Happy Halloween!

Yet another month has BLAZED by since my last post.  School (work) has me so busy this year, there isn’t much time for things like blogging, Facebook, personal email, etc.

I’m only working with 4th grade this year via a Team Teaching / Co-Teaching model.  Our 4th grade Inclusion Homeroom teacher is Mrs. Shockey. We have 26 students.  The kids are with Shockey/Ecklor for  Math, Science, & Social Studies. Then they switch classes for Reading & Writing with Evans/Ecklor.

Ryley got to dress up 4 times this year for different Halloween activities. Last weekend she was a cheerleader princess for the Stockton Fun Run and she dressed as a princess for Spooktacular at the Jax Zoo.

Friday night we went trick-or-treating at the Avenues Mall with some friends (cheerleader princess again). Then for Halloween, I made her a giraffe costume.  We had found a giraffe print hoodie that inspired me to make her a full costume. I made a tail, mane and horns and sewed them onto the hoodie. I painted a pair of pants with a giraffe print to match the hoodie & then made her some hooves.  

 

Wanna see something CREEPY????

We took Ryley trick-or-treating in a neighborhood near where I work and parked on the side of the road. There were a couple small trees in the area between the sidewalk and our vehicle (foreshadowing).  When we were finished Ryley was tired, so Jerry carried her back to the Explorer. I went around to the driver’s side (on the road) to unlock it, while Jerry crossed the grass from the sidewalk to the truck and headed between the two trees.

Luckily his “spidey sense” kicked in and he spotted this ‘little’ guy  (more like 3 inches) right in front of them building a web between the trees. I have no idea how I managed to get out of the car without running face first into the thing. The shock probably would have killed me!!!

Being a ‘come here’ to Florida, I have no idea if this guy is poisonous or even what kind it is. So if anyone knows, please fill me in!

 

Can you IMAGINE walking FACE FIRST into it????  AAAAAHHHHHHHH

Check out my Facebook albums for more photos from Halloween and other recent events!

 

From the Heart,

      

 

Recent Events…

HOLY COW… another month GONE! 

Facebook has definitely taken my attention away from my blogging.  I don’t even know where to begin to catch up. I still have so many pix from my trip home to NY this summer that I want to share, but haven’t managed to make time for it.

The past month in a nutshell…

Being photographed by Hanson Fong was a lot of fun. I haven’t received portraits from him yet, but then again, I haven’t asked him for them either! I keep “meaning to.”  I wrote to him on Facebook right after the convention, but then never followed up.  For those of you who aren’t on Facebook, here’s a couple pix…

 

 

 

Here’s one of my favorite images that I shot of Ryley while everything was going on during Hanson’s workshop…I just couldn’t stand watching everyone else photograph her and not get to myself! SOOOO glad I did, because this image inspired me to update my look… this is something I’ve been playing around with.         Whatcha think?   I’ll use these for my children’s portraiture business card. This is the front and back of the card, plus a new logo I’m considering. Feel free to give feedback

 

 

Ryley turned THREE on August 25th, the day after Hanson photographed us. What a blessing to have Hanson Fong create her 3 year portraits!  The image I saw on the back of his camera was phenominal…competition quality.  He’s such a great person & teacher.   Jerry said, “Now I know why you like to attend these photography classes so much!”

The school year has gotten off to a GREAT start. I’m busier than ever… working solely with 4th grade this year. I thought I’d be less busy, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. It takes A LOT of planning time and extra hours outside the school day to make our inclusion program work successfully. On a lighter note, Jerry & I are now both official business partners for my school John N.C. Stockton Elementary. We’ve been helping out through our businesses by volunteering our talents over the past 2 years, so this year we made it an official commitment.

Finally, this past weekend, I walked in the Inaugural Stop Child Trafficking Now Walk. I never knew that Human Trafficking is the SECOND largest criminal industry in the world, second only to drugs! The number of children trapped in sexual slavery is staggering. Florida is the 3rd ranked state in the nation for it’s number of child sexual slavery cases.  To learn more go to http://www.SCTNow.org .   Also, check out my pix from the event on FACEBOOK!

