25 Things you didn't know about me...

1. When I was born, my hair had a lot of blond in it. Even as a little kids, you could see lots of it in my hair....you wouldn't know it now, as my hair(naturally) is closer to black than it is to blond!

2. I love to sing, and am pretty good at it. I am also pretty good at writing poems and essays, and have had a few poems published. Ironically, I can't write songs to save my life.......

3. The people who know me best get my sense of humor, and see me as funny and outgoing. You wouldn't know it though, when I'm in a large group of people I don't know very well....I am painfully shy, but I've been working on that! :)

4. I'm really soft-hearted.....perhaps an over-wound sense of empathy? I tend to get teary eyed easily at other people's joys and sorrows.

5. I love animals, and really miss having a dog.

6. I am definitely a lot more like Tigger than I am Eeyore!

7. I think laughter has power....and that it really, truly is the best medicine. The more we laugh, the better we feel, and the smaller our problems seem!

8. Horror movies scare the poo outta me. Give me a comedy, drama, romance.....anything else!

9. I am overwhelmingly passionate about any and everything I put my heart into. My family, my art.....all of it. I give 150% of myself.

10. I don't think I've ever been called "too serious" before.....ever. I try to have fun in everything I do. I struggle with this when it comes to laundry.....

11. I'd rather be too cold than too hot. Which is good, because I'm usually freezing! I think it's much easier to warm up than it is to cool down.

12. I love slippers. You rarely see me without them on in my house.

13. I was blessed with an amazing family! Both my immediate, and my extended family is filled with amazing, wonderful, inspiring people who I'm honored to share a heritage with.

14. I love getting text messages. They make me smile :)

15. I think of it as a huge compliment anytime someone takes time outta their day to think of me.

16. Coming up with 25 things you didn't know about me is really hard, cuz I'm a pretty open person!

17. Peanut butter may be my favorite food ever. Turkey is a close second, but it wins out if served with dressing, mashed potatoes, and corn. French Onion soup is up there pretty high too. :)

18. I can't use someone else's toothbrush. It totally grosses me out. If someone accidentally uses my tooth brush, I go buy a new one.

19. I'm really good at improvisation. I make my friends/family giggle with lyrics and things I come up with on the fly. :)

20. I enjoy sports, and have played baseball, volleyball, and swam competitively while I was still in school.

21. I love attention & love being on a stage, which is really odd considering I'm actually a pretty shy person. I'm a bit of a riddle :)

22. I'm a really happy, bubbly person. So much so, that the other day, my husband woke up grumbly, to which I said, "Awww.....someone woke up on the grumpy side of the bed today!" and he replied, "Well, I can't get up on your side of the bed. It's too sunny over there!" :)

23. I have a love/hate relationship with spiders. I love taking macro shots of them, and am in complete awe of the beauty of their webs. On the other hand, they totally freak me out. I mean, I'm fine with spiders if I know where they are......but they are like these little miniature ninjas that just pop out of nowhere and make me scream. I'm just say'n :)

24. I am super-duper ticklish.....sometimes just looking like you're gonna tickle me gets me going!

25. I can't stand it when pieces are missing from things...(toys, puzzles, etc). I drive myself nutty finding each and every last piece of everything when I clean up the play room.

Scripture & a snap shot.......my first time!

These are from a newborn session I did the other day....what a sweet, little blessing this beautiful boy was! This was my first newborn session!

Trying to dig out from the cardboard blizzard........

Let me tell you, six people can own a LOT of stuff!

It doesn't LOOK like that much, until you start putting it all into boxes.......I swear it started multiplying.

None the less, we had a blessed Christmas in our new home.

My livingroom looks like we've lived there for 6 months.....the rest of the house? Not so much....lol. If you ever want to challenge yourself, move 7 days before Christmas with 4 children.....lol

Good news though....Santa got our change of address form!


(Even if he did forget to wipe his feet!)


Even with the mess he left, my children were more than a little excited coming down the stairs Christmas morning, in our brand new home!



My photography business has been super busy lately.....my head has been blissfully spinning in circles with all the things that have been on my plate! :) Truly, we have been so blessed!

I have so much to post about....a bunch of sessions to share, and oodles of thoughts and smiles, but I need to go shower and get ready for an engagement session in a little while, so I'm going to leave you all with a really cool benediction I heard the other day :)

"May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor."

God bless you and yours, and I hope you're having an AMAZING 2011 so far!

Macro Friday, and really, I'm still here....

Ug......I forgot how much fun moving is (please, say this inside your head with THICK sarcasm....)

I'm still here....really, I am. We closed on the house on Tuesday....HUGE blessing. Really......we used the listing agent as our agent also, as he is a close family friend. My parents have lived next door to the seller's family for the past 30 years. Really, the closing was full of smiles, laughter......sweet memories of the seller's Mother(who is now in a nursing home with Alzheimer's) Really, it felt like a transaction between family and friends. Couldn't have asked for a more pleasant experience.

Oh, and get this.....closing cost almost $1000 LESS than what we hoped it would....$1000 less than our low-ball figure! When does that EVER happen??????

