Shabby Miss Jenn

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Go Deacs!

Basketball season is big around here.  I remember watching games with my family as a kid.  I was the geeky one with pencil and paper, keeping score so I could inform my dad who was winning.  When I first starting doing this I was constantly asking, "Was that shot worth 1 pt. or 2?"  OK, so it took me a while to figure out the whole free throw vs field goal thing, but hey, I finally got it.  

I got it so much that I went on to try out for the basketball team in middle school.  I wasn't that great but I made the team.  To help me improve my skills my parents let me go to Kay Yow's Basketball camp at NCSU ( she just lost her long battle with cancer this weekend).  I went for two summers and apparently it paid off.  I played ball in high school, intramurals in college and now I coach the little guys.  I love it!  I like to watch it, play it and share it with my kids.

So, tonight was a big night- Wake vs Duke.  If you are from around these parts then you know Duke is just about everyone arch enemy.  Carolina can't stand them, Wake doesn't like them and State could do without them too.  For about two weeks Benjamin and I have been planning to watch this game.  It's a big deal to have bragging rights about beating Duke, especially if you have friends who like them!  Here's a shot of my boy taking it all in.  He sat just like that for a lot of the game.  Towards the end he was jumping around, talking to the tv, high fiving, etc.  but, for a lot of the game he looked just like this:


Look at the concentration in this shot.  If I was a better photographer I would have gotten more of his hands.  He was doing this nervous, wring your hands kind of thing.  (Note to self- stop chopping hands out of pictures!)  He REALLY liked watching this game.  And, I really loved watching it with him.  Funny how it seems like just a few short years ago I had a little toddler standing beside me on the sofa as I watched the game.  I was so proud that I had taught him to say "Go Deacs!"  He was clueless about the game and honestly could have cared less.  Now I have this cool kid who understands the game, discusses plays with me and high fives me when our guy does this awesome rebound/slam dunk move.


Harrison, Liza and Louisa "watched the game with us too. ( Yes, I let them all stay up late! Like I said, this is a BIG game.)  Of course, their interest wasn't sustained and slowly but surely the Star Wars guys and blocks came out.  But, hey, they watched the most important parts with us.  And they will definitely be able to tell you who won.

Big Night, Big Game, Big Fun!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Can't Leave Her Out

I am a middle child.  All of my baby pics fit in one frame. (OK, maybe that's an exaggeration. They would fit in two frames!).  Anyway, I didn't post any pictures of Louisa from our snow day and I felt bad.  Not that I was being a bad mommy and ignoring her out in the cold snow.  She was actually napping and missed the whole "get bundled up" and tromp through the snow extravaganza.  So, today we bundled her up and put her in her snuggly car seat and set her on the porch to watch her siblings play in the snow.  

Is that hat not the cutest?  It makes me happy just to see her in it!  So, there you have it.  ALL the kids have some snow day(s) pictures!




Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Snow in NC!



For some of you snow is no big deal.  But, for those of us in the "sunny south" we don't get to see the white stuff too frequently.  For some of the kiddos this was the first snow that they will remember.  Liza was in awe of the cold, white stuff that stuck to her mittens.  She just kept looking at it and wondering how the heck to get it off.  After a while she declared she was "dirty" and promptly took off her mittens.

Harrison had seen snow before but it was a long time ago.  I think he was younger than Liza is now.  Anyway, he did know you could make snowballs.  I love this shot of him getting ready to blast his brother and sister with a snowball.  Gutsy little kid!

Can you see how happy the kid was in the snow?  Look at that face!  Pure joy!
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Can you tell Harrison was all into the snow because you can throw it at people?

Benjamin decided to eat the stuff.  I guess I am not feeding the boy enough.  Either that or he really enjoyed making Liza and Harrison laugh as he stuffed his face with snow.

All in all snow in NC was a hit.  The kids are doubly happy because they got out of school and they have already declared a snow day for tomorrow as well.  It looks like we will have more fun in the snow tomorrow. 


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Nice Weekend

I had to start out this post with a picture of my "H".  My big man scored his first basketball goal during a game.  I must admit I was a proud mommy.  And to top it off, because I am coaching his team and because the younger teams' coaches get to be on the court with their players, I was the first to give him five after he sank the ball.  Yes, it was a proud mommy moment.  So, although the pic below has absolutely nothing to do with basketball, I still had to post it so you could all see my "H", in honor of his first two-pointer.


And, moving right along, here are  few pictures of my Liza- glorious Doritos mouth and all.  She was being a trooper (as was Harrison in the pic above) and helping her mommy practice taking pictures of backlit subjects.  I learned about this nifty little auto exposure lock button on my camera.  Can I tell you how cool it is?  In pictures like these with a lot of light coming from behind the subject, you can zoom up on what you want exposed correctly ( their face) and lock in the correct exposure.  Then, when you recompose the shot, even with all that light flooding in from behind, your exposure will be correct.  Cool huh?  And to think I have had that nifty button on my camera for years!  


