The Family Trifecta » Family Faces

I Heart Faces and books

Amy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:52:19 +0000

It has been a really long time since I’ve entered a photo in the weekly challenges. I think it all rolls down as part of the funk I’ve been in the past little while. There haven’t been as many pictures taken nor many posts written. But I’m trying desperately to get my groove back.

When I saw the theme for this week, I had to participate. Ivy is my little bookworm. She reads all the time and always has 5-10 books piled on her bed. I told her I wanted to take some pictures of her reading. And my inspiration was her bed and a painting my uncle did. Little did I know but she really got into this book on the Tree of Life. After I finished snapping a few shots of her, she sat peacefully and continued to read until she got to a good stopping point.

Go on over to I Heart Faces for other bookworms.

Tangled – in real life

Amy — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:12:36 +0000

A long time friend of ours was diagnosed with cancer shortly before the holiday season. In order to share our hopes and prayers with her, the neighborhood sent of lanterns into the night.

Lynette, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

School is in session…

Amy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:24:09 +0000

I’ve been a bit absent lately. I am going to do my best to do a better job of being present in my little corner of the web. It has been an interesting and fun few weeks. But the point of this post is to share something that we do each year to make the first week of school special…

I can’t believe my baby is in kindergarten. She has been asking for months about her first day of kindergarten. It was a relief to finally be able to say “Next week” instead of “In THREE months!” She laid out her clothes for the first day a week before and was having pretend conversations with her friends that she knew would be in the same class. There were three days that Jade was at school and Ivy wasn’t. Those three days were filled with talk about what her first day would be like and the hugs that she would share with her friends.

Then the morning of her first day came. She was a little bit more scared than I expected her to be. All of her pictures have that “deer-in-the-headlights” look. But we managed to capture one that I loved enough to welcome her home with.

Each year, we take pictures in the morning before school. Then I blow my favorite up to 16×20 (Costco $5.99) and put a congratulations message on the bottom of the photo. This poster is then hung in a window on the front of the house. Then the kids are greeted with their adorable face.

Here is Ivy’s from her first day of Kindergarten….

Jade started third grade, so we took her picture on the third day of third grade. (Costco had some printer issues so she wasn’t greeted by her smiling face until after dance class.)

This photos hang from their closet doors the rest of the year. They LOVE these posters. And I love having the posters documenting how much they have grown each year.

I Heart Faces – Water

Amy — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:47:53 +0000

It has been a while since I’ve entered the I Heart Faces contest. But now that I seem to have a little more time on my hands, I thought I would. After all, I will have time to comment on some of the amazing entries.

Jade is my little water bug. She seems to be happiest in the water and she actually likes her green hair. I took this picture on Saturday morning. The sun was behind the wake boarders most of the morning, and I have yet to master the sun flare. So, only part of her face is lit. And I’m also not great at photoshop so I couldn’t put more light on her face.

Bright and Vivid

Amy — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:21:49 +0000

For this week’s I Heart Faces, I debated a number of pictures but all of them were longing to be in a post with other pictures. All of them except this one. It was willing to stand alone.

Ivy is constantly a bright spot to everyone. She has a contagious smile and a heart of gold. Sure, she has her moments like every 5 year old does. But when it comes to bright and vivid, i think of Ivy.

There are some beautiful entries at I Heart Faces – so check them out.

From a Distance

Amy — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:02:51 +0000

This week’s theme is “From a Distance” – I took this picture during a warm-up for one of Jade’s meets. I love the unity the girls show while they are warming up. Although gymnastics is considered an individual sport, when you watch these little girls warm up and cheer for one another, you can’t help but know that it is indeed a team sport.

By the way, Jade hasn’t made any decisions yet. She’s excited for her intense summer of gymnastics and looking forward to auditions for dance. She found out that she gets to assist one of her teachers this summer and she’s very excited about that.

Be sure and check out some other “from a distance” photographs at I heart faces.

Ode to Mothers

Amy — Sun, 08 May 2011 16:09:53 +0000

This photo celebrates one of my favorite things about “motherhood”. This is my cousin’s adorable little boy. I took this picture while the bigger kids were hunting for Easter eggs but he was too little to care. His mom was holding him quietly playing with him. I fell in love with the joy and love on his face while he snuggled with his mom. You can tell that there is no other place in the world that he would rather be than in his mom’s arms.

Please join in the celebration of Motherhood over at I Heart Faces.

Soft and Sweet

Amy — Mon, 02 May 2011 03:31:34 +0000

This week at “I Heart Faces” they are focusing on the “soft and sweet”. I immediately thought about this picture. The sweetness of the relationship represented and the softness of a brand new baby.

I took this picture the day after she was born and was still in the hospital. She wasn’t enjoying the photo shoot very much but settled right in when she held both her mom’s and dad’s finger. I loved seeing how a brand new baby finds safety and peace in her parents. I hope that my girls will always remember that they can find that very same peace in me and Scott throughout their lives. More importantly, I hope that they will always know that they can find peace by having a close relationship with their Father in Heaven.

Jump on over and see some other soft and sweet entries.

An afternoon stroll or scootering or blading

Amy — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:00:57 +0000

Actually, I was the only one that didn’t have wheels for any part of our stroll.

Sunday afternoon, we decided to enjoy the brief good weather that we had by taking a walk (of sorts) down by the lake. There is a great paved trail that goes around most of the lake. We were able to park and then walk for more than a mile, stop at threw rocks into the lake and then walk back to the parking lot. Both girls loved it and are ready to go again. Ivy’s pushing leg got a bit sore and Jade had two little falls, but other than that, everything else went off without a hitch.

It seems that since my new job started, I have been so busy I haven’t taken the time to smell the roses, enjoy the sun or most importantly – play with the girls. It is very difficult to achieve the perfect balance when you are getting used to a new job, a new boss, new expectations and the excitement of a the future this company has the potential of reaching. I also have to make time to train and time to develop my role – which is really important. Which results in it being very difficult to make sure my family gets the very best of my time. I am trying very very hard to do better. Hopefully soon, I will be able to balance it all again.

How do you find time to enjoy the things that really matter while you are developing in other areas?

Favorite Photo – March

Amy — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:48:29 +0000

This month has not been filled with loads of family pictures, but I’ve taken over 2000 images. I decided that this month I needed to pick a picture that wasn’t of one of my two girls. Instead, I decided to pick this very sweet picture. This adorable little girl is in gymnastics with Jade and she is being counseled by her coach before getting on the beam. I love the concentration and the slight smile while this little girl thinks through her routine and is reminded of some of the skills she needs to focus on more.

I am such a huge fan of the discipline and focus that is gained at a very early age by being actively involved in something more than playing with friends, watching TV or playing video games. Especially when you have a child that may be a bit more on the scattered side. My firm belief is that you need to find activities that your child loves and let them jump into them as much as feasibly possible with your given situation. For some that may be a community class or a small neighborhood program. Yet others may be able to attend camps and clinics all over the country. Some may even have to juggle multiple talents with their every day requirements. If they are developing their talent(s), they will learn how to organize and structure their lives to accomplish the things they need to do in order to spend more time doing the activities they love to do. It won’t guarantee straight A’s in school, but it will encourage a well rounded, focused, happy and strong child.

Friends of ours make huge sacrifices to have their children in one musical activity and one physical activity from the time they are 5. In my mind, that is a really awesome approach to take.

This photo is for I Heart Faces. Join in with your favorite photo from March!