Another Midweek Confessions

I'm joining up with e, myself, and I again this week. You know you are super excited about this.

- Today I let Maxwell go to the bathroom at the mcdonalds barefoot. Yes, that may be gross, but I had to keep my sanity some how... and the thought of putting on his shoes (which were not velcro and had to be tied) was too overwhelming.

- I went skiing on Sunday, and I fell about 20 times. I also started crying at the top of the mountain because I was soooo tired of getting up after I had fallen.

- I am seriously contemplating skipping my photography class on Friday, because we're going on a field trip. The problem with the field trip is that I don't want to wake up early enough to drive to the place we are meeting. Of course the teacher has as meeting at the furthest place possible. Seriously, it's like a 45 minute drive.

- The Hunger Games come out in t-minus 25 hours! Who's excited? I am. Seriously, if you haven't read the books yet you should read them.

-I'm watching a couple friends play xbox and it's booooooringgg.

That is all I have for now, friends! Go check out E's blog :)

What we've been up to...

We've been much too busy playing in this beautiful weather to take any pictures. It was around 70 degrees almost all of last week! Hooray! 

When the weather is not so nice, we've spent some time taking silly pictures. 

Attractive, I know :) 

My sweet boys :) 

I love those little guys! Happy Monday to you :)

Saturdays...

Do you know what makes a good Saturday? Actually... a good day in general? A good day is a day where I have no plans. I don't have to be up at a certain time, and I don't have to be anywhere. I love the days where I decide what I would like to do. Sometimes those days are super productive. Other times those days are laaazzzzyyyy days. Either way I love them!

Today was a lazy day for me :)

I hope you all had a happy Saturday :)

Embrace the Camera

I'm embracing the camera with the anderson crew. Head on over and check them out!

Isn't she precious?

I'll admit... I had to bribe these boys to be in a picture... 

Old Photos

So for all of you who don't know this... I'm home. I've had mixed feelings about it. It's been nice to be back, and it has been nice to see people, but it's been a little lonely. Although I expected to feel lonely, I didn't want to.

I know the loneliness won't last for long. Loneliness usually appears when I don't have much to do, so once I get busy again, things will be good.

I start work tomorrow, and school on Wednesday. I'm actually really excited for this semester. I think it will be a good one. :)

Continuing on,

my grandma sent me some Christmas presents, and I got them today.... my grandma will sometimes choose some interesting presents for us... For example, she's given us toothbrushes, an English textbook, underwear, lipstick in strange colors... etc.... There have been other times when we (I say we as in my siblings) have received some great presents! Ex: Really pretty jewelry, good books, fun games... etc... This year I received a game, some old pictures, and some.... hangers. 50 of them to be exact. I'm sure they will be useful... eventually.

Anyway, she sent me some old pictures, and the family picture is pretty hilarious, if not embarrassing.

Enjoy:

7 out of the 8 Shedd children

Oh, and interesting little fact: While I was in Ecuador I did a family photo shoot on the stairs above.

Me at a few months old

I would have scanned these pictures into my computer, but since I have a new hard drive I need to find the cd to connect my computer to my scanner.

Just Another Thursday...

These last few days have been some slow days. We've mostly lounged around the house talking, playing games, baking cookies, and eating.

My mom got sick yesterday, and my dad has had to work. So us kids have been left to our own devices. I'm definitely realizing that I could get used to this. I don't have much free time in the states. I feel like I'm constantly rushing around to get something done. Here I have nothing to do, and I like it.... to an extent.

Although... after this week I'm pretty sure I'll be ready to start traveling around Quito/Ecuador.

On Monday, two of my sister's friends come. My sister, Julianna (17), has a friend coming from Colorado Springs to live with my family for almost 3 months. They both went to high school together in the U.S.

My sister, Katelyn (14), has a friend coming from Colorado Springs to live and school with my family for the next semester. For the first week her parents will be with her, and so I'm sure we will be doing some sight seeing and traveling.

