{the way i view...the holidays}

i don't have anything prepared for this month's theme.  i took a lot of pictures this month as i think we all did but none of them really "fit" for me.  so i'm gonna just go with something.  i know, cheater.  lol.  i have enjoyed doing this project this year.  i completed all 12 months and now i'm done.  woo hoo!

the holidays to me are about family, traditions and giving.  we have a lot of traditions of which i will be blogging about soon.  we are always all about family but the holidays are a reason to reach out to the family you don't always see.  not that it should be that way, but let's be real.  ;)  also the holidays are about giving.  for the past couple of years we've given to someone outside of our family.  one year we bought a tree for a coworker that couldn't afford one.  last year we adopted a child and bought him gifts.  this year we didn't do anything personally but we had some big events at work that i was in charge of organizing. 

each year we do a stuff a cruiser event.  it's a toy drive to support the local toy fundraising charity.  a lot like toys for tots but local.  you could buy a toy and put it in the police cruiser while saying hi to santa.  the police in my town are fantastic and it's always a great event.  the very next day we had a "shop with a cop" type event called heroes and helpers.  this was by far my most enjoyable and favorite day of work in the ten years i've worked for the company.  i got a grant for $500 from target and the police were able to get another $500 from the police union and we got 10 kids from grades 1-5 to come to the store and we gave them $100 each to shop for gifts for their family and themselves.  it was amazing.  all of the kids were in need financially.  some of them weren't even going to get a christmas.  they were partnered up with an officer and went shopping after a huge pizza party.  then we wrapped everything for them and santa came and gave them a little extra gift.  to know that we made an actual difference in these family's lives was the most fulfilling feeling i've ever had at work.  i can't wait to do it again next year!

this picture was a last minute effort to grab a picture of all of us.  it's not technically perfect, but it's perfect to me.  :)

i hope y'all had a fantastic holiday season!!!!!! 

plese go check out {natalia's} view of the holidays.  :)

{the way i view...blessings}

this is the second to last installment of the "the way i view" with the very talented ladies over at Clickinmoms.  i'm really happy it's the second to last.  i haven't been giving this challenge my all but i want to finish out the year and not give up.  make sense?

i will not be doing this challenge next year.  it's nothing against the challenge.  the challenge itself is great.  and the women that are in my circle are great too.  it's just me.  it doesn't inspire me anymore.  it stressed me out.  maybe it's because i started another challenge that i absolutely adore.  i don't know but i will finish.

this month's topic is blessings.  i have many many blessings but the most important are my family.  they are my everything.  here are some shots from our christmas photo that we took on thanksgiving this year.  i had bought a remote but it didn't work with my camera so i did the timer run thing.  it kind of made me look like i was photobombing a cute family in some of them, but so be it.

please go check out the very talented {clair's} way of viewing blessings.  

{the way i view...halloween}

this month's "the way i view" post was halloween.  i totally forgot to post it so i had to grab these from fb and then upload to flickr so they're kind of crappy quality but you get the point. 

i had a cowboy, a grumpy 13 yr old who decided last minute not to dress up, a fairy and the cutest witch you'll ever see.  :)

they love silly face photos.  that cute little cowboy was sad cause he had just fallen and hurt his hand.  it's rough being a five year old i tell ya!

i hope to come back and add some trick or treating photos so if you're interested, come back and check it out!

now go check out {clair's} view!

{the way i view...back to school}

the kids have been back to school for almost a month now. this month's theme over at clickinmoms was back to school so i saved them for this post.

am i the only mom who took tons of pics of the younger kids and not so much the older ones?  i should feel bad but bay hates getting his pic taken and i knew i was going to get some of chloe at her bus stop with ian.

bailey entered the eight grade.  yes, i'm old enough to have an eight grader.  shocking, i know.  but isn't he cute?

he insisted i get a shot that included his sneakers as well.  he's mildly obsessed to say the least.

chloe went into second grade.  she's growing up so fast!

she wore a cute sparkly skirt that's a bit too old for my liking even if it is adorable and a cute little pony shirt that evened out the oldness of that skirt. 

the following week, ian and isobel started school.  i wanted a shot of chloe and ian at their bus stop.  yes, i smudged out the street signs and bus numbers and what nots...

