Fun with Friends

This week my friend, Sonny, and I took our kiddos to the Columbian Park Zoo.  We had so much fun.  Leon was much more interested in watching all the other little kids than the animals (go figure, right?).  Leon is getting a lot harder to handle these days.  He's just so energetic and curious about everything.  He won't sit in a stroller, so I'm constantly chasing after him.  I'm going to have to get him one of these, I think.  I always thought they were cruel before, but totally understand why parent use them now.  I love watching him explore though.  You can tell just by looking at the photographs how much fun he had.

I think Leon's favorite part was these little water spouts -

we played , cooled down, and got pretty wet.

A smile for the camera!!! He must have been having a good time for that to happen!

I love Jared's expression in this one as Leon reaches in for him.

We finished our trip by getting the kiddos out of their wet clothes and having a little snack.  I had no idea there were fountains in the park, so Leon had to ride home in just his diaper.  Honestly though, I don't think he minded one little bit.

Thanks Sonny and Jared for spending the afternoon having fun with us.

P.S.  6 days until vacation!  Hooray!

a girl can dream...

Everytime I come home from town, I drive past this little place.  It used to the a floral shop, but I dream of it one day being my studio.  It's right by a park where I often take portraits and other photographs, such as these and these.  It needs some work, but it would be perfect.  It's close to Purdue, gets great natural light, big enough for a small studio, right next to a park, and only 2 miles from my house.  I dream of having a studio, a space to myself, to work and create.  I also want a studio so I can attempt to shoot photos like this (beautiful!) and this.  I'm not typically into studio portraits, but it would be very very nice for baby portraits.

A girl can dream...

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Business has been slow and I really, really hate it.  I feel myself getting rusty.  It makes me doubt my skills and all those years of hard work studying photography.  I've got sooooooooo soooooo many GREAT ideas stored up in my head for shoots.  I'm getting ready to work on making some changes to my little "business" (if you can even call it that right now) - changing my website, my pricing, working on some advertising, getting some "props" ready for shoots.  I'm going to get some "models" to help me make some of these ideas the real thing.  We're going to be doing some remodeling this summer which means I'll finally have my office!  I'm looking forward to it.   I guess if I can't have a studio then I'll happily take a home office.  I'm going to be very busy.

All right, I gotta go get ready for a family portrait session (with boy and girl twins) that has been rained out twice already - please pray it will continue to be a nice day for me.  Wish me luck!

Life...

When will my son learn that getting his photograph taken is just part of life?

Especially with this momma. sigh.

Right where I'm supposed to be

     

Last week, I received a call from my photography teacher from Purdue (who is now the director of the photography department).  He offered me an amazing opportunity.  He was giving me the chance to go back to school to get my Masters in Fine Arts with a teacher's assistanceship which means I wouldn't have to pay a dime AND I would get payed for teaching.  He said he knew my work and my work ethic and he knew he could trust me to be a great teacher.  Amazing, right?  Pretty much the perfect offer, ever.  I've always wanted to someday go back and get my MFA.

While he was telling me about this amazing offer, I automatically knew in the back of my mind what my answer would be - No.  It's funny how instinctive the answer came to me.  However,  I didn't say "no" right away.  I told him I'd have to think about it and get back to him.  When Kyle got home, I told him all about it.  He was kind of blown away, I think.  He knew it was a great offer.  We decided we should probably pray and really consider everything before we made a decision (since it was such a great offer). 

That night as we were saying our family prayer, Leon (who doesn't understand the concept of praying yet or the fact that you sit still for it) was running around like usual.  Right as I was praying about what I should do, he came up and gave me the sweetest hug and a big sloppy kiss.  I was completely overwhelmed at that moment.  That was all I needed.  I knew what the answer was - a definite "No".

I know where I'm supposed to be and that's right here - home with my family taking care of them.  I really feel, more than ever, that is what I'm supposed to be doing.  I know that's what the Lord wants for me, for us.  I finally feel like I am in good place.  I'm feeling like myself again.  And it feels so good to really know all of that.  I'm so so grateful for that knowledge.

Called to Serve

This is my brother-in-law, Clark.  He is only 19 years old and he's about to partake on a grand adventure - he's serving a mission for the next two years for our church.  For the next two years, this young man will serving the Lord by teaching other about Jesus Christ, the restored Gospel, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He'll also be helping others in any way he can.  He'll be completely commited to the Lord.  He'll be gone from this family for two years, only getting to communicate through letters and email and only getting to call home TWICE a year.  I know it may seem crazy to some of you, but to me it's amazing. He's dedicating himself for two years to the Lord.  Although this is something that is expected of him, he doesn't have to do this, but he is.  It's amazing.

I've felt so blessed to be apart of this experince of seeing this young man go through this process so far.  It's been humbling.  He's 19!  I know it was/is so hard to leave his family behind.  We're all so close. I'm sure there were many temptations and doubts that Satan was pounding him with just trying to get him to forget the whole thing, but Clark has put his trust in the Lord and is letting the Lord guide him. 

As Clark left all of us at the airport to head to the Mission Training Center in Utah, I felt the Spirit so strongly.  This is going to be such a wonderful, testimony building experience for him.   It's sad to know we won't see him for two years, but I'm so happy that he has this opportunity.

