Tis' the Season...A Time to Reflect

About 7 years ago I went to a ladies Christmas get-together where we were asked to bring our most meaningful ornament (show and tell kind of thing). I was sad, because as I looked at my tree, I had no special treasure to bring. My tree was adorned like a department store tree - beautiful, but little meaning.

Last year after Christmas I cleared out most of my 'meaningless' ornaments and carefully wrapped the rest for 11 months of storage. What an amazing gift this year to adorn my tree! Each ornament is truly special in some way. Our tree is quite eclectic with absolutely no rhyme or reason, other than a collage of beautiful memories. It makes me smile.

I am so thankful for the changes in my life over the past 7 years...from meaningless to a true purpose, discovery and refinement, blessings disguised as challenges, and times of stretching and rest. It is good to reflect, and what a strange messenger-our beautiful Christmas tree...



Please post a comment and tell me about your favorite ornament(s)...I'll post mine, too!

AAAaaaahhhhh!

He lost another...seems like yesterday they were just coming in!

UPDATE: He lost the other front tooth two days later!

Old Traditions Become New...

As a child, I remember receiving a package each year from my Aunt Burness...a special calendar that counted down the days of Christmas, a piece of candy attached to each day. And there was always a candy cane for the 25th!

Today was a rainy, cold day, so Jarrett and I decided to make a Christmas count down calendar...it was a yummy-fun project! We started at Michaels to pick up supplies, specifically, poster board and stickers. We narrowed down the stickers to about three packages: Santa, Nativity scene, and a decorated Christmas tree.

"Okay, which one do you choose?" I asked.
"Oh, Mama, what else would I pick, the Nativity scene."

I smiled as I put Santa and the tree back on the shelf. I just love his precious heart.

Here is a picture of our calendar. We still have to attach a candy cane...they didn't hand those out for harvest/halloween! :) Oh, and a picture of Jarrett with his new umbrella.

Please post a comment describing a treasured Christmas tradition, old or new!

New Look for the Blog...

I know, it is still fall, but I am too excited to wait any longer to begin celebrating this joyous time of year.

Much love,
Melissa

An Update!

Hi everyone! Here's a quick recap of the last two weeks...

11/10 We celebrated my Mom's _6th birthday! Bec made a fabulous carrot cake!
11/11 Jarrett enjoyed the last hoo-ra with his football team (at an indoor inflatable place)...he was so excited to get his first trophy!
11/15 Jarrett had a 'pumpkin pie' feast in class. I was so thankful I could go to this...working has limited the time I am able to spend in his class, and I miss it so much.
11/17 We did it! A few friends and I participated in the Walk on the Wild Side 5K at the Zoo. It was great fun...so we decided we are going to train to jog/run a 5K in the near future! And I took a few pictures afterwards!
11/18 After church we enjoyed an afternoon on the lake...it was so nice.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Boys...

Jarrett re-opened his wound (see post below)...Thankfully the doctor didn't want to re-stitch (greater risk of infection??), which saved Jarrett more trauma; however, now the recovery will take much longer and there may be more scarring.

"Mama, I forgot you told me not to run." ... I, ya, I ...

Amazing Allison...

Jarrett and I went to see Allison perform in her middle school play, Sleeping Beauty. She was simply amazing. God has blessed her with a beautiful talent...





And it was so nice to see the family. I remember Aaron's first day of kindergarten, and now he is DRIVING! Where does time go??

Another first ...

Well, Jarrett made it 6 years before needing stitches. Given his personality and hunger for pushing the limits, I am surprised he made it this far! :)

On Monday Jarrett and I were in the garage sorting our recyclables, and he wanted to crush cans in the bench vise. Somehow...(he is not willing to give an account of the event)...the vise fell off the tool bench and landed just above his knee. It took a big chunk of his leg as the vise fell to the ground, which thankfully missed his foot!

I scooped him up, gave him a towel, and we were off to the doctor. Doctor S. concluded Jarrett needed stitches and did it right there in the office. Daddy arrived just as I was getting 'overwhelmed'...in case you don't know, I don't handle blood, doctors, or hospitals well, at all!

