Receiving his dipoloma & Moving the Tassle :)

Well, we're on to bigger and better things!  Preschool is behind us!  We're done with playdough - we're moving on to glue and paper mache'!    What a joy to have LJ and to see him grow :)  These are the first pics I pulled off of my camera tonight, but there will be more!

Big News!!

She wrote him a note and everything... :)  Because she's so TINY, her writing was so tiny we could hardly read it!

I had to share a few quick pics from the ACA Middle School game a couple of days ago. Lance has been helping with the pitchers. Erik Smallwood, Lance's great friend from college, is the head coach. It's so neat to watch them coach together. It's neat to see where things end up. Home is a good place right now. Above, you see LJ spitting sunflower seeds. (He actually grabs a handful, chews them to smithereens then just spits...) He thinks he's so big :)

Below, a meeting on the mound when the game wasn't going so well, and the bat boy working hard with his dad watching on, (the final pic) :) Hope you enjoy the pics! More to come soon!

Life is good at the Cormier House! Spring has sprung, and we are all beginning to fall into a good routine here at home. Lance is enjoying the occasional meeting, working out hard and helping with baseball at a local middle school. I have a bit of a hip and back issue that's slowing me down physically, but I'm finding there's always something special to do now that we are home! Whether it's working on photography stuff or playing with my sweet little family, life is full and good. LJ is doing great! He's excelling in school and is reading so well! He loves his class, and we've decided to keep him there for his kindergarten year. We even have our hummingbird back. I've been trying to catch a shot of her, but this is all I got:

As far as T-ball goes, it continues to be a blast! Sports are a great teacher. They teach social graces, encouragement, acceptance (of your faults and others), and lots of great physical coordination. LJ is having so much fun! He maintains his intensity, but has grown up enough to know that he can't be perfect every time. It's always good to learn to give one's self a break, right :)

We have also had the opportunity to get pictures of him with everyone who loves him most! His mom & dad, Me-Maw, Nana & Pops, and Doris & Jackson!

So, that's us for now! I'll check in soon with an update and some new pictures, (of course!) I hope your week has been wonderful!!

Spring has sprung!

The Cormier fam is out and working in the yard :) We have never been here for spring, so we might be going a bit overboard. We planted annuals all through the front yard flower beds. This isn't a big risk in most places, but here in our yard, the soil is like clay and it's filled with rocks. But before you can even get to the cement-like clay, you have to first go through a layer of roots/weeds that looks like crazy red-ish/purple hair. So, I did the best I could and tilled the land. I brought in some soil and put compost (mushroom from the bag mixed with pulp from our juicer - it seemed like the right thing to do?) I dug about 3 inches deep and replaced the soil with that little combo. I hope it works! If not, our yard will be pretty for about a week! Come visit quickly just in case!

You can see above that LJ decided we needed a little raspberry crop. I'll keep you posted on that one, too :)

Here's the first bloom from our knockout roses - the bush was given to me by my sister a few years ago, and it looks like it survived our neglect through the baseball seasons!

OK, so I'm back on the job! My blogging will be better, I promise! In the time that we were in limbo, not knowing whether we were staying or going, I told myself "I'll start when we arrive wherever we're going". Now that we're staying here in Alabama, I guess we have kind of arrived. Phase 2 of our little family's life. Lance decided to retire from baseball about 10 days ago. We are so proud of him and thankful for the time he had living out his dream. God closed that door after we waited patiently and prayed fervently that he would open it for one more year. His ways are higher (and better!) than ours, so I'm looking forward to what He has in store for us. I can't even imagine what it must be. Today, we are just held accountable to listening to his voice for this 24 hour period, then tomorrow we will do the same. Who knows what's next!

Well, I'll tell you one thing that's next... T-ball!

Yes, we are in week 2 of LJ's 5 year old Spring Season. He is having a blast!!! Last year, when the team would lose or if he got out, he collapsed in a puddle of tears on the field. He took it so hard. My goal this season was to teach him some "sportsmanship". I got him some "rewards stickers" for his helmet. Every game where he's a good sport, accepts his own perfections (and others') with a smile, he gets a sticker on his helmet! He LOVES This idea. When he misses a ball and a kid gets on first, he even gives him a thumbs up and tells him "good hit"...then looks at me, and says, "I'm getting a sticker, right?" Yessiree, you are! And an ice cream! With sprinkles! :) His favorite song right now is "Learning to be the Light" by Newworldson. Click HERE to listen and see the video. It's perfect for this new lesson - He's learning to be the light, and a bright one, at that! You should hear him sing this song in the back seat of the car. It will melt your heart. I can't imagine what it does to God's heart to hear him sing it.

