Wow-Za!

I can't stand to post without pictures. And, I have been so busy doing pictures for other people and trying to keep up with my kiddos that I have not been taking many pictures for me. However, yesterday I received a nice little package in the mail. In the package was my "new to me" lens that I have been wanting for a while. I found one for sale on one of my photography forums and had a little money from my business to reinvest so I bought it.

And oh my goodness! I LOVE it! I don't think I will take this lens off for a while. Well, I take that back. I told Ed that we could wrap it up for me for my Christmas present. Sad, I know but hey Christmas is really about the kids.

So, here are few test shots with my new baby:

Check out Liza's dismount from the rings. Lovely, huh?

And look how sharp she is here!

And, not only does this little baby take nice pics outside, it does well inside too. I surprised Louisa. Look at her cute little mouth.

Liza was not so surprised. She knows mommy can be crazy with a camera sometimes. I love how she cut her eyes at me.

And here I cracked the little lady up. I guess mommy taking pictures of you trying to take a bath can be pretty funny.

So, there you have it. A few shots with my new lens. Wow-za it is sharp! I just can't even stand it. Yes, I am a geek. I love a new toy that works well. Perhaps after I unwrap it at Christmas you will see some more pictures!

Fourteen Years

I can't post without a picture so let's just get that part out of the way. Here are a few shots of my kids with their cousins. All the kids had a teacher workday so we met up at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house for a fun day. No, you can't tell they were having any fun, can you?

So, on to the real topic of the post...

Fourteen years ago Ed and I were married. ( Well, actually 14 years plus one day- I'm up way too late!) Hard to think back to the people we were 14 years ago. It is amazing how much we have each changed and grown.

Tonight, as I was getting the kids ready for the babysitter's arrival, Harrison asked why they were going out with us. As I explained to him that 14 years ago it was just Daddy and Mommy I could see Liza's face show complete amazement. What? Mommy and Daddy without B, H, L and L?? Her response to me, after she processed this idea was, "Poor Mommy". And you know what? I agree. Don't get me wrong. Ed and I were very happy for the five years we were married before the kids came along. We thought we were "living large". We slept in, had fun, went on trips, went to the movies, ate out, etc. Sure, we have traded some of those things in or modified them slightly.

Sleeping in now means 7:00 or 7:30 ( not 10:00 or 10:30), we still have fun but now have more people to share it with.

We still go on trips but really just in between sport seasons these days. Potty breaks are no longer put off "just thirty more minutes" and we actually stop during meal times.

Instead of going to the movies we have family movie nights or watch shows we have DVR'd. And of course, we have popcorn in our individual popcorn buckets- and soda too!

Going out to eat has been transformed into teaching the kids how to cook. They pick what they want to make and I assist. My kids WILL know how to cook!

So, yes, times have changed in 14 years but I know all too soon we will returning to a time when it is just me and Ed. For now I will enjoy the times here and there that Ed and I get to ourselves. Our 14 years together have been so worth every minute of every day. All I have to do to see the value in our past years is to look at the four little faces of my kiddos :-)

Moving at Light Speed These Days

OK, so a while back I thought to myself how I have to get back into the blog thing. When I print this sucker out I don't want huge gaps in it! So, I haven't been the greatest at getting back to it but I have been thinking about it. That counts for something, right?

We continue to be super busy but I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Soccer for Harrison ended this weekend and football will end next weekend. ( Alleluia!!) I will get my Saturdays back for about 5 weeks before basketball starts. And, I will have an extra night a week without having to shuttle the kids from here to there. Yipee! So, now that we will be around a bit more, perhaps I can post a bit more.

So, to get you caught up on everyone:

Ben is doing great. He is in a fantastic class and he is learning to push himself and work his hardest. He is learning there is no substitute for doing what has to be done. He has done really well in football, which I love and hate. I keep hoping he will outgrow his love of the sport. Who wants their boy getting tackled?

Harrison is really taking off in kindergarten. He suffered his first "note home" last week. He had to move his "car" off the green road onto the yellow road :-0! When I asked him why he said he was "just having fun in centers". Well, I guess there could be worse things, huh? He didn't hurt anyone, say anything mean, or be disrespectful. He was simply having too much fun. :-) The first time this happened to Ben, he fell to pieces. Harrison??? Not so much. All I got was the sly little sideways smile that let me know he knew he shouldn't have gotten in trouble.

