Leah

Oh my this child is something else.  I guess I could have posted a prettier picture of sweetness, but this is far more fitting of her lately.  Hair everywhere.  Ice cream and who knows what else on her face.  BIG smile and a sparkle to her eyes.

She has been sharing some hilarious revelations recently.  I want to record them as I'm starting starting to forget...

{this evening while bathing} "Mommy.  there's BAD weather [big dramatic pause] somewhere..."  this was said with WIDE eyes as though a HUGE realization has been made...thanks Leah, maybe meteorology isn't *quite* in your future ;-)

{at a wedding ceremony last weekend} "MOMMY!" whispering loudly and grabbing my face "Don't cover my eyes when they kiss, ok?  Don't cover my eyes!"  She usually says thing twice, just in case I miss it.

{watching Frozen last night on our new TV} "Mommy, I'm sad"...since this was a sad part of the movie, I replied with "yes baby, since the mommy and daddy are gone?".  Her eyebrows scrunching "no, I miss my old TV."

She tells me that she'll never get married because she doesn't want to leave mommy and daddy...we'll see how that turns out.  She has so much to say...pretty much all the time...and it involves complicated story lines {about her preschool usually} and high drama.  "Well, so-and-so started to play with me, but THEN they started to play with so-and-so and I was ALONE.   I played ALONE."

The Day I Have Dreaded...

My biggest "baby" is about to surpass an enormous milestone in her life...this Monday, Kendall starts kindergarten!  This is the day I knew would arrive too soon...and it really did arrive WAY TOO SOON!  There are a lot of very big moments my kiddos will go through, but for some reason kindergarten has always whispered at the back of my mind.  I took hundreds (well maybe even thousands of photos and videos) knowing very well that one day - far far too soon - this little tiny cute thing would be going to big school.  And then the rest would just fly by in an instant.

I know she is very ready for this.  Kendall is nothing like her introverted parents.  During her preschool graduation, her teacher mentioned that Kendall was the most popular girl in their class.  She makes friends wherever she goes and very quickly.  I recently went to a classmate's birthday where I was informed that all their kids talked again and again about this "Kendall."  All that to say that I know she will be fine...even though she doesn't know anyone in her new school...and there are lots of super big, "scary" kids at this new school...clearly I have more issues that she does!

So here we go...into the public school system....yikes...

Leah Leah Leah

This post is dedicated to my sweet little Leah Claire.  This is my absolute favorite picture of you.  It's the last one I've taken, so this may change shortly.  I love so many of the pictures I take of you because you are a free and natural spirit.  You love to dress up - princess dresses, ballet clothes, old Halloween costumes, your sister's church dresses.  You will go through almost every one in under an hour.  There is not much you take seriously - it's hard to stay mad at you because of your adorable dimples.  You are extremely sensitive.  You tell me "you make my feelings not so good" when you go to time out or if I have to correct you.  Your best friend is "sissy" however you frequently tell me "I'm not friends with sissy any more.  She mean to me." You adore Griffey.  Too much sometimes.  You have a little boy admirer at school named Nathaniel who has brought you special Christmas and Valentines gifts.  Although, you told me yesterday that you weren't friends with Nathaniel anymore because he wanted to play with cars and you wanted to play kitchen.  You have an astonishingly good memory for a 3 year old. You have the sweetest voice and the most loving heart. You love to sing. When you have a boo-boo, you immediately want to call grandma and grandpa and tell them all about it.  You love to get into sister's neatly organized toys and wreak havoc.

You are my baby bean.

Lessons Learned From Photography

Over the past two years, I have learned a lot of lessons from photography. Some are practical, some specific to the art of photography, some emotional...however all were learned the hard way. To start, I can hardly believe it's been two years.  In some ways I feel like it's been two decades...we've gone through a move, two home disasters, cancer, death of a pet - all this while trying to balance my current job, family, and keep it all somewhat balanced.

These are in no particular order, so I won't number them...

* God put beauty in every single soul.  Maybe not a traditional, main stream "Vogue" kind of beauty, but I see it in everyone I have had the opportunity to photograph.  The love between a mother and newborn.  The laughter between siblings - both old and young.

* This ties a bit to the first, but I think is different...God put a lot more good in people than I used to think.  I am a self-admitted introvert/anti-social/socially awkward individual.  With that comes caution and skepticism.  Photography has forced me to work through that.   I continue to be amazed about the incredibly friendly, lovely people I meet every year.