Finally, do you notice the cool little emblem with my name stamped on my pictures?  I decided to try my hand at photography as a business.  Pretty soon, I will be ready to start building my portfolio.  More on that later.  Just had to share my fancy new logo!

Off to snuggle up under the blankets.  It is cold here.  Hope you are warm where you are!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Just a Few Quick & Completely Random Pics

OK, so this post is completely random but here are a few pictures that I have been working on:

Louisa has found her hands.  It happened almost two weeks ago and she is a bit obsessed.  She loves to hold her own hands, suck her thumb or even pinch.  I would say that her fine motor skills are developing quite nicely!

Yeah, that's Ed.  My brother in law said he keeps waiting to see Ed on the blog.  So, here he is.  He actually let me snap a shot when I was testing out the lens he got me for Christmas.  I think the picture turned out very nice. Let's see how long it takes him to realize I have posted him on the blog.  If you see him tell him you liked when he was the "Blog Star".  It will probably make him a little nervous.  He forgets to check the blog and when you tell him he was a blog star he will most likely think I posted something crazy.

Here's my big boy Ben.  Isn't he cute?

OK, that's all for now.  The first two pictures were taken with my new lens ( Tamron 28-70mm f/2.8)  I read a few reviews where people were unhappy with their lens due to focus issues.  I don't think I got a soft copy of the lens.  My focus looks pretty good to me!

Off to read now.  I have gotten sucked into the Twilight series.  Almost done with book two!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy Birthday Lulu!

This is my Liza Lu.  Don't ask me why we call her Liza Lu.  We just do and I think it is cute.  We also call her Lulu.  The poor child will probably go through life wondering what her real name is.  Is it her given name, Elizabeth?  The name we call her, Liza?  Her nicknames, Liza Lu, Lulu??  I can't believe I have done this to my child.  After teaching for years and having to call children by names other than those on my records, I always said I wouldn't ever do that to my kids.  Well, I guess you should never say never because I did!



Anyway, today is Liza's big day.  It is her third birthday.  I can't believe it has been three years since she came into our lives.  Before her, our home had no Barbies, no princesses, no dress up gowns.  Now our house is full of them and full of all the joy that little girls bring with them. Liza is quite the character and her personality is so precious to us.  She makes us laugh daily and she is not shy about expressing her love for us or her brothers and sister.

Here is a picture of that "ah-ha" moment when she saw what was wrapped up (an Ariel doll.)
And here is a cute picture that so captures her little self-sweet, happy, funny, scheming... Ahh, the many sides of Liza.
Happy Birthday my little angel girl.  I am so glad that God saw fit to send you to us three years ago.  He knew exactly what our family needed- Liza Lulu!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

A New Blog Star!

Well, he had to know this was coming.  This is my brother in law, Guy, my newest blog star.  He has been a fixture at my parent's house since he started dating my sister back in high school.  I tell you that to let you know that we go back a long way.  Other than my siblings and blood relatives, he probably has the most first hand knowledge as to how each of us turned out the way we have.  He also probably has the best stories about each of us and we have some pretty good ones on him too.  Let me just say that he looks really nice in an orange jumpsuit!

Anyway, over Thanksgiving we were all together and were trying to get some shots of all the kids for the grandparent's Christmas cards.  I found these cute holiday lollipops and thought they would look good in a picture.  We had a few left over so guess who joined in the lollipop lickin' fun?  That's right- Guy!  That's where this shot came from.  I think when I took the picture he made a joke about it showing up on my blog...  One shouldn't joke about such things.... it makes them come true!!



Anyway, I did get some cool pictures of the kids with their lolli's.  I just love all the colors!


And, because I am a nice sister in law, I wanted to put a picture of Guy up here that he would really like.  This is him with his oldest daughter, Chelsea, who really likes to have pictures of her and her daddy.  Isn't that cute? ( Both the fact that she likes to have pictures with him and the picture itself!)


So, there you have it- my newest blog star!  Gotta love brother in laws that will let you slap their picture on your blog and not get mad at you :-)

The Hope of Being IN More Pictures

My sister, Sarah, is the proud owner of a great new DSLR.  This past week we were all together at my parent's house to celebrate New Year's and my sister brought her new toy so that I could help her learn to use it.  She is a very quick study.  She was up and shooting in no time!  Below are a few pictures that she took and guess what?  I am actually IN the pictures instead of behind the lens!



How great is this?  Now, when we are together I may be in a few shots.  I think she did a fabulous job don't you?  These were all shots taken on the first night that she actually used the camera.  I enjoyed being able to share some of what I have learned this past year.  In just a few days Sarah has learned to use more features of her camera than I knew how to use for several years!  I am expecting to see some great pictures in the near future!  Now, I think she needs to start a blog!