 

I’ve never done any kind of fundraising before that I can remember…and I signed up only 5 days before the event. So I set my goal at $100. I met my goal and have continued to receive contributions this week! I’ve almost doubled my goal!!!  That’s pretty exciting.  I believe in this cause because when I was young, my mom taught me about ‘bad people’ who do this sort of thing to children. It’s stuck with me my whole life…every single day children are sold and forced into prostitution and VERY YOUNG CHILDREN are raped to create pornography.  This organization is the first of its kind, because its focus is AWARENESS of the problem and CONVICTION OF CRIMINALS through Special Operative Teams. Other organizations focus on rescuing children only, which does nothing to DETER and PREVENT this from continuing.  “The efforts of a single operative team will do more to save children than millions of dollars put toward rescuing victims!” 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMbE5bvV2c Link to a good, short video explaining exactly what the Special Operative Teams do & how:

http://www.sctnow.org/contentpages.aspx?parentnavigationid=5813&viewcontentpageguid=503caffe-d8d0-498b-996a-9a01134b898c

In the picture I have a SCTNow.org sticker on my shirt, because they only printed 400 registration signs for participants to wear.  There were a BUNCH of people wearing a sticker instead, so that shows how good the turnout was for this inaugural walk! Next year, I imagine it’ll be at least twice as big. Go to this link to view my donor page &/or make a donation

Please help me in praying that this organization will continue to grow and succeed!

Love & blessings,

PS…I have lots more photos from the walk in my  Facebook photo album

Interested in an AMAZING OPPORTUNITY???

Interested in FREE PORTRAITS taken by some of the BEST photographers in the nation/world?

NO MODELING EXPERIENCE NEEDED! What’s the catch? NONE!

Some slots are still open for family, young couple, high school senior girls (or close to that age), and maternity (must be at least 7 months along) at the The Florida Professional Photographers Convention in Orlando on Aug. 23-26.

Let me know if you are interested and I’ll give you more info!  You just need to respond ASAP, because spaces are limited and I’m not the only person sending out this info.

Here are some photos of me taken during Florida School in June 2009 by Bruce Evensen. This was taken at the end of a very hot, sticky, buggy, family portrait photo safari for his Foundations of Portraiture class I was attending (note I send attending and NOT ‘modeling for’) in the parking lot as we were all about to leave. Bruce looked at me and said “Don’t Move!”  He saw natural (no flash) rembrandt lighting and didn’t care that I was all sweaty with yucky, stringing hair. Next day my mug was all over the classroom wall for a while.

   

Or, you may have seen this one that one of my classmates posted on Facebook …

Years ago I used to model and taught modeling, but still don’t like being on the “other” side of the camera, so I know that feeling. So I wanted to post an example like this to encourage anyone who is really interested but thinking “I could never do that” or “They’d never want me.”  You are the perfect person! Photography instructors (& their students) are thrilled to have people willing to stand in front of a camera and take directions so they can demonstrate what they are teaching  

We need people to ‘model’ for us so we can practice, built portfolios, develop new product lines, etc. AND we have a ton of fun in the process …. and YOU get free portraits…..so don’t hesitate… if you’re interested let me know! Even if not this time, there’s always a need, so still let me know you’d like to in the future and I’ll add you to my list

 

Thanks a bunch!

Starpoint Reunion 2008….finally posting

Last summer, I went to my 20 year (ugh) high school reunion. This summer I promised my friends I’d finally post my photos …I’m uploading them to Facebook.  I only got 2 photos of our evening at the Tuscarora Inn, owned by our classmate and friend Nancy (Meli) DeFlippo.

 

Here we are 10 years after high school in 1998…

Niki (Kolosko) Panas    – me -     Kimberly (Partyka) Northem

 

Here we are 20 years after high school  in 2008…

(you’ll see Niki’s adorable twin boys below with Ryley)

 

with us in this photo is Chris (Ketter) Walters

 

Although I graduated from Starpoint, I had also attended Lockport schools from K through 8th grade.  I really lucked out, because  they were having their reunion the same weekend!  It was fun to see how many people remembered me, even after all those years

 

 

 

Since we graduated, Starpoint has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation/addition … we couldn’t believe our eyes when we toured it.   See me on Facebook for more photos

 

Ryley just before turning 2 years old.

 

 

Starpoint… Home of the Spartans

 

My friend Mike Chapin helped me with Ryley so I could take photos….

 

Mr. “Sark”  giving us the tour…

 

 

 

then off to the reunion picnic… (see Facebook for photo album)

 

 

 

 

 

I’m posting all the rest of my images on Facebook…see you there!

 

Love & Blessings,

Blogging My Trip Home to Western NY

I had every intention of posting photos daily on Facebook while I was home, but just never made it happen.  I stayed 3.5 weeks, so I ended up with a ton of photos. 

