Can I just say....

That I've been really happy lately. Really, truly just enjoying life. And, well, that kinda scares the crap outta me.

I know that we SHOULD be happy and feel joyful and all of that. I know that. However, part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop, ya know? Part of me. The other part of me, the part of me I am choosing to listen to is saying:

Just stop. Enjoy this moment. Enjoy this time with your husband and your son. And your friends, your wonderful friends. Be thankful. Let your heart feel joy. Love your family. Love your marriage. Love it all.

The old me would have really been scared right now. The old me would've probably been jeoprodizing my happiness by choosing to be unhappy about little things - letting those little things grow into big things.

Why the change?

Well, there are a couple of reasons. 1). My husband. He is a wonderful man who has taught me that we should have happiness in our lives. The bad stuff is always going to be there, and it will find us. We shouldn't look for it. 2). I'm a parent of an adopted child. Even saying that sentence in my head sounds really weird to me, because I just don't think of him as adopted. He's just mine! When you adopt, there is uncertainty... birth parents can and do change their minds. However, you're not going to keep yourself from being happy at the birth of your child just because there's a possibility that you may not take that child into your arms as your own. No, you fall in love with them from the minute they are born, and I'm convinced they are yours at that very moment. So, even if you don't know if it's all going to work out or that none of the bad stuff will happen, you are happy in that moment and all you can do is love that child. 3). My faith has taught me that no matter what it is, I can survive it. I never imagined I'd miscarry a child. That has been the hardest thing I've been through. However, from that sorrow came great joy... And, I don't regret for a minute being ecstatic when we found out we were pregnant and sharing our joy with loved ones. Even if it ended badly and the shoe did drop, I was happy at that moment.

So, yes, I'm happy. I'm so very happy with my life, my family, my job, my home.

And, it feels good.

How I feel at Christmastime

• I Wish: More adoptive parents would consider open adoptions.
• I Love: When my son sees me walk into a room and says, "HI Mommy!"
• I Long: For the day when I have more self-confidence about who I am as a person and not just what people see on the outside.
• I Hurt: For people who don't think they need relationships. I've been around a few people like this in my life and it's so sad that they shut everyone out. They are missing out on so many wonderful things.
• I Imagine: What our house will look like when the work we want to do is complete. I'll probably be imagining that for a long time!
• I Wonder: How anyone can knit! So many people have tried to teach me and I swear... I'm hopeless.
• I Pray: That Gabe will dedicate his life to Christ someday. That he will know the joy of becoming a Christian and that he will experience the love that only Christ can give.
• I Sing: So many Christmas songs in the car, but right now my favorite ones are Rose of Bethlehem and Silent Night by Selah. Oh, and Oh Holy Night by Selah. Ok... so pretty much the entire Selah Christmas CD. If you've never heard of them, check them out - they are my favorite group of all time.
• I Hope: I can become a mom again some day. I would love for Gabe to have a sibling.
• I Hate: Feeling selfconscious.
• I Talk: About my son a lot. I hope I don't annoy people.
• I Hear: Quiet right now. Nothing but the sound of the keyboard and my party mix crunching while I enjoy some baby nap time.
• I Smell: Garlic. This smell will always remind me of my husband.
• I Miss: That feeling of innocence from when I was a child. When I didn't know about all of the junk going on in the world. A time when I thought most people were good and genuine.
• I Misbehave: In having an occasional cigarette. My husband is kinda restrictive on this one, so I do savor it when he's cool about it.
• I Envy: Other photographers. I know I'm learning... I just wish I could speed up the process a bit!
• I Fear: Giving my heart 100% to people. I am always skeptical for a while because I'm afraid of being hurt. I'm working on that.
• I Need: To lose some weight. I will feel so much better about myself, physically & mentally.

So, that's how I'm feeling this Christmas! I saw this idea on another blog I frequent and it inspired me to write too! You should try it!

Bob & Tom

I met Drew Hastings last night! We went with Steve & Tami to see the Bob & Tom Allstars Comedy Tour. We had so much fun!! I know this picture isn't very good quality, but it was taken with a cell phone. No big deal - I met Drew Hastings! He was really nice. Want to know something else? Chick has a really wimpy handshake. Sorry, just had to say that.

