He patiently waited three years for me to pull myself together and agree to marry him. Best decision we ever made. Marriage isn’t so hard when you’re married to this guy.
Happy Love Day! (even though I think Valentine’s Day is super over-rated)
A scripture I think of often.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die…A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance….
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away…
A time of war, and a time of peace….”
Ecclesiastes chapter 3
I get ahead of myself alot. Move to seasons in my mind that my actual life isn’t ready for yet.
Projects I’d like to do. Things I’d like to finish. Things I’d like to start. A business I’d like to grow. Books I’d like to write (yea, books).
And I have to often remind myself, “To every thing there is a season….” To every thing, there is a season. And sometimes, I have to be more patient for certain seasons to come, and certain seasons to end.
God has this whole thing figured out. He’s pretty smart.
For now, my season is little people. And lots of messes. And lots of laughter. And a whole lot of tears. Very little alone time. Very little personal time. Constant dependence. Teaching. Enduring. Enjoying. Cleaning. Cleaning. And more cleaning. Homework. Reading. Bedtime (that takes far too long). Morning routines before school.
Little people. Man how I love them. And already miss things they do even though they’re still doing them. How is that even possible?
As hard as having four little kids is, I’d freeze them if I could. I truly would. Because I know things to come are only going to be harder.
To every thing, there is a season…..
And yes they drink milk. And take Calcium vitamins. We have BAD luck with broken legs around here.
Carter broke his leg when he was about 17 months old. Jumping on the couch. He cried for about 30 seconds and then was fine. But he had a slight (very slight) limp for about a week so we took him in to get him checked. Just to be safe. And while he was literally running around the pediatrician’s office, she came out and told me it was broken.
This is him playing soccer in the street after he broke his leg but before we took him to the doctor.
He cried harder getting the cast on than he did when he broke his leg. Not because it hurt. He didn’t want people touching him.
He recovered from cast trauma quickly.
While he had the cast on, he also got pink eye. Hot. Mess.
He adapted to regular life with a cast quite quickly.
He refused to wear the protective boot. So we tried to protect it with socks. That didn’t work either. He busted through the first cast after one week and had to get another cast put on.
Carter then broke his other leg just before he turned 3. Jumping on the tramp. On his dad’s birthday. He was on there with his older sisters and cousins. And they bounced him too high. And then took the bounce out of the tramp. At least that’s what we guessed happen. There were no reliable witness’s. But we knew from the way he acted that it was broken. He is a physically tough (but emotionally fragile) little boy.
This brake was worse than the first one. He had to be in a hard splint for a week before we could put a cast on. And he wasn’t allowed to walk. That was tricky getting him around while having a baby around too.
Getting the cast on this time was much less traumatizing for both of us.
Once he was allowed to walk, I told him “You can walk now”. So he stood up, took a few steps, looked at me in complete surprise and said “I CAN WALK!!! I CAN WALK!!!” I think in his little mind he thought he’d never walk again. It brought tears to my eyes. What a blessing that it was just a little broken leg that would eventually heal and not a lifetime battle we would have to fight like some parents do with their kids.
He again adapted quickly.
And broke through this cast as well. We just put duct tape on it. Duct tape fixes everything.
He doesn’t like loud noises.
Caleb was allowed to put weight on his and walk, but he wouldn’t. For about 10 days. It was a long 10 days.
He started pulling the “stuffing” out, so he got his cast off a few days early.
When I started doing photography it was 100% for the money. Not because I was passionate about photography or shutter speeds or f-stops. Not because I was artistic or creative and I needed an outlet. Not because I had a “good eye” or was naturally talented at taking pictures. I saw an opportunity to make money (which I like) photography sports (which I LOVE) so I went for it.
My perspective when I first started as a photographer and my perspective now are radically different.
The truth is, I still don’t take pictures because I’m passionate about photography. I take pictures because I’m passionate about the people IN the pictures. And the stories of their lives.
When I learned how to take pictures of people (not just sports), I knew my style wouldn’t be typical. I quickly started to learn how powerful a photograph can be. Sounds dramatic, but it’s true. A photograph can be more than just a photograph. A photograph can show a persons soul. It has the ability to tell the world who someone IS. And that’s not a small thing.
As my style developed as a photographer, my mission became to focus on personality and relationships. To have emotion in my photographs. To tell, without words, who someone is.
“Sometimes a perfect memory can be ruined if put to words“ Nova Ren Suma
I attended a seminar where another photographer said “The power we possess to bring out someone’s inner most soul is an art form. We allow people to see pas their insecurities and see who they really are.” I believe that.
This has completely changed the way I take pictures of my own children. And the importance I give to the photographs I take (and display) of them.
As a parent, one of my main goals is to allow my children to be who they already are. Images are one way I can help them discover who that is. Photography has become a tool in my life to help me be a more intentional, present, and aware mom. To appreciate my children more. To be aware of who they are and who they are becoming. To document their lives. The good AND the bad. And to document our families story.
Photography has given me more patience. More love. More compassion. More awareness. And most importantly, more intention to live a purposeful life. That’s why it’s SO important to me and why I want to share that gift with other people.
It’s the every day stuff. What they do from day to day that show who they are. So in my opinion, the pictures I take of my kids in my own home are by far the most important kind.
“Photography is a gift because it allows us to see the beauty in what can feel routine and mundane.” Ashley Campbell.
The EVERY DAY
This class is currently under development to switch to an ONLINE format. You can go HERE for more info on the online version.
