let it snow!!!

okay, here are the long-awaited pics from my new camera!!! thanks to stephanie for helping me figure out how to work my camera, in the first place. it's so great, but i had no clue how to use it. after a little tutoring, i "think" i can do the basics. i had fun trying to get some neat snow pics, but as steph said, it's hard to get good ones. the lighting is all crazy and i was actually thinking about works like "f-stop" and aperture and shutter-speed and white balance....yeah, it's complicated! anyway, above are my feeble attempt at a few snow pics. :) and, if you couldn't tell, i was super-happy to actually have my snowman decorations out while it was snowing!!! so fun for me! :)

Tagged, again!

TAGGED AGAIN!:

Here are the rules:

1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open to page 56.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the next 2 to 5 sentences, along with these rules.

5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual book. Pick the CLOSEST!

6. Tag five other people to do the same!

okay, hold onto your seats! this book is so interesting. (yeah, right!). as most of you know, tyler is in school for his phd and so the closest book is one of his. here you go:

However, there are many ways to develop learning skills and learner awarness, and most of them are not difficult. The guidelines offer how-to advice. They do so assuming teachers may not have much previous experience or expertise in the area. (Learner-Centered Teaching by Maryellen Weimer)

i tag:

jana r.

stephanie h.

michele h.

melanie s.

keri r.

hope your books are more interesting than mine!

scott and emmie

we have some roly-poly babies....mere and i. don't you agree? here are the cousins at about the same ages...scott at 4 months and emmie at 5 months. everyone thinks that they look alike so i had to see for myself. they definitely resemble each other more than they do their sisters. (did that make sense?) that williams/hemenway gene is still going strong!!! i say hemenway because that is my mom's side of the family and scott and emmie truely are very hemenway!!! :)

it's here!

my camera arrived this evening!!! i have been stalking the fedex tracking site a lot lately, so i knew it should arrive today. i have been so excited!!!! :) brooke had speech therapy this afternoon and tyler insisted on taking her so that i could be here when the camera arrived. how sweet is he??? i felt like a total slacker mom by not taking brooke, but tyler would have it no other way and so i stayed here and waited...and waited... and it finally arrived! so, as soon as i can figure it out i will take some pics. i plan on practicing on my favorite subjects this weekend.

tonight tyler had a great idea for family time. we sat by the fire and watched video of the kiddos when they were little. we got to see brooke at 2 years old and scott as an infant. WOW....they grow up so quickly. i so would love to go back for a day and love on them and totally enjoy every second without the demands of "everyday" life calling me. wouldn't that be wonderful!

i hope that you all have a great weekend! we plan on relaxing and taking lots of pics here... :)

brooke's advanced reader t-shirt

brooke's work posted on the bulletin board in the hallway

the family and mrs. glover (assistant principal)

brooke with mrs. glover

brooke and scott

brooke....so proud! :)

brooke has worked hard and received her AR (advanced reader) tshirt today! in order to receive the shirt, she had to read books and take tests on them. they are awarded points according the their scores on the tests. once the kids reach 50 points, they are awarded with an AR tshirt. we are so proud of her!!! we took a few pics to remember the special day! we love you brookie!!!

just an update...

i have not updated much lately because....well....there's just not much to say! i will tell you that i am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Christmas gift to myself. i saved and saved and ordered a new camera (nikon d80) with an additional zoom lens. i can't wait to try it out! i'm sure i will be a little "camera happy" once it makes it into my greedy little hands and you all will get to witness my joy! :)

now, speaking of Christmas gifts....i just had to share what tyler got for me. he did get me a digital photo frame, which i love. it will be perfect for displaying my pics from new camera! :) but.....the gift that will forever remain in my memory is the weather system that he purchased for me. just wait, it gets better. he got me not only 1, but 2 weather stations!!! girls, don't be jealous!!! i have one for my kitchen and one for my bathroom. we did have one for the kitchen already, but it was not up to tyler's standards. (he had seen one at a friend's home and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to bring one into our home. voila....Christmas for kimie!) anyway, we have laughed and laughed about it and i have given tyler quite a bit of grief (in a loving and joking way). i think this gift rates right up there with the ironing board that he got me during our first year of marriage. gotta love tyler!!!! and you all know i do, with all of my heart! i talked to tyler's mom (mimi) about it and we agreed that if you really want something, you just have to save up and get it yourself. hence, the camera noted above! :)

anyway, the kids are doing well and we are all getting back into that school routine. i will say that i was not at all ready for the kids to go back to school. but, we are getting used to get up before dawn and going to bed earlier. brooke is doing really well with her reading and spelling. she's already on a 2nd grade spelling level and has been on a 2nd grade reading level for a while. i'm amazed at how much brooke and scott learn. i do think that they are pushed a little too much for such a young age. it's a little overwhelming for me! at least the kids have amazing teachers and are in wonderful schools and i am so grateful for that.

i wish you all a happy, happy 2009 and hope that you will all experience many blessings during the year.

i've been tagged....

~Tagged~

I was tagged in the picture game.The object of the picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3) Explain the picture.

4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.) Have fun!!!

well, here's my pic of sweet brookie! this pic was taken in july when tyler was deployed to iraq. i spent many a day taking the kids to the park. we had just moved to NC and i did not know many people, so this is how we passed the time. anyway, brooke was 3 years old.... she has grown up so quickly!

so, now it's my turn to tag someone. i tag:

becky

jana

stephanie

melanie