Worse Before It Gets Better....

My husband and I have this little saying.  "It's a process."  When I'm in the middle of cleaning or organizing, and he comes home... before he even enters the messed up area, I say to him, "Remember, it's a process!"  Today, I got into one of those chores.  I was supposed to be cleaning up my bedroom.  Organizing my jewelry ended up taking a good portion of my alotted time.  HOW do I get myself into these things?

Oh dear...

Workin' Some Editing Magic...

If you didn't see the before, could you have noticed in the after???  :)

Twins.

One more entry before I try to get back to sleep...

Another family with three boys!  :)  And yet another couple of young men, who I knew as little boys!  They don't remember that... but I suppose that's not too surprising.  :)  Just check out these handsome guys... LOVE the contrast.  LOVE their sweet mommy.  LOVE chatting with young people about their lives... likes, dislikes, what they're enjoying about this transitional time. (If you want a quiet, non chatty, business-only photographer, I don't recommend myself... just sayin'!).  I had so much fun hanging out with them last Sunday evening.  And the weather couldn't have been more beautiful!!!

Can't Sleep...

I truly love this time of year.... everything about it... almost.  It's 2:31 in the morning as I type these words.  Why am I awake, you might ask?  One simple word:  ALLERGIES.  I forgot to take my extra dose of antihistamine before I went to bed, so here I am... wide awake, stuffy nose, itchy eyes, sneezing fits.  Yep, I am the perfect picture of the description on the back of a bottle of Nyquil... Zyrtec... Claritin... take your pic.  The end result is that lovely feeling of... Uuuuugggghhhh.

I awoke to finding my youngest son, asleep on the couch.  I have no idea why he's there instead of his cozy bed, but he is.  I guess he was having trouble sleeping, too?  He probably won't even remember how he got there when I ask him later.

Anyway, the photo business has me hoppin' (one of those great things about this time of year... let's focus on the positive)!  So, I thought I'd take this time to post a few previews from the last week.  If you follow me on FB, you've already seen them, but for those of you who don't have FB... here you are:

Our little neighbor buddies  :)

I'm a big fan of matching poses with siblings.  They look nicely together when you want to hang them next to one another.  Different can be fun, too, of course... but something about posing them the same, to me, brings out their differences.  You can really see their individuality when you're not distracted by the difference of the image itself... if that makes sense.  :)  These are a great example.  I happen to know these little guys pretty well.  Not unlike my own kiddos... different as night and day.  I can put these two boys in the same spot, and tell them to pose the same way... but the end result shows their different personalities once they get comfortable.  :)  Love it.

I'm obsessed with sunbursts.  :) Halos of light... highlighted subjects.  God's perfect backdrop.

I love SENIORS! :)

I really do!  They're so fun.  I love this age.  I so love being around them.  They all have this contagious loving-life thing going on.  And I think it's so exciting to be a part of "marking that memory" for them.  Senior pictures are a kind of milestone, and it's truly a blessing to be able to give them something to mark this time in their lives.

Often times, the faces I photograph, are of people I know... in some form or another.  I mean, let's face it... there are LOTS of photographers out there.  I don't really advertise, outside of Facebook, so my clientele mainly exists because of "word of mouth," so to say.  What I LOVE about that, is that I get to catch up with familiar people, that I may not often be around otherwise.

I've known this family for several years.  My oldest and their youngest used to be in the church nursery together.  :)  Their family consists of three boys, and I'm always enthused to see the dynamic among a family that is similar to my own.  Their boys, however, are much different in age than mine, and as most of us parents know, oftentimes, we tend to flock together based on where your kiddos are involved... All that to say, it had been quite awhile since I'd seen this young man...  In fact, my last known memory of him was when my husband helped lead a middle school event, and he came home with all kinds of fun stories about him!  :)  Did you catch that?  MIDDLE SCHOOL!  And, now he's a senior in highschool.  WHAT???  Could this actually be?  Wow.

Well, enough of all that.  I had a GREAT time with him and his mom last evening.  And I hope they enjoy their little sneak peek of his photos:

True Love...

We are celebrating the birth of my youngest, sweet boy today.  I could never express in words, what it means to me, to be a mother.  I am so overjoyed with the blessings that God has bestowed upon me, in allowing me to to be the mommy of my three sons.  Are some days better than others?  Oh, yes.  :)  But in every stage, of each one of their individual lives and personalities, there is something new to be learned... a new way to watch them grow... an opportunity to teach and guide.  I cherish the moments.


Ah, memories.  :)  Funny that I was coloring my hair back then, to be the color his is naturally.  :)

And I can't let it go unsaid, that another birthday is celebrated in our home today... our eldest "dogger" (that's what my inlaws used to call their dogs... get it?  not a daughter... a dogger...  Hehee!  Anyway...) Here she is, our first dogger, the same week we brought her home to be part of our family:

Three Months Old.

Time flies when you're having fun!  Can't believe it has already been three months since this precious, little life graced us with his presence.  He's just getting cuter and cuter by the moment!  :)