Live Farm Animals Do Not Understand Portrait Sessions

Molly is my favorite of our three goats. I technically own two of the three, one that I bartered for for my birthday, and Molly, who was an early Christmas gift from Jim. Since Molly is nice and portable, and (as far as goats are concerned) is cuddly, I wanted my picture taken with her wearing a nice red bow for Christmas Eve. And we got two really good shots. So cute.

But in the meantime, we got these shots:

Tiny goats can be very loud when they want to be. And crying goats look really weird.

"Oh hi, Mom. Got any more animal crackers?"

"I think we're both done here. Have James hold me."

"Oh hi, James. Got any more animal crackers?"

"Is that... Is that mustache wax?"

"Okay, fine, I think I have about 5 more seconds of 'cute' left in me. Get a move on before I start squirming again."

"Hmmmmmmm.........."

"I can manage a sweet face for Dad, since he usually slips me animal crackers when Mom's not around."
"But now I'm done. Take me home."

Holiday Portrait Outtakes

It had been a couple of years since we took a photo of all three of us at Christmastime, and we decided to do that on Christmas Eve, when we would be taking photos of me with my Christmas goat anyway. It was a fairly nice day that warmed up to -2 degrees by the time we trooped out to the front yard, sans coats and hats, for our photo.

D'aaaaaawwww. How cute are we?!?!

But then... I got this great and dastardly idea. When the blinky light on the camera stops blinking, that means the photo is about to be taken. So I waited until the light stopped blinking and pushed my unsuspecting husband into the snowbank. I almost made it back into "innocent" position before the shutter released.

Then JAMES got a dastardly idea of his own. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You pushed my father. Prepare to freeze." Okay, that's probably not how it worked out in his mind, but I got a snowball to the back of my neck.

This is something that cannot go unpunished, so I tried to push James into the snowbank, too, but alas, he was prepared for it.

Best. Holiday. Portrait. Session. EVER.

Merry Christmas to all...

For most of our friends and family, it's Christmas day already, but for us here in Alaska, we have a couple more hours to go yet on Christmas Eve. It's been a lovely day, and has been a lovely year as well.

So much has happened, and I apologize that I'm very, very far behind on the blog. But for now, let me sum up:

* James is a senior at Grove City College and he will graduate in May with a degree in Economics. We are extremely proud of him, and he deserves nothing less.

* Jim has built a two-storey garage. He had some help but he did the bulk of the work alone. The bottom floor is for the cars and woodworking tools, and the top floor is the future home of Smiling Otter Studio. He's also built a barn and yard for the goats.

* We have goats. There are three of them; a registered Alpine, a registered Nigerian dwarf, and a kiko/boer cross who, despite her mottled heritage, is most definitely the herd queen.

* As for me, I've kept busy sewing, taught a few classes, and have enjoyed many of the new changes in our lives. Which, given that I'm the most change-averse person on the planet, is saying a lot.

* We even managed to take a holiday portrait this year! Yes, we did! Here we are, out in the front yard in negative-degree temperatures without coats, hats or longies, having a good old time indeed.

And this is Molly the dwarf Nigerian goat, my (quite) early Christmas present that I've had since November. I wanted Jim to wrap her anyway. ;^)

To all of you from each of us, we wish you a sincerely merry Christmas and a splendid New Year. We wish you a personal relationship with our Savior Jesus, whether it be new or renewed. Go forth and conquer your dreams, hold fast the ones who are dear to you, and find the joy in even the small things - perhaps especially the small things.

Love,

Deanna, Jim and James