oh how i miss u....

as the christmas festivities have quickly came to a screeching halt....and as the huge task of redecorating my home to it's boring self before,...... comes drawing near....i can't help but think what my grandma did in heaven on christmas...this was her second christmas in paradise along with many others of my family members...... makes me wonder what christmas is like in heaven.......is it christmas everyday? did she have all of her family that have gone before close to her? did she get to sit at the feet of jesus?..........here on earth....oh how she loved christmas.....any holiday really...any holiday that would have any reason for her to have her family near.......i remember as a little girl peeking up over the dessert buffet table and seeing every kind of pie imaginable....i promise she made everyone's favorite.....and the food....oh i can still smell it now...things sure have been different without her here anymore....do you ever wish you could rewind things?.........just even for a day?..........go back to when things were simpler.....when everyone you loved was healthy and here with you?........when everyone you loved could be around you to spend the day doing whatever it was that made you happy for the moment.......i sure do....i would rewind it back to when i was 6 or 7 years old....it was christmas at grandpa and grandma urban's ranch....snow covering the prairie....kids running around everywhere...grandma cooking in the kitchen with all the aunts by doing whatever they could to help...uncles sipping coffee and grandpa chasing us kids around....simpler days...no worry of stuff or presents...no worry about who does what better and who got the best deal on whatever new thing it was that year....just family....having everyone there...healthy, happy and alive....that would be my day....what would be yours?...........here's wishing eveyone had a wonderful christmas....and praying for health and happiness for the new year........grandma...we all miss u terribly but we know you are in perfect peace and we know we will see you again some day...i hope you and grandpa, and cole and ardell had a great christmas in heaven...we love you!

julia jane: My last 2 Months

julia jane: My last 2 Months

My last 2 Months

well it has become apparent that my blogging is going to become a rare occasion these days...alot has been happening in these last 2 months...alot of laughs and alot of tears...these are a few of the many things....now it has been awhile since my last blog so my picture timeline is actually backwards...what is first should be last and last should be first but oh well....lol...to tired to change it....celebrating my man's 32 birthday...was fun...total man night...poker ...wings...chips...salsa...hot hot hot baby...good friends...good times!
back in september we did our family photo shoot thanks to my dear friend from sharla stenersen photography...this is one of my many favorites....aren't those kids cute? i think i will keep them...
oh man...the death of callie's beloved kitten lion...such a sad day...my heart broke as she went into the garage after church on a gorgeous sunday afternoon to find one of the kittens lying lifeless in the cage...so many tears that day...this is our family funeral...RIP lion...
my second born's 9th birthday....this was taken in early september...i finding out that everything 'they' (whoever they is) say about second born children seems to be true...she has filled my days with many sleepless nights, with me wanting to pull my hair out, challenging my every decision...but mostly she has filled my days...with so much laughter, thousands of jokes...unconditional love....so many countless smiles...and so much joy...i love my little callie jane....
and this day was a total blast! i was a little nervous about it a first, letting my babies that i would love sometimes to put in a bubble to climb on these machines and go buzzing around our property. one of the last weekends of summer our good friend john came over with his girls and the 4 wheelin machines...proved to be one of the funnest summer days we had as a family...and thank the good lord above....no one got hurt!

so this is a brief timeline (in reverse order) of my last 2 months...trying to live each moment to the fullest...hopefully i will find myself back in the blogging world a little more frequently over the holidays......

from our house to yours....wishing you a very merry christmas! :)

Mr. and Mrs. Urban

wow! it has been forever since my last blog update...

alot has changed since summer time...been working alot at my kids' school...been completed exhausted most days...and trying to keep up on this house is a job of it's own...

i wanted to share some of the pictures that i did for my brother jeremy's wedding back in july... it was my first wedding i have done...it was really fun! it was also very stressfull!! lol

these pictures capture so much i think, about two people committing to spend forever together...these are some of my favorites...
i have never seen my brother so happy in his life...i truly think he found the person god created for him...
Rebecca is gorgeous...i mean she is one of the truly beautiful people...she is from london originally and her accent is just way cool...
and this is their family together... 4 beautiful children loved by 2 wonderful parents...may god bless your marriage and family now and always!

