The Valenzuela Family

Early Christmas Gift!

I have been so busy this season with a ton of photos!  It has been fun and is not over yet!  In order to help with editing and sharing photos at weddings Lonnie surprised me a couple of weeks ago (I know I am bad) with a new..................MacBook!!  I have not stopped using it!  It is wonderful.  Last night I had a reception from a wedding that was on Wednesday.  It was awesome to have a slideshow of the wedding photos running at the reception.  Everyone enjoyed it and hey a little self-promotion is never a bad thing.  Anyhow thank you Lonnie!!!  He seriously is the BEST gift giver ever!

                                                             One of the cute pictures from the wedding!

Also, kinda a side note, I also got my new software last week.......Photoshop CS4!  This program is brand spankin' new and fabulous!  

It's a 30 1st Birthday Party!

This post is a little delayed!  This is one of my favorite pictures from Gage's 1st Birthday Party and Lonnie's 30th Birthday Party!  So fun!  

Beautiful Day!

Goal #15 Done!

15) Get new birth certificates for all four children.

This particular goal was one that was really important to us. I guess just knowing that we now have official documentation stating that Lonnie is the father and Rae Lynn is the mother to our wonderful children is awesome! It is amazing how powerful one single piece of paper really can be! Now...off to get new social security numbers and cards issued for the children! What fun!

Happy Birthday Gage!

I cannot believe that our little guy is officially one year old today!  That also means that one year ago Lonnie & I were getting ready to go somewhere and we received a call stating that the birthmother had had her baby and it was a little boy.  Also we were asked if we would be interested in taking him.  This was quite shocking because we thought that the baby was due in October and was to be a girl.  Anyhow...Lonnie and I talked about it and prayed about it and we obviously decided and felt that he was to be ours.  I will never forget what Lonnie said..."well if we get him I at least get to name him".  So daddy got to name one of the four children!  Just kidding...we talked about each one of their names, but Gage was Lonnie's idea.  

Now one amazingly fast year has gone by and we could not have been blessed with a better child. Gage is so well mannered.  He is the PERFECT baby!  I love his little smile!  He is always so happy.  I love the special bond that Gage & Mason already have.  I am so grateful for Gage and his sweet spirit.  I love the fact that he is such a mama's boy!  So fun!

Happy Birthday Little One! 

Quick Preview

So a lot of you have been wanting to see some pictures from Lonnie's photo shoot.  I have a TON of photos to edit, and a fun new program to learn.  Anyhow, here are just a few of the handsome man.

Oops...how did that cutie get in there?

Keep looking down...there is a post of another great family!

The McGee Family!

I had such a fun time photographing this beautiful family!  I absolutely LOVE this picture.  A little "old school".

It is always fun shooting at this location.  You just hope that you can get a few good pictures before someone comes and kicks you off of the course!  Luckily we were good!

Happy Birthday Lonnie!

Well, it's official. Lonnie is no longer in his twenties! Yes, that's right the dreaded thirties is upon him! I can't believe it. He was so young when we met. As I've told him several times throughout the years...it's time to move on! J/K I absolutely love this man. I am so grateful for him and for all that he does and sacrifices for our family. Here are some things that I love about the LONNIE DURHAM!

I love...
...the fact that Lonnie holds and honors the Priesthood and is always so willing to bless the lives of others with such a powerful gift!
...that Lonnie just had to wait until I was "legal" (18) before he would date me!
...that Lonnie was able to attend my High School Graduation. (Honestly, how many of you can say that about your spouse?)
...how much love and respect that Lonnie has for the people of Brazil.
...the perfectionist in him...most of the time!
...that Lonnie can and does talk to my girlfriends longer than I do!
...how worried Lonnie is about others.
...how genuine Lonnie is.
...his beautiful green eyes.
...how much he loves me!
...how much trust he has in the Lord.
...how much he loves the outdoors and truly desires to share this love with his children.
...that Lonnie was born in the 70's. It makes him sound so old!
...how Lonnie always tries to please me.
...his beautiful white smile.
...it when he helps around the house. He is so good and such a tremendous helper!
...how handy he is. Seriously...he could make anything and make it look good!
...how he trusts me to decorate our home.
...that he's completely happy with just hanging out together!
...that he lets me lay on his tummy.
...the fact that he is now officially a daddy!
...that I get to be his companion for all eternity!
...that he proposed to me at the San Diego Temple!
...that he can remember the date he proposed.
...that he cared to be involved in the decisions in our wedding.
...that he opened up his heart to so many beautiful children in foster care.
...that he is a superb example to our children.
...that he has always supported me in whatever it is that I may do.
...how he always tries to beat me in burping contests.
...that he let me take him out for a photo shoot.
...his passion for helping and serving others.