So, contractors are in and painting.....stove will be delivered Monday....packing boxes, moving boxes.....painting stuff........ oh boy, have I ever been busy!!

I've actually had a bunch of sessions lately too, adding to my craziness! lol.....go figure, now that I'm busy, everyone is giving birth and scheduling sessions!

Anyway, I'll be back in full force soon.....we figure, within the next 7 days we should be in the new place 100%.

So for now, I give you...... A Pug.....in Macro...(click to enlarge)


So, hop on over to Blogging from Bolivia, where Laura host Macro Friday every week! CHeck out all the other awesome macro shots, and link up your own!

Thankful.....

To say this holiday season has been hectic, would be the understatement of the century.

The stress of buying a new house, waiting to hear on the mortgage, the wheelbarrows full of money we weren't expecting to put out this month, sorting through, and packing up six people's worldly possessions.....all on top of the normal "parenting six children, being a good wife, and trying to grow my little fledgling business" stresses.

You know what? My heart is still overflowing with thanks and gratefulness.

I am THANKFUL....

Thankful for an amazing husband who believe in me. Who loves me past my faults and shortcomings, laughs at my silly jokes, supports my dreams, and makes me strive to be the best version of myself possible.

Thankful for the family God has entrusted me with. For my teenager, who despite his struggles, inspires me by example, to look for the good in everyone. For my pre-teen, who shows me how to full embrace the things I struggle to do, and find joy in them. For my Kindergartner, who teaches me that a smile can lighten any burden.
And for my baby....who has taught me more in her short little two years of life, than I could hope to teach her in a lifetime.

Thankful for dreams....

Thankful for reality......


Thankful for God's grace, second chances, and the ability to serve.

Thankful for precious moments...


Last year, at this time, I was 100 pounds heavier. My husband was laid-off, with no end in sight. My baby was having a really rough recovery from her palate surgery. We didn't always know how every bill was going to get paid. I was desperately trying to inspire my husband, who is as hardworking as they come, to understand that you don't need to have a job, to have a purpose.....last Thanksgiving, I was still Thankful. I'd learned a lot about life the prior year....I'd learned how to truly trust in God. I'd learned that in my darkest hour, God's presence would always be felt. I never, ever, ever had to go at it alone.


You know what? Things got better. My husband found a new job, that he loves beyond his wildest dreams. He was able to do some training we would have NEVER been able to afford had he not been laid-off for 16 months. He now has a career, instead of a job.

One of the biggest things I'm thankful for though, is finding my place. A year ago, I hadn't started volunteering, or helping other families. My own child was still recovering from her last surgery! It was about this time of year, that I started giving back....giving my time and energy to other families who's children were born with craniofacial anomalies. It still amazes me how much one can GET from GIVING! God worked wonders in my heart, through helping others.

Another thing I'm thankful for? A year ago, I didn't even own a camera, let alone a dslr! I knew I liked taking pictures as a kid, and that people used to tell me I had an eye for it....which, ya know, you don't think too hard about when you're 12. When the oppertunity arose for me to get a good camera this past March, I jumped at it! After all, I have four kids, and I've always liked taking photos. I had NO IDEA the chain of events that would follow, or the spark getting that camera would ignite in me. I HAD to learn more.......I'd never thought about taking a camera out of automatic mode, or editing my photos. I started devouring information, tutorials, and books. Things just started falling into place....bringing me to where I am now. Some call these things in life "coincidence" .... I always liked the idea that, "Coincidences are just miracles, where God decided to remain anonymous" :)


Then, of course, there's this amazing house, that we will be in before Christmas! With my parents next door.....amazing! My kids are going to get to grow up, with amazing, supportive, loving Grandparents right next door....



God has answered prayers I didn't even know to ask! I have been so blessed!

I pray you all have a wonderful, beautiful Thanksgiving!

Macro Friday!

Since I'm not sure when I'm gonna be home again today, I thought I'd get this up now!

More butterflies!


So, link up and join in, over at Blogging from Bolivia and see everyone's amazing (and, in Laura's case, terrifying!) macro shots this week!

Before/After....a little late!

Late is better than never, right? We're making baby steps towards closing on our house....I'm making baby steps towards getting everyone's stuff packed.....and am clinging to the small crumbs of sanity I have left! I know it will be ok....it's just super stressful moving this close to Christmas with four kids! It's looking like closing will be the first week of Dec......

Anyway, here's a photo from a shoot I did last weekend. This was a spur of the moment shot....I just thought they looks so beautiful hugging...Mother and daughter. Needless to say, my exposure is off, and there's a pole sticking out of the mom's head....

Before


After


I'm used to removing stuff from the background, doing all that kinda stuff....object replacement, etc.....but I think removing something large in think tree branch bokah, and having it look pretty natural, may be one of the hardest things I've done to date! It may not be perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it.

Shot with my Canon 50D 85mm and edited in Lightroom 3 and CS5

Hop on over to Pixel Perfect and see everyone else's edits this week!