So Long 2009...

I can't believe it's here and gone already. 2009 was most definitely the fastest year of my life. In some ways, it feels like we crammed a lot into one year. Highlights?? Well, let's consult the years old questionaire, shall we??

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
learned to swap heads in Photoshop! :)

2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
somewhat better than most years. Funny, how I always think, 'this is the year I'm really going to change my life' and how it just slides away. But the reality is (resolutions or not) I have a pretty good life and my little list is only going to improve an already great life. Mostly, I love the opportunity for personal growth and change. I love the fresh slate. A friend on FB said it should be called New Grace Day, rather than New Year's Day, because we all get a clean start. Who doesn't need that?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope. Guess we are all aging out, eh? J/K. Attended my fair share of baby showers though. And Lori will be bringing another little life into the world in June...

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. thankfully. always trying to die to self though, and that, my friends, would be helpful.

5. What countries did you visit?
never set foot out of the good ole' USA. But I did make it to Iowa, Arkansas, and Florida this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
last year's response was 'more free time'. Ha ha. I'd like more wisdom in 2010. And grace to use it. (please)

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 16, 2009. Rob's ordination. It was an amazing spiritual experience and a firm reminder of our calling.

8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?
turning a profit with ATP. Praise the Lord!

9.What was your biggest failure?
my stinky fender bender in June. Wound up costing a lot, in time, money, and insurance premiums. ugh.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really. God is good!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My Nikon d90. Used it most every day since then!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My kids. They are doing awesome in school. Plus they are just amazing. I love this age!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Once again, the people in Washington have sunk to a new low. It's like they don't even realize they are dragging a whole country behind them.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage. Bills. Fancy electronic devices. (Touches, Nikons, TV)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My new Nikon. 5 days with my mom two different times this year. Iowa in the fall. Shooting the Camiolo family. (so cute!) My 30th birthday with Lori. 90th Anniversary cookbook. Weddings 2 & 3. Our anniversary session. (a lot of these have to do with photography) Christmas with our 8 and 5 year old. Ordination..... In the words of my dad "Anna, you're always excited about something!"

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
In the Valley of the Dying Sun by House of Heroes. Just a really, really good song that randomly gets in my head, often.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder?
Happier. Moving towards that longtime goal of contentment. Wiser. Experience is definitely on my side. Maybe a little less excitable??

thinner or fatter?
same-ish. I think. Our scale's been broken for over a year. It's a major priority, can't you tell?

richer or poorer?
richer. I think.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
scrapbook and blog. ironically (and sadly) that's my answer from last year. I can't ever tell you where all my time goes, it just does. I pretty much never stop moving (unless to edit or FB), but still there are never enough hours in the day. My to-do list is never-ending.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
forgetting to trust God. I'm learning, oh so slowly.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
It's done and gone. Fastest Christmas ever. How bad is it to be looking forward to next week when everyone else returns to work and school and I can finally get something done around here??

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
yes. This year with our children. I've obviously always loved them, but this year I am in love with them. And of course, that hunk of a man I married, he still thrills me too!

23. How many one-night stands?
Never in a gajillion years. I'd rather have my 4270 nights with Rob. obviously.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
still love the Office. But Community is highly entertaining as well!

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
no haters.

26. What was the best book you read?
the Shack. wow. totally altered my world view, for the better. Love that book.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Lenka is pretty good. Other than that I've fallen off the music scene pretty badly lately. But the $25 iTunes gift card Rob gave me for Christmas should help remedy that. I'm holding off on it as a reward for when I get caught up on some work...

28. What did you want and get?
silly thing. An iPod clock radio for the bedroom. Rob also gave that to me for Christmas. (love that man)

29. What did you want and not get?
an anniversary ring. maybe another year.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
How sad is it that I can't think of any brilliant films this year? I will say that I really enjoyed The Happening. Still catch myself pondering it from time to time. Fame was a pretty major disappointment.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 30. Lori was here. The youth group (and Jen) had a major surprise party for me. It was utterly amazing and my favorite memory from this year. The cake was the best part! No, I take that back. Having Lori and Jen there was the best part. Wish Kimmie could have joined us. Won't heaven be awesome when everyone is there??

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had spent quiet time with the Lord every single day, rather than just most days. He is my everything.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
modest eclectic flair. (dark jeans, tee's and flats) That's last years answer, but it still applies. I've added earrings and the occasional giant floral pin, much to Rob's chagrin. And a fabulous grey military jacket + scarves. super cute.

