Rawe Moments

The Perfect Light and a Little Understanding!

2012-02-13T22:56:00.000-08:00

I have recently completed a short basics camera class in an effort to better capture moments in my/our life. I'm amazed that after four short weeks I can actually read (and somewhat understand) my camera manual, something that up until recently seemed like a very foreign language. Even more exciting is the fact that I can now start to venture away from the auto settings and begin to learn what my camera and I are really capable of achieving.

On a sunny afternoon our living room gets fabulous light and on this particular day last week, after watching Amelia play I wanted to capture how beautiful she looked in the sunlight. She was happy enough for me to snap a couple of shots to start with, however that didn't last more than a couple of minutes, and she was soon turning away from me, not wanting to cooperate any more. Funnily enough, that is when I snapped this, my favourite pic of the day. It's her "no more pictures momma!" face, and I loved it!

It just goes to show, sometimes the best pics are those that are in no way, shape or form posed for.

After School Fun With The Cutest Puppies Ever!

2012-02-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Amelia's preschool is right across from my office building, so every Tuesday and Thursday after I pick her up, we go back to my office and have lunch before I take her to daycare.

This Tuesday, my friend Traci came over to see Amelia and invited her to walk with her two new puppies, Eris and True. Amelia was so excited, the last time she saw them they were 9 days old, now they are 10 weeks old and are so much fun. I just happened to have my camera with me (imagine that) and of course couldn't resist capturing this fun. Amelia had a blast and loved every minute with her cute furry friends.

Have you ever seen a happier Amelia?

She loved running with them...

...she also loved chasing them when they got away from her.

Thank you Traci for sharing your bundles of fun with us, it made our day!

My Snow Angel

2012-01-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to wake up to a couple of inches of snow on Sunday morning. They even cancelled church, so we wrapped up warm and decided to spend some much needed family time at the local park. It was beautiful, especially when the sun poked through the clouds.

This was the first time that we have had snow that Amelia has really been old enough and been able to play in it. It wasn't more than 10 steps on the park grass before she threw herself down to make her first snow angel ever, she must have made upwards of 25 snow angels, she would walk a few steps, then make another one.

Then came the snowballs, of course Matthew and Amelia ganged up on me, it always seems to happen that way but I didn't mind a bit.

"Look - a snow angel!"

Daddy got Amelia with a snowball right on her hat.

It was so picturesque at the park.

After we got home, Amelia and I played in the back yard and made a snowman, another first for my little girl. Believe it or not, it was daddy's idea to put a tiara on the snowman's head.

"dashing through the snow"

Amelia found a hole in the fence and enjoyed putting snow through it.

This is the face of a little girl who is having fun

Amelia loved throwing snow at me. As she made the snowball she would say "get some snow, pat it and throw it at momma".

It was probably one of the most fun days we've ever had!

Enjoying one of Grandpa's Traditions

2012-01-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in California with family. Matthew's parents, Matthew, Amelia and I drove to Fresno to visit with his brother Nathaniel his wife, Mandi and their beautiful children Jacob, Nicole, Brody and Blake.

Amelia's grandpa Rawe attended Fresno State, and so one of the traditions he does with the grandchildren is to take them to see the Animals at Fresno State. The day started with a doughnut breakfast, this gives them tons of energy to run around. It was a fabulous morning, the weather was perfect, and although we didn't get to see the quarter horses, grandpa's favourites, we did enjoy seeing the pigs and sheep, and most of all Amelia loved spending time with her cousins, especially Nicole, who took really good care of her.

There were parts of the campus that were pretty stinky.

Amelia adores Nicole and held her hand everywhere we went.

Blake didn't stop running.

They all love grandpa very much!

Hiding amongst the trees was so much fun!

What an adorable bunch.

They made a wish whilst blowing dandelion clocks.

Time for a dance with grandma and grandpa.

Nicole watching the sheep. Such a beautiful girl.

Brody climbed the highest on the gate, he is just four days older than Amelia.

Jacob is the eldest, and so handsome.

Everybody paid attention to Uncle Nate and grandpa when it was time to cross the road.

A gravel pile, how fun!

So happy!

There were some huge leaves on the ground, which the kids loved throwing up into the air.

It was such a great morning and a wonderful tradition. I loved watching Amelia as she had so much fun with the family that she doesn't get to see as often as we'd like.

Thank you grandpa for sharing this special tradition with us, we love you!

A Fun Day Leading up to Christmas!

2012-01-03T15:58:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was so wonderful, of course I took so many pictures that I just can't help but share them. These were taken on the day that we took Amelia to see Santa. I just loved how her hair looked after I had curled it, and even though it had dropped quite a lot by the time she got to see Santa, I got some cute pics before we left and on the way that I wanted to share.

Oh by the way I just have to mention the snowmen in the first picture. I made/painted them when I lived in Modesto for a Super Saturday craft day at church. I'm not sure what it is exactly about them, but they make me sooooo happy. We have used them as a kind of measure for Amelia, by taking her photo by them every year to see how much she has grown. Do you want to know a secret? Even though my Christmas decorations are all put away now, my snowmen are still in my living room, after all, I figured they are kind of a Winter theme...right?

On our drive to the mall to see Santa, I had fun capturing some of the expressions that I see often on my little girl's face...of course some are lovely and angelic, the others not so much, but still cute!

When we arrived we quickly changed her outfit in the car, and put her in her new Christmas dress, then it was time to head into the mall, on what I think was one of the busiest shopping days (not including Black Friday).

I LOVE the photo below, definitely one of my favourites.

As we got ready to see the man in the red suit, I bothered Amelia again taking more pictures.

Since we could call ahead to be in our Santa line (can you believe he has a virtual line these days), we could rest for a while on the comfy benches, instead of standing up for an hour!

Have you been good Miss A? Hmmmm, looks like she's keeping quiet.

After she met Father Christmas, she took a fancy sports car out for a spin.

On the way home, we stopped at our Stake Center to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. This was the third year that they have had a live nativity and it just seems to get better. It was a very chilly, foggy night and I felt kind of bad for the actors who had volunteered to sit out there for hours, but it somehow made it more realistic.

This is Nigel the Camel, he is always a star of the show, and doesn't mind that all the children (and adults) want to pet him, he's very gentle and a great addition to the Nativity.

There were also live goats and donkeys, Amelia loved watching them.

We got a cup of hot chocolate and some cookies inside which helped to keep us warm.

It was a wonderful day/evening and really got us in the Christmas Spirit.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:54:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas is here already. After a long week of staying up way too late to finish traditions such as making gifts of candy for friends and neighbours, and running around during breaks and lunch hours at work to finish last minute Christmas shopping, I am grateful that the "work" associated with this wonderful season is done.

After a wonderful couple of evenings spent with friends, I am now looking forward to a Christmas day full of peace, love and happiness. I am excited that Christmas falls on a Sunday, so that I can go to church and enjoy the beautiful program that will be performed. I can't wait to see and hear Amelia sing "Who is the Child" with the primary children. It makes me smile to imagine her face when she wakes up tomorrow and finds out that Santa (Father Christmas) did indeed visit, and she must be on the "nice list".

Most of all, I am thankful for the real reason we celebrate this Christmas season, where I can take time to think of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and his birth. I'm grateful to be able to celebrate his life, and all that he has done for me, and my family.

We hope that your Christmas is wonderful too, full of love and all the blessings you may need.

With love from us to you,

Happy Christmas!!!!

Finding the Perfect Tree!

2011-12-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Living in Oregon, it is considered an absolute crime to use an artificial tree, and although I happen to like my artificial tree, I was excited to go to Ballyntyne Farms to pick out a fresh cut tree this year. We picked Matthew's parents up from the airport, and headed to the tree farm. It was the perfect afternoon for such an adventure. Grandpa and Amelia had a lot of fun together running away and hiding in the trees, I loved hearing her laugh as I got closer calling her name trying to find her.

There were so many great trees that it was hard to choose, but we finally decided on this Noble Fir. Now to give you an idea of how big it is, might I remind you that my dear husband is 6 ft 4 inches tall.

The tree farm provided saws, and so the hard work began.

The ground was frosty where the sun wasn't able to hit, even though it was later in the afternoon. I loved seeing the beautiful leaves that were decorated with frost.

Grandpa and Amelia started the cutting, whilst daddy supported the tree.

Grandpa smiled on as daddy took his turn to cut.

Finally...the hardest work was done, well perhaps not, considering this monster of a tree now had to be carried down to the car.

No visit to the gym required on this day, and rosy cheeks are free.

Our family around our fabulous tree.

