Jo Jo's ramblings

Man-poker night.

2012-02-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

(This was written several nights ago.)

It is nine forty four. Isaiah is not in my house. Actually, he is in the garage with some big, burly boys. Okay, so some of them are big, some of them are burly, and some of them are kind of in between. And, there might be a few who are not big or burly but are happy that way. None the less, the presence of Isaiah and many man friends in the garage playing poker is a very common occurrence. Many man friends, I might add, who are often too excitable and eat way too many potato chips. I am in my house thinking about how much I pretend that I hate man-night. I tell myself and Isaiah that too much ridiculousness goes on, and that there will be way too many man dishes that are sticky with things like greasy pizza cheese that I will dutifully wash for them. I will claim that they play too late, and will be very tired for bed long before I hear him coming up the stairs apologizing to me for plating too late and for loosing our life savings to his best friend. I will pretend that I am already asleep and act very annoyed but inside, I enjoy these evenings. I enjoy them because it reminds me to be thankful for the good men in my life, even if they get greasy and slightly irresponsible, because then I am reminded of how important women are to men because we can curb their enthusiasm to a healthy level. I also am so glad to have a quiet evening once the children are asleep, but at the same time I know that there is a room full of men just an ear shot away. This first of all makes me feel like I can have solace without feeling alone, and secondly if anyone came in the house and tried to hurt me, they would be very sorry. I also confess that I am thankful for the leftover Doritos.

2012-02-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

There are lots of things I have learned having two children. Some of them I already knew, but you really don't "know" something until you experience it sometimes. Here are some things that my children have tought me:

Even the smallest of us sand in awe of another human being. This is true of my littlest son. He often will stare at his older brother as if he is the best thing he has ever seen. I mean, being shy of his five month birthday, he has not seen much. But of whatever he has seen, his big brother is the best!

This love radiates even though the one being admired just poked him in the eye, grabbed his face, dragged him across the couch by one foot and sat on him, all while saying "Oh, its a baby, oh its a baby Mat-son." Don't worry, all of these beatings did not really happen all at once. I tried to make it sound like it did for dramatic effect. They are only examples of random acts of "I think Matheson is a toy so I am going to play with him like so" that happen through the day.

No matter what you try to tell the one being admired so much, (the older one) they always hold the younger child personally responsible for pulling their hair, knocking down their statues, stuff like that. They will never understand that their younger sibling is not committing a personal offense against them, but only doing their duty of being a baby.

Children have no concept of another person's feelings. They are full of emotions, but don't seem to get that other people have them too. For example, the other day, the older son was expressing some of his many emotions. He was weeping and whimpering and boogers and snot were flying everywhere. Needless to say, the world was falling apart. As I was fulfilling my motherly instinct to comfort him, I turned to my littlest, and found the biggest grin on his face that he has had since the day he was born. And then Jedidiah's sobs grew even louder, therefore funnier. Matheson's big smile turned into a full blown chuckle. So I had two children in hysterics, one in hysterical laughter and one sobbing hysterically. The one being laughed about took no notice at the laughter whatsoever. Children are amazing.

2012-02-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Derek: Hi. thank you SO much for calling T-mobile. My name is Derek, how can I help you?
Me: Yes, we have a land line through t-mobile and I do not know how to check the messages.
Derek: I am SO sorry to hear that! Let me see if there is ANYTHING at all that I can do for you to remedy that problem.
Me: Uh, thanks? (Pause for a moment of silence, perhaps to commemorate the fact that I couldn't understand how to check my messages.)
Derek: (After the long silence) Actually, deepest apologies, I am going to have to send you over to our technical support who can better assist in this particular problem.
Me: Uh, okay?......(wait....wait...wait....)
Andrew: Hi my name is Andrew. Thank you SO Much for calling T-mobile. Hopefully you are well this afternoon, what can I do for you?
Me: Well, they switched me over to you. All I want to know is how to check my voice mail on my land line. I don't know how.
Andrew: I am SO sorry to hear that. Hopefully we will get that working for you right away.
Me: Okay thanks.
Andrew: Well, I looked over the situation and I was wondering, did you try dialing 123?
Me: No why would I do that?
Andrew: Because you might get to your voice mail by dialing 123. Why don't you give it a try for me and see if that corrects the problem.
Me: Okay.....(I dialed 123 and lo and behold, there are three messages) Okay I think I got it thanks!
Andrew: So you dialed 123 and received your messages?
Me: Yes.
Andrew: Okay, well now that you received your messages, would you like to verify that it works? Why don't you try it one more time to make sure?
Me: Uh, okay. (I dialed 123) It worked.
Andrew: Ok great. But let me make SURE that your messages are going through. I will call you and leave a message to make sure that you got it.
Me: I don't think that its necessary. (my children are both screaming in the background by this point.)
Andrew: Well, we want to assist you to our best capabilities, and it would be helpful for you to know for sure that it works.
Me: Uh, okay.
Andrew: (Calls my house, leaves a message)
Me: Well, you left a message, but its on our home answering machine because the home answering machine picks it up first.
Andrew: My apologies, would you like to go and pick turn off your answering machine to be sure your t-mobile voice mail works? Let me explain to you how to do it.....(Children are screaming louder in the background.)
Me: No, I really need to go you have assisted me enough. Thanks.
Andrew: Alright, thank you so much for choosing t-mobile is there ANYTHING else I can do for you today?
Me: Can you send me a check in the mail so I can buy some nice shoes? (Okay I really did not say that but I was about to). I said: No thanks, I am good to go.
Andrew: Well, thank you SO much for using t-mobile. We REALLY appreciate your business. Please call again with ANY questions. Have a good day.

Margot Potter

2012-01-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to photograph little Margot Potter in a "Newborn" session. I say newborn in quotation marks because Margo was two months old already at the time of this photo shoot. Her mother very sweetly and thoughtfully decorated nursery so I was sure to capture it along with the baby! A few photographs down you will see my own son in a few of these pictures. They have become quite chummy these last few months.

Dear Reader

2012-01-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

The last few posts I have written, I addressed them as "Dear Reader." Then, I signed off "Love, JoAnna." I want you to know that those words only apply to those who I truly feel affection for. Let me tell you, that does NOT include the computer generated people who scan my blog and send me advertisements about what I wrote about. That also does NOT include the strange Russian website that I find is "reading" my blog on a regular basis (thought I was getting popular for a second there but not really). If you are one of those, I do not love you. I do not consider you dear, so please don't get that in your mind. Those words were meant for someone else.

Love,
JoAnna

Honesty

2012-01-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have got to be honest. In reference to the last blog I wrote,I think I just want to let everyone know that I decided after all that I still think folding socks is not worth my time even though I might face the embarrassment of being labeled an adolescent. Probably with all the mess and Chaos I have to deal with on a regular basis, I should choose not to fight that battle. It might be better for me to spend what little emotional energies I have on things that truly matter, like holding objects in front of Matheson's face and watching him coo and try to grab at them. That probably means more to the baby than my socks being the right colors.

I am sure that all of this is of great significance to the reader, in light of all that is happening in the world. So thank you for taking a moment to read about my socks.

Also, I want to comment on my bad grammer. In case you have not noticed I am so bad at spelling that often spell check can't recognize what I am trying to write. In an attempt to be quick, I often don't even notice it and sometimes my words come out very strange. So, hopefully until I can have an editor you can look past my writing blemishes and see that something more is there.

Love,
JoAnna

The end of an era

2012-01-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

January 16, 2011

Today we took our youngest to his four month old well-baby visit with our pediatrician. Our appointment went very well. We chatted with the doctor about a variety of very important topics which seem to come up at most visits with him, such as Wisconsin snow and Kringles (Danish Pastries). This time a new topic came up as he looked at my feet and noted that I was wearing two different colored socks. According to our doctor, mis-mached socks are highly popular among his adolescent patience in this generation. I am not sure exactly what he was hoping to accomplish by telling me this, but I am guessing he was hoping to get a chuckle. Chuckle I did, but it was more like a "ha...ha....ha?" I was not sure weather I wanted to laugh or hid my feet in embarrassment. To genuinely find this funny I would have to think it was funny that I am thirty years old and unknowingly keeping with Adolescent trends. But to be embarrassed would mean that I am weak and can not laugh about my silliness.