Reid is 1

on sunday we got to celebrate the birthday of this little man....mr. reid! he is one special little guy to me...he is the son of one of my very best friends. all of her children seem to be more of neices and nephews to me than just my friend's kids. celebrating a babies birthday, especially their first is very exciting...you plan every last detail to the tee....the cake, the theme, the decorations, the food, the guest list.....and the funny thing is the little birthday boy is oblivious to it all...lol

oh how can you resist that cute little smile, and that chubby little belly.....
he enjoyed every last little bit of that baseball cake...frosting and all......
he was one very happy birthday boy on a massive sugar rush!
now after all of the festivities it is off to the bath to scrub off all of the remaining crumbs from every nook and cranny in this chubby little fellow....
all clean again little man!! it's hard to believe how fast your children grow...one day their born, then in a blink of an eye they are 1...and then in a flash they are all grown up! we sure do love you little man, remember god has a special plan for your life and we all can't wait to see all grown up into the man god created you to be...you have 2 great parents and lots of friends to guide you thru this life. always keep your eyes on god......happy birthday little man....let the birthday celebrations begin!! now we have 6 other little baby boy's birthdays to celebrate in the weeks to come....i better get a part time job to pay for presents....lol

a day to celebrate...

it's so hard to believe that a little over 10 yrs. ago i had my first little baby girl!! at the age of 19 it was quite the experience in every way! we have had a very busy time trying to make the most of our summer and so for ashton's bday we took her camping in the tri cities.

once we arrived we told ashton she can pick any place to have her birthday dinner to my luck she chose her favorite and mine.....pf chang's...yum! my mouth waters just thinking about it!!
these pictures make me laugh every time.....ha ha...my husband might ring my neck for posting these but i just can't help it...they are so fun!!!
i love it when a family doesn't always have to be so prim and proper but can let loose and be silly...and enjoy life...this day was special....this day 10 yrs. ago was even more special.....it was the day i got my little ashton from god! one of the best days really....he has a purpose for her life that even i don't know but am so privileged to be her earthly mother....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!! your the best gift any mother could ask for.....

Hidden Beauty

so my husband and i decided that we are gonna take our little family on lots of little adventures this summer....all of which are in our own back yard. we live in such a beautiful part of the country and there are so many hidden treasures to find......

so our first little adventure was to multnomah falls...we were gonna enjoy the scenery...enjoy each other....and hike all the way to the top....
well we did just that...although i would have to say...hiking to the top was much easier when i was 16 instead of 30. i realized i am in terrible shape...but i didn't give up and we made it to the top!
i have to say it was all worth it...we had a blast...it was gorgeous!......and the kids loved every minute of it!
i am always just blown away by how incredible of an artist god really is...almost takes your breathe away!
it was a long exhausting day but worth every minute! can't wait for our next adventure!!! i'm a very blessed woman!

what's most important

do u ever have those people that walk into your life and you just know that they are always gonna be there? it doesn't matter what u have in life, if you don't have those people that love you and support you nothing else really matters...

next to having a personal relationship with jesus christ...the only thing else that really matters is the people in your life that really makes your life worth living...
people like our best friends....and people like my daddy...
and people that sacrifice everything of themselves to help you become a better person...
people that even when they are gone, they leave an imprint on our soul....these are just a few of the many people who have helped shape me into who i am today...don't take for granted the people god puts into your life...cause some day they will be gone...it's been almost 1 yr since my uncle and my grandma have left this earth...there is not a day that goes by that i don't remember them.....my heart hurts so bad sometimes that i can barely breathe....but i know that one day soon...i'm gonna see them again....and on that day when i get to heaven...i can't wait to hug them again!!! cherish the people in your life...you never know what tomorrow will bring!!!

my little model

here are a few of the shots i did.....

so today i decided i needed to get some photos of callie done for her modeling/acting manager to put in her portfolio...i noticed some sunshine outside...(something we haven't seen in awhile) so we quickly sprang into action. ashton (my oldest daughter) and i quickly pieced together an outfit that we thought would look cute on callie.....a little make up...a little hairspray....badabing...my little 8 year old baby girl...kinda looked like she was 11 or 12. 

i don't know what i'm gonna do when my girls are teenagers, the very thought scares me to death...they are just gonna be drop dead gorgeous...i'm sorry...it's just the truth! lol...anyways we had alot of fun doing these shots and i think callie was very impressed with her mothers photography skills. all my kids want photo shoots now...something fun to do for their bithdays i guess....
i love how these capture her personality....this girl is something else i tell you...she keeps me on my toes!
i loved seeing her dad's look in his eyes...a look of my daughter is so beautiful, and i'm so proud of her....and a bit of 'oh crap'...just wait till the boys start showing up on our door step....hahaha...gonna be interesting!

