Schnoogles

Consolidating...

2010-01-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

Going forward additions to this blog will be added to my other stuff at jnuts journal. And don't worry, all past entries are safe and sound and can be found here under the "Family" tab.

Having all these blogs just got to be too much, ya know?

A "Reindeering"...

2009-12-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

Look what I got from Jade for Christmas!

And well, from her Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Neal too...

I just love it!

I Am So Very Thankful!....

2009-12-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

That I have a grocery store and a Walmart within a 10 minute drive from my house!

(This is not my house...)

(hint: If you click on it you'll be able to see it better. But don't forget to hit the back button <-- to find your way back *g*.)

Ok, so seriously, I can't even imagine waking up to this every morning???

Can YOU???

Not to mention having to deal with all of the trash and polution...

... every which way you turn...

And the rush hours can be simply fierce!

So no... I don't miss all THAT so much.

But I do miss THIS.

And THIS...

Grocery shopping can be so overrated...

Tu Tu Much!

2009-11-17T19:44:00.001-08:00

She is her mother...

Pretty amazing!

But sort of expected...

She's Two!!

2009-10-28T00:15:00.000-07:00

This is the closest I could come to finding a messy birthday cake face!...

*Can't wait for the real thing...*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JADE!!

Doodling...

2009-08-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Who'd have ever thought that family portraits would ever come to this? But still...

My daughter's latest "application" find... love it!

The art degree definitely paid off, don't you think?

Stolen Moments...

2009-08-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

You'll have to scroll through this series of pics in order to "get it"...

Best Pic Ever!

Stay tuned...

A Second Year of Dad Being...

2009-06-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture.

And this one too.

And even though this next one doesn't go along with the theme up there exactly, I still love it so very much as well!

Oh, and wait! This just in!!!

What a lucky little girl.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY AARON!

Wrapped Around Her Little Finger...

2009-05-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

She can't help it that her finger is so little.

I had the most wonderful time visiting my kids!

And ya know, they pretty much ALL have little fingers as far as I'm concerned...

Walking the Greenbelt.

What a great day!

Could A Grammy/Mommy Even BE More Blessed?

2009-03-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

I mean, seriously.

I am SO lucky!

Just Posting A Couple of Cute Pics on the Last Day of Feb of an Off-LeapYear Year.

2009-02-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

Wow! Talk about missing the deadline by a millisecond! Anyway, I just really need to add this picture to the compilation (three blogs down... Who's Who?)!

I LURVE HER!

And how about this hat?

Ya know, when I got it for her for Christmas last year I kind of pictured it being worn by a little infant still laying in her stroller. But boy, do they ever grow up fast! In fact now I'm wondering if she now maybe just wears it around the house for schnicks to pretend that she has long hair...

Awww, the memories!

And then there's my favorite pic of the week... month... and maybe even the year so far...

Caption suggestions anyone?

Hugs, Hearts and Sloppy Kisses!...

2009-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

A gal after my own heart!

The Apple of my eye!

And this is just such perfect timing! So here ya go Jadie...

A hug!

My heart!

And some Sloppy Kisses for you.

**This works really well on those fingerprints too!

Ok... so I just knew I'd succumb to making one of these glittery things one day... eventually.

Mommy's "Love" and Daddy's "Dear" and Wooosh She Is So Lucky!..

2009-02-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

And Gosh Darnit, I just can't wait to hug her!

Who's Who???

2009-01-19T09:17:00.001-08:00

A fun game for (yet) another snowed-in afternoon...

So, can you guess? **hint: there are only two babies in these pictures.

Oops, I forgot this one...

And this one...

And **smacks head** THIS one...

So let's see, what else...

Well, it's really, really cold here. And I really miss my girls. ALL of 'em.

I Hear Ya Jade!...

2008-12-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

And if there could be just one bit of grammotherly advice that I could offer you in the New Year it would be this...

MOVE SOUTH!...

Please listen to your Grammy on this one!... Do not listen to that smiling mommy or the one who's taking the picture...

A HAPPY NEW YEAR SWEETHEARTS!!!

Jade's First (Real) Christmas...

2008-12-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't get to spend it with her... but I can still imagine the wonderment of it all... just the same.

She liked her new binkies the best!!!

Merry Christmas Schnoogle Bug!!!

She's Got The Music In Her!...

2008-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

To the point that she can hardly contain herself!!!

Oh Joy Joy!

First Visit To Grammy's House!

