The Podjan's

I am a photographer...

2010-04-26T08:04:00.003-05:00

...so it's about time I put my photos up in the house! Lilly's party was the deadline for filling the frames I've been accumulating over the past year. I'm really enjoying our photo-filled walls! Here's the living room:The entry:The space in the living room by Matt's bathroom (probably the most awkward grouping, but we had to keep Lilly's "dancing mirror" where it was, so the photos had to work around that!):By the former office/current prayer room door:And, just 'cause I like 'em:

Lilly is FOUR!!!

2010-04-26T07:49:00.005-05:00

Lilly turned 4 on the 9th, and we had a blast at her party! Thanks to the amazing Faust family, we were able to surprise Lilly with a {borrowed} moonbounce-jumper thing that the kids LOVED. We had a lot of fun, and Lilly got everything on her wish list {a purple ballerina cake, a princess piano, a princess computer, a Belle dress, fancy dresses, and a kitchen...and then even MORE gifts!}. Much thanks to Aunts Annie & Shannon for taking Miss Lilly out before the party to get her nails done and then out for ice cream! Her day was a hit!
The men...hard at work.{{You can always view more photos on my facebook page.}}

Spring Fling @ GK

2010-04-15T07:21:00.004-05:00

We had fun at Growing Kids a few weeks ago at the Spring Fling. All the Chaput cousins made it out (even though Luke slept the whole time...how rude!).

Freshwind 2010!!!

2010-04-14T07:02:00.003-05:00

Matt and I had the privelige of taking Nate, Adam & Megan to the Freshwind conference in Toronto right before Easter this year. Because we had one extra spot in the van, we brought Lilly along with us. It was her 1st trip out of the country! She had a blast.This is the children's church area at TACF...pretty cool. Lilly is in her favorite little "cave". She played there a lot.She spent most of her free time drawing pictures for us (& the worship leaders...so cute to see her give her pictures to Heather the dancer and the singer of Leeland!). This is probably my favorite photo from the whole trip. I love how Lilly was right up fron for worship...and she's intently watching everythig going on on the stage. The Freshwind Band leads incredible worship. There's something special about seeing 15+ people singing, dancing, playing instruments or painting all at once with a heart sold out to God. Gives me chills each year.

Palm Sunday

2010-04-12T13:23:00.001-05:00

Lilly was in the children's choir this year on Palm Sunday. They had so much fun singing and dancing for the church!

Easter

2010-04-12T12:50:00.004-05:00

We enjoyed our annual Easter egg hunt at Mom & Dad's on Easter Sunday. Don't judge Lilly's "dress". It's her 1st Freshwind t-shirt accessorized by her mommy. Very 80's chic. {{She wanted to wear her FW shirt like the rest of the Soul Pardoners!}} Luke also came over and sat for his 1st Easter "session". This is not the pose we were going for (he kinda looks like he's laying an egg). What a cutie!

playing catch-up...

2010-04-12T09:47:00.003-05:00

In preparation for Lilly's 4th birthday party last weekend, I went through all of the photos I've taken in the past year, in order to update my walls and fill all the new frames I've accumulated over the last few months. I'll post some images of my freshly decorated walls soon!

{{Fun anecdote of the day}} We had a GREAT weekend! We celebrated Lilly's 4th birthday on Friday at Pizza Hut, we had her birthday party on Saturday...the weather was great, a lot of family could come, we borrowed the Faust's moonbouncey-jumper-thingamabob, and ate a ton of great food. On Sunday, we had awesome worship at church, good lunch at my parent's house, LONG naps at home, and then we had a spur of the moment trip to McD's & the $1 theater to see the Chipmunks movie (Judah's 1st in a theater!). Altogether, it was a pretty perfect weekend!

As we all know, I have been a lazy blogger of late, and I have every intention of fixing that problem, starting TODAY. I will be posting photos that for one reason or another, got missed when the actual event took place, and it'll be like a little walk down memory lane for all of us!

Case in point: The following images were taken way back in FEBRUARY. We took our annual Chaput family photo (thanks, Patrick, for taking the picture!) when Sam was home for his R&R from Iraq.

I am in the process of exporting around 100 photos for upload on the blog & facebook from Lightroom (if you're interested, I ALWAYS post more pictures {more often} on FB than on the blog...), so I am hoping that by week's end, my blogging will be updated and current! Stay tuned...

Bad Blogger.

2010-03-09T11:18:00.005-05:00

Sorry. I had grand intentions of posting everything that's been going on since Christmas, but let's be honest: I am TOTALLY unmotivated in my 1st trimester fog. So, I'm starting fresh. Maybe one day I'll backtrack and include all the things that should have been blogged about over the last couple months, but today is not that day.

In the spirit of updatey-ness, here is a quick overview of all things Podjan so far in 2010:

Matt is increasingly active in the prayer arena around Michiana. He has been praying like a man on fire this year. His passion for Jesus is amazing.

I am s-l-o-w-l-y breaking out of the doldrums that come with being newly pregnant. I feel like I've spent the last 11 weeks either sleeping, thinking of sleeping, or trying to convince Lilly to take a nap so I can sleep.

Lilly "dropped out" of school. Getting her to go for 2 mornings a week was becoming a bigger battle than it was worth. So now she hangs out with me and "helps" around the house. She is becoming quite the artist. Every day she draws about 30 pictures of us, the house, and her friends. She is quite a character. In a few weeks, Lilly will be making the trip to Toronto with Soul Pardon for the Freshwind Youth Conference that we go to each year. She is psyched.

Jude is talking more and more each day. Last night I was having him pat my belly and I told him there was a baby inside. I asked him to say hi to the baby, and he said, "Hi, Baby Jesus!" I love that kid! He LOVES shoes, juice & pizza. Sometimes, when he's really sad, he cries for "pee-ssa" (pizza) to make him feel better. What a goober!

Twice a week, the kids and I head to the mall to walk and play in the play area with our friends. Here are some photos from our most recent trip...

Coming this fall!

2010-02-01T08:07:00.002-05:00

Baby Podjan #3!

Meeting Canaan

2010-01-01T16:01:00.003-05:00

On our way home from Kansas (yes, I'll post photos soon), we made a little detour to BJ & Jessie's house to meet my new not-quite-nephew! (I fully intend to be Aunt Kate to him, even though we're only related in my imagination...and in Christ!) Canaan is a sweetie, and I adore him! I only wish we lived closer to each other so that Jess & I (oh yeah, and the kids and our husbands) could hang out more often.

They were both so sad that we had to leave...

Please ignore the scraggliness of Lilly, Judah & me. We had only been in the car for 14 hours. And then we got in the car for another 4. Lucky us.

We know how to party.

2010-01-01T15:48:00.002-05:00

Lilly spent ALL DAY yesterday looking forward to our New Years Eve "party". She had it all planned out: Eat treats, go to The King's Crown (Fancy Nancy's favorite restaurant...you may have also heard it called Pizza Hut), watch The Prince of Egypt (and about 9 other movies), eat more treats, and watch the ball "fall down". And then say, "Happy New Year!"

She almost made it. At 11:47, she lost the good fight and fell asleep. And we COULD NOT wake her up. She sure is cute when she sleeps, huh?! We love her.

Good night, Lilly. And Happy New Year.

We are soooooo blessed!

2010-01-01T15:01:00.006-05:00

We have the best and most fun job on Earth...we get to co-pastor our youth at Soul Pardon each week, and last month, we celebrated the birth of Christ at our annual Christmas Extravaganza, complete with food, fun, worship, the Word, and our white elephant gift exchange. We even brought Lilly & Judah along for the fun. (Judah was asleep before I got the camera out, but he was there, trust me!

