{thankful}

I have so much to be thankful for this year...here are just a few...

*sorry about the small font & formatting issues...don't know what is wrong with blogger...won't do anything I tell it to, even in html!*

• Brandon has an awesome job! We've had SO many ups and downs on the job front over the past several years...it has been so nice to not have the constant wonder about what the future holds!

• We are all healthy...for the moment at least! We've had at least 8 colds/viruses invade our home since the end of August...seems like someone is sick at least every other week...but, today we are healthy & I'll take it!

• I've had quite a few requests for photography sessions over the past couple of months, so I've decided to go ahead and set up a business and let the cards fall where they may...no pressure on myself to try and build something phenomenal...I'm just going to see what happens...I love being a photographer...

• I only have ONE class left before I will graduate with my doctorate! February cannot come soon enough...it has been a long 3 1/2 years!

• We have finally found a church after nearly 3 years of living in Dallas...God's transforming grace is amazing...we are so blessed.

• Caden's language development has taken off dramatically over the past few months! He cracks us up every day & has such a sweet heart! Here are a few things he has said lately that either cracked us up or melted our hearts...

  *As Cole was telling everyone goodnight, Caden said: "Love you, Cole Bear"....he picked up on Cole's nickname and calls him "Cole Bear" almost all of the time!

  
  *"It's awICIOUS (delicious)!" - he says this at least once a day about something he's eating...and he knows he's cute when he says it!

  
  

  *One morning I woke up to Caden trying to get me out of bed saying: "Let's go get ice cream, mommy!" As I got up out of bed, he thought I was going to fulfill his request and said: "YAY, WOW, Let's goooooo!"
  

*We were driving in the car & had been for a while one day when both boys started getting a little whinny...Then Caden said: "Poor Caden...Poor Cole!"

*And a few more: "Oh, goodness!", "It's perfect!", "It's so cute!""God made erything (everything)" "God loves me"

• And Cole is right behind him...I am constantly blown away by my barely 18-month old kiddo...he says at least 40 words and a bunch of phrases....But, my personal favorite? "I love you"!

And he's seriously the sweetest little boy on the planet!

• Cole finally started walking at the end of September (16 1/2 months old) & hasn't looked back once! I love watching him walk/run around the house, chasing his brother...they play a lot more now that he's walking...

• After months and months of problems which included Cole throwing up almost every time he cried with any vigor, we finally solved Cole's reflux problem! Upping his Prevacid dose, changing him to lactose free milk & eliminating milk before nap & bedtime has eliminated it completely!

• I finished my first 1/2 marathon in 2:24:11! I was thrilled with my time especially considering I was getting over a respiratory infection & actually had to stop & walk for about a 1/2 mile because I was having extreme difficulty breathing and had to wait for my inhaler to kick in! Planning on doing a second one in February!

Here I am right after the race was over...not feelin' much like smiling at that moment....but, got over that pretty quickly!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

{baby knox - 4 weeks}

I promise, I will get an update and pics of my kids on here again soon...things have just been crazy busy as usual, school, colds & respiratory infections, training for the 1/2 marathon this weekend, and photoshoots, etc., etc.!

Baby Knox was 4 weeks and, wow, it really does get so much harder after they pass the sleep-all-the-time age of 2 weeks! So we really had to work for it!

{thank you & a few more pics}

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you who wrote such wonderful, encouraging comments on my last post! You girls are the best!

And, apparently I've been missing out on blogging more than I realized because just writing out what had been circling around in my head (and reading your comments) for a couple of months already gave me some clarity! Although I definitely, definitely love photography & don't ever want to stop, right now is definitely not the time for me to go into a full blown business...I just have way too much going on to focus on that right now & I feel so relieved to have that settled within myself.

{UPDATE: I'VE RECEIVED QUITE A FEW REQUESTS FOR SESSIONS, SO I'VE DECIDED TO GO OFFICIALLY GO FORWARD WITH A BUSINESS TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS-STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO SOON!}


So, thanks again to all of you...

And, here are pictures of my ADORABLE nephew, Ethan at 4 months (he's already 5 months!)...

{photography & me}

I've been able to do several photoshoots in the past couple of months & I've absolutely fallen in love with doing this! I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around what this means for me and my photography future. I am torn...on one hand, I absolutely love this & my friends and family have been really happy with the results. But, on the other, I have huge doubts about my ability to consistently deliver quality photos and be able spend the time I need to even do a part-time business justice. This has been consuming my mind the past couple of months - I can't think of much else besides photography. One of my friends, Aileen, posted this article on facebook about what it takes to be a good photographer & wow, does it ever have me pegged...I am utterly obsessed!

But, I just don't know where/how I should/want to go from here...So, for now, I'm just taking on a few free sessions with my friends & family & trying to be satisfied with that, knowing I'm gaining experience & portfolio shots....But, I have this overwhelming desire to make it more & I don't know how long I can hold it off...

Here are a few pictures of my friend's 5-week old, baby T...He was a bit more of a challenge than a brand new baby, but we still had a lot of fun & managed to get several good ones!

{california trip pics - part two}

Here are some more of my favorite pics from the trip....It was so nice to be able to hang out! The wine tours zapped my energy - the slow seepage of wine into my system just made me sleepy! But, that's ok, it helped ensure that I really did get to relax the whole time!

left: lor, mom, heather, lori @ in & out burger right: lori & me

heather: isn't she beautiful?

our hotel suite...

mom & her girls...

mom in front of the wandering dog wine bar...one of my favorite places in solvang....

me...

left: lor... right: checking out the wine menu...

lori: gorgeous, isn't she?

left: heather in a solvang phone booth... right: the dutch-influenced town of solvang...

{california trip pics - part one}

Well, my trip to California was well over a month ago and I'm just now getting around to posting some of the pics on here! After I got back we had over 5 weeks of sickness plague our house! From bad colds to teething, to reflux issues, to Roseola, we had it all and it lasted FOREVER! I cannot tell you how many times I was thrown up on...no fun at all. The worst of it really was just being stuck in the house every day all day long...it nearly drove me insane & I felt so bad for Caden who was only sick for one of the weeks - he got very bored, but still did remarkably good despite the circumstances.

All of the sickness also meant I missed out on a whole month of training for the 1/2 marathon in November. Fortunately, I've been back on track and didn't seem to lose any of my stamina! I'm really enjoying running again - it had been way to long since I'd done it consistently!

It's almost hard to remember the trip, but the pictures do bring back the memories! It was gorgeous there & I think I barely managed to keep from driving everyone crazy shooting pictures! Most of these are from an early morning drive we took...the coastal fog was still heavy & it was so much fun to be able to stop and take pictures of it all!

{bowling with the little ones}