Done with a Senior

Well, I planned on being done with all my work before traveling to Iowa for Thanksgiving, but that didn't happen. I have been hard at work, especially today. And I have finally finished one Senior of the two I have left. She is a good friend of mine and it was awesome to work with her. She has quite the creative side and we had a lot of fun experimenting. It was hard narrowing down which ones to edit and include.
Iowa was a fun and relaxing trip. We stay at a Girl Scout lodge out in the woods (the ideal scary movie setting). My husbands parents and siblings all stay too. We get to see a lot of family that we usually only see 1-2 times a year. We stay up too late, play games, watch movies, and eat a lot of food. We actually have to come back from vacation and recuperate from all the late nights and activities.
This year we decided to try our hand at the day after Thanksgiving day sales. WHAT A MISTAKE! Well, not really, but I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon (unless there is a really really good deal ;))
We didn't even go to bed because we had to drive an hour to get to a big city that had the stores we wanted to shop at. We went extra early because my brother-in-law wanted to try for a laptop at Best Buy. YEAH RIGHT! We got there about 3 hours before they opened (5am), and the line went around the side of the building and into the parking lot. We asked the people in front what time they got in line- 10am on Thanksgiving Day!!!!!! Sorry, but not worth it to miss out on Thanksgiving all together!
We had a ton of fun, though. We made up a lovely song on our way to the stores and we all got some really good deals. The slap-happy levels were very high. Everything was funny! Quite an experience!
Hopefully will be posting more often, I'll try anyways!

Delayed Halloween debut

I know, it's a little late. But here is our Halloween pictures. We shopped for pumpkins at a cute little place on our way home from visiting Shelly and Rob (in Auburn Hills). Even though the lights were on, no one was manning the register. So we just left our money in an envelope on the table.

The boys wore the same costumes as last year, with the exception of Noah. He grew too much to wear the froggy costume again. He absolutely loved the tiger costume, and was making roaring sounds.

I have two Senior photo sessions left to edit. I am on a mission to get them both done this week. We'll see!

The cloud is lifting

I still have work left to do, but it's a whole lot less than a week ago. I still have two seniors that I have to work on. I got a new laptop and it makes work a whole lot easier. I can take work with me where ever I go. At first it was a little bit of a distraction- a new toy to play with. But know it's awesome!

I had been so busy, school was put on the back burner. We missed a few days last week, but picked right back up this week. I shouldn't be busy like that for awhile. Actually, I've had conflicting thoughts about whether I ever want to be that busy again! I absolutely love photography and love what I can do for people. But I spend a lot of time editing pictures and working on sessions. A lot of busy time not spent with my family. I love what I do, but I'm not sure I want to be as busy as I am.

That said, here is a collection from a few sessions from the Detroit area.

Last wedding

Well, I am finally done with the last wedding that I had to work on. I have not completed all of my work, by any means, but I am at least a little closer to the finish line. Then I will have time for non-work related things (like posting Halloween pics ;)). But for now- here is Kelli and Adrian. Her and her family are practically part of our family and it was a joy to be able to be part of their day.

Done with another wedding.

So, it is absolutely pouring outside and I am loving it. It was hailing for a little while. There are tornado warnings in Lansing and Indiana. It's awesome! Ethan had another soccer game tonight, and unfortunately they didn't win. He wasn't as aggressive as he usually is. I think he was tired. No....I know he was tired considering the fact that he is curled up in the chair in the living room at 9:10pm - sleeping! I wish they would win just one of the last two games he has. They've only won one so far.

This wedding is of my brother-in-law and his new wife. I was in the wedding so couldn't take the pics of the ceremony, but did the before and after. I will be making a hard cover bound book for them for a wedding present, which will come a little later. I am now on to the next wedding and then some senior pics. Thanks for looking!

For you readers out there!

I've had a hard time getting work done because I've been into a really great series. So for those of you that enjoy (or have the time) to read, I've got a must-read for ya. It is co-authored by Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley and is called the Redemption series. There is 5 books in the series, and I'm on the fourth. The third book was my favorite, this one, the fourth, is my least favorite so far. Hopefully they'll hit a home-run with the last one, Reunion. They all have different names but it starts with Redemption. So check 'em out!

My new favorite guilty pleasure, YOUTUBE! I love search different topics and watching the videos that are available. So informative! I did a recent search when I had one of my creative urges- I so want to try this.

This user also has other interesting videos.

Click here

I love this weather!

It's about 60 degrees and rainy. Perfect weather for doing what I love most- sitting and working on the computer or reading a good book. No reason to feel guilty because I'm sitting indoors. Looks like maybe the cold is here to stay- which I couldn't be happier about. I'm ready for fall weather. I can't imagine living in a place where they didn't have a change of seasons. The in between stages are my favorite- fall and spring.

In school today, we made fish out of coffee filters. It was a fun project and the boys really enjoyed it. (Noah did too) They colored them with markers, then I sprayed them with water so that the colors kind of mixed together, almost like a watercolor painting. Then we cut them out in the shape of a fish and added the finishing touch- GLITTER!