We had a great time with Steve & Tami (as always). We ate at Bernardi's (I had the coconut shrimp - amazing) and then we headed to the show. We couldn't believe how many grandmas and grandpas were there watching all these guys make crude jokes and use potty mouths! It was quite fun to watch some guy in his 70's get picked on by Bob Zany.

Gabe stayed the night at Abba & PawPaw's, so we got to sleep in a bit today. It was quite nice! This afternoon, Tami is keeping Gabe for a few hours so Greg and I can try and get some Christmas shopping done.

Thanks for the double-date night, honey! I'm so glad we could celebrate your birthday with such a fun evening.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

Just wanted to share my two favorite photos from the Lyonses photo session yesterday. What a wonderful family - their friendship has been such a blessing to my family. You can see more of them here.

Picture Post!

So, here are some pictures to go with the previous post!

We saw this on our walk the first night we were there... California! This was in the Disney park area.

The Disney park was lined with these awesome trees... I only wish my picture could do it justice! Notice the fireworks in the background! We were able to see those the first night we were there. It was pretty cool.

The Hollywood sign!

And, just because it is SUPER cool in Black & White!

Rodeo Drive! Didn't buy anything... The stores didn't have anything for me!

The palm trees...ahhh...

Ok, so I'm all about famous signs...

The name of President Reagan and the First Lady's boat was TruLuv.

Greg and retired Air Force One. Retired in 2001.

Still looks like it's ready for takeoff.

A piece of the Berlin wall.

The amazing view from the Reagan Presidential Library. No wonder it was their favorite place to be.

Pictureless Post

SO, Greg and I are in CALIFORNIA! It's been a really great trip. Today, we went to Rodeo Drive or as Greg called it "RoDEEo Doctor"... I only heard that about 100 times... :) After Rodeo Drive, we drove around looking for the Hollywood sign, all the while quoting lines from Pretty Woman... "Welcome to Hollywood. What's your dream?" or "Reg. Bev. Wil." or "Rodeo Drive, Baby".

After the Hollywood & Beverly Hills stuff, we went to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It was amazing. Completely humbling. I cried listening to the commentary about "Ronnie" and Nancy's love for each other. It was real. He was real. They led such an amazing life. We got to see the desk set on his desk in the Oval Office, many famous selections from the former First Lady's wardrobe, campaign memoribilia, and we even were able to go through the retired Air Force One. It was just incredible to see some pieces from history... our history. Ronald Reagan was president while I was a child. I wish I would've been older at the time so I could have followed his presidential career. We even saw a piece of the Berlin Wall today. It was amazing.

I'm so glad that Greg and I share an appreciation for history. We were both in awe today. I think we both teared up at points, just overwhelmed from it all. What an amazing life. What an amazing couple.

After we got back from our tourist adventures, Greg had to go to the conference/training he's here for. I got to take a nice nap, and then we went to an appetizer party where we met some of the salesmen and other "geeky" guys here. It was pretty fun. I think Greg was proud of me because I held my own with the guys. :)

I make Greg laugh because when we travel, I act like such a tourist. I will ask questions and not be shy. I'll make a fool of myself if I want to see something, get an autograph, etc... I don't care. I wasn't going to come to California and not at least ASK where the Hollywood sign was. I had no idea if it was 30 miles away or 200 miles away. I just wanted to know if it was possible to see it. Once I found out we were close, it was my mission to find it. (I did the same thing in Vegas with the "Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada" sign). But, because I wasn't afraid of looking like a "tourist", we got to see those famous things! I am so glad that I asked about Rodeo Drive and the sign today.

Well, tomorrow, I'm taking it easy while Greg's in the conference & training all day. Then tomorrow night we're attending a Pirates of the Carribean dinner the company is throwing. It should be fun. I brought my camera (duh!) but I don't have a way of taking the pictures off the card until I get home.

The ONLY sucky thing? We sure miss our little Gabers. We know he's safe and sound and probably having an awesome time himself, but we sure miss him.

So, Greg, in case I forget to tell you later, I had a great trip with you.