You see, I began to wear two different color socks long before it was ever trendy or cool to do so. I grew up in South Florida and in South Florida you only wear socks a few times a year, and those are the days when it is cold enough to wear long pants and no one is going to see your socks but you. So I always wondered what the point was in matching them. Socks are socks and they are going to serve their function regardless of my actions. So I just stopped folding them altogether to eliminate unnecessary work. As years went by more and more people would catch glimpses of my socks and I became known as "The girl who wears two different color socks." Being branded as an artist at a young age, most people who have noticed my socks have accused me of trying to be "Artsy." (Oh how I hate that word!) I am writing this to tell you that this is not so. My sock choices are a pure act of laziness.

I am sad to say, that my punky sock days might be coming to an end. I have come to realize how important it is to live and be content with the phase of life you are in, and that means me realizing that I am not a punky teenager anymore and must behave like an adult and wear the same colored socks. If you have known me well over the years and are feeling like a part of me is going to die, please know that deep down inside I will always be the same short, lovable two different socked girl you have always known, I have just fallen prey to insecurities brought on by our unknowing pediatrician.

Dear Reader....

2012-01-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

I try to write regularly, but there is no time. I have been very busy all day lately and in general, I and am very very tired. You might ask why I am so tired and what exactly have I been doing? (well, if you are a mother you probably don't need to ask that.) But otherwise, the truth is at the end of the day I feel like I have run a marathon, only without the helpful benefits of the actual running. Yet I look around me and only .0001% of anything on my daily agenda has been done. The only things I remember clearly about the day are neon yellow newborn poop stained pajamas floating in the sink, almost loosing my purse in the library and having a very large SOPA conversation with my spouse which ended with me teaching Jedidiah the "Sopa de Ropa de Popa" Spanish poem I learned in elementary school. (So if you hear my son saying "Sopa" please don't think its anything political.) There are still dishes in the sink, and more that are emerging through the surface of the counter as I write. The laundry has not been cycled through, and I just realized that all of his diapers are in the dishwasher. Oh, did I just accidentally say dishwasher? I meant washing machine. But according to my two year old, there is no difference. I am sure that at one point today I have found dirty dishes in the laundry room and dirty underwear in the refrigerator. Everything has its place and everything in its place, right? and Pretty soon Jedidiah is going to come downstairs and say "oooh that's a wilson" because he wants to watch Dennis the Menace. I will put him in front of the TV (guilty as charged) while I think about what I possibly could be doing while he is fully occupied in the land of Mr. Wilson and "That's a Dennis!" In fact, I will probably think about it for so long that I will not accomplish anything but think. Now Matheson is wiggling around in my arms because he would prefer to be looking at something else and if I put him down he WILL cry. I just picked him up and put him down and now he is starring angrily at his hands. Well, I had a point in writing all of this, but Isaiah is coming home and I must gather all the things around the house that aren't where they are supposed to be and throw them right in a cardboard box in a closet where they belong so he doesn't have to come home to a messy house. Don't worry, some days function better than this.

P.S. I typed the last portion of this with one hand! Woo-hoo!!

Fourty Christmas Factoids

2012-01-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

This Christmas: 40 things you need to know about our James Family Christmas Experience

So, a lot of folks have been asking about us. The come up to us and say "How was your Christmas?" So, I compiled a list of thirty-six things you NEED to know about the James Family Christmas experience. It's really important, so read carefully and share with your friends.

I hate the song "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...."
This Christmas season, I was flipping stations and I heard a remix of the above song.
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach over the fact in the previous statement.
We had a tree decorating ceremony in which we listened to traditional Christmas music and sipped home made hot co-co, and watched Jedidiah remove all the "balls" from the tree and throw them across the house in hysterical laughter.
Isaiah was very pleased to NOT be listening to "rocking around the Christmas tree in your bikini" type music that seems so popular on EVERY radio station this time of year.
Our tree was decorated and was "Naked from the waste down." Ask my little son about that one.
We celebrated our Christmas by doing something special. We did not know what that "Special" thing was until we got into the car and made a crazy decision to go to the "Coast." This was the day before Christmas eve, because that's when we had to celebrate Christmas because Isaiah worked on Christmas Day.
So, we went to the "Coast." If you are from Florida and you are reading this, please don't mistake the "coast" for the "beach." The beach is a place you go to sit, relax, lay in the sun, play and make sand castles and ride in waves. The "Coast" is where you go to stand there with your jaw dropped in awe and almost terror of the wildness of Nature. You probably don't want to play in the waves unless you have been trained by a professional and you have a wet suit.
We were going to go to a Casino for lunch because we heard that they had an all you can eat buffet for 7.77, but we arrived there and immediately left because it was very sleazy. There was no Japanese man making food in front of you and what we saw looked on par with the Hospital Cafeteria food. Not much is worse than hospital cafeteria food. We left even though that meant we would be spending twice as much money somewhere else and not be able to eat for several hours.
We vowed never to go into a Casino again.
We made it to the Oregon coast but I have no pictures to wow you with.
The reason why is because Isaiah threw our Camera into the Pacific North West ocean.
This was actually in an attempt to rescue Little Jedidiah from a wave that sneaked up on him and knocked him over.
As Isaiah put it, the salt and sand were not kind to the camera.
They were not necessarily kind to Jedidiah either, but he got over that much quicker than we got over the loss of our camera, because he was suddenly barefoot and wrapped in a towel which he thought was very funny.
Our camera was bought less than a month ago, to replace the one that was destroyed a year ago by our son stirring it in a glass of water.
We will never buy a non-water proof camera again.
It was not my fancy pants camera that got lost in the ocean. Isaiah had told me to leave my DSLR at home, for good reasons. Now all I could do was stare at the magnificent beauty of the mountains jutting out of the sea and the sun setting over them. Every moment seemed completely picturesque, and I had no means to capture it and bring it home with me besides my memory. I guess you can say, it was oddly liberating.
I am just glad that I have my family and no one got swept away by the scary NW waves. Its funny how quickly your perspective can change on your material possessions.
Also, I am sure people suffered from greater loss than us this Christmas. Which reminded me to reflect on the fact that we celebrate because we were given something imperishable. All the other glitter and "stuff" of Christmas will soon fade away, but there is something greater that came into the world that will never ever change and can never be taken away from us.
We drove away from that lovely place, and had a delightful diner just the four of us in an amazing seafood restaurant.
I don't think I like seafood too much. But it was a fantastic restaurant, would recommend to anyone!! (They had other stuff besides seafood.)
What a good day.
After that, we went home and woke up Christmas Eve morning and I was so thankful for the rich blessing of "Florida like Christmas Weather." Finally, I felt like "home."
Our kind neighbors brought us cookies and fudge.
We went on a walk
We went to Church.
Afterwards we went to the Market, because I felt desperate to get something nice as a side for our Salmon diner so I did not have to cook.
The marked closed five minutes before we got there.
I busted into tears. (you think I would have learned something after my camera experience about what's important)
I got over it.
We went home and had a delightful salmon diner and we ate it alongside wild rice pilaf. It took us ten minutes to prepare and it was delicious and perfect despite of my concerns that I would be overwhelmingly disappointed by not having fancy sides to go with it from the market.
We settled into watching "Charlie Brown's Christmas." I had never really watched it as an adult. I found it to be creepy, and when I was a child I never knew Charlie Brown was suicidal. I liked it anyway, and was grateful to watch something that was neither politically correct or border line irreverent.
Went to bed and woke up Christmas morning. I am not a child so I did not run down to open all of my presents immediately, we would do that later in the evening. Besides, I bought ALL of our gifts this year so I knew what everything was.
In a desprate attempt to make our Chrismas even remotly what it would have been at home, I baked my mother's recipe for pecan fingers. They were the only cookie I have ever successfully made.
Jedidiah and I went to a "White Elephant gift party" at our neighbor and friend's house. I won a massage something or other and some chocolate truffles. I was very worried that I had now had a clunky massage something or other that I was going to have to find a way to get rid of. But I use it almost every day, what a blessing!
We ate a diner of Lamb, "Christmas" mashed potatoes and a delicious salad. We also visited friends who graciously gave us a smoked turkey as a gift, and opened our presents under the tree which was a very ceremonial and special occasion full of surprise and delight.
I don't know how long Jedidiah will be happy with dollar tree gifts, but he was beaming.
Just like that it was all over.
This took me two weeks to write. Maybe some time in the next year I will "publish" our Thanksgiving story which is still waiting in there somewhere.

