Jack, Jack, and MORE Jack

So, I've been a productive photographer lately. Here are some fun recent photos...

1920's Jack
and his collectors F1 '60s Mercedes model that Grandpa Miranda gave him for his B-day.

Jacks latest trick. I walked in, and then ran back out for my camera.

Monkey Jack
Happy Halloween... muah ha ha!

"Hello... hello?"
Well, the words aren't quite there, but the action sure is.

Birthday Number One

I can't believe it! A year has gone by so fast. It's been so incredibly fun to see Jack Jack grow. The date was October 13th. It was so nice that his b-day was on a Saturday. We just kept things really small. My cousins, Nate's sister and husband, and Nate's BFF and wife came to join in the festivities. It was perfect, not too much stimulation, but enough for Jack to be excited. He just stared intently at everyone as we sang him his birthday anthem. Now, I've decided that every parent secretly wants their kids to dive into their first birthday cake (despite all the possible mess). Well, to our dismay, Jack refused. Any time we tried to even stick his hand in it, he cried. He would lick it from our fingers, but no way would he use his own. Then, sitting to close to the cake resulted in foot in the cake. Even then, another scream. Maybe it means he'll keep his room really clean. Maybe even love his chores!? Eh, a mother can dream...

Rediscovered

So, I have never claimed to be a reader. Last thing I remember reading, and loving, was Matilda when I was in elementary school. I think I read that thing 5 times. For a kid, it was a decent size book. Then, with Jr. High and High School, I quickly gained an aversion to reading. I hated being told what to read, and especially how fast to do it in. You see, I am a horribly slow reader. I like to blame it on the fact that I have a crazy imagination. When I read, I can't just read. No matter the subject, no matter how stale the content, I have to picture everything in my head. I like to see the WHOLE picture. School always made that hard for me. Reading started to stress me out. I felt like I couldn't read the way I wanted to... until now. "Everyone and their moms" has been telling me to read the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. They all tried to convince me of how fabulous it was. I told them all, "sure, but you'll have to bring me the book, because there is no way I will come pick it up my own." Honestly, school had ruined me, or so I thought. Well, my sister-in-law, gave me the first of three. All I have to say about that is, it hasn't even been a week and I am already 200+ pages into the third book. For me to even get through one 500 page book is a miracle. The funny thing is, they just keep getting longer. I don't even care. It's a phenomenon. So maybe, just maybe, I have rediscovered my love for reading. Thank you Ms. Meyer!

Curb Appeal

We just added a new front door to our house.
If you ask me, it's night and day. Thank you to
my beloved dad and mom who gifted it to us as a house warming present. Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's so nice to have a door that shuts and doesn't let any light in from warping and lack of insulation. Yahoo! Here's a before (it's before we moved in, so it might look quite a bit different)... and an after, or two.

Mysterious Ways

So, we all know how the Lord sometimes works. Tonight, I ran into an odd string of circumstances that made me see the possible chance of an overseeing hand. I had our Evening in Excellence for Young Womens in our church tonight. I was in charge of putting together a video of all the Young Women. It turned out really well. I put in their baby pictures, intermittently, and added some music. I was actually quite proud of it. Well, in the midst of today I managed to snap it in half. Yes, I somehow closed up my stroller while the DVD was behind the seat, and SNAP! I freaked out, knowing I would have to reburn it. It wouldn't have been too bad, except for the fact that I didn't use my computer to do the project. Anyway... long story, but by the time I got the new DVD and changed my clothes (yes, I was already behind schedule) I was about 20 minutes late to the program. When I walked in the door, it was technically time to play the DVD. Instead, (maybe they didn't see me come in yet) they had the next girl give her talk. It was quite obvious that she had absolutely nothing prepared. It kinda made a weird lull in the evening. She should have been the last thing on the program. Frankly, it would have been a really weird ending to the night. But, because I had broken the DVD, had to make a new copy, and arrived late, the video was still left. It was a good ending to the evening, and everyone left on an upbeat, happy note. They all really enjoyed laughing at themselves, and seeing what each other had to say about their year in Young Womens. The baby pics were a hit. The best part was that the girl who gave the previous talk (and you could tell she was a little embarrassed about her lack of preparation) was the girl who did the original recording for the video. It was a nice way to acknowledge her, and relieve her raw embarrassment. So, although it stressed me out, and I don't like to be late, I had to laugh at the afterthought of... well, maybe the Lord just knew.

Manic Monday

Oh, it's been a crazy day, and it's all my fault. So, typically I'm not a reader. My sis recommended I read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I've been slow to start, because I don't have a huge desire to jump into books. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. I've read 250 pages in just three days. That is absolutely amazing, seeing as how I am the slowest reader in the world (I blame my aversion to reading on my ridiculously slow pace). As a result, I did absolutely nothing today but read. Whenever Jack takes his naps, I typically clean or do something more productive. But to be honest, I'm kinda proud of myself. The TV wasn't on today, and I was incredibly entertained. I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a reawakening to my love of books. I used to love to read as a kid. So manic my day was because I put everything off 'til Nate was just about home. Since then it's been go go go: a quick clean up, dinner fixins, a quick trip with my YW presidency to buy decorations for Wed. night, Jack in the bath, a quick jot on the blog, and now I need to go cut Nates hair before we get on our way to bed. It's all been crammed into the last few hours, but it was worth it. I can't wait to read more... who knew?!