I'm expanding my photography to include sports action shots. I got this fantastic lens:

It is a MAC DADDY lens. Super for sports, (or finches in the back yard? anyone?)...well, the sports pics actually provide a pay check! The finches are for my enjoyment. Here is an example of both:)

I'm also taking more family photos. I did a delivery session (photographing a birth) and a newborn session following a few days later. Preciousness. I can't even describe!! Here's a few photos:

Lance has kept busy, creating a resume', meeting for potential job opportunities and helping Uncle Wood with his middle school team. They are so funny. If those kids don't win, it won't be for lack of coaching! LJ gets to be the bat boy, and Erik says every day the boys ask, "Will LJ be here tomorrow?" They even chant his name when he comes. Livin' the life!! ...and he gets yet ANOTHER uniform!

So, that's us, in a nutshell! Hope you enjoyed the catch-up!!! I'll do better from now on, I promise! (Hey, even once every few weeks is technically "better", right?) :)

Cormier Family 2012 Pictures

Well, I got a call from my father-in-law the other day, pointing out that LJ has, indeed been 5 for about 3 months now. Pops, this post is for you!!! He asked me to post some of our family pictures from Christmas, so here are some great ones. He wanted to share these with his colleagues at work. When I pointed out that he could bring the entire CD I made for him and show them all, he said, "I don't know how to work those things, Jamie." I said, "Put it in the CD drive and when it pops up and asks you if you want to open them, click "open". His response:Can you just post them? LOL

So, here they are...I'm glad that we do this every year. The kids are growing, and it takes all of 15 minutes to track their growth. Aren't they cute?! We're a handsome group, if I do say so myself!

LJ is 5!!!

I know, I know, I skipped Halloween! It's coming, I promise! Photography stuff is busy for me lately, and I am editing our family photos in order of "ones I can't wait to play with", rather than "I took this one before that one, so I'll edit it first"... :) Sorry! Halloween is next, I promise! Until then, Here's the stats on my little Mr.:

Our little boy is growing up! I always saw "5" as a big age. The age from which he would go from a baby, toddler then a baby boy to a BIG BOY. And he is, I mean it! He knows what he wants and he's not afraid to go after it. He's passionate, hard-headed, loving, curious & rarely cautious. He will tackle you to the ground in football with all his might, though he'd never push you down just because. He eats almost everything, but there are some things he will NOT take one bite of. He's sure it's disgusting, just by looking. His heart is big, his energy tank may be bigger, and he's everything I ever imagined a 5 year old could be and more! One blessed momma.

White Sox Win! I had to share the pics from the big "Championship" game! How cute are these boys? It was SUCH a blast! I think we will always remember that night! (That's the line-up above)

"White Sox!"

Nana & Pops were in town so they got to witness the greatness ;)

Swinging as hard as he can :)

#1!!!

Funny Pic

We had a photo session with a local photographer today. I took pictures of her family, and she took some of ours! We burned CD's directly off the cameras and swapped. What a deal! There will be more to come, but I wanted to share some tonight! Hope you like 'em! :)

I am so sorry I've been absent from this sweet blog! I can't tell you what a fantastic month we've had!! LJ is really enjoying school, and it seems 4-5 year old tball has taken over our evenings! They play Tuesday and Thursday with occasional Monday night practice. So, add that with football games, and our weeks are full! LJ LOVES it, and Lance has taken up as an assistant coach, so I'm not sure who's having more fun ;)

I've been SUPER busy with photography, averaging 3-4 sessions most weeks. From babies, to families, even a session for a guy's upcoming CD...it's been awesome! I've also been doingCrossift - an awesome workout and started playing tennis. If I'm not editing photos, swinging a racket, finding a new fun dinner recipe to cook in my kitchen, (halelujah!), we're probably at the ball field. What a fantastic life!

Lance has a small tear in his elbow, nothing rest won't fix, so he's working out hard through cardio and the occasional pick-up basketball game. :) I think this is the most "free" off-season we've ever had, and we are taking full advantage! We're not sure what God has in store for us next year, so we are patiently waiting and enjoying our time at home until a decision must be made.

I hope you guys are having a wonderful fall! I'm really going to try and catch you up here more often! Life is good for the Cormier fam ;) I hope it's good where you are, too! Enjoy the jumble of tball pics below :)

Waiting for his turn to bat :)

high 5's after a big win!

The only time you'll see those pants white...as we head to the car to go to the game! ...and sometimes not even then :)