34. What kept you sane?
my Lord and Savior, my daily talks with Lori and that guy I sleep with. Photoshop, though sometimes I think it steals my sanity too. Scrapbooking, when I find time for it. Music. Podcasts. Really discovered the power of the podcast this year.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Stalking Tara Whitney's blog a lot. She's really talented. Her styles a bit more eclectic than mine, but raw and passionate and I find it inspiring.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Watching our country spend itself into bankruptcy. grrrr.

37. Who did you miss?
My Northern peeps. (and Nashville-ians)

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Lori O'Dea was pretty phenomenal at Women's Retreat.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
God's Word is far more powerful than most people realize. There is life in His book.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Live Like Your Dying by Lenka

One of these days you’ll be
under the covers you’ll be
under the table and you’ll realize
all of your days are numbered;
all of them one to one hundred.
All of them millions.
All of them trillions.
So what are you gonna do with them all?
You can not trade them in for mall.
no no


Take every moment; you know that you own them.
It’s all you can do, use what’s been given to you.

Give me a reason
to fight the feeling
that there’s nothing here for me.
Cause none of its easy,
I know it wasn’t meant to be.
I know it’s all up to me
So what am I gonna do with my time?
oh


Ill take every moment, I know that I own them.
It’s all up to you to do whatever you choose.


Live like you’re dying and never stop trying.
It’s all you can do, use what’s been given to you.

All of the moments you didn’t notice;
gone in the blink of an eye.
All of the feelings you couldn’t feel
no matter how you try.

See you next year! :P

Oh Night Divine...

What a wonderful season we have been enjoying. And ironically, I thought I'd have a bit more time for blogging. (ha ha) This week has absolutely flown by. We celebrated Christmas today, and it was delightful. I, of course, have pictures to share, but I'm too tired and it's too late to fuss with all that. Just wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and remind you that Jesus is the best gift of all. If you haven't received Him into your heart yet, don't go another day without Him. He offers us hope, peace and joy. Who doesn't need that? blessings, dear ones, blessings.

In the Wee Hours

Ok, not quite. But I am up and going at 6am on the first day of Rob's Christmas break. Sare came in our room coughing, I got up and gave her some medicine, put her back to bed. Laid in bed and thought about all the things I needed to do. She came back to our room, so I left her sleeping on my side of the bed and decided to get a head start on the day instead.

Beginning with blogging. :)

Things are good here. Really enjoying the kiddos break. Unfortunately, it's flying by. Like, in the Thoreson world, tomorrow is already Christmas day! of course, I haven't finished wrapping, not because I'm a slacker, but because UPS and the PO still haven't finished bringing the presents. Nothing like the last minute, right? (grr) Everything but the couple packages that showed up last night at 5pm is wrapped, but I'm expecting the bulk of it today.

Very few of my fun projects have gotten finished. Mostly, I've just done a lot of baking/cooking/cleaning. All good though, needed to be done. I did get a chance to scrapbook a bit yesterday, and that was relaxing for sure! Posting a few photos, but the bulk of them are from my snowstorm scrapping session a few weeks back.

Eli made this paper last week during Sunday School. It was much larger, but I asked him if I could cut it down to include it in our scrapbook and he was very cool with that. I love the "I saw him!"

I've been working on this page forever. Had it designed for about 6 months, and the paper pulled, then actually started it a month ago. It was a bit labor intensive. My kids were very impressed with the cut out glue and scissors though, so that was worth it. :)

Sarah drew this self-portrait on Thanksgiving day. I especially love the hearts in her dress and the high heels on her feet. :) So very her.

And Rob loves this song, thinks it should be Sarah's theme song. I though it worked for both kids though, and thought the lyrics really fit with this photo.

Sarah's Kindergarten photo. (I got a kick out of the 'Oh Dear')

And you can't have one without the other, I actually started with this photo. Eli drew this amazing timeline of his life and I had to include it in the family book. I'm realizing I've been doing that a lot lately, but I love their little drawings and stories. Sarah keeps making 'books' by drawing on a stack of papers, telling a story, and then stapling it together. Super cute.

And these are a few photos from Sarah's Crowning. That was one of our neatest moments this year, for sure. She's working hard on her Daisy material now, and is hoping to achieve Honor Daisy this coming fall.

