december 8th :: photo*a*day

color+exercise+friends+traffic=

super awesome day 

well, minus the traffic.

jeff +i, along with our fun friends chad & kelly,

"ran" a 5K color mob today.

sure, the race was 15 minutes from our house,

but it took 2 hours to get there.

total craziness.

about 2 miles out, people started parking their cars on the side of the road and walking.

we saw tutus, rubber ducky inter tubes,  and even toga-wearing santas drinking beer at 10am.

we finally got there, and then the real fun started.

here are some before shots

(and for obvious reasons, all of today's pics are iPhone only.  

no way i was taking my fancy camera in all that crazy color!)

you start the run with just a little color,

and then progressively get more and more covered.

kelli got this pic of me towards the beginning.  

probably my favorite of the day, despite the face i look a bit cray.

but i think it shows just how fun it was ;)

i wish i could tell you we ran the whole thing.

but girlfriend is out.of.shape.

all that work at the first half of the year apparently doesn't translate to five months later.

so we ran/walk/jog/leaped our way through the 5 kilometers.

along the way, there are stops with a new color.

that's when you get to pelt your friends and spouse with direct blows to the eyes and mouth.

leaving you looking like this

it was awesome.

we had a total blast.

probably one of the weirdest double dates ever,

but totally memorable and worth it.

thanks, coltmans, for joining us in the madness.

can't wait to 'run' with you guys at the next one.

maybe we'll actually run it ;)

(in their defense, i think we were holding them back a bit)

we finally made it back to our car grateful for the towels we'd brought to sit on.

and headed home to our kiddos.

(who we almost had to bring with us. which would have been a DISASTER)

it was fun to see their reactions to us.

sorry for totally cheating-

this is way more than one photo for the day.

but worth it, right?

when is a color run coming to your town?

you don't want to miss it!

december 7th :: photo*a*day

our little isabella is never the girl to get on stage,

dance in front of people,

or be the center of attention.

as loud and crazy as she can be,

she is also totally shy.

tonight was rockharbor's 'twas the night before christmas',

a super fun event to get the season started.

families come in jammies, drink hot chocolate, sing songs, and watch the drama team act out favorite christmas movies.

bella was asked to be cindy lou who from the grinch who stole christmas.

we weren't too sure how she'd do.

but she was amazing.

totally rocked it.

so proud.

dec 7th

bella as cindy lou who

here's a little video of her:

and for all the grandparents,

a few more photos of our night

(this one may have been taken during rehearsal, hence the grinch not totally in his gear yet)

(throwing candy to the crowd :)

december 6th :: photo*a*day

i had a sweet little six-month-old in my studio today.

i couldn't help but take a few pics of my own kiddos and some friends that were over to play, too.

such a fun, christmas-y backdrop :)

day 6:

the many faces of charlotte

(with twinkle lights)

and (because i apparently am not good with the single photo-a-day)

my bella boo

we made gingerbread houses with our life group tonight.

lots of little kids and sugar.

it was... amazing.

my jackson normally isn't into this kind of thing, but tonight he was so excited about it.

my proud little boy with his gingerbread house.

blogger is being a bugger and not letting me center.  but i've been fighting with photoshop already, so i'm over it. ;)

see you tomorrow!

december 5th :: photo*a*day

december 5th

big kiddos on their scooters.

this happens every.single.day.

and bella can scooter circles around jackson- 

she is pretty amazing.

and since i started a bit behind,

here are two more from today:

jackson reading christmas books by the tree.

kids anticipating hot chocolate

(their elf on the shelf, foddy, promised them hot chocolate after dinner. they were quite excited :)

dec 4th photo-a-day

i'm joining my sweet friend cori at derksen photography 

and bruises and bandaids

for her december photo-a-day.

life is just too busy.

and when something has to go.... 

lately it has been blogging.

time + a serious case of writer's block means not much to say.

and since i am so often taking photos of others
  (which i LOVE)

it's easy for me to forget to take pics of my own kiddos.

all in all....i needed this challenge :)

sure it's december 4th,

but better late than never, right?

who knows... i may even have more than one on some days.

if you want to join the fun,

check out cori's challenge here!

december 4th

my sweet charlie needed to paint.  

right out of the bath.

why say no when you can say yes, right?

the eleventh hour {also known as 'we have a house*'}

remember back in june when i was worried about finding a house?

that's funny.

hindsight is 20/20, right?

our lease is up this friday

(as in 5 days from now)

and until a few hours ago,

we still had no options of a place to live.