Last year, we set up a "photo booth" to take fun and silly photos of the Soul Pardoners. Here are some of my faves from the night:

And now for the other silliness of the evening:

Christmas at Papa Dan's

2009-12-30T14:05:00.004-05:00

We had our Christmas at Papa Dan's on the 20th after church. We had a great time hanging out wuth Dan, Carol, Andy & Erica. The kids love playing with their uncle Andy!Erica and I worked on our photography most of the afternoon.Matt got a manly drill. Andy taught Lilly how to play Ants in the Pants.Erica has no torso. Poor Erica.

ODCF's Christmas Choir

2009-12-30T13:51:00.002-05:00

Lilly was in her first children's choir this year at church. She had a solo and everything! (Special thanks to Shannon for the use of her flip cam, Jen for her videographer skillz, and Ann's photography prowess! I was busy directing the choir.)Here's a short clip of Lilly's solo (note her iron grip on the mic, even though it's time for someone else's solo at the end):

Chaput Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T10:13:00.008-05:00

We celebrated the Christmas with my fam on the 19th. There was lots of food, laughter, and fun. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves...Every year, Dad reads a story to us. Don't they look sweet?Well, maybe not SO sweet...Judah has mastered the "Zoolander" look. I think this is "Blue Steel"...I think my dad was teasing Lilly about something here...Weirdo...Luke loves his mommy...Jude's new car...Butt-Cracky McGee was getting a little tired...Lilly's new Barbie Boom Box...Luke was totally pumped about his gift...Here's trouble...

Our Christmas at home...

2009-12-30T09:49:00.003-05:00

We celebrated our Christmas on the 19th with Jude & Lilly. We woke up to a white Christmas, and Lilly and Daddy had a good time looking at the falling snow. Then we opened presents before heading off to my parent's house for the Chaput Christmas. For a number of reasons, the kids only get a stocking from us (we don't do Santa). This year, Judah got "Bear-Bear" and a dump truck (Lilly insisted that he get one...it didn't fit in the stocking, but he didn't know the difference!). Lilly got a Mulan barbie, some Barbie/Ken clothes (so her dolls don't look like hoochies), and a 3D viewer (she really wanted new "beenokalars", but I couldn't find any, so this was the closest thing). All in all, we had a good time, and Matt and I think we have the best kiddos around! I should note that we celebrate the birth of Christ year round, and in December we do a couple special things that I didn't bring a camera to: We took Lilly to Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God tour in Kokomo (our new annual tradition--if you haven't been to this concert, you NEED to go...make a point to go next year!) and we attend our church's Christmas Eve Candlelight service each year. I think next year will be the year we start having the kids dress up and act out the nativity story at Christmas just like me and my siblings/cousins did as kids! Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Lilly's GK Christmas Program

2009-12-30T09:29:00.005-05:00

We attended Lilly's 2nd Christmas program for Growing Kids earlier in December. Bumma bought her a new dress for the program, so we had to get new sparkly red shoes to finish off the look! Lilly was so excited for her program!

Judah did a great job watching the performances and clapping after the songs.Lilly wasn't exactly paying much attention to her actions, but she sure did sing loud and proud!

Here's a clip of her amazing performance!

With Beanie & Tim...With Bumma, Papa & Luke...

Chaput Thanksgiving

2009-12-23T10:10:00.002-05:00

FYI--Babies don't like being placed in a bread basket for funny pictures.

HealthWorks Kids Museum

2009-12-23T09:54:00.004-05:00

Continuing my look back at the fall of 2009 (since I've been a bad blogger and am trying to make up for lost time!), here's some photos from our trip to the kids museum in South Bend with Shannon & Gavin...

The Soul Pardon Players

2009-12-23T09:37:00.002-05:00

In November, I got to see two Soul Pardoners on stage. Matt, Hannah & I went to see Kyle in "Arsenic & Old Lace," and Lilly and I saw Hannah in "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." We had a great time! {And it was Lilly's first mucical!} Here's Kyle in "Arsenic": ...and Hannah in the audience... ...and here's Hannah in "Joseph":...and with Lilly after the show.We have amazing, talented kids in Soul Pardon. I'm so proud of them!

Remember October?

2009-12-23T08:57:00.006-05:00

Every year, we head over to the Leininger farm to choose our pumpkins and go through the corn maze. This year was rough. We spent most of October avoiding the general public because the kids had colds, the swine flu paranoia was at its peak, and the weather was bitterly cold. (Did anyone else think that October and November had their weather switched?!) Finally, the last weekend of October, we were able to head to the farm. Most of the pumpkins were gone, but the kids didn't know. Here are some shots from the day:Looking at the bunnies...Our (only '09) family picture...My favorite of the ones I took of the kids...Jude on the tractor...I love this one...Choosing her pumpkin...The (patriotic) corn maze {right before it began to rain}...We had to cut our corn-mazing short because of the rain, but we had a good time. Then we headed home.Lilly using a water bottle as a "bee-nokalar"...My self-portrait...Fun in the leaves...

Baby Mama.

2009-12-16T13:34:00.002-05:00

Jessie (& BJ) FINALLY had her baby, a boy named Canaan!!! I visited Jess the week before he was born...and missed his arrival by just a couple days. We'll be visiting them at the end of the month, and I can't wait to give that little guy a squeeze! Here's the very pregnant Jessie...days away from motherhood!

Christmastime is here...

2009-12-16T12:52:00.003-05:00

Look, we decorated! When I was single, I'd decorate on Halloween. Now I'm too busy to start that early, but if I could, I would. Christmas is the ONLY reason I like winter. This year Matt braved the heights (before it snowed!) and put the lights up across the entire front of the house. Maybe next year he'll light the dormers, too!Even though we keep it out all year long, we spruced up the nativity scene, too. (i.e. I dusted it.)I found a good deal on wall scripture, and Matt and I put up a couple in the living room.Lilly and Judah LOVED "helping" us put up the tree and decorate. In fact, Judah liked it so much, that he helps us relive the excitement daily by taking the ornaments off the tree and giving them to Lilly to put them back up. Good times.Lilly loves watching her reflection in the TV when she dances, so we got her a mirror.This is Lilly worshipping.More goofiness...The downstairs after (most of) the decorating...

Podjan Thanksgiving in Holland

2009-12-16T12:48:00.001-05:00

(No, Jen, not in that Holland...)

My silly kids.

2009-12-16T12:45:00.002-05:00

Those of you on FB have already seen these, but I thought I'd share them with everyone else. Lilly & Judah love bathtime with Daddy. When I asked Lilly if I gave them good baths, she told me, "Yes, but Daddy is way better."

I'm his favorite aunt.

2009-12-14T19:45:00.005-05:00

Luke says hi. I got to photograph him when he was just a few days old. He is so sweet. I love him! Ann had great ideas for his session. Here are a few (a lot) of my favorites:I love newborn sessions, where I get to capture the fingers & toes. Someone on FB commented that he looked like he was playing air guitar in this one. I think they are right.I think he looks a lot like Ann when he cries!Diaper changes are fun...Practicing his "Kate" face (nearly every picture of me since high school features my tongue).Love!Do you think he was getting sick of me? I think this was his subtle hint that he was done with the session...
I love Luke!

Lilly-isms

2009-11-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

So I don't forget...

"Hey, I got a great idea!"
"Actually..."
"First of all..."
"I can't be in my room right now. It's too old."
"Mommy, ask me which way we should go!" (She says this as we come up to most intersections while driving.)

Huh-larious.

2009-10-27T22:05:00.003-05:00

Matt and I went in to check on Judah a little while ago, and this is what we saw...
Made me laugh. And then run to grab the camera! (It's not easy to take photos in the dark when you can't really see your subject through the viewfinder, but I think I guessed pretty well. I used my flash for the first time in ages.)

Woo-hoo! The second post in 2 days!

2009-10-24T17:32:00.005-05:00

I bet you're impressed.

Here are some photos from Lilly & Judah's visits to the hospital:

I'm an aunt again!!!