Jarrett was such a brave, strong boy. While he is still really sore and favors his leg as he walks, the swelling is going down and appears to be healing well.

6 years and 6 stitches! All boy! :)

Crazy week...

It has been a crazy week to say the least.

We were in the midst of 'Firestorm 2007'. Thankfully, no one we know/love was directly effected by the fires-there were a few evacuations, but no losses! Praise the Lord.

School was out all week due to poor air quality and shifting winds/flames.

By Friday, the wonderful community response teams had the fires mostly under control. We enjoyed the beach on both Friday and Saturday night. We had 'the lowest tides in months', so David was eager to go detecting. His friend, Chuck, met us on Saturday night and brought his Coinmaster detector for Jarrett to use...he was thrilled - and even found some treasure, $0.12! David found a some treasure, too. Of course, I took some photos! :)

Things appear to be returning to normal ... and now we are getting ready for the holidays! YEAH!

Life

I am amazed how life 'fills' with so many things.

I have learned (the hard way) not to over commit, so I am not rushing through life ... but I am still involved in so much. They are all good things, but I need to remember to maintain a proper balance of 'doing' and resting. While I am not overwhelmed with all I (we) do, I also need to schedule down time.

So, rather than spend 1/2 hour listing out our recent adventures, I will title it 'LIFE' and go snuggle with my boys for awhile ... and rest.

God bless you, always.

Lights ... Camera ... Action ...

Jarrett and I set-up a 'photo studio' in our living room - great practice with natural light and my new lens! Enjoy!

Software ...

Can anyone recommend a good software program to create DVD/slideshows with still images and digital video clips?

I was looking at Adobe Photoshop Essentials, but there is also Adobe Photoshop Essentials Premiere - from what I can tell, Essentials is only for still images and Premiere incorporates images and video ... but I am not sure. Are there any other software options???

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Week in Review...

Hi everyone! We had a great week ... here's the short (and long) of it! :)

Monday - Jarrett stayed the night at Grandma and Papa's house. I went to one of my favorite stores and purchased a 'portrait' lens! Yippee! When we both got home we finished up our homeschool work! Daddy worked. Since he is working at the beach, each day after work he goes out 'treasuring hunting' with his metal detector. Jarrett and I are always excited to see what he brings home!

Tuesday - school, work, and football!

Wednesday - Jarrett had hotlunch at school today. Each Wednesday a Jr. High class offers hotlunch to raise funds for their D.C. trip. They usually do pizza, corndogs, and sometimes homemade spaghetti and garlic bread! Jarrett loves hot lunch days...so does Mom! I had my first 'newborn' photo session today! It was such a nice time. And (most) of the pictures came out amazing. Babies are too cute! Into the evening, the 'boys' went to football and mom went to Women's Bible Study! I am so excited for this year.

Thursday - school, work, and football!

Friday - Jarrett spent the day with his Grammy so I could work for a few hours. They had a blast - driving the go-cart, caring for the chickens, and playing with Great-Grandpa's new kitten, Kit.

Saturday - FOOTBALL! Jarrett had a football game on Saturday...in the RAIN! The clouds held their load for most of the game, but I don't think the boys minded much. The 'fans' in the bleachers weren't too thrilled, but we all stuck it out huddled under an EZ-UP! And the boys had a good game and actually put some points on the board! We headed to Roundtable for a team celebration!

Faithful fans a.k.a. family! (Back row: Papa, Grammy, Aunt Gwen, Grandma. Front row: Uncle Misha and Auntie Becca)


The downpour...thankfully it passed quickly!

What Position Do You Play?

"Team Captain" at coin toss...

"Center" ... where is my Mom? (He is always looking for me on the sideline)!

"Offensive Line - Tackle" ... gotta love his 'game face'!

Daddy helped with player playcounts.


Mom was the photographer, water girl, and cheerleader! :)

And the reality of defeat... Visitors (us) 0 - Home 25.

Week in Review...

I started work on Thursday. I am working VERY part-time for my former employer at the law office, billing/bookkeeping. Jarrett said, "Mama, I am not sure I like you working." I told him I would only be working when he is at school - he still isn't too sure!

