Welcome to my blog!
For those who are first time visitors, I live in Japan. I love documenting my family and the wonderful people of Japan through pictures.
Please follow me on twitter and @reply me so that I know who you are :) Peace!
Let’s enter the new year with the mindset presented in this quote by artist, Albert J. Sullivan. I have more to share about this idea of creativity and failure but let me say in this brief post that I hope we will overcome our dread of failure in 2011. Let us give ourselves grace and not mind that our path is potentially littered with failure. Let us have this mindset in 2011: failure produces an exponential amount of growth. Now…go out there and fail!
After our St. Louis trip, we went further into Missouri territory and visited my college friend, Candi, and her family. It was a full house with our kids and six of her own! And her kids are beautiful as you will soon see below. Anne and I were certainly enthralled as Candi and her husband, Lynn, shared their story of raising six children. They also shared the process of how God brought them to Missouri (they’re originally from Illinois). And did I mention they make scrumptious home-made pizza?!? It was out of this world!
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them! Without further ado, the awesome Evans family!!!
Oh, and don’t forget to watch the family slideshow at the end. The slideshow looks best when you click the “unstretch” button. 
I just want to take her home. She's so darn cute!
This boy is all about playing hard. But he was able to let me take shots like this and...
THIS! Silly boy!
It's hard to choose one but I think this might be my favorite!
Ha ha ha! "C'mon, Mom and Dad! No PDA!!"
A beautiful couple! They really have six kids?!? Really?!?
Love this one as well!
Thank you, Evans family, for having us! Now, how can we get you to visit us in Japan?
During our Midwest tour, we went to St. Louis to take in a baseball game and to explore the city parks and attractions. I have many more images of our time in St. Louis which I will post on a later date. For now, enjoy the following pictures:
I'm a die-hard Cubs fan but I love the Gateway Arch! Anne's college buddy, Karey, and her daughter, joined us in touring the Arch and lunch afterwards.
Karey's daughter is a sweet, little angel!
During our wacky family road trip this past summer, one of our first stops was South Carolina. This is where our good friends, Toby and Joey, live. Anne and Toby are childhood buddies. Joey, a former seal clubber (inside joke!), is the pastor of a historical South Carolina church. It was great to catch up with them and meet their children. We managed to sneak in a family photo session during our short stay with them. Toby and Joey, we love you guys and we hope to see you again real soon!
We stayed with the Laughmiller family during our visit to Hampton Roads, Virginia this past summer. It was a complete pleasure staying with them and their 3 kids. Our girls had such a great time. Our littlest, Emmy, felt like she picked up a big brother in Luke. Luke was always looking after her.
It was a big blessing watching their family interaction. Anne and I picked up lots of helpful parenting tips during our stay with them.
We went to the beach where the grandparents joined us for some fun family photos.
What a great looking family!
It was fun meeting Lance's parents.
Lance's dad is a big Hokies fan. But I had to point out that they were upset the week before by James Madison University
Andrea and her mother taking in the ocean scene.
Image of 3 "shady" characters!
Aren't they just adorable!
My girls with the Laughmiller kids.
They had such a great time playing together!
Don't mess with the Laughmiller men!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
Thank you, Laughmiller family! Can't wait to see you again!