Do you all want to hear what I'm most excited for? I'm most excited for January 6 when my family heads down to the coast to party it up for 5 nights. I'm pretty sure the coast of Ecuador is my favorite place to go. Before when we lived here, we used to own a condo on the beach with another four families. Each family was able to use the condo about 2 weeks a year, and then the rest of the time we would rent the condo out. It was beautiful. Once my family (and a few other families) moved to the U.S., we decided the up keep was too much. So we sold it. Shortly after that my parents moved back. When they decided to stay longer than the 9 months that they had first decided on, they also decided to buy another condo. This time they bought the condo with my brother. So, although my parents own most of the condo my brother (21) owns a portion of it. Anyway, all this goes to say is that I grew up vacationing on the beach, and I'm excited to spend 5 beautiful days there soaking up the sun.

So, that's what I'll be up to for the next few weeks. I know all of you are just DYING to see pictures, and I keep telling myself that I will put some up... but I keep putting it off. I keep putting it off because I'm hoping that maybe I can wait for my computer to be fixed before I start working on photos. My dad took it in to an Apple authorized repair place here in Ecuador... and tomorrow I will find out if 1. I lost my entire hard drive, and if I can get it back and 2. how much it will cost to fix it. If I decide to have it fixed here, I will be able to find out how long it will take... and then I can decide if I want to try to deal with my pictures without lightroom or if I want to wait for my computer to be fixed.

I have been taking pictures everyday. How could I not in this beautiful country!? I have such a beautiful view from my bedroom window...

Anyway, there's a quick update for those of you who were dying for one. :)

Happy Thursday!

Arriving in Ecuador

Well, I've made it.

I arrived in Quito around 1 A.M. this morning. It wasn't the most enjoyable trip that I've had, but I can't complain either. My last flight left an hour and fifteen minutes late, and then couldn't land in Quito for a while due to fog, and so we circled for 30 -45 minutes waiting for the weather to clear up a bit. I was bummed to miss out on watching the many city lights appear as we landed, but I was so thankfully to finally be landing.


It's different being here than I thought it would be. It's been so great to see my family. After almost 3 months I was so happy to see them.

The house my family lives in now is actually the house that I grew up in. Last year when they decided to return to Ecuador for another three years, the couple that had bought our house when we left in 2006 asked them if they would like to rent the house. It's a very large house, and the couple decided that they didn't need all three floors of it. So, they turned the main floor into their own apartment, and then turned the second floor and the third floor into a second apartment.

My family now lives in the upstairs part. In a way, it feels so weird to be back in this house. It looks completely different, but there are certain things that really remind me of growing up. The room I'm staying in is exactly where I used to play my favorite game: house. While growing up, we kept most of our toys in the attic (or the third floor). When I used to live here, the attic was just one big open room. I would grab some sheets, hang them up, and make my own little house in the attic. I would feed my babies, dress my babies, and love on my babies. At the end of the day I would always kiss my husband hello, my husband being the wood pillar holding up the roof. I loved this game. I could play for hours. When I left Ecuador in 2006, I never thought I would be back... much less staying in my old house.

All in all, it's been fun coming "home" and getting a glimpse into the way my family lives. One thing I didn't realize was the heartache that would consume me. I expect to get this same heartache when I leave in 3 1/2 weeks, but I wasn't expecting to get it now. I wasn't expecting to have such a desire to show the ones I love, the ones I left back in the Springs, the life I used to lead. I wasn't expecting to want so badly to show others my old home, the woods in the back yard, or the orphanage down the street.

I really just feel oddly disconnected though. This was my home for a long time. My family is here, but I can't really say I feel as though I belong. I know that this is only my first day back, and with time things will change. In a few days I will have seen old friends and met many new people. I will be reminded why I love Ecuador so. I can also say that when I return home to the Springs, my heart will feel sad. My heart will have the desire to stay longer, because I know I will be leaving people I love, and I will miss them dearly.

