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joy of LOVE 28: the future

Wow, 28 days of joy of LOVE. I must admit, some of those prompts really had me stretching my imagination some days. Seeing as this is a Monday Me as well, I decided to focus on my more immediate future. I am looking fwd to a great summer w fantastic friends & lots of kiddies playing all around us!

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joy of LOVE 27: what they say

This is probably a stretch but I'm making it work so I can show off. I got a great idea from Courtney to display some photos once I saw how good hers looked in her house. I'm so lucky she lets me 'borrow' all her ideas & never says anything abt it! At least not to me. ;)
I used the first idea from Pimp Our Hallway bc once I saw those magnetic boards in Courtney's house, I knew I had to have them. My husband is the solo adornment hanger in our house, especially since most of our walls are concrete (ugh!) so he has been telling me for a few days that this weekend he would hang my boards! Today he was so sweet to do it for me, even tho he is feeling under the weather AND got called in to work. He spent his morning helping me clean house & hanging my boards! Awe, what a guy! Thanks, Courtney for saying I should display my pics & thanks, husband for following thru on everything you say!
PS, Kathleen & Courtney, you both kinda made it to my boards bc well, I needed some filler & you guys just fit! :)
PSS, is anyone doing any challenges in March? I can't believe joy of LOVE, I mean February, is almost over.

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joy of LOVE 26: the bromance

Being in the military has given me the opportunity to make the best friends. Life long friends. Friends who stick by you, cook you meals, watch your kids, cry w you, laugh w you, bitch & moan w you. The friends I have met thru the military are not just casual friends, they are life long friends - if you're reading this you know who you are. ;)
But it's also nice when the guys make friends. Working so much, I think it's hard for them to invest as much energy into friendships & I'm here to tell ya, friendships are like a newly seeded garden. They take a lot of care & tending to.
I really didn't know what I was going to use for my picture today but then we got invited to dinner by our neighbors. It was the perfect chance for me to snap this shot of these two guys. The husband & Mr T (who made us a smoked prime rib roast) took turns hand whipping the cream, to which they added horseradish to schmear all over the meat. Delish.

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joy of LOVE 25: when you love them the most

I went the whole day without taking a single picture until 7pm. I actually started to get a little panicky abt how I was going to complete this prompt & then I remembered my notes. While waiting for dinner the boy made 4 little notes, one for each of us, then he put each note in our rooms. They all say the same thing: "I love you ___." It's these little unsolicited acts of kindness that reassure me I'm not a terrible mom, he isn't a wild & uncaring boy & that I should probably relax a little more.
And don't mind that this picture was taken in my very dark room & that my unfolded clothes are on my dresser. :)

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joy of LOVE 24: where

This prompt was kinda tough since we move so often. I'd love to show you where I met the husband, where our first home was, where our kids were born or where we had some of our favorite vacations. But alas, those places are so very, very far away. Instead I took the kids out to visit the beach. It was a beautiful evening & I thought what better place to photograph than Okinawa. Living here has had it's ups & downs for me. But I have a kind of fickle love affair w the island. It's where my kids have learned Japanese & explored places they will never see again. It's where I gave birth to my beautiful son. It's where my husband & I have fallen in love w friendships & the possibilities of our future. Okinawa, like so many other places we have lived, will always hold a very special place in my heart.

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joy of LOVE 23: facebook

Um, ok. This prompt... Well I didn't want to use an old picture from facebook since I'm trying to stick to the while 3-6-5 thing. And btw, way to go me, for day 54 & still a picture every day! So instead I stayed true to the cause & took a picture today. And I may even post it on facebook just so I can feel like I'm still playing along. I snapped this at the playground today while the baby has his afternoon sip of juice. Those feet crack me up.

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joy of LOVE 22: face (a portrait)


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joy of LOVE 21: hands

Little hands still learning to be dexterous.

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joy of LOVE 20: when they're home

When the husband is home he loves to make us lots of yummy treats. This morning he got up w the kids & let me sleep in & when I woke up he was making the kids breakfast pizza from scratch! Home made dough, pan gravy sauce, bacon, eggs & cheese! Good morning!

