Coming back.........for real.

I miss posting here so much. I am really (REALLY) going to try and post at least once a week, because it's good for my head (creatively) and my heart (fills me up). So here I am, promising to be a better blogger here with all 7 of my readers as my witnesses.
Muah! Pics coming later today. :)

A few new ones.......

A friend of mine has a studio here in town and she has graciously opened it up to me and is putting up with all of my newbie questions and allowing me to experiment with her lights and set up. It has prompted me to learn minimalist lighting (it's all I can afford!!!) and I love it. Thank you Jess, for being so kind and patient.
Here are a few recent images of a few of the animals that live in my house.
I love the first photo of H......what an angel she is...........mmmhmmm.




Here is N, taken in my living room with the curtains closed and nothing by artificial lighting, this is an art in and of itself that's going to take a lot of practice to master. So much to learn, but I can't imagine not challenging myself with new things. Wouldn't life be boring if we didn't push and stretch and grow?
Speaking of growing, and quickly, my boy.........





Next is Bella, our camera-loving kitten. We have two kittens but Bella seems to be the one that's around when the camera comes out.
Not a technically correct photo but I love it all the same. She has such a beautiful little face.





The last is a photo of H's favorite past time lately. All she wants to do is splash in puddles. She even asks me to take photos of her splashing in puddles which is fine by me! Any chance to document another little piece of her childhood.......I'm on it!






Thanks for peeking in. More coming soon. Our snow is melting quickly and I'll be outside more and more, taking photos, of course.
I can't wait for some spring color! :)

Favorite things revisited..........

Last year about this time I was doing a series of photos documenting the things in my life that bring me joy. The series changed my life and the way that I look at everyday things. I miss it. Every time I come across something that I really appreciate I think how perfect it would be for the blog and how I wish that I was still doing the posts and documenting my appreciation, no matter how slight it is.

So here I am...starting over and again with new appreciation, maybe a few repeats (of things that really warm me, I can't resist). I'll be doing at least one post a week that will include a few things that I'm grateful for. I really can't wait.
Good for the soul.

Also, some exciting news.....I'm about half way done with the design of my new website and blog! I can't believe how much time it takes to do this, especially with all the other regular life stuff that's going on, but it's going to be worth it. It is definitely a step up from what I have now. I can't wait to share it with everyone.

With the unveiling of the new sites I'll be running some Spring photography specials, so make sure that you check back for those too!


Since I can't have a blog post without pictures...........here are a few from last summer, last month, and yesterday!
:) Enjoy!

I was searching through my archives for some summer color (C'mon Spring!) and found this one that melted my heart. He just turned 10 this past Thursday. Double digits. I can't express how that makes me feel. He's growing into such a great little person. He's so compassionate and caring. He's starting to notice girls and is not ashamed of it at all. He makes me proud and want to pull my hair out, all in the same hour.


Here's my not-so-little boy and a song to make you think about how fast it all changes:





Cats in a Cradle by Harry Chapin


A child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Whew!
On a lighter note.......


We had a mini Valentine's Day shoot in my living room. Here are some of the results:









LOL...........not the most flattering pic of H, is it? She lost her first tooth yesterday. We HAD to do something because if you look closely, you can see her adult teeth were growing in behind them. I panicked at first but after some research and an emergency consultation via Skype with our family dentist, who is in Thailand (!!!!!!), I found that this is very common and the best thing we can do is to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle and get them out naturally and the adult teeth will shift, hopefully into perfect position and we won't need any orthodontist intervention during her teen years........yah, RIGHT.
One can dream, can't they?!
:)
She is so proud! She didn't believe that I had actually pulled it out (actually argued with me about it!).
Finally she realized that I DID, in fact, have the tooth and her exact words were:

"MOM! MOM! That didn't hurt at all! As a matter of fact, I feel GREAT!!!!"

Goofball!
:)

Thanks for peeking in today. Come back soon!
:)


ETA: Lyrics

Oh Baby!

This little guy is very dear to my heart! He was born to my best friend from way back and is one of THE MOST LOVED little boys in all of the world!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful little miracle with me, S!
His life will be very well documented if I have anything to do with it!
:)

Happy Holidays!

It's been an embarrassingly long time since my last post but I'm going to attempt to seamlessly ease back in as if I never went anywhere. Should work, especially now that I've pointed out what my intentions are.
:)
I'm coming back with a vengeance, some pictures, and a smile!
Here we go!

First we have my fantastic sis-in-law and her equally fantastic fiance. My first engagement session. They were great and went along with all of my wacky suggestions, as I knew they would because they're awesome that way.

Laura and Ned:






Some friendly kiddos :).








My own with one of our sweet new kitties.......Bella:



I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was wonderful and QUIET.
The quietest that we've had in years, actually. There's snow on the ground, the kids are out of school for another whole week and I'm happy about it.........very happy.
My youngest started all-day Kindergarten this year and it's been quite a struggle for me. I miss her terribly and try to spend as much time as I can in her classroom helping out. Her teacher has been wonderful about letting me do that and I really enjoy it. Kindergartners are sweet little people and I always walk out of there with a full heart.

Happy New Year everyone.

Hug harder, laugh louder, smile bigger and love longer in 2009.
See you soon!

Gabby's Home!!!

And has been for a little over a month (I feel bad about not updating, I apologize, life got away from me for a few months).
What a trooper she is. We all knew she was spirited but I have a new found respect for the human spirit.
She still has a long road ahead of her but she's home in her own environment, surrounded by her family and friends, and that's good for everyone.
Thank you to everyone that contributed through the giving of their time, love and prayers. It is such a thing to celebrate.
While she won't be attending kindergarten with my own little one, we look forward to many playdates with her throughout the school year.
We love you Gabby.....welcome home.