I hope that you had a great birthday babe! I love you so much and I am so grateful for you! I hope that your thirties are all you've hoped they would be!

Meet Josiah

Isn't he so adorable?!

Camie's Baby Shower!

This evening I had the pleasure of attending Camie's Baby Shower! I still can't believe that she is having a baby. This little guy is such a tremendous blessing to his family! Camie has been such an amazing friend to so many and I am so grateful for her and her friendship! Congratulations again Camie and Ben. I cannot wait to meet Little Mr. Grant!

Gage's New Favorite Toy!

Gage is so funny! Lately he has been playing in the drawer underneath the stove. He gets so mad when you take him out. Boys!!

#46, #73, and #84 are DONE!

Yeah!!! I have completed a few more things on my 101 in 1001 list!

#46: Participate in a bridal expo. First of all I really need to thank Lonnie's parents for helping out and watching the kiddos for us! Also, thanks Lonnie for all of your help and support. On Tuesday, November 11th I participated in The Great Bridal Expo! It was so much fun and there was a GrEaT turnout...probably around 1,000 people! I met a ton of fun brides and grooms to be! I felt that the night went very well and I look forward to working with some of the couples!

#73: Get a 72 hour kit for every member of our family. Thanks to Sister Walker and our wonderful ward this goal has been accomplished!

#84: Send Kristen an awesome Christmas package. The package wasn't what I originally had hoped to do. I wanted to do the 12 days of Christmas for her. She would have gotten 12 different gifts, one to open each day. It's sad to say but I couldn't find her what I really wanted. So...I settled for some of her favorites...orange rings, journal, candy canes, peanuts brittle, etc. I hope she likes it!

Memories...

of High School!

1. Did you date someone from your school? Yep.
2. What kind of car did you drive? A Toyota Corolla that I must say I purchased all by myself...because I would not be caught dead in my parents minivan - bet you can't guess what I now own! :(
3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Yep!
4. Were you a party animal? No. I was too busy with sports and church stuff.
5. Were you considered a flirt? No...I was not a cheerleader.
6. Did you play in band, orchestra, or choir? Nope!
7. Were you a nerd? I sure hope so!
8. Were you on any varsity teams? Yep...volleyball for 2 years and softball for 4 years.
9. Can you still sing the fight song? Yep...I know every word!
10. Who were your favorite teachers? The ones that let me sleep during class.
11. Where did you eat lunch? Off campus...anywhere.
12. What is your schools full name? Peoria High School
13. School mascot and colors? Panthers...Green & Gold!
14. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? Yes...with Jarett.
15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No way! The only things that I miss about High School are sports and the socialization.
16. What do you remember about your graduation? How sad it was knowing that I would never see and/or speak with the majority of these people again.
17. Where did you go senior skip day? What's interesting about this one is I ditched every year...except my Senior year. I had an economics teacher that guaranteed we would fail his class if we ditched that day. I did make it up a little later though! We always went to the lake.
18. Were you in any clubs? Nope.
19. Have you gained some weight since then? Yep.
20. Who was your prom date? Jarett.
21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably not. We'll see.
22. Did you have a job while in high school? Yep...I worked for Dr. Hatch in his chiropractic office. The good old days! I also did a ton of babysitting!
23. Do you keep in contact with anyone? Yep! I still keep in contact with several people. One person whom I swore I would never lose contact with was Mr. Anthony Hull. He has always been so genuine and just awesome. We talk about every 6 months or so. He will be down for Thanksgiving and we are getting together for dinner. I can't wait!! Also, having been born and raised here in good old Arizona, more specifically "P-Town", I am very fortunate to still be around most of my good friends from High School.

Yeah!!

Thank goodness prop 102 passed! Also, I was pleased to see that the electoral votes for Arizona went to the Republican Candidate. Thanks everyone for voting! Seriously, no matter which way you voted I think that it is awesome that we all have an opportunity to voice our opinions and feel like we had the opportunity to put in our two cents.