2008-11-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

Jade came to visit her Grammy last week and we did lots and lots of things. Mostly we just woke up a lot in the middle of the night... but luckily 'we' have earplugs.

My favorite things were watching her bounce around on the waterbed and splashing around in the bathtub. She loves water! And reading her bedtime stories and giving her a bah-bah and of course seeing her first thing in the morning. She is such a schnoogle-bug!

Her newest and most favorite word is 'Wow!'

We went to a wedding while she was here. Her very first wedding ever!... except for Daryn and Jon's.

Here she is posed in front of the gifts of popcorn poppery.

And at the wedding, we danced. She was a hoot and got SO into it!

She also danced with her mama.

She even tried to catch the bouquet!

It was a fun,fun, fun Fall visit!

And I am so glad they were able to snap this one while they were here!

Pumpkin!

2008-10-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

She IS and she WAS...

Wow.. That must have been some quality stichery! Here's a pic of Auntie Daryn wearing the very same pumpkin 20 years ago!

Cupcake!

2008-10-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Her first!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Jade!

My Grandbaby Has Teeth!

2008-07-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

clickable

And drools a bit...

Some Father's Day Quotes

2008-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

The greatest gift I ever had came from God, and I call him Dad! ~ Anonymous

I felt something impossible for me to explain in words. Then, when they took her away, it hit me. I got scared all over again and began to feel giddy. Then it came to me... I was a father. ~ Nat King Cole

"Who giveth this woman?" This woman. But she's not a woman. She's still a child. And she's leaving us. What's it going to be like to come home and not find her? Not to hear her voice calling, "Hi, Pops" as I come in? I suddenly realized what I was doing. I was giving up Kay. Something inside me began to hurt. ~ Stanley T. Banks (Father of the Bride)

The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother. ~ Theodore M. Hesburgh

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~ Clarence B. Kelland

When Charles first saw our child Mary, he said all the proper things for a new father. He looked upon the poor little red thing and blurted, "She's more beautiful than the Brooklyn Bridge." ~ Helen Hayes

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. ~ Harry S. Truman

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is "soap-on-a-rope." ~ Bill Cosby

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. ~ Sigmund Freud

Father I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet. ~ George Washington

And now... here's a montage that I was planning to give to Jade for her first birthday. But that's still four months away and I'll have 1,000 more pictures by then!

And it just sort of seemed more fitting for Father's Day anyway. So Happy 1st Father's Day Aaron!

In My Arms from Chardonnay on Vimeo.

I Just Can't Believe It...

2008-05-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

And you'll probably hear me saying that ALOT over the next few years... or at least until I can pull it together enough to move to Idaho.
Oy.
Isn't she just... well, I'll let her mommy explain. Here is Whit's totally acapella version of a very familiar and much loved song... with a twist.

Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure...

Well... isn't she?

I LOVE Mother's Day and Photoshop...

2008-05-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

This started out as just a little Photoshop excercise but as I was working on it I had an unexpected lightbulb moment which had something to do with raising kids and going through all the little day to day moments for years on end.

Sometimes, if you're not watching carefully you can miss all those subtle little changes they are going through that will eventually bring them to the person they will become. And then one day you sit back, scratch your head and wonder how it could have possibly gone by so fast and how they got there and wish so much that you could be back there doing it all over again.

So remember to take the moments to look closely.

Thank you to Jade for assisting me in this brief (clickable) demonstration...

Just take joy in the moment to moment. I know you do! You're such a wonderful mommy!

Oops, I don't know how that one slipped in there. But not to worry, it happens from time to time.

It's all good... and wonderful!

Happy 1st Mother's Day Whitney!!!

She Is Growing Up TOO Fast!

2008-05-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

Slow it down a bit Jade, ok? Let me see some firsts???

Grammy's coming out in a couple of weeks and she intends to schnoogle you good.

In the meantime... What a precious!

Happy Family!

Four Months!

2008-03-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Isn't it just amazing how a baby can accomplish so much in the first four months of life!

In four months... my house just gets dusty...

But Jade?...in that short time well, she's already learned how:

To smile...

Roll over...

And to sit up on her own...

Sort of...

Here she is on her first plane trip (to Charleston, NC)

Where she got to meet Grandpa Brad and Grandma Jenny...

And Max the dog...

And Great-Grandma Alease...

And some fishies...

I love this picture!...

... and the sort of funny and sentimental way it reminds me of this one...

Four Months! Almost...