We had our youth Christmas dinner this past weekend, and it was really special. I so enjoyed hosting all of our students here in our home. It felt like family. And so often I feel like we've sacrificed our relationship with our real family to love on these teenagers, so it was neat to share our traditional holiday festivities as a youth family. Everyone had a wonderful time, the food was excellent. My favorite part was Monique's gift to us, a homemade brie. It was fantastic! Excuse the terrible photo, I should have pulled out my real flash. Cutting corners always hurts in the long run. (note to self)

Last night we went to Pastor and Linda's for our annual Christmas with then. It was so sweet, they made hot dogs and macaroni for the kids then we opened presents. Then we sat around, enjoyed the cheesecake I made (which turned out awesome) and talked till about 10pm. It was very nice. No pictures though, I know that Linda isn't a big picture person, so I respectfully left my camera at home. :)

Well, I have a huge list to tackle, of course. And one last session before the holiday this afternoon. Then tonight we are going to enjoy a potluck/party with some good friends and tomorrow, my friends, is the day my kids have been counting down to for over a month! :) I should have some good photos to share!

A Wonderful Afternoon/Evening

Well, after that full morning, we had an open afternoon and it's a tradition in the Thoreson household to do something fun on early out days. :) So we headed out to the library, only to be completely distracted by this incredible (albeit late) display of fall folliage on the way out of our neighborhood. The homeowner didn't appear to be home, so we stole a few snapshots. So glad I did, it's just really good to practice any time I can!

Then we finally got back on track to the library, and still had camera in tow, so I took a few more shots there. I've wanted to shoot the kids at at the library for a long time. We go there often, it's a big part of our family's culture, being readers. As for the photos, Sarah was extremely uncooperative. Eli was content to read a book and let me do my thing. Lighting was terrible. But we still had fun. And we brought home a huge stack of books and videos to enjoy over our extended holiday break.

(the above shot has been in my head forever)

(love how comfy they both are, like it's their home away from home)

(and I'm pretty sure I remember borrowing this book from the Correctionville Library while growing up... I've always loved the library)

After the library we picked up Rob at church and I snapped a few shots there. You have to understand, it's been cold and wet and miserable for the past 10 days here in Baytown, so I was feeling a little 'photographically' cooped up. :) Got some neat 'fall' shots of the church.

Then this evening, after being thoroughly annoyed with the process of changing our auto insurance, I went outside to photograph our holiday home. Well, one thing lead to another and soon I was wandering down the street with my Nikon, tripod, and remote. Had a bit of fun with that. Overall, it's been a very wonderful day.

We are watching Enchanted now, and I'm about to pop some popcorn on the stove.

Tomorrow? a client shoot and some quality time with the fam. Great day. So excited for Christmas and it's so almost there!

[Anyone else think it's crazy that I took classic fall pictures and classic Christmas pictures in the same day??]

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas!

Oh, the Christmas spirit is thick in the Thoreson Household. Last night I stayed up until about 11:30 working on this garland for our kitchen. I need to give Rob props for crinkling up an entire pad of Christmas scrapbook paper with me. He was so funny about it, "Why are we crumpling all this paper?" but still helped and I'm grateful. I'll be doing a little 'Christmas' banner in matching colors in the nights to come. So fun! I'm feeling super creative and the kids are enjoying it, I'm sure! Got a few more very special Christmas projects up my sleeve for the next few days, and hopefully time to do

I had the pleasure of attending both of their holiday parties today, and that was a treat!

I helped out in Sarah's class first and longest, because the littlest one's need the most help. I had so much fun with them, this class is really like a family.

Sarah and her dear teacher, Ms. Duvall, who is doing a phenomenal job.

She was so excited to see me, makes you feel like a rockstar, you know?

Eli was a little more reserved, but still glad to see old Mom. His class was a bit more, enthusiastic. :)

Hanging in There

Time seems to be flying by. We've had a busy December already, but we are in the home stretch now. We've done the office Christmas parties and the school program and the church program. This weekend is theLOFT Christmas dinner and then Candlelight Service and before you know it, Christmas will be here.