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joy of LOVE 19: when they're gone

Whenever the husband is gone we never have to worry abt whether he's thinking of us. He always brings us tons of treasures home to let us know how much he missed us!

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joy of LOVE 18: going out

When you are a SAHM this is pretty typical of 'going out'. Today we went to the grocery store & our last stop is always the Asian section. The kids get to pick out a snack & drink so they are always excited to finally get there. So many options!

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joy of LOVE 17: staying in

When I first saw this prompt I thought - ah, great. During the week, when the bigs are home from school, I try to 'stay in' as little as possible. After school we usually head straight to the park so I didn't think I'd be able to follow the prompt. And then - it rained. So we did stay in. And the kids got creative w their art kit & I got to watch a whole half hour of Oprah.

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joy of LOVE 16: with you

This isn't a great picture by any stretch of the imagination but it is pretty much what happens when my kids get together & I tell them they can do whatever they want. I think they kind of weren't sure what to make of that suggestion.

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joy of LOVE 15: kiss

This is what happens when you ask a sister to kiss her older brother.

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joy of LOVE 14: jewelry

So I didn't take any pictures till like, 8pm. I didn't exercise, I even tried to take a nap. I am not feeling well & probably getting what everyone else has had for weeks now. My body is tired of fighting it off. Blah for feeling bad, blah for Monday me when I'm feeling bad.
This is a really special necklace the husband got for me. He told me it was our two hearts & bc of his job, we may not always be together but our hearts are.
Also a side note to this picture: how many different ways can you stand to make a picture of your neck look interesting. Turns out, not very many.
Now I'm going to bed.


Updated. Thanks to J for telling me how to add vignetting to this shot. I agree it really adds something to it.

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joy of LOVE 13: routine

Our Sunday routine here is pretty much round up the loose ends of the weekend bf the week start. One of those things included making 20 little Valentine's for the boy's classmates. Of course I waited till the very last day to try & buy some store bought cards. I knew I was asking for trouble. I've lived on this island long enough to know if you snooze, you loose. Thank God we were able to grab the last package of construction paper otherwise these might have been made out of coffee filters & printer paper.

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joy of LOVE 12: Eyes

Looking cheesy at me while I try & get a shot of those eyes. His hair is starting to hang down in his face & bother him. I may get him a trim but I like it kinda shaggy. :)

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joy of LOVE 11: Dreaming

Dreaming of the day she'll be a big girl.

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My ISO is pretty high even w her facing an open window, we had a super cloudy day today.

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joy of LOVE 10: space, where they feel most comfortable

Yeah, it probably took abt 2 seconds for me to think about this one. Where does the baby feel most comfortable? You guessed it. Mama's lap. The focal point didn't fall directly on his noggin & the side closest to our window is a bit overexposed but I don't mind.

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Yeah, my ISO was probably a little high but the sun kept coming in & out of the clouds & I only had abt 10 minutes to take these so...

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joy of LOVE 09: passions or hobbies

The boy loves to 'collect' things. He has a backpack full of coral, pockets full of rocks & sticks. He hangs on to anything he deems worthy of a collection. There isn't a high standard. Every time we go to the park (almost daily) he adds to what he calls his nature collection. Basically anything outside can go into this collection. Leaves, sticks, pine cones, flowers, branches... you get the picture. My only rule is, it (mostly) can't come in the house. :)

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joy of LOVE 08: Love from the heart (what they have said, promised, done, given)

This prompt really couldn't be more appropriate for today bc today is my 8 yr wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been 8 yrs bc really, I can remember our wedding like it was yesterday. He promised to always love me & take care of me. I promised to never be perfect. We had our rings engraved w "My beloved is mine" & "I am his".
Every year on our anniversary the husband writes me a card (a really long one!) & gives me a run down of the past year's highlights. I'll spare you that but I will tell you it's been 2 I do's, 8 yrs, 12 countries, living on 3 continents, 3 kids (each born on a different continent), hundreds of dollars in phone bills, 5 (at least) deployments, endless tdy's, 1 main car, 6 secondary cars, 4 half marathons (3 for me, 1 for him), about 200 refrigerator magnets to commemorate each adventure & a cheese fondue & chocolate cake every February to celebrate.
I love you, husband. You were chosen by God for me & I can't even imagine what our future will be, but I know it will be bright bc we'll be together.