Jarrett had a great first week of school. On Friday I realized how much work they do each day...my goodness...they are busy!

Friday night we celebrated Auntie Becca's 30th birthday! It was a fun time for all. Here's a link to the photoshow! http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Ib6mz5jc

Saturday Jarrett played his first regular season game! If you ask him, he'll say, "We got 3; the other team got 800."

Jarrett blocking ...


One of Jarrett's faithful fans!


We headed up to Alpine for the remainder of the day and enjoyed a BBQ with the family!

Sunday we went to church and enjoyed the Charger game! A busy weekend, but it was good.

May your week be blessed!

Football, Labor Day, First Day of School, etc...

We have been busy.

Jarrett has been playing a lot of football. His team has played a few scrimmages, a preseason game, and next Saturday is the first regular season game!



We went to the river for Labor Day weekend. Our whole family needed the break! We did a lot fishing, hunting, and floating! It was good. HOT, but good!

Jarrett headed off for 1st grade this morning! He was a little nervous, but he did GREAT! I love his school...it is such a blessing to feel so at peace leaving him there.



UPDATE: Jarrett had a GREAT first day! One of the monitors/aides from last year followed the class to 1st grade, and she said he did so good. She told him how proud she was of him on his progress over the summer with reading and letter formation. I am so proud of him!

Hangin' Duck Boxes

Kristen and Jarrett hanging up the DU Greenwing wood duck boxes at Lake Cuyamaca! It was neat to see the kids participate in a conservation project from beginning to end.

What a fun day! Thank you Steve, Cyndi, Kristen, and Jarrett!

Summer fun!

We went to the beach with our friends on Wednesday! The boys had a great time boogie boarding! They were having so much fun, I am almost convinced to try it next time! And I think we found our new hangout ... notice the water ... there is no one else in the shot - at NOON! There were others in the water - it was a lucky shot ... but truly, the beach was not overcrowded.

Thank you Laura, Aiden, and Morgan for a lovely day at the beach!

NFL Preseaon starts NOW ...

Go Chargers!

In Loving Memory...

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?

What fun! We are really enjoying this new "season" for our family. It seems like yesterday we were bringing home a baby for the first time, now our boy is playing football! It is crazy...and wonderful...and scary! We are so blessed - in so many different ways.

Praise the LORD! From the rising of the sun to its going down, the LORD'S name is to be praised. Psalm 113:1,3

Update!

Yikes! Sorry for the lack of updates...

We are all doing GREAT!

Last week Jarrett had Art Camp at school. It was nice for him to spend some time at school and learn some new techniques.

We had a fun water play day at Church on Saturday - water slides, pools, BBQ, and a family Bluegrass Band to play worship music!

Earlier this week we went to Boomers! That was a fun-filled day...minature golf, bumper boats, go-karts, video games, and ice cream!

Jarrett signed up to play flag football! He is soooo excited, and so are we! Looking at his schedule...we are going to live, eat, and breathe football for three months! But it should be a lot of fun! :)

David is installing his amp and subwoofers into the Jeep...it was, of course, a small project that turned huge! It is amazing how that works! We tend to under estimate the projects we take on...live and learn, right?

I am beginning to train for a 5K, which come to find out is 3.1 miles - that is realistic! My friend Laura was interested in training for a 5K, so I agreed to come alongside and train with her...since then, we have about 4 or 5 others who would like to join us! Right now we are focusing on walking...hopefully we will work up to a jog! See our 'outdoor ladies' blog - link to the right!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend...

Until next time,

Melissa

Shooting Range...

This weekend we went to the shooting range, and Jarrett shot a .22 for the first time...he did REALLY good! It was an indoor range, so the pictures aren't the greatest (no tripod). David shot trap outside. It was a good time for all!

Del Mar Fair...

Jarrett and I went to the fair on Tuesday. It was a nice (LONG) day - we enjoyed a break from the inland heat! We watched the Monster Truck "races" and Freestyle Moto X - ohhh my goodness...those Moto X guys were CRAZY! They should have announced before the show..."don't try this at home kids..." Jarrett was in awe of the back flips!

