Thought I would share some of my favorites. She was a little fussy, so I didnt get a ton, but I was happy with what I got.

She's gone and done it again folks...

There go her cute little bangs once again. And this time 2 weeks before her ballet recital. And I have to say my clean up job...not so cute! Good thing it grows back.
I have been telling her I need to trim her bangs. In fact, yesterday I told her we would cut them in the morning. I saw her outside with her little scissors cutting flowers. Next thing I see her coming up to me saying..."um, i dont think i want to trim my bangs in the morning." "oh really" I say, "could it be because you ALREADY CUT THEM". I just had to sit there and laugh at that point...they looked so rediculous. She knows its naughty...has known it was naughty after the first 5 times she cut them. Obedience, a hard thing to do when a girls got her mind set on something!

He Is...

School's Out For Summer

Miss Em's Last Day As A Pre-Schooler.

Hello from the Coast

Im sitting here in our cute little place on the ocean. It's raining right now so the kids are playing outside on the porch. Loving their new "Home". I really think they think we moved here. Keep saying "we'll make new friends".
Anyway, thought I'd share what we have done so far and some pictures.
First off, our Anniversary was very fun! I was spoiled.

• Saturday morning we went to breakfast at our favorite little spot Roy and Venitas, then dropped the kids off at Grandmas and were off to Walla Walla for a day of wine tasting and shopping. Very Nice and relaxing! Mike even hung out at a Starbucks with me. Now that is huge for him, of course it was a good excuse to play with the new PDA he got me and check our email on Starbucks wireless connection. Did I mention I am spoiled!
• After Walla Walla we were off to Dayton, a small historic town where we rented a Very Nice Cottage, had a massage appointment set up for me, then dinner at a 4 star French restaurant! Yummy.
• Sunday morning we were up early and off to scoop up the kids. We drove all the way to Portland and stopped for a few hours at the Oregon Zoo. It was awesome. So much fun for all of us. Remind me to tell you all about the monkeys. Naughty little animals!

• After the zoo we drove a couple of hours to our place here at the beach. Kids of course had to race down to the beach first thing.
• Monday morning we spend some time at the beach.

• Then headed down to the Aquarium and Sea Lion Caves.

• Today we are just relaxing waiting for the rain to let up. Now I shall head into town for coffee. I'll chat more when I am back.

Six Years

He's taking me away somewhere tomorrow to celebrate our anniversary. Then we are back in the morning to scoop the kids and whisk them off to the Ocean for a few days. So excited for the break.
Talk to you all when we get back.

Just Playing with Photoshop

Trying to get my conversions down. Heres a sample of my original picture, then a color conversion and a black and white one. Totally inspired by the one and only Miss Tara. I've learned a ton about photography and color conversions by just reading her blog and studying her photos. I have so much more to learn. TEACH A CLASS TARA!!! Anyway, off to play more, although I have packing to do before we go to the Ocean! Yeah. More on that later.

oh, and Piper started pulling herself up to her feet yesterday. She's on a roll!

Stair Climber

Its official! We now have a stair climber. Mama can now start freaking out about her tumbling down them. But her progress is something to be proud of. Cant wait to tell her Physical Therapist tomorrow. I found her a couple of stairs up, motivated by the kitty meowing at the top. She was so proud of herself. Now if we can get her to figure out the down part of it.

Introducing Stella

I am happy to announce the arrival of a new baby in our family, "Stella Jane". She's the little black accessory I am sporting in this picture. I finally took the pluge and got my Canon 20D. Yeah!!! The kids are already getting use to her in their face all the time. Below are some of the first pictures she took. She is anxiously waiting for the children to wake from their naps so she can capture their joy when they go outside in the hot sun to see that mommy has blown up their pool!


(yes, I realize Im a freak for naming my camera...but I have always wanted a use for the name Stella...and here we have it!)

Gone Fishin'

GUEST POST BY DADDY: Ahhh, the glorious Snyder family pastime...NOT! For those that know me, fishing ain't my gig. I don't like fish, I don't eat fish, and I definitely DO NOT touch fish. I don't even like to swim around fish, they do their thing, and I do mine. I've lived the better part of the past 20 years by these rules and all was good in both our worlds...then came "the derby". Our community had a fishing derby for kids, and being that I love to do new things with my kids, I figured this would be fun. I mentioned it to my kids on a Tuesday, and they asked me twice a day every day until Saturday "Is today the day we go fishing?" or "How many sleeps till we go fishing?"

Very cute, and I thought deep in my heart that given my affliction for fish, I'd be able to put all that aside and help the kids fish. The day couldn't have been better, beautiful sunshine, no wind, nice and warm, but not too hot. We got to the park, borrowed our pole and they had bait and everything all set up (marshmellow bait, nice, no worms, that's another blog). Emery and Ty took turns "fishing" for about a half hour before we switched spots. They got tired and bored and started playing in the water, so I was left to cast and reel my way to a fish. After all, I promised them we would catch at least one (they dumped 3500 fish in the two ponds, we had to catch at LEAST one!)

