This is an attempt to get a Root family photo for our Christmas card…neither my husband or son believe in “serious” shots so to get them to stop hamming it up or wrestling was a challenge. I am hoping that I have something I can use, otherwise here is what you get-yep…this is the Root family at our finest!
Can I just start off by saying that I am still full (but, yes still had my three meals today and don’t really know why as I now have that full, sleepy feeling I had Thanksgiving night!) We were extremely blessed to have my parents come all the way from Texas for a Florida Thanksgiving with the Roots along with our friends Bill and Ariel (who live just a few miles away) and Alice, Cody’s girlfriend, joined us a little later. I haven’t enjoyed a “traditional” Thanksgiving for the last three years because my husband has been traveling so this year was extra special. I am rooted in family, so it meant a lot to me to have everyone here for a relaxed day with lots of food, football, dominos…and a pie I made from scratch (even the crust, yes ma’am, ok so it was a little thick and hard to slice but still delicious.) I am a little baffled at myself that I did not get a picture of the turkey, maybe next year!
Dominos & Pie (if you want me to explain the “5″ on the “8″ I will be happy to…)
Empty plates and some football
Some Thanksgiving phone games
I instantly fell in love when I walked in the door and saw Matteo in his mother, Asheli’s arms. I cannot describe in words the euphoria I felt the entire time during this photo shoot. There is nothing like a precious, newborn that has only been in this world for eleven days-nothing like it! Matteo was so good during the photoshoot, he only got fussy once so I held him until he fell asleep (and I’m not complaining one bit.) Oh, and then there was the time he got a little squirmy and his Mom, in a soft and gentle voice, assured him that he was ok and he instantly relaxed. A mother’s voice and re-assurance-the simplicity of life. I am thrilled for Asheli and her husband Felipe and thank them for inviting me into their home and sharing Matteo with me-just those few hours was good for my soul.
Today is the first day of my mini-series called Traveling Tuesdays: with the Roots. I absolutely love to travel and as of today do not have one single trip planned, so instead of wallowing in the fact that I am not traveling in the foreseen future I decided to relish in all of the places we have been. Not all of our trips are glamorous but every single one has inspired me in some way. I decided to start with a trip that Jonathan and I took in the summer of 2007 (I have constantly been reminded by Cody that we did not take him and now somehow “owe” him a trip to a foreign country of his choice…and, if I can oblige I will be happy to!) Jonathan and I contemplated several different places that we would like to visit but Ecuador was our final decision. And you ask…why Ecuador? Well, first we wanted to go to South America so we discussed several different south american countries. Jonathan’s aunt and uncle-Bruce and Cinda-had lived in Ecuador as missionaries for 13 years and were getting ready to move back to the United States. Once we found out they were moving back we decided that we had to take the opportunity to travel to Ecuador while they were still there. So, we brushed up on our spanish (Jonathan more so than me) and off we went to Quito. We stayed in our own little villa on Bruce and Cinda’s property and were treated to oritos (those little mini bananas) every morning for breakfast. We explored Quito, went on a road trip to several different towns, spent a few nights in the rain forest and ate lunch at 13,400 feet. I came home after 9 days ordering my water as “agua sans gas” and telling people “gracias”. Jonathan missed the ketchup and I missed the pastries, but we were home (we missed Cody more!) The images below are highlights of our trip…
The beauty of Ecuador…so green
South American ice cream, papayas at market, an old church and yes…go cart racing (and that would be Jonathan and I-I think I am winning, maybe not!)
La Basilica church amongst the landscape of Quito
La Basilica Church a little closer
The intrinsic detail inside La Basilica
We climbed to the top tower of La Basilica…well, as you can see Jonathan climbed higher than me (I had to sit down for a while!)
On the equator…juggling and kissing with each of us standing in a different hemisphere
We even celebrated my husband’s birthday with a great italian meal!
It was a little chilly at 13,400 feet
Team Rootberry goes rogue…or maybe just the opposite…or maybe this is going rogue for Team Rootberry-I can’t make up my mind. I want to hear what you think. Tell me about your favorite Team Rootberry stunt, performance, video or something you’d like to see them do. You can watch some of their hilarious videos on YouTube or become a fan of Life of the Party and learn a few of the antics yourself! For now enjoy the shots from their photo shoot I did with them this weekend-we had a great time!
If you are like me you have not even started to think about your holiday cards until now (well I did actually “think” about them a while back but have just now determined that I must do something about that thought.) We are actually taking our family shots next weekend. There is still time to book your holiday photo session. With your photo session and unique holiday photo cards you will also receive a CD with 10 high resolution digital images! Check out the special below and then give me a call to book your session.
On this day five years ago I met my husband! I was at a conference to book acts for the community college I was working for and my hubby was one of the acts. At the time I met my husband I had completely surrendered my love life to God-it was His to do with as He pleased. It’s kinda sappy…but yeah we met, we knew, we fell in love…that was five years ago-God did good, real good!
Today…from my iphone
Going green is certainly a process for the Root family-at this point I would say we are barely yellow! We have made some basic changes-switched to incandescent lightbulbs, recycle aluminum cans and we utilize re-usable bags at the grocery store (so maybe we are only tan at this point!) I have just recently begun to remember to take my re-usable bags to the grocery store and I think it is because I have these fun, colorful BAGGU bags. I got these bags several months ago and it actually makes my heart happy when I check out at the grocery store with my bags; well that is except the few times I have been to Wal-Mart. Every time I have braved the journey to Wal-Mart the cashier seems irritated that I have brought my own bags-I don’t really understand that so I just smile and hand over my brightly colored bags because I am, in some small way, trying to contribute even if we haven’t made it to green status yet. We are obviously in need of help in the going green arena…so if you could provide any insight as to how you have gone green please leave a comment below-just click on comment right under the picture of my most awesome bags…
What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Kristi and I have been trying to get together for this photo shoot for a few months now, but heat, schedule conflicts and wardrobe malfunctions kept getting in the way. Well we finally got it-the perfect location, perfect day, perfect weather, and the perfect wardrobe! Ok so we trespassed a little bit to get a few of these shots. It was just a little-a few steps, a few feet…whose counting! Anyways, you have already met Kristi’s babies…I photographed Mav & Tara a few months back. Now meet Kristi. I actually met Kristi myself a little over three years ago when we were both working at the same place. She did not work there long but we have kept in touch and I am grateful for that, and grateful that we were able to share our trespassing experience together. Kristi and her husband Jere have been happily married for three years, are avid supporters of pet rescue (they rescued both of their dogs) and are very spirited UCF Knight fans and attend all of the home football games. On the day of our photo shoot Kristi was especially thrilled because UCF had just, for the first time in their short history, beat a ranked team. Like I said…it all came together, perfectly (and no one was arrested!)