After being out for a while Amelia got cold and a little fussy. She cried and asked to be carried, but the funny thing was as soon as I picked her up and carried her, she sang "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" at the top of her lungs, and then as soon as I put her down, the song would stop and crying would prevail. Then as I would pick her up again and the tears stopped and the song began again. It was quite funny! Anyway, she was happy to warm up by the fire. There was also hot apple cider and hot chocolate to enjoy.

The tree fit on top of the car perfectly, daddy and grandpa made sure it was very secure, after all, we wouldn't want to lose it after all that hard work.

Here's a view of where we had our tree hunting adventure.

We have never been here before, but I have a feeling we'll be back again.

After stopping for a great meal at the Best Little Roadhouse or "Ranch-house" as grandpa likes to call it, Amelia and I treated ourselves to a delicious hot cocoa from Dutch Bros. They have a special cup for kids and always squirt whipped cream on the end of the straw.

The perfect end to a perfect day!

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011

2011-12-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

This year, we were happy that our Thanksgiving was with family. Matthew's parents flew in from Texas to be with us. We had plans to drive to California on Thanksgiving day so we had our celebratory meal on Tuesday instead of Thursday. It was a beautiful day, as you can see from the photo above, taken from our back yard, the autumn colours were splendid and the hills got a dusting of snow.

Amelia is a great helper, especially in the kitchen. She was so excited to help grandma make one of daddy's favorites, pumpkin bread.

After the pumpkin bread, she helped to prepare the vegetables, she likes to taste the carrots, and quite a few of them don't make it into the pan.

When daddy came home from work, it was time for a daddy/daughter dance.

Of course, it was a great excuse to break out the china and have a toast. On the menu we had the traditional turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans and gravy, with rolls, and I just had to add an English flair so I made yorkshire puddings too.

Our little family with full bellies, and lots of dishes to wash.

Afterwards, it was time to relax. Grandpa and Amelia snuggled on the chaise.

Now, changing the subject slightly, I just have to give a shout-out to Amelia, because a couple of days earlier, on November 20th, she both spelled her name out loud and then wrote it down in her art book and on her drawing board. I was so proud of her, it's amazing to watch her grow and develop these skills.

It was so nice to spend time together, and even though I hadn't been feeling well, it made everything more wonderful. Family is after all the most important thing we have!

Oregon's Gold

2011-12-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

Every Spring, I post photographs of my beautiful girl, with gorgeous puppies, set amongst a backdrop of pink blossoms that sit right outside my office window. Now it's time to show you how beautiful this same location is in Autumn (or Fall).

This is what I was lucky enough to look at in the middle of November. The pictures do not do it justice, the colours were vivid and bright and simply stunning. Just like the Spring blossoms, this scene lasts only a week or two before the leaves fall so I was so excited that I captured it. After seeing a peek of sunlit sky on the afternoon of November 16th, I grabbed my friend and ran out with my camera. {Don't forget to click on the photo's to make the images larger}.

These trees sit right outside my window, which is to the right of this picture, am I lucky or what?

Sweet Jenny-O...I don't know how many people would be so willing to go outside on a cold, wintry day, just to keep me company as I snap away. She's a real trooper and fabulous friend.

The grey marble of the Capitol building blends well with the wintry sky and makes the perfect backdrop to the bright colours.

Even the squirrels looked cold.

I loved seeing the carpet of leaves everywhere I looked, it somehow seems romantic.

The building to the left of this picture is my office, I work on the ground floor (or first floor if I am talking American).

I even posed for a pic or two.

This is the view looking West towards downtown Salem.

When I left work that same night, I was in awe again at how wonderfully the lights lit up the park, so how could I help but to get my camera out again?

I love Autumn in Oregon!

So Much To Be Thankful For

2011-11-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving and even though it is a tradition that I personally didn't grow up with, after living in the States for over thirteen years, I wholeheartedly embrace this special holiday that is specifically a time for being thankful.

I am thankful for so many things and could write a very long daily list of different things I am grateful for every day of my life. What matters most to me though are people, especially these four featured on my post today, my mum, my dad, my husband and my daughter.

My mum and dad have always been there for me, always loved me and are the reason I am who I am today. I am so thankful for the unconditional love, words of wisdom, (and discipline) they have provided to me throughout my life. Although my dad is not the same as he used to be, since Alzheimer's, I know that he knew who I was when I visited him recently in the UK, and am so grateful that his last words to me as I walked out of his care home in England were "I love you!"

There are not enough words for my mum, she is always there, she makes me laugh, she helps me to stand tall if I am down, she is who I want to be like and who I appreciate most. I love her so much.

Then there's my man. He's such a great husband, and a wonderful father to our girl. I love that he can be silly and make me laugh, and that he is tender when I need it most. He works hard to provide for our family and I am thankful for his wonderful work ethic, he is my eternal partner and I am blessed for that.

Finally, there's my daughter, Amelia. What wouldn't I do for this little girl? She is so special to me. I love that even though she is is only four, she has already taught me so much. She is truly the most precious girl in the world and I am so thankful to be her mother.

Whilst I am so very grateful for every friend and relative, that I haven't mentioned, and for so many different reasons, these four are at the very top of my list.

Thank you to all of you who enrich my life on a daily basis, I love you so much.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

This year, Amelia enjoyed dressing up for two different Halloween Occasions. She dressed up as Jasmine from Aladdin for the first celebration which took place at church for the "Trunk or Treat". Here she enjoyed many indoor games, such a fishing for treats, bean bag toss, blowing the spider down the table and pumpkin bowls.

Of course she loved going to all off the different cars to get candy and her pumpkin bucket filled up fast.

Two of the young men decorated and used our car to hand out the candy, didn't they do a great job?

Peek-a-boo, what a ghoulish sight.

I saw this pose for the first time...where did she learn that?

She and dad had a pretend sword fight without swords.

And there's that pose again...

Me and my girl.

Dad dressed up as Chip Kelly, the coach for the Ducks.

On Halloween night, after her swim lesson, we ran home and got her ready to go trick or treating in the neighbourhood. My girl wanted to give out candy very much and when the doorbell rang (as she was getting changed into her Minnie Mouse costume) she went running to answer it completely naked, she just didn't understand why I wouldn't let her go without her clothes.

As soon as she was ready to go we headed out, Matthew stayed at home to give out the candy. It was the most perfect night, not too cold with no rain in sight.

I think Amelia thought this family was taking too long to answer so she peered in their window to see where they were.

She loved ringing the doorbells and this year could reach most of them. It was all I could do to make sure that she just rang it one time instead of continuously.

The Polk County Fire Brigade was out handing out candy too. Imagine my excitement when a fireman came up and gave Amelia some candy, then asked if she wanted to sit in the fire engine...I was thinking what a fun scrapbook page those pics would make, but then my daughter said "no thank you!" I think as a mum I should be proud that she didn't want to go with a stranger who gave her candy, but have to admit I was a little sad as I watched the scrapbook page disappear in front of my eyes...maybe next year. I definitely liked having the presence of the fire crew around though.

When we got home it was time to check all the loot, and my did she get a lot.

Not bad for an hour or so of trick or treating.

I love my little Disney girl!

A Birthday Swim

2011-11-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

As a special treat, we signed Amelia up for swim lessons that started on her actual birthday. She was so excited and couldn't wait to put on her new swimsuit that we bought for her whilst on our hols in England. I french braided her hair and off we went to the pool, which is just down the street from where we live.

Here she is waiting patiently for her teacher, wondering which pool her class will be in.

Her teachers name is Melody, there were four children in the class on the first week, but only three after that, perfect ratio. The swim lesson was in the warmest of the three pools, the multi-use or therapy pool. Matthew and I watched from the side as she took her first steps to being a swimmer.

Matthew watched on, I think he secretly wished he had brought his swimming trunks so that he could swim a few lengths of the larger pool.

Amelia practiced blowing bubbles under water.

One of the favourite things she enjoyed was "motor boat, motor boat go so slow, motor boat motor boat go so fast, motor boat motor boat step on the gas" when her teacher would spin her around quickly in the water.

After her class, she was able to play in the small children's pool for a little while, then there was a special surprise for her...

...my friend Alice, and her son Ryan brought a special birthday treat for Amelia, a big bouquet of balloons which was tied to all kinds of treat, candy, nail polish and a fun wash cloth that expands when put in water.

What a lucky girl!

When asked about her swimming lesson, Amelia's answer was "it's so good!"