One thing my sister and I talk about quite often is that no matter where we go, we will always miss someone dearly. If I'm here in Ecuador, I will miss my close friends in Colorado Springs, but if I return to Colorado Springs, I will be missing my family here in Ecuador. I've realized that it's something you get used to. You get used to missing people, and when you are given the privilege to see those people again, and when you say goodbye to those people that sharp ache starts right back up when you leave, but it's just something you learn to live with. It's not a bad thing to be missing people, it just means that you love many people around the world, and that usually means that they love you back.

And I'm not trying to sound as though I'm complaining, and I'm not trying to sound negative. I'm just realizing that this is how life is. This is how it will always be.

I remember when I was younger, my dad used to travel a lot. He would travel about once a month for a week or more. I used to think that it would be something I would get used to. I used to think that when I saw his bags packed and waiting by the door enough times that I would get used to it and not feel so sad about him leaving. Time and time again though I felt the same feeling, and it took me a long time to realize that this will happen throughout my life. At times, I don't even know if I actually realize it, because tonight when I suddenly realized that I was missing people back home, I was surprised.

 I know as the days pass I will become more comfortable with the ache in my heart, and it will be used for good. Whether it's to help me sympathize for someone, or to help give me a glimpse into someone's life and the way that they may feel all the time, it is something that can be used for good.

I'm sure I will have a wonderful time in Ecuador. I finally have time to read, sleep, and enjoy some good quality time with my family. I know as Christmas nears things will become busier. I know I will enjoy seeing the many sights of Ecuador, and I will enjoy seeing my church family here. I will enjoy the new people, and places that I will be able to photograph.

I see these next few weeks as a really good thing. I have been blessed.

I think all of this just shows me how God really does know what's best for me. 5 1/2 years ago I left my home. I left the only thing I knew. I left Ecuador. I remember thinking that my life would never be the same, and I remember believing that things would be better if I just stayed in Ecuador. I remember that my heart felt completely and utterly broken. Now I realize how blessed I have been. My life would be so different, and so dull if I had stayed in Ecuador. I would be a completely different person. I wouldn't have met the many friends I have met, and I wouldn't have been pushed out of my comfort zone... because at times, to me, being in the U.S. is pushing me out of my comfort zone. Yet, I have been blessed to return to Ecuador almost yearly since I left, and I have been blessed to be able to see the growth and the maturity that has come from the massive change of that move.

I know I have said this before, but I mean it every time.

God is good. I am undeserving.

I can't even explain how crazy this week has been. I even began to consider taking a break from this photography project.... but then decided not to. Mostly because I am SO incredibly close to being DONE. I want to finish this project.

This week has consisted of very little sleep, lots of drama, lots of stress, tests, and uh... screaming children. :)

I'm not trying to complain. Really. I'm not.

One of the reasons why this weeks has been so... overwhelming... is because of all the thinking that has been going on in my little noggin.

It's not necessarily bad thoughts, but they have been tiring.

One conclusion that I have come to is that God is forever faithful. Always.

AND my life is so blessed.

It's good to remember those things.

Happy Wednesday, folks!

Nutrition

A couple years ago I took a nutrition class for early childhood education. I really, REALLY enjoyed that class. I also learned a lot! It was very basic, but informative. Since then I've become much more aware about what children are eating.  I love finding new ways of incorporating fruits and vegetables into a meal, and it's even better when the kids enjoy it. My boys love almost any fruit, but when it comes to vegetables they will usually avoid it. (So, if anyone knows of good ways to serve vegetables for kids, let me know! :))

Today I stumbled across an article, and I thought it was a joke. I read the title and I laughed. Out loud. I then looked it up on Google to see how legit it was, and I found many posts on it. Here's one that I found. Supposedly the U.S. Congress considers pizza a vegetable. Well, now I know exactly what I will feed the boys every day of their life. They'll love it! ;)

 Furthermore, I'm not a huge fan of canned foods, because they really add nothing to your diet. Therefore, there must not be much nutrition in tomato sauce.

