13/52 photo challenge

first of all, let me start by saying that i have slacked for the last 2 weeks on the picture of the week challenge. i will do those someday...

but as for this week, FOOD is the category. i didn't cook at all this week, except for the stouffer's pour contents of bag into the pan and heat for 15 minutes meal that i cooked tonight. ahem. so i didn't really have any foods worth capturing this week. well, except for when i went to margarita's for tacos with my sis-in-law. but i totally didn't think about taking a picture of the best tacos in the world because we were too busy talking about stellan. i digress.

instead i decided to take a picture of one of my our new favorite desserts.

one bowl of mixed frozen fruit...


topped with vanilla flavored yogurt...


and all mixed together!


YUM! it's incredibly delicious, and has also been said to taste better than ice cream! the only thing that could make this cool treat better is a nice hot warm day!

10/52 photo challenge

oh the things that make my life easier! the challenge for this week was knowing where to stop! the list could go on and on...

i bet y'all thought i was gonna post a picture like this, huh...

well, i've decided to go the more uncommon route. while we all benefit from dishwashers, electricity, washing machines, running water, cars, etc., here are a few things that indeed make my life easier!


indoor toilets. believe me, for the amount of times i go to the bathroom any average day (or night, for that matter) an indoor toilet certainly makes my life easier! and not just any indoor toilet. more specifically, a western style toilet as opposed to a squat toilet i once saw in an indian movie. i can guarantee that would be disastrous with me.

my laptop, sheba. ok, i guess most everyone benefits from computers and email. but i just cringe at the thought of having to write a letter to communicate with my friends and family. oh, and i don't know how i'd blog without her...



wet wipes. kids. need i say more for you to realize how they make my life easier? and i'm not just talking about diaper changes.

keyless entry. have you ever carried a 25 pound wiggling toddler, a purse, diaper bag, 4 heavy grocery sacs, while holding your 5-year-old's hand and all at the same time fumbled with your keys (that you can't see) to get the car door unlocked? well i haven't! because i have this wonderful little button on my keychain that unlocks the doors for me. now if i only had remote start...

showers. raise your hand if you take a bath every day. every other day? once a week? anyone? no one? yep... that's what i thought. the shower is something i take for granted. and i shouldn't because boy, it's a whole lot easier than taking a bath. although it would be nice to soak in the bath once a week... but that's out because remember, i have kids.

my alarm clock. my internal clock is so off that i'd be in big trouble if i didn't have my alarm to wake me!

night lights. 2, 3, 4, sometimes 5 or even 7. that's how many times i get up at night thanks to the children or my bladder. i wonder how many injuries i'd have if i didn't have night lights all over the house. and i'm sure ben wouldn't like it if i turned the big light on at 3am!

one-stop shopping. really, 'nough said.

ben. now i'm not trying to be sappy by saying that ben makes my life easier, because he really does. except for the times when, well, he doesn't!


what makes your life easier?!

9/52 photo challenge

believe it or not, i made this week's photo challenge harder for myself. for some reason i read the category as "objects that define you." i actually thought about this all week, as to what really defines me. and it was a very eye-opening thought process because i talked about it with ben. it was interesting to hear what he thought defined me, because it was way different than what i thought!

so i took my picture and got online tonight and looked at the category once again only to read "objects that tell something about you." well let me just say that would've been way easier! but i've already taken the picture of objects that define me, so that's what i'm gonna post!

i am...

a child of God, a wife, a mom.

oh the pictures that i will take for next week's category: things that make your life easier!

8/52 photo challenge

one for the road. that is, signs, streets, traffic, etc.

i had a good idea for this category, but our 3 inches of snow this morning threw a wrench in my plans...

until we went out and drove in it. what a perfect opportunity to show y'all what happens to the traffic around here when we get a measly 3 inches of snow!

when ben went to the post office this morning, this car had apparently just gone in the ditch since the driver was still in the car.


it must have been a little fender-bender that sent this car into the snow. all i saw was a broken tail light...


...and a 30-day temporary tag in the back window. youch! too bad he was driving a new car!


the category for next week's photo challenge is objects that tell something about you. oh boy, where do i begin?!


have a good weekend and drive safely!

7/52 photo challenge

this week's photo of the week category is ONE object shot at 5 different angels or distances. i kinda sorta cheated and used the same subject from last week. but at least i took new pictures!

