Happy Birthday "M"

Little "M" turns 5 on sunday. I tell you what, Mommy better invest in a big stick now with this one :) Have a great birthday kiddo, big ((HUGS))!!

The end of another year

There's only 3 (well 2ish) more days left of 2008. I don't think it's only me that feels as though this year has flown by. I have always heard that time goes faster the older you get, but I don't think I was quite prepared for the blur,LOL. I had a great first year in the studio, and I am so grateful for all of my wonderful family, friends, and clients. I met so many great new friends this year too. People I never would have met had I not took the leap and opened the studio. I hope that everyone had a great holiday!

We had a whirlwind Christmas for sure. I was so super busy right up until the big day, but once the big day came, I was able to sit back and relax a bit for a day or two. WHEW! The boys and I are moving, yay! So amongst all the madness of wrapping up the holiday season(the busiest I have ever had! thank you thank you thank you!!) we have been packing. Who thought moving in the middle of the holidays was a good idea?? me?? I must be nuts. I have the greatest mother in the world. She has been such an awesome help. I would not have made it through the season had it not been for her help. Anyway, because of all the moving nonsense, it was a teeny bit harder to get into the holiday spirit. We sadly didnt even put up our tree ( see above for my pathetic solution to the problem) But the kids were okay with it, Christmas came anyway, minus the tree ( I put one up at the studio, that does count right??) Anyway, we should be in our new place hopefully this week or next. I cannot WAIT TO GET OUT OF THIS APARTMENT. Did I say that loud enough?? Seriously....I CANNOT WAIT TO GET OUT OF THIS APARTMENT. As soon as we settle in, Im sure I will have pictures to share :)

Speaking of pictures. I promise to share some new ones soon. I have some awesome sessions scheduled this month, that I cant wait to share, not to mention a few from this past month that I have not shared yet..PLUS my last several weddings of the season. I JUST finished up this weekend (congrats to Staci and Santel!) I'm just about finished booking weddings for 09, I do have a few slots open. Tracy and I are still taking bookings for THE PHOTOBOOTH btw ;o) and I know there are some of you interested so dont forget to book!!

Ah, well, anyway...to all of you reading. Have a Happy New Year!! I leave you with a couple of snapshots of my dad who...well...provides a lot of much needed entertainment,LOL.

Meet Clint

He is a face you may see more often here and there. I met Clint a couple of years ago and he will now be my part-time here and there techie geek,LOL. Well.... we're still working on a name for what he does. Basically, he will assist me when I need him to, plus help me edit some so I can stop falling behind :D

Twice Exceptional

I hate labels. Unfortunately though, when you have a kid like Jake, you hear them often. Of all the labels I've heard, adhd, aspergers, bipolar, etc, the most recent one that stuck out was Twice Exceptional. I like it because it doesnt quite have the negative undertones as the others, and well quite frankly, to me he is exceptional. So he turned 9 last month when I blinked. He shared his birthday with the world as they ate their Thanksgiving Turkey.

I think God eased me into Motherhood with Adam. He's always been my "cake" kid. Dont get me wrong, he has his moments, but for the most part, he's always been easy going. He didnt cry much as a baby, he went to school easily, etc etc. Jacob has to learn and do everything the hard way. You know how when you were a kid and you were being exceptionally bad and your mother would say, I hope you have one just like you only 100 times worse. Well, this curse works my friends. Jacob is me 100 times over, only sometimes to a much more frustrating degree. And alot of days I feel like Im arguing with myself, or talking to a doorknob,LOL. But God Bless him, I love him, too much sometimes. As he gets older and things are getting harder, much harder in some ways, I want to surround him with a bubble, and protect him from the world. On the outside he has the hard outer shell that he tries to play cool, or act silly to cover up, but underneath, I can see his own pain and frustration and I want to make it go away.

So if any mother could have used a manual, it is me. If you have one handy, pass it down :P

I want to eat them

did I just say that? Only a mother would know what I mean :D No seriously at the very least I want to squish them and hug them,LOL. If you follow my blog, you may recognize the little one as she has been on here before. Ive been dying to get my camera on her sister too though, and I was so not disappointed.

I must admit

I am a sucker for babies in crazy hats...

Christmas

Those of you who know me well as a friend or even just as your photographer, know that cheesy holiday backdrops, and props aren't typically me. But this year I decided to at least try out some holiday stuff, and I think it's worked out pretty well. In fact, I like the wall brown so much, Im keeping it and I may paint another wall....red? Blue?? HOT PINK! ok, not hot pink, but the skies the limit :D So, I thought I'd share a few images from the past few weeks :)

And sadly....it may be the only tree we put up this year :P

Love the little toes

in the first shot, hehe. I had been told for a long time I needed to get my camera on these two. They didnt lie :)

Yay! Published again

Congrats to Kaitlyn for having her pretty little face in the new book about Redheads. The book is now available for purchase. Just go to http://www.littleredheadsacrossamerica.com/ and click on lil' shop online. Its know its hard to see but my name is on the page somewhere :D Hehe.