cutest kindergartner ever!

this is his "smile" right now.  i know most kids go through this phase.  can't wait till he passes it by.  i can only stand so many pics of him looking like jim carrey.

isobel started preschool.  so darn cute.

just look at her tongue out nervous smile.  adorbs.  and those shoes, total cuteness overload.

jess took a pic of us.  sad bailey's not in it, but he was already off to school.  i took one of them, their dad and jess too.  i must have missed uploading it to flickr.  i'll add it later.

bus time!  ian's first time ever.  i didnt' cry.  i swear.  ok, maybe a little.  that's what sunglasses are for!

totally a crap pic but i love their waves!!!!!!!!!!

and then we were off to bring the little to preschool.  she was very nervous.  she told me she was scared.  :(

happy mistake right here.  not sure what this is, but i love love love it.

a goodbye to her mama....

and one last high five and she was off!!!!!  she had a great day. 

isobel still occasionally says that she doesn't want to go to school and whines a bit but she does love it once she gets there.  they are all enjoying school and happy.  me?   i miss the crap out of them.

do me a solid and go check out {clair's} view of back to school.  :)

{the way i view....playtime}

this month's theme is playtime. i did take a few of these for the topic but some of them are from earlier in the summer. :)

do me a favor and check out clair's view.  

{the way i view....summer life}

linking up again this month for the {clickinmoms} "the way i view..." challenge.  this month's theme is summer life.  i am very very lucky to live in a coastal area so we've been spending some time at the beach this year.  now that the kids are older, they actually enjoy the beach so it's not the horrible awful experience it has been in the past.

here are some shots from two different beach days.  :)

now go check out how {Clair} views summertime.  :)

and while your visiting, please check out my new linky party i made.  please join in.  it would make me very happy.  ;)

{the way i view...friendship}

this month's theme is friendship. i'm doing a monthly challenge over at clickinmoms. you can find last month's installment {here}.  i have a lot of friends.  most of my friends are people i've met at target.  sad huh?  not really if you consider that i did not go to college and have been with the company for ten years.

out of all of my friends, i have one bestie.  her name is jen.  :)  you may recognize her.  she has been on the blog before.  {even though she claims she never has}.

jen and i have been friends FOREVER.  it all started one day during high school.  jen was on crutches and the teacher asked for a volunteer to leave a few minutes early and walk her to her next class.  i am all for leaving class early, so i volunteered to bring her.  the rest, as they say, is history.  we've been friends for as long as i can remember.  we had one big fight where we didn't talk for a couple of years.  we call it our "vacation".  it was a horrible time.  i'm not even sure jen knows how much i hated it.  {she will now, cause as a good bestie does, she reads my blog.}  i thought of her all the time and found myself missing her.  finally, i made a leap and contacted her through myspace.  {i know huh?  myspace?  so 2008}.  even though we had been best friends, meeting up with her that first time after our vacation was nerve racking. everything worked out fine though, and here we are!

since i know you're reading this, jennifer, i wanted to let you know that i love you.  you are my family more than just my friend.  thank you for being the best best friend i could ever ask for.  you're gonna be stuck with me for a hella long time.  :)

i tried to get a cute pic of jen and i today for this post, but that didn't work out so much so you'll get an adorable pic of her fish face {which i'm so sure she'll love me for} and some others i find on my computer.

so bear with me....there are lots of pics here.  :)

we'll start off with way back when....

really the fact that she was friends with me when i wore white eyeliner says something for her. ;)

she was there when most of my babies were born....

she does crazy ass things that make me laugh....

like lay on the floor like she's dying in the middle of the airport because we have a delay...with four kids. {tell me you don't love the kids faces in the background?}

she's also one of those friends who would do anything for you.  including bringing you to new york and hanging out with you on a work outing to six flags....

aren't we cute?

she's not too bad to have a few too many drinks with either. lol.


she's also the kind of friend that the kids call auntie jen. cause to them, she is their auntie. they love her very much.

mostly i love her cause we are us....

and here is that pic i promised at the beginning. :)

guys don't forget to head over to {clair's} page to see how she views friendship!  :)