6/52 photo challenge

we're already on week six of the photo challenge. and believe me, this week was a challenge. botanical february was the category. i had no idea what to do. there is nothing botanical about february, except for a couple years ago we had really nice weather for a while and i actually had flowers coming up in late january/early february! so after our week of 50-70 degree weather i was searching my flower garden for any sign of green, but no luck there.

but then i remembered that february is a very botanical month -- hello!? --valentine's day flowers! so during my trip to the grocery store i pulled out my camera and snapped a picture of a rose. that would work just fine...

until ben got home.

he was working most of the day finishing up the job he's been doing for his friend. he got home right before supper and surprised samantha and me with flowers. but not the $50 roses that will die in a week. i found it quite funny that he brought me flowers after my post earlier about us not doing anything for valentines day!

anyway, he brought us some plants. pink, purple, and light pink cyclamens and a pink calla lily. they're beautiful! now i just have to keep them alive. so.... here's my botanical february photo of the week.

5/52 photo challenge

it's time for photo of the week! this week's category is sports. thank goodness it can be anything related - equipment, teams, players, etc. i don't know why this category wasn't left for summertime, but i guess that's what makes it a challenge!

i was going to take a picture of samantha this morning at her sparks-o-rama awana olympic practice, but i read the information sheet wrong and practice doesn't start until next saturday. hmmmmm....

so then i had to get creative! i don't play sports, and goodness knows i'll have plenty of pictures of ben playing softball here pretty soon, so i didn't want to take a picture of a bat and ball.

so i decided to go shopping at target and try to get some inspiration. after moseying through the toy department i came to the sporting goods. and there lined up in a big long row were all the bikes. i thought that would be a good picture. after all, that was probably my favorite thing to do growing up. but then it dawned on me. i do have a sport....

SHOPPING!!!

well, target clearance shopping, that is!

my equipment... (the cart)


...and two of the best team players!

4/52 photo challenge

this week's photo challenge is WATER. and while i could drive all the way to minnesota in hopes of another photo opportunity like this,

or while i could capture water in motion,

i decided to go a whole 'nother route and take my picture of water while being submerged in it. well, while having my hand submerged in it! i used ben's waterproof camera (that he got at the auction-- nice find!) to snap these fish-perspective pictures from inside our fishtank!

ryan, ben, samantha, and our one of our angels.

i never thought it would be so hard to steady the camera in water. it's a little challenging!

another angel, samantha, ryan, me, and two gouramis. i obviously didn't take this picture, so ben got to play in the water too!

next week's category is sports. click here to see all the picture of the week categories for the whole year. it's not too late to join in.... just take your picture and post it! happy photographing!

3/52 photo challenge

the topic for this week's picture of the week is show us your town. it was a little tough for me this week, as i didn't have my car. ben's car is sick, so he's been taking mine to work everyday. and by the time he gets home it's getting a little dark to take pictures of my town.

so i'm gonna cheat. i took these pictures this past summer, thus the green grass and trees. sooooo.......

...ladies and gentlemen, i introduce to you my town, kansas city, missouri.



i hardly ever see the city. we live in a nice residential neighborhood north of the city. i feel like i live in one of the suburbs, but my address still reflects kansas city as MY city. i took this picture from the top of the tower in the next picture. the tower is the country's only world war 1 memorial.



kansas city is know as the city of fountains. i may have already mentioned this in an earlier post, but rome, italy, is the only city with more fountains than kansas city. this is my favorite fountain down on the plaza, the j.c. nichols fountain.



well if i actually would've done this right, without cheating, you probably would've gotten pictures of walmart and target, because that is the essential part of my town!

hey! why don't you do a picture of the week?! this next week's topic is water... have fun!

2/52 photo challenge

what defines you.

this is the subject for week 2 of the photo challenge.

as i was thinking about what defines me, my husband and my children came to mind. my family is so important to me. i love being a wife to the most wonderful husband, and i love being mom to the two most adorable children.

but the more i kept thinking about what defines me this past week, the more i thought about my identity in Christ. while i love my family and it's great being a wife, mom, daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, and aunt, it is so much better knowing that i am CHILD OF GOD!

But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. John 1:12

because i believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin, was buried, rose again, and have asked Jesus into my heart as my Saviour, i have been born again as a child of God.

i can't think of anything i'd rather be defined as!

1/52 photo challenge

somewhere, somehow, i came across this photo challenge that i thought would be fun to do... a picture of the week for one year, with different categories each week.

week one is a free for all, so since we were sick the whole week and i took only about 4 pictures, this one will have to do!

join in on the fun. you don't need a fancy schmancy camera or anything so click here to see the categories then get photographing!