2011-12-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was at a friends house when she had a problem with her toilet, which meant that she and my husband had to go around town looking for a toilet remedy. I was left alone for a long while and happend to have my good old trusty camera along with me. I was so happy because I got to have a photo shoot with my little boys. Mostly the wee little one. I am warning you these are real-life photographs. I left the pretty ones here along with the realistic ones:)

He didn't have any pants on because he pooped through all of them.

Chickens and a Trailor.

2011-12-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

Isaiah decided recently that it is very important to figure out how to make a perfect omelet that slides right off the pan. So, thanks to a very trustworthy youtube video, he has been practicing regularly, without a lot of success, at least at the part of getting the omelet to slide right off the pan. They have been very tasty, though. This morning we had an omelet with ham, feta, cheddar, tomato and avocado, topped with fresh chipotle salsa. Well, fresh from a jar from Trader Joes. It was very good but that is not why I am sharing this story. I am sharing this story because I felt compelled to share a conversation that took place this morning in the James house, having to do with omletes.

Isaiah: When we go to our family reunion outside of Glacier park in two years (which will be in a cabin in the middle of nowhere), I plan to make omelets for everyone there.
Me: So, we are going to feed omelets to 22 people one morning?
Isaiah: Yes, I guess that will be over forty eggs.
Me: So I guess we can somehow manage to bring along forty raw eggs when we drive sixteen hours to Montana with two very small children. I guess we can shove them in the back of the Volvo somewhere.
Isaiah: Well, no we will have a new house and plenty of chickens by then, and a trailer........

The kindness of neighbors....

2011-12-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

It was a warm summer night, just after we arrived home from our epic camping trip to Montana, when Isaiah got it into his head that he would build a bon-fire in our fire pit in our yard. He should have known better than to throw a bunch of green leaves and hazelnuts from around the yard into the fire pit, but that is what he did and, lo and behold, a great cloud of black smoke rose from our yard and then filled the neighborhood. What we wanted to do after that was to hide in our house, for to my dismay, all of the neighbors came out into the street in great alarm. I thought better of our first instinct, and decided it was appropriate to confess our guilt. So we went outside and told everyone the truth about why it appeared as though the neighborhood was going up in flames somewhere nearby. We might have hung our heads low as we confessed, but soon, a man-neighbor I didn't know was our man-neighbor told Isaiah something along the lines of "hey, next time, I will help you build an even bigger bon-fire, maybe without the green leaves though, but a bigger bonfire." At that moment I decided that they are the right kind of neighbors to be having. They are from Alabama which might have expleined some of their excitement about bon fires. They also have two of the cutest little girls with the curliest blond hair.

So that is how we befriended our neighbors.....My latest photo session with them in documented in the previous blog post:)

2011-11-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

2011-11-19T15:14:00.000-08:00

Two of my obsessions: Feet and fall. Well, more like shoes and fall.

Love me like your dog does

2011-11-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

I recently saw a bumper sticker that said "Ban country music." I thought to myself that that was unreasonable. If they banned country music, what else would we make fun of? Here is the latest and greatest I heard on the country music station:

I want you to love me like my dog does Baby

He never tells me that he's sick of this house
He never says why don't you get off that couch?
He dont cost me nothin when he wants to go out
I want you to love me like my dog

He never says I need a new attitude
Him and my sister ain't always in a feud
When I leave the seat up he don't think that it's rude
I want you to love me like my dog does Baby

When I come home, I want you to just go crazy
He never looks at me like he might hate me
I want you to love me like my dog

He never acts like he don't care for my friends
He never asks me where in the hell have you been?
He dont play dead when I wanna pet him

I want you to love me like my dog does honey

He never says 'I wish you made more money'
He always thinks that pull my finger is funny
I want you to love me like my dog

He dont get mad at me and throw a major fit
When I say his sister is a b**ch!

I want you to love me like my dog does baby
When I come home, I want you to just go crazy
He never looks at me like he might hate me
I want you to love me like my dog

I want you to love me like my dog does Baby

Oh dear

2011-11-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

A sign of beauty, but also of impending perpetual gloom.....

HUNGRY!!!

2011-10-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

2011-10-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Someday when I am rich due to my successful t-shirt company, I will have a line of "I survived......." T-shirts. I survived:

1. Costco on a Saturday
2. Labor
3. Airport Security
4. Taking a toddler and newborn into the grocery store
5. Driving in Miami
6. Eating Processed Foods
7. Being a Teen
8. Eating Carob

But please these ideas are copyrighted so don't try to steal them for your t-shirt company!

On the shores of Matheson

2011-10-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand! Okay, so maybe back by the demand of one person! Here are some photos of Matheson Hammock park, where I grew up going almost ALL the time with my family. I was going to give a delightful story about how we came to name our son Matheson and all that, but I smell a delightful aroma in the air that needs to be remedied immediately.....maybe I will write more about that later (about the naming of Matheson, not the aroma in the room), and maybe I will post more pictures of Matheson......the baby. Because people probably want to see him.

All three of the Arroyo daughters learned to park in this very parking lot

Barley there.

2011-09-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

I recall that I began to spell poorly in the fifth grade, when I refused to study for my spelling tests. Perhaps its not a natural gift to me to spell properly in the first place, but I certainly could have made it easier if I tried. So, I suppose that you can safely say that I rely heavily on spell check. Often this gets me into trouble because spell check is an amazing thing that is often no use at all. Often, my spelling is so off that it doesn't even recognize what it was I was trying to spell. That's pretty bad. Other times, I find myself changing words as I mindlessly click buttons around. The other day, I found myself writing something that was meant for all of my in-laws to read, and after I "published" what I wrote Isaiah pointed out that I told them all that I was "Barley" there.

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, barley is Barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. The All wise computer once again put me in my place, and I was Barley there. He....he...he....

Lewis and Clark

2011-09-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

Isaiah has a special fondness for early American exploration and hopes to grow up to be an early American explorer. So this week, he is reading a book about the Lewis and Clark expedition, and each day coming home to tell me all about everything he he has read. Here are some of the things I learned:

-Lewis was not a first name.
-Meriwether is not "Mary-weather."
-Lewis was not a woman named Mary.
-Lewis was not a woman at all.
-Because "Mary-Weather" was not a woman, it makes it a lot less odd that he was very very close friends with Thomas Jefferson.
-Apparently, their team traveled by boat most of their trip. Not by camel. According to Isaiah they had not invented camels yet.

Another Tidbit from Montana. Actually, From Idaho. My bad.

2011-09-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

Some random tidbits from Montana

2011-08-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

When the cost of the memorabilia outweighs the benefits, the phrase "Take a picture, it lasts longer" comes in handy.

These happy times.....our four year aniversary surprise.

2011-07-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

People may ask why my photos are so green. Its because I live in Oregon and it is green here.

I'm not so sure what he's doing.

2011-07-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we decided to plant a garden. Our house came complete with a garden bed, so I was very excited when we finally got around to doing something with it. None of us know a thing about gardening, so we just went out and got a bunch of starters and put them in the ground haphazardly. Hopefully we will at least get a return for our money. Jedidiah was a big help.

Our weekend last weekend

2011-06-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I photographed a wedding. I'd love to elaborate more on that but I am first interested in talking about our drive home from the wedding, which was in beautiful and quaint Shady Cove Oregon.

I had been excited about this trip for weeks, mostly because I love adventures of any sort and this was to be the first out of town adventure we would have had since our little Jedidiah was born on November 6, 2009 at 6:15pm weighing 7lbs 14 oz, and basically took over our lives.

Early in the morning, we took Jedidiah to our baby sitter for which we were very grateful. He did not cry because he was very involved with her cabinet doors, although I might have cried. But I got over it quickly as we drove all by ourselves without hearing "no, no, no, doggie, banana, no no", for two hours, and it was a very nice and peaceful experience. We loved Jedidiah from a distance that day.