Noah is loving the routine of school and he likes to participate in the first part of what we do for school. We go over the calendar and what day it is, and we sing a days-of-the-week song. Noah likes to try to sing along. We also say the Pledge of Allegiance, which the boys have to stand on top of our little fold-out table to say. Noah has to join in, of course, and stand up with them. When we are done, he always asks "One more?" while holding up his little index finger. He would repeat it all day if I allowed it.

These are pictures of a senior that I did a little while ago. The session was very easy going and comfortable. She is from the east side of the state, so sunset pictures at the beach was a must. She is my sister-in-law's sister-in-law :)

WOW.....I'm so bad.

It has been over a month. I can't believe it! I have been quite busy. I'm finished with a few clients that I haven't posted pics of yet. I'll get to that as soon as I'm on my home computer. My to do list is rather extensive. I have many pictures that have to be proofed yet. I'll will post them as I get them done,promise.

On a side note, we have started homeschooling and have been very successful so far. Ethan is already reading quite a few words and Cole is beginning to understand the concept. We pray before we start school. A recent prayer request made by Cole was concerning our dog, Macy. She has to be in her kennel at night again since catching her peeing on the carpet in our front room during the night. She had been sleeping with the boys, which they loved. So we prayed in the morning for Macy to stop peeing on the carpet so she could sleep with them again. Well, that night we were getting ready for bed, and I grabbed Macy to put her in her cage. Cole said "Mommy what are you doing?' And I said "Putting Macy in her cage". And he replied with "But we prayed that she wouldn't pee on the carpet anymore." He had faith that God would answer his prayer the very first night. It was awesome to witness. But I explained that Macy probably wouldn't be ready yet, that we would try in a couple of nights. I love seeing faith through the eyes of a child.

oops.....It's been over a week

For those of you following along(the 2 of you), sorry for the delay. I've been a little busy, once again. But I did finish the 2nd wedding and already delivered the proofbook to the new bride. In the meantime I took on more work- 1 Senior, 1 Golf course, and more in the works. It makes me even more busy than I was, but hey, the money is nice so no complaints here.

On a side note, my middle child Cole has told us quite the story. I guess for a young child, its hard to tell the difference between what is real and what isn't. Dreams are probably even more confusing when they feel so real. He swears that one night on the long walk back to our house from Gram and Gramps (ha ha) a raccoon bit him on his hand. For one, either Scott or I would have been with him and would have remembered this event. And another, we probably would have gone to the hospital to make sure he didn't contract some disease from the rapid beast. We told these reasons to Cole to let him know that this did not occur. But he is very insistent on the fact that it did happen. Nothing can tell him otherwise. I wonder how long this memory will stay with him, and if it will always be remembered as a true event.

These are some of the pictures from that 2nd wedding.
Thanks for checkin' out the latest!

reading tips

Well...I just finished the book My Sister's Keeper. For anyone thinking about reading it...let me just caution you- It is certainly not a feel good book. I spent the first three quarters crying off and on and just when you think it can't get more sad....it does. I could see the ending coming and I was thinking "they better not end it this way". But sure enough, they did. On the positive side, it made me want to hug and squeeze and cherish my children more than ever. And be thankful that they are healthy, happy kids. The book talks about a girl having a rare form of leukemia and I can say that I am thankful my son Cole only has diabetes. There are much worse things out there. Don't get me wrong, it has been difficult to deal with a young child who has juvenile diabetes, but at least it's manageable.

Speaking of which, we are going to the first class required to switch Cole to an insulin pump. We have to attend two classes and the third Cole comes with us so that he can start on the pump. I've had mixed feelings about switching to a pump, but my sister has gone through it with her daughter and has had nothing but praises about the switch. She said that she has experienced more energy and a change in her behavior. Not only that but she hasn't had any really low lows since being on the pump. And hasn't been sick as much. Hearing those benefits, I knew the switch would be the best decision. But I still question how Cole will deal with being attatched to something 24/7. It always has to be on you and with you. Will that continuously remind him that he is a diabetic? Will it grow to be a nuisance? I just hope the benefits out weigh the other things.

I will be posting pictures soon of the other wedding I did. I'm almost done. I can see the light at the end of the long, long tunnel. Then I will be starting a photo book for my brother-in-law and his new bride. Which won't be like work, but much more like fun. I've been having quite the creative itch lately, so hopefully that project will scratch it. Not a great word picture, sorry.
Later.

workin' machine

I am on a roll. I've got one wedding done and now a friends sons one year-old pics are done. (he turned one in April if you wanted to know just how behind i really am). But I have no big distractions (besides my three children, which are big enough), so I should be getting caught up very soon.

Uneventful day, really. I had a softball game. We won and I hit great. I actually got a triple. We usually play on Thurdays, but for some reason it was Monday this week. Still haven't taken a shower though (disgusting, I know), but am headed that way right after this post.

The boys had a bath, which is always a big event. At least a busy, tiring event for us. Scott handled it tonight so I could get some work done. Nightime seems to be when I am most motivated. Ethan requested Scott to be in the bathroom the whole time....just in case he threw up in the bath tub.....Brother.....When will it end?

So...hope you enjoyed the pics of this little cutie. Later.