When I was little I used to make pizza sauce, and my sister would make pizza crust, while my brother prepared cheese. When all was said and done we would take our items to the staff meeting that HCJB had every week and we would sell it to the missionaries so that they could go home, put the sauce and cheese on the pizza, and then bake it. This created a very simple and delicious meal for them. I don't remember making much money, but it's good to know that *I* was adding so much nutrition to their diet. ;)

*This is all my opinion. I didn't research much, so please don't go and take my opinion as completely factual. Not everything on the internet is pure truth. This did make me laugh though :) 

Hollywood's Not America

Life. Is. Busy.
I have to admit, this is a wonderful point of life that I am in right now. I have a wonderful job, I have wonderful friends, and this semester I have some really great teachers. I also have a very awesome God.


I'm so busy, and yet I feel like I don't have much to say. Maybe using some bullets will help get this going :)

• School: I am doing well in school - straight A's so far. Which is quite the feat, especially since I'm in the same Biology class where I dislocated my jaw from too much stress two years ago and then had to drop said class. Thankfully this time around I have a great teacher and helpful classmates. Oh how things can change in two years. I'm only taking three classes because I dropped one about a month ago, and I'm so thankful that I did. I feel like I do as much homework now as I did Spring semester when I had 5 classes. I feel like I can hardly keep up with school. This is probably for a variety of reasons: mono is still affecting me, I have harder classes, and I'm working more. 
• Work: Work is so great. I love my three little men. I don't see Caden much because he's in school until 3, but he really seems to be excelling. Maxwell is a brilliant/ hilarious child. He'll randomly tell me things, and I'll be shocked that he knows it. I would give an example, but I can't remember any at the moment... darn, I should really write them down :) Asher is getting bigger every day! He can walk, and he does a good job, but he still prefers to crawl. He's super serious when strangers are around, but when I'm around or his mom or dad then he's usually super happy and smiley. He's figured out that I will cuddle with him almost any time that he wants, so when I arrive at his house he's started crawling over to me right away. It's so cute. He knows how to wave goodbye, and he knows how to dance (he shakes his arms when music is on) He knows how to give kisses. I'm so happy that I get to be apart of their life :) 
• Friends: I tend to tell people that I don't have many friends (which is true) but at this time in my life I am thankful for the few friends that I have... mostly because I can hardly find time for them. 
• Home: As most of you know I moved about a month ago after my family left. I moved in with a family whose husband/dad will be deploying for about 9 months in November. I'm here to hopefully help where I can, and to keep them company/ them keep me company. I'm so happy to have made this choice. Coming home to a family is 100 times better than going home to an empty apartment. It helps that this family is such a wonderful, godly, and loving family. It's been such an easy transition (at least for me it has been).
• Photography: I get asked to do a shoot every couple months. For now I am okay with that. I've only done family shoots thus far, but I'm doing my sister's senior pictures when I visit Ecuador at Christmas time (how cool will that be?). I'm doing a shoot for the family I nanny for in the next month or two - pretty sure that shoot will be so fun to do :) I'm also doing a family shoot for the family I'm living with in the next month or so. I've been REALLY glad that I started the 365 project, but in a way it will be nice to be done come 2012. It's getting so hard to find the motivation/ new ideas.  I'm sure I'll still take a lot of pictures, but probably more event type things. I hope to take a photography class sometime next year. 
• Church: My small church of about 30 people (more or less) seems to be growing slowly. Tonight I was informed that about half of  the Chipotle (where David works) is going to start trying to attend. This made me laugh, because little did I know-- hanging out at Chipotle is a ministry. I am being sarcastic about half of Chipotle, but I was told today that three more people who work there want to start attending (this is excluding David who has already been attending for a few months) 

That's about the extent of my life. I hope you enjoyed hearing about it ;) 

Sometimes I remember to write down what the kids I spend time with say because kids are hilarious. Here are a few of the silly things they've said/done: 

"You have to get older so that you can die" -Maxwell (4)

Neighbor kid: What are those red spots?
Me: What red spots?
NK: The ones on your face.
Me: Oh, that's acne, you'll have that someday.

