Just a few...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family friends!  I'll share just a few photos today that sum up my week.

This GAME!  My brother got it and it's pretty much been played non-stop since then.  

The wrapping mess which has now become post-wrapping mess of boxes and paper covering our living room

Presents under the tree!

Little missy dancing ballet

Baking!  Or cleaning up...

Fake fire and real stockings

LOTS of snow!  This was when it had just started snowing Christmas eve.  We've gotten a few inches since then and more on it's way!

Yummy food and awesome Christmas light bokeh!

This was part of my gift, a family joke and a key chain camera that makes camera sounds!

Les Miserables!  Saw it Christmas night with some friends and wow, if you haven't seen it, it's SO worth it!  Amazing and so moving!

There she is!  World's ugliest tree :)

Favorite gift!  A nikkor 50mm prime lens!  I'm stoked!  and SO excited to start taking pictures with it!

More pictures to come!  Including the story of the ugliest Christmas tree and where we got it from!  Enjoy your weekend and New Years Eve!

Tis the season...

Tis the season to be jolly, to shop, to laugh, to bake, to watch cheesy Christmas movies, to eat WAY to much food, to hug, to love, to share, to create, and to bask in the wonder of this holiday. 

I've found myself the last week saying to myself, "I can't think about that or feel that way, it's Christmas and I need to enjoy every little minute of this time."  I was amazed as I fell asleep last night that in two short nights, it would all be over.  On Tuesday night, I'll fall asleep and say, "That was a great Christmas," and we'll move on with life.  I'm constantly amazed at how fast things seem to pass. 

There are things I'm putting aside today, things in my heart I can't put words to.  Pains, worries, fears, hurts, desires, and longings.  Beside those things, today is Christmas eve, this is how it is, and this is what I want to remember.  I want to remember the excitement still in my heart for Christmas morning, the excitement in my little sister to get presents!  The cookie decorating, the terrible Christmas music,  my stuffed belly, the yummy smell of bread, the wrapping paper, the movies.  And I want to capture these moments in pictures!  No I don't have the lens or the speedlight or the tri-pod I want yet, but I have a camera, and this moment is now.  So I will take pictures, I will not like some of them, but I will look back someday and remember these moments, these precious, beautiful moments! 

I'll leave you with just a few pictures that describe some the pre- Christmas excitement happening around here:

(Still need to take a picture with presents under it and fully decorated)

Amen!

Yes, Mexican is perfect Christmas food!

SNOW!!  We were blessed with a little snow the other day and some of it is still on the ground.  There is a chance for more tonight so we are praying hard!

Mexican Crock pot chicken!

 I LOVE Mexican food.  And I LOVE chicken.  I found this sweet recipe website with healthy meals to make and I decided to try some out.  A lot of the recipes have lots of veggies in them, as well as low carb/fat items!  Which is awesome!  So I decided to try a recipe using the crock pot.  It was super easy, and pretty healthy.  And best of all, it was yummy!  Even my brothers liked it!  haha so I took a few pictures to share this with you all.

First of all, our kitchen has TERRIBLE lighting so it's not easy taking pictures.  Pretty much any time I want to take pictures of something I make, I have to put it on the table which then gets light from the window.  Even then it has to be pretty bright to get a good picture.  I'm looking forward to purchasing a speed light in the near future :)  Which will help with that!

Here are my Ingredients:

 

We even got our little photo bomber in there!  And of course, it's wouldn't be complete without our chicken! 

Then, it's as easy as opening some cans, and putting them in the good old crock pot!

 

You start by putting the chicken in the bottom so it can get the most heat to cook all the way through.  

Then you add a large can of tomatoes

 A can of black beans

A can of Mexican chili beans which are SO good by the way!

Don't forget, you don't stir any of it together.  You want them to all layer perfectly so the chicken can cook and the spices will seep down and cook in.  Next it calls for a package of taco seasoning.  I also found on this website an awesome recipe for taco seasoning so instead of buying it, why not just use the spices that are already in your cupboard?

 

Here is the magic mix: 

Taco Seasoning: 2 T chili powder, 1 1/2 T cumin, 1 1/2 T paprika, 1 T onion powder, 1T garlic powder, 1/8 to 1/4 t cayenne pepper. 2 T of this will flavor 1 pound of beef, turkey, or chicken.  

  Add that on top of the beans

 Then add a can of black olives, and a can of green chilies!

Then you put a lid on it, turn it on low, and cook for 7-8 hours.  After 7-8 hours, take the chicken out of the bottom, and shred it into bite size pieces and put it back in.  Stir it all together, and enjoy!  I cut my chicken up, and let it cook for another 30 minutes just ensure it was thoroughly cooked.  I also turned my heat up to high in the last hour so I would plan on 8+ hours for cooking.  

Serve with some chips, sour cream, cheese or however you like your Mexican food

And ENJOY!

Famliy Portraits

A LONGGGG time ago (Ok, like a month ago) I took family pictures of my family.  I also took some individual shots of the kids which are now hanging in my grandparents house :)

So here they are for you to enjoy!