The shopping is almost done. Now it's the waiting game, while UPS and the Post Office faithfully bring surprises each day. I love opening the door and finding a new box on the stoop! I've wrapped almost everything that is here, but I'm still waiting for quite a bit at this point, and hoping that Amazon's free super saver shipping doesn't fail me! ;)

The kiddos are so excited! Each year it seems they 'get it' a little more and I've decided that the children are really what makes Christmas so magical. Obviously Jesus is the reason for all of it, and that's exciting enough on it's own. But the kids, they get so wound up and frenzied, it's contagious! Rob and I have really been enjoying the kids, they are at the very best ages right now. Christmas is going to be a lot of fun this year!

I've been a bit sick, not a good time of year to be under the weather. I think pulling off that spaghetti dinner just did me in. Well worth it though, we raised $870!! For our one and only fundraiser per year, that was quite alright!

The kids are done with school on Friday and I'm really looking forward to them being home and spending some quality time with them. I've got a few things up my sleeve.

Not much else. Just a few shoots between now and Christmas, and I've been working hard on year end stuff. (organizing receipts, pulling mileage records, blah blah blah) Not a fan of tax season being just after Christmas season. Also working on some 2010 plans for ATP. Wow. 2010.

Catching Up

Taking 1o minutes again.

whew.

It's been a little crazy at the Thoreson home again. But good, very good.

The fast version?

Snowed last week. Got some terrific pics of the kids.

Eli aced his Benchmark reading test. 100%. not kidding. Science is tomorrow. He's kind of a rockstar.

We painted ornaments last night at Hidden Talent. Kids loved it. I'm very inspired to do Christmas crafts, since they get out one entire WEEK before Christmas, so that's a lot of time to fill! ;) found a great garland that I'm hoping to make, some fun 50% off crafts at Hobby Lobby. Probably going to cruise by Michael's tomorrow and see what else I can find. Maybe one craft a day?

Sarah's completely in love with hot chocolate. It becomes her, doesn't it?

She's also getting great use out of our Little People Nativity set that I special ordered from Amazon 8 years ago. Definitely got our $18 worth!

And here's Eli's Compound Machine project. He got an A. It's a PB&J slicer designed by him and his dad. We are already on to the next one, a major book report on "My Side of the Mountain". (*heart* that book)

Kay, well we are off to church. Hopefully going to get some down time in the next couple weeks. Nice to be caught up on work for now (till my two Sat. shoots at least). Getting ready for the big Youth Spaghetti Fundraiser on Sunday though...

Snowing In Baytown

I am amazed. We've lived here almost 3 years now, and this is the second time it's snowed. You have to understand, we live very far south for snow. Oh, and it's a beautiful, wet, sticky snow. Everything's canceled, the kiddos are on their way home and we get an extra night together as a family. A very good thing indeed. Chili is in the crockpot, getting ready for dinner and the cinnamon rolls are already baked. Looking forward to everyone's homecoming, it feels like Christmas!!

Ridiculous.

How much these kiddos have grown. Dontchya think?

Scrapbook Pages

The first four of these pages are from our Trinity scrapbooking group last month. But I did get to scrapbook today and that was pretty exciting. I may even get my stuff back out after the kids go to bed tonight... we'll see.

December Already??

Is anyone else in shock? Wow, this year has gone so incredibly fast. Fastest year of my life, I'm convinced. Most exciting perhaps? Definitely the most personal growth. wow.

Well, today is a much-needed catch up day. And I'm grateful for it! I'm finished editing until my 3 sessions this weekend (yeay) and other than laundry and a little bit of housework, I'm seriously considering scrapbooking today.

We had a very relaxing week of vacation. Got almost nothing done. But that's not a bad thing, even in my world. :) We did manage to get our home decorated for Christmas, so that's a plus. Still need to finish up our outside lights, one of our strings had meandered over to church so we needed to retrieve it before we could officially 'light' the house. I love this time of year though, even coming home to a decorated yard makes you feel all warm and cozy inside!

I was messing around the other night and snapped a few pictures of our favorite ornaments on the tree...

This was our very first ornament as a married couple. I love Barbies and always have. The vintage bride barbie ornament happened to come out that year.

Lori made us this one back when we lived in Ozark. Man, those kids are small! Sarah was 3 months old!

Sarah made this one at LGA a few years ago.

Eli made this one in kindergarten..

And this one I made while we were living in Illinois. Just got a wild hair to make a bird ornament, I guess..

And this one is from 1983. I made it in my pre-K class. I remember drawing on it with yellow marker afterwards. And now, having a 'creative' child myself, I know exactly how my mom felt when she found me drawing on it with the yellow marker. sheesh! Apples don't fall far from trees, do they??