As for Liza, she is growing like a weed. She keeps reminding us that she will soon be four. Why? Because in our family you get to go to Disney once you turn four. The boys have already told her all about the place and she just wants to go. I'm not sure who wants to go more- her or Ed :-) Liza is also looking forward to her little Christmas dance. She is excited that her daddy will be coming to watch her. I can't wait to see it. Dance for 3 and 4 year olds is so entertaining!

And finally, Louisa! That girl is surely our last baby! I tell you, she is going to do us in. Her favorite room in the house is the bathroom. The toilet brush, the toilet, the toilet paper- all such fun things for a baby. Her favorite place to escape to? The boys' room- upstairs! If she even thinks their door is open she will crawl down the hallway in no time and scurry up those stairs. She is our wild woman. She is our most curious baby by far and baby proofing has to go to a whole new level with this one!

As for Ed and I, we are well. We are getting ready to celebrate our 14th anniversary. Kind of hard to believe 14 years have gone by!

And because I can't post without a picture... There's a shot of Ben up there from today. I was playing around with some settings on my camera, trying to see how I can set the camera up to do the processing that I want rather than having to pull everything into photoshop to get it like I like. I think I may have found some settings that will work for my "around the house" type pics.

Now that things are slowing down, and we might be around the house more, perhaps I will post more. One can always hope ;-)

Jedi Princess

This just cracks me up. My little Jedi princess throwing the force at me. Can you tell she is well versed in all things Star Wars?

May the force be with you!

My Little Beauty

Yes, I know I am biased, but this girl is striking to me. She is fiesty but sweet. She is sweet and tart. She is laid back but intense. She is all about paradox! She is two sides to the same coin.

Mommy loves you sweet girl. Thanks for being my model.

Time Gets Away

OK, so was it really August last time I posted to the blog?? What in the world? What happened? Let me think....

Well, school started which means the rat race started:

Get the kids to school.

Get the kids home from school- some early, some later. Feed kids meals- ALL meals. Why won't mine buy lunch at school once in a while???

Monday-Do the back and forth thing of having kiddos at multiple schools. Leave, come home, leave, come home, leave, come home. You get the picture. Take Liza to dance. Do homework at dance with the older ones.

Cook, eat, clean up, baths, bedtime stories.

Tuesday- All the same stuff, but throw in soccer practice for one and football practice for another. And oh yeah, feed the kids dinner and get them out the door BY 5PM to make it to said practices. Get home, get them showered and in bed fast!

Wednesday- All the usual stuff but let mommy go to Bible study while all but one of the kids are at school. I know it is horrible, but some days I feel like I need to skip Bible study to get my life in order. Large chunks of time, which I rarely get, need to be productive chunks of time. Yes, I actually argue with myself about what I actually mean by productive. What is more productive than studying God's word?? Bad as it is sometimes lose sight of what is REALLY important. That ever happen to you?

Thursday- Ohhh- worst day of the week- All the back and forth, same schedule as Tuesday with two practices, but throw in mommy preparing for and leading her Weight Watcher group. The hours between 3:00 and 5:00 are a nightmare- snacks, homework, changing into uniforms, trying to get a meal in the kids, mommy changing, children grouchy from the end of the week grumpies... Ahhhh- definite Calgon moments on Thursdays!

But lastly Fridays- nowhere special to go after school. Complete let loose time :-) I LOVE Fridays !!!

Needless to say, as you can probably tell from my lack of posting, getting things under control around here has not been easy. I'm not complaining. I love my big family. I constantly struggle with remembering what is important though. I mean really important. You know, I never got around to planting my flowers this past spring. Our front flower beds had no color all summer. Well, I take that back. They had a little green color from the weeds that sprang up every now and then. But, you know what? It didn't matter. Not a single one of my friends asked about the flowers, or lack of them. No one in the family even wondered why there were no pretty flowers this year. It was only me that every once and a while felt bad that there was something I just didn't do.

It has taken me a while to clue into the fact that I can't do all the same things that I did when I didn't have kids, or that I did when I had one or two kids. I have four kids! What made me think that I could add more sweet kiddos to the mix but still keep all the same "balls" in the air.

So, I am adjusting. Figuring out what to do, what to let go of and what not to worry about anymore. Is it easy? No. Would I have it any other way? Nope.