Update!

Sorry for the lack of updates...we have been busy!

As many of you know, we had the Greenwing Picnic on Saturday! It was a HUGE success! A lot of work, but well worth it...we received great feedback which encourages us to keep going! I have updated the Greenwing blog (link to the right) - if interested, please check it out! :)

We received Jarrett's final report card on Monday...he did AWESOME! He improved in ALL areas. In the beginning they only gave E,G,S,N marks for work habits and social traits...but he actually received letter grades this trimester as follows:

English A+
Word Building A+
Math A+
Art A+
Science A+
Social Studies A-

WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR BOY! :) We are keeping his mind working over the summer, too...workbooks, an educational PC game, "field trips", etc. Today Jarrett and I are meeting a group from his school for their "book club." They read two books a month and then meet for discussion and craft/activity! He is very excited to see his friends from school.

I finished up my photography class... :( I am skipping the next session of classes, but hope to keep practicing and enroll in a course next time!

Our washing machine broke...so we had to purchase a new one...it is SOOOOO cool! It almost makes doing laundry fun/exciting (for awhile anyways)!

David is ... working ... and he caught a bit of a cold - nothing worse than working in the heat with a cold, yuck!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

We made it!

My friend, Cyndi, and I actually made this wood duck box - all by ourselves! I told Cyndi, "I didn't know playing in the garage was so much fun!" We are so proud of our accomplishment! And we can't wait for "Wanda" to come hatch her ducklings in "our" box! (We are such girls, we already named the hen!)

We have 9 more to build at the Greenwing Picnic on Saturday - hope to see you all there!

Mia!

Meet the newest member of the Ross Family...Mia!




Jarrett has been wanting a hamster for months. We decided he earned one for doing so well in Kindergarten. We were going to name the hamster "Hammie", but we got a girl, so I said we have to name her "Hammia" - thus, Mia!

Graduation Day!

Today Jarrett graduated from Kindergarten! His first grade teacher, who is also a photographer, took the children's picture in a cap/gown...too cute!

Today I realized again just how blessed we are that the Lord has provided us the opportunity to send our son to a faith-based school. The teachers, administration, parents, and students are amazing...we are so blessed...

I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Weekend at the Bahia

CJ had their annual meeting in San Diego this year, so we enjoyed a mini-vacation in our "backyard"! Friday night we enjoyed a Polynesian luau. Saturday morning we had breakfast as a group, and met up with Daddy in the afternoon. Papa and Grandma picked Jarrett up, so we could have the evening to enjoy the dinner cruise the company hosted. It was a nice time!

 

12 Years and counting...

This weekend David and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. Thank you for being a part of our lives and supporting and encouraging us on this life-long journey...

 

Happy Memorial Day!

We are so thankful for all of our blessings; First, we thank the Lord, and secondly, all those who have so bravely pursued the freedoms we cherish, as a country and as individuals. And we pray for the troops who bravely serve today.

We had a lovely weekend. Sunday we enjoyed Cuyamaca State Park, visiting Green Valley Falls, Lake Cuyamaca, and Julian. And Monday, a relaxing BBQ with family.

Memorial Photoshow!

 

Swap Meet Find!

Saturday we went to the swap meet to look for "treasures." I unsuccessfully searched for a camera lens, Jarrett wanted a metal detector, and David had no specific treasure in mind...but he found one...a sander for his workshop! While Jarrett did not find his detector, we did find a pair of shoes - new in the box! :) "ALL" the junior high kids wear Converse high tops, so Jarrett has been wanting a pair...however, I was not going to pay $40+ for them...we found these knock-offs for $10! He LOVES them...and they are so cute on him! :)

Summer!

Summer is on it's way! My snack was so yummy I had to take a picture of it! Not really, it was a good subject for me to practice my photography...nonetheless...it screams SUMMER! We have already started a list of "things to do this summer," so we will be busy having F-U-N! I cannot believe Jarrett "graduates" from Kindergarten in two weeks...where has time gone?

Thought for the day: "I will praise the Lord with my whole heart!" Psalm 111:1a

Happy Mother's Day!