Neighbor Kid: I'm not saying he isn't cute... he's just... fat. (said about asher, a 9 month old baby)

Talking about a level on a star wars DS game: "When I got there I was like, mama mia... I can't do this!" --Caden 6 years

Said in a very superior voice: "I don't have dreams... cause I don't sleep!" Maxwell (4)

Micah (6): "Tell me I'm handsome."
Me: "You're handsome"
Micah: "Your face is handsome" *laughs hysterically*

Max: Miss Christina, can you read me a book?
Me: sure
Max: I call this reading without mom.

At work we were getting ready to go see my new house and I told them that they would probably meet some kids. I told Caden that he would probably meet another kid named Caiden. Caden goes: How old is Caiden?

Me: He's 3

Caden: Oh, I'm WAAAAAYYY older (6)

Max: Oh Caden, you'll get married before Caiden and be a dad before ALL of us. (4)

Caden: I'll also die before Caiden.

(this is where I'm thankful that the Caden's have different spellings :) ) 

At Target the other morning Caden is running behind me, and then I hear a loud smack. I look back and see Caden flat on the floor. He jumps up and says: I'm okay! and then starts running again. 


While playing with a little boy I babysit outside:
He says: Let's play dirt.

Happy Friday, Folks! 

Day 292 - Something Blue

Okay, I'm on day 15 of my 30 day project which is actually a silhouette, but since I already did that I'm doing something blue. And then I will tell you about my day at the zoo. (that rhymed :))

Something blue - the background counts, right?

(f/4.5; 1/25s; ISO 800; 37 mm) 

The boys and I at the zoo. 

The height difference here makes me laugh. Also, Sorry about the watermark.. aha. 

I think this was my favorite animal today. He was running around in circles and coming up real close to where we were standing. 

The boys were in awe of the mountain lion that was right above us. And Maxwell has cheetos all over his face. 

Day 287 - childhood memory

I've got nothing for ya :/

I thought about what I would do for a childhood memory, and I had a few ideas, but I never got around to it.

Smells often remind me of my childhood. New (wood) furniture always reminds me of when we moved to Colorado 5 1/2 years ago because we had a bunch of things from ikea, and they had this certain smell.

Day 284 - Fruit

Day 7 in my 30 day project.

(f/5.6; 1/125s; ISO 800; 55 mm)

This little boy LOVES fruit. It's like a dessert to him. :)

Day 279 - What I Wore

Day 2 of my 30 day challenge.

(f/5.6; 1/80s; ISO 800; 55 mm)

I had to remind myself not to dress in sweats and a t-shirt today. So instead I dressed for fall weather, which worked out pretty nicely since it was chilly today.

Day 276

Here's an attempt at my first collage...

Not sure what I think... haha, but those boys sure are cute :)

And I totally spaced on adding a watermark. Oops.

Edit: I redid the collage, and I like this one much better :)

275

Last morning in New Mexico.

(f/4.5; 1/100s; ISO 1600; 29mm)

Claire tries to soothe Madilyn. I really liked how the contrast came out in this picture.

274

Saturday I took a few pictures of a lovely 90th birthday party. Oh how I love celebrating life.
I do plan on putting some more pictures up from it (mostly for you Karin... we missed you!), but I've been crazy busy and I just found some time at 11 p.m. to edit a couple pictures. Right now I'm trying to keep up with my project, but hopefully this weekend I will get to editing them.

Here's a little sneak peak:

(f/6.3; 1/80s; ISO 1600; 50mm lens)

Okay, I'm not sure why my aperture was at 6.3, if I had consciously thought about that I would of had it closer to 2.0.
Also, I really dislike the new watermark... I don't think I'll be using that one again :)
Isaac's eyes look great in this though!

Day 258

Today was a strange day. I woke up and got ready for work. All was normal. I drove to work... rang the door bell, and the lady I nanny for answers and says, "You must not have gotten my text" Apparently she sent me a text saying the boys were really sick and that she was going to stay home with them. I never got the text. So, I went home. It was actually a nice little surprise. It was nice to have the morning off. It gave me time to change up my blog some. You like it?

So, Maxwell and Asher are sick with hand and foot disease (I think that's what it's called). It's supposedly super contagious, and if an adult gets it, then it can affect them for up to two weeks. So, hopefully I don't get it!