We drove the 2.5 hour drive to Shady cove through some sort of desolate roads and worried the whole time that we were going the wrong way. If we were going the wrong way that would have been a disaster because I don't think at this point they would have been able to call another photographer. I suppose that they could have held their wedding off for another few hours, or a few days depending on how lost we really were.

Luckily, we did not arrive late, or get lost. Our desolate road took us to the right location and once again Isaiah's remarkable map/direction skills truly saved our lives. We arrived at the wedding and photographed from 1-9pm and it was marvelous, I will elaborate more later.

So, we arrived back at our hotel around 9:30 and I had it in my head that we would go out for some fun without Jedidiah. I was imagining a night out on the town, not even having to worry about bringing Jed to a babysitter. To my dismay the only thing I had energy for was pressing the remote control buttons and pulling the remote from Isaiah's hands. Besides, we thought about it and about the only thing available at 9:30 at night was a shady gas station.

So we watched T.V. for one hour. Isaiah and I do not have a television in our house, so when we get our hands on one we have tears of joy at our ability to sit mindlessly and click a remote control for a while. Well, maybe not tears, but you know. We use cable T.V. primarily to make fun of people. We watched the food network and saw a bacon-weaved wrapped meatloaf thing that was big enough to feed about eight people and really revolting, and a seven pound burrito baking in the oven with a gallon of habanaro sauce and cheese poured over it. I decided that it was too much to watch, so we turned off the T.V. and had a very deep conversation about why they didn't just stuff the bacon meatloaf weave inside of the giant habanaro burrito and maybe stuff a pizza inside of it and add some eggrolls on top, and maybe a Cesar salad?

Anyway we didn't really rest well because we were dreaming about weddings all night long and couldn't sleep. So when we woke up we were completely exhausted, and we had a 2.5 hour drive a head of us. We wanted to go somewhere crazy, so we decided to stop in Canyonville, a small town in between where we were coming and where we were going and go to a breakfast diner (I know, crazy!). Isaiah and I have a weird thing for breakfast diners, and we found one we particularly thought would be enjoyable, perhaps because it was the only diner in the town. Unfortunately, we had to lug our camera stuff into the restaurant because I was afraid that a hillbilly might steal it and that was a scary thought.

Bringing a bunch of camera equipment into a small town breakfast diner was interesting. I don't think hillbillies get hippy looking photographer girls (Okay, I am not that hippy looking don't worry if you haven't seen me in a while. I just don't look much like a hillbilly that goes to small town diners.) coming into their diner and taking pictures of their silverware but somehow I couldn't control myself. I took about 5 pictures and was satisfied and now after this weekend I never want to take a picture again.

We ordered our breakfast. I got a waffle with scrambled eggs and bacon and he got biscuits and gravy and we shared a hash brown, and I felt right at home and very comforted by the food and the ambiance of the small time diner. The waiter was sure to inform me that they no longer served ice cream. When I asked her why she said something about "Ma'm most of our customers have blue hair, grey hair or no hair. They all are worried about their cholesterol." I found that interesting considering the other menu choices. None the less that will probably become one of many quotes that we repeat over and over again through the course of our relationship.

Well, we went on our merry way very full and very satisfied. That was an amazing waffle I don't regret getting. I could have lived without the scrambled eggs, though. I decided recently that I am about the only person who can make scrambled eggs I will eat, but I hate washing scrambled egg dishes I think I would rather just throw the pan I used out the window but that might get expensive. But I liked the waffle.

We took a little stroll around the cute quiet little town. I felt at perfect peace as I sat on a bench and waited for Isaiah to get out of a man-tool store that he found appealing to look at. While I waited I saw an old man with a curly white cowboy hat get into a bronco with another old man with a curly cowboy hat. The mountains in the distanced enhanced the experience, and the whole peacefulness of the town made me feel very happy. I was also at peace because it was nice to not hear the sound of traffic anywhere, which is a nice change from Eugene where you can hear traffic just about anywhere.

On our way down the street we found a hippy grocery store amongst all the hillbilly other stores. (I guess every town in Oregon is required to have at least one hippy grocery store.) Isaiah and I went in and discovered that all hippy grocery stores are the same and all of their employees are the same skinny people with long frazzled hair. We bought an over priced drink for the road and I told him that I wished that going into a hippy grocery store could be just as exciting as it was before I moved to Oregon. Now its more a novelty to see a hillbilly breakfast diner.

When we left, we had to fulfill one more duty: The casino. Isaiah had three dollars left in his wallet and he told me that he wanted to use it to gamble. Don't get me wrong, I do not endorse gambling, but if Isaiah has ever gambled he winds up wining money. So I didn't mind him wasting three dollars. In the end, those three dollars did not go to waste because we created a good memory of going into the casino and wasting three dollars.

Well, we finally drove home. It felt really weird to not have to lug Jedidiah all over and I kept wondering if I left him at the Casino. Perhaps he was gambling his life away at a young age, hopefully I raised him better than that.

It was a longish drive home probably because we were so tired. Along the way we crossed over some suicidal turkey vultures. That was the best way I could describe vultures that looked like turkeys that intentionally flew into your car.

Arriving in Eugene was amazing. There was a yellow sign to a garage sale that Isaiah insisted on following for about 10 blocks. When we got there the only thing worth buying was a book for Jedidiah that had doggies and babies in it, his two favorite things. When we finally got to Jedidiah, I was so tired that I could barely be exited about seeing him. He looked like he felt the same about us. I was told that he ate a lot of dirt and had such a good time that he was wondering why we don't leave him with a sitter every week.

When we got home, let Isaiah take a nap because he can't handle being tired as well as I can. I fed Jedidiah and we walked up to the park to push Jed on the swings. That was the end of our day.

2011-06-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of nights ago our shower broke. As realized that I could not shower, panic overcame me because I wanted to shower so bad I could die. I had the remnants of the day left on me: Melted cheese, cooking oil, kid boogers, dirt, sweat, who knows what else. The only thing I could do was look with envy at Isaiah as he was the last person to successfully shower and was all refreshed and clean with good smelling hair before the shower exploded, and I was just standing there thinking about how unfair life is. Then I really did get angry at him, only because I felt the need to be angry and he was the only one there, and besides he doesn't care all that much about being clean even though I would rather him care about being clean.

Usually he is very patient with my needs even though he doesn't understand them. That night he wasn't. He just looked at me and said "you don't have to shower tonight, you can skip just one night of showering." I was amazed at his insensitivity. I have to shower there is no other option. Every night no matter what I have to or I will lay awake for hours thinking about being clean. Isaiah thinks showering is a chore, I think its a necessity, and the only way to truly relax and wash the day away from you. Besides it helps to keep your bed smelling clean and fresh and that's important to me. I am not sure what I will do when the Apocalypse happens, because we have disaster related plans for just about everything except how I will be able to take a shower. I guess I better go think about that right now........

2011-05-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

5/19/11

Today we went to the goodwill. After we went to the goodwill, I was so impressed with Jedidiah's behavior that I decided that he deserved a smoothie because that just sounded really good. It has been such a warm and beautiful day, that I couldn't think of a better ending. We had such a delightful time in the smoothie shop. He re-arranged all the tables and chairs to his liking while he waited for his mama to make up her mind about flavors and free supplements. When he was done with that he ran out the door, reminding me to not be so indecisive. Life is too short and apparently too dangerous to hesitate about life altering decisions as such. Anyway, I finally decided on the 5 fruit smoothie so I didn't leave any fruit choice out, and in the end decided not to get a free protein supplement. We finally sat down at a chair and enjoyed some mamma-Jedidiah time. Jedidiah sat in my lap and had a free sample while I drank my smoothie. As I was drinking my smoothie I began to glance at a toddler cookbook I found laying on the table. When I looked back at Jed I realized that I don't think I have ever seen him so happy ever as he was sitting there drinking his own "little people" sized smoothie AND eating the cup that came with it. He had so much fun and was so worn that he fell asleep on the way home with his face covered in raspberry juice and he is currently sleeping on the couch, which he has never done before. I am delighted to have a few moments to sit and write without being interrupted. It was a good, simple day.

(Oh, just for the record, the smoothie above was a smoothie from Miami, from a smoothie shop that I believe is much superior to to the smoothie shop I went to today, but I felt I needed a photo of a smoothie to go with this story.)