Birthday Girl

2011-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

On October 17, 2011, our daughter, Amelia, turned four years old!!!! It is quite amazing to think that four years have already gone by. To help our little one know how many days she had to wait for her special day, a friend/colleague of mine made her a paper chain in her favourite colours pink and purple. Every morning she would cut a ring off, until finally there were no rings left, and that was an exciting day!

As usual I took lots of pictures...enjoy!

Grandma and Grandpa Rawe sent her birthday money, as you can see she was so excited!

Nana and Papa bought her a beautiful purple coat when we were in England, and sent a lovely handmade card, the funny thing was that Nana also enclosed a sock we had left, so when Amelia opened the envelope, she was surprised to find it... as you can see it made her giggle!

The Saturday following her birthday, October 22nd, Amelia had her first birthday party ever. We invited just a few of her friends from church and daycare. It was a "Strawberry Shortcake" theme and was so much fun. I realized at the party that the girls didn't really care for too much structure relating to games and such, instead, they just really enjoyed being together and having a "play date".

We played stick the strawberry on the strawberry plant...

I made giant felt strawberries for the girls to cover in stickers...

We even played the Strawberry Shortcake movie Amelia had received for her birthday.

We played music from the Disney satellite radio channel, and the girls danced and jumped high in the air when their favourite songs came on.

The pinata was a huge hit, instead of hitting it with a bat, each girl got to choose a string to pull, one of the strings released the candy...I love the look on Amelia's face and she and her friends pull on the winning string.

Candy was scattered everywhere and little hands scurried to grab it and put it in their bag.

The party blowers were a big hit.

Then it was time to open more lovely presents. It made me laugh how each of the children proudly announced what they had brought for her before she opened it. They are so funny!

I have to give a special mention about Amelia's amazing cake. It was made by a friend I work with called Bonnie. She is so talented when it comes to cake decorating and makes cupcakes that are truly scrumptious and look almost too gorgeous to eat. She kindly offered to make and decorate a cake and cupcakes for our little four year old, and showed up on Saturday morning to assemble this masterpiece. You can imagine how excited we were when we saw it. She does this "for fun!" Thank you Bonnie for sharing your amazing talent with us, we appreciated all the hard work and time that went into this tasty and beautiful cake.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Amelia, happy birthday to you!"

"Make a wish sweet girl!"

As I was taking a photo of this cupcake below, two tiny hands reached up and grabbed it, it was Lacie, Addison's little sister, it was such a cute moment and I loved the pic.

The next day, Amelia and I decided to have fun lighting and blowing out her candles all over again, when it got dark outside, we had so much fun!

For me, I think the best part about Amelia's birthday party was after she closed the door after saying goodbye to the last friend who had come to share in her celebration. As she walked across the living room, she sighed and said "that was a really good party!" mission accomplished.

Amelia's First day at Preschool

2011-10-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 6th, was a very special day in our family. It was the day that Amelia started pre-school. After weeks of waiting, she was excited that the day was finally here. We enrolled her at St. Joseph's Catholic School, which just happens to be right across the street from the building in which I work, so I can walk there within a minute, and see her classroom windows from the West side of my office. She is in the three year old pre-school and attends class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:15 - 11:30 am. I am so impressed with the school thus far and happy to report that Amelia LOVES it!

Of course my camera was ready to capture this important event in our family, from the moment she was dressed in her adorable school uniform (I love that they have to wear a uniform), and ready to leave, to the time she entered the classroom. Her teacher, Miss Kathleen, had a variety of fun things set up for the children as they came in. Amelia headed right to the paint table.

Then she headed to the school bus.

Here she is with her Ms. Kathleen, who is absolutely wonderful!

Then it was back to the school bus.

Then she went shopping, filling her trolley with lots of fruits and vegetables.

It was fun to watch as Amelia carefully watched the other children come in, there are seven or eight children including her in the class, so it's a perfect size.

Of course, she needed a new backpack, she chose Tinkerbell and friends, this is where she hangs her backpack each school day, right outside her classroom.

This year, they are going to be the pre-school panda's, here's a picture of their little mascot, when they go into class, they have a picture of the panda's head with their name on it, they choose their name and stick it on a picture of bamboo, to show that they are present.

Finally, here's a picture of her school, you can't really see, but at the end of the building, is a brand new play structure that was added right before school started, it is so much fun. Amelia's classroom is on the lower level, right under the red sign that is on the building.

I am excited to see how Amelia is already learning and growing, she loves doing her homework (yep, she gets homework every week), and cannot wait to go to class.

The best part is, after her school day is over, I pick her up and we have lunch together, usually at my work, in the breakroom, she loves it when my work-friends join us, and calls it "ladies lunch", her favourite thing to eat is Macaroni and Cheese and some kind of fruit. She isn't shy to take food from other people when it's offered. After lunch I take her to daycare where she enjoys a nice nap and plays with her friends until we pick her up.

We love our little schoolgirl, she just had her first school photo taken and I cannot wait to get them.

Unconditional Love

2011-10-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

This has been a long week!

It seems like we returned from a wonderful holiday in England, and instantly returned to the hustle, bustle and stress of our busy life. This week in particular, Amelia seems to be pushing the boundaries at every turn, and honestly, it's frustrating and I often feel like Matthew and I are failing. There have been tantrums, tears, screams and timeouts every day, and as for reasoning with her, well she doesn't seem to get that yet. So you can imagine, by today, I felt frazzled, she turns four in three days and I honestly thought that the worst was behind us in the two's or three's.

But then tonight, as I finally enjoyed some peace after everybody went to bed early, I looked through my photos ready to post a blog and this photo popped into my view, and that was all I needed. In a second, I forgot the defiance and tantrums. I looked at my blonde haired cutie and felt nothing but love for her, I understood that for every tantrum, there are thousands, even millions of moments of joy that she creates for our little family daily. I smiled as I thought about my mum and the tantrums she told me I had. My heart felt like it would burst as I thought of the unconditional love, I as a mother have.

I would do anything for my little girl, and even though right now I know there are going to be many more timeouts and tantrums in my future, I know that it's okay, because one day, I will look at my daughter who'll be all grown up (hopefully not for a long time mind you) and we too will laugh together about her younger years, and who knows maybe her daughter will bring her the same fun!

What a blessing motherhood is, I love you Amelia.

Family Time at the Beach

2011-10-05T23:21:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the beach, there's just something magical about being by the Ocean and feeling the sand under my feet. I would forgive you for looking at these photo's and thinking "brrrr! Looks cold", you couldn't be more wrong though. I have come to realize that cloud is just normal at the Oregon Coast, on this wonderful afternoon, it was actually in the 70's and felt perfect (70's seems to be tropical for these parts).

Matthew, Amelia and I spent the afternoon at one of my favourite beaches, Neskowin. It's never too busy, and always beautiful (even when cloudy). We took the frisbee which was so much fun, especially for Amelia, I think she probably threw it further than I.

After the frisbee games, Matthew and Amelia started to make a sand castle, although as fast as Matthew built it, Amelia thought it would be fun to take the sand away and use it for her own.

Then my girl and I hunted for shells, daddy even let us put them in his pockets to keep them safe - now that is true love!

It was so fun walking by the ocean, which was a little cool, but not too bad. I loved watching Amelia as she ran away, laughing and screaming, as the waves came up chasing her little feet.

It is during moments like these that I feel the most gratitude for all that I am blessed with. Grateful to live fairly close to such a beautiful place, and thankful for the memories that our little family made on this beautiful afternoon!

The Sun Has Got His Hat On...Hip Hip Hip Hooray!

2011-10-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday in August, daddy was away at scout camp so it was just Amelia and I. We decided to make the most of the sunshine and headed to our local park just a few minutes walk away. On the way there, we saw daddy driving home, Amelia leaned in to the car and gave him a kiss to welcome him home. We continued on our way to the park and he joined us there a few minutes later. Amelia loves everything about the park and never wants to leave, it was so hot that she had quite the rosy glow by the time we left. Even I decided to get on one of the swings and was reminded of how wonderful it feels to swing back and forth without a care in the world, feeling the warm breeze in my face.

What a perfect morning!

Tool Time at the County Fair

2011-08-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Matthew took Amelia to the County Fair whilst I went Stampin'. While they were there, Matthew sent me a photo to my phone, it was the one above. Home Depot was sponsoring a booth where kids could come and make something. Amelia chose a pencil box and with daddy's help, it turned out great. Afterwards, she received a certificate of completion, stickers to put on the box, and a pin showing that she made the pencil box. She also got to keep the apron, which she was excited about because now she matches Grandpa Rawe, who works at Home Depot in Texas.

When she got home, she couldn't wait to paint it, so that's exactly what she did. She picked a two-toned theme in pink and purple.