2009-10-23T19:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'll be the first to admit it: I have been a bad blogger this year. Facebook is so much easier to add a ton of photos to in a short amount of time, and I've never been a big writer, so I've neglected my blog severely. In an effort to groom my blogging habits, I will try to update at least 3 times a week from here on out. (Deep breath.) So, here goes...

Ann & Andrew are PARENTS!!! On Tuesday, at 11:08 a.m., Luke Alan Burkey was born. He is a little squirt at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 20 inches long. He's beautiful, and I'm so glad I was there (well, not there, but in the waiting room) when he was born. One of my favorite moments of the day was when Andrew came in to tell us the news, and blubbered like a baby! I RAN for my camera, and took my favorite non-baby photo in that moment. Here are some of my faves from the day, and a link to Luke's photo gallery on Facebook.
Oh, and I turned 30 yesterday.

More Photos From Kansas!

2009-09-17T08:41:00.003-05:00

This one was taken on the second day at Camp Mary Dell. If we would've done it the day before, there would've been about 20 more people in it! I forgot where I put my tripod and remote shutter release, so I didn't make it in the shot. We stood in front of on of the buildings that suffered a LOT of damage in a recent storm. That's right, there's a HUGE tree laying on the building.This is Lilly doing her best Kung Fu Panda impression (she LOVES that movie): "I love Kung Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu......"Getting ready for the hay rack ride.My Grandmammy...Grandma Chaput...Grandpa Chaput & the kiddos...

There's no place like home...

2009-09-14T10:56:00.006-05:00

Over the Labor Day weekend, we made the annual trek to Kansas to visit family and hang out for a couple days at Camp Mary Dell. This was the 27th year that the Lilly family has gotten together to hang out and "reunite". There was lots of volleyball, food, awards, conversation and fun. I love going there when we are able. I made a point to have my camera with me at all times to take photos. It was good to have a chance to take pictures for fun and not for work, for a change! I took a TON, so I posted them in some galleries on facebook for easier perusal:

Kansas Photo Gallery #1: Camp Mary Dell part 1
Kansas Photo Gallery #2: Camp Mary Dell part 2
Kansas Photo Gallery #3: Camp Mary Dell part 3
Kansas Photo Gallery #4: Grandparents
Photo gallery of our visit to the Arch in St. Louis

Here are some of my favorites:
I still have a few more faves to post, so I'll be posting again real soon, I promise!

Pontoon Picnic

2009-09-04T07:08:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, the Murdock's invited us over to have dinner on their boat at Barren Lake. It was the first boat ride for both of the kids, and they had a blast! Lilly loves hanging out with Dick & Jackie, and Judah loves boats, so it was a pretty great evening.

Luke = Loved.

2009-08-27T10:46:00.005-05:00

Ann's Baby Party was great. See for yourself...Luke is in there:Yum.Matt playing with Lilly & Lucas...The first baby shower I've ever been to that featured a pinata!

Let's see...

2009-08-26T15:00:00.009-05:00

I haven't blogged in oh, about, FOREVER, so here's the quick overview of the past month:

I went to Cincy to shoot a wedding with Jessie, and we had a blast hanging out together! I miss Jessie so much!

I had the privelige of photographing the wedding of two of my old Soul Pardoners from back in the day. My babies are growing up!

Judah learned to walk like a big boy!

Lilly pooped more than once on the potty AND slept through the night without wetting the bed!

I went to Jesus Culture and Campus Awakening. It was AMAZING!!! My walk with Jesus is probably the most energized that it has ever been. If you have the opportunity to go to a Jesus Culture conference, GO!!!

Ann had her baby party. Not a shower, an open house. MUCH BETTER than a baby shower...no dumb games or awkward conversations!

I learned the bass. And then lead worship while playing the bass less than two weeks later. My fingers will never be the same! We've had awesome worship and ministry at Soul Pardon and Open Door the past couple weeks. I had a blast leading worship last Sunday.

The kids and I took Mom to the train station to send her off to Kansas.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all that I can think of off the top of my head.

An email from Ann:

2009-08-26T14:55:00.003-05:00

Subject: UPDATE
Date: 8/26/2009 3:48:24 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From: Ann's email address that I've hidden for her own protection
To: Soulpardoned@aol.com

Message: YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR BLOG. NO EXCUSES!

So, I know it's been a MONTH!!! I'm compiling the photos as we speak. Blogworthy posts coming within the hour (I hope...)!

It's Bumma Day!

2009-07-28T08:55:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke up to a very excited little girl climbing on my bed and oh so politely telling me, "Mom, you have to wake up! It's Bumma Day! It's time to go!" I asked her what time it was, and she said, "It's a.m. Time to go to Bumma's!"

Last week, my mom started the ever-popular "Bumma Day," where she invites all the grandkids over for the day and us mommies can get some shopping, work or other errands and stuff done without having to manage the kiddos too. I LOVE BUMMA DAY!!!

Lilly insisted on being a princess today, so she's sporting her Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) dress, her Princess Aurora flip-flops, her Princess Aurora underwear and her Fancy Nancy hat. The tiara wouldn't stay on her head. She was tres chic walking out to the car this morning.Judah was less than enthused to pose for a photo with his sis.
Yay for Bumma Day! I'm off to get some work done in peace and quiet!

Thank you, Hulu

2009-07-26T22:05:00.001-05:00

...for reminding me why I heart The Office. I am so ready for the next season!

More Green Eggs and Toothy Grins!

2009-07-25T10:53:00.002-05:00

Miss Lilly-bean asked for green eggs the other morning, and I was happy to oblige.Mr. Jude just wanted cheerios and milk. He got his wish, too.
I heart my kids.

My new toys...

2009-07-22T16:59:00.004-05:00

I've saved for awhile, and am FINALLY beginning to acquire the lenses I "need" to fill out my camera bag. I am so excited to test these out at Matt's cousin's wedding this weekend!
AND...my new shootsac to hold my gear on shoots and at weddings! No more traipsing back and forth to my giant gear bag or lugging around cumbersome camera bags any more!Lilly was as excited for my new lenses as I was, and she immediately put me to work taking pictures of her (and yes, we're growing out her bangs, so don't judge!):I couldn't leave Mr. Judah-buddy out of all the fun (however, he was much more interested in the food I was supposed to be feeding him at the time):

Last weekend, Matt helped his dad move to his new digs on Barren Lake, and Andy & Erica came to help out too. We don't get to see them nearly as much as we'd like, so we had a great time hanging out over the weekend. I think we might've been getting a little slap-happy, because Erica was wearing Lilly's boots (note: they are too small for Lilly) around the house. We thought she looked ridiculous, and I had to take a few pictures. We laughed so hard!

For no other reason...

2009-07-09T23:21:00.001-05:00

...except I like it.

It's been crazy busy 'round these parts...

2009-07-09T12:31:00.002-05:00

I haven't had much to blog about lately, since I've been working nonstop since the end of May. That's a good thing, since we like to eat, and selling photos allows us to do just that! My senior sessions have been great, and I had an awesome engagement session last week. I hope to book some more weddings soon so that I can do more e-sessions before the summer is up! I've had a session or church event scheduled for every week night so far in July, and it won't stop until at least the 23rd. I've been saving my pennies for a few photo-related items (and the wishlist just keeps on growing!), so I'm hoping to book around 15 more sessions before August 1, so I can get them before my next wedding. I know it's possible, but I'm not so sure that it will happen.

I haven't had much time to take photos of the kids lately, so here's a quick update:

On Judah...
-He now has 4 teeth, and more are sure to pop any day now
-He's beginning to walk for longer stretches (5-6 feet at a time), but he still prefers the (much faster) crawling mode of transportation
-He says "kitty cat", "woof", "boo" and "gaeeeeegh"
-I've given him about 30 haircuts in his 14 short months. Just cut another 2 inches off last week.

