Shannon Montez Photography Blog » San Jose's Family and Child Photographer, Shannon Montez, captures all aspects of family life: Families, newborns, children, babies, high school seniors, and weddings.

Thanks for your prayers.

Teddy is doing well. The surgery went as well as can possibly be expected. They were able to remove the entire tumor, and the doctor is confident that it’s benign (lab tests will confirm, but it takes a couple weeks). He was able to come home on Sunday after only a few days in the hospital. He had a rough couple of days because the anitbiotic they gave him made him sick and loopy, but once they figured that out, he did great. He’s sore, but so happy to be home. His parents are relieved and happy to have that experience behind them!

(a word about the image: it’s not mine. I found it online months ago, and didn’t save the location. I’m sorry! But I really love how it feels… reverent)

A couple weeks ago, our local firefighters came to the neighborhood to wish Teddy good luck with his upcoming surgery.

The brought him a hat, a toy firetruck, and a t-shirt. We were all delighted with their generosity, but didn’t expect more. But these guys went way above and beyond a simple little visit.

They took him for a ride in the truck. They brought three trucks! If I was paying better attention, I could tell you which ones… a ladder, an engine, and a small one, not sure what it was called.

They even let him drive it.

Just kidding. That would be stupid.

But they did let him raise the ladder.

Sophie and Franklin went up while he raised the ladder too… they felt like rockstars.

They showed all the kids how everything works, all the gauges and gears and tools…

Each neighborhood kid was delighted to get a chance to spray the hose. Our lawn got a nice watering.

They let everyone try on the gear.

I love this shot of Teddy and his Dad.

And these shots of my own cuties.

Notice the missing teeth. *love*

Here are a couple shots of the cool guys that not only protect our homes and serve our community, but uplift and bring joy. I have so much respect for them.

At this point one of them jokingly asked if I could photoshop double-chins, etc. And I jokingly replied that I’d have to charge extra. To which he replied: “what’s your address?”

Getting his point, I offered to do all photoshopping free of charge. Thanks, guys, for having my house’s back! And for that, I have your double-chin’s back. (Did that even make sense?)

Thanks so much for everything, guys!

p.s. if you want to see more, I put a slideshow together of our fun afternoon.

Dave hates the tree in front of our house because of all the “poinky balls”  it drops on the ground. I guess I can see his point, it messes up the lawn and sends sharp little bombs into his ankles when he mows the lawn. But given that I don’t mow the lawn and it’s the only tree left in our yard since the day Dave bought a chainsaw, I love it.

I think it’s beautiful.

Even the poinky balls.

Given to me by a friend, enjoyed for much longer than I thought I would (they weren’t fresh to begin with), now enjoyed some more and shared with you to enjoy. Enjoy!

Trying to finish up a lot of things so that I can spend the next two days gathering all the stuff in my brain and putting it into lists. Diving in. Wish me luck!

(image via here)

For some reason, growing up, I never thought of myself as an organized person. But I’ve recently come to a realization… I’m actually a very organized person, I’ve just spent too much of my life being frustrated about it instead of getting it right! Though it hasn’t always been that way, over the last few years, I’ve gotten to a point where my “stuff” is pretty organized and tidy. Sure, with four kids, it doesn’t take too long for my organization to fall apart here and there and need to be revamped, but nothing makes me happier than a system running well, looking nice, knowing what I have and what I need and what to expect.

I guess my big hurdle has been my brain. I struggle with feeling scatterbrained, and it has been getting worse and worse. I do make lists, almost daily. And I can tell that the time spent making a list calms and helps me. Still, I struggle being fully “present”. That has been my number one goal this year… Be More Present. I tend to get overwhelmed, and then I check out and hide in various ways. And being checked-out is no way to live a good life.

During my “research” this week (that’s what I like to call some of my random internet time), I saw someone mention the book Getting Things Done. I ordered it immediately and read it in a matter of days. I really think this is going to help me. I think it will be the key to reaching my goal of being more present. I can’t wait to get all of the stuff out of my brain and into lists like this book recommends. I can already see why my current system (keeping everything in my head) has been the cause of my feeling disorganized and scatterbrained and needing to check out. Without even having it implemented yet, I can already feel the relief… just finding the yellow brick road and knowing which way to go has me giddy with excitement.

How about you? Any good advice for me as I get going? Do you have favorite stores or websites or systems for organization? Favorite apps? I’ll let you know how it goes.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35490021

Totally worth the $7.99 I think I paid. We had way too much fun clowning around. I seriously have the best kids in the world.

Franklin’s moustache was the best. It matched his hair, his eyebrows, his back hair. (Hey… it comes with the name Franklin)

Sophie’s was pretty good too, but less convincing.

Matthew, trying to act like a Luigi…

Shelby, trying to make mustaches on preteens look fashionable…

Then things got crazy… Franklin’s mustache turned upside down…

Matthew sprouted a unibrow…

Someone wrestled the camera from me and caught me pondering how to do another mustache session, this time more planned, with oreos wiped off lips and hair combed.

Maybe………

Just saw Wicked. Lots of fun.  Sometimes it’s cool to have Christmas, birthday, and anniversary all within two weeks.

Last summer there was a tent set up at our friendly neighborhood McDonalds. Free Pony Pictures, it said.

Sophia took one look at the pony and freaked out. She was not going to live the rest of her life without spending a little time with that pony. Unfortunately(I thought, with a sigh of relief) we had swim lessons, and the pony would be gone by the time we came back. Because I knew she wouldn’t stop asking if I didn’t prove they were gone, we drove past the McDonalds on the way home. Somehow, the pony was pulling a late shift and was still there. We ran home and changed into dry clothes and headed back for the pony pics. It was worth the trouble. These images make me smile. Something I would normally not do… but these images tickle me.

They had so much fun. The tiny guitar. The painted background. The poor little overworked pony. The were giddy that they got to touch a real pony. We bought the digital files so we could have them forever (and post them on the blog). Which means, we did not have free pony pics after all.

(image from here)

It’s been a really productive week for me! It feels good to get some stuff done.

(p.s. I’ve added a bunch of pretty things to my lovely notebook. It is a happy place for me.)

From my home to yours.

By the way, I do count New Year’s Day as one of the “holidays” so it’s only 6 days late.

The image was taken by my FABULOUS friend, Alison Beachem of Photography By Alison in San Diego.