Also, I can't believe that it is a year ago already that Trey lost his battle with Leukemia. I miss my dear friend, and I'm excited to meet up with him in heaven some day :)

(f/5.0; 1/1250s; ISO 1600; 18mm) 

 Furthermore, after raining all of yesterday, the rains just continued today. It's crazy. I saw a few fields that had been turned into ponds for the time being.

this & that (day 257)

I took no pictures today. That was nice though. It was nice not having to lug my camera around, and it was nice being lazy and just not turning it on.
Although I love photography, it's nice to take a day off here and there.
So, instead I'll just write a little update, since I haven't been writing much lately.
Let's see...
I believe Asher took his first steps today (at least for me). I also found out that he is much more willing to try standing if he is upstairs on carpet, rather than on the main floor on the wood. He was pretty thrilled with himself :)
I turn 19 on Saturday... Yeah, I don't even feel like I'm 18 yet.  But you can bet your bottom dollar that my family will be partying it up. Okay, actually, don't bet that. We're probably going to be packing and going to bed early.
I just wrote "Christina" all over my toothpaste tube because my family doesn't seem to comprehend that if they use my toothpaste, they are more likely to get mono. 
My family leaves next Wednesday. I was upset that it was the middle of the week, because I have to get up at 4, drive them to Denver, and then be at work by 8:50, but it was nice of them to choose another day since they had wanted to leave on my birthday at first.
School is already pretty dull. Although I think I'm doing fairly well in the hard classes that I'm taking. AKA Biology. I'm not really a science person.
It's been raining for about 10 hours straight, and it's been heavy rain too. Rarely does Colorado's weather stay the same for that long.
Mono is still affecting me. 
Something that has been on my mind a lot lately? Love. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16


-- So go out and live in love today, folks! 


Happy Wednesday! 

Change

Wow... these past few weeks have been crazy. There have been so many different emotions. I know it's because change is about to happen, and that really makes me go crazy. I love change to a certain extent, but when it's a lot of change I usually just get nervous.

Here are the plans for these next two months.

I finish math... this week :) Hallelujah.
My family continues to furiously go through all of the boxes/ all of the junk we own.
We get ready for a garage sale. So. Much. Work.
We sell as much as we can, and then take the rest to goodwill.
We are doing the BIG move the weekend of August 26th.
The family living in the basement moves upstairs while my family moves downstairs. I think we may go crazy during that one.
My brother has the bible bee that weekend. I'm sure he'll be going over and over the 500 verses he had to memorize this summer.
Then, my family heads off to illinois/ michigan area to visit their supporting churches, family, and friends.
I have to stay here during that time, because school starts the 22nd for me :( bummer.
So I'll live in the basement for about two weeks on my own again. Weird.
They come back.
We all live in the basement for another week or so.
Then my family leaves for Ecuador -I'm not even sure if I can handle it. This time feels so much worse than last time because I know now how lonely I can get without them. But it also makes me appreciate them all so much more too.
They plan on leaving around September 18-20 (somewhere in there). They wanted to leave the 17th, but they decided it would be too cruel to leave on my birthday.
I then move in with some friends of mine to help with their kids especially when her husband is deployed.
Yes, it's official. And weird. But it's such an answer to prayer. For the next year I know I'll be living with people I like, and I know I will be busy, and not as lonely.
Me moving in with them had been mentioned a couple of times, and I had prayed about it, but I knew that they had to ask me before I had a roommate, and it had to be a reasonable amount of time so that we could do something about the basement. So I didn't really expect it to happen. Then, out of the blue, they asked if I would move in for a year.
It's so neat how things work out.


Wow, I don't even know what to say. This whole post makes me pretty sad. Mostly just my family leaving. I'm sad, but I'm also really excited to see what God's plans are for me. I'm excited to grow, and learn, and get my degree and certificate.

That's pretty much my life right now. It's crazy, and busy, and full of so many different emotions.

P.S. I'm sorry it's so random, and probably badly written. I really just threw it together in a few minutes. I thought it was time to update ya'll on my life.