On Lilly...
-She is a "threenager"
-She is completely potty trained during the day (but still in diapers at night)
-She told me today that I am her favorite mommy, but only today. Ava (her "mommy" when they play "house" at school) is really her favorite most of the time. Ouch.
-She walks in 4 inch heels better than I do.
-She likes listening to worship cds, The Beatles and Coldplay. Good taste.

29.

2009-06-29T19:16:00.004-05:00

Today my husband celebrates his 29th year on the planet. We were spoiled today beacause not only was it Matt's birthday, but he also got 1/2 the day off at work, I made him hamburgers for lunch, and Papa Dan took us to Outback for dinner! I made an attempt to take a photo of the momentous occasion, and here's what we were left with:
...sometimes even the most photogenic kids have an off day. Today was ours.

Lilly & Judah's Much-Anticipated Photo Shoot

2009-06-25T20:41:00.005-05:00

Last week, we FINALLY went to the park to shoot Lilly's 3-year and Judah's 1-year photos! It was miserably hot & humid, so we got in and out really quickly. I would've like more time to shoot, but we were melting and the kids' patience was running low, so here's what we ended up with:

The smiley ones... The silly ones...

The contemplative ones...The affectionate ones...Jude & the bubbles...

Lilly in a fairy tale (note the tutu...tres chic!)...
And the one where they were fighting but it looks like they love each other...

A Blog from the desk of Lilly Podjan

2009-06-21T17:23:00.003-05:00

I love you. Happy Father's Day. Finger. Arm and a elbow. Put that fan on my ceiling. Cow now. Papa Dan. Me. Lilly. And...Logan. Baby Luke...where's baby Luke and Annie? Andrew, uh, Papa. Bumma. And...computer. Phone. Picture. Cup. Uh...letter for you. The end.

Thanks, Nic.

2009-06-15T21:18:00.002-05:00

One of the best parts of our Sunday dinners with the fam is when Nic entertains us with all the viral videos he's encountered throughout the week. This latest gem just might be the greatest one EVER. Literally.

(I know Nic already blogged about it, but it's worth a second viewing anyway!)

A big day for Judah...

2009-06-09T16:19:00.002-05:00

A couple nights ago, Judah fell in the tub and knocked his upper gums pretty hard...lots of blood...and a BIG blood-blister-welt-thing where his top tooth was coming in. We have been praying that the knock to his mouth wouldn't harm his teeth, and I think we're good! This morning, tooth #3 popped in! #'s 4, 5 & 6 are sure to make an appearance soon, too! AND...Judah stood up all on his own for the first time today. What a big boy! Okay, maybe he doesn't have the best posture yet, but we're working on it!

My Friend ROCKS!

2009-06-09T16:16:00.002-05:00

Just a little shout out to Rachel (& Lucas) who came over yesterday and played with Lilly & Jude while I had a photo session. Thanks, Rach!

For Ashley...

2009-06-09T13:16:00.004-05:00

Watch this video...You won't be disappointed!

L.U.K.E.

2009-06-05T15:27:00.002-05:00

So, Ann said I could tell everyone...A&A are naming their little boy Luke Alan Burkey. It feels good for the little guy to have a name! I have a feeling I will be calling him Lukey...and Ann will hate it! Click HERE for his 1st pictures!

It's a bittersweet week...

2009-06-02T07:40:00.003-05:00

1st the bitter: Sam leaves for his 2nd overseas deployment (this time to Iraq) tomorrow. It's rough not being able to say goodbye in person, or to see him off when he leaves with his company. I wish I could be there, but I am SO THANKFUL that he'll have internet access on his personal computer this deployment rather than having to share with the whole base. It makes things a little more bearable knowing we can write to him, or see him on Skype more frequently.

And now for the sweet: Shannon & Gavin (and Cody) are moving back here for the year! It will be so great to have her so close...no more lengthy phone calls where we describe the mundane details of our life to one another...now we can experience them TOGETHER! I love Shan and am happy that she'll be back in the 'Bend (and in her own apartment this time, rather than one tiny bedroom at Mom & Dad's!).

I have been crazy busy this week, and hope to have some photoworthy experiences coming up, so no photos today, but I promise I'll update soon. Oh yeah, Ann & Andrew will find out if they're having a boy or a girl in about an hour, so that will be a fun update! Later, peeps!

it's a big day...

2009-05-28T12:45:00.001-05:00

Dad is coming over in a bit to learn Facebook and Blogger. I never thought this day would come!

a-riverwalking we will go!

2009-05-22T19:36:00.003-05:00

Tonight I talked Matt into heading over to the Riverwalk for a quick walk before bedtime. Lilly was beside herself...she got to run and run and run the whole time! We saw a turtle, kites, kids riding skateboards, a couple driving a golf cart...I could go on and on. Who needs money to have entertainment? Not us!

At the park with Jude

2009-05-22T10:06:00.005-05:00

Just incase you were wondering...trying to take pictures of a little guy who has no interest in looking at you or responding to the ridiculous noises you make in a public park without assistance is NOT easy! I spent a half hour trying to get some good shots for Judah's 1 year pictures...and I ended up with 3 so-so shots that don't really work for wallets to give to the fam. I guess I'll try again when someone can help me corral and entertain the little man!

Happy Birthday to my baby brother!

2009-05-22T09:59:00.002-05:00

Today my brother Sammy turns 24! I hope that he gets the day off to spend with Shannon & Gavin. Yesterday Sam & Shannon celebrated their 4th anniversary. Happy Anniversary, guys!

You can tell the weather's nice when...

2009-05-21T19:09:00.002-05:00

...the Podjan Salon moves to the front yard.Judah's thinking, "Yup. I just got my hurr did."Checking out his new 'do.The entertainment for the evening...

Book it!

2009-05-21T10:42:00.003-05:00

I know, I know...I'm really late to get on the bandwagon that is The Shack, but I'm telling you...all those people who said that this book is great were absolutely RIGHT! I read it about a week ago, in one day...in one sitting. I find myself still drawing upon the story in my walk with Christ and especially when I am talking to others about how we as people relate to God. If you haven't read it yet, read The Shack today! It's even on sale at http://www.christianbook.com/ for $9.

While you're buying one good book, how 'bout you add this one to your shopping cart while you're at it?! I LOVE C.S. Lewis' writing, and The Great Divorce is an amazing book! Get it, read it, do it NOW!

I love to read, and you should too.

I also recommend:

-The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

-The entire Chronicles of Heaven series by Gene Edwards

-Anything by Janette Oke (I'm a sucker for historical fiction!)

-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

-1984 by George Orwell (holla at me, high school required reading!)

-The Babysitter's Club series by Ann M. Martin (I totally wanted to be Claudia Kishi when I was a young babysitter-wannabe!)

-The entire Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins

-Anything written by David Crowder

The book that garners my highest reccomendation, by far, is THE BIBLE. If you only read one thing...read this one! (I like reading my Zondervan NIV Study Bible, my NLT Life Application Study Bible, and my Message: Remix the best.)

And, in honor of Jen's children's book list, here are a few that Lilly cannot live without:

-The Biscuit series by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. About a little yellow puppy.

-The Fancy Nancy series by Jane O'Connor. About a very fancy little girl who loves to dress up and say things like, "My family is so posh!"

-The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. We read it every day at mealtime. Lilly's favorite stories are when Gabriel visits Mary and when Jesus brings the dead girl to life.

New Blog...

2009-05-20T16:09:00.003-05:00

I'm starting a new blog for Kate Podjan Photography. Check it out (there's not much to see yet, but I'll be updating frequently) and then hire me! www.katepodjanphotography.blogspot.com

le Riverwalk. ooh la la.