(other than extended stay americas... which we had most definitely checked in to)

we have been into over 38 houses.

looked at hundreds online.

applied for around eight.

you'd be amazed how many landlords don't want 

three small children living in their home...

i can't imagine why ;)

the last two months have been quite the journey,

and i wish i would have always handled it well.

i would love to say i have believed unswervingly that God would take care of us,

but in truth, i have doubted Him more than i am proud of.

through our own prayers and the prayers of others,

we kept feeling like it was going to happen in the 'eleventh hour'.

as the 24th (our lease ending date) loomed closer and closer,

i felt my anxiety grow exponentially.

daily i prayed for peace and faith,

and each day, something would happen that just rocked me:

applications turned down, cars breaking down, etc. etc.

i kept allowing my circumstances to dictate my belief in who God is.

seriously.  when will i learn?

friday afternoon we were out looking at homes with our newest realtor.

(we found that they kind of ditch you after two searches.  we must have been deemed as 'too picky')

while driving to the first house, 

i checked my email and saw a new home had just been put on the MLS.

the picture was super tiny, but it was close to where we were,

so we decided to check it out.

the minute we opened the door,

i knew it was a good one.

but i didn't want to get too excited...

i'd had that feeling before and it didn't work out.

we quickly walked through and told our realtor we wanted it.

she began making the necessary calls,

and we sat in the empty living room with our children and prayed.

two agonizing days of waiting later,

we got the call today that it was ours!

we are cautiously optimistic that this little house in irvine will soon be our home.

we can move in on thursday.

you know... one day before our lease is up?

i know, i know.

the eleventh hour.

i admit that a part of me is still waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under us again.

i don't want to fall too in-love with this house,

but i have already started decorating in my head.

it is the perfect little home for our family.

here are some of my favorite things:

*it has FOUR bedrooms, which means i'll have a room for photography!  

i cannot begin to describe how exciting this is.  

*laminate flooring.  because other people's carpet repulses me.

*a GIGANTIC cemented front porch.  that wraps around to the backyard.  

so kids can ride their bikes and scooters all the way around the house.  

and really... just having a yard rather than a little patio.  such a blessing.  

(we need some serious patio furniture.  good thing i'm an awesome craigslist-stalker!)

*irvine schools- good for jackson, and bella can go to their transitional kinder this year

(and they may even be at the same school!)

*library and heritage park super close 

*a fireplace.  because they make me happy.

*did i mention 4 bedrooms? ;)

we are saying that we have a house* 

(with an *asterisk*)

we still have some hurdles to wade through, 

like crazy-big deposits and the chance of the landlord changing his mind,

but we are praying that everything gets figured out,

and on thursday we'll move into this new chapter in our lives.

i know that this journey has been about much more than just finding a house.

if it were just about that, i believe God would have given us one months ago.

through this time, i know there have been things He wants to show me.

some of it is areas that i need to grow in, 

like trusting Him completely, and giving up control.

but i also believe He wanted me to know how very loved we are.

we have been surrounded by friends that have been family to us:

serving us with meals, prayers, encouraging calls, packing our boxes, leaving flowers on our doorsteps and dropping off treats, watching our children, and lending us cars when ours broke down.

we have witnessed true community and are overwhelmed with the love poured out on us.

and of course,

i am reminded today,

of how faithful my God is.

even when i doubt Him.

yell at Him.

feel abandoned and alone.