Now, lest you think I would post without pictures let me share some of my little cutie pie who is now one!

The image above is my little one right after she pulled the baby monitor off of my nightstand. She thought the antenna looked appetizing. She was gazing up at her big sister who was tattling on her :-)

That hair and those eyes! Ahh, my sweet little angel girl.

You know, I am such a believer in the fact that images don't have to be technically perfect to tell or show you something about someone. This picture speaks loudly about my sweet girl. See how she is right up in the camera? That's her! My super inquisitive, make a mess, get into everything last baby. I never knew what real baby proofing was about until this one came along!

And finally, my little L sat still for a moment.

OK, so that is all for this random post. I will get back to my blog. It has been my family scrapbook/journal for over a year now. I don't want my journal to have "holes" in it! But, as I remember from my Courage to Teach groups, fires need space between the logs so that they can burn stronger. I have had my time away from the blog and will come back to it ready for newer, better things. Promise!

My World Changed a Bit Today

After six years of having this cutie pie with me all the time, I sent him off to school by himself today.  For me it means my world has changed a bit.  Since 2000, the year my oldest was born, I have always had a boy by my side.  With my oldest two being boys I learned how to be a mom to boys.  Even now that we have had two little girls, I just somehow feel like a "boy mom".  Cars, Stars Wars, Batman, PowerRangers- these have been common conversation starters in our house for quite some time now.  Sports are also big in our house.  Football, basketball, baseball- you name it, my boys ( and Liza) can tell you something about it.  Slowly, as Liza has gotten older, we have started to have more princesses lying around the house, more dolls, and stuffed animals.  Even with the addition of all the girl stuff ( and there is plenty of it!) my mommy career started out with boys.  And now, both my boys are in big school.

All summer I have been telling Harrison how weird lunchtime would be when he was in school.  I am used to having my little H with me.  And today was weird.  After dropping Harrison off Liza, Louisa and I came home to a house that was a little quieter ( if you know Harrison you know his voice can carry!).  My poor little Liza followed me around from one task to another.  Today was the day she lost her best playmate during the day.  I guess I didn't even realize that she had become my shadow until I was trying to put Louisa down for her nap.  She quietly followed me into Louisa's room, where I was going to rock Louisa.  She dragged her little bathroom stool out of the attached bathroom and sat down beside me.  When I asked her if she missed Harrison she shook her little head and said, "Yeah, I miss Hair-son."    I told her I missed him too.

It will take some getting used to- this being without my boys during the day.  I will learn to be a "girl mom" and Liza will now take on a different role.  She will be my big kid and Louisa will be following her around like she used to follow Harrison around.  

Amazing how one day can change your world...

A Few Random Pictures

My sister is down at the beach with her family this week.  Lucky for us, we are close to the beach so I took the kiddos and shot down there for the day.  We enjoyed hanging out at the pool all afternoon, followed by a pizza dinner.  It was a great summer day.

Check out Ariel, The Little Mermaid, aka Liza.  Recently, she has started making me leave her hair down when we go swimming so that her hair can flow through the water.  She is so silly!

And here is one of my neices, Molly.  She actually played the role of Ariel today.  Liza got demoted to Melody, Ariel's daughter.  For those of you who aren't into the Little Mermaid, Ariel had a daughter named Melody.  That is from The Little Mermaid II.  Too bad I was a little lazy about taking pictures today because I missed getting pictures of King Triton, aka, Harrison.  He even pretended to carry his trusty trident around.  We have such little actors on our hands.

And, although this picture wasn't taken today I just loved it.  Look at my big girl, Louisa!  I snapped this yesterday.  You know where she was??  In my front doorway!  For you aspiring photographers go give this a try.  Open up your front door.  Set your trusty little subject right there in the doorway and snap away.  Usually, your front doorway will have nice, pretty soft light.  It is nice, open shade- perfect for taking pictures.  This is a great example of front lighting.  See how there aren't any shadows on her face?  The light fell on it evenly.  Front lighting is also called "glamour lighting".  I learned that in Candice Stringham's portrait class.  Aren't you impressed with my learning?  Now, go off and take some pictures of your kids in your doorway.  Leave me a comment if you do and let me know where I can go and take a gander at your doorway shots.

