On this last day of 2013, I am linking up with Dwija at House Unseen for 2013 in 13 AND with Pam from Everyday Snapshots for 13 for 13. Here is a collection of my favorite photos from 2013, plus an extra photo as a bonus. 😉 Narrowing down the photos was a difficult choice since I snapped over 3,000 shots!! Well, I did my best to narrow it down. Enjoy! 🙂

This photo was shot with my iphone as dusk approached on a difficult January evening. I was at our local hospital where Brian was recovering from surgery to remove cancer from his body. It was so hard to kiss him goodnight and leave him alone in his hospital bed. Before driving back home to the kids,  I stopped in the lobby to compose myself. I did not want them to see me upset. I sat there and listened to the water fall and watched the evening sky darken and  give way to the moon and twinkling stars. It soothed my soul. No matter how dark it got that night, I knew the stars and the moon would still be there to give light and hope. The sun would shine once again… and in the same way, we’d get through this period and be happy once again. And we did. Blessed be God. 🙂

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It is sometimes easy to complain about the warm winter weather when you wish you could wear a coat and mittens instead of shorts and a t-shirt but then when people are talking about being depressed by the gloomy weather in February, I can enjoy this. 🙂

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When I first married Brian I told him that we needed to start having kids right away because our house was too darn quiet. (Remember, I was used to having 5 brothers and 3 sisters.) We may have had to carry a few crosses of secondary infertility and miscarriage but then God opened the floodgates of grace and boom, boom, boom these little guys have added all the noise and mayhem (and love) I could have imagined. What’s that saying…careful what you wish for? But I certainly wouldn’t have it any other way with their sweet smiles and hugs (unless you could also give me a little less screaming down the hallway and a little more picking up and putting away those darn Legos and Star Wars figures. 😉 )

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At the beginning of the year I started participating in Cari’s Theme Thursdays and it really started me to explore photography a bit more. I also got a new “big girl” camera and it does great work because I am such an amateur still  trying to learn the techniques of better photography. This was one of the first shots I was so pleased to capture. (This photo was taken at a different time  from the spider web /water droplet photo I posted yesterday. I think I like it even more.) 🙂  And as they say,  April showers…

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…brings May flowers. Taking flower shots are one of my favorite things to do. I especially love big, bright and bold colors. I can’t help but smile when I see them. 🙂

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There were a lot of photos I loved from our Lake Tahoe trip, but something about this black and white shot grabbed me. I particularly liked how the sun broke through the shadowy cover of the trees and created a path of light.

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This photo was for Theme Thursday: Knots for my knotted rosary. Brian and I received the statue of Our Lady for our wedding (oddly enough from a family friend who is not religious) but it was a perfect gift since Our Lady was instrumental in our meeting, dating and getting married. 🙂

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I snapped these bubble photos and I not only love the content but the memories behind it. It was the morning of my birthday and I was outside trying to get a perfect shot for Theme Thursday: Shadow. I did get a shot I loved (whichyou can see here), but I posted this one as my favorite instead because it is so playful and fun. It also caused the most laughs and cheers from everyone as it was being blown.  Brian and I had such fun playing with the kids out there and all it took was something as simple as soap and a wand and our time. I don’t remember the gifts I got that day but I remember this morning vividly. (Wait, I do remember my gift… the Macbook Air I am typing on now. Yeah, may just have been my best bday ever. 😉 )

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In was 12 years ago in September that Bella arrived into the world a month early, on the day of our baby shower to be exact,  and weighing in at a little less than 4 pounds. How did those years fly by so fast? Now she is my sweetie girl with a special place in my heart, not only as my daughter but as my comrade in this house of males. 😉

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I love, love, love autumn and although we don’t have the fiery autumn colors that the East Coast does, amidst the green you’ll find pockets of amazing colors such as these that I found in the forest at Jack’s Peak in Monterey.

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Technically there are things about this shot I wish I could fix – the harsh sun, random people in the background (I don’t have time to photoshop), JP looking away – but I LOVE the memories behind the shot. We met up with my parents and many of my siblings and spend a few days before Thanksgiving at Disneyland. It is an annual tradition and I look forward to it all year long. This year was especially sweet since January had such a rocky start.

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Also taken at Disneyland, I loved the sweet country Christmas feel to start my favorite time of the year. 🙂

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For my bonus shot #13, I give you this photo from one of our family walks.

I simply adore this. Thinking about Brian sick in the hospital and now seeing him strong and healthy I can’t help but shed tears of gratitude as I type. This photo shows Brian at his essence, a loving husband and father that cares, protects, leads and guides the ones he loves AND he doesn’t complain (too much) that I keep taking shots of him and everything else  because he knows taking photos makes me happy. 😉

Well, I hope you enjoyed the photos! Thanks to Dwija and Pam for hosting!

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