Thoughts on Photographing my 1st Wedding:

• Thankful I wore comfortable shoes.
• I was tired... dog tired when we got home.
• SO thankful to have a second shooter.
• I need a new camera - that will hold an SD card.
• 2 CF cards were not near enough.
• It stinks trying to delete pictures just to make more room.
• Be QUICK
• Be flexible - never know what's going to happen!
• Don't panic when all of the curtains are shut (when you were told they'd be open)
• Be glad it was a beautiful day!
• Eat at the reception
• BRING WATER
• Take as many photos as you can
• Don't panic.

Overall, it went very well. Between me & Grant, we got all of the shots we wanted. I don't know how/if people shoot weddings by themselves. I'm working on the processing now and I'm finding that a lot of mine are grainy. One of the problems was the lighting during the ceremony. The closest thing I can think of, is it reminded me of the lighting in a gymnasium... yeah really difficult! However, we did get a lot of good shots and I'm already having fun processing them.

Oh, yeah, I was asked to do another wedding! Um, I'll be thinking about that... It's a lot of work, but it is GREAT experience.

Family Photo Session

I had the pleasure of taking this awesome family's pictures this last weekend at Wesleyan's campus. It was so much fun. I had over 100 pictures that I was able to give the family to choose from. Let me just say again, it was so much fun. I felt so confident and even if I wasn't quite sure of what I was doing, I trusted myself and I came out with some pretty cute pictures. Hopefully the family loves them, as that is what I was going for. I had never met the family before, so I was nervous, but I still feel like it went well. We seemed to work well together and I just thought they were so nice.

Well, Greg's wife's been up to a lot. Most recently, and least fun, I hurt my back on Saturday. I took these pictures on Sunday, so I was really afraid I was going to be hobbling around Sunday, but I didn't do too bad. Last night, I went for a massage to try and improve it a bit and that was great, until I tried to get up. Here I am, 3/4 naked and I can't stand up to put my clothes on without yelping in pain. We're talking bad pain here... like the worst I've ever had. And, it has to be pretty bad for me to need to have help getting dressed. It was so humiliating. All I could do was stand, basically folded in half, with my upper body laying on the massage table. And that's how I stood for about a half and hour. I seriously could not move. After a lot of ice and some Biofreeze, I was able to get dressed (with the help of the massage therapist - still humiliating) and Greg came and helped me hobble out to the car. Seriously, this ranks up there as one of the most embarassing nights of my life.

I spent most of today in bed. Thankfully, I had some pain medicine which helped quite a bit, but it knocked me out. Sleep was great though and I feel so much better than I did last night. I hate it that the house is a mess and I can't bend much to pick things up. I'm hoping I am completely better by Saturday, as this is my first wedding and I really want to be in tip top shape! I don't want to be in pain that whole day. I don't even know what the specific thing was that caused me to hurt my back! I know I reached over to pick up something of Gabe's, but it wasn't an instant pain or anything. Ugh.

Here are a few more of the photos from the family session:

Bri's Husband

Tonight, I had the pleasure of going on a date with my husband. It's kind of a rarity nowadays! I actually lucked out... My sister Lindsey called to see if she could come over today to see Gabe. Of course she could! Then, I had a spur of the moment idea to see if she would mind watching him so Greg and I could go to dinner. She was thrilled! She is in nursing school right now, so she doesn't get to see Gabe very much. So, it worked out very well!

Greg and I had a very nice dinner at Biaggi's. We were going to go to a movie, but there wasn't really anything to see. So, our next stop was Good Will. Weird I know... Biaggi's, then Good Will. We had fun picking out some cassette tapes because Greg's truck only has a cassette player! Among our choices were the Pretty Woman Soundtrack, Heart, and Madonna. Oh, and Greg had to get the Bel Biv Divoe tape. Ugh. I told him that was fine, but he had to listen to "That girl is poison..." by himself.

After Good Will, we went to Sam's Club to price a new twin bed for our growing toddler. He wants nothing to do with the crib anymore. We also bought Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Oh, and we drooled over some furniture that we'd really like to have for our basement that we're remodeling. Finally, we headed to Borders to check out some books to read while we sipped on some beverages from their cafe. By the way, I just love that you can do that at Barnes & Noble and Borders. It's so relaxing.