So I sat there for the better part of another half hour sometimes holding my own, others looking like the captain of the reject fishing team (a couple casts even hit my feet). Just as the kids (and Dad) were about to give up (I just lost the little bobbler that keeps the line floating) our luck changed. FISH ON!!! Emery and Ty came running over, Ty did his work first, reeling in this giant monster of a fish as it was thrashing and jumping in and out of the water, and then he got tired, so big sister Emery came on and she reeled it in the rest of the way. The little girl did so well, even brought it up out of the water and everything.

Now for the fun part, Uncle Bob if you are reading this please keep the pink gloves and dress comments quiet. I REALLY don't like fish, and it's not just eating them, it's touching them. But all day I convinced myself I was cool, it's a small little trout, no teeth, no barbs to sting you, etc. I could handle it. Well when that beast of a fish looked me in the eye, something happened. All my positive thinking of "sure, I can take the fish off the hook" went out the window and no matter what, I couldn't bring myself to grab the darn thing! Luckily Ty had found some needlenose pliers on the shore and with those, and my foot, I was able to get the hook out of the fishes mouth, push the fish back into the water (I sure as HECK wasn't going to take it home and clean it) and we finished our fishing saga. See Uncle Bob, I didn't even need your stinkin gloves this time ;)

So that's that, my kids first fishing experience in the book. Will they remember the long morning of cast after cast without a bite? Not hardly. Will they remember all the times the line bobbed and they reeled it in only to find another bait theft had occured? Nope. They will remember a fun time playing down by the river with dad, and the fish they caught and got to reel in all by themselves. I think that's what I choose to remember too, 10 years from now does it matter how the fish got off the hook?

Here's hoping (and praying) that they learn to grab the fish by next year's derby!

Emery Layouts.

Just posting a couple more layouts I just did. Had lots on my desk to get done, weddings, birth announcements and design team stuff. Today will be toilets and laundry. Joy!

Wild Hair Boy

I just did took these pictures and designed this page today. Ty's not letting us cut his hair. Says he wants to grow it out. I personally think the little surfer boy hair cut would be cute on him...but the grow out would not be so fun. Especially since his hair sticks out everywhere. This 'do however was helped along with some hairspray. He loved it! (the product on the page is all Fancy Pants in this months Daisy Bucket Kit)

Going for a ride.

Just a quick picture of some play time around the house. And a funny story I have been meaning to share.

The other day Ty and Emery were in the back yard with some of their books "reading" them together. Mike pulls up from work and Ty comes running into the front yard very excited to share something with his dad. "Daddy, guess what were doing?" "What buddy" "We're having bible study". Aww...isnt that sweet Mike thinks, one second later Ty says; "And we're having beer!". Too funny, pretty sure Ty hasnt seen our bible study group throwing down beer. But funny none the less.

Email Problems

It has been brought to my attention that something isnt right with one of my email accounts.
If you have emailed me at my go-cougs.com account, I have not recieved it for probably a few weeks. Hence, no replies! Sorry. So if you want go ahead and email me at shannon@definingdetails.com that would be great, and I promise to reply.


Oh, this weekend was fun, but I came home with the stomach flu! Gross.

I'm out of here.

Im leaving my husband in a few hours with 3 sick kids for the whole weekend! Yes, I have a tad bit of guilt about leaving sickies...but Mike assures me it's no big deal! (and his mom is even out of town;) So I must go. Im heading towards Bend with a bunch of ladies from MOPS! Yeah! Hopefully when I get back the ear infections, colds and "pink eye" will be cleared up. As far as the pink eye goes, Dr. Mom has a feeling it really isnt pink eye but their treating it as if it might be. A nasty virus is going around our group of friends and one of the main symptoms besides a cold is icky eyes. Lovely!

Well, off I go. I leave you with this layout I did of Emery titled "Sad, but loved"

Journaling Reads:

Sad...because you fell off the jet ski trailer and got hurt.

Sad...because mommy is giving you no sympathy after several warnings not to play on it.

Sad...because I am taking this picture of you.

Sad...But loved enough for mom to tickle your belly to make you feel better.

Sad...But still beautiful.

Getting serious on you about immigration.

Yeah, honestly I dont know much about the subject, about the uproar, about what's going on right now. And I'll tell you why. I like to keep myself ignorant like a good woman should. JUST KIDDING!! (lisa I can see your hairs stand up right now ;) No, the real reason I dont know alot about the immigration issues in the news right now if because, I dont watch the news. One, I dont have time, and two...it makes me worry and stress about the future and I would rather Live in the Day you know?
Okay, with that all being said...I did however want to share with you a response Mike wrote to an aquantaince of his who emailed him a rather shocking opinion about immigrants.
I was very proud of my husband for speaking his mind to this guy that assumes because we are Christians and usually conservative on issues, that we would remotely be interested in his opinion. I wont share Jack's whole email (yes, I changed his name). But here is one quote from Jack that shocked me;
"I am of the opinion that we need to "mistreat" the illegal immigrants who are in this country, and make their capture and detainment so horrible that when we drop them out of parachutes into their homeland that they will have no desire to ever come back to this country, for fear of losing their life, and for the social contempt they will find if they dare to return."