It turned out great and is going to be perfect for storing all of her favorite pencils. What a fun project and great daddy/daughter date!

My Favourite Time of Day

2011-08-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but my absolutely favourite time of day is 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when I am on my way out of the door, and going to pick up my girl!

Her home daycare is close to where I work. It's a great place for her to spend her days and there's nothing I like better than walking in the door and having her run up to me, excited to show me the picture that she coloured, or tell me about the bubbles they got to play with in the garden. It's the little moment of joy that brightens my world.

On this particular day, as she walked out to the car, she jumped up onto a built-in ledge which is part of the garden wall. Of course, I couldn't help but grab my phone and make the most of this happy moment.

Did you notice her shoes? They were on the wrong feet. She does this all the time, and when I mention it to her, she just grins and says "I know momma, I like wearing them like that!" so I guess that's that.

What moment in your day brings you joy?

Family Home Evening at the Gouge's Home

2011-08-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we were invited to Doug and Candace Gouge's home to enjoy Family Home Evening with them and friends Dennis and Hannah Carlson's Family. We started the evening with dinner, it was the perfect evening for a barbecue and that's what we had. The children sat outside at their own tables, Amelia, of course, sat with the Leona and Madison at the princess table.

After a great dinner and delicious desserts, it was time for the children to change into their swimsuits and for the real fun to begin. I couldn't believe my eyes when we went out into the front yard, they had a huge, inflatable slide, complete with a water cannon. I have to admit, although it was just for the kids, I would have loved to have gone on it myself!!!!

Amelia didn't have any reservations at all, and with daddy's help, immediately started climbing to the top of the slide.

Following are some photo's of her having fun on the slide - I love her adventurous spirit!

Doesn't her face say it all?

She ran straight back to the line for another turn...

"Ready?"

It didn't take long and she was comfortable climbing all by herself.

Boston Celtics fans Matthew and Doug watch on.

Martin and Leona Carlson loved the slide too.

There was a smaller pool with a little slide for the littler ones.

After a few turns on the bigger slide, and after slipping down after trying to climb to the top, our girl decided it was time to stick with the zebra pool.

As the sun began to set, it was time for a water fight, but not just between the children...oh no...they decided that the target should be Doug. here they are filling up their cups and water guns.

Amelia found that the water cannon from the slide was a great way to fill up her cup.

"Oh Doug...where are you?"

Splash! She got him, and this I might add, was after he had already changed his clothes once.

...and again! He was such a good sport.

By the end of the evening, she was so cold, but didn't care a bit. She had a blast!

I am so grateful for good friends and families, who share our love of the Gospel. Amelia can't wait to see them again and keeps asking when she can go and spend the night at Doug and Candace's house!

A Summer Evening in the Park

2011-07-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

In the past, my friend Wendy-Lou and I have organized an Annual Finance Picnic for our friends at work. Due to several changes over the past few years, both of us are now working in the Executive Division, so this year we decided to organize a picnic for our entire office and their families. We got the approval, and some generous and very much appreciated donations, from the Division Directors we work with and got to work. We chose a great location in one of the local parks and although the day was threatened by the chance of rain, it was perfect. The rain held off and it was beautiful. These are just a few of the photo's I took during our wonderful evening. We had about 55 people attend, and felt it to be a real success!

We took Amelia's hula hoops, and some comfy chairs. Matthew had chance to relax a while before everybody came, then he became the BBQ King.

There was a great play-set for the children to play on, right next to our sheltered picnic area. Of course, Amelia loved it and went straight to the slide.

She of course copied the older children and grabbed the rail before throwing herself down.

"I spy!"

This is my boss, Darren. He and Amelia are very good friends!

Look at how beautiful our reserved area was, it was perfect!

And here is the view of the river, looking over from the shelter. A great place to take Amelia fishing.

Of course, I work for the State Treasurer's office and here is my dear husband performing a ceremonial handover of State Treasurer Ted's cheeseburger. It was pretty smoky over the BBQ pit and so my poor Matthew had a hard time keeping his eyes open for the shot!

The Treasurer and his Deputy. Darren is the best boss and took care of grilling the hot dogs.

Here is Wendy and her two gorgeous boys, she is my right-hand girl, together we planned, organized and pulled this whole thing off.

And my girl, Carmen, with her family. They are just beautiful, inside and out.

The hula hoops were a hit with some of the other kids that came. These lovely girls belong to the Parkers'.

Amelia couldn't wait to see "Grandma" Judy and "Grandpa" Gordon. She told me all day that she was going to sit with them and that's what she did. Here she is below with them both.

We had balloons to help people see where to go, and afterwards, the little ones took them home. Here is my friend Jenny-O and her two little ones, along with Robert, and oh that girl looks familiar!

Parking was easy and right by the reserved area, which was really handy when packing everything up.

Another view of the fantastic park after everybody had left.

It really was a great evening and I cannot wait to do it all again next year!

Celebrating "Happily Ever After!"

2011-07-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

Amelia attends a fabulous daycare called Kelly's Kids. A couple of weeks ago Kelly got married and we were invited to celebrate at her reception. The weather was beautiful for the outside celebration, which was held in the garden of a home that she and her new husband, Charles, own that is on the McKenzie River.

The table decorations were beautiful, and complimented the beauty of the surroundings.

We were treated to a wonderful catered BBQ meal, Amelia really enjoyed the chicken drumsticks.

Me and my girl.

This is the McKenzie River that Charles and Kelly stood by as they exchanged their vows.

Amelia found lots of daisies.

My beautiful girl.

A DJ played wonderful music, and when asking the guests to request special songs for the happy couple, Amelia said "I know a song they should play for Charles and Kelly", then she told me what it was "old McDonald!" I laughed out loud at the sweetness of her request. Believe it or not she and daddy went to ask the DJ if he had it, and of course he didn't, but instead played Beauty and the Beast which Amelia was happy about.

Daddy enjoyed a dance with his precious daughter.

The cake was simple and beautiful, and oh so delicious! There was even a grooms cake which of course sported the Oregon Football Team's logo "Go Ducks!"

Amelia enjoyed running around with other friends from her daycare, here she is with Zeb.

Kelly's niece made the beautiful favors which contained personalized M&M candy (which just happened to be in the Oregon Duck's colors).

I actually made the wedding invitations and RSVP cards for the wedding and they turned out great, unfortunately I didn't have a photo to show you, but I was excited to be able to contribute something to such a wonderful event.

It was a truly lovely afternoon and I am so glad that we went. Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Prince!

Flags, Fun and Fireworks

2011-07-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Every July 4th, Americans celebrate their independence from the British, they chose this date in particular since the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. Of course, I am British, and proud of it, however, America is now my home and has been for the past 13 years, my husband, daughter and half of my extended family is American, and so what else can I do but join in the celebrations, after all, "when in Rome".

There is a town near our home, that just happens to be called Independence, and they hold a celebratory parade and firework event every July 4th. We hadn't been to the parade before, but it was a beautiful day, and now that Amelia's a little older we decided to go. It was so much fun, we all wore patriotic coloured clothes, and took flags to wave (at least it's the same colour as the British flag). Amelia was so excited to see the floats, and especially excited when she found out that they threw out free candy for the children, Matthew had to get a teeny bit protective when the kids next to us began to invade his little girls territory, what a sweet daddy he is.

Here we are waiting for the parade to start, we found a perfect shady spot in front of Central High School.

There were so many fun things to see in the parade, including clowns...

The Dallas Fire Truck, from our home town...

cute Dalmatian dogs walking alongside the fire trucks...

Smokey the bear, he's the one that warns us about fire danger, especially in the forests...

Even Ronald McDonald came, Amelia was so excited to see him...

Look at those rosy cheeks, I was glad that I completely covered her in Sunscreen to protect her pale complexion.

I had to take a photo of the car's that were fitted with hydraulics...

After the parade, we went home so that Amelia could take a nap, after all, it was going to be a late night and we wanted a happy daughter, not a grouchy one.

We headed back to Independence around 8:00 pm, after stopping at Subway to grab dinner. There were a lot of people and the atmosphere was great, carnival rides, fabulous smells that you only find at the fair, and lots of music and entertainment. As we waited for the fireworks, I took Amelia for a walk, she headed right for the amphitheater, where the live band was playing and before I knew it, she was pulling my hand onto the concrete dance floor. Although I was nervous about the tons of people who were sat around watching, it was lovely to dance with my girl and seeing her so full of joy made it all worthwhile.

Finally it was 10 o'clock and time for the fireworks to start, after playing the USA's National Anthem, they began, and lasted for probably a half hour, Amelia was snuggled up in her blanket to keep her warm, but held her flag the whole time.