It was just a really nice night to spend with my husband. We had a really great time. I'm really thankful that after 7 (almost 8, Greg) years of marriage that we can still enjoy our time together, still talk open and honestly, and still make the time for "us". As parents, it's definitely harder to find that time, but totally necessary.

Good night, hubby... Thanks for the date.

Photo Session

I had a great time taking Jenny & Rene's engagement pictures today. I just love how this one turned out... Jenny's eyes look amazing. Well, I know this is a super-short post, but I'm tired! You can see more of the photos here.

I love Fall.

Today was just beautiful... except for going to a new doctor, an endocrinologist. Suck. It didn't go near as well as I'd hoped. I left there feeling 10x more confused than when I walked in the door. More to follow... just too tired to write the whole thing out.

Thoughts of an Infertile Woman...

Ok, I know it's been a long time since I've posted. But, I do have reason... I am the mom of a busy toddler, I work part time in the office, and full time at home, etc... I also have another reason for delaying a post. I've been considering writing this post for a while now because it's been on my chest and I just haven't been sure if I should "put it out there". But, I think as Gabe & Rafiki from The Lion King would say, "It is time."

I just wanted to share some random thoughts on what it is like to be an infertile woman. I want to say right away that 1. I am not writing this for sympathy. 2. I am not writing this to be insensitive. 3. I am not writing this to complain in any way about what I do/do not have. I AM writing this because I think 1. It is something that most people don't talk about. 2. I want to make people more conscious of the things they say and do. 3. So if any infertile women out there are reading this, they know that at least one other woman has thought what they think. That they're not alone. That it is natural and normal to feel these feelings. Infertility, to me, is one of the loneliest feelings in the world. No one seems to understand how you're feeling and no one can make it better. Ok, now I feel like I can begin...

• Everytime I found out another woman was pregnant, it crushed me. I don't care how great of friends we were, it crushed me. I was so happy for them, but honestly, I was angry too. How could they be?? They just started trying! They can't possibly want a baby as badly as we do.
• I made myself involved in baby showers, shopping with friends for baby stuff, saying things like, "well, when I get pregnant...". I'm not sure why I did that. I guess maybe I thought it would be easier if I talked with my friend through it instead of distancing myself. I don't really do this anymore. I think I realized it was a way to experience it, but once the baby was born and the parents were busy, I was kind of alone all over again.
• I hate comments like, "If you just relax, it will happen" or "When you least expect it, it will happen", or "It will happen in God's timing". Yes, thank you. I know all of those things CAN be true. However, I have an actual medical condition why it doesn't just happen. It's not all about positive thinking, praying more, and letting go and doing it with your hubby.
• It drove me crazy knowing that if there was anything in this world I wanted to do - be a doctor, be a lawyer, jump out of an airplane, I could work my tail off to do it. Granted, it wouldn't be easy, but I could achieve it. Having a child was different. No matter how much I wanted it, how much I worked towards it, truly it was God's timing and I had no choice in the matter.
• Infertility is very, very lonely. Yes, your husband wants a child. I don't know if they ever really feel it like women do though. I guess I have always felt a little bit like Greg got a broken model... a woman that doesn't "do" what she was made to do. He has never, ever made me feel that way, in fact, he has been so supportive. But, I just don't think it is the same for men as it is women. Your family sympathizes too, but can't begin to grasp how you're feeling. You always feel like friends and family have to watch what they say around you to protect your feelings. And, while that is extremely thoughtful, you feel like an outsider.
• I became friends with other women who were going through infertility as well, but I soon found out that really didn't help to much... one of us was always going to get pregnant before the other - it was unavoidable. I was always the one that wasn't pregnant and as much as those friends said things wouldn't, they always changed.

