A new chapter in life...

My oldest has been in dance since she was 3. My son is finally old enough to be in soccer this year and Daddy jumped at the opportunity. He's the coach. The field is so tiny and the kids are so cute! One cute little go getter scored 4 goals before anyone else had the chance to do anything. I've never been a soccer mom before but we brought juice drinks for the kids and I took a lot of photos.

 My son was so excited to be around other people we often had to tell him to watch the ball.  He just wanted to socialize.  But he had fun and once he got the hang of it, he actually started going after the ball.

  Run Dash, Run!

And HE ...

SCORES! 

Wish I'd had my camera set to continuous shooting at this point but I was also having to shoot around parents too.  So I've learned my lesson.

Who do you think you are?

Have you watched this show? If you haven't or would like to watch an episode or two again, it's on HULU.  It's pretty interesting to watch the process - of course some of them are paying people to find the info for them - but it's all very interesting. I especially loved the show with Ashley Judd because it taught me to not only find the names of my ancestors but to also find out their stories.  What was going on at the time in the places my ancestors lived?  What were they sorts of things were they involved in? I know there are a few Union soldiers in my family.  I know some of them lived in Maryland in the 1700's.  This show increased my desire to find out more about them.

Here is something super useful in any family history search.

Find links to death and other certificates, the grave #'s, and grave marker photos at Find A Grave

Cold weather Vegetables

It's seriously been so cold this spring.  These poor plants are still in my window sill.  They are going outside next week regardless of whether they'll live or die.  And the peas are going in the ground.  Had I purchased the compost last fall like I had originally planned, I probably would have done this already.  The ground is just too hard and the soil too compact to get away with another summer without the 4 inches of compost I've been wanting to add.  It's really hard to add it into the garden when the wind is blowing you away and little bits of ice are stinging your face.   

And another thing I want to purchase this year is a mini-tiller.  Who needs 3 foot aisles?  And I can't get away with square foot gardening because of the wind. So many options!

    

Love Languages

I love this kid and his sweet little face.  

I count myself lucky to have him as my child.  Yes, there are times I wonder why he is so fussy or stubborn, but he is mine and he makes me want to be a better mother.  The past few days have been beautiful outside and we took advantage of it and spent some time working in the yard.  He helped me dig the grass out of the flower bed directly across from breakfast nook. It makes me crazy to look out at the flower bed and see only weeds knowing somewhere in there are tulips. Then he helped me clean up the fluffy mess left in the grass by the voles. He worked really hard and I was feeling blessed to have him by my side.  

On Thursday before heading outside again we had an afternoon snack with his sister and while we were sitting at the breakfast table I asked him what he likes best: 

When someone does something nice for him, like make his bed or find his shoes?

OR

When someone gives him a compliment?

OR

Or when someone spends time with him?

His answer totally surprised me because it was none of those things.  He said, I like it when people give me presents.  

HOLD YOUR HORSES! LIGHTBULB MOMENT!

His love language is GIFTS?!

What? All I had to do was ask? So I tried an experiment the next day.  I told him I had a present for him and gave him a piece of gum.  He was so excited and better behaved all day.  I started to think things over and realized that the $1 nerf gun from the thrift store was just as great as the custom monkey from Build-A-Bear.  It's not the cost but the frequency.  SO having said that, my goal is to make sure I give him some small gift as often as possible.  When he feels loved, he is more likely to want to spend time with me and help around the house and yard.  He wants to be around the people that love him.  And I want him to feel loved. 

And this little girl is growing up so fast.  But her love language was easy to spot.  She gave me a hug when she was just a tiny baby.  This hug even brought tears to my husband's eyes when he realized what was going on.  She likes to curl up next to me on the couch and I put my arm around her as she reads.  She is reading Anne of Green Gables right now and we are going to have a girl's movie day when she is done with the book and before she reads the rest. She is so happy that it's 18 AR points.  She is almost at 100 which is pretty good considering she has a busy schedule and we do a lot of activities together as a family.

Did I mention I realized what my love language really is? For years I thought it was something else. Thinking back I can see how it has really shaped my behavior.  Any guesses? 

Decorating with Family History Photos

Decorating with Family History Photos:

I love this idea for displaying silhouettes:

Check out Living with Lindsay

And this one on Andrea's Blog

Check out this display and other great ideas at the SimpleSong blog

And this is a family history chart I bought back when Martha Stewart had a store.  I wish I had purchased one for myself but I only purchase two - one for my in laws and one for my husband's grandparents.

Family history for your WALL

Looking for ways to display your family history photographs on the wall.  Here are a few ideas I found online with links.

I love this modern take on the family history tree.  It's 16x20 inches and holds up to six generations.  

Or you might like this version of the family history tree.  

Check out My Tree & Me

Or check out Geneartogy.com if you want a chart to share photos.

Family History Charts for displaying generations of names.

Here are some  name charts:

Etsy Tree

Giveaway on Becky Higgins Blog!

The ever talented Becky Higgins is giving away a seat in Photo Preserves class today.  