Family

2011-05-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Sarah posted these photographs on her Facebook page and entitled the album "Family makes us stronger." I have looked at them over and over and because I think the realitity is that family is often what God uses to makes us stronger and sometimes you just go through things where you need to get stronger. Even if you don't have a good family you probably know why one is important and meaningful. I have so little photos of my family when I was younger that its ridiculous, and even though I would a thousand times over prefer to hold the photos in my hands and look at them that way for now this is what I have of my cousins and I am glad of it.

Cousin Hanna and Cherie conspiring against Sarah on our yearly camping trips.

Me and Sarah or her sister Hannah or Sister Lyla, except probably not the sister Lyla because she is far to young to have been born when this photo was taken. All the girls look so much alike in their younger years its hard to tell them apart.

My cousins: Sarah, Hannah and my little Sister Cherie on a camping trip at our yearly camp spot in Blue Springs, Florida. Oh and my wonderful friend Jessica who came with us that year. If anyone goes to Florida please visit Blue Springs near Orlando, Go swimming, your life will be changed forever by this amazing spring. And when you get there, remember that I had a lot of good memories there, some of which involve Alligators.

My little sister, Cherie and our cousin, Sarah. We are suspecting that Cherie crossed Sarah out of this picture. Don't be deceived by that sweet little smile.......

My cousin Hannah. I just love about any photo that has someone this genuinely happy in it.

I had aunties coming out of my ears as I grew up. I was probably somewhat grown up at the time of this picture. This is my cousin Louie, the brother I never had, his mother, and one of my many other aunts, who all love to wear button down shirts and visors. I am thankful that I have access to at least one photo of my cousin. This was taken at Matheson Hammock in Miami, the only place our family ever seemed to "get together." I don't know what life would be like without this place.

This is not necessarily a love squeeze.

Dear Louie, thank you for being my cousin. Not that you had anything to do with it, but you were more than a cousin to me but more like a little brother. In Sarah's words, this is how we will always remember you, HAPPY!

To my cousin

2011-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Louie,

Thank you for the Joy you gave me in my life. I still remember and have all the drawings we made together. I still have the cassette tape-recording of the silly talk show we made up. I still think of you when I remember running around in Grandpa and Grandma's house, in waist high grass, stopping every now and then to grab a slice of American Cheese out of the fridge. Thank you for being the little brother that I never had.

Its hard in the news when I read your name, because I can't believe they are referring to you as a man. They are all mistaken, you are a boy, just a little boy with missing two front teeth. You are three years old and I am trying to teach you how to walk, because I didn't realize that you could already walk. You are laughing with that big bubbly laugh, running around in the yard in the sunshine with no shoes on.

I don't know what happened to you, or what drove you to this madness, as years passed by and we grew further and further apart. I can only guess. The news suggests that you are a crazy person, But we know the truth. You are a son, you are a cousin, a brother, to people who raised you and nurtured you. We know you carried many sorrows and burdens of this world on your shoulders. You were someone who mattered and that people love. If you only know the tears that are shed because we love you so much, and wished this is not how life had to be! We will all miss you terribly.

Love,
JoAnna

2011-04-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

I have got to admit that waking up to a sloshy wet world and gray skies outside did not make me reflect on Easter this morning. Where I come from, Easter is truly a wellspring of sunshine and new life. Little girls buy summery yellow dresses and everything about bunnies hopping around and outdoors and outdoor Easter egg hunts is totally appropriate. I remember when I was a kid waking up before dawn to go downtown to watch the sunrise on the ocean. Hundreds of people came from everywhere and I remember the songs being sung about Christ being risen as I watched the sun rise over the ocean and cascade its brilliant colors everywhere. Even as a young child I could not stop myself from rejoicing. It was a big deal to me, and I loved Easter. How do you feel like that when the world outside does not reflect anything of newness of life? Even when you look at the blossoming trees and flowers they are muted by the depressing grey skies.

Well, here is my answer. Think about yesterday, literally. Yesterday truly did feel like Easter. Yesterday, we woke up to birds chirping. To a warm breeze. To SUNSHINE! Jedidiah looked with wonder at this strange glowing warm phenomenon called the sun. We were truly graced and we used the opportunity to visit (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful places there is in the Eugene, Oregon area: Mt Pisgah.

I am not one to document beautiful nature scenery because I know full and well that when I arrive at home and look at the picture later the magic is lost, at least enough to not make the effort to take pictures too often. Besides, I only have a big fat camera now because Jedidiah decided to take our point and shoot and stir a glass of water with it. We intend on using our point and shoot for days such as these. Not having a small pocket point and shoot makes it difficult to take loads of photos of all of your surroundings.

But I DID take some photos of my beautiful family. I know that I feel sorry for myself for having to suffer through the slop and drear of the northwest winter, but I praise God for the glimpses of hope that he gives us in this world, through sunny, beautiful days such as these and beautiful places to visit.

Anyway, here are some photos of our Family. I don't have beautiful pictures of me, mainly because my hair was frizzy and embarrassing so I left myself out of the equasion. I want everyone to know, though that Isaiah is not a single Father. He just happens to have a wife who loves to take photographs. So usually I am behind the camera, and I am okay with my presence being there most of the time.

So, Maybe I am not watching the sun rise over the ocean, but I am watching something else beautiful.

Good times.

2011-04-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

We recently went to visit some dear friends of ours in Portland. This year they bought a very scary weird house and completely remolded it so it does not look scary and weird, but looks beautiful and warm and welcoming. I was interested in capturing the essence of the new house, and wanted to take more pictures of it but unfortunately/fortunately my camera battery died. (Fortunately because I am convinced that my friends think I am pretty weird for wanting to go and take pictures of their pots and pans and cabinets and their children's toys, and I was able to avoid the awkwardness of doing so. Although, they have been very good friends to us for over four years so hopefully they are able to look past my weirdness by now, and see me for who I really am inside.) I do have a few more photos I would have shared but there were people making unflattering faces in them, and I figure its best not to even go there. Anyway, It was unfortunate I did not get more, but I hope you can enjoy at least these few of the children. And the one of the pot.

Like his mama and his daddy.

Jack and "Dilly

An account of the Isaiah James Family's trip to the optomitrist.

2011-03-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is an account of the Isaiah James family's trip to the optometrist. (I have to clarify which James family it is so one is not confused with the many that exist in the Wisconsin and Texas regions.)

It was a magical experience. As the Shopko doors opened for us we wandered in and were at once lured by a gallon plastic jar of cheese puff balls, on sale for five dollars. We both averted our eyes and walked toward our destination: the optical center. This is where the two of us have been getting our eyes examined for the past three and a half (almost four) darling years, since the olden days when we were newly weds. It was a very romantic experience as we reminisced about all the memories we have had checking our blood pressure while we were waiting for our exam.

Those thoughts were soon interrupted by that annoying machine that puffs air into your eyeball. I sat there with dread, using all the strength I had to keep my eyes open. When the annoying puff part was finally over, we were soon escorted into the exam room. There, our little boy was given a bunch of toys which enabled him to be able to put things inside of things for the next 40 minutes. He was in heaven. For the next twenty minutes I sat in a chair while a strange man came unnaturally close to my face (I don't think any other male beside my dear husband has gotten that close to my face in years, and I am very glad he brushed his teeth). The man asked me over and over the same question: "Number one, or Number 2, which one can you see better?" I sat uncomfortably fishing for the right answer. Often, I had to resolve to make something up because I couldn't tell the difference. I felt convinced that because of my shortcoming (and lies) that I would be given the wrong prescription and not be able to see properly for the next two years.

Then I was caught: The strange man asked me "Do you sleep in your contacts?" I thought about it for a minute, and I came up with at least five times in the past year that I remembered to take them out when I was sleeping. That means I don't sleep in them, right? Therefore, my answer was a resounding yes. Yes, doctor I never sleep in my contacts, I am a good girl. But of course my husband set the record more accurately and said "No, she always sleeps in her contacts." I could argue my case to the doctor so he would not think less of me, but I decided that I was already defeated. Luckily, the only repercussion was that the doctor got a little chuckle out of it and sent me on my merry way with a different prescription that is safer for sleeping in.