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joy of LOVE 07: generations

Well it was hard to come up w something for this prompt, seeing as we are in Japan. I would have loved to get some kind of generational shot (& believe me, family, when you get here I will be) but it wasn't happening today especially since I also wanted to stick w the Monday me theme.
So I asked the girl, Do you want to take a picture w me?
Her, Can we wear hats?
Uh... do we need to wear hats?
Yes.
So here we are in our hats making some silly faces.

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joy of LOVE 06: who THEY love

This probably sounds corny, or untrue(!) but frankly, they love each other. Yes, the bigs fight all the time. All the time. But they also help each other out. The girl gives unsolicited hugs to the boy & proclaims she will one day marry him. He picks up her toys or draws her a picture just to make her happy. The one absolute thing the bigs can agree on is how much they love the baby. They adore him. When I was pregnant they day dreamed of what he would be, what we would call him & what they would do for him. The boy kissed my stomach every day bf school & once the baby was born, started saying, "goodbye, I'll see you in 6 hours" when I'd drop him off. They entertain him, cuddle him, they make him laugh & love nothing more than laughing at him. They were never jealous when he was born & they never got upset when he cried or took up most of our attention. The baby adores the bigs. He has a constant two man show, an endless supply of kisses & his eyes light up whenever he sees them. I'm just bidding my time till he gets on their nerves & all three are fighting but for now, they love to love him. I love it too.

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joy of LOVE 05: love to hate

So today I found myself rounding up all 3 kids to take to the aquarium solo. When I say solo, what I really mean is, even tho I was going w a friend, I was going without the husband. All morning I felt rushed. I was shouting orders at the kids, brush your teeth, pick up those toys, put your socks on, PICK UP THOSE TOYS, stop fighting, STOP SHOUTING! You get the idea. I hate mornings like this when I am the lone organizer, the lone packer, the lone... breast feeder. Not that I'd like someone else to feed my kid, I'm just saying, some days it can be maddening to round up a small army of tykes unless you have complete & total preparation & organization. Today I had neither of those things. Bottom line, they outnumber me.
The hour & a half car ride to the aquarium was filled w, stop fighting, keep your hands to yourself, share the snacks, your voice is too loud, STOP SHOUTING! Seriously, it's enough to make a person wonder why they would ever try & leave the house. So even tho some days I may hate everything abt trying to get out of the house & trying to have as smooth a journey as possible, I do so love them being able to do & experience as much as they can. I love watching them interact w the world.

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joy of LOVE 04: what they wear

I love these little booties for the baby, especially since these are hand me downs from the boy. It always makes me feel better when I can hand things down bc then I don't feel bad abt spending the extra money on quality stuff. This is the 3rd kid to wear these Robeeze so I'd say I got my money's worth!

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joy of LOVE day 03: then and now.

I have to tell you, I had a really hard time w this one. First, I like keeping to my one photo a day. It forces the indecisive me to be decisive. I didn't want to post an older picture & then take a new one to compare them. Not that there's anything wrong w that! I just knew the amount of time & searching & deciding(!) that would entail & frankly I didn't have the energy for it today. So I went kinda broad w this idea & while I did photograph something I love, it isn't a person. My persons were not in the mood to be photographed today. Especially after one had spent the previous night throwing up, another had a fever (teething) & the other had a potty accident (an hour & a half from our house). You can guess how much I cared abt taking any pictures at that point!
So my then & now are the cherry blossoms. They only come once a year. A few wks ago they were barren, naked branches. The sun hid behind the clouds for days & the sky rained & rained. The wind blew & the cherry blossom festivals commenced even tho sakura were few. Finally, over the last couple of wks the branches began sprouting sakura. Bright & delicate. Today we ventured up a slow mountain to take in their beauty as they canvased over the cars that motored below. Shocks of bright pink, hot pink, pastel pink & almost white. I love the cherry blossoms. They only stay for a few short wks so I hope to see them again before they are all gone.

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