 

Ryley and I stayed with my dad and had loads of fun.  I’m going to post photo albums on Facebook, so check there to see more.  

I LOVE this one of my brother Brandon, me, my Dad, and Ryley!  I think it’s my favorite image from my whole trip.

 

And a few more….

 

 

 

 

 

My next post will be about my high school reunion from my trip home LAST summer, and I’ll be adding a photo album of all my reunion images to Facebook.

 

Love, Hugs, & Blessings!

Fireworks

I hope you all had a safe & happy 4th of July!

Here are a few photos from my home town in Lockport, NY.  These are from my laptop, so I have no idea how the color will look…

lOVE & BLESSINGS,

Where’d the time go?

Good grief, 2009 is flying by

I’m in NY with Ryley visiting my family. Today was my mom’s 70th birthday, and since I’m home, she was able to have all 3 of her kids together. Being a photographer, do you think I got a photo of all three of us with her??? NOPE!   I’ve taken over 1,000 pictures since I got here, but I dropped the ball today. So now it’s my mission to get the 4 of us back together again for that photo before I head back to Florida.

I’ll try to write again soon and share some of the shots I’ve gotten so far.

Love & Blessings! 

please PRAY!

My friend Tracey who lives in Gloucester, VA sent me this message request for prayer, and I just had to share. If you are a parent, have family with young children, or know anyone with small children you have to read this! Stories like these are becoming more and more frequent, so we need to keep building awareness and also pray for those who have experienced this horrific tragedy!

PLEASE read the message below.  I’ve joined a group on Facebook – We Love
Katie – Katie is 15 and the daughter of Kristi Milby Vann and David Vann
(Helen Vann’s son).  Since Jan. Katie has been in a wheelchair and is now in
Boston for evaluation to see if she qualifies for treatment for a very rare
disease known as RSD or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (chronic, painful and
progressive neurological condition that affects the skin, muscles, joints,
and bones.  Her injury is a direct result of a broken ankle she suffered in
Jan. 2008.  Through all their visits to CHKD, they are hearing and sharing
so many other stories of people in need of prayer.  This family is in
NEED!!!!!  PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM AS WELL AS FOR KATIE AND THE VANN FAMILY!
Thanks,
Tracey

Butch Holland sent a message to the members of We Love Katie.

——————–
Subject: We were sent this and just feel led to ask for your prayers for
this family

Since we already have a huge prayer chain, we would like to ask for your
prayers for a family in Farmville, as they are going through an unthinkable
tragedy.

The Williams pastor a small church in Farmville, and they have three
children and 6 grandchildren.  On Saturday, Mr. and Mrs. Williams were
keeping all of their grandchildren for the day and were outside playing at
the church.  Mrs. Williams got in her car to go get lunch at McDonald’s, and
as she pulled out onto the street, she didn’t realize that her nearly- three
year old grandson Addison had run out to the car.  Pastor Williams had tried
to catch him, but wasn’t quick enough.  Little Addison was struck and killed
under the back tire of Mrs. Williams’ SUV.  Not knowing what had happened,
Mrs. Williams continued on to McDonald’s, while Pastor Williams frantically
called for emergency services while trying to keep the other five
grandchildren (ages 4-9) from being so traumatized.

I attended the visitation/wake for the family last night, and I can say with
certainty that I have never in my life seen such heart-breaking grief.
Pastor Williams and his wife are absolutely broken and defeated.  They both
blame themselves.  The other grandchildren are having nightmares and the
oldest one is angry at God for “allowing this to happen.”

The funeral for Addison is today around 2.  Please pray that divine peace
that can only come from Christ be poured out onto this family.  They are an
important part of the Farmville community through both their church and
their business.  (Ironically, Rex Williams owns the main towing business in
Farmville and is the one who cleans up wrecks.)

Thank you for praying for this family.  I simply cannot imagine what they
are going through right now.  Please feel free to pass this along to any
other prayer warriors you know.

Happy Mom’s Day!

I’ve been up since 3:00 am – just enjoying the peace & quiet, and working on photos of course. I hope everyone had a Happy Mother’s Day!

I spent a lot of time playing with Ryley this weekend. She’s so much fun!

Ryley’s 2 years and 8.5 months old – that’s all really!