I was relieved, though, that my exam was cut short because they did not dilate my eyes. This was in order to save my unborn baby from eye dilating-drop poisoning or something like that. I thought to myself: "This is nice, I should get pregnant more often."

Anyway, a few bright lights and a few looks at the ceiling 'till you burned a hole in your retina later and I was just sitting and waiting for Isaiah to be done with his exam. When he was done, We waited outside for ever and ever while the receptionist figured out how many contacts our insurance would give us.

Meanwhile, Jedidiah found his dream come true: A revolving thing that had glasses displayed all over it. That was interesting, to say the least. We tried to distract him from dismantling the display, but he distracted himself when he found another treasure: An old man's walker that had a horn on it. Luckily, he was a kind jolly old man.

When it was all said and done we walked out of the building satisfied with our experience. We didn't make it out of the building right away, though because of a major magnetic force: I saw a bag of Ruffles Bar-B Q potato chips. I walked towards it, but got reprimanded by my husband, who said that we did not, indeed, need potato chips. I reluctantly agreed and began to walk away only to find him suddenly cruising down the snack Aisle looking for something different to catch his eye. We ended this circular walk around all the cheap junk when I grabbed his arm and we went out the door. Thus ended our experience at the eye exam place.

Angry Letters

2011-03-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

Today I wrote an angry letter. It was amazing. It felt good. I loved it. I deserved to write it. It came out fantastic. And....unlike other angry letters, I sent it. There are times when angry letters are far better off just being a way to vent and organize your thoughts, even if that's not what your intentions are. There have been many letters which I am very glad never made it into the mail, or the internet through the fateful click of the "send" button, least I embarrass myself or needlessly drive a wedge into a perfectly fine friendship. This is not one of those times. Sometimes, people just gotta know what they did. And, its about time, oh its about time they knew.

(Don't worry, anyone reading this will not be the recipient of my angry letter.)

Jedidiah expressing his love of his new bedroom.....

2011-03-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

The victim

2011-02-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

2/1/11

Little Jedidiah is approaching his 15 month anniversary of being alive. I suppose you can call that a birthday, but it sounded more interesting to call it a monthly anniversary of being alive.

Our little boy has still yet to take his first steps.
Maybe he has not ventured into walking so much but he is talking up a storm. In fact, this morning he laid his head on my chest and talked to me for at least five minutes without stopping. And you might think that he is slow to walk, but let me tell you he is amazing because he can speak Chinese! I don't know where he picked it up from, but apparently he sounds very much like a female character on the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. (We did watch this movie when we recently went to Miami but Jed was sound asleep. Maybe he was awake with his ear to the door, trying to listen in on the movie. Who knows?) It's such a rare thing that he should rest so peacefully on me and talk that I relish every moment of it, looking him in the eye and validating his strong words with an occasional "Uh huh, I know what you mean." As a mother I feel compelled though to teach my children proper manners. Every once in a while, I reminded him that while the things he says are important, he must remember to give others a chance to talk. That's what conversation is about.

There are only a few words that have come out of his mouth in English. One of them being "Yes." Jedidiah enjoys crawling back and fourth through different rooms of the house saying "yes" over and over again. Every time you ask him any question, the answer is always "yes." But the most recent development happened recently when we were having a great fight. It was late at night, and the torture began: it was time for putting pajamas on. Jedidiah was squealing and twisting and as I, almost in tears, was trying desperately to cover his bare bottom so I could put him to bed. So, as he was twisting and turning and babbling in his gibberish Chinese words, he very loudly and clearly said "VICTIM, VICTIM!!" My son is the victim of parental cruelty at his bedtime ritual. So, ever since then I every so often ask Jed: Jed, are you the VICTIM? And he answers very confidently: "Yes!"

"Home"

2011-01-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

There are many sights and sounds of my "Home" where I grew up, including the sound of football games, wind in palm trees, the feeling of concrete beneath my feet as I walk shamelessly down the road and around the block barefoot, the sound of the multitude of children playing in P.E. around the corner. Also, there are the familiar habits and ways of life that the people who have been living in the home I grew up in for the past 30 years: The sound of the iron at about 2:30 as father irons his blue shirt, the soaking of coffee mugs with two inches of hardened sugar because "someone" didn't stir it properly, the row of cheap hair conditioners on the shower window and the fact that I always look for shampoo and only find many half-empty bottles of conditioner, or now that my sister wants black hair for some reason, I find bottles of weird hair-dye stuff, that you shouldn't be using to wash your hair, and probably not to dye your hair either. Anyway, this is the home I grew up in. Where I took my first steps, and now my little guy (at the bottom) has had the opportunity to visit this beautiful, wonderful place I call "Home." P.S. My mother makes it a beautiful place, lovely to take pictures of.

2011-01-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

2011-01-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

Childhood Books

2008-10-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

God is America's King, She thought: Americans won't obey any king on earth. Americans are free. That means they have to obey their conscience. No king bosses Pa , he has to boss himself. Why (she thought) when I am a little older, Pa and Ma will stop telling me what to do, and there isn't anyone ele who has the right to give me orders. I will have to make myself be good.

Her whole mind seemed to be lit up by that thought. This is what it means to be free: It means you have to be good. "Our father's God, author of liberty-" The laws of Nature and of Nature's God endow you with a right to life and libterty. Then you have the right to be free."

-Laura Ingals Wilder, Little Town on the Prarie (My most beloved and treasured books of all time)

Lauging with Lauren

2008-10-01T14:56:00.001-07:00

I just got off the phone with Lauren, a friend from Tallahassee that I have not spoken to in quite sometime. I do not have a beautiful, flattering photograph of this beautiful, flattering young woman, but I must say we had some beautiful, flattering times together back in the hick, redneck bible-belt and sorority girl filled land of Tallahassee, Florida. (I mean no offense by any of these terms by the way)

We had a deep and meaningful discussion together about the atrocities of facebook. I asked her if she prayed for hours by candle light for my feelings on facebook. She responded with an "Oh, Jo Anna I miss you. I don't even know what to respond to that but I miss you."

These conversations are what makes Laughing with Lauren so great. I miss that too:(

A typical conversation with my spouse

2008-09-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

Isaiah and I had been driving already for a number of hours. I was being lulled to sleep by the droning of our car on the pavement and the faint sound of the radio, when the song: "Raindrops keep falling on my head" began to play. I smiled, because logically, that particular song makes me smile. I sort of rolled over, just enough to hear Isaiah casually say "The man who wrote this song tried to kill my father." I looked at him with my eyes half shut. "oh" I said, then I turned and went to sleep. He kept on driving, and that was the end of our conversation.

(This photograph was taken on a rainy day in Glacier National Park, Montana, on top of a trash can.)

Let the fun begin

2008-09-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

Isaiah and I have had an interesting and exciting past month or so. It all began with this:

I made this cheeseburger for Isaiah and Benjamin James, who came gladly to my rescue after I was exhausted from photographing Luke and Lori Hamilton's wedding on July something or other 2008. They had a pot-luck Barb-q and I was oh so hungry but oh so busy to eat.

But, in all, boys are usually hungrier than girls and they seem to forget to eat if girls don't tell them too or if they aren't having food made for them. So, I gladly made them these cheeseburgers and they both devoured it, and I took a couple of meager bites.

Photographing weddings can be fun but it also leads to potential exhaustion and hunger, and sincere and incredible business after the event is over.

None the less, this event (the wedding) marked for Isaiah and I the beginning of a month long wild adventure. Most of which involved no sleeping, high volumes of interactions with other people, 104 degree heat and lots of fun and good times.

I can't wait to share more about this adventure, but I must wait for now. I have saved that project for a later period in time.

Hungry.

2008-08-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Isaiah and his Baby Brother Benjamin are bringing me a pizza. I truly and unconditionally hungry at the moment, but amazingly enough, I am so tired that I don't believe that I can get out of this chair and get up to eat the pizza when they come. Maybe I will sit here all night and continue to ramble on about ridiculous thoughts for the sake of me having to not get up out of this chair. So here I will sit, hungry and sleepy, and never get up.

And anyone who reads this will either be bored, delighted, or confused. Or all three.

This is the first time I have really been truly and unconditionally hungry since June 15, 2008. On that dreadful day, the temperature exceeded 103 degrees.