So, there you have my completely random pictures from today.  I am still playing around with my new camera, learning all the new features I now have available to me.  I have already decided some that I will use a lot ( like back button focusing) and some that I will use in particular situations ( like changing the auto focus drive modes- pretty nifty for catching moving subjects!).  All in all I do love my camera.

And before I forget, someone asked that I post what lens I was using.  For all of these pictures I used my Tamron 28-75mm/2.8.  I leave this lens on my camera most of the time now.  I love a 2.8 aperture and I find the focal range to be pretty decent for most of what I shoot.  I do have a longer lens that I use at sporting events for my kiddos but it was demoted as my favorite lens once I got this one!

What a Cutie- Inside and Out!

My little Liza was sweet enough to let me practice taking some pictures of her tonight.  I tell you, my kids are really not into helping me out when it comes to picture taking these days.  They are completely over being my test subjects.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when I suggested going outside tonight and letting mommy take a few pictures.  Liza said she would help me out so outdoors we went.

Now, although I do love the little shot I got of Liza, the real reason for her picture being on this post is because her mommy is super proud of her.  This week our church has been holding VBS ( Vacation Bible School for my Yankee friends).  Liza and Louisa were supposed to be in the nursery all week as I led a group of kids.  Louisa had different ideas though and she learned very quickly ( like within 30 minutes of me dropping her off the first day!) that if she shrieked her high pitch squeal, then she would get busted out of the nursery.  And me, being the tender hearted mommy couldn't bear to leave my Liza in the nursery ( it was ALL babies!) if Louisa was going to have to accompany me around all morning.  So, I told Liza she could rotate through the stations with my group ( the rising kindergarteners) as long as she as a good girl.  Well, Miss Liza was a good girl!  She listened.  She followed directions.   She participated.  And the crowning jewel in the whole thing was tonight, on the way back from dropping Benjamin off.  We had the VBS music CD playing in the car and I heard my sweet little Liza's voice singing "We can trust Him, We can trust Him".  Something about hearing her soft little voice singing songs that talked about such important and bigs ideas, made me proud of her.  She was a trooper.

And to be fair, all of my kiddos were troopers and made their momma proud.  Benjamin was in a rather challenging group but the leader made a point to come up and tell me how thankful she was to have Benjamin there as she could count on him to listen and help out.  And my Harrison was in my group, which isn't always the easiest on a kid.  He really made me proud though!  We had the largest group at 30, and I didn't have to speak to him once this whole week.  I had some very active little kids but Harrison knew how to behave and did his best.  Not only did they all behave, but they also learned a lot.  Every night we have been able to talk about what we learned the previous day and they made sure to bring in donations each day to go towards our mission ( we collected over 1000 pounds of food!!).  All in all it was a crazy busy but super fun week and this momma is oh so proud of her babies.

New Camera, New Pictures

Just a quick post to show off some new pictures taken with my new camera!  I actually got the camera almost two weeks ago but am just now getting time to really learn it.  While I do believe that the camera does not make the photographer, I can now say that it does help a little!

Here are a few pictures snapped with my new baby.  Along with the new camera I am trying out some new processing techniques.  Seems like I always have to be learning something.  What fun is it to always do things the same way?

Here is a soft/dreamy type processing.  Took these last night in front of a beautiful church downtown.  I love the grounds of this church.  So pretty!

And this one cracks me up.  I love how Liza wrinkles her little nose up.  She does it when she is being devilish.  My goodness she is a character!

And here is my little H.  Isn't he the best model?  You should have seen him posing for me!  I just love this little dude.

And this one is my absolute favorite of all the pictures I got from last night.  It's not my favorite because it is the best composition or the best processing.  It is my favorite because of what it says.  To me, this picture shows what life is like in our house at times- Liza being a character while the boys look on and laugh and/or wonder about her.  This is an emotionally perfect photography to me.

And lastly, I apologize for not including any photos that show our little Louisa.  A big storm blew up as we were taking these pictures so Miss Louisa missed her modeling time.  Never fear though, you know there will be more pictures soon!

My All-Star

Check out my Benjamin:

Does he look like he is ready for the big leagues or what?  Although he played t-ball as a 4 year old, he hasn't played baseball since we moved here three years ago.  This year he played with our friends' church and had a lot of fun.  When that season ended he joined up with our area All Star team.  