2009-05-16T10:52:00.003-05:00

(double click on the picture above to see it larger)

Last week, we met Jen & Sally at the Riverwalk for our weekly jaunt from Central Park to Kamm Island and back. Lilly LOVED having Lydia along for company. We really bonded while sticking together to keep the ferocious geese at bay. (The last time Jen & I went for our walk the geese were so imtimidating that we actually left the Riverwalk and took a side street for about a quarter of the walk. Hey, I don't want to get nipped by one of those beasts!) If you want to join us on our walk each week, we meet at Central Park by the playground each Monday at 10:45 and walk for about an hour. Some weeks I get there around 10:30 so Lilly can play for a bit before we walk.After we said our goodbyes to Sally & Lydia, Jen & I took our kiddos to the "liberry." I checked out a few books written for people over the age of 12, and Jen checked out a few books written for preschoolers. Hmmm. The walk up the hill to the library from the park was killer on my calves, but I made it. (I even ran pushing the double stroller up the hill to make the pain end sooner. Poor Jen and the awful view of my rear end running up the hill in fron of her!) Ireally enjoy our Monday morning get-togethers. I needed the motivation to get up an accomplish something on Mondays. I used to really struggle getting back into the swing of things after our busy Sundays, but now I actually have MOTIVATION!!! It's a great thing. So, seriously, I you want to hang out with 2 of the coolest stay-at-home mommies around, join us on Mondays!

An apple a day...

2009-05-13T21:40:00.003-05:00

(This post is mostly for the baby "books".)

Last week we made the oh-so-fun trip to the doctor's for the kiddos' annual check-up. Her are the numbers:

Lilly's 3-year stats:
Height...37 1/3 inches (3 ft., 1 1/3 in.)
Weight...29.8 pounds

Judah's 1-year stats:
Height...31 inches (2 ft., 7 in.)
Weight...21.5 pounds

The following photos are totally unrelated to the above post, but I like them, so here they are. I heart my kids!

My Late-20's Crisis...(I'm still a couple decades away from a mid-life one)

2009-05-11T09:03:00.003-05:00

Lately I've been mourning the loss of my fancy-free years. Life as mommy can sometimes mean fewer spur-of-the-moment decisions. It feels like everything I do is planned weeks (if not months) in advance, and for the most part, I like it that way. As of late, though, I've felt the "wanderlust" of mu early 20's, when I would drive for hours to visit friends or family even for a day or so, just because I felt like it. I'd follow Phish on their summer tours, living out of cars and tents, eating grilled cheese made by hippies and taking "showers" fully clothed with a garden hose. (Classy, I know.) Those days were so fun, and I miss that part of my life now and then. Now I deal with financial restrictions, a jam-packed schedule, work commitments and, well, life in general. It makes it much more complicated to travel on a whim, to say the least!

A few weeks ago, my longing to just pick up and go got the best of me! I gave Matt a heads up that I wanted to go to Kentucky with a couple lays notice. My Kentucky best friend had just given birth to her second son, and I wanted to surprise her with a visit. So, on a random Thursday, I got up early, packed the kids up, and headed out to Kentucky at 7:30 a.m. We got to Wilmore around 2:30, ate lunch, and surprised Hilary and visited for a couple hours before heading home. We arrived home just before midnight. What a day! The kids were great, and I really enjoyed seeing Hilary face-to-face for the first time in a couple years. I only wish I could make the same trip to Kansas to see Brandy & her new baby! (But a 14 hour drive to KS is MUCH different than the 6-ish hour drive to KY. Especially with 2 kids. I guess I'll have to wait until Labor Day to see Brandy.)

Here are some pictures of Hilary and her beautiful new son, Perrin:

So, okay, I know I have been a bad post-er lately...

2009-05-09T07:17:00.002-05:00

...and I promise to post some really good, funny, picture-laden posts in the coming week. As for right now, I am on the laptop (with no access to pictures/photoshop) and don't have anything particularly witty to say. I will tell you that I have some future blog subjects to whet your appetite.

I will be blogging (very soon) about:
-my impromptu visit to Kentucky with the kids. We went there and were back in under 18 hours.
-Judah & Lilly's doctor visit (so you can compare your kids to mine. face it, you know that's what you'll do!)
-Logan "drinking" out of a cup. Like a cat.
-Judah's "dinner dance"
-And by the time I post, I'm sure I'll have some amusing story about Lilly's latest shenanigans.

Now you know you can't wait to read all about this stuff! (all i have to do it write it...)

Introducing Reese Addison Quinn!

2009-05-04T08:18:00.003-05:00

I am so excited to introduce Reese to the blogiverse! She is the brand new baby daughter of my cousin Brandy and her husband Isaac. Reese was born on Friday, May 2 at 1:14 a.m. She's a little squirt of a thing weighing in at 6.7 pounds and 18 inches long. I am sure that big brother Kaden is loving his new sister! (Kaden and Lilly are about 3 weeks apart, and now Judah and Reese are 1 year and 1 day apart! They missed being birthday buddies by just over an hour!) I am so bummed that I can't be there to see her in person, but I'm thankful that my cousin Amy sent photos! Congrats, Brandy & Isaac!

Happy Birthday, Judah-buddy!!!

2009-05-01T07:10:00.003-05:00

One year ago today...

Jen and I are bad worker-outers.

2009-04-29T07:01:00.006-05:00

For a few weeks now, Jen and I have been getting together a couple times a week to work out and be fit. Unfortunately, the two of us have the willpower of a...well, something that doesn't have willpower. Half the time, we find some lame excuse to either not meet at all or quit early. So much for accountability! (Jen, I love you and I love our "workout times!") All of that to say, "Hey, at least we haven't quit altogether!"

Lilly watches me work out, and, the supportive daughter that she is, asks me after each workout, "Mommy, are you skinny yet?"

This Monday, I asked Jen to go for a walk instead of out usual Paula Abdul's CardioDance or Jillian Michael's something-or-other, and we decided to walk (almost) the length of the Riverwalk in Mishawaka. In gale-force wind. With strollers to push. I guess that's about 3 miles, round-trip, so I'm pretty proud of us for doing it at a pace faster than a turtle. We did it in less than an hour, even stopping halfway to take pictures of Lilly. Go us!

On our way back to the car, Lilly asked Jen, "Are your muscles big now?" Lilly is such an encourager!

Some photos of the day:

The crew...My beautiful kids...Can you believe he'll be one on Friday!?!See? Jen was there.Logan was thrilled with the walk, as you can see...Lilly's 3...My little model...

Good morning, sunshine.

2009-04-24T07:13:00.001-05:00

It's sunny this morning. That's all. New posts coming soon!

It's a miracle!

2009-04-21T08:47:00.001-05:00

Lilly can walk again! Now maybe I can regain my sanity...

Judah popped a tooth!

2009-04-20T12:49:00.005-05:00

In the words of Lilly, "Judah popped a tooth!" And it only took him 11 months and 3 weeks to do it! I think tooth #2 is soon to follow. When I got my camera to take a picture of the new tooth, I guess Judah decided to turn on the charm. He wouldn't stop scrunching his face! Enjoy!

My daughter is driving me CRAZY!!!

2009-04-20T11:27:00.003-05:00

For a much more amusing version of the following story, please read Jen's recounting HERE.

Ann reminded me to post about the latest trial of having a three year old so I would be able to look back and laugh one day. This is not that day. I do, however, intend to slurp my blog into book form as a baby book of sorts for the kids, so I will recount Lilly's new issue:

She skinned her knee last Friday. I'll admit, it was a nasty scrape, but not worthy of all the drama that has unfolded on our household over the last 4 days. Immediately after we cleaned her knee up and bandaged it with a monster band-aid, she professed that she could not walk. I tolerated that behavior for Friday night, but told her that she would be better by the morning (which usually works). She prayed for her knee, and then we did too, and she said her normal healing prayer response, "Jesus is healing me!" I was thinking everything would be fine by morning. I was wrong.

