Merry Christmas 2009!

Merry Christmas 2009 from the Stone Family!

It is hard to believe that it was four years ago when our Christmas card featured all of the “new” things in our lives (home, baby Amelia, Jeff’s business). While this year did not bring as many “new” (and voluntary) things, there certainly were several “changes”…

JEFF: This month Jeff is celebrating his first year with Youngstedts. After making the very difficult decision to close the doors of Sold4U Motors last fall, God graciously provided this position through Jeff’s network in the auto industry. As a commercial account manager, Jeff spends his days drumming up business for their Goodyear and Maaco stores. He even got to ride in the Goodyear Blimp in August with a few of the Goodyear Store managers! God has also used Jeff’s photography to provide for our needs, and he’s had the privilege of shooting all sorts of events throughout the year from weddings, to family portraits, to CD Covers to Vikings games. Jeff also had a "blast" deer hunting this year with Alicia's dad and was able to get his FIRST (and second) deer! Jeff was also in the VBS drama at church this summer and continues to be involved with the children's music ministry at Grace.

Deer Hunting

Jeff and Brad from Eau Claire Goodyear on the Blimp

Jeff rocking out as Arlin Schecter with The Optimisitics at Grace!

ALICIA: As his bride of 10 years (!), Alicia thoroughly enjoys her calling as “keeper of the home”. Going gluten-free last February has brought drastic changes to our kitchen, which she is trying to embrace as her new “hobby” of cooking with many new staple ingredients. She recently “retired” from leadership in MOPS and is now investing into the lives of the women of our neighborhood through a Bible study (on the opposite week from Jeff and his guys).

ANIKA: She is 6 ½ years old and blossoming as a first-grader. Life changed dramatically for her as we adapted to our homeschooling lifestyle this fall. We have already made many precious memories as we spend Nolan’s naptimes growing her love for learning. We would not trade this time with her for anything… though admittedly she is very ready for her neighborhood playmates by the time they get off the bus each afternoon! Anika just performed in her first Christmas musical at church (and Alicia served as the assistant to the assistant to the assistant choreographer). The Sparks program at church is the highlight of her week and this was Anika’s first summer in “real” Vacation Bible School and it rocked! (Especially with her rock star mommy as her teacher, and her even rockier star dad debuting in the drama!)

Anika on her first day of 1st grade.

AMELIA: She is 4 ½ (emphasis on the ½!) and loves learning alongside her big sister. She spends a few afternoons each week at preschool and fills notebook after notebook with her letters and numbers. Going gluten-free has been a change for her as well, but thankfully it has been a rather smooth adjustment over all. She loves helping mommy experiment with new recipes in the kitchen! Amelia enjoys the Cubbies program at church and spends much of her free time crafting, playing dress-up or “doing finances”.

NOLAN: Our "little guy" is 16 months old and has obviously changed a lot in the past year! We thought Amelia was an active toddler, but Nolan is busy, busy, busy. His big sisters continue to adore him and can be so helpful at keeping him entertained… and safe. His big brown eyes and adorable dimples melt our hearts… as he swings from the chandelier over the dining room table (you might think we are kidding...). We don’t recognize many words yet, but that does not keep him from chattering almost constantly (accentuated by shrieks). He keeps us on our toes, but we can’t remember life before our sweet Noley!

We are so thankful for God’s clear hand in our lives to bring about these changes over the past year. We are even more thankful for the God who NEVER changes, knowing that we can trust Him in these uncertain times. May you sense His faithful presence as we begin a new year most certainly full of changes!

 The birth of Christ was foretold LONG before his coming 2000 years ago (see Isaiah 9:6-7). Nothing in history has changed history like the birth of Jesus. We want to honor him and celebrate his birth this Christmas, because JESUS CHRIST IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

“Feliz Navidad” is what you will hear around our house this year as we celebrate with our Guatemalan brother (Rodolfo Mendoza) and his wife (Debbie) on their snow-filled visit!



Christmas blessings to you and yours!
Love, the Stones

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Stones!

Instead of sending something by snail-mail this year, we thought we'd make a blog entry and give y'all a few photos to look at (you may click each image for a larger view). We celebrate Christmas as a family of five this year. It's been a challenging year with Jeff making a minor job transition, and trudging through tough economic times. Money is tight but we feel SO rich with all that God has blessed us with. In addition to the Photography Business (http://www.jefferystone.com) and continuing to broker some cars, Jeff is working with the Youngstedt's group (http://www.youngstedts.com) as an account manager acquiring fleet business for the Goodyear stores around the Twin Cities and the Maaco store in Chanhassen. Alicia is a great mom and wife and keeps us all clean, fed, (relatively) organized and on schedule. What are we doing this weekend, honey? She is so thankful for the support (and cooking!) of neighbors, friends and family as we continue to transition into life with our "three ring circus".