Looks like daddy is really enjoying the fireworks.

It was a great family day out, and hey the Brits are back!!!

Splish-Splash Summer's Here!

2011-07-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Summer is here!!!

Much to Amelia's delight we pulled out the paddling pool and filled it up. I had forgotten just how much fun it is to splash around. The water still seemed cold, even after being out in the sun for a while, but it wasn't too bad. In between her dips in the pool, Amelia showed me how talented she was with a hula hoop - does it get any cuter?

Now if we can only keep the sun a while...

She is the woman I love most

2011-06-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

She is the woman who loved me before we met,
The one who gave me life.
She is the woman who kissed my bruises and scrapes
The one who made it all right.
She is the woman who often would go without,
So that my life would be better.
She is the woman who showed me how to laugh,
With whom I always have fun.
She is the woman who taught me how to forgive,
No matter what the crime.
She is the woman who showed me how to love,
When I didn't even love myself.
She is the woman who taught me how to work,
And the value of a dollar.
She is the woman who has always encouraged me,
The one who believed I could.
She is the woman who taught me how to be strong,
But also how to be soft.
She is the woman I always miss the most,
When all I need is a hug.
She is the woman who is most beautiful,
More than any flower in the woods.
She is the woman who makes me feel the luckiest,
The one on whom I rely.
She is the woman I strive to be most like,
She is of course, my mother.

"Happy Birthday Mum!!!"

Thank you for being the most wonderful blessing in my life.
I love and miss you so very much and cannot wait to see you in September.

Amelia's First Haircut and Style

2011-06-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

Other than one time about a year and a half ago when I trimmed just the bottom of the back of Amelia's hair, she has never had her hair cut. At the age of three and a half, it seemed like a good time, plus her hair, although long, is fine and was really in need of some styling.

We (I) wanted it to be a really fun experience, so we (all three of us) went to visit a friend from church who has a salon right at her home. Our friend's name is Leisa, and she and her family are simply wonderful.

Amelia was so good, very quiet, but so still. She had been very excited about getting her haircut and when asked how she wanted it, she said "like Strawberry Shortcake!" We ended up cutting off about 3 inches and I was delighted when Leisa cut it off in a ponytail which I can now scrapbook (I know I'm kind of weird and love to keep things like this). She showed us how to do a twist-braid and then curled Amelia's blonde locks, she looked quite the doll. Afterwards, we were invited to stay for dinner and dessert (which just happened to be the best strawberry shortcake ever). It was a great experience, and I feel blessed to have such special people in our lives.

Here she is in the salon chair, complete with penguin cape, which she chose over an undersea theme.

See how pretty the twist-braid is? Now if only I can recreate - although Matthew probably can, he remembered the directions perfectly.

Next came the curls...

...how pretty are they?

Amelia got over her shyness after a while, and enjoyed playing in the garden with everybody else.

Here she is with Leisa enjoying strawberry shortcake on the swing (which she absolutely loved).

Sitting pretty.

There was even fun with tree frogs, they were found under the rim of the hot-tub cover and the children were rather excited about them.

Another swing, that she just had to sit on.

She's such a little cutie and I'm so proud of how well behaved she was as she got her haircut!

Just Relax Daddy, It's Your Day!

2011-06-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we celebrated the very special daddy in our home. I love Fathers' Day, even though it means more work for me, I think it's important to be able to really focus on the special blessing a father is. Of course, I had to take photo's of daddy and daughter.

A kiss on the forehead...

And butterfly kisses, the reason we need eye lashes...

Eskimo kisses...

Sweet smiles

"Peek-a-boo!"

Big daddy and daughter smooches.

Of course, I spent a lot of my day thinking about my own dad. What a wonderful dad he is, I love and miss him a lot. There are so many things about him that make me smile, I am truly blessed. These days are not so easy though since I rarely have the opportunity to talk to him, he has Alzheimer's Disease and is unable to talk on the phone very well, and of course I live a long way away. So, now I send emails that are printed and read to him, and photo's to remind him of us. It's strange to think that the strong man who you always looked up to, the one who made you feel safe when you were scared or happy when you were sad, is probably not going to recognize you the next time you see him. This is of course a moment I am fearful of, and cannot truly prepare for, although I was told that he will know that he loves me, even though he won't know why, I am grateful for that. All that being said, I am thankful for memories that I have and frantically write them down as I think of them, so that Amelia can know just how wonderful her grandad Wood is.

I have to say I am also very blessed to have the best father-in-law and step-father, they are truly fabulous and I love them very much!

I hope your Fathers' Day was great!

Pearly Whites

2011-06-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is what my 3 year old baby girl looked like when she went to the Dentist for the very first time last week. She was as quiet as the mouse she had chosen to accompany her on her "happy visit". I was so very proud of her, she did just what she was asked and let them have a look at her pearly whites. I love our dentist office, everybody is so lovely and Dr. Harbolt was great with Amelia and complimented her on her sparkly teeth.

Her favourite part was getting to choose a toy and receive a Disney themed battery operated toothbrush with Ariel on it - how lucky is she?

She loves to brush her teeth, and I have to say I love it when she giggles when I clean her top teeth, because it tickles!

Well done Amelia, you did great!!!

Sunday Waves

2011-06-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

My girl has the finest hair, which I usually blow-dry on weekends. At daycare they have recently been playing "hairdresser", I never know what style she will be sporting when I pick her up. The funniest thing is most nights after dinner Amelia gets her cup of water and comb and says to her very conservative daddy, "time for your mohawk daddy!", he is happy to oblige as she works creatively on his also very fine hair.

Last Sunday, I decided to try and curl her hair with tongs (or curling iron as we say in the States), Amelia was so excited and sat very still. We were both very happy with the results, and I couldn't help but get my camera and snap a few pics before church...enjoy!

Although the curl had pretty much fallen out by the time church was finished, it was nice to see how happy it made her to have a little bounce in her golden locks!

A Walk in the Park

2011-06-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we celebrated by going to a little park. It was great just to be able to feel the sunshine and spend time together.

Amelia was nervous about going down the slide, since daddy warned her that her legs might stick, so...

...she made daddy go down with her!

Hope you are enjoying sunny days wherever you are!

How sweet it is to be loved by you!

2011-06-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

Matthew and Amelia made me feel truly blessed and loved this past mother's day. One of the lovely gifts I received was a beautiful bouquet of tulips. As you can see, they opened up very quickly, which only enhanced their beauty. Aren't I lucky?

A Family Portrait

2011-05-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me, know that I LOVE to draw, and pretty much anything else artsy. So, imagine my delight when Amelia proudly showed me her portrait of me that she had done on her chalkboard.

After drawing me, she drew her daddy, love the hair, she got it just right.

It wouldn't be complete without a self-portrait of herself.

Voila! Here we are all together!

I love the focused expression as she looks upon her finished masterpiece.

How proud I am of my little artist!

A New Dress for Easter

2011-05-21T20:59:00.001-07:00

Amelia always gets a new dress for Easter and Christmas. I think this was the first year that she actually got to wear her Easter dress on Easter Sunday, in years past, she has been poorly and ended up wearing it the following week. I actually bought her dress a few months ago, it was quite simple, but oh so pretty. She looked adorable - in my humble opinion! Of course, we took family photo's together too, it's fun to look back each year and see how we have changed.

I teach the sunbeams at church (3-4 year olds), and I took them outside to take their pictures, for a mothers' day project I wanted to do. They were so cute, and really enjoyed being out in the sunshine - they are so full of energy, and each so different, but I love them all and just couldn't help but share their cuteness with you. As you can see, Amelia is in my class too (which can present its own challenges), but for the most part, we do ok...it's hard for her to understand that momma is the teacher and she needs to behave and be courteous, just as she would for another teacher. We'll keep working on that one!

Have a lovely day!!!

Half and Half

2011-05-06T21:12:00.001-07:00

I have to admit, I love my little blondie's hair. Although it is fine (sometimes too fine), it is just beautiful and so shiny. I am amazed at all of the lovely colours in it, caramels, golds and blondes.

After the tulip festival, when it was time for bed, I took out Amelia's braid and giggled at the sight of the pretty zig-zag shape which the braid had made. The funny thing was seeing the other half which was still super straight. I couldn't help but grab my camera!

Just look at those rosy cheeks, although I should probably have been a better mum and remembered the sunscreen!

This was one of those precious moments when I looked at my little girl and was in awe at how beautiful she is.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips With Us!