2008-02-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Grandma Ondrea for this...

And this...

I know, I know... Rolling over must seem like just a silly inconsequential thing.

Unless you're a gramma...

She Is Just So...

2008-01-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

Alert...

And Happy...

And Loved...

And Perfect...

And I'm just a blathering, schmoopy mess...

Grammy's First Christmas... heh

2007-12-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

And while all of those sugarplumbs danced in her head...

...those elves were pretty darn busy too!

~ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO JADE!... and to her mommy and daddy as well!

And I know!...

I can't wait for Spring either!!!

Happy First Christmas as a threesome! Enjoy!

Love you guys!

Don't Save It All For Thanksgiving Day...

2007-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Just returned from my holiday visit out west where I was totally overcome with awe by the beauty of God's craftsmanship in that wonderous place.

Oops...

Wrong pictures...

Here...

There we go.

*sigh*

I think, with my own, I understood a bit about the stewardship we have with our Father to care for his little ones. And I want to think that I cared for mine in the way I believe He wanted me to... for the most part. (I hope)

But this is really different somehow.

Because I had to go home today!.. even though I wish I could have just held her forever!

And I wonder if this feeling might be even a mili-fraction of how He feels about us all...

Anyway... "Don't Save It All For Thanksgiving Day" as someone said... (sort of) So even though it's a few days past...

I am SO thankful for:

A mommy who is so sweet and tender and who loves her beyond measure...

And for a daddy with such strong and gentle hands into which she fits most perfectly...

But basically, I am just so thankful for the whole, ding-dang beautiful and miraculous arrangement of it all...

.
.
.
.

I am also thankful for airplanes.

To Do List:

Check out real estate listings in Eastern Idaho/Western Wyoming
Expand criteria on the job search engine (maybe be a little less picky?)
Pack

Because, I mean, just look at her!...

Oh my gosh!

Four Generations!

2007-11-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

Heh!

Four generations!

One Little Tush at a Time...

2007-11-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! How do gramma's do it? Because I'm already feeling the overload on my hard drive and it's only been 5 days! Don't know how I'm gonna be able to stand the next 3 weeks till I am able to schnoogle her!

But first of all...

A Belated Happy Halloween!

And second of all... here are my newest and most favorite pictures...

Even though...

I still love THIS one every bit as much!!!

I call it "GrumpyPuppy"... and it kind of goes with the Halloween theme as well.

Is there a 12-Step program for this sort of thing???...

Sunday's Child...

2007-10-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

~ Jade Ondrea ~

Sunday, October 28th 2007 -- 5:14 a.m.

6 lbs. 15 oz.

18 inches

Mommy, Daddy, Baby and Grammy are all doing fine...

*Thanks to Auntie Daryn for the pictures.

One Month... and Counting.

2007-10-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe she's almost here but she almost IS... and yes...

I was just thinking today about how quickly time flies and about how only yesterday I was taking THIS picture...

So many words to express but I guess right now the main thing I want to say to my daughter (besides "Just don't get too freaked out about labor, ok, because even though it may feel like something's going terribly wrong at the time... you'll look back about five minutes later and realize how absolutely perfect it was)...

Is...

Enjoy each and every moment of her childhood... I mean, every single second of it. That was the first and foremost bit of wisdom (by a landslide) given to me at my first baby shower and yet I'm not sure I completely understood it at the time. I'm quite sure I was probably thinking to myself, "Well (duh) of course!"

And then I spent the next 24 years being a mom... and trust me... even in the best case scenarios, and even when your children turn out to be as perfectly wonderful as you'd imagined they'd be... it's still not always that easy. But it's important!

Because it all goes by so fast! And someday you'll wish you could just have it all back... for a second at least...

Anyway, I never, ever pictured these pictures 24 years ago. But I really love being able to picture them now...

And honestly Whit?... that's probably the biggest "handful" you've ever been...

And I think I can probably speak for your daddy as well...

A New Beginning

2007-04-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

So I guess the word on the street is... I'm going to be a Gramma! Ya know, I always thought I'd probably react with somewhat the same histrionics as Shirley MacLaine did in "Terms of Endearment." But not so. They say there is NOTHING like being a gramma! All of the fun but with only a mere millifraction of the work! Anyway, I am thrilled and excited!... and so happy right now to have already secured motel reservations right across the street from their apartment...

Anyway... Here is a picture of him/her.

Oh wait... wrong one.

There now... isn't he/she beautiful?