A father passing by his son’s bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an Envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to ‘Dad.’ With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Dad:

It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you.

I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.

I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice.

But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am.

But it’ s not only the passion… Dad she’s pregnant.

Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter.

We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone.

We’ll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy.

In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it.

Don’t worry Dad. I’m 15 and I know how to take care of myself.

Someday I’m sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love, Your Son John

PS. Dad, none of the above is true. I’m over at Tommy’s house.

I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that’s in my center desk drawer.

I love you. Call me when it’s safe to come home.

Looking back I had to laugh…shopping for three kids, different genders, ages and sizes is much harder than it looks! But we did it. I feel your pain for all of you who have ever asked the dreaded “What do we wear??” question.   So here are some of my favorite shots from our afternoon out.   And yes, my cards actually made it out this year in time for Christmas

I was thinking about why I am so excited. It was the same rub-my-hands-together anticipation that I had earlier this week when I got to do a session with 4 week old triplets. Then again, for the most part I feel like a kid in a candy store before doing sessions. It is what I love. Really. Truly. Love. I love the connections between a pregnant woman and her husband, so full of anticipation and hope. I simply melt seeing a new father kissing his daughters toes and itty-bitty fingers. I am inspired by HS Seniors who are so ready to take on the world. Don’t even get me started on how I feel watching the unguarded play of families. I simply love the connections between people.

So tomorrow, I get the opportunity to capture and create tangible keepsakes for this couple. I get to be there with my camera when he sees her for the very first time as his bride. Ooohhh…and when they look at each other and make promises that will last a lifetime. And they will. Trust me on this one. I get to see her 5 year old daughter in a gorgeous dress, all dolled up just like her beautiful mommy. Sigh. Happiness. Pure Happiness. So today, if you hear me giggling randomly while grocery shopping or getting the mail, really, I am not crazy. Well, okay, maybe just a little…

Well, here is a GREAT idea! As of April 1st of this year and running through April 1st, 2010, you can get a group of 4 into several local venues for FREE. Yup…FREE! How does this work? Using what is called a Culture Pass anyone with a Library card in Scottsdale , Phoenix , Chandler , Mesa , Tempe and Glendale can go to their local library and ask to check out a pass for the particular place you would like to go. Each Library has been given 5 passes to each venue. You walk in, pick up the pass, take it to the check out desk and bada-BING! You are given a pass that is good for a one time admission for 4 which expires in 7 days. Nothing to bring back, even! How cool is that?!!

Here’s a tip. These babies are pretty popular and the place you may want to get passes for may be checked out. You cannot put passes on hold, however you can go online to the Library’s website and look at the availability and status of the Culture pass you would like to check out. The websites list the days the pass becomes available again. I wanted to take my kids to the Children’s Museum last week. I went onto the Phoenix City Library’s website, found out the date the pass was going back to “Available” status and was at the library when it opened. It’s worth a little advance planning to get what you want!

Here is a list of the available venues:
AZ Museum for Youth
AZ Museum of Natural History
AZ Science Center
The Bead Museum
Cave Creek Museum
Children’s Museum of Phoenix
Desert Botanical Garden
Heard Museum
Mesa Contemporary Arts
Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix Zoo
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Taliesin West

I just think this is the best thing to happen in Phoenix in a long time! I am looking forward to taking my kids to several of these venues during the summer. Fun, interesting places that are free and air conditioned? I am so there!

Check out more info about the culture pass here: http://www.showup.com/culturepass
Happy Summer!

Well a few months ago their mom lost her job. She decided to take a new job in California and they moved rather quickly. Needless to say my kids were really sad to see their friends go. Kyle especially missed Jack. My son is extremely tender hearted. He cried every day for two weeks when we got home from school. I really wanted to help him process how hard it was for him to have a friend move away. One night before bedtime he was really very sad. We were talking about all the fun things we had done with Jack and he was telling me he was afraid a family would move in and there would not be any kids to play with. I told him we should pray about it. That we should ask God to bring a family with lots of kids. And so we did. We prayed every time Kyle felt sad. A great thing happened. He started to let go of his sadness and started to have hope. Instead of crying when we saw the house across the street he would pray on his own. My sweet, crazy, 6 year old little warrior prayed for days.

The owner of the house, Jack and Danni’s grandfather, has been working on the house for a few weeks now. We are used to seeing his car there and him in and out of the house. Yesterday I was pulling into the driveway after dropping my kids off at school. There were 2 different cars and a group of people standing outside talking. Being me, (those of you who know me well know exactly what I mean!)  I walked over to check things out and say hello. Sure enough, they were the new family moving in! I met the mom and she told me about her plans to move in over the next 2 weeks. Then she told me about her kids. FIVE of them. FIVE! Four boys and one girl. I think she said they range in ages from 3 to 11.  I just laughed when she told me about her kids. I shared this story with her and we laughed over how fun it will be to to have new friends on the block. But wait …it gets even better. They are Jack and Danni’s cousins. So not only do we have an all new set of friends in our neighborhood, we get a way to keep in touch with old friends as well. How cool is that! I was so excited to tell Kyle when he got home from school. He was beyond excited and is counting down the days until they move in.

Now nothing is guaranteed that they will all be best of friends. But the cool thing is that Kyle felt like his prayers did not go unheard. He prayed for “new kids” to move across the street. He is getting that and so much more! It’s like getting an ice cream sundae with whipped cream and sprinkles when all you were expecting was a plain scoop of vanilla.  Sarah even laughed and said, ” I wonder what would have happened if I had prayed with him? A house with 10 kids? 5 girls and 5 boys? ” She got to see Kyle’s faith in action and it had an effect on her as well.

I once heard someone say that a coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous. I have this vision in my head of God watching all of this from up high. Seeing Kyle sad and knowing what was to come, rubbing his hands together, giddy for the gift he was giving my son.  Some of you reading this may think, big deal, new kids moving in. How is that a “miracle”? Well the miracle is seeing my kids faith in action, seeing God’s faithfulness and goodness. Yup, life is good indeed.

I have not been working much this week because my sister is in town with my brother-in-law and their very adorable 11 month old son Caleb. Oh happy me! We have had a fun week playing together. We went to the Children’s Museum on Tuesday. What a great place! If you have kids between 2-10 this is definitely a fun place to be.  All three of my kids enjoyed it on different levels. Even Baby Caleb had a room dedicated to toddlers to hang out in. We packed a lunch and played for hours. Quite the accomplishment when you have 4 kids in such different age groups in tow! Today we are off to McCormick Ranch Train park. I am sure there will be even more pictures to post. But for today I am off to play with my family. Hope your day is wonderful!

Besides the wonderful teaching and people, we were spoiled by the incredible food. My amazing (and I don’t use that word lightly!) friend Kim is truly gifted in event planning. She can whip up a menu that is delicious and filling for a group of 50, or elegant and indulgant for a small dinner party of 10.  She and her husband Nick were part of what made the weekend so special. Sunday morning we woke up to fresh baked scones that were so delicious. I love a good scone recipe and wanted to share this one with you all. If you try it out, let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Kim’s Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients

• 4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn’t stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

If you give a mom a muffin, she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee. She’ll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She’ll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer, she’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She’ll smell something funny. She’ll change the two-year-old.
While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

(by Kathy Fictorie based on “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff)

Okay. Where is the hidden camera??? That just about sums up my morning. Now where did I put my coffee?