A Runner...

Little C here was what I like to call a "runner". He ran everywhere, and did it quickly. Fortunately, he was confined to his own house, so he couldn't run too far! I love two year olds, their expressions, their quickness, their talk...they are so fun! I loved this session also because I love doing sessions in client's own settings...his family room, bedroom, playroom...kids are more relaxed and more themselves, and those are the types of pictures I love getting...especially when it is freezing cold out and a park or outdoors would be craziness for a little one for any length of time!

Fun it was and here are a few peeks...

...my favorite so far...

And...Happy Birthday again to my sweet little boy! Check out his pictures below! Have a great week!

Our Small Little House Fire...

Yes, it has been busy around here. Yes, there is never a dull moment. And, yes, I feel more blessed than ever. A week ago from today (Monday), our dryer caught on fire...the day before we were to leave for our mini-vacation.

It was pretty fast and furious, but thankfully with the speedy fire department who were at my house with their hoses in just over 5 minutes from my 911 phone call, it really could have done even more damage.

Now, let me tell you the damage is pretty significant! The laundry room is charred, and the rest of the house is filled with smoke damage. We left last Monday night, not quite knowing what to expect, except that we knew we weren't able to stay in our home. The next morning we met the general contractor bright and early, and things continued to roll from there. We are out of our house for another 4-6 weeks from Wednesday, but we are staying in a beautiful comfy condo...much thanks to my in-laws who live in FL but have this beautiful home here. The girls are comfy here, and we are adjusting. I have learned oh so much through this process, and God has been oh so good to us. We have been learning to be content. For example, we have a limited amount of clothing. It is enough clothing to last a little more than a week, but I have woke up about every morning thinking of, "Oh shoot, wish I had..." fill in the blank! :) And then I am reminded of how much I really do have, and that I need to thank God for all that He has blessed me with and has continued to bless me with.

It was pretty scary. Bean was pretty shaken up, and continues to be. Every odd noise she hears, she questions if it is a fire. She is a little nervous falling asleep at night, worrying that there may be a fire. God is teaching her too, at such a young age, to trust Him and lean on Him for comfort (ummmm...I do have to give a little guidance in that department too!). Cakies refers to our house as the "fire house", as to not confuse anyone when she talks about "home". Tonight was her first night that she whined, "I wish we were in our white fire house," as we passed our neighborhood. I have to add, our house is really a light grey...not sure why she always says "white", just a cute little side note! Geebers is doing okay also. He came down with a cold last week, and actually, I am taking him to the doctors tomorrow to get him checked. He has been batting at his ear, and has been sleeping horribly. Not sure if it is his ear that is causing his rotten sleep, or if it is because we are in a different location.

We are settling in for sure. The condo now looks like kids have lived here for several months...toys, crayons, coloring books, stickers! I promise Mom and Dad A that we will have it looking spiffy for when you come to visit! :) I want to thank many of you who have heard for your sweet comments, emails and actions. We have been given toys to borrow, books to use, coloring stuff, a crib and lots and lots of LOVE!

Tom is doing well also. He has been a super trooper help, as I am lacking in sleep, and also lacking in routine and consistency. I have thrown myself a few pity parties, selfish I know, but have tried very hard to remain positive, and focus on being so grateful that no one was hurt and that the damage could have been way worse. God is also teaching me patience...daily. There have been some really, really ugly moments and I am having to really, really work hard and I really, really haven't done fabulous every time...but I am praying and working on it, knowing that He is molding me into what He wants me to be. And, I truly believe and know that God is good...all the time. He is our Rock and our Comforter, and we are leaning on Him to carry us through.

A fun positive: I will be returning to a beautifully restored home, with new paint, carpet, mattresses, clean air ducts, industrialized clean clothes and many other positives! :)

To those of you waiting for your sessions to be finished, I thank you so very much from the bottom of my little ole heart for your patience and understanding. I have been working very hard to try and get caught up, and promise that I will continue to work until all is finished!

And another note, fall sessions are really starting to book...so if you are interested, please let me know soon!

Lastly, here are a few sneak peeks from a week ago Sunday...one of my besties little babes, just a few days younger than Geebers...Mr. E! :)

I LOVE all of these...his smile is so contagious, and he is so darn cute! Happy almost 8 months little guy!

I had a Runner...

That is what I like to call these little ones...


...you know, where you see them from behind more often than you do from the front!

But, Runner's give you pictures like this...


...and you can't ask for anything better than this...






AND, if you think this little face looks oh so familiar from a session just a few weeks ago, well these little guys are cousins...but I swear they could be brothers! Adorable as ever! Thanks for a fun session N! I enjoyed getting to capture Mr. M once again! Enjoy!

"Saturday...

In the park"...that should bring a little smile to my husband as he likes to sing that song to Bean every Friday...and Bean in turn screams! :)

Seriously though, Saturday in the park, Wildwood that is, was beautiful! And I had the opportunity to capture a beautiful family.

The H Family...
You might recognize this little cutie, Mr. Q, from previous sessions...

His big brothers...C and D...who were super good sports. Really and truly, when you are a high school/jr. high boy, do you really want to wake up early on a Saturday morning to go have family pictures taken? I didn't think so...but these two were great!



...and even a little goofy!


The beautiful couple in charge of these handsome boys...

Thanks for a fun morning. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

And, can you believe I still haven't posted about the wedding/trip we made a couple of weeks ago...pretty pathetic, but I will blame it on being pretty busy! :) Lynn (you know it pangs me to say it, but writing it is so much easier!), I have pictures that I need to email to you... :)

Some more Sneak Peeks...

...from the past couple weeks' sessions. I am starting to feel like my head is all the way above water now with only a few sessions left to edit! Thanks for all of the patience many of you have had! And, for those that waited for sneak peeks, thank you also...I just felt it was more important to keep on editing than to stop and post peeks... Have a great Sunday!

Mr. P...18 months old...and full of expressions...

love this one in this finish with his little man hat...

...and yesterday while editing, I kept telling my husband he had to come look at this picture...I am so in love with it...expression, hat and how he is ready to hop off the bench!

These little ones were posted, but wanted to throw a few more for "A" up here, especially since she is awaiting the arrival of her CD in the mail...should be there tomorrow! ;)








Last, the family mini-session. This session worked out great, the kids were wonderful and we were able to get all of it in before the rain came...always a bonus! This is my good friend M's family...beautiful children...and gorgeous mom and dad! Thanks M for your patience!




This one is my favorite!!!! :)

Off to go finish decorating for Christmas (I know, I haven't posted pictures of my belly or pictures of my kiddos from Halloween...those just might come when things are completely slowed down!)

Finished...

This fun boy session, and had to put a few of my favorites up...

...the expressions crack me up...

although he was sad...he still was a total cutie pie...

...this was totally thought up by him...and I love it!

...I forget what he was screaming at...but it was a happy scream!

...they were so funny..

..and Mr. R here looks adorable...and I love seeing his brothers in the background "hugging" or starting to wrestle!

Lots of work to get to...if you are waiting for a sneak peek, I am sorry! I will get them up soon, I promise! :)

Post #3...

And then headed to bed! Set the record...three in one night (although blogger counts this one as a new day...I am still operating on "yesterday" time!)

This session is from Saturday, and again were repeat clients! I love repeat clients! I feel like I get to know them even more, get to see them grow and have more fun the second time around. These two little boys (lots of boys lately!) are a ton of fun! The oldest, Mr. D is 4 and Mr. P is 1! :) Mr. D is as cute as can be, full of boy energy, and did a fabulous job waiting and walking around the pond to get back to the play area! Mr. P, sweet as can be, beautiful brown eyes, his cute little man clothes...all put a smile on my face. We got a few shots with mom A also...sorry those aren't making the sneak peek tonight...but I am excited to share some of those also! :)

"A" picked the location...Oak Openings. I haven't been there in YEARS!!!! It is a little bit of a drive, but completely worth it...absolutely stunning all around. I could have walked around forever just looking at the surrounding beauty...but my *little* feet and legs would have been aching especially since I had a session that afternoon also!

Great weekend, and stay tuned...two more sessions to share...hopefully tomorrow evening! :)

Love the love...and sweet smiles...

Super cuties...

Beautiful brown eyes...

water, bridges, colorful trees...and best of all the sweet little ones...

...and the sweet blue eyes.

P.S. "A" did a great job dressing these little guys...fun layers, great colors, hats, cute shoes (Robeez...have seen them on about 5 little boys in the past 2 weeks in my sessions...never knew of them...can't wait to get a pair for our next little bundle!!)

Goodnight!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

We will see how many sneak peeks I can get up here tonight! My husband is out of town for the week, which leaves my evenings extremely free (unfortunately) especially when I don't have a show that I "must see". Those are Sundays, Thursdays, and I try to catch one Wednesday, but can live without it! :)

Here are a few of a fun boy session last week. Mr. D turned one, so the session was for him, and also was to get all the boys together. That was a difficult feat, but I loved every minute of it! With only having my two girls, seeing the boys interact, playing with sticks, chasing squirrels, playing in the dirt (like within minutes of being at the park, and their mom saying "try not to get dirty!"), having a sibling quarrel...I loved it! It brought back many memories of growing up with my SIX brothers, and running along side with them...until I became "too cool" to play with sticks or dirt. Although, a game of backyard football, I was always up for...even through high school...then they became way better than me, and it wasn't as fun! Poor loser, I know.

Mr. D...the big one year old! Don't you love his hair color?

Chasing after the squirrel...

The little cookie cutter boys...
This one cracks me up. Mr. S on the end looks as though he is trying to be the dad of the boys and make sure that Mr. D is doing what he should be...too cute! :)


Love how the littlest one is lagging behind and checking out to see if we were coming...

If you are wondering their ages...4, 3, 2, 1 (all about 13 months apart, and Mom is expecting another little bundle!) How fun will they all have growing up so close in age with each other...I would love to watch their Christmas morning this year! What great kids!

Well, to end things for now...who knows what will get done tonight (I am still hearing my little one talking in her bed, which means a trip up to see what is going on!) Remembering my little Thomas Richard...one year ago today...birthed and held my little boy after he had gone to be with our Maker. Not a day goes by that my heart doesn't miss him, and that my mind doesn't wander off and think of him. God has been good, and blessed me with another little life inside of me that wouldn't be here, if my baby Thomas was...so I have to be thankful, and rejoice in knowing that I will see him again. The weather today couldn't have been better, and the girls and I had a great time with each other. Such sweethearts (that can also make me crazy!!!) that love me completely with all of my imperfections...and there are many.

Back to work. Hope you are having a great week, and if you are in the NWO area, enjoy the beautiful days to come. More sessions this week...if you are hoping to squeeze one in, the time is running short, so shoot me an email or give me a call. November 22nd is my last day (excluding newborns).

**Update...just heard from my hubby and he has cell service in his lodge...and hopefully internet access. The last time he went there was no cell or internet and we talked very minimally through a pay phone. So that is a TOTAL bonus to help get through the week! :)

**Update Number 2...Tom has internet service also!!! Yippie! This will cut down on his lengthy hours of catch up with emails when he returns, and allow the girls to send him fun notes and love you's whenever they want! The past two things have made my evening! :)