Lilly REFUSED to get out of bed by herself on Saturday. I (being the good mom that I am) told her that she would have to stay in her wet diaper and not have breakfast until she walked to the bathroom and then her seat at the table. She laid at the top of the stairs for over an hour. I don't think she ever got her breakfast. I was NOT happy with Lilly, especially since we were having her birthday party that afternoon. (Side note: I have issues with planning events of any scale, because most times when I have even slightly above average expectations of decent attendance, good times and happy memories, no one shows up or the event is a dud. Case in point--Lilly's 2nd b-day party--She needed a nap like none other and cried and refused to look at anyone the entire 1st half of the party. Her mommy was mucho dissappointed.)

Long story short, she refused to stand up or walk the entire duration of the party, the remainder of Saturday, all day Sunday, and yes, all day today, so far. She has pushed me well past the point of exhasperation...and we're approaching rage at times. I've tried spanking, the naughty-spot, "throwing away" all of her dresses, and now she's shut in her room without toys, bedding, or books.

The most mobility we can get out of her is a strange froggy-style hop/crawl. And she does stand like a flamingo with her injured leg drawn all the way up. We've tricked her into walking a couple times, but she suddenly becomes lame the instant she realizes the trick. I know that her knee can't be hurting her that much, because I've watched her bang it into the ground when she's crawling. And her attitude is...special. The tantrums we've had over the past couple days should last us awhile.

Here's hoping she walks soon. I'll be a much happier mommy then.

Freshwind 2009 :: BOLD AS LIONS!!!

2009-04-15T14:19:00.003-05:00

Every year, Matt and I have the privilege of taking the Soul Pardoners to the Freshwind conference in Toronto, Canada. This year's trip was awesome! We left EARLY last Thursday morning and came home Sunday morning in time to celebrate Easter with our Open Door family. Matt and I also got to baptize 2 of our "kids" at church. Pretty cool! God did a TON in each of our hearts this weekend, and I'm still processing it all! I am anxiously awaiting the conference MP3's so that I can really absorb everything that was taught. I posted a few highlights on the Soul Pardon blog, and if you're interested, you can read them here. Here are some of my favorite images from the weekend:

That's right, here's a photo of ME! I am hardly ever in a shot, so I decided to make sure of being in at least 3 photos during this trip. Good for me. It's never fun driving into the sunrise, but Matt was a champ. You can see Kyle waving in the reflection of Kirt's sunglasses. Good times.

If you look closely, you can see the reflection of some Soul Pardoners huddled to the left of the staircase in the skylight. One of our few posed shots...Kyle always does any weird thing I tell him to, as long as it makes a silly picture. Here's an example. Other ones are posted in the facebook photo album.

Thank You, Jesus!

2009-04-15T13:29:00.003-05:00

Here are some photos from Easter Sunday. We hung out at the 'rents, watched Lilly hunt for eggs while Jude took a nap, and enjoyed general good times. My favorite part of the day was when Andrew & Nic played Barbies with Lilly (didn't get Nic in a photo, though...bummer).

Just wanted to add a Judah shot. Here he is climbing on the platform at church. What a little dude!

lilly b is three!!!

2009-04-15T10:34:00.005-05:00

Lilly turned 3 on the 9th, while Matt and I were in Toronto. On the 8th we celebrated her birthday. It's hard to believe she's already 3 years old!April 9, 2006...Her 1st birthday cake...Her 2nd birthday (after the nap)...We gave Lilly a cupcake to blow the candles out on, and we'll be having a regular cake and the kids' birthday party this weekend. After she blew out the candles, I asked her if she like her cupcake, and she looked up at me, sighed, and said, "Where's the big cake?" Sheesh. This is the birthday I've been waiting for since I found out we were 90% sure of having a girl, so long ago! This year I got to give her her first Barbie! (And her second, third, fourth and fifth...I went a little crazy with the Barbies!) I LOVED playing with Barbies when I was a kid, and I'll admit, I played with them a little when I was taking them out of the ridiculous packaging.

Lilly's new obsession

2009-04-07T07:54:00.002-05:00

I got Lilly some "Resurrection Eggs" last weekend to help teach her the real meaning of Easter, and why we celebrate it. She was getting a little to focused on the Easter bunny that comes every year to her school, and I didn't want her to get through this season without knowing what Jesus did for her. Resurrection Eggs are a way to teach the Easter story with small trinkets to represent each section of the story beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with the Resurrection. At first, I was worried that the 12 segments of the story wouldn't hold her attention, so I broke it up into 3-4 sections at a time. I guess it's paid off, because this morning Lilly has done nothing but beg me to do the Easter story for her. Over and over. She's doing pretty good at remembering what is in each egg too. I'm so proud of my little girl! I just thought I'd mention this since incase some of you (esp. Khara :0))were interested in ways to teach your kids Biblical truths in everyday ways, and this is a good example. There are a few different ways to do the resurrection eggs, and if you want to make your own homemade set, just google resurrection eggs and you will find a ton of sites to guide you. (And a couple that will say that this is pagan commercialization at it's finest...but I say, if it helps your nearly 3 year old to retain the details of the most vital aspect of their spiritual life, then that can't be wrong.) If you want to buy a set for $10, I got mine @ Meijer in the book dept. Happy Easter!

snow.

2009-04-06T07:08:00.001-05:00

Well, it's safe to say we won't be going to the park today. I guess I'll just pack for Toronto instead. Boo. (Go away, snow!)

Lilly's Spring Fling

2009-04-04T10:31:00.004-05:00

This morning Lilly, Judah, Beanie and I went to the Spring Fling @ GK. Lilly was most excited to see the Easter Bunny and get her balloon hat. The icing on the cake was when she had her face painted like a lion. (They were offering bunny faces, but Lilly talked them into giving her a lion face...and they look amazingly identical. Who knew?)

Lilly offering her candy to the bunny...A blurry picture of Annie & Miss Lilly. (There were people waiting to walk by, so I had to take it on the fly.)Lilly's amazing hat. She wants to wear it to church tomorrow.Beanie & Jude...Lilly's first reaction to her lion face...Our little lion...

Confessions of a Preschool Drama Queen's Mommy

2009-04-02T18:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'd be the first one to admit that Lilly's personality often mirriors my own. And sometimes that is something to be proud of. And then there are days like this one. Days where I watch my daughter be as strong-willed/stubborn/manipulative as I can be. Sheesh. Lilly was in rare form today, and wouldn't you know it, I woke up with a migraine which made it extra hard to stand my ground with her today. I'm happy to say that we made it through the day with only one stop on the "naughty spot" (thanks, Nanny Jo!) and one spanking. I'm so glad Matt is home now to take over for baths and bedtime!!!

I'd like to invite you to observe a small example of what today has been like for me. I'll set the scene...

Dinner time at the Podjan house. Daddy's feeding Jude, Mommy is putting the final touches on Paninis-o'-Kate. Lilly has just climbed in her seat. Prayers have been prayed. It's dinner time.

Mommy: Lilly, don't just eat the cheese...eat your chicken, too.
Lilly: I like cheese.
Mommy: I know, but you need to eat the chicken too.
(Lilly proceeds to eat only the cheese.)
Mommy: Lilly, turn around and face your food. Eat your chicken.
Lilly: (while turned around and facing the wall) I'm Princess Fiona, no, I'm Cinderella. And you're Shrek. You're an ogre! Rrrwwarrr!!
Mommy: Turn around.
Lilly: (turning around) Daddy is feeding Flounder.
Mommy: We named him Judah, not Flounder. Flounder is a fish. Judah's not a fish! He's a person!
Lilly: Judah's not a person. Judah's a boy! I'm a person!
Mommy: Sorry. Eat your chicken.
Daddy: Eat your chicken, Lilly.
Lilly: I'm Cinderella, and you're Prince Charming. I love you. (smiles sweetly)
Daddy: Cinderella, eat your chicken.
Lilly: (with the saddest face EVER) That makes me sad. You hurt my feelings! (cries)
Mommy: Eat your chicken and I'll give you some chips.
Lilly: (smiling, no tears to be seen) Okay.

