Go With It

I love all things Christmas. But I've also learned the value of going with the flow as a parent. This past week every single one of us has been sick. First P with croup and then E got a double ear infection. I got a sinus infection and both of my parents were down in bed with the nasty bug as well. Not to mention my SIL and Rob got sick once they got home. Needless to say, we didn't get to go see a lot of Christmas lights or go to the Christmas Eve church service that is so important to me. We ate Christmas dinner in shifts and I spent an hour at Urgent Care with E Christmas afternoon. But we did have fun with Shooby the Elf, watched Christmas movies, got lots of cuddle time and relaxation. Here are a few images that captured the fun we have had so far.

Tis the Season

I don't know what I dread more about trips out west.....the plane ride with E or the sickness that follows every time we visit. The first leg of the flight was a long one and was, of course, packed. There was a high school wrestling team in front of us that E became fascinated with.....until one of the boys accused E of spitting on the back of his head. I personally think the boy was being drama but I also know what my 2 year old is capable of. The 2nd flight was a lot shorter and went better....except for the poor older lady sitting next to us who couldn't find "lager" on her Word Search puzzle (It took all my self control not to point it out to her after 40mins of her looking for the word!). Both boys started coughing so the lady discretely pulled her scarf over her mouth. She must've tuned out the coughing because, after awhile, the scarf slipped off her mouth.....until E ripped a loud, smelly fart and proceeded to yell, "Mom! I poop!". Needless to say, the scarf stayed around her mouth the rest of the flight.
The boys and I landed Thursday night and P wasted no time in getting sick. By the time he went to bed it was obvious he had croup. I was okay with that....until yesterday afternoon when E woke up from his nap with a high fever.....and I "woke up" (which is technically hard to do when you never really go to sleep in the first place) sick this morning. I'm praying that we get this behind us quick so we can enjoy the rest of our time out here. Our lives were so busy before we left that I looked forward to a relaxing 3 weeks with friends and family but this is even more relaxing than I planned.
I doubt I'll be writing again anytime soon so I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

Playing with My Camera

Photography has become a form of therapy for me lately. When I'm stressed with Christmas stuff I pull out my camera and enjoy capturing life from behind the lens. This weekend was a perfect time to snap a few fun moments because we had an early Christmas with part of the family and P and I went to the local Christmas parade. We also spent a lot of time outside since the weather was beautiful. Here are a few that I've taken recently.... (Oh and the one of my oldest son on the sink made me fast forward to his teenage years. Make time stop!!!)

Tis the Season for Mommy Guilt!

Mommy guilt is real. If a mom says it isn't she's either lying or is the most chill/relaxed/mellow mom on the face of the Earth. I think my Mommy guilt is worse as a SAHM because when I worked a job outside of the home I realized there was only so much I could do in a day once I got home from my teaching job. These days I think I'm Super Woman but my list grows instead of shrinks! The holidays intensify this problem. I feel guilty no matter what I'm doing. I feel guilty if I'm cleaning instead of playing with my youngest son. I feel guilty if I'm playing with my son and the house is a disaster. I decided to make a lot of Christmas gifts this year so I feel guilty when I'm in the kitchen and I'm neither cleaning nor playing with my son. I feel guilty if I'm not editing pictures because I know someone's paid money to get their pictures done....before the new year. I feel guilty if I'm not taking time to work out because fudge keeps finding its way to my mouth. I feel guilty that I'm not volunteering more at my oldest son's school...despite going on a field trip with him Tuesday, taking home 21 Santa hats to glitter glue student's names on each one and offering my photography services to take pics of kids sitting on Santa's lap yesterday. I feel guilty that, by the time my boys are in bed at night, I have nothing left to give my husband. All I want to do is soak in a hot bath and go to bed. I even feel guilty for not having time to watch the 15 billion Hallmark movies that I've DVR'd.
But when I feel overwhelmed with the most guilt is when I take a moment to just be. To reflect on the REAL REASON for the season. It's been such a busy month already with the Christmas choir musical, events at my son's school, photography sessions and everything in between. But none of that matters when my focus isn't on God. So many people are not blessed to have this kind of stress because of so many reasons. That's why I need to keep my mind, heart and soul focused on the JOY of Christmas and not the stress of it.
That being said.....I now need to wrap Christmas presents, edit pictures and pay bills. What was I saying about stress again?????? :)

Christmas Decorations

While I'm busy posting other people's family pictures on the blog I thought I'd post my cuties as well. Saturday night we pulled out the Christmas decorations and Sunday afternoon the boys and I got a small Christmas tree. The 3 of us had fun decorating for the Christmas season. Well, 2 of us had fun decorating and 1 had fun trying to destroy the decorations. My favorite is the picture of the boys in front of the tree with P making a funny face and E turning his back because that's their personalities right now. I also found it comical that E was putting up the "Silent Night" ornament because he provides anything but a silent night. And I can't leave out Shooby, our elf on a shelf. Oh how I love Christmas with little ones!

Last of the Family Shoots

I finished my last family session of 2014 this past Saturday. Here are some of my favorites from that shoot and the one earlier in the week....

***If you're on FB and like these pictures please spread the word to "like" my page, JenniferJ Photography. While I'm rebranding and revamping my website, FB and word of mouth are my only forms of advertisement. Thank you!!***
Link to JenniferJ Photography Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JenniferJ-Photography/169167436536964?ref=hl

Lastest Photo Shoots

I try to post some of my favorite shots from photo sessions as soon as I get them edited but oh my word I've been swamped this week (YAY!). The boys were out of town this weekend and I think I calculated that out of the 48 hours they were gone I was in front of the computer screen for 15 of those hours. If I hadn't had a photo shoot, 2 grand openings and this thing called sleep to deal with I probably would've been in front of the computer for about 40 hours. But alas, here are some of my favorites from this week's sessions......