Now let me be clear, when they say All Star they mean ALL STAR.  Wow!  These boys can play!  They can dive to catch they ball.  They make double plays.  They hit homeruns.  They are really good!  Even though Benjamin loves to be "the best" at what he does, I think he would be the first to tell you that he isn't the best, nor the second, nor the third best.  He is the newest and least experienced on the team. We are just proud that he is hanging in with something that hasn't been as natural to him as some of the other things he has played.

His ( and the team's determination) and great coaches have helped the kids to become a great team.  A few weeks ago they won the district championship.  This past week and weekend they played in the state championship.  After a week of baseball games and three hard games on Saturday they lost their last game to become the runners up in the state championship.  Although I know they wanted to win the championship they were still rewarded.  As runner up they represent our state in the regional championships in Florida!  Yup, that's right- they get to go to Florida!

We are proud of our little All Star and all of his teammates!  Go Team!!

Oh Those Pigtails!

Liza has recently taken to wearing her hair in braids.  She has become quite vocal in letting me know exactly how she wants her hair.  A few weeks ago her preference was for having her hair in a ponytail on the back of her head.  And, it couldn't be a ponytail that was too high.  She wanted it low so that she could sweep it around to the front like a princess.  This week we are all into pigtails.  I am thinking it might be from what we are reading- Pippi Longstocking.  Do you remember her?  Liza has long heard how I used to want to wear my hair like Pippi.  Perhaps Liza is my little Pippi.  Now if I can just get those braids to stick out from her head!

Inquisitive Louisa

Hmm, mommy left this cool card thing on the ground and Harrison put it on my neck.  What is it?

Maybe if I hold it out I can figure out what it is...

Uh-oh, she caught me playing with it.

Aren't these guys just the cutest???

This Just Makes Me Laugh

Louisa discovering the wonders of picking and eating grass.

Harrison trying to prevent it.

This picture just cracks me up!

The Glad Game

I am so lucky to have friends who encourage and inspire me.  There are three people here in my little town that I used to spend a lot of time with.  These three people were teachers on my team and even after moving away and then moving back they are still people that I call my friends.  Each of them is unique in their own way and I marvel at the way life works out to bring people into each others' lives.  When we moved away nine years ago I never would have guessed that our paths would cross again.  

Tonight, as I was driving home I was running through the sometimes overwhelming parts of life- juggling schedules, keeping up the house, fixing things that are broken ( think air conditioner in 90 degree weather!) and I started feeling, well, overwhelmed!  I think the straw that "broke the camels back" was the air going out today.  After shelling out a lot of money a few months back to "recharge" the unit I was a bit distressed that it was not working again.  That is when my friend Amy came to mind.  She plays the "glad game" sometimes to look on the bright side of things.  So, I did too.  What, you might be thinking, is good about your air conditioning going on the blitz during 90 degree weather??  Can't think of one?  Well, I did!  I always complain about how the power bills in our town are ridiculously high. So, I can now look forward to a lower power bill this month.  No AC for several days, means we are using less electricity.  So, yeah!  Something to be glad about :-) Thanks Amy for inspiring me to play the glad game!  Amy is a Sunday school teacher at my church and she keeps the class on the same page by sending out e-mails throughout the week.  Those e-mails throughout the week help me to keep my head and heart from getting consumed with things that, in the end, aren't really that important ( like the A/C)  And.... thank you for teaching my Benjamin this year.  Since he won't be able to have you for his third grade teacher ( Amy is retiring in a few days!!) I am glad that he was able to benefit from your love and experience this year for math.  You have touched many lives as a teacher and I am a bit sad that there will be one less familiar face up at school but I am GLAD that you now get to enjoy retirement.  Thanks for all your hard work!

Now, since I did say I had three "teacher friends" that I was feeling thankful for tonight, I ought to give them some blog time too!  One of my other friends is Susan.  She lives the closest to me and is in the midst of getting ready for her daughter's wedding.  She is so much fun and when I think about her I think of enjoying life to the fullest.  She is definitely one to live by the glad game, although she might not call it that.  In all my years of knowing her, I have never known her to be down.  She is sure to pep anyone up.  Just being around positive people can make all the difference!  She has been awful busy lately as have I and we haven't seen much of each other.  Sorry for not calling to check in on you but I do miss seeing you my friend!  