And repeat for another 15 minutes. That was how our dinner time went tonight. And, yes, she eventually ate her chicken.

One of Lilly's new things is to make the "Ku Fong Panna" (Kung Fu Panda) face. Here it is: I LOVE MY LITTLE GIRL!!! (Can you believe she'll be 3 next week!)

Park.

2009-04-01T10:44:00.004-05:00

Last week, a few friends and I braved the chilly weather and met at the park to play and have a picnic. Lilly & Jude had a blast (and I REALLY enjoyed the extra-long naptime that followed!)!

Swinging with friends...Fun in the sand...Logan...Praisin' God on the swing...Waiting for someone to push her...Rach & Lucas...Shamby needs a snuggie...

An Ode to Youth Ministry

2009-04-01T10:34:00.002-05:00

We LOVE our Soul Pardoners!!! In the past 5 years, we have seen dozens of young people walk through our doors. We're so blessed to share in the lives of so many awesome friends. In the last year alone we've seen one Soul Pardoner go away to ministry school in California (and is headed to the Phillipines on a mission trip shortly), we've seen another one serve as a missionary in inner-city Chicago, and I get to be the photographer at the wedding of 2 former Soul Pardoners later this year! We miss the ones that graduate and move away, but we are so thankful for the newbies that we get each summer...and the friends they bring with them! Matt & I are so blessed with a wonderful leadership team and great kids that make our lives so great. I wouldn't trade our time with them for anything!

Say Cheese.

2009-03-25T08:00:00.003-05:00

Lilly sits so good for me when I want to take pictures of her. I was lucky to get this shot where her face was really relaxed, so much so that she looks like more of a baby than the big girl she is growing up to be. I like the way her lips are so full, and her cheeks are so round. My little girl!Jude's been rocking the 'hawk lately, thanks to baby lotion and his mommy's insistance. Here, you can see the multiple bruises on his forehead, thanks to his ever-growing desire to be fully mobile (and the knocks he takes along the way!). Also observe the big tears in his eyes...he had just fallen and knocked his head on Lilly's chair. My response? Take a picture, of course. (Don't worry, I snuggled with him soon after this one was shot.)Matt loves this one of Lilly-bean.Everyone loves games where I make them end up sitting on each other in the end. Well, everyone but Nic. (We love our Soul Pardoners!)My handsome little man.And my beautiful little...ahem, I mean BIG girl. Her birthday's "comin' up in April. April 9th. I'll be 3." (Lilly's response whenever anyone asks her when her birthday is, verbatim.)Jude the dude.

Our Beautiful Girl.

2009-03-13T19:24:00.000-05:00

art.

2009-03-13T19:19:00.002-05:00

Lilly made sure that Mommy's art made it on to the fridge for all to see.Lilly was so tuckered out from her extensive artistic ventures that she put her head down right on the counter and took a nap.Well, maybe not a real nap.

while judah sleeps...

2009-03-13T19:13:00.002-05:00

...Lilly and I have great fun. We do things like: practice our photography in the mirror, draw circles on the magna-doodle, (Lilly's really concentrating...you can tell by the way she is sticking out her tongue!)give each other fancy hairstyles, (Lilly wanted 2 buns: one on the top of her head, and one in the back)and we talk about important stuff.

little moments.

2009-03-13T19:03:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I take pictrures, and they come out a little "soft" (photog speak for blurry & out of focus). That's okay, 'cause most of the time I'm just trying something new on my camera and I can do some stuff in post that makes them look like I did it on purpose, to be...artistic. Here are some samples as of late:One other noteworthy occurrance...I actually reorganized/rearranged our kitchen cabinets. Of my own volition. Without a fuss. I even wiped the cabinets down before I put stuff back into them! See, I can clean stuff! Here's proof:

#250

2009-03-12T15:52:00.004-05:00

I don't usually commemorate the number of posts I've done, mainly because I rarely ever check to see how often I've posted, but today I happened to notice that this is my 250th post on this blog. Yippee.

In other news, I was uploading stuff from my other (teeny-tiny-rarely-used) camera, and I came upon this shot of Lilly & Lucas. This was when Lilly decided that she was married to Lucas and made him wear a necktie. Classy. It really goes with Lilly's beaded necklaces and her tutu. What a cute couple!Lilly & Judah played the night away a few nights ago......and then Jude played the piano for awhile.
I plan on posting more in a few minutes...as long as naptime lasts!

My Talented Boy

2009-03-12T13:58:00.002-05:00

Judah had been working on his "tricks" to show you all. Enjoy!

face plant.

2009-03-05T19:34:00.006-05:00

Lilly took a massive face plant a couple days ago in the driveway. I'm pretty sure she landed square on her face, without her hands to cushion the fall. I had to dig out asphalt from between her teeth. She got a bloody lip and a nice scrape on both her nose and her forehead. Pretty girl. We took these pictures the same day. Somehow, I think she'll recover.Jude has some intense eyes when he's eating. I like how his pinky was pointed while he was holding his bottle.

Ann is PREGNANT!!!

2009-03-05T19:25:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, Ann gave Lilly another "tattoo," by writing on her wrist. Ann does this a lot, and this is not an unusual occurrence. So, we paid no mind when Lilly came in the room to show us her new "tattoo." Until Matt started reading it.Yep, that's right, it says, "I'm gonna have another cousin!" Wa-hoo!!! We're all excited, and I'm convinced (for no good reason) that the baby will be a girl, and they are going to name her Amelia. Lilly is already talking about her cousin "Anelia." We'll call her Millie for short. That's right, Lilly & Millie. Here's hoping Millie doesn't turn out to be a boy! Nah...we're happy either way!

Silly Lilly dressed as Fancy Nancy.

2009-03-05T19:14:00.003-05:00

Lilly loves her Fancy Nancy books and likes to dress up as Fancy Nancy every day. I like that my girl is not afraid of color! (By the way-she chose her outfit...down to the socks and the side-ponytail!)

Lucas' Visit

2009-03-05T19:05:00.003-05:00

When Judah really smiles, his nose gets all scrunched up and he gets all squinty. I love it!

Our friend Lucas stayed with us for a couple days while his mommy (my good friend, Rachel) was in the hospital and his daddy had to work. Lilly says she's going to marry Lucas, and even made him wear a necktie (Matt's old cheesy Christmas one) to their "wedding." Poor Lucas...at least he's too young to remember what she's putting his through! The kids had a ton of fun and Lilly went through Lucas-withdrawal when he left.

mostly mealtimes.

2009-03-05T18:44:00.003-05:00

Jude got a little squirty with his bottle.

Mmm, lunch for my little princess and her brother.Lilly was making faces in the huge mirror on the wall behind the table while Matt finished up his dinner and attempted to get some food into Judah's belly (most ended up on his face/clothes/highchair...you get the idea).Jude has discovered the joy in sucking on the tags of all his toys. Nevermind the fact that this particular bear has chewy-teether-thingies on his hands and feet...Judah needs to chew on the tag!Valentine's Day would not have been complete without a visit brom Beanie & Grandpa Tim!

Remember that day in February when the weather was nice?

2009-03-05T18:15:00.005-05:00

Well, we played our little hearts out that day.Lilly had a picnic in the wagon while I walked them around our neighborhood. Lilly has since deemed our neighborhood a "nice neighborhood." I'm so glad she approves. Next, we parked the wagon and broke in the new infant swing that we got at Christmas.Lilly & Judah had a meaningful conversation about how you should not drink a bottle while on the swings. Judah realized that swinging was was more fun than just hanging there. Lilly wanted in on the pushing action. And then she had to run on her "hill," the barely-there bump between our yard and the neighbor's yard. We ended the day with a little more swinging and sliding. Good times.

