Speaking of the circle of life!

I was so excited to photograph this beautiful belly last week! I have known this mama since we were in Junior High. We sort of lost touch over the years...she contacted me to photograph her wedding & then I got to photograph her belly! I can't wait to meet the little boy that is growing inside!

A new creature!

What an exciting & amazing journey it is to watch these little creatures! It is such a quick process! These little cattapillars were just weaving their cocoons 2 weeks ago. We had 10 chrysalli & now we have two butterflies. We are still waiting on the rest of the chrysallis. E is at gymnastics with the kids, (I am still recovering from pneumonia). I am hoping that M & J will be home to see the other butterflies emerge. Here are a few shots of our new creatures. They are painted butterflies. It makes me sad to know that they only live a few weeks. They spend most of their lives preparing to be this beautiful creature.

UGH!

That is the only way that I can describe the past few days. It all started on the 13th. I had a day that can only be described as a one woman slapstick show. I spent the day running the kids around. Squeezed a photo session in. Delivered some photos. Ran the kids around some more. Mo & I ran around dropping Valentines off at friends houses. I was feeling, "not quite right" & could feel a migraine coming on. I don't know how else to describe it, but sort of a drunken, loopy feeling. No. I had not been drinking. :)At one stop...we were "parked" in the driveway of the house. The house has a steep incline at the bottom, right before the garage. Their cars weren't parked in the driveway, so I made a quick call on my cell to see if anybody was home...no answer. So, I closed my phone. Opened up the door & started to get out of the van. The van lurched forward, (OH MY. I left the van in drive). M screams. I am frantically trying to find the brake & am thinking, "crap...I just bought them a new garage door!". NO JOKE. We stopped a 1/4 of an inch away from the garage door. M is yelling, "did we almost go through their door?!". Yes, honey. We ALMOST did. We don't need to tell dad about it. hehe, (later...she did tell dad through a fit of giggles. It's always fun to tell on mom. Dad just looked at me with his usual...you are SO NOT MY WIFE look). So, we are both shaking & head home. I stop at a neighbors house to drop off Valentines for her boys. They have a FREAKISHLY steep driveway & M asks if I am going to drive up. "No honey. You're safe. After that splendid display of why I should have been at home in bed...I am not going to attempt to go up their driveway". So, we make the trek up. Then we start to go up the stairs. I trip up the stairs. We get upstairs. Visit for a bit & go back down. I run smack into the branches of a leafless bush. M says, "Mom. Maybe we should walk home". At that point...I really wasn't sure what the best option would be...so, we drove the rest of the way home. The next morning...I had another session, (thank goodness the sessions went well!). I still wasn't feeling quite right. I had a bit of a sore throat, but really nothing to speak of. A couple of hours after my morning session...I started feeling feverish. I ended up having a fever of 102 for 2 days. I could NOT break it. We were supposed to be enjoying a relaxing weekend at the coast with our good friends. I now have pneumonia & M has the 102 fever. Poor baby! It seems that she is 2 days behind me. We are trying to keep her from getting worse. She has been up playing today & has gone outside for a bit of fresh air. I just hope that she gets better & the boys can avoid it. E has been wonderful. He has been taking care of all of us. He has been having K sleep on his side of the bed at night & he brings him to me when I need to nurse. Anyhow....I will probably be MIA this week, so if you are calling for a session or other studio related business...I promise that I am not ignoring. Talking agitates the coughing & I don't want to hack in your ear. :) Send me a quick email via my website & I will respond as quickly as possible!

Would that be plural for several Chrysallis? Anyhow, here are a few photos of M's catapillars & chrysallis. It has been so fun to watch the rapid changes. I love to watch them spin their silk. Amazing! Right now, they are making their way to the top of their environment & attaching themselves. One had a chrysallis formed w/in a few hrs. Others have been up longer & still haven't formed their chrysallis. It's so strange that they are barely hanging on, yet they remain upside down. Excuse the crappy, flashy photos. I didn't want to move them to better light, for fear of disrupting their environment....

Miracle at the Nielsens

The kids & I played in the studio for a bit this evening....

M & J are bestest friends & wanted some photos together. Marlo the cat soon joined...which she came to quickly regret. M & J asked if their baby brother could be in the photos & I was ecstatic. The older two soon found my maternity wraps & started playing superhero. I caught them in more subdued moments. :) They have been sick, so they were tiring out pretty easily.

I also added a few shots of my chumbawumba. He has started sitting up, (I did wad a blanket up behind him because he does get a bit excited & still falls over. Dad was nearby to catch him when he did go over. This makes K very, very happy. His daddy is already his very own Superhero.

A scripture that has been weighing on my heart

1 Peter 3:3-4, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

This scripture has stood out to me lately. We should strive to look our best, as the Lord created us uniquely & beautifully, but so often I forget to work on my heart.

Crazy winter!

Wow! I can't get over how much snow we had! We still have the bottom half of Frosty. The kids were sad to see the melting process of their snowman. What a great novelty snow is for our area. It's always so fun to play & to see the winter wonderland. Then it melts quickly & stays gone long enough for it to be a novelty. We went to a neighbors house for their sons birthday party...the kids played & the adults played games. It was fun to play games & look outside & see the winter wonderland. We were also entertained by some neighborhood boys. The boys were taking sleds & tubes up a pretty steep bank behind an empty neighborhood lot. All of us "grown ups" had a great view from our neighbors kitchen window. The "men" were dying to go outside with the kids (teenagers) & they were plotting how they could form the snow so the kids would have more fun wiping out. We convinced them that the boys mothers might not like that. So, we just watched & laughed when the boys had a hard crash. No...nobody got hurt, (thankfully). Erik was saying that he wanted to tell the boys to enjoy their teenage, pliable limbs...their poor bodies will be aching in just a few years! All of us mom types quickly realized that our little boys will soon be teenagers & will be doing more dare devilish things. It made furniture jumping look so harmless.... At that moment, our kids were shooting eachother with nerf guns. Boys will be boys.

I added some of my snow/ice macro shots. I really should have gotten the tripod out to capture the flakes a bit more efficiently. I plead lazy. I love how the flower buds look like thistles from the way that the ice froze.

The photos of Jase running & hitting the ball are from when the snow began. "MOM! It's snowing!". I love the magic that snow brings! He ended up nailing me with the ball. I love my sweet boy! He has an ornery, yet loveable disposition. He ran up to me & said, "I sorry mama!". He was laughing as he was apologizing. I have always been a sucker for ornery boys!

I also wanted to show what the view from our from our front windows looked like for a few days.