On that dreadful day, and also the dreadful day after that, I stayed outside in the wretched heat the entire dreadful day (minus my exedus to the REI for air conditioning) and supported Isaiah and Andrew at their show.

Sitting here, on Sunday afternoon, the temprature is below 85 degrees, and I could never ever be more happy, sleepy, tired, hungry( in the most fufilling kind of way), and thankful for the people that love me in this life. God has his ways of showing his his goodness that are beyond our comprehension, beyond our understanding and not the way we always want him to show us his goodness. For this, I am thankful.

I am sorry if this doesn't make a whole bunch of sense. But maybe I will write something more sensical tomorow.

Good night!

2008-08-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is my grandmother. Her name is Nila, otherwise "Tita." I don't know why that we call her Tita, I am sure that there is a great big story behind that.

When I was a child, I would visit Tita, and this woman set me loose in the Grocery store and told me I was to get whatever I wanted. I did not EVER have this luxury at home. An hour later I would come back with my cart full. Full of Cheese and Chocolate.

We had such fun visiting my grandmother. She rose early every morning and made us breakfast: Chocolate filed and Cheese filled Croissants, Bacon, sausage, baby bell cheese, eggs with Cheddar Cheese, Easy Cheese, and everything else that you can imagine that could possibly give you a heart attack at the age 10. Boy was I happy.

Grandma would take us to the beach every day, and then to Aunt Audry's pool.

Now I am all grown up and have my own life and live on the other side of the country, where the is no beach and people do not believe in eating easy cheese. Somehow when I look at this photograph, I feel as though I have captured the essence of Grandma. I almost can hear her voice and feel the way it feels to get a hug from her.

And I can almost smell the beach.........

2008-08-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

I miss these people.

Computers.....Blech

2008-07-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

I am particularly fond of this photograph. So much so that I made the effort to post it here on this blog. I decided it is my delight to photograph children. They are much fun.

Today I am sitting on the computer. (Not literally). I wish literally, because I do not enjoy computers much, and fancy that it would be much more of a fun thing to do to sit on them than to use them for the purposes of editing photographs and e-mailing. I would prefer to have my old notebook and pen and paper on hand and just write the old fashioned way. But I think that for now I will sit here, AT the computer and do my duties. Meanwhile I will dream of tropical Miami and sitting in the back yard with cold key-lime aid, while breathing in the aroma of barb-qing meat and swatting mosquitoes.

I am not sure where the Miami thing came from but I think that I find rest from my strife in daydreaming of the place I call home.......

Full of palm trees................

Dan

2008-07-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

Dan is in his late fifties and has not walked since he was 17 years old. Two weeks before his graduation from high school he was in an automobile accident which paralyzed him from the neck down. He now has only limited use of his arms.

I can remember many nights going to his house to keep Isaiah company while he put Dan to bed, cleaned his wounds and fed him dinner. We would laugh and watch weird things on TV and it was just a swell time.

We miss Dan.

2008-07-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

July 6th will be our wedding anaverssary. This is not a picture of us, but a picture of my freinds Jessica and Bradley. (I couldn't find a decent picture of the two of us fast enough, so I decided to use a picture of Jessica and Bradley in place of us. )

Marriage has been wonderful so far. Most people say that the first year is the hardest and I believe them, but that's because you get into car accidents that cost tons of money; because you can't hold a job because you have a medical illness, and because you give all of your money to the DMV and to medical bills, and a multitude of other things that come creeping up just when you think things can't get any worse.

Yes, this year has been stormy and difficult. But I can't believe how good it has been all at the same time. People have helped us out in hard times in unspeakable ways. Our love for each other has not been stricken down, only improved. And that's what counts when things get hard.

I don't think I am actually in the mood for typing right now. I just suddenly, however, felt a burst of exclamation come out of me and decided to blog about it, since I am kind of bored, or rather, I am disorganized with my time:)

....And the butter melts.

2008-06-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know this little girl's name. But she brightened my day on Sunday of last week at a wedding I showed up at and photographed. I didn't know I was to photograph the entire wedding until I got there.

I love this photograph because it makes me think of my childhood, for I have a picture of myself doing the same thing at a family reunion. There's nothing like being free to stick your finger in a cake and lick the frosting at a social gathering. I am glad that there are little people who just don't care. I was going to blog a lot tonight, but I think I should hold off 'till tomorrow. Good night!

WARNING!

2008-05-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

The computer I am typing on says:

"WARNING": YOUR DATA IS NOT SAFE ON THIS COMPUTER."

I suppose, this means, of course, that I should not apply any sort of data to this computer, because the data is therefore not safe. It may cause a bacterial infection, or a tumor, or an addiction to drugs, or WORST......A violent TERRORIST attack.

Be very careful about the data on your computer. You never know what it might do to you.......

A tribute to my mother (That she will never read)

2008-04-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hello.

Yes, it is a Sunday today. A day of rest, a day for spending time with friends and family, and of going to church.

And yet I found myself in Delta Gama Sorrority where I served brunch for a total of 120 sorority girls and their mothers. We made cucumber, egg salad and chicken salad tea sandwiches along with chocolate dipped Strawberries and lemon bars. Everything looked beautiful.

Yes, everything looked beautiful including all of the Sorority girls and their mothers as they flooded the dining room with every kind of aroma of every kind of perfume known to man, fancy frilly dresses, mounds of makeup and their noses turned up at the sign above the dish bin that states: "please rinse your own dishes." (This is a sign that was put up to help alleviate the amount of crusty dishes that appear in mountain sized stacks in the morning that take an hour a piece to wash because of whatever was left their the night before that they did not rinse off their plate.)

As usual at work, I silently observe the madness around me as I frantically attempt to get all of the food in it's proper place at the proper time. This morning I came to a different understanding of the sorority girl life.

I want to talk about their mothers. The mothers who probably all drive BMW's and wear suits to work and call themselves career women. The kind of mothers who are driven to make money so that they might give their children the luxury of paying for their college expenses along with their sorority membership so that they can get fed every meal without lifting a finger, and their house will be spotless all the time due to the relentless work of Mindy, the house cleaner.

These are the kind of mothers who want the best for their daughters- the best kind of food the best kind of luxury, the best that all this material world can give them.

Well, I'll be darned, I love my mother the best. I think about her: the mother who never held a job, who worked hard all her life for things that money cannot buy. The mother that barley wears makeup except for special occasions, who has a beauty that is more deep and rich and meaningful than makeup and fine things can bring. She is the woman who'se hands have been withered by years of creating beautiful pieces of art; the same hands I remember often being covered with flour and kneading dough.

She is the mother who quietly waters her lawn, bakes cookies, and rides her bike to the seaside to sit quietly by herself to think and just be, who drives a 1997 Ford explorer and shops at thrift shops, who loves sitting and talking for hours with her family.

Every pain I have felt because of my mother has been a profound experience that has caused my life to be richer and deeper and more meaningful. (I feel this way about alot of different types of pain I have gone through, but for now I am just speaking of my mother).

I think about these sorority girls and whatever pain they might feel inside toward their mothers. They have one great thing that is different than I have had in my life: They can cover up their troubles with money.

During my stormy adolescent years, I had friends, I had other family, I had God and church. I did not have money.

I am not sure how to end this, except to say that my mother is by no means a perfect person, but I came to realize today how grateful that I am that I have the one that I do. And that I hope that people with money can find meaningful ways to spend it.

Grrrr

2008-04-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hi.

After three years of silence in the painting arena of my life, my friend from college has asked me to paint him a real painting. I am now staring mortified at this piece of wood that is to become something beautiful, or rather powerful and spectacular. (He asked me to do something having to do with the resurrection of Jesus.) It seems as though I have lost all capabilities to paint. I am waaaayyyyyy out of it. Like totally out of it! I have to paint this, because the money he paid me was the last bit I needed to buy my camera lens. (Which I have really only had the chance to use one time to shoot a married couple in an orchard). So.....Pictures to come, eventually!

I just needed to vent about this and the computer was on, and my man went to the bank to deposit a bunch of checks into our banking account. I am going to go now.

Bye Bye!

Camera Lens

2008-04-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

I should be receiving my new Canon 24-105 L lens in the mail today. I am so excited that I feel like staying home from work just to wait for its arrival. I have been saving up since October of 2007 for this very day. It was the scariest thing in the world to spend that amount of money on one thing.