2011-05-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

Someday I would love to go to Holland to see the endless rows of tulips and fabulous windmills. Until that day comes, I am happy with our annual trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. Every spring I look forward to our family day out, it's also fun to look back at the previous year to see how much Amelia has grown.

This year, the tulip season is a little later, due to the cold, wet weather we have been having, but luckily for us, we chose the perfect Saturday during Easter weekend, and enjoyed a warm, sunny day amongst the colourful backdrop of the tulip fields.

Of course, I took as many photo's as I could, we all had a great time. Following are some of my favourite photo's for you to enjoy! (Don't forget to click on the photo's if you want to see a larger image).

Amelia decided that she liked the white and pink tulips the best this year.

This photo is for grandpa, Amelia loves the pony ride!

Face Painting for just a dollar, Amelia picked the pink tulip!

Lunch was a delicious bratwurst sausage with grilled onions and curly fries, courtesy of the Mount Angel Sausage Company!!!

You may remember a similar photo posted on my blog last year. This is Amelia and Bodie. Bodie is seven years old and is a rescued bird. Amelia met him last year and was very excited when she saw him again this time.

Amelia pumped the water so the duck would make it to the other end of the chute, it was hard work!

Being one of the first sunny days we had enjoyed in a while, Amelia and Matthew ended up a little pinker by the end of the day, and when I washed off her face painting, you could still faintly see the outline of the petals that had been painted on Amelia's cheek.

Ah well, that's that for another year!

Where do you love to go to celebrate the Spring?

Simple Traditions

2011-04-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do as a family is to create special family traditions. Some of my favourite may seem pretty silly, but to our family, they are truly special.

Last week Amelia and I decided to bake cookies, after they came out of the oven, I was reminded by my sweet little three year old, about the special "family home evening plate" we should use. She was talking about a plate that we use for treats on Family Home Evening night. It is not particularly fancy, not even ceramic, children are painted around the edge and the words for the primary song "Family Night" is written in the middle, but what makes this plate special is perhaps the fact that it reminds me of how important family night is to our family! I was so excited that she remembered about it.

What are your favourite family traditions?

Isn't That Grandpa's Chair?

2011-04-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

In our living room, we have a beige leather recliner. It was bought before I had Amelia, and I often get teased by my dear husband that I don't use it enough to justify the cost. I am happy to report that although my favourite spot is on the couch, the leather recliner is much loved by both Grandpa Rawe and Papa Whitaker. When they are visiting, Amelia loves to race over to the special chair, and when we skype, both grandpa's tease her and say things like "It's my chair!" or "Here I come, I'm going to sit in the chair!" Amelia loves the banter back and forth.

On this particular day last week, she decided, it was "her chair" and she was going to lounge in it...so that's what she did, pulling funny faces the whole time. She's quite the character and brings so much joy to our family.

Enjoy the pictures, oh and grandpa/papa, I'm sure she'll share again when you visit!

Pink Floral Pom Poms, Fluffy Pups and a Beautiful Girl!

2011-04-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Spring is on it's way, or at least that's what the calendar shows. I have to admit, it's hard to tell, we have "enjoyed" lots of rain and it seems that winter wants to hang around forever. One delightful sign of spring is of course the pink blossoms on the cherry trees in the Capitol Mall outside the office where I work.

Continuing the tradition of the past two years, my friend Traci and I chose last Friday as the day for our annual photo shoot of her pups Kant and Echo with my girl, Amelia. The weather forecast didn't look good, but the blossoms don't last for very long before they fall to the ground, so we just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. On Friday morning, it was foggy and cloud covered the sky, certainly not the conditions we had hoped for. I picked Amelia up from daycare around 10:45 am and we met Traci and her pups by the cherry trees. I pulled out my camera and after taking just a couple of photo's everything began to change. A teeny patch of blue sky suddenly expanded until the stormy clouds had all but gone, then the sun came out - hooray! What a blessing!

We had a blast, Amelia was great - the best yet...she chose where she wanted Kant and Echo to be, most of the time, she wanted to be in the middle. Last year, she wasn't really very interested in having her photo's taken, but this year, she seemed to truly enjoy it, especially seeing her furry friends again.

So, that's all the narrative I'm going to give you for today, but I'm afraid I do have to state a disclaimer, I always take way too many photo's (some might say), after all I am by no means a professional photographer, the thing is, I also have a hard time choosing my favourite photo's, since most of them fall under this category. The result of my indecision means that I have posted lots of photo's below, some of them very similar to each other, but hey, I thought you might enjoy them too. Don't forget you can click on the photo's to see them larger. I hope they make you smile!

This is my friend Traci, the "mom" to Kant and Echo.

" Happy Spring All!!!"

We Made Our Own Pizza!

2011-03-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know my husband, know that he is a real fan of pizza, so a couple of weeks ago I decided it would be fun to make my own pizza dough so that we could have a family pizza night. After finding a recipe online, Amelia and I went to work making the dough. After it was done we wrapped it up well and put it in the fridge, and that's where it sat for 2 days. When Saturday came, we unwrapped the dough and the real fun began. Daddy and daughter grated the cheese and then added their toppings. Amelia and daddy shared their pizza, it was quite the combination, ham, pineapple and olives (oh and Amelia thought the more pineapple juice the better). The second pizza was rather boring, just the way I like it, and just had cheese. It was really pretty good, not to mention a great family activity!

Amelia was a great help and loved stretching the dough.

A big thumbs up, it's ready for the oven.

10 minutes later, dinner's ready!

The moment of truth...

Pizza anyone?

"Daddy's Home!"

2011-03-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Last week Matthew worked late. Amelia and I had just finished dinner when we heard the familiar sound of the garage door opening. She ran to hide beside the kitchen cabinet, it was so very lovely to see the anticipation and excitement on her face as she waited to jump out and surprise her daddy!

Of course, daddy was equally excited to see his little girl, and especially enjoyed the hugs and kisses, it was the perfect welcome home!

These are the precious moments that make our family great!

Snow Day

2011-03-06T23:07:00.000-08:00

On the 24th of February, we woke up to snow. Everything looked so lovely, somehow clean and perfect. Matthew was working away from home during that week, so it was my job to get Amelia to daycare. Since we don't get too much snow, I decided to take full advantage of it and dressed her in full snowbibs. She looked adorable, and very much enjoyed experiencing the crisp, white stuff under her feet, even if it was for just a few minutes in the morning...I would like to get more snow so that we can build a snowman or make snow angels, unfortunately, this snow had all but melted by the early afternoon!

It was fun while it lasted!

Bedtime Fun

2011-02-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

Amelia usually goes to bed pretty easily. Of course, like any parent, my goal is to have her start to wind down and enjoy some quiet, snuggle time with her daddy and I before bed. In reality, she can occasionally get quite boisterous, and excitable. On this particular night, she decided it was time for a pillow fight. I have to say, it was lovely to hear her giggle, as she swung the pillow round at her daddy. She was also very excited to wear her new nightie, and loved spinning round and round in it.

A Very Special Family...and a Very Special Man!

2011-02-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

When my husband Matthew and I got together, it was like finally becoming part of a family that I already knew and loved. I didn't need to "meet the parents", his father, Rickie, was my bishop and had helped support me through difficult moments, I'd served with his mum, Janice, on the Relief Society board at church, had walked with his Aunt Belinda and Uncle Randy during early morning walks, and had even been to his grandmother's home for Sunday lunch. You could say, the only Rawe I didn't really know, was the one that would make me an official "numbered" member of the Rawe clan (although he did teach one of my classes at church when I first moved there).

Let me explain what I mean by being "numbered" - as a form of keeping a family record, each member of the Rawe family was given a number, starting with Matthew's grandparents, who both shared number 1, following them, each of their children were numbered, in the order of birth, then spouses were given a number as they married into the family. The numbering continues as grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are born and so forth. It's quite a fun system, and I can tell you that today the numbers exceed 110.

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to celebrate the life of a wonderful man. Last week, Matthew's grandfather, (number 1) passed away.

He was a great man, and welcomed me into the family with open arms, I still remember the first Thanksgiving dinner I shared with Matthew's family, just before we were married. Grandpa was there and told me how happy he was that I was going to be a part of the family (after all, his wife Beverly had also been from English descent). He told me that I should let him know if Matthew ever gave me any trouble. When passing down words of wisdom, grandpa always referred to Matthew and other boys in the family as "big-son", a memory that will be treasured by my husband.

The first photo in this post was taken when Amelia was about 6 months old, the first time she met her great-grandpa. The other photo's were taken in July of last year (2010), when we visited California for a few days, the last time Amelia and I saw him.

