Count your blessings...One, Two, Three, Five

These are our dear friends, Jen and Ryan. Adam went to Wheaton College with them, and even spent a summer in Mali (West Africa) with them. Needles to say, living in close quarters in a third world country is a very bonding experience.



Fast forward a few years, and we all end up married, working, and having children. Jen and Ryan got their family kicked off with (from L to R) Audrey, Nathan, and Camille. They have such sweet children and our kids are all good friends. We spend a lot of time together, and have even enjoyed sleepovers and vacations through the years.



Their most recent addition was a set of twins, Colin and Andrew. They're two years old now and provide non-stop action! It's no wonder that everybody in their house is asleep by 9pm.



About 30 minutes into our photo session I started to wonder if it was statistically impossible for 7 people (with two-year-old twins) to all look in the same direction at the same time, but we had a great time and captured some great images!



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Hannah and Drew Engagement

This engagement session has been a long time coming, but I finally got out with our friends Drew and Hannah this weekend for a great shoot. It was a bit early and a bit chilly for a Saturday morning, but the weather worked out perfectly and we really enjoyed our time in the park. Drew is an amazing bike builder and works in a local bike shop, so the bikes you'll see in the gallery aren't just props. They're custom-built cruisers with some of the sweetest details and the perfect attitude. The three of us rode over together and captured the joy of their engagement (and their sweet rides).



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Here, in the Gates

This was the title of the play the students of The Greenhouse (the school Andrew attends on Wednesdays) put on this past March. Each year, the play is a wonderful and creative production that involves all of the students grades 1-8 and incorporates their history studies. This was the first year that Andrew had lines to say all by himself and he did a great job! He played two characters--Dagan, an Israelite taken into captivity, and Eshtoel, a spy.


One of Andrew's favorite scenes was when the walls and gates of Jerusalem are laid to waste by the Babylonians:


The second half of the play focused on the rebuilding of the walls. Here is the entire cast and the restored walls of Jerusalem:


We were very proud of our young thespian!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was nice and quiet, and included a photo shoot with Adam. The youngest two were napping, but Katie and Andrew enjoyed being in some of the pictures. I am so thankful God has given Adam and I the blessings of four healthy, beautiful and fun-loving children. I love being their mom!

Sweet sisters

We have the cutest girls! I found matching pajamas for Katie and Emily, and they love to wear them together. Katie is truly a great big sis and Emily continues to be a sweet little sis!

Swim Time

Andrew and Katie have been taking swim lessons at the YMCA just down the road from our house. We wanted them to improve their skills and comfortability in the water before summer hits. After lessons, there is open swim time so we all played in the pool. It was Emily's first time in a swimming pool and she loved it! As soon as I put her in the water, her little legs kicked like crazy and her hands started splashing. Lots of smiles and giggles!

Lunch with Josh

I'm taking a much needed week off work and enjoying some great time with the kids. Today I took Josh to lunch at his favorite place, Noodles and Company.



We had a great time together and Josh waited patiently for his noodles!



There are so many options, but Josh always goes for the Mac and Cheese.



He's such a great eater and we had such a good lunch together.



He ate the whole bowl before we were done!

Seattle Dinner

I normally don't post work-related stuff on the family blog, but I had a great time in Seattle last week and wanted to share a few photos from that trip. Whitney, my manager, and her husband Joe hosted an amazing dinner in their home on my last night in town. I've worked for Adobe a little more than ten years and the best part is always the smart and funny people I get to work with. This was never more clear when we had a great time laughing, eating, and getting away from work.

The olive/fig tapenade with goat cheese and herbs was also lovely. And then there was the vegetarian lasagna. But I can't forget about the pear and rosemary tart....amazing food and and lovely hosts!

I feel badly that I didn't get any shots of Steve or Mark, but I must have been shooting photos in direct proportion to how much each person was talking. I guess that's why I have so many photos of Whit!

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