As the clock is counting down the final minutes of 2010--and more importantly the kids are all in bed and the diapers are in the dryer--I thought I'd post my favorite photos from 2010. This is starting to become a tradition of sorts for me since I've done this for both 2009 and 2008. (click on the years to be directed to those posts) This year though I had a tough time keeping it to just 10 pictures as I did last year. So this year, it's 15. But come on, we had a baby this year...there's automatically going to be extra "baby" pictures that will be my favorites. And since I'm the only paid rule maker on this blog, I'm gonna let myself bend the rules and have 15 pictures for my year end post. Besides, 15 is a nice round number. So here you have it, folks. Fifteen of my favorite family photos from 2010...in no particular order.
Our newest member--just 6 weeks old--love, love, LOVE this photo of him--Sept
Easter outfits and looking like they love each other--Apr
introducing our little babe to his older siblings--makes me cry--Aug
a daddy and his boy--Aug
brothers--Aug
one of my favorites of just the two of us this year--or do I have to say "the three of us" to not insult the mustache?--Aug
eating his snack on a bucket at big sisters preschool field trip--May
showing their goofy sides--tell me yours are like this too--May
Mother's Day--I'm so blessed to have these little ones to care for--May
sprinkler joy--May
having a blast all while picking blueberries--Sept
two buddies, one whale tale, just down the road from our house--LOVE IT!--May
new chicks--June
crazy brothers and dad aiming to displease their sister at her wedding--they succeeded--Aug
a fun loving daddy with whom I'm so glad to share in the journey of parenthood--Apr
Hope you're 2010 has been full of great memories as ours has been. And I hope you have felt the Father "always raining blessings" on you and yours this past year. Here's to 2011 and the amazing blessings, adventures, and memories that await.
Cheers!
Christmas was white. (Fresh snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.)
Christmas was magical.
Christmas was exhausting.
Christmas was exciting.
Christmas was a work day for my husband. (Boo)
Christmas was giggly.
Christmas was delicious.
Christmas was fast.
Christmas was relaxing and a wee bit lazy.
Christmas was cozy.
Christmas was a beautiful melody.
Christmas was goofy.
Hope you had a good Christmas too. Ours is still "out" and will probably get packed up shortly. With the end of this busy but fun season, I'm feeling the desire and time to blog once again. Hope there's still a few of you out there to read along and enjoy the ride.
Blessings to you all as 2010 comes to a close and 2011 is just around the bend.
The last couple of weeks have been borderline whirlwind around here. Tomorrow starts the second of a two weekend craft sale that I'm participating in locally. That means my sewing machine has been working overtime, which I don't really mind. :)
All in all, the whole family has adapted well to the added madness of the past few weeks. Fortunately, my sweet baby has complied fairly well. Although his usual pattern of sleeping through the night was very much interrupted. Last night gives me hope that we may being getting back on track. (I'm thinking that he had a growth spurt that made him think he needed to eat more frequently.)
He sure looks good when he sleeps. Well, and when he's awake too. :)
Here it is. The video I mentioned in my last post. The sound is really poor-sorry about that--just realized that today. But here's a script of what she's saying. The first part is a count down of the different steps to getting your violin from rest position to playing position. Then a little chant for holding the bow correctly. And finally she sings a song.
"This is my violin. This is where I put my chin.
E, A, D, G are the four strings, F holes let the music sound.
Here's the front and here's the back. If I drop it, it might crack.
So I hold it close beside me. Rest position you now see."
(And yes, I have it memorized as well. Can you guess how many times I've heard that little diddy?)
Oh and she's using a chopstick for a bow. Her class used some kind of a drumstick I think. But now they're using the real thing!
And know without further ado... Your Paper Violin Concert
One of the things I appreciate about the school our little miss attends is that all kindergartners have three group violin lessons each week. This has been such a neat experience for her. Before we started this program, I had considered starting her in piano lessons, but I suppose that's just because that's what I'm more familiar with. So far violin seems to be a good fit for her and I won't be surprised if she wants to continue learning the violin next year (privately--Right now the school program is just for kindergarten.).
For the first few months of school the students practiced with a paper violin. We actually made these one evening at the school. This is a photo that was in our local paper to update the community on this exciting and new program. The paper violins let the students practice holding a violin, proper posture and how to be on stage.
(photo by Micheal Penn)
A few weeks ago, the kindergartners had a concert to show off their performance skills for parents and grandparents as well as several of the other classes at the school. Our little miss did a great job. She was just as into performing at the concert as she is into the whole idea of playing the violin.
(photo by Bethany Vaughn)
This program is new to the school and actually is one of just a few in the entire nation. Boston, Chicago, New York, and little old Juneau, Alaska! The credit for this successful endeavor goes to the amazing music teacher at the little miss's school, who was just named Alaska's Teacher of the Year. We are so glad and blessed to have a kind teacher who is so passionate at what she does, fostering a love for music in our little one.
Yay for great teachers!
(photo by Michael Penn)
I'm hoping to soon post a video of the little miss doing her concert routine for daddy the evening of the school concert. Stay tuned...
two buddies, one whale tale, just down the road from our house--LOVE IT!--May
