12 Months=12 Pictures (The End of 2011)

12 Months=12 Pictures (The End of 2011)

I did it! Mission accomplished! We had a family picture a month for 12 months. Feels awesome to have completed the project.

When I proposed the project to DH at the end of last year, he was skeptical.
"Hmmm...I dunno...it might be hard to get that done...let's see," was what he said.
Well, we did it! It was nice that he was on board with it. There were a few occasions when he reminded me to ask someone to take our picture to be sure that we had our monthly picture taken.

Here's the last 4 family pictures of the year.

{September} This was taken at the wedding where I stood as matron of honor and DD1 was flower girl. It was a beautiful day! I was so happy to see these 2 people get married. I was happy I looked good in my gown. And I was happy I got through my toast. :)

{October} My birthday month. In my head, I wanted our monthly family picture be a picture taken on my birthday as we celebrated. We did get a picture taken at the restaurant but you know how restaurant photos are...they were not very good. So I was really glad we had this taken during our community's anniversary gathering. We had just arrived and someone was taking photos. DH quickly suggested that I ask him to take a photo using our camera. Thank goodness for DH!

{November} Another trip to Disneyland. Really taking advantage of those annual passes you know! Seems like DH is making it a goal to visit this place at least once a month. The holiday decorations were recently put up so we were there to enjoy them. Our annual passes has block out dates in December so we wanted to visit the park early in the holiday season. We did end up going twice more in December to meet up with some friends who had come down from Northern California. The joys of the annual pass.

{December} Our annual Christmas eve family photo. I hosted our Noche Buena as usual. I was not sure if my in-laws would be coming over. SIL just had her baby and they were still adjusting. BIL and his wife had just started new jobs and he was doing the night shift. And you know how that is. The new guy has the last priority in time-offs. But they were here. And we celebrated as a family. MIL was in Philadelphia though so we did miss her. I served my usual fare: Roast beef, Baked shrimp scampi, green bean casserole, pancit malabon. SIL brought Honeybaked Ham. For dessert, I made leche flan and chocolate pecan pie as requested by my dear son.

It's been awesome to look at the photos and see how my family has grown together. We started the year with just 4 kids. Now we have 5. The kids are growing up oh so quickly. It's amazing to compare DS' height. You will see the big difference between the June and July photos. He is standing next to me in both pictures. He is almost as tall as I am! Not that I am very tall to begin with...but still! My baby boy will soon be taller than I am. I am not sure I'm quite ready for that. :( Can I turn back the gears of our citizen watches or at least make time stop? I am having a glimpse of teenage angst and I do not want to have to deal with that just yet.

So there goes our year. I think I'll continue this project in 2012. Ready, Camera...Smile!

12 Months = 12 Pictures {3rd Q}

12 Months = 12 Pictures {3rd Q}

Playing catch up with posting our monthly photos...

{June} Our dear baby girl was baptized. Deacon Greg has now baptized all 4 of our girls. It was a beautiful Pentecost Sunday. How apt was that? I do not believe in coincidences. I know that God had planned this. This was truly a blessing. God has mighty plans for this little girl.

We were blessed to have family and friends come to celebrate the day with us. Our friends from Turlock and Sacramento drove or flew down to be with us this day. We felt so special that they would come down especially for us.

Other developments: DH finally started work this month. We ended our school year too. There were some bumps towards the end of the month but nothing that could not be resolved!

{July} First off, did you notice the growth in height of DS between the June & July photos? Incredible right?

We spent the July 4th weekend at Universal Studios and then the beach the next day. Our year has really been filled family outings and getaways.

Towards the end of the month, we made a trip to Carmel to attend the wedding of a friend and godmother of DD1. It was a beautiful chilly morning. She was gorgeous in her gown. Lovely church to be married in too. After the wedding, we traveled to Turlock to spend time with our friends. It was a beautiful weekend with friends. Loved it.

At the end of the month, I hosted the bridal shower for a very dear friend. We had a wine and cheese event. It was gorgeous and elegant. It was very much how I envisioned it to be. My only regret was that I did not have my camera with me! Ugh! Such a major slip up on my part. Other than that, it was a successful event.

{August} The 3 oldest kids went to our community's children's camp with DH. It was DD2's first time and boy! was she excited! She even won her cabin's best camper award and got to bring home their team flag. Such a special experience for her.

DH also finished some home improvements around the house. He initially just wanted to change the faucets in our double bowl undermount sinks but then ended up changing the faucets in all the bathrooms!

We also started school on the 3rd week of August. DS is now 5th grade, DD1 at 2nd, DD3 at 1st and DD4 at preschool. So far, things are going well. It is a challenge with the baby in tow all the time but we are getting our work done. Hooray!





The last quarter of the month is here now. The year just flew on by! And I am so glad that my little project has been successful so far!

I Wish You Had 11 Kids...

I Wish You Had 11 Kids...

DD2 came to me the other day and said, "I wish you had 11 kids like the Kramers." I laughed out loud as soon as I heard it.
"Why would you want that?" I asked.
"So we can have lots of playmates and it's fun!"
"If you become a mommy, would you want to have 11 kids?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it's hard," she answered with a shy grin.

I think that in a way she has touched on the reality of our lives. Having a bigger family is a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. I'd like to think that the work it takes to raise a bigger family is not necessarily "bad" hard work. It is a challenge but it brings joy to our lives. It is difficult but is filled with grace from our heavenly Father.

It can get overwhelming at times when I think of the practical issues.
How are we ever going to put all the kids through college?
We will need a bigger house soon as the kids are growing up quickly.
Will I be able to home school all of them?
Can I last through all their grade school years at least?
Should we be buying term life insurance beyond the 20 years that we are currently insured?
Can you imagine our car insurance premiums once they hit the driving age?

So many things can clutter my mind if I let it. It can get overwhelming. Then the Lord reminds me that these are His children. He loves them more than I can ever love them. He has a plan for each one. I will need to trust that He will provide for us just as He has provided for me and my family when I was growing up.