Here's what she has to say: 

One reader will win a seat in Photo Preserves, taught by Laura Vanderbeek. This is a class to teach you how to digitize, restore, and display your old photos. Great idea, as I think a lot of us could use some guidance in this department. The class runs March 31 – April 13. Leave your name, a general idea of where you live, and maybe an idea of what your collection of old photos looks like right now. This is open to international readers as well (nothing to ship).  : )

So go leave a comment for a chance to win no matter where you live in this big world!

Gardening - Cold Weather Vegetables

I love Erin's idea in her Photography 101 class at ReneePearson.com of photographing through leaves, so I decided to experiment a little with the idea myself.  There aren't many leaves around here this time of year.  These are actually the cold weather vegetables I started indoors.  Yep, they are sitting in my window sill in my bedroom and the white behind them is actually snow.

I put this one first because I love it the most.  What do you think? 

Click on it to see it larger.

Romaine Lettuce

Columbia River Cabbage

Big Daddy Onions

Purple Kohlrabi

I can't wait to get these in the ground.  The lake has thawed. That means good things around here.  It snowed this morning but it's already gone.  The tulips are starting to poke up through the ground out front and I pray the deer leave them alone.  I cannot wait to see how the alliums do. I purchased 2 types of purple alliums and I know the deer don't like them.

Don't forget to get your cold weather vegetables outdoor hardy before planting them in the ground.  Don't know how? Find out more here...

(Registration for Erin's class ends soon and my class, Photo Preserves begins next week - giving you until the first week in April to get registered.)

Monkey Mask Close Up

The kids stopped for a moment to pose with their stuffed animals and monkey birthday masks.

And this is what my son handed out in preschool.  We invited his whole class to the party.  His teacher even came.  We love her! 

Now it's a hat!

And I love how my daughter's big eyes look behind the mask.  They wear them often.

Happy Birthday little Monkey!

My little boy recently had a birthday.  This birthday is a big milestone for both of us.  We are both blessed to be here.  You see, I was full of cancer when he was born.  To give you an idea, a large tumor is the size of a quarter.  My tumor was almost 14 inches long and 3 inches wide.  It's been 5 years.  He had his "Well Child" check up and he has the green light for school.  It's all very exciting.  One more kindergarten prep class and he'll be ready to go.  

My son helped me design the monkey on his invitations.  We then made Pin the Banana on the Monkey and also wall decor. Oh and we can't forget the masks.  Every child went home with a mask and a balloon.  

 The day before his party we found this cute monkey balloon at the grocery store.

And I made the cake.  Really it's off balance and I piped on the icing with a plastic bag because I'm too cheap to buy the real stuff that I know I would rarely use.  But decorating like this and making the cake for my child's birthday was a dream come true.  And I finally had the energy to do it. 

We even drew and cut out the monkeys for the cups. We served banana shakes in the cups.  My Dad loved the shakes! He kept commenting about how well everything was going which made me relax because I felt like the pizza was late and I was making a mess.  

You can see the masks on the wall waiting to be chosen by a lucky preschooler.

Here's a cousin taking his turn at pin the banana on the monkey. We liked it so much my husband suggested we laminate it.

 This balloon is almost as big as my son.

Grandma and Grandpa P drove up.

And Grandma V walked over.

I love this photo with my sweet boy.  He cuddled up on me at the Dr.'s office today - no shots - he finished them last year.  He was so happy about that. He got to hop around and share his coordination.  He has 20/20 vision.  We are truly blessed.

Brother and Sister 

And Daddy!

We had a room full of preschoolers but I decided to honor their privacy and not share those photos.  We did take a photo of my son with each friend and each gift so we'll be using those as Thank You cards.

Last day to get discount!

Last day to get $5 off Photo Preserves by Laura Vanderbeek.

 Discount ends midnight ET tonight.

Go HERE to register for class!

Fix cracks, tears, dust spots, fading, and discolored photos with this easy to understand class by Laura Vanderbeek.  Want to know more, just email her at laurav@reneepearson.com

BEFORE

AFTER

Cathy Zielske - Photo Preserves Class Giveaway!

The ever amazing Cathy Zielske is giving away a seat in my Photo Preserves class.  You have only today to enter so go check out her blog and learn how to enter!

Presenting ... Photo Preserves

Check it out! I'm sharing my Photo Preserves class once again at ReneePearson.com

It's a 2 week online class taking just an hour or so a week for those of you who want to know how to begin preserving your old photos.

This is for color and black and white photos.  Extra help for those tricky photos available during live chats.  

Garden therapy - even photos help.

I just love these colors! Although the plant is a bit unruly and you never know how the seeds are going to do each year, these are gorgeous and I am grateful to have them in my garden. Wish I could tell you the name.  My goal this year is to keep better track of what I'm adding in my yard.  Trees hopefully.  It's almost time to make the chicken wire cage for my poor apple tree.  Hopefully the deer didn't kill if off entirely last year. 

As much as I love snow, it's just so nice to get outside and run my hands through the soil.