348/365... Sockless feet joy

45 below zero and cold tile floor... the child still refuses to wear socks.

Sockless feet joy.

347/365... Good smelling light joy

As a photographer, I love all kinds of light.

Especially when it makes my house smell like Christmas.

Good smelling light joy.

346/365... Bone-chilling beauty joy

There is something about the miserable, bone-chilling, freezing temperatures, blowing snow weather that is absolutely beautiful.

Bone-chilling beauty joy.

345/365... Cookies and Grandma Tree joy

Every year mom bakes Christmas cookies (the pre-made, cutout cookies are PERFECT for young children) and decorates her "Grandma Tree" with her grandbabies. It is always a memorable event.

And it gets better every year.


Each child really got into decorating their cookies.


They were experts at sampling them.


This little man over-sampled.


My mom was in her glory.


I notice that my baby girl is more like me every day. She didn't get up until every one of her cookies was perfectly decorated.


And then it was time to decorate the "Grandma Tree".

The 4 foot tree was covered in ornaments in 45 seconds.






This would be the sugar crash. Grandma makes it all better.


The final result.

Any tree decorated with love is a beautiful Christmas tree.

Thank you, mom, for another wonderful memory. Love you!

Cookies and Grandma Tree joy.

344/365... Christmas card workout joy.

I decided 15 days before Christmas that I needed to torture myself and photograph my children for our family Christmas card.

Photographing my own children is like a high intensity workout.

They act overly silly.


They walk away and ignore your presence.

(I actually really love this one.)


They cry.


And they scream.



It was an all-day photoshoot but I ended up getting some cute shots of each of my babies.

And I burned 5,258 calories in the process.

Christmas card workout joy.

In other news, Happy Birthday to a very good friend of our family!!! Hope you had a wonderful day, Mr. Stu!

343/365... My two joy

Me: Hey, little man, how old are you going to be?
Little man: My two.

Then he gives me a great big sweet smile... and melts my heart every time.

I hope questions is just as effective tomorrow for our Christmas card photo shoot.

You heard me... I don't have my Christmas cards done.

My two joy.

342/365... These two joy

These two challenge me on most days. I have to count to 10 while taking deep breaths several times in a day.

They challenge me. They exhaust me. They try my patience.

But it is the moments like these (one is kissing, the other is belly laughing) that completely erase the not-so-good moments.

It's hard to believe that my babies will be two next week. How very grateful and honored I am to be their mommy. I treasure every day with them... even the not-so-good days.

These two joy.