Christmas Day - We had Drew, John and Nana in town for Christmas, and of course the girls were here.  We got some great pictures, including one of all six that should have been our Christmas card!

Mom's birthday surprise.  Mom couldn't do much for Christmas this year, since she had chemo on the 24th.  But all three of her children and grandson Chris flew in to celebrate her birthday on the 22nd.  She was totally surprised.  See the first picture of all three Packard children taken in six years!

Stained glass pictures - while shooting the Christmas Carols concert at church on a sunny late afternoon, I took pictures of the light from the stained glass windows playing on the white pillars in the church.  I thought it looked cool.

Christmas Concert - Pictures from Jackie and Liz' participation in our church's Christmas Carols concert on December 7.  The girls had to dress up and they looked great.

Tea party - Liz, Jackie and their friend Sophie had a "tea party" in our dining room using demitasse cups from Miel's  collection.  They were very careful to extend their pinkies!

Jackie's first basketball game.  Jackie is playing on a team at Mt. Bethel.  She played her first-ever basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 6, and she scored two baskets!  I will be shooting her games as the season progresses.

Thanksgiving pictures - We spent Thanksgiving in Charlottesville at Frank's Mom's home. Brother Steve was there  with his family, too. We have pictures of everyone hanging out together, enjoying Nana's amazing Thanksgiving feast, and celebrating Amy's birthday on Friday.

Jekyll Island is finally here!  Jackie went off at 5:15 this morning Dec. 3 (ugh) on a 3-day field trip with her class.  The scene was buzzing with excited 5th-graders and their tired parents. We hope they have fun, learn a lot, and stay safe. 

Hanging of the Greens - Mt. Bethel held a special service on Sunday, November 30, to celebrate the start of the Advent season and help decorate the church.  Here are a few pictures of the girls and our friends at the service.  All my pictures for the church are here, and here's the video they made of them.

Video of the week - check out our video Christmas card, care of elfyourself.com.  There wasw only room for 5 characters, so Blizzard has to represent herself and Gopher.  Don't skip this one.

New feature!  We now have video versons of some of our photo albums, with music included.  Look on the left for the latest, and see more in each SmugMug album.

Personal ponies - The girls joined their brothers on a visit to a horse farm in nearby Canton last Saturday, November  8.  The ponies are too small to ride, but they were great fun to brush, walk, feed, and generally enjoy.  The clear crisp day and the beautiful Fall foliage just added to the charm.  Pictures here, video here.

Oktoberfest - Liz, Jackie, and Jackie's classmate Katherine went to the Fall Festival at Jackie's school on Octiber 11.  They enjoyed rides, and food, and live music.  The highlight of the day was when Jackie's class took a turn in the dunking tank.  Check out the video, too.

I have done quite a few photo shoots for Mt. Bethel this Fall.  The Habitat for Humanity road race on October 4, the iPraise Halloween event (Jackie was at that one), and the Trunk or Treat party on Haloween night.  I also took some pictures for the church on the opening day of Fall Sports.

Our family participated in Mt. Bethel's Great Day of Service on October 25.  We spent the morning cleaning up the  yard of an older church member, and visiting with the couple. 

Soccer season!  Here are some pictures of the Fall soccer season.  The girls both played great, and their team, the Infernos, won more than they lost this season!  Jackie even had several assists, and Liz turned out to be an eager Keeper.  Here is a short video with highlights from the season.  On opening day for Fall sports, I also took some pictures for the church. 

Weekend visitors.  Jesus came over Friday night, and then we had longtime friend Alexis over on Saturday.  Here are a few shots from the weekend of August 22.

Pool Party!  The Cornerstone community held a fun pool party on August 17, and I got some great pictures of Liz,  Jackie and their brothers. 

 First day of school - Pictures of all four kids as they headed off for the first day of school on August 11.

Now we are Six - We welcomed the girls' twin brothers, Alberto and Miguel (age 7) into our home in early August.   Here they are playing in the yard.  They were with us for about a month.

Drew and John - Here are pictures from a couple of visits by Drew and John in July.  We also have the annual  birthday picture with Blizzard.  Check out the pix from every year of her life here.

Birthday party for the dogs - Liz and Jackie went all out for Blizzard's 8th birthday.  They decorated the table, made party hats, and even made special doggie-birthday cakes.  Here are the pix.

Chasing flies - The girls and a couple of their friends spent a July evening catching fireflies in the yard.  This album  also has some pictures of our July 4th sparklers.

Our subdivision holds a kids' parade every July Fourth, and it passes right by the end of our street. In 2008, Jackie rode in the parade with friends, and Lizbeth watched on the sidelines with us.

Pictures from January - June, 2008 have now been moved to the archive