I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel, and that I know that families are indeed eternal. I am especially thankful to have been adopted into such a fabulous one. How blessed I am.

We love you Grandpa Rawe, 'til we meet again!

"Sing Me A Song Mr. Piano Man..."

2011-01-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

This is what I saw from my kitchen one evening last week. As I cleaned up the dishes after dinner , I glanced over to the "music room" and noticed that Amelia had climbed up on the piano bench and was happily "plinking" the keys and singing out loud to her favorite songs found in the children's songbook.

The photo below is actually taken of Amelia's reflection in the piano...I love trying different angles with the camera and really liked how this pic turned out.

Although I sometimes miss being able to play piano without the interruption of little hands (and even though I could spend hours cleaning the tiny smudgy handprints on the black lacquered finish), I am excited to share my love of music with my daughter. Music is one of the most important things in my life, it is calming, uplifting and inspiring. I may not be anything close to a concert pianist, but I am grateful for this talent that brings me so much happiness, and also allows me to share something special with Amelia and my family.

Another reason this was such a special sight for me, is because I have many memories of my Nana sitting with me at the piano as I learned to play the songs out of the "Sing With Me" children's songbook. Of course I was older than Amelia at the time, but I can't help wondering if she was as happy watching me as I am watching my girl!

Thank you mum for always working hard so that I could develop this talent - I love you!

Amelia graduates to Primary

2011-01-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

On the first Sunday in January the children in our church ward between ages 3-11 years old all shuffle up into another class. This year Amelia moved up from Nursery into the Sunbeam class (the 3 year olds). We have two Sunbeam classes in our ward, one of which I teach. Amelia just happens to be in my class. She was so very excited to be moving up from nursery (which she loved), into her momma's class.

I was a little nervous as to how it would be having her in my class, since I'm her mum and all, but so far, it has been going pretty well (a few pouty moments but nothing too challenging). I have six cute little Sunbeams in all, and am excited to be able to teach them throughout the next year.

Of course, I had to take photo's of Amelia on the day she moved up into Primary, it was so funny to see her with all of the bigger kids, although a little scary to think about how fast she is growing up!

Father Christmas Came To Our House!

2010-12-31T23:28:00.000-08:00

Although we didn't end up having time to put the lights up on the house, Matthew and Amelia did decorate outside a little, by adding our two reindeer, along with lights in both of our little trees, it was a pretty sight.

I am happy to say that I finished my candy before the eleventh hour this year, it's a lot of work, but worth it to know that a special tradition is being continued, not to mention how delicious it is and how great it is to share.

On to Christmas Eve, the three of us stayed home together, so I decided to make my mother-in-law's fried chicken, it turned out great...here's Amelia waiting for her plate.

After dinner, it was time to open just one present...

" PJ's" of course!

Amelia was very excited about her Tinkerbell PJ's, that came with a matching robe. She also got Tinkerbell slippers, no more cold toes.

After a drive around the neighbourhood to see all of the Christmas lights - and what a wonderful sight that was...Amelia and I prepared a special plate for Father Christmas, comprising of cookies and a carrot for his reindeer. Here she is writing the note.

Finally it was time for bed, and this girl was so very excited!

Luckily for us, she did settle down quite well and ended up falling asleep pretty quickly.

How beautiful the living room looked with all of the presents wrapped and under the tree.

Our darling 3 year old was up bright and early, around 6:15 am, I suppose it could have been worse. "It's time to wake up, momma!" she said.

Daddy helped her open her presents, she got some lovely things, including a ladybird pillow pet from Grandma and Grandpa Rawe (she had really wanted one of these).

She also got a beautiful doll from Nana and Papa that she has named "Lulu".

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Gordon got her a fun cheerleader dress up outfit, complete with matching shoes and pom-poms.

Another favourite dress up outfit, Jessie from Toy Story.

Father Christmas left her measuring cups just like mummy's, she loves to help me bake.

She put her cheerleading outfit on right away.

Ah...one of the favourite's from Father Christmas...Hungry, Hungry Hippo's game.

Snuggle time with daddy and the pillow pet.

We ended up having our Christmas dinner on Sunday, of course, we had English Christmas Crackers...Amelia got a set of screwdrivers in hers and daddy got a pearl necklace, so they switched. I'm so glad I am able to incorporate my traditions.

It wouldn't be Christmas without mince pies, another English favourite. Although Matthew wasn't interested in trying one, Amelia did. I think she mainly ate the squirty cream on top and left the pie. Personally, I really enjoyed them.

Just chilling, in front of the TV, wearing her pearls.

This is Jingle, my boss Darren and his family bought this for Amelia. He comes with a book and as you read the book, Jingle joins in with various sounds...he has become a family favourite too.

Another tradition we have is exchanging ornaments, Amelia got a glass bird, that she calls her "chicken", it is perhaps not so childlike and quite vintage looking, but I thought she might appreciate it when she's older, plus it's a reminder for her to always spread her wings and fly! Unfortunately, I haven't taken photo's of my ornament or Matthew's yet. Mine was a lovely, multi-coloured glass ball. Matthew got a Boston Celtic's 2010 Holiday ball.

Look at those precious hands, cradling her "chicken".

It may have been quiet, but we had a lovely Christmas. The only thing that would have made it even better would have been to have more family close by, but you were all in our hearts.

As we enter a new year, we hope your family is blessed.

Here's to 2011!!!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas!

As soon as Thanksgiving has been celebrated, it is time to start decorating the house, making candy and all of the other preparations that make this season the most wonderful.

We took Amelia to see Santa again this year, she was so excited and got to wear her new dress, unfortunately daddy was quite covered in sparkly blue glitter within minutes, but hey that's the price of having a little girl - right? You may wonder why Amelia's hand is in the pose that it is on her photo with Santa, well, as soon as she went up to see him, she immediately held his beard, and was very curious about it, it was the funniest thing.

Of course, I have taken quite a few photo's over the past few weeks as we have decorated the tree and such, here are just a few for you to enjoy...starting with our Cinderella Cowgirl!

On another day, it was time to put all of the decorations on the tree. I love seeing all of the ornaments again, especially those that have been bought as reminders of special times and of course, special people!

We had fun at our Ward's Christmas Party. After a wonderful meal, we broke into groups, and went into the different classrooms, where the children were read a Christmas story or two. After the stories, we all gathered together again in the gym and sang fun Christmas songs together. Don't all the children look super cute in their PJ's?

All of the singing brought a very special guest...Santa of course! Once again, Amelia was amused by his beard.

It was so nice to spend time amongst good friends (and speaking of friends - don't these two just look totally adorable together)?

Merry Christmas everybody, we love you!

All The Leaves are Brown...

2010-12-06T21:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is about Autumn, perhaps it's the changing of colours everywhere, or the thought of snuggling up in big woolly jumpers and sitting under warm blankets. Whatever it is, I am so excited when it arrives. Having a cute little three year old to take photo's of while she dances and plays in the fallen leaves just makes it extra special.

Here are some photo's I took of Amelia a month ago, both in the back garden, and at the local park. Daddy was busy during the morning, so we had a mummy/daughter date, it was a lot of fun!

Look closely, we found a ladybird in our garden!

Amelia couldn't keep her eyes off of it.

The "Amelia Tree"

Next, we went to the park.

Every year, I have taken a photo of Amelia sitting in the tree shown below, it's amazing to see how much she has grown.

I especially love how the leaves create a beautiful carpet and the trees a stunning backdrop in this next photo.

Ah...peaceful!

So, that was our morning together, I am so grateful for the gift of sight, and being able to see the beauty that surrounds me. What an amazing world we live in!

Pumpkin Fun

2010-11-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that I am only just posting my pumpkin pics and tomorrow it will be December, time is really flying by!

Since we didn't go trick or treating on Halloween night, we decided it would be fun to enjoy a family activity and carve our pumpkins.

Amelia didn't waste a minute and was very excited to help with her own pumpkin, although after experiencing the feeling of the slimy guts of the pumpkin, she decided that mummy could take care of the inside.

Daddy had the biggest pumpkin, and had to work hard to carve his.

If you look closely at Amelia's pumpkin below, you will see tiny holes on the side (double click on the photo to enlarge). This was her design idea, her pumpkin has freckles.

After all the hard work was done, it was time to show off each of our fun designs.

Great job daddy, your pumpkin is almost as big as Amelia.

I carved an owl sitting on a branch, I love owls.

Next, it was time to put them on the porch and wait until it got dark.

Here's Amelia, candy in hand, ready for our spooky visitors.

Once the sun went down, we lit the pumpkins, we thought they looked really great.