Jerry was very sick all weekend, but he managed to muster enough energy for a 5 minute photo session in our front yard.   A little bit of trivia – Jerry & I met 7 years ago on Mother’s Day weekend

Have a great week!

Love & Blessings,  

The Motions

Hey Everyone,

It’s been a reeeeeeeally long time since I’ve written on this blog. We’re already over halfway through April… life just whizzes by in one big blur sometimes. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m just going through the motions… just trying to get through another day.  

At the end of each day, I usually feel a defeated emptiness, because yet another day went by that I didn’t sit down with the Lord. Just me & Him. Not even a measly 5 minutes.  I give my time to everyone and everything else. Even though I want to, I never MAKE time to spend that 1:1 time with Jesus. He’s in my heart, but I constantly fall short of spending time in His word.  I’m really good at beating myself up over it too, huh?

Then a couple days ago I heard a song on the radio that was exactly how I was feeling! I love it when that happens  I’m hoping this song will help me break out of that rut…

Check out the video!  Here’s the link: The Motions by Matthew West

 

Feel free to ask my how I’m doing on that … it’s always good to have an accountability partner!

Love & Blessings, 

Family, Birthdays & Orlando

Just a quick post.

On Monday March 9th, it was my brother Brandon’s b-day. On Tuesday March 10th, it was my husband Jerry’s b-day AND my sister Jacki had her second baby that morning! I only have cell phone photos of her though. Sara Ann Tothill was born at 6:38am on  3/10/09 weighing 6 lbs 10 oz.  She is PRECIOUS!    Both mine &  Jacki’s middle names are Ann

Jacki went into labor the night of the 9th, and I was so excited text messaging everyone I could think of, that I must have forgotten to turn my alarm to ‘on’ when I set it.  Either that or I slept through it (again).  Luckily, my friend Debbie called me at 7:35 am (I have to leave for work at 7:30 to make it on time).  It was one of those delirious, crackly voiced  “What time is it???…Deep Gasp…. HOLY CRAP  I’m LATE!” moments.  As I was FLyING around the house to get out the door, my phone buzzed.  There was a pix message of sweet little Sara Ann, just born, laying in just her diaper….and that’s how I found out she had arrived safely. It was such a relief, since it had been a long pregnancy & Jacki was sick a lot.  A flood of gratitude rushed over me and I cried like a baby … THANKING  THE  LORD as I rushed out of the house.  The only photos I have are on my cell phone, so I can’t share    just yet.

I just put new photos on Facebook from this past weekend. My brother Brandon, his wife, niece & in-laws were vacationing in Orlando last week. They spent Brandon’s birthday at Disney and the rest of the week visiting all the parks.  Jerry, Ryley, and I went down on Friday, hung out, had dinner at the Polynesian Resort, spent the night, had breakfast with some Disney characters, then we took Brandon & Ashley to the airport.

At breakfast, Ryley was very excited to get to meet Mickey. Unfortunately, Stitch came to our table first. . . . . .

Stitch trying to greet Ryley

Ryley let out a blood curdling scream when Stitch tried to say Hi to her (which I DIDN’T get any photos of, because she needed comforting). Ryley flew out of her chair so fast that she left her shoe behind!  She had never seen him before, was terrified of him, and cried hysterically.

Lilo came over and fussed at Stitch for scaring Ryley.   

Then, Mickey came over and covered his ears trying to make Ryley laugh.  She wasn’t having any part of him either though.  This was the best we could do for a photo of Ryley with Mickey….

Notice she only has on ONE shoe??!!! I can relate…I’m that way with spiders

On Sunday, I took Ryley to Blockbuster, found Lilo & Stitch, and she rented it.  Now Ryley LOVES these photos  and loves to tell the story.

To see more fun photos from our trip, click on this link  to my Facebook page.

Gotta get to bed. . . . . HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!

love & blessings,    xoxo

horsin’ around

 This weekend, I spent some mother & daughter time with Ryley on a ranch.  A little known fact about me – I LOVE HORSES!!!  Ryley likes them too, but has never been around that many horses at one time.

 

We went to photograph our friend Ashley, the daughter of Ryley’s child care provider Stephanie. Ashley spends most of her free time at this ranch. I’ve been wanting to see her ride for ages, so I finally made time this weekend. Her horse’s name is Bucky, she’s been riding him for a long time, and he LOVES her. He follows Ashley without her having to hold the reigns!

( I fogot the black line around my white borders)

ISN”T  THAT  AWESOME!!?? 