He was taking care of us all along.

i feel foolish and grateful, all at the same time. 

i can't wait to see why this house was THE house.

what our story will be because of this new chapter.

what i know is that He has already written it....

so it must be good, right?

the eye of the hurricane

oh my.

it has been awhile, right?

i have a billion blogs swirling in my head, and just haven't had the time to sit and make it happen.

so here you go.

 a little smattering of my life and mind until i can sit and actually do this thing.

but something is better than nothing, right? :)

***************************************************

i am finishing up week two 

of three out-of-town weeks.

we've been making our tour of the central valley,

first in modesto with jeff's family, then to davis for a wedding,

then i headed to fresno while jeff spoke at a camp up in oakhurst.

tomorrow we will be at hume lake with our students for the week.

whew!  i'm kinda tired ;)

here are some instagram shots from our time so far

(i seriously LOVE instagram. like, if i were in third grade, i'd totally marry it)

it has been awesome to visit with friends and family.

next week we'll be staying in a house with about 4 other families 

(and 7 kids i think?) 

at hume, so it will be totally bananas, but lots of fun.

i'm really looking forward to being up there.

but i am also looking forward to being home again.

*****************************************************

speaking of home....

the house situation.

no, we still don't have one.  which is a bummer.

but we are trusting that there is one out there for us!

we'll be diving head-first into house-hunting after hume.

our lease is up on august 24th,

so between the 12th & 24th we need to find a house, finish packing,

move, and paint/clean our current house.

easy breezy, right?

it's been nice to be away from all of it,

feeling like there is nothing i can do,

so i shouldn't stress about it.

it was a welcome respite from the constant craigslist-hunting and house-visiting that was our july.

but i admit, 

the last two days,

 the reality of what sits in front of me is starting to feel a bit daunting.

so i am praying for peace.

and trust.

i truly believe this is about so much more than a house.

i know that god is trying to teach me some lessons here,

and i really want to learn them.

because i don't want him to need to teach me again ;)

so i am praying that i will let go of control, trust him with our lives,

and enjoy each day he has for me.

....and also that he has a home for us.

and maybe even one that we can love to live in for awhile.

***************************************************

one of the stinky things about our move last summer,

was how far away from our family we are now.

in the last year,

we've had two new nieces.

i've had the opportunity to photograph both of them in the last two weeks.

they are pretty perfect.

adalyn elizabeth was born july 10th.

aren't her lips the most beautiful things ever?

and miss macie lynn is already ten months old!

she is happy smiles and crawling everywhere.

of course it was wonderful to see all our family,

but it was extra special to get time with these new little girls.

*******************************************************

speaking of photography,

i have been working crazy-hard on a new photography website.

i think it's going to be pretty legit.

i had no idea how hard putting a website together was!

things like code and domains just send my brain into a fog.

but i'm pushing through and can't wait to launch it-

probably after we find a house ;)

you have to promise to go check it out when it goes live, k?

***********************************************************

is there a statute of limitations on a blog?

cause jackson did surfers healing in june,

and i'm still trying to get around to editing the pics & making a video,

and i co-threw a fun baby shower last month.

is it too late to share?

considering 4th of july is now officially a month behind us,

i think that one is getting the axe for sure.

but you may be seeing some past-date blogs in the future.

sorry 'bout that.

*****************************************************

i need a home-cooked meal.

i am totally over fast food.

*****************************************************

i just found the most beautiful burnt-orange cardigan at anthropologie.

sigh.

totally had a dream about it.

has anyone else ever had this kind of obsession happen over a piece of clothing?

(for the record, this thing is so much cuter in person.)

(sidenote.. going on anthropologie's website does nothing for someone who suffers with contentment issues.  

you have been warned.)

anthropologie- why must you make such beautiful things?

i kinda wish i could set my house on fire and just live in anthropologie.

(not really. but you know what i mean)

actually, if we don't find a house, just moving into that store may be a viable option.

*******************************************************

my eyes are blurry.

i really need new contacts.

mine are like a year and a half overdue.

that will have to wait until after we find a house, too.

do you see a recurring theme?

i think september is going to be busy.

*************************************************************

so basically to sum it up 

(cause i'm really tired)

central valley road trip, no house, cute nieces, blog failure, new website, coveting heart, blurry eyes and bloated stomach.

any questions?

i'm off to hume lake tomorrow.

little-to-no internet or phone for the week.

i'm kinda okay with it.

so...... i'll see you later, alligators.

and if you think about us bachmans, we'd love some prayers.

because right now, i think we are in the eye of the hurricane,

and it's about to get all kinds of crazy in a week.

xoxo

shara