When she wasn't answering the door and handing out candy, Amelia helped me to make an apple pie, yum!

The three of us enjoyed a very fun day, I love the traditions we take part in each year. I especially love the memories we make together!

Trunk or Treat

2010-11-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

This year, for Halloween, our church organized a trunk or treat, which was nice, since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year. The trunk or treat took place on Saturday night.

Amelia dressed up as the cutest kitten I've ever seen, she helped to pick her costume this year, and funnily enough, this was the one outfit she didn't want to try on, but when she did, she decided it was her favourite of the four she tried.

Now I'm not sure what to label the photo below, Beauty and the Beast perhaps? Daddy dressed up as a "red-neck", oh my, did he enjoy being in character? Yep, it almost came too naturally!

There were fun games for the children to play, like fishing...

...and trying to eat a doughnut hanging on a sting, without using your hands.

Now how about this for this year's Christmas card. (unfortunately, we ran out of time and I was unable to dress up - such a shame!!!)

Amelia saw her friends, who all looked so cute, here she is with Addison.

For my English family and friends out there, a trunk or treat is where everybody decorates the boot (or trunk) of their car and the children go to each car to collect candy, instead of going to houses, hence the name 'trunk' or treat. Here's Matthew giving out candy from our car.

After collecting all of her candy (which was a lot), Amelia helped to give out the candy, in fact she pretty much took over.

A friend joined her for a few minutes.

It was nice to see that she enjoyed giving as much as receiving.

Here she is checking out her 'loot'.

It was truly a fun event, spent with friends from church.

Although we didn't go out on the actual Halloween night, Amelia had a great time seeing other children who came to our door dressed up. Just like at the trunk or treat, she enjoyed sharing our candy with others.

Happy belated Halloween everyone!

My Busy Bee

2010-11-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

My original thought for Amelia's halloween costume this year was for her to be a cute li'l bumble bee. However, after buying the cutest costume, we realized that it ran super small, didn't fit her very well at all and to make matters worse, didn't come in a bigger size. I ended up exchanging it for something else, but not before taking some photo's of her. She was adorable and fluttered around as though she was dancing amongst flowers.

Check back soon to see what costume she did end up having for halloween, it was super cute!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

One of our family traditions, is to go to the pumpkin patch on or around Amelia's birthday. This year, we were excited that Nana and Papa were here to share in the fun. We decided to go to Heiser Farms Pumpkin Patch, a locally owned farm, the day before Amelia's birthday. There was so much to do and see, but the nice thing was, the variety of fun activities for all ages, especially toddlers. It didn't harm that the weather was fabulous either.

We enjoyed a ride on a miniature train, Amelia loved it!

Matthew's favourite were the pumpkin cannon's, it was amazing just how far the pumpkin's would fly through the air.

As you can see below, Amelia wasn't too keen on the cannon's and didn't particularly enjoy the noise they made.

Whilst Matthew, Nana and Papa watched the cannon, Amelia and I had fun on the hay-bale and slide.

She was so brave and didn't hesitate to climb up to the top of the hay-bales. It was nice to see the other, older children, step back and allow her to take her turn.

A colourful clown made her a balloon dog.

Then, it was time to pump water down a chute, and push the rubber ducks into the barrel at the end.

Ah, the pony ride, one of Amelia's favourite's. She loves animals. There was also a petting zoo, she was so excited that she got to pet a pig!

"Giddy up cowgirl!"

Papa always makes friends with the strangest of characters, on this day, he was particularly drawn to a real bone-head. Now I've heard of pulling someone's leg, but papa pulled this guy's forearm right off, luckily we were able to fix it and no damage was done.

Wow! Look at the huge pumpkin - how much do you think it weighs? If you guessed correctly you would have won a big jar of candy.

Nana, Amelia and I went for a ride on the top of a local fire engine...the siren was loud, but it was so much fun to drive around the farm.

Finally, it was time to get on the tractor/hayride and head over to the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch was great. All of the pumpkins were still attached to the vine, the freshest you can get!

Amelia wasted no time trying to find the perfect one.

So many to choose from...

...perhaps this is the best one...

"Phew!" this is hard work, time for a quick rest amongst the corn stalks.

What about a white pumpkin?

Daddy came over to help her choose the perfect one.

Everybody chose their favourite, here's Matthew, Amelia and I in front of ours.

Next year I'll bring my gloves, the stalks were quite prickly.

Nana and papa had a lovely time, their first real pumpkin patch experience.

As with all good things, our visit to Heiser's Farms came to an end, and as you can see below, Amelia was not happy about that at all. In fact, another parent saw her melt down by the car and told her child "see, it must be fun, that little girl doesn't want to leave!"

Ah well, it truly was the perfect family day out!

One More Candle On Her Cake!

2010-10-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was a very special day for our family. Amelia turned three years old! I can hardly believe it. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital, wondering what we were supposed to do with our squishy bundle.

After church, it was time for photo's together with our sweet girl.

After lunch and during nap-time, my mum and I decorated a (store bought) cake...there, I admitted it to the world. I have always said that I would make and decorate all of Amelia's birthday cakes, since that's something my mum did for me. Well, this year, it didn't happen.

After lots of coaxing and words of wisdom from my mum, I ended up buying a raspberry diner cake from Safeway on Saturday night, to save me having to be up through the early hours of the morning. I had already picked up the monogram and plate in Idaho at Hobby Lobby, and it saved the day, after a little piping around the edges and personalization, the cake was ready and I was relieved that I had been able to sleep the night before.

After naptime, it was time to open birthday presents.

I may have bought her cake, but I did manage to make her a home-made birthday card. It had tinkerbell on the front, here's daddy reading it to his little girl.

Now for a cute story; Matthew's parents sent money in Amelia's card. When she saw it, she screamed excitedly "fifty bucks!", the funny thing is, it wasn't $50 she just always says that when she see's paper money, or is pretending to buy or sell something, as far as she is concerned, everything costs $50. It was hilarious.

One of her presents was Woody from Toy Story, the day before her birthday, she was watching Toy Story and Matthew kept asking "Amelia who do you like best on Toy Story?" and each time the response came back "Jessie", then it would be "Buzz", needless to say, we were worried - but all was well, she was very happy with her new friend.

After presents and cards, we went out for a drive, and ended up in West Salem, we walked across the bridge that is especially for walking and cycling, it was a beautiful afternoon and of course, I had my camera handy.

Above, Amelia watches the "Willamette Queen" as it slowly trundles down the river.

1...2...3...JUMP!

We walked under the bridge and found lots of crunchy, autumn leaves. Nana loves walking in leaves and Amelia happily walked behind, copying Nana by kicking the leaves as she went.

We ended up by the river's edge, where daddy and grandpa started skipping stones. Of course, we all had to have a go...

"Yay momma, I did it!"

Hundreds of stones later, it was time to go back home for dinner and cake.

When we got home, the cake that I had so carefully decorated, was now missing a whole quarter side of buttercream, exposing the cake inside...I couldn't believe it, luckily, mum came to the rescue and fixed it best she could.

Next, the part Amelia had looked forward to all day, time to be sung to and time to blow out the candles...

It was so nice having mum and David with us, to join in the happy chorus. Amelia did a great job blowing out the candles, it took her about three tries, not bad at all!

The cake was cut, and I'm happy to say, it was delicious - all was well!

Amelia said bedtime prayers last night and it was so cute to hear her talk about the things we had done together as she talked to Heavenly Father. That's when I realized, it's not about stressing over the store bought cake, or the toys I buy, it's about being a family, and always enjoying each other!

Happy birthday my sweet daughter, Amelia, you are amazing and we love you!

Scenery to Take Your Breath Away

2010-09-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

I always love to go to the coast, the views are spectacular, especially, when the day is sunny and clear. On this particular day, we stumbled across Anderson's viewpoint, where paragliders were jumping off the cliff down towards the beach below...very exciting!

We spent about a half hour enjoying the scenery, and of course, I took lots of photo's.

I loved the flowers shown below, even though they were now in a woody state.

Just look at that view!

Papa held Amelia up so that she could see better.

Happy together!

Next, we went to Cape Meares to see the lighthouse, one of many on the Oregon Coast.

The sky was so blue!

You may notice some of the glass panes in the lighthouse are broken. Earlier this year, two vandals in their early 20's shot at them, causing very expensive damage, and therefore making the top of the lighthouse unsafe for viewing!

Below is the view as we walked down towards the lighthouse.

Once inside, a tour guide shared his knowledge of the lighthouse, it was very interesting.

After the lighthouse, we did go on to other places, but I'll post about them next time.

What a great day!