A class. Another reason to take pictures.

Okay so now that I have started this photography class, I see good photos everywhere. Yesterday, as I was driving down the hill I noticed the repetition of the pine trees and the sparkle of the snow in the sun. I see the way the wind plays in the hair of my children. I stop to take pictures of park benches and winding fences.

As you know, I thoroughly enjoy photographing my children. Really, who wouldn't. They are adorable and I am definitely not biased. I love that I am learning new ways to photograph them. I look forward to learning more each week.

Beauty through the lens of my camera.

So, today, on our way home from the hair salon, Alice and I took a detour to the duck pond downtown Colorado Springs and snapped a few more pics. I know that I am not even close to being a photographer but I am having fun pretending :)

Much love to you all,

Jennifer

A Walk

This morning Mason and I took a walk around the yard in the snow. Mason is in love with his snow boots and is always asking to wear them. The snow was really light and the sun was shining. A walk in the yard. Perfect. I also had to take some pics for my photography class and I took advantage of the beautiful day and adorable subject.

Crazy week at the Wescott house. We had something or more than one something going every night this week. Whew. Can't believe that we made it to Friday. Looking forward to a quiet night with the kids, as quiet as it can be with four kids :)

Have a great weekend!

Jennifer

Sometimes....

you feel like a nut.

Sometimes, you don't.

Friday Already?!?!?!?

How can it be? This week has blown by! Scott's parents left on Monday morning. We had a really nice visit. They are always so helpful with the kids and we always enjoy our time with them. It has been a busy week full of karate, gymnastics, a 1st grade musical, dinner at church, meetings and general school stuff.

Here is Alice at her program. She did a great job and looked adorable, of course :)

Alice and her best friend Abby! Alice said Abby was the prettiest girl in the whole program. My sweet girl!
Have a great Friday and Happy Birthday to my nephew Zachary!

Jennifer

Year In Review

2009 was a great year in the Wescott house! Here is a recap of the year, month by month.

January

After a wonderful visit to Michigan for the holidays we arrived home to our swing set laying on its side halfway down the ravine. After much thought, consideration and many months of deliberation we decided to set it back up and secure it down.

February

This month was filled with passports, visas, paperwork, packing and more preparing to travel to China. On February 23rd we met Mason for the first time. A very scared Dong Sheng met a very nervous momma and daddy. What an amazing and awesome day!

March

Paige celebrated her 4th birthday on March 6th. She was so excited because she was sure that the best present was her new baby brother as we arrived home from China on her birthday. She was blessed to celebrate with both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and her entire family finally together.

April

We celebrated Easter with a ton of snow. Easter egg hunts all over Colorado Springs were postponed until warmer weather arrived.

May

May is always a busy month around here. The girls finished their year of ballet with a beautiful recital. Scott celebrated his 34th birthday. The weather got much warmer and we started hiking and playing outside more often. Alice graduated from Kindergarten and Sam said goodbye to first grade.

June

Sam started swim team practice which meant that we all got to enjoy being at the pool everyday. It didn't take long for all the kids to turn into fish. Mason had his last set of casts removed and started wearing his special shoes and braces full time. Alice celebrated her 6th birthday at home. Mason celebrated his 2nd birthday. We camped with our dear friends the Abernethy's at Chalk Creek and had tons of fun hiking, fishing, exploring the creek and enjoying each others company.

July

July held tons of fun for us. We enjoyed the 4th of July at the pool with many of our friends. Scott's parents came for a visit. Sam continued to have weekly swim meets and the girls started lessons. Alice also enjoyed her tennis lessons and is looking forward to taking them again this summer. We also went to a rodeo parade and spent lots of time at the park.

August

Wow! This might have been our busiest month aside from February and the adoption. We wrapped up the end of summer with lots of fun at the pool. The kids started school and Paige started PreK 3 days a week. The biggest and longest event in August was Scott's run. He ran and finished The Leadville 100. After much training he ran it well and finished in just over 29 hours. He continues to run and is now training for some sprint triathlons and a faster 5K time. You can follow his training over at his blog, just click here.

September

This month started out with kids back in school. Over Labor Day we spent time at our church retreat. Alice started soccer and Samuel started flag football. Our biggest news of September was definitely that Mason started walking. His doctor decided that he only had to wear his braces 16 hours a day. Freedom!!!

October

Samuel celebrated his 8th birthday with a family party at home. The gift of the year was definitely all the Lego's. Sam and Alice ran cross country at school and did really well until the last meet when the temps plummeted and we were threatened with our first snow storm. Sam had his 2nd grade musical program and all the kids enjoyed warm temps for Halloween. The swine flu hit our house hard and Paige walked away with a mild case of pneumonia.

November

November saw more crazy weather ranging from feet of snow to spring-like days. Our Thanksgiving table was blessed this year with more family seated around it. Uncle Matt, Aunt
Tracy, Jacob, Kelsey and Kate came for the week of Thanksgiving. We sure were busy showing them all the beauty of Colorado and enjoying each others company. We are so thankful for their visit.

December

Mason celebrated his first Christmas with his forever family! I can't say enough about how blessed we are that our family of 5 has happily turned into a family of 6. Santa arrived again this year and left tons of fun goodies including a Wii.

May 2010 be as wonderful and memorable as 2009!

Hiking

On Sunday afternoon, after much couch surfing, Wii playing, movie watching, we decided to get out and get some fresh air. Garden of the Gods here we come. The kids had a ball jumping and climbing off the rocks. Always a fun afternoon.

Scott's parents are here visiting and joined us for our hike in Garden of the Gods.

Have a great week!

10 Months Home.

This past month has been a biggie for Mason. He moved into a big boy bed. After much deliberation we decided to move Mason into Sam's room. He is now sleeping on the bottom bunk and......he is sleeping through the night! Okay, I am not counting my chickens yet but so far so good.

His other good news is that he is potty trained. We started the Monday after Christmas. I decided that it was now or never (never meaning summer break). With all the driving that I do everyday, I wasn't sure how we would make it work once the older kids went back to school. So we bit the bullet and went for it. Man was he ready! He loved the tic tac treats that he received when he went on the potty and he LOVES flushing the potty.

It's the little things I tell ya.

Mason now enjoys telling knock knock jokes. Let me restate that.....Mason enjoys telling one knock knock joke all the time, all day long.

Knock knock

Who's there?

Car

Car who?

Santa.

Sisters

They are so blessed to have each other. Even if they don't always know it.

Getting into Focus

My dear husband got me a new camera lens for my birthday and I am really having a hard time getting used to it. I find that I keep going back to the one that came with my camera. I am by no means a photographer but I have been enjoying taking better pics of my kiddos. Scott also signed me up for photography lessons starting in January. I am really excited to learn about my camera and all that it can do. I am also hoping to learn more about this new lens. Most of my pictures are usually taken on automatic and I am anxious to figure out picture taking in manual. Here are some shots of 3/4 of my kids that I took today. The light coming in the living room windows was really great. Sam seems to disappear whenever the camera comes out. So, no pics of him today.

Besides, we all know that the grandmas and grandpas really just want pictures of the kids!

Good night! Off to enjoy my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup.

Jennifer