And last but not least, is my jet setting friend Lynn.  Lynn has been out of the country for almost a month now!   Lynn has been leading our Bible study in her home for the past few years and I am so in awe of not only what she knows about the Bible but also by how giving she is.  She is such a great example of thinking about others.  When we moved back here years ago, she and Susan came over to help me clear out the flower beds in our yard.  She came armed with weed killer, pine straw and a helpful spirit.  I aspire to grow up and be as giving of my time, talents & gifts as she is.  I look forward to when she returns so we can go to the bagel place to catch up!

So, my crazy busy life and broken air conditioner led me to be glad for my friends that I have had the pleasure of working with and knowing for over a decade (gosh has it really been that long??)  I think we often think about our friends and family and what they mean to us but we rarely tell them.  These three ladies are super special and I hope they know it!

Now, the perfect end to this post would be a picture of me with my wonderful friends but alas, I do not have one!  Never fear though- you don't need to know what they look like.  I have told you enough so that you can "see" what is important about them- their hearts and their spirits.  Aren't they beautiful??

Can't Leave Out Ms. Becky

Sorry Ms Becky!  When I uploaded the pictures for my last post I didn't click on yours!  You would be proud to know that when I shared that last post with Harrison the first thing he said was, "Where is my picture with Ms Becky?  How sweet is that?

The End of His Preschool Years

Just a few short years ago I took this picture of Harrison as he headed off to his first day of preschool.  He was so happy to be joining his big brother Benjamin at their preschool in Kennesaw.  He loved school that year.  He would come home telling us he saw "B" on the playground.  In fact, that is how our boys got their nicknames.  When Ben saw Harrison he was always shouting "B....B..." since he couldn't say his brother's name yet.  To be funny Ben started calling him "H", as did his teachers.  The nicknames stuck and we now have an "H" and a "B".  For his first year at preschool Harrison was in the youngest class while his brother was in the oldest class.  I think he liked having the security of having his brother there.  Just look at this little picture!  Aren't they cute??

Now, fast forward a few years and we come to  today, Harrison's last day of preschool. I snapped this shot of my H-man as he headed off to his last day of preschool.  I can't believe it- preschool over for my little guy.  A lot of things have changed since that first picture up there.  We moved and Harrison had to start all over again at a new preschool.  He did it all on his own, without his big brother.  He made his own set of friends and learned the ropes of a new preschool.  This year it was Harrison in the leader role as he was in the oldest group of kids while his little sister was in the "baby" class.  He helped Liza learn a thing or two about preschool ( mainly just warning her to stay out of "time out".)

I am so proud of this little dude.  I have seen him change and grow and he is such a fun little person.  I love the joy I see in his face as he runs into his classroom.  I love hearing that sweet, immature voice tell me about what they did in school.  I love the way he completely loves his friends at school.  And, while I know all of that won't change with him at "big school", I know some of it will and I will miss my little man being in preschool. 

So, while I post about my pride in Harrison as he completes his preschool years, I can't help but to be grateful for the teachers along the way.  Below is Harrison's first teacher, Miss Jessica.  She also worked with Harrison's big brother and she knew our little Liza was she was just a tiny thing.  When we moved we wished we could take Miss Jessica with us.  She was an awesome teacher and my kiddos still remember her.  Miss Jessica's "partner in crime" was Ms Becky.  Ms Becky loved her H and H loved her too.  We still miss our friends from our old preschool!

Now, although we do miss the people of KUMC preschool, we were blessed to end up Harrison's preschool years with Mrs. Lewis and Ms. Anita.  You couldn't ask for any better teachers.  These ladies are a great team and they provided Harrison with a loving class where he could learn, explore and grow.  Although they had a handful of a class they had the calmest learning environment ever.  These two are gifted teachers and I am so glad that Harrison had them.

Thank you to all of our Harrison's teachers who have helped him along in his schooling journey!

It's Here!

It's here-  my photography blog that is.  I've haven't been around here much lately as I have launched my business!  My blogsite is finally up and functioning and I have even put some of my friends, turned clients, on there!  Go check it out by clicking HERE.