After Clark recieves some training at the MTC, he'll be serving his mission in the Las Vegas, Nevada Mission.  For those of you that don't know about our church and about the missionary program, you can pretty much serve wherever there is other churches and there is a need to spread the Gospel - which is just about everywhere.  All the missionaries are called by inspiration to serve the Lord in these particular places chosen for them.  It's all very inspired.  It's all incredible. 

Here are some photos before Clark left us:

Clark and some of his nieces and nephews.  They'll be two years older when they see him again.

Clark saying goodbye to Kelsey, his girlfriend, who plans to write and wait for Clark for the next two years.  It was tough.  However, they're incredibly strong.

Kyle and Leon saying goodbye.

Clark saying Goodbye to his parents, Gary and Carol.  This is the 7th out of 8 boys the've sent on missions.

Wiping lipstick kisses off.

Clark heading off to go through security.

And I had to throw this one in - Leon watching the planes.

If you're interested in learning more about the LDS church

and would like hear some online member messages

(which are incredibly inspiring) go to mormon.org

This Momma's Day

My mother's day weekend has been wonderful for many reasons.  I've eaten yummy breakfasts all weekend long.  I did some shopping (outfit above is new).  I got to spend time with family.  Leon's been extra loveable, playful, and full of smiles.   What more could a mother ask for?

This year I'm not only enjoying mother's day because I'm being appreciated but because I'm appreciating my role as a mother more than ever.  Yesterday, I watched Leon play with his cousins and watched how everyone loves him and how much he loves them.  He has been smiling and laughing so much these last two days.  He's been so sweet to his momma, too.  He's been cuddling with me much more - something I love and miss so much.  I'll walk into a room where Leon is and this surreal feeling overwhelms me.  I can't believe I'm the mother of such an amazing little boy.  Everytime I look at him, I can't believe how much he's growing - how big he's getting.  Sometimes I feel like time is going so slowly and then I see him and I realize how fast it's actually going.

Motherhood has been a real challenge.  It's been very difficult at times to adjust, but more and more I see all the beautiful things I've learned by becoming a mother.  There is no other way I could have grown in the ways that I have except by becoming and being a mother.  I've learned so much about myself.  I've grown so much more spiritually.  And although I'm still not where I'd like to be spiritually, I feel so much more in tune with the Spirit and with God.

I want so much to be a good momma to this little boy. 

He's such a precious gift.

Happy Mother's Day
 to all of you women who are a blessing to others!

Kyle took these photos for me - good husbands are great, aren't they?

Little Random Thoughts

I think that having a pen pal would be so much fun.  Remember in elementary school when you would have a pen pal as an assignment?  I totally loved it!  If I were to have one now, it would have to be somebody in a similar position in life as me.  I miss hand written letters.  What a lost art.

I really want a mini-cooper.  Many other people's dream cars would definitely not be a mini-cooper, but mine definitely is a mini-cooper.

Last night, I dreamt that I was protecting President Obama from terrorists.  And when I say "I", I mean ME, just as I am - a mommy, a regular little lady.  However, I did know how to use a gun and for some reason I was at the White House.  Isn't that just weird?

I love cheeseburgers, especially when they're got off the grill and have all the fixings.  I also really, really love Thai food, which I'm eating right now.

I secretly wish I could go on a vacation all by myself.  I dream of having all the time in the world to take beautiful photographs.  However, I get lonely pretty quickly so I really don't know how much fun it would be anyway.

I want to start making quilts.  I love to sew, I love blankets, and I love sewing blankets.  Quilting doesn't have to be hard, right?  There's all sorts of uncomplicated patterns.  Heck, who says you even have to use a pattern?  Hmmmm...

Well, Darn.  Leon just woke up.  Only 1 1/2 hour nap?  Bummer.

15 months

Leon turned 15 months just a few days ago.  I can't believe my baby is a toddler.  Here are some photos I took yesterday before the "storm" hit Lafayette.  I love watching him play.  He always get so absorbed in what he is doing.  I couldn't even get him to look up for me or smile for me - he was just so intent on what he was doing.

Today, I took Leon to his 15 month doctor's appointment.  He is still a little guy weighing in at only 18 lbs 9 oz! I'm always worried about his weight.  I feel like I'm constantly feeding him.  The doc said not to worry too much because he's gaining weight steadily, just not quickly.  It's so frustrating and I really can't help but worry.  I feel like I should be doing more.  I mean, for goodness sakes, he still can barely even hit into his 12 months clothes and he is 15 months old!  Anybody else out there dealing with the same thing?  How do you keep from going crazy?

Also, Leon may only be 15 months old but there are days when I feel like he is 15 months going on 2 years old.  He can be so sweet,  but he can also throw a HUGE trantrum.  You don't want to make this little boy mad.  He already ignores me on purpose and he already runs away from me when its time to get his diaper changed.  He already knows how to push my buttons.  However, he does know how to be obedient about a lot of things which is nice.  He is also incredibly silly which makes me so happy.  I guess all of it is just part of watching him grow and learn.  It's amazing when you really think about it.