And here is Mikes Response:
____________________________________________________
Jack, we don't see eye to eye on a lot of this stuff, so I normally don't respond, but this kind of made me sad to know this is how you think of other people.

Let's keep in mind, as history is clearly written, we are all immigrants here. None of our families were started in America, we came here, kicked the natives out, and took over. America is made up of people from all over the world, and I believe it's the one place, even though flawed, where a person has the greatest opportunity in life.
This is the only country were Christianity is so freely expressed and followed, without fear of prosecution or even worse in some cases.
Jesus clearly states in the Bible that "whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me". With that in mind, if Jesus were to come back to America today, do you think he would consider immigrants less than us? What gives us the right as Americans to say we are better than anyone? Have we become so arrogant that we now think we are the superior race or country? We are talking about human beings, ones that are loved by God, and ones that are looking for a place to call home, just like our forefathers did way back when. We ran from persecution for freedom of religion and freedom in general, and we fought together, as immigrants of this land, to make it our own. I don't understand how you can consider people from a different country lesser than yourself?
Paul teaches us that we are to consider others greater than ourselves.
If that is applied to everything in life, as God meant it to be, then I would say that we are to love these people and think of them greater than ourselves, to build each other up, and to spread the word of God to everyone.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love. It protects, trusts and hopes...that is why these people you speak of are coming here, for hope. After reading your email, you have taken a very strong stance against people and have taken verses out of context to support your position.

1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

That is speaking directly to your immediate family, not just those "in your house". So by your rationale in your reply, everyone not in your immediate family, or your house, would be considered infidels or unbelievers. That would include me and everyone else in America right now. Mexicans are not infidels or unbelievers, they are men and women just like us.

Now I realize that some are coming into the country illegally, but is that any worse than the ones we have here, "Americans" if you will, that are breaking the law every day? We have so much focus lately on "those that don't belong" but I would much rather take a Mexican worker that is coming here to earn an honest living and support his family over some idiot that was born here that is slinging cocaine to our kids. Our what about the child predators that our out there, great Americans themselves, right?

I don't know who this Lamm guy is, but if that is what he truly believes, than I believe he is an egotistical, ethnocentric, self-centered idiot who would make Hitler proud! We should all have one culture, and not celebrate our own? If having multiple cultures is going to destroy America, then I say let it happen. Because I don't want to be a part of any country that doesn't celebrate differences, or freedom!

Culture:
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.

Culture is not just what you do in your own country, it's what you do as a person, as a family, etc. Behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, and all other products of thought. The way you practice your belief in God is culture Jack. Whether you open your Christmas presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas is culture. The music you enjoy listening to is culture. It's ALL culture, so to actually say that we need to discourage multi-culturism is to say we all need to be the same. We need to believe the same thing, do the same thing, live the same way, etc. That is not freedom, it's fascism (A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.)

I love your passion brother, but I am feeling it's misguided. Don't fall into the traps of guys like this, they are spreading un-Christian ideals and thoughts, and it's not becoming of any of us. Jesus spent his entire life here teaching us to LOVE each other, and then in the greatest act of love he died a brutal death for you, for me, and for the Mexicans. Remember, whatever you do to the least of those (in your
mind) you are doing to Christ. Don't let this hype destroy what God is doing in your life, don't consider yourself better then someone else just because they are from a different place. We all came from different places, if anyone should be pissed it's the Native Americans that now live in tiny "camps" across this country!

If you remove all your biases and prejudices regarding this issue, pray about it, and honestly think about the answer to this question, what would your answer be?

Would Jesus kick them out?

Mike
For those of you who want to read what the original email was about here's a link.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp

Little Fire Fighters

Took a trip to the fire station today with some friends. The kids all had fun in the big truck. Although were a bit shaken when the siren went off. Ty was a little stinker and knew momma was trying to get some good pics, so he refused to join the group for the last shot.

Having a Book Party!

I love children's books. My friend Nicole is now selling Usborne books. They are awesome for kids of all ages. Im having a party here tonight for her, but if you want to check out the books and order some she set up an On-Line party. Go to this link to check them out;

USBORNE BOOKS

They have the cutest Princess and fairy books.

A Girlfriend, A Skirt, Sore Gums, Eating Crow and a Tired Man

He: As we are getting out of the van at church yesterday, the little man said to me "mommy, maybe my girlfriend will be there today"...me, "who's your girlfriend?"...he, "the little girl that always plays with me.".
Too cute, still trying to figure out who she is though.

She: Can't stop wearing the new skirt and sandals she got. She loves summer clothes

She: Has a mouth full of teeth coming in. Cranky, snotty baby.

Me: Long Story Short; was upset about a client that stopped communications after recieving my long awaited "Henna" designs. Jumped to the conclusion that she was having them knocked off, or didnt like them and didnt want to tell me so. Oops...she was in the hospital, has some serious health problems. I'm feeling stupid. (although she doesnt know I jumped to conclusions, she thought I was just being patient.)

He: Always working on some sort of project around here...digging sprinklers, building trailers, making play forts. He's asleep on the couch right now.

Happy May Day!