A gift...

Little Griffin Wade Urban is finally here! what a little miracle he is in every way! He is the new adopted son of my cousin Wade Urban and his awesome wife Stacie. Witnessing all the struggle these two have been through trying to fulfill that dream and desire of becoming parents has been such a rollercoaster. 
I got to see this precious little bundle after about an hour of him being born...and i have to tell you the excitement was high! it doesn't matter how many times i've seen or been around a new born there is just something heavenly about newborns! little angels sent down from above....
I have a very deep respect for this birth mom...a hero in my eyes....any person that has been through so much herself...choosing life, yet knowing she can't give this baby the future he deserves....giving her baby to wade and stacie...there are just simply no words! she will forever remain in my prayers...she has given the most priceless of all gifts...LIFE!
Adoption...a miraculous gift that i some day hope and pray i can be apart of. it's so funny how you can instantly bond with a little person, not being blood related, but you just instantly know that is my son...i think that is exactly how wade and stacie feel...little griffin is their son...what a gift from god!!! 

Griffin Wade Urban

8 lbs      19 1/2inches

born april 29, 2009

i simply just love this man! enough said!

my karate kids

today was one of those days where i was running around like a chicken with my head cut off....taking the girls to school, then back home.....then taking chance to school, and then going back home. it was karate day today so had to get everything ready to bring for one of their last days of karate. their official last day is monday. it's so hard this time of year....seems like every membership runs out and needs to be renewed and we were just coming out of the worst winter as far as work is concerned. thank the lord our company is still in business....lol...so far anyways. the kids were in great moods so thats always nice. callie was especially excited over her book that she borrowed from school...." mom, check out the book i borrowed today....it's (whatever title it was...don't remember)" and then i hear a dduuunduuuunduuunnnnn! haha...man sometimes i wonder where that kid came from, she does make life interesting tho...

i love to watch the kids doing sports that they love...or doing anything that they love to do. i just love seeing their personalities developing! i think i'm pretty blessed!

callie loves any book that has something to do with animals

a beautiful day

wow! what a gorgeous day! i'm sitting here in my new office my husband set up for me looking out the window to sunshine and listening to the frogs singing at the top of their little lungs. (Do frogs have lungs?) i just got my girls off to school and got back to my house to start the daily house work...fun fun. i was thinking on my 30 minute drive back home about all my blessings in my life that i often look at as work, or sometimes even a burden. i felt so convicted but i then felt like god was telling me that "today is a new day, a new beginning. this is the day i care about julie, live it for me." it was all i could do but thank him for his amazing love for me. so today i am gonna try live the most out of this day, even if that involves laundry. i can't explain what sunshine does for my soul but i just feel alive inside. i called my husband on the way to school today to tell him a funny story about something ashton said today. i was hurrying them out the door today in a rush as usual, and as we were backing out of the garage i asked the kids, "why do you guys have to go to school so far away anyways?" there was a bit of a pause and i heard ashton pipe up from the back" mom, it isn't our fault you and dad stuck our house in the forest" oh my word, i could of died laughing. toby didn't think it was as funny as i did, guess you just had to be there, but i love seeing my kid's personalities developing...so cool! well i have a mountain of laundry calling my name and an extremely large house needing to be cleaned, better get to it. live your best today and keep the lord right in the middle of it!

up way past my bed time

So this is my first official blog. i'm sitting here on my computer at almost midnight, trying to dive into this whole strange world of blogs, and postings, and page set ups. YIKES....hopefully i will figure his out as i go. gives me something to do while my husband is out of town for work. this is a whole new age for relationships, everything is typed out and left out for the world to see and to leave comments....kind of a scary thought in away but maybe a little more real in other ways. well here's to the first ever stenersen family blog....off to bed for now. gonna try to figure this out as i go! goodnite.