Louisa's Big Day

Mother's Day was a big day for us.  Our little Louisa was baptized.  What a great Mother's Day it was.  It was amazing to stand up on the altar with my four little ( some not so little anymore) angels that God sent to us.  Even though I kept telling myself all morning that I needed to take it all in ( since this was our last little one to baptize) I think the morning just rushed right by.  I wanted to really listen to our ministers.  I wanted to really hear what they were saying.  Instead, what was this mommy doing??? While our family was up at the altar I was watching Benjamin mouth the words, "She is going to scream" repeatedly.  I took in my little Harrison's sweet face as he was just beaming as I handed his baby sister over to the minister.  As for Liza, all I could see was her back.  Seems she thought kind of hanging over the altar rail, looking out at the crowd, was cool.  And my little Louisa, was just a happy, smiling little baby, sitting in the minister's arms.  My little, sweet girl, is officially marked and sealed as one of God's own and now has an even bigger family than she did before.  Hello church family!

Now, you know me, I can't have an occasion such as this without pictures so here are a few from the day:

Here are three generations of women from my family.   I know my grandmas would be so proud.  I just know they were up in Heaven beaming with joy as we baptized their great granddaughter on a day to commemorate mothers.  I am so sad that my little ones won't ever know first hand what great women their great grandmothers were.  Lucky for me though, those great women taught me a thing or two.  Although my kids can't see my grandmothers they do know of them.  I speak their names and tell stories about them all the time.  My little Harrison will even ask to hear special stories again- "Hey Mom, remember that time your grandma..."  I think it is so cute that he wants to know if I remember a story that I told him!

A family picture!  These are kind of rare around here.  Usually, I am missing from the picture.  Can anyone guess why I am actually IN a picture??  Anyone???  My dad was here.  King of the "let me take a picture" crowd.  He is the one who taught me how to be a photo historian!  I see this picture and can't believe that that big family is mine :-)

And one of my favorite pictures from the day.  Look at Miss Louisa.  Isn't she the prettiest??  I just love this picture.  The light makes it look so dramatic.  

It was the perfect Mother's Day.  I had my mom here and all my babies.  Who could ask for more??

Play Ball!

It is another season so that means another sport for our family.  This year marks Harrison's first year in t-ball.  The child is really pretty good at it!  Ed and I sometimes look at each other in amazement when we see what our little man can do.  The kid has an arm and he can really whack the ball too- even off the pitch.  And just look at that smile on that picture down there.

To make it even more fun we are playing with our friends/neighbors.  We have played every sport with them this year which has really made life fun for the kids ( and the mommies too!)  You can see our cute friends here.

Now, since Harrison is playing t-ball that means we are watching t-ball- even the littlest one!  Check out our newest t-ball fan:

Looks like she likes it as much as Harrison!

The Sanchez Family

My photography business site is not quite done but I really wanted this family to be able to see their video.  This is the Sanchez family, the first family willing to take a chance on me taking their pictures.  They were the first family that we met in our neighborhood when we moved here a few years ago.  Actually, we didn't meet in the neighborhood-Barbara and I met on the sidelines of a football field as we watched our kids playing flag football.  We had just moved here a week or two earlier and didn't know many young families.  Barbara and I  got to talking only to discover that we lived one street apart, in the same neighborhood!  We have played ball together and have watched our kids grow up over the last few years.  

I had the privilege of taking their family pictures last weekend.  I just love how they came out.  You can tell by their pictures what a great family this is.  Gotta love when you can capture what people are really like in pictures!  Only sad thing is, this summer they are moving :-(  We are so sad to see them getting ready to go.  At least we'll have this cool video to look at when we miss them :-)

My First Real Photo Shoot

I did my first real shoot last week for Harrison's preschool.  Boy was it fun!  I got to snap pictures of 37 of Harrison's little buddies.  I am hoping this may become a tradition for the "graduating" class at the preschool.  

Above is one of my favorite pictures ( her mom said I could post this here).  This little one was a natural.  She sat herself right down and criss crossed her arms just like that without me telling her a thing!  This is just one of several beautiful images that I captured of her.  This is her official "end of preschool" picture.  Seems fitting since she is so grown up looking.  

I am working on a slideshow of the images next.  That will be coming soon!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from our gang!

Is That My Baby??

I took some pictures this afternoon and when I saw this one I seriously wondered what had happened to my baby!  Louisa is getting big so fast.  She is quickly approaching toddlerhood.

Love this pictures of Daddy with his baby girl: