He is so excited about Christmas this year – and snow. This is the first season he has remembered from a year before. As soon as we started pulling out decorations and talking about winter, he started talking about presents and sledding with grandpa “on the big hill.” Realizing that his memories are there makes me feel like we have officially begun his childhood. We are no longer in the “he’s a baby, he won’t remember anyway” phase – nope. We are in the magical, “let’s make this a day he’ll never forget” phase, which has spurred me on to think of new traditions.

If Micah ever gives me crap for taking these when he’s older, I will tell him the truth… Uncle Mark did it.

(psst, thank you, Mark! haha!)

A bag of strawberries in the freezer… Micah always remembers they are there. After a few minutes in the microwave, they are soft, yet still chilled, and ready to be happily smeared all over his smiling face. How can a little person possibly be so cute? Am I biased?

I have no idea what God’s plans our for our family in terms of children. I don’t know why it was so easy to get pregnant with Micah and this time around, not even 3 months of Clomid could get me knocked up. What I do know, however, is that I love being the mother of a toddler, and so many other things in our life right now are changing and progressing. Eric is being promoted to Engineering Manager, which is really exciting for us both. My photography business really seems to be taking off as well, which is great because I really love what I do! I recently accepted a small position at church that is very part time, but will provide an opportunity for me to serve and I am looking forward to that.

So I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but sometimes the alternative isn’t so bad after all.

Whoa, buddy!

This window has been seriously blinding us every afternoon/evening for the past four years. The sheer curtains we put up when we moved in have nothing on the blazing, setting sun that renders this room unbearable during the very time we want to use it: when Eric gets home and we all want to spend time together. Yesterday, while editing some photos on my laptop in the living room, all of a sudden there was so much sun in my eyes that I couldn’t see my screen. I couldn’t take it anymore!! I bit the bullet and this afternoon we finally bought the blinds. I cannot wait to enjoy the shade… Eric is almost done installing them. In the meantime, I have propped up a large couch pillow behind my laptop, blocking most of the sun from hitting my face and shirt and reflecting back onto my screen.

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Last week we had our annual family reunion! It was seriously the hottest day, ever. The humidity made it feel even worse. But it was still nice to see some family that I don’t get to see very often.

Micah had fun spending time with my dad. They went swimming down on the beach together after lunch.

My grandma is now the last of her siblings – her sister, my great aunt – passed away just days before our reunion. It was sad, but she seemed to be doing really well all things considered.

My cousin’s baby is the cutest in the world!!

It’s nice to see my sister still likes her husband. Haha!! Just kidding – they are cute!

After lunch we release balloons in memorial of all the family members who have passed – we do this every year. This year there was a second blue balloon for my great aunt.

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Last Sunday was also a pretty cool day because my picture was in the business section of our city’s Sunday paper!!!

I had gone to a special event for a local women’s business networking group that I am a member of, called Ladies in Professional Power. I’d say that’s some great exposure for my business! I hope some people look me up and like what they see!

When I woke up this morning, I felt seriously disoriented. I don’t even know what was wrong… but I could not function until I had cleaned the house. It was like the clutter was cluttering my brain and giving me brain fog. The other issue was how insanely tired I felt. Despite the fact that I went to bed about two hours earlier than I usually do, and slept in, I was still exhausted. I forgot to eat breakfast.

All day I have been laughing at my poor dog. I really need to take a picture of Chloe right now. She is wearing a silly cone around her neck to keep her from licking her stitches. She got spayed yesterday – and micro-chipped. We are calling her the old lady. I hope she is not transmitting all our secrets via satellite now that she has this mysterious chip under her skin.

I have had the worst diet this week. I can’t stop eating junk. I want to eat fifty pounds of brownie covered in whipped cream and hot fudge. Luckily I’m not following my urges to that degree.

Today I had the opportunity to meet with another photographer and teach her a few things. I hope that she was able to benefit. I am always looking for ways that I can share what I have learned and also be generous with what I have, even if it’s just a few hours of my time and a few tips I’ve picked up along the way.

Tonight we had dinner with friends – and all of our children – well my single child and their three – played in the sandbox and got seriously dirty. It was fun to throw them all in the tub and watch the bathwater turn brown. Silly kids — I had to do a lot of scrubbing to get the sand out of Micah’s hair. But he loves playing with people his size so much. I love to watch. And I love to spend time with friends and enjoy good food together.

And now I am designing a mini accordion album for a recent senior session. What a relaxing way to end the evening (yes, Photoshop is relaxing for me, lol).