Baby Nolan, born August 18th, has been such a wonderful and sweet baby. He is starting to find his voice and loves to smile and giggle with his sisters. He's been a very mellow baby (perhaps because his parents are a little more mellow this time?) and he is a great example for his big sisters (not one naughty word or whining yet!). Alicia and I can hardly hold him enough, and the girls... "Stop Smothering Him" is a common phrase around our home. Now that our "quiver" is officially full, we find ourselves wishing we could FREEZE time with Nolan. He certainly is not allowed to start crawling until he is at least 15 months old... :-)



Amelia, our second child is a little "fire-cracker". She is 3 and would like you to think she is a bit older. "I'm 3-and-a-half, you can come to my birthday party", she often says. Like her older sister, she is extremely verbal. If you ever call our home, be prepared for a conversation with a 3 or 5-year-old as they have taken over the "front desk". The other evening we found the phone buzzing in the kitchen. Amelia had answered the phone 45 minutes earlier and never bothered to give it to anyone. I hope it was one of those telemarketers calling during the dinner hour. "Is your mommy there... Hello... Hello....." If it was you... Sorry. She's never short on drama, and we love her dearly even if we need some "down time" to pull ourselves together after one of her outbreaks. Despite the drama, she always seems to know when to say: "I love you mommy and daddy" punctuated by her adorable dimples.





Anika, our oldest child started Kindergarten this fall. It's hard to believe it's been over 5 years since we became parents. Grandma and Grandpa... for what it's worth, we now believe you that it goes by quickly. Anika is an absolute joy to be around. She is learning to read, enjoying new friends and doing well in school, and is growing in faith and knowledge of God. She often prays that she would be a "light" to her friends at school and in our neighborhood. Anika loves to explore the outdoors and likes to exercise. She is grateful for her younger siblings... especially when she needs someone to enter a room and turn the light on before her. We're workin' on that whole bravery thing.




FOUR Generations. This photo was taken last month when we dedicated Nolan to the Lord. Pictured from left to right is: Howard Sutton (my mom's father - 81), Paul Stone (my father -56), Nolan J. Stone (my son - 4mo), Dr. Stanley Stone (my dad's father- 93), and me. We are grateful for every day we have with Godly men to influence us. Such an amazing heritage.

We know times are tough for so many. We've certainly experienced difficult times this year, yet we are confident that the God who made us is in control of all things. We don't claim to understand all that has happened among us this year, but we will keep looking up. This Christmas season serves as a great reminder to us that money and things make lousy "gods", and that the greatest gift of all is Jesus. May God bless you and your family in 2009. -The Stones

Samantha is Two!

Thanks Jennifer and Samantha for coming by the studio tonight! Samantha... you are SO cute! What a cute smile and dimple and such beautiful eyes you have. God sure made you special! You did such a good job. Thanks for playing with Anika and Amelia. They sure had fun. We hope you enjoy your pix. You did so well we had over 90 pictures to choose from! Here are some of my favorites. You can click them if you'd like to see a larger version.

You don't have to go to the studio for Christmas pix. The Studio can come to you

My niece made a great model... right in her own kitchen. I brought my lights, reflectors, camera, and Laptop to Thanksgiving dinner and Ivy was happy to pose in her new Christmas dress. There's still time to get family and children pictures done and have them printed before Christmas. Remember... the studio can come to you!

Nora Lundeen's 1-Year and family pix

How do you get a one-year-old to sit still? Lots of jumping, shouting, waving toys, wearing pop-poms as wigs, props, and mom and dad close by to help. You did great Nora! I think the pictures turned out cute! Thanks Max and Angie for the opportunity to photograph your beautiful family today. Happy Thanksgiving!!






OK Nora.... You can be done now. :-)

On the Road Again

I had the opportunity to take a small road trip last week. My father-in-law owns an Architectural firm in Menomonie, WI (adg-architects.com). "ADG" builds high-efficiency commercial buildings. Tim (my father-in-law) and his staff of 10, incorporate building orientation, shapes, light, windows, airflow methods, geothermal heating, materials, and nearly 30 years of experience to reduce the impact their buildings have on our environment and on their client's budgets. A few times a year I photograph buildings for them through out Eastern MN and Western WI. Here are a few shots from Thursday of last week. We even bumped into "Mater" on the road.