I'm still living with infertility now. I still have a lot of those lonely feelings. Yes, I do have a child - a wonderful, amazing, smart, kind child. I wouldn't trade him for a hundred children I could bear myself. I do still wish though, in the bottom of my heart, that someday I'll be able to experience giving birth to a child. If it isn't in the cards, if God doesn't want our family to be created that way, that's ok. I've learned through all of this so many big lessons. I'd like to share some of those too:

• God can take a heart that's been damaged so many times by the hopes of pregnancies month after month and the loss of a child through miscarriage, and completely fill that heart with joy so that it is overflowing. That happened to me when my son Gabe was born. I never ever thought after losing our child to miscarriage that I was even capable of joy again. I couldn't understand why God had blessed us beyond measure and then in the blink of an eye, our child was gone. I was angry with God for a long time because of that. Little did I know what joy He had in store for us.
• I am stronger than I thought I was. I really didn't know how I was going to survive the pain. It was unbearable. There was a night when I laid on the nursery floor and cried (with Jinxi bawled up right beside me). I wanted to give up and not try again. I didn't even want to adopt. The pain was too much - I didn't want to give my heart away.
• I have learned how to respond to other people's pain - many aspects of pain, not just infertility. God has given me a heart for hurting with other people. God has made me a better friend because of it. God has shown me how very valuable life is - how we need to treasure each moment. Even though I was only pregnant for a short time, I look back on those days and Greg and I were truly happy - we lived in the moment. Mom and I went maternity clothes shopping. We started the nursery. We told people. I am thankful that we did all of those things.
• I have learned what to say and what not to say. When to speak and when to listen. (Ok, sometimes I'm still working on this one!)

Because we went through this, I am a better friend. I am a better mom. I feel better about who I am. I would never wish infertility on my worst enemy, but it hasn't been completely devastating to me. In fact, it was devastating. I did fall down in defeat several times. However, I am stronger now. I am wiser now. And, I am a mom now. I am able to look back and reflect on the events that God used to create the tapestry of my life. He knew the entire time what the end result would be. He knew, even though He saw me hurting day after day - and still some days - that I was going to be better because of it. And, I am thankful for that.

Momma Getaway

This past weekend, I had the absolute JOY going away on a retreat with my very best friends. I came up with the idea of having a Momma Getaway quite a while ago - I wanted to have a weekend with my friends in which we could scrapbook, talk, eat, sleep, as long as we wanted to without any hubbies or kids. As much as hubbies and kids are important and always the very most important people in our lives, we have to make time for ourselves as Mommas too. We need a break from responsibility every once in a while to get back to the friends we may not have been able to give much time to. We need to get caught up on the albums we're making for our kids. This weekend was everything I could've imagined and more. I am so unbelievably blessed with terrific friendships with these amazing women. And, a couple of them haven't even met before - everyone was talking, sharing stories and supplies, and having a great time together the entire weekend. How awesome. Here are a few more photos from the weekend:

Tami made me & Darci a birthday cake - Darci's was on the 11th and mine is the 17th. She's so sweet. Do me a favor, please don't count the candles!

Here is Darci busy at work scrapping. Check out the table! We were able to put the tables into a big square and sit around and talk while we scrapped. It reminded me of those quilting bee's the ladies used to have. We each had our own tables, so we had plenty of room to spread out.

Here we are... Darci did a great job of setting up here mini tripod to get a photo of all of us. L to R: Marya, Mary, Me, Tami, Darci, & Janell.

Our cabin had a big, stuffed, real bear in it. We had him as our protector, so we had to get a photo with him... or her... Who knows, maybe she was a scrapper!

One of my favorite photos from the weekend. I love Janell's face here. I told them I thought I may have gas while we were all so close in the pose, and we missed the first picture. We were still laughing at it when Darci set up for this photo.

This little guy worked his tail off this weekend! We had two Cricut machines there and it was fantastic. We got so much done! I was able to get 18 and 1/2 layouts done! I am now up to 19 months, and Gabe is only 20 months old. How great is that?! I snapped this picture when we went to bed - I shut off all the lights and this was the only light on. Suddenly, I was just kind of taken aback at how wonderful the weekend was.

And now, a tribute to each of my friends:

Oh, Marya - you are a friend I can laugh with, cry with, scrap with, and just plain old be myself with. I love that you are so forgiving, honest, and fun to be around. You are a fantastic mom, devoted to your boys, and I have learned so much from you about being a wife and a mom. I am so glad you joined us this weekend and I hope you enjoyed meeting some of my friends you haven't met.

I will forever be thankful for the countless hours we have spent together scrapping and talking and for your friendship. Love ya, Scrappy 2.

Janell, I am so glad you were able to join us this weekend. I am so in awe of your ability to keep it all together. Apart from being the mom of 4 great kids, you are able work and set aside time to spend with friends. You have been a terrific inspiration to me as far as motherhood and friendship goes. You are a very fun-loving, life-loving person. AND, your ability to do so many things and always be in such a great mood will never cease to amaze me! You are very generous with your time for others. You help your inlaws and friends and all the while have managed to raise a great family. Love you too!

Darci, where can I begin? You are such a very special friend to me. Your friendship has taught me so much about being a friend to others, being a friend to myself, being a mom, being aware of the pain others may be experiencing, etc... You are a teacher. You are a confidant. You are an amazing, devoted mom. You are a gifted scrapper. You and I have been through so much together and each time we go through something, our friendship deepens. We have been so blessed to be able to experience the birth of our children so closely timed to each other (that was a God thing for sure). We have been so fortunate to raise them together. They will grow up knowing their mommies are friends, just like them. I love you and thank you for all of the above.

Mary, you are my oldest friend (don't worry, I'm not talking age here!) You've been there for me through it all... First crushes, sharing stories of our first kisses, college, our weddings, the birth of our children, etc... You know me from way back when. I am so thankful for your dedication in making our friendship stand the test of time. I'm so thankful for your kindness, forgiving heart, caring attitude, phone calls (forgiveness when I don't return them on time!), reminders that I'm not a grandma when we go to Pizza Hut!, endless games of MASH we played when we were kids, countless walks, visits to Thomas Delight, college visits, etc... I'm so honored that you've spent so many memories with me. I'm thankful for your tears - when you've cried with sadness with me when we lost our baby. When you cried with happiness when Gabe was born. I will forever be grateful for your friendship. Thank you for being my first BFF. I love you too.

Last, but definitely not least, Tamalamadingdong. Tami, I am so thankful for you. You have been such an inspiration to me of what a mom should be. You have so greatly impacted my life with how you love your children, how you have had a marriage of many years, how you love God - how you come to Him as a child, and how you love that beautiful McCarthy. Your generosity has moved me to tears. Your sewing talents are amazing and continually impressing me. You & Steve have given Greg and me many great evenings by the fire, or at the kitchen table just hanging out. I love that you stalk me. :) I love that you love Gabe so much. I love that I can cry with you and I love how I can talk things out with you. I love that you want to be my friend because I so do not feel worthy. I love your humbleness. If I could be like anyone, I'd want to be like you - except for the bossyness.... I am TOTALLY kidding!! Just trying to get a rise out of you! I love you, Tami (niagw) and thanks for sharing the snoring room with me.

I am so blessed. So very, very blessed.

Wedding Update

Today I met with the bride and groom whose wedding I'll be photographing. I really liked the couple. They were very nice and it really seems like this will be a great first wedding experience. As for level of difficulty, I'm thinking it won't be too bad. First of all, the room in which they're getting married has plenty of windows and after discussing it with the bride, all of the curtains will be open, which if it's a nice day, will provide ample lighting. Also, they are getting married in a Masonic lodge - there are a lot of neat photo ops. The building is over 100 years old, so there is a lot of woodwork and old doors, great backdrops for wedding photos.

I have to admit, I was really nervous about the meeting today. I went very prepared with a list of questions for the bride and groom. I am still really nervous about November 1, but after today, I really feel so much better. I will also have a second shooter with me as well. This will help me so much. I really don't know how people would photograph a wedding without a second person there.

I have been reading quite a few posts on Flickr with all my questions about wedding photos, do's and don't's for the photographer, and what equipment I still need to purchase. Last week, Greg ordered me a reflector, so that should be here tomorrow. Yippee!! I'm so excited! This week, I am getting a wide angle lens and an external flash. Let's just say that birthday and Christmas are covered for me!

Speaking of Greg, he's been fantastic as far as supporting my new business. He has been a great encourager when I have been doubting myself. He has pushed me even when I think I should give up. He has also reminded me that I love this and if I really love it, I should pursue it. I'm trying so hard to learn as much as I can before the wedding. I've never really felt this way about anything before. I just love it. I love talking about it. I love figuring out what I'm doing wrong.

I will quote one of my best friends here, Dr. Darci J. Harland:

"The more you know, the more you know you don't know". That's exactly how I feel.

Yikes!

So, I accepted my first offer to photograph a wedding today. Am I insane? I don't know! I am really excited to have been asked to do it. I am really excited to try some new things. I just hope to do a great job for the bride and groom. The wedding is in November, so I have a lot of time to prepare. I am just honored to have been asked and I really hope I can capture this special day for them.

Been Busy

Gotta make this a quick post... (I'm exhausted. I've been staying up late on Flickr everynight. - Dang Flickr'll get ya everytime.) Just wanted to share my favorite photo from my cousin's daughter's birthday. My cousin, Steph asked me to take pics of Hailey at 2 years. I had a lot of fun. I love her grandma's hand on hers in this picture. Oh, and she's stinkin' adorable.

My mind has been going a mile a minute since Wish I Might became official. I just have all of these ideas sparking and I've never felt this way about anything before! It's just such an awesome feeling. I may not be the best, and I may not have all of the fancy equipment, but you gotta start somewhere. Word of mouth has been going well. I've gotten a few "leads" and I am anxious to receive some follow up info on those.

Time for bed. I'm beat!

Wish I Might

Currently, I am working on my portfolio for Wish I Might. If you are interested in checking out some of the photos, click HERE. Any comments/suggestions would be much appreciated!!

The Reveal

Yes, I have been considering starting a SMALL photography business! MY logo (I designed it and I love it) is right here! I am feverishly working on a portfolio to put online, so I'd love to have Greg's wife readers provide me with feedback when that's available. I am having so much fun going through old pictures I've taken and giving them new life with all the processing skills I've learned. I am just so passionate about this. It's absolutely my favorite thing to do. Even if this turns into nuttin', I'm having an absolute blast.

My One and Only Someone

Reasons why I love my hubby:

1. He worked his butt off today. We just got back from camping and Greg braved the hot, humid weather to clean our camper up and organize the outside compartments. (while I was inside, in the air conditioning, cleaning and putting things away)
2. He taught Gabe about Pez candy today.
3. He brought me a Coke from Casey's and I didn't even ask for it.
4. He is the most forgiving, generous, funny person I know.
5. He's so cute - and he doesn't even know it.
6. He loves me for who I am - realizes I have faults, accepts those faults, and loves me completely. I will never know how I got one of the best men out there.
7. He is so patient with Gabe.
8. He requires time with Gabe - meaning if they haven't had some Daddy/Gabe time in a while, he is sure to take him on a walk, or play with him, or put Gabe's favorite show on the TV and sit in the recliner with him.
9. He found Gabe a favorite cartoon on a morning that he let me sleep in.
10. He looks dang adorable sitting in the recliner sleeping with his mouth open.

I love you babe... these are just some of the reasons why.

For your review

Ok, I have two more... please let me know your honest opinions!!

The second one is by far my favorite!! Too girlie though?

Trying something new...

I asked my sister if I could try making some invites for her wedding in Aug of 2009... Any comments or suggestions? I haven't done this before, but I'm learning quite a bit about Photoshop, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Girls Night Out

Last night was a lot of fun. I went with my sister in law, Missy, and my neice, Katie, to paint pottery. First of all, those two are pro pottery painters! They knew all the tricks of the trade. I didn't know there was a little pick-thingy you could use to scrap small amounts of paint off if you messed up! Sweet! Secondly, they're just awesome to hang out with. I had fun just chilling out with them.
There's just so much to choose from. I wanted to make everything. Here's what we ended up making:

• Greg's Wife: Crayon Bowl - read the story behind it here. And, the Gabe's Mom sign - too fun!
• Katie: The Apple plate - isn't she creative?
• Missy: The adorable chess nameplate for Julia, a soccer nameplate for Katie (not shown) and a small garden stone.

(Needless to say, Missy was a little faster than me & Kate!)

I love these two girls - we had a lot of fun. I can't wait to go back... I already know what I want to make!! You'll have to wait a week though to see the finished products!!