In the meantime, and I suppose this is a symbol of me moving on, I finished cleaning out the spare room. It had intentions of becoming Micah’s new cowboy room and his nursery would continue to be a nursery, hopefully for someone new. But at this point, I’ve realized, it could be years before that becomes a reality and why waste a room for so long? I gutted it out and turned it back into an office, and this time, added a small studio for my mini sessions.

I looooooove my new space! It feels so good to give this room purpose – especially in something that is a reality right now. I will get a lot of use out of this room, rather than have it be a symbol of what I don’t have.

Here is the result:

I’m pretty sure you’re more temperamental than a teenage girl. One minute, you’re smiling from ear to ear, and the next we’re having this major misunderstanding (no, I did not leave your snack in the car) and you’re having a major meltdown. But your occasional outbursts can hardly compare to your measure of cuteness. In fact, if we could quantify how adorable you are with a number, it would be a least three billion on a scale of one to ten. You have no idea how hard it is to not smile when you’re being naughty sometimes.

My phone is full of video and snaps of you doing various funny and cute things. I saved a recording of you saying hi to your Aunt Kelly last night and I confess I played it back a few times today. You sound like a munchkin when you talk – like a cute little elf. And when you start cracking jokes like, “puppy cat!” I laugh right along with you, but for different reasons.

I love how you enjoy going out on little day trips with me now. I love that you will read about two dozen books with me at the library. I love that you make fast friends with the older kids at the park. I’m so glad you still like to ride in the Ergo when you’re sleepy; I like feeling your sweaty head under my chin, even though you lick my neck and laugh.

You are two but you tell everyone you’re four. I’m about to start potty training you, and I’m absolutely terrified of the process. Please don’t poop on my floor. I’m going to take you to Walmart and let you pick out your new underoos. We’re totally going to call them underoos, yes we are. I’m really hoping this will go well, but I’ve heard stories from other moms.

Thanks for making my life so fun right now, Mr. Micah.

Love,

Mom

Anyway, two weekends ago we had a party at my in-laws to celebrate Andy’s milestone. He brought his new fiance, which was great because I have not gotten to spend a ton of time with her yet. (She came along on a recent family trip, too, which was awesome because I got to know her even more!) I will be doing their engagement photos later this month and I’m shooting their wedding next June. I’m super excited about that! I’m also excited about the fact that there will be two daughters-in-law in the family, which means the pressure to have more babies will be lessened. Sorry, Jen. Haha.

Here is the couple with my little man. I think Micah looks a little like his uncle… do you see it?

Eric’s grandparents came, too – here is his sister with his grandpa. They are an unstoppable Euchre team!

I like this picture because it shows my mother-in-law’s love for both balloons at parties and antiques. Plus you can see Uncle Brian in the mirror! LOL

(Yes, there is a recliner in the kitchen! Unconventional? Maybe. Practical? Sometimes… Cozy? Always!)

No party is complete without a few rounds of Euchre!

I love my in-laws! I need to bring the camera along more often – it’s nice to have a record of these little get-togethers. When I look at these photos I see so many details that seem ordinary now, but will bring back tons of memories later.

I’d rather focus on what is good in my life right now. God has been so tender with me lately; he has shown me how much he loves me through worship, through friends, through my daily life. He knows my heart. He knows exactly what I need. My emotions are shaky right now, and most of that has to do with the meds and the physical adjustment. I’m constantly trading in these temporary emotions for God’s eternal peace, constantly offering up my concerns and frustrations in prayer, knowing that He will work out everything. These days I do not put any stock in my shaky emotions. I tell myself, this won’t last long, just keep plugging through.

I look at my life and the different “doors” that are presented to me. It seems as though the doors to baby#2 are closing and the doors to my career are opening all around me. I often wonder if God’s hand is present in all this – in that He has a specific purpose for me in this area of my life, and my plans for more kids is on hold because of that.  I don’t know what the future holds so I can’t really make any assumptions, but I’m always seeking for opportunities to glorify God with the skills that I have and in the circumstances I’m in. The idea of ramping up my business really excites me. I love photography with every ounce of my heart! There are also other areas in my life where I can see that God might need me, too – for instance – one of my best friends is carrying twins right now. If I were pregnant, I wouldn’t be much help to her when she really needs it this fall! She’s gonna need extra hands, for sure!

So, a lot of things are on my mind lately, as you can probably tell. And I feel like my blog is getting too “heavy,” so I’m going to lighten it up a bit with some funny pictures! Ready?

This little boy brings so much joy to my life – a smile to my face I just can’t wipe away. I’ve never been more grateful for him than I am now.