Anyway, I don't usually enjoy subjecting people to these types of ramblings, but I am excited about something new, and very useful to me and I can't hold it in. That's why I turned the computer on to share about this phenomenon.

Dear Dear reader

2008-03-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

Isaiah and I have decided to join the teachings of herold camping.......Okay well Isaiah just told me that I musn't say this because random people might look up his website and believe that we have gone nutty. I was merely trying to make a joke of somesort....... But I guess he is right, not everyone in the whole world will understand my humor on a blog.

Anyhow, Harold believes that the lord Jesus Christ is going to return to collect his redeemed on October 11, 2011. The only problem is that his redeemed are the ones who follow the radio station "Family Radio" which in turn follows a strict interpretation of biblical understanding to which only Harold can translate. To top it all off, he believes that all churches are not really Christian and that we all have to abandon them and follow the radio station only.

Anyway, I think Isaiah doesn't know why I am writing this blog. He wants me to get off the computer, and he is letting me know by reading his comic books. I should go now. It has been fun writing this and all, but sometimes the husband just needs a bit of attention at times when you want to write a blog, and you have to recognize what's really more important.

Snow Day in Eugene

2008-01-31T13:09:00.001-08:00

Oh no here they come again!

Don't worry Baby, Mamma will protect you from those scary men.
Maybe we'll run away and join those hitch-hikers over there.

But then again there is a scary homeless man waiting on that bench near the hitch-hikers. Oh wait, that's Jo Anna's husband!

Wow, it looks like he is leaving anyway. He is getting into the car with the early 90's due. (the one where African Americans shaved all sides of their head and only had poofy curls ontop.)

Eugene in January?

2008-01-31T12:52:00.001-08:00

The Library

2007-12-20T19:04:00.001-08:00

As odd as it may seem, I actually love the library. I
should hate it. No, I take that back, I should
despise it, after my two years serving in the
university library system during my college studies I
should have some sort of unplesant feelings that rise
out of me. At that time, I believed that I had
actually died and been sent to the purgatory of green
science scholarly journals.

My job was to put them in their place.

I am not exaggerating: It took over a century to walk
from one end of the third floor of the Dirac Science
library to the other. Rows and Rows and Rows and Rows
of eternal green books that were forever waiting in
silence, for someone to come and open them up and
uncode their ecryptic scientific messages. Blech.

I remember walking up and down Isle after Isle not
quite sure why the call number had suddenly changed as
I realized that there was no place for it and I had
read the number backwards after looking for the number
over and over again in the shelves. I hate numbers.

Anyway, mind you this was only the third floor. There
were two other floors in which I was required to
conquer. ADD patient VS. Deslexia in my brain.
Panic overcomes. I start to daydream. My favorite
game was taking the carts and pretending that they
were grocerie shopping carts and that I was given 5
min to get anything I want for free. I think I
planned my entire wedding, future house decor,
thesis's for my art history papers, what I would do
if boogie men came into my house and I had to jump
them and many other things.

That is what gave me a ray of hope in the endless
tunnel of darkness of the Dirac Science library.
That, and frequent visits by Russell Brun who would
come late in the evening and not even looking to make
sure that no one was watching jumped on the book carts
and had me push him around like a kid and laughing
giddily. I was amazed at what a little laughter could
do.

Then there were the days when I would sneak down to
the bottom floor which is where I found endless rows
of cookbooks and photography books that I found
entirely too wonderful. I found books on every kind
of way to make just about any kind of food imaginable.
If anyone knows me well, they ought to believe that
what actually happened was that I went from purgatory
(on the top floor) and someone (bless their soul)
prayed me out of purgatory and now I am in Joanna
heaven

Then there were my co- workers

Not engaged

2007-12-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hello.

I just want to say that Bradley and Jessica are NOT currently engaged, contrary to the former posting I put up with the cute little pictures of them all gushy, which may make it seem as though those two people are married or engaged. I just took that picture of them this fall because I wanted to, because I like Bradley and I also like Jessica, even though I like Jessica a little bit more than I like Bradley. (Just a little bit.) Anyway, they are together, as a loving, yet not engaged just dating, non co-habituating couple.

I met Bradley on August 12th, 2006, when his roommate Isaiah began to bring me over to his house. I slowly took control over that apartment. I ate all of their food, and replaced it with mine. I slowly brought all of my things over to their house. I forced them both to eat TOFU every night of the week and listen to my music, and to watch the beginning of "Braveheart" over and over. Before I knew it, I had both of them and my entire house (ooops, did I say MINE?) under full control. Isaiah was forced to put all of the pictures of his former lover, (who sadly passed away some time ago) Audrey Hepburn away in the back of his closet. So the three of us resided (me only in the day time, of course!) peacefully under my rule for a period of approximately 8 months. I eventually decided it was time to let the public decide who to throw off the show. Unfortunately, they picked Bradley because they saw him eating too much cream of Mushroom soup. We were all sad to see him go and it was a very dark couple of days as he removed all of his star trek movies and his crock pot, where he cooked his cream of mushroom soup out of the house and into a very scary quad apartment complex.

Sad as we were to see him go, I saw this as my final chance to become Lord of apartment 2593.

So that is the story of how I met Bradley.

Bradley and Jessica.

2007-11-07T15:13:00.001-08:00

This is my very very best friend together with Bradley Wilson.

I love them both so much, and am thankful they found eachother.

2007-11-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

This is Adalynn Nicole Rispler(I think I spelled her name correctly). She is 6 weeks old and this was her very first time with a baby sitter. This is also one of the very first times I have seen her smile, for she is coming out of a very dark time in her life, full of sorrow, wailing, kicking and screaming. I was able to capture her at a very rare and beautiful moment, when she was actually very happy to be alive. Someday she will be smiling more often, and realize how blessed she is to be so loved by such wonderful parents. I think I love her too.

2007-10-26T13:33:00.001-07:00

Today is the 26th day of October. I have been away from my home-town for 1 year and 7 months. I am amazed and perplexed at my adventure across the great continant we call the United States of America.

I remember flight here. I met a couple on the plane who were on their way to Hawaii. They were the types of people who would wear over sized hawaian shirts and dye their hair in un-natural shades of blondish color. Their goal was to have fun. After chatting with them a bit, I came to realize that their entire life goal was to have fun. They couldn't understand why I would just hop on a plane to go away from everyone I knew to serve in a Ministry.

I couldn't understand how someone couldn't feel so very empty inside with that being their life goal in mind.

Anyway, all that being said, I am here in another place that is so far from home, yet so at home. I am so far from the mark of my original purpose here. But my

Mush

2007-10-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, October 16th, 2007. Rain, slush mushy bog. That is my world right now, except for the moments that I am spending in the library.

Messy Kitchen

2007-09-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

I don't want to clean the kitchen.

A friend of ours gave us some unnatural sized zucchini, which prompted us to create a sauteed zucchini and tomato pasta dish (with dill) and several large batches of zucchini bread. We were living in heaven.

But now the kitchen is messy. I don't really want to clean it. Oddly, its not because laziness or anything of that sort.

I look around me at opened cook books and flour sprawn out all over the counter. I see my beautiful wooden cutting board laying there on with just a few remenants of crumbs of our bread and I just think about what a beautiful picture this is of a homey kitchen that is well used and loved to make people happy and welcomed.

So, that's why I don't want to clean the kitchen. That plus, I am tired.

Married life

2007-09-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Every day I get a phone call in the middle of the day. "Jo Anna, did you make me black beans?" My head hangs a little low to the ground. "No, not today dear."

Isaiah thinks about black beans all day long. I believe he dreams about them in his sleep. As a new wife, it's difficult to keep up with all the demands that a man needs. I am learning every day that my life now consists of another's goals and dreams, and I cannot just think about my own needs.

So, instead of going to Jessica's house to re-edit lots of photographs that I will eventually put in a website, so that I can advocate my photography and make lots and lots of money for us and our starving family of 11 adopted children in 10 years, I am going to go home and make black beans for Isaiah.

We will have a delightful evening together, eating black beans and swinging on the swing. I can't wait:)

2007-08-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Howdy. Just seeing how this thing works, and trying to make sense of it all. Maybe I will be able to write something profound. But i'll wait.