* Always spot check your shots.  Nothing worse than bad surprises when you are home and too late to correct...ie autofocus was turned off...exposure setting was way way to light or dark.  Maybe that looks unprofessional to be scanning through the camera during a session, but I'd rather that be the case than have to send an apologetic email later explaining why I didn't get a good shot.

* Always make sure you have enough memory left on your card.  This almost caused a nervous break-down during the one wedding ceremony I photographed.

* Facebook can be incredibly gratifying...and then terribly humbling...oh the tears that this has involved.  In the same way that Facebook can be a great marketing tool, you can also see your competition...over and over...and the multitudes..they are everywhere. You can see the 50 "likes" one of your pictures received and then see the 5,000 another photographer received..along with their 1,000 fans and 50,000 talking about....it goes on and on.

* You can't control people.  This is a good and a bad thing.  As a person who hates telling others what to do (yes, this can be a challenge in posing for sure), I like that free will is a part of our lives.  But that same free will can cause people to take certain actions that sting.  I could go into so many examples here, but for the sake of anonymity I will not go further....

* Always make the husband look taller.  This is a recently learned tidbit from someone who I haven't actually taken their photo (yet) but a great point nonetheless. I am sure that I have taken a photo where the husband looked shorter than the wife, yet the family just never told me.

* Get ready for (sometimes) constructive criticism, whether you asked for it or not.  Some people are gentler with this than others.

* The most talented photographers aren't always the most successful.  A Photography Business is 80% business and 20% photography.  I try really hard not to question the success (in high points or low) that God has given. I get what I can handle and I trust that God knows that better than I ever could.

* If you don't have enough time or effort enough to take photographs of your own kids, something is wrong.  That balance is off.

* Humble yourself, or you shall be humbled.  Ties into the Facebook lesson.

* Photography Business involves having thick skin.  And if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen...

My Little Super Heroes!

We had a great time at "Family Day" where Trenton works...luckily (for me) I remembered that there is this super cool spot right around the corner.  I rarely venture that far south with the kids, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity :)

The lighting was beyond terrible - never take pictures at noon!  However, "you get what you get, and you don't get upset"  so we (I) persevered nonetheless.

Those Moments That Linger

Kendall and Leah have GREAT Sunday School teachers - in fact, Kendall's teachers (a husband and wife in their 60's) are very well known and loved for their faithful service in the 3 year old class.  A few weeks ago, something very sad happened...the mom/wife unexpectedly passed away.  I have a hard time with how to handle situations like this - how to express to the loved ones left behind how sorry I am for them.  There seems to be no words appropriate for that situation to me.

This morning, as with most Sunday mornings, we were running a little behind to church...I was carrying Leah and Trenton was walking with Kendall in front of me.  I hear Leah say "that's Kendall's teacher" and sure enough, it was the widowed husband, a bright and contagious smile on his face.  Kendall, somehow hearing all this up ahead, runs back to her teacher, enormous smile on her face, hugs him with all her might and they take off together, hand in hand, to her class.

Something about this scene has stuck with me all day.  My heart breaks for this person who had his future changed so devastatingly overnight.  I cannot imagine going on 'as usual' - with a smile no less.  What beautiful faith he has and what amazing strength God has given him.

I have no words to express, yet Kendall - just a four year old - has realized what this 32 year old had not.  Sometimes a hug says so much more than any words possibly could.

Kendall may not remember this morning - maybe not even next week - but I will take it with me for a long time to come.

Spotlight on Leah

Spotlight on Leah


Who is your best friend?  Victoria and Darren (preschool)


What is your favorite animal? Elephant (she was holding one while I was asking her this question)..."not monkeys or dragons...they are scary.  I don't want dragons to come into my house."  (maybe we should have done this farther away from bedtime...nightmares?)


What is your favorite color?  pink


What is your favorite food?  french fries


What is your favorite song?  "rachel song" ("Roots Before Branches" - Glee Cast)


What do you want for your birthday?  Balloons, Bunny Birthday Party


Something Mommy wants to remember about Leah at almost 3 years old...she calls parking garages "spookies"...she sings along with everything - even tries to mimic the instrumental parts...she is extremely sensitive and does not like to play with new children...she still LOVES to be carried.