Hello!!! Remember me?

2009-03-05T18:00:00.005-05:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. The flu hit us pretty hard the past few weeks. I intend to post a bunch of photos to make up for my absence, so get ready! Here are some of our beautiful boy:Judah is now 10 months old, and at his 9 month checkup last month, he weighed in at 18 pounds 8 ounces, and was 28 1/2 inches long. Lilly insisted on getting weighed too, and she was 28.8 pounds. She'll be 3 in a little over a month, can you believe it?!

Early in February we all drove down to Cincy to visit BJ & Jessie. I miss Jessie SO MUCH! Bless BJ's heart, he read "Fancy Nancy" to Lilly a few times, and we all watched "Monsters, Inc." more times than I can count. Thanks, Lilly. Judah is getting into EVERYTHING these days! He is pulling himself up on the furniture and cruising like a champ! Sometimes we can get him to say, "Luh-luh": we're pretty sure he's trying to say "Lilly". He has "mama" and "buh-buh" (means nothing, but he'll repeat it after us) and he claps and waves and is a giggly, sock-taker-offer little man.

Bleh.

2009-02-18T13:34:00.003-05:00

I am wiped out. I had a monster migraine yesterday and it zapped me of all my energy today. I know I have been a bad little blogger/project 365-er this month. I am taking pictures, I am just being lazy about getting them from the memory cards to the computer. Please bear with me. I have the best of intentions! I will try my hardest to get something up in the next 24 hours. Hold me to that. You're my accountability!

P.S.-Soul Pardon's Honor Banquet last night was awesome! Thank you guys for being the best group of friends on the planet!

P.P.S.-Does anyone else think it's great when Liz Lemon says, "I want to go to there" on 30 Rock? I do.

Par-tay!!!

2009-02-05T18:26:00.007-05:00

Lilly had a few friends over today for a dress-up party. We had a lot of fun, and needless to say, the blue room got TRASHED!!!Judah did not have as much fun as Lilly did.Moriah was a fan of taking many naps throughout the morning. Lilly tucked her in.Lydia was ravishing in her earring.I love Moriah crashed out on the bed with the hat over her eyes.Abbey was a fan of the fries.The Aftermath.

Today is a big day!

2009-02-04T11:28:00.003-05:00

Okay, here we go...

Happy 31st Anniversary, Mom & Dad! Happy Birthday, Jen! Happy Birthday, Aaron! Happy Birthday, Justin (you'll always be Judd to me!)! Happy birthday, Shannon!

Stuff about...

2009-02-02T11:38:00.008-05:00

US...We've been pretty busy here at the Podjan house. I have been working a lot on the future remodel of my office (if you'd like to donate to the "Kate-needs-to-totally-redo-her-office-to-make-it-workable Fund, contact me soon!). I've also been working on a couple wedding edits and I've spent a lot of time working up new songs for worship at Soul Pardon. It's been fun, but time consuming. Here are some entirely unrelated photos... Lilly is growing into a fine young lady. A few days ago, I was woking in my office and I heard Lilly mumble something about "tattoos" from her office (the gated play area just outside my office door). I took a deep breath, not knowing how much damage had been dune, turned around, and saw this......Lilly is offering makeovers to anyone that wants one. Interested?

A few weeks ago, Matt's schedule got moved around so that now he works an extra hour 4 days of the week and comes home at 11 on the 5th day. It has been great getting him home early once in a while. He's adjusting to seeing the house in the daylight. We are reading our new Bible each night at dinner, The Jesus Storybook Bible. I think everyone should get this Bible and read it, whether you have kids or not. It's great! Go get yours today!Judah is slowly starting to eat baby food at dinner. He's a mess, and pretty much hates anything that is not covered in something sweet. So the other night, for instance, I wanted to feed him a turkey dinner, green beans and apricots. Each spoonful of anything had to be dipped in the apricots in order for him to eat it. I think he may have his mommy's sweet tooth.Other notes on Judah...

He is crawling now.
He can repeat "mama" after me.
He waves.
He still doesn't have teeth.
He turned 9 months old yesterday, and I just noticed today. (I guess that happens after the first child...poor Judah.)

OUR FRIENDS...We have had a lot of fun playing with our friends at the mall play area lately. Thank goodness for a free winter play option that I don't have to clean up after! I have been to the mall more in the last 2 months than I have been in the last 5 years. And I only buy stuff in the food court!

NIC, JEN & LOGAN...

Nic & Jen took pity on me and joined me at the symphony a couple weekends ago. It was nice to get dressed up and partake in some culture. If only I had season tickets to the Broadway Theater League...

Here is a photo from November of Jude and Logan, just after he was born. Logan was dedicated at church a couple Sundays ago.He is a cutie!

SOUL PARDON...

We had TruRaw at Soul Pardon last week. Kyle did a great job delivering the message. We are so proud of him!

MY TIME-WASTER...

I have been spending many late nights watching Project Runway online on Chinese YouTube and all of my other shows on Hulu. I heart TV on the internet! Fewer commercials (if any) better reception (yeah, we're still using our antennas--and have not received our coupons for a converter box), and I can watch stuff that's on cable, which we do not subscribe to!

What I'm watching via the internet or Netflix (on no particular order---and all between the hours of 10 p.m and 2 a.m.):

Roswell
Lost
Project Runway
Psych (probably my favorite show right now)
Bones
House
Fringe
Heroes (but I'm getting a little bored with it)
The Office
30 Rock

Thanks for reading this long and disjointed post. Have a good day!

Get Ready (Shannon)

2009-01-30T19:50:00.002-05:00

I am finally back in my office and ready to sort through the myriad of images I've taken over the past couple weeks (and I found a bunch I hadn't even looked at going back to November). As soon as I'm done editing, I'll be posting a ginormous blog with updates, photos, and maybe even a video or two! Check back real soon!

Our Weekend.

2009-01-11T20:33:00.010-05:00

We have had a busy couple of days. Since Friday, Matt has snow blown the driveway 3 or 4 times (and he'll be back out again tomorrow at 4 a.m.), we went to a birthday party for our friend Abbey, we ate at the carry-in dinner at church, hung out at Mom & Dad's, booked some photography jobs, met some new friends, went grocery shopping and had some fun hanging out at home! Phew! Lilly "helped" her daddy with the driveway by pushing her lawn mover through the snow for awhile. The real snow blower was a little loud for her and we mostly watched Daddy do the real work from the window in the foyer. The snow was fun, nonetheless!

Saturday morning, Matt's practice was cancelled, so he stayed home and helped Lilly build pillow houses. And then he just threw pillows at Lilly for awhile. She liked it. (Notice the wind in her hair form the force of the pillows.)Last year, Lilly & Judah made a whole bunch of new friends, thanks to the wonder that is Facebook. I reconnected with 4 friends from high school, all of which are mommies now, too. We've been having fun getting together for playdate for the past 6 or 7 months. Saturday afternoon we got to help my friend Khara celebrate her daughter's 3rd birthday at McDonalds. Happy Birthday, Abbey!

Tonight, Lilly was super excited to drink from her new twisty straw that she received in her goody bag from the party.Judah loves this jumper that another high school friend, Rachel, is letting us borrow. It has been so valuable to us! Thanks, Rach (& Lucas)!

home slice.

2009-01-08T19:37:00.002-05:00

Tonight we hung out at home for the evening. Matt put on a CD and Lilly spent a good hour worshipping before bedtime. Here are just a few of the photos I took. The rest of them can be viewed HERE.

Matt's New Instrument

2009-01-08T10:13:00.002-05:00

In 2008, Matt added a few instruments to his collection, including 2 banjos and a didgeridoo. He has been watching lessons on YouTube on how to play the didgeridoo, and he is a quick study! It's a funny instrument, and he can't wait to be able to play it at church!