Christmas: Take 2

...scratch that. Christmas: Take 3 err 4

We've already celebrated with the Coles, the Adams, our immediate family, and now with my sister and Marty in their new home in West Virginia. But I guess that's normal to celebrate Christmas a lot.

The ride up here was quite the adventure. We were loaded to the brim in the trunk with clothes, gifts and Alyssa's stuff she wanted us to bring out. And then we had boxes of her stuff piled in the empty seat in the back (c'mon we never get a break! :P) And on top of that we brought Alyssa's cat, who serenaded us all the way with her frantic cries.

As we drove up to her house, I was just trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Alyssa, my sister indeed!, was living out here in the middle of nowhere. I would have never guessed that this would be the life for her. But I love her house and the location, and I am really happy for her!

So we get to enjoy being with her at her house for a few days.

Mrs. Clevenger and her momma and daddy :)

Mercy, the cat, was really restless at first in her new home, but soon enough she was relaxed and letting Alyssa carry her around the way she used to.

I think it's a win-win situation for both the cat and Marty and Alyssa because Mercy already got her first mouse! Haha!   < quite an eventful chase :P

The new "complete" family :)

I love her decor... or rather her whole house. It reminds me so much of the cabin we stay at in CO, except so much more comfortable!

Looking through the stair railing...

Playing Scattergories

-MarLeahJoy

Zacharias Family Portraits

Yay! ...for posting pictures I promised back in October :)

I wasn't procrastinating either; Juliane wanted to be able to send out her Christmas cards first. :)

So now Christmas is over. I'm happily on the way up to West Virginia to be with my newly married sister and to spend a little time on Snowshoe Mountain {hopefully skiing and tubing?? Please!!! :D}

But, back to the pictures... this is Stetson and his mommy and daddy.

At the beginning it was just Stetson and his mommy so I chased him around as he ran circles, just caught up in his own world of play. ;)

I think this is one of my personal favorites (I'm talking about the previous picture... I hope you have caught on by now that I write about the picture AFTER the picture) :)

These were taken at the Sorrell's annual hayride in the hills of Missouri. I always love to go, just to be with people. But this year, when I knew that I was going to take their family pictures, I got sooo nervous and I wasn't nearly as excited about the whole day just because of the nagging anxiousness going on inside. 

But as soon as it was done I was happy with the way it went. And even though I still know that I wasn't perfect at being on top of posing them and keeping the session flowing (as much as I would like), I have to tell myself that I'm still obviously learning! :P

And now these pictures are making me miss green grass :/  ...and editing golden hour pictures. (I must say it was a very happy editing process as I began to really see for myself what is so special about the golden hour!)

-MarLeahJoy

A Bit of Christmas Eve

This Christmas we were reveling in the fact that we weren't going to decorate. (Only after convincing ourselves that it wasn't really necessary and feeling slightly guilty for being so lazy.) But when it was decided that we would be "hosting" the Adams at our house this year Momma thought she had to decorate a little bit. So out come the pinecones and some lights and other winter things. Nothing big... but I must say that I started to feel the warm, fuzzy Christmas feelings all over again when I saw our house decorated a little bit. Now, obviously that isn't the true meaning of Christmas, though. In fact I just heard a really, really good message about Christmas -- "The Real Meaning" It's worth listening to in my opinion.

We tend to always celebrate with the Adams on Christmas Eve and then have our own family time on Christmas morning. We just do the typical... stuff-yourself-with-tons-of-food, exchange a present and play games together.

And ever since little Lacey was born, our Holiday gatherings are filled with so much more laughter and smiles! We all adore her so much!

We played Mad Gab :)

Here's one that I had today: "Easel Aid Ease Man"  >  "He's a lady's man"
It's so funny to watch someone saying all these stupid syllables over and over until something clicks. Then their face lights up and they shout out the exact same thing they've been saying all along -- just with a new meaning. Ha! 

Merry Christmas!

-MarLeahJoy

Crystal

This is just a quick post from my sister's phone. :) 

I'm here at a church camp meeting and we were walking back from the gym at night to go to our dorms and I just loved how the light was shining through this icy tree. 

And thankfully I have a good friend, Karissa, who was willing to keep me company and freeze her hands off with me so I could get this shot! ;D

-MarLeahJoy

Snow Day and GIFs

I took my last final at Crowder yesterday, and I picked up two of my cousins, Kendra and Bretton on my way home. My neighbor, Rachel, also came over; and the four of us had a blast... blasting each other with snowballs ;P ...and sledding.

Then we tried a few things to add some excitement... like riding a lawn wagon down the hill. Well, that failed. It didn't go fast at all. So then we built a ramp...

So there is our makings of the ramp... gathering snow and patting it down.

Bretton... always known for his facial expressions! :)

This was my first time going down... so my camera was passed off to the others to take pictures.

I look like I'm about to launch off of this earth or something. Lol

I have quite a few animated GIFs included in this post because we took soooo many pictures :)

Many thanks to Josh for hooking me up with Photoshop again so that I could make them!

Poor Rachel... she said this one hurt pretty bad! :/ But she was a really great sport!

 His face on the last frame of this one cracks me up... it looks exactly like the "weary face" emoticon. 

Oops! A little trip-up on the ramp! Haha

Yeah, I'm not sure what happened here, haha, but it's something to laugh about anyway! ;D

He landed it! o.O

It was a bunch of fun, both taking pictures and ramping!

Well, enjoy your weekend! 

If you are a college student, enjoy your month break off of school!

And if you live in my area of the country, get ready to enjoy the snow/rain we are supposed to get tomorrow! :)

-MarLeahJoy