 

 

  

   

  

  

 

 

 

  

 

This one looks cool full size. Your eyes get drawn into this rugged all the movement with the hooves and dirt flying, then you notice at the top that the riders are wearing  ‘pink’  t-shirts! 

  

 

  

 

 

 

Ryley’s first experience with stinging nettles (sp?)… at first I thought she got stung by a bee!  Poor little thing.     Miss Stephanie to the rescue

 

 

Didn’t take long to forget about the sting!

  

  

   

 

Ryley loves Ashley

  

 

 

You don’t see this every day…

 

   

  

 

 

 

They say you’re not supposed to mix b&w  with  sepia,  but I like to…    looks MUCH better full size

 

 

 

Ashley has beautiful eye color!

 

Ended the trip with a shot of this cute little fella who was wishing he was a little taller

 

  

Well, how’s that for catching up on posting photos???    Have a great week!

Love & Blessings,xoxo

PS ~ IF YOU ARE AN EMAIL SUBSCRIBER, THIS  IS ONE OF THE NEW LOOKS I’M PLAYING WITH… Click on the link for my BLOG to see it on the web…

 

 

 

 

This is what it looked like before I changed it…

 

 

 

 

 Dark version…

{NEW LOOK!}

Hey Everyone!

Well, I decided since I spent my entire birthday IN BED SICK, it never happened, so I’m not a year older .  I had the nasty stomach virus that Ryley had (nice bday gift), but she was able to function during the day. I felt so bad, that at one point I was on the toilet, and next thing I knew I was laying bare bummed on the bathroom floor! I had passed out, smashed my face on the floor, and my forehead on a little stand we have in there… go ahead, laugh! It’s funny now that I feel better.

So with my renewed energy, I  freshened up my banner. It all started when I began to create a new logo for myself. I’ve got several versions of it, so I’ll be changing it a few times within the next couple weeks. Please comment and let me know what you think

Here’s a couple photos of Ryley with her Valentines gifts: clip on earrings and a monkey.

I have a senior portrait session in the morning that I’m really excited about. Tyler is the third and final high school senior that I’ve photographed in  his family. He may be the last to graduate, but he’ll probably also have the best photos too!  I’ve gotten better

Love & Blessings,

Science Spectacular, Ryley, & Facebook

Hi All, can you believe it’s nearing the end of January already!?!? I haven’t been good about blogging this month, because my clients have been keeping me pretty busy. Here’s an update:

 

I got my Hanson Fong Canon 5D back from being serviced by Canon (THANKS Hanson & Michael!), so I’ve been playing with it a bunch. On Friday, I took it to work for our Science Day and used it every chance I got. Channel 47 meteorologist Mike Buresh came out to our school again, I sent  him some photos, and he has 2 of them posted on his blog.  Click on the link to his blog and scroll down a bit to see the photos/snapshots…. or look below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then after school, I photographed Ryley playing in a bunch of leaves (something you don’t see often in Florida).

 

 

 

 

Believe it or not, she’s only 2 1/2 years old!

 

TOOOOOOO   CUTE!

 

………………………………………………………………..

News Flash!                 I’m on FACEBOOK

Problem is, I don’t know how to tell YOU to get there. For now, just go to Facebook and search my name.  I created my account before work this morning, and when I got home from my PPSNF meeting this evening, there were about 55 emails from friends already! 

I just added h.a.e photography to Facebook as well, so try searching that too!

Love & blessings,

Happy Birthday Dad & Blessings to Meg

Hey Everyone and Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad, Fred Preisch:

 

 

This is my friend Meg Young. She left yesterday for a missions trip to Africa! Her mom hired me to create a family portrait just before Christmas, so she could have it done before Meg left. After the family went inside, Meg and I created a bunch of portraits of her to surprise her Mom & Dad.  This is one of their favorites. She won’t be back until December of this year, so the portraits were a very nice surprise.

Inspired by the Lord, Meg has recently created a new non-profit ministry for abandoned babies & children in Africa. Check out Meg’s blog for They Are Not Forgotten Ministries, Inc. !  You’ll love her banner at the top of her blog. Since it’s brand new, it’ll be fun to read all her posts of her experiences in Africa and watch her ministry grow. Please keep her  and this awesome new ministry in your prayers. Add one in for her family too please. I know they’ll miss her tremendously.

You can subscribe to her blog while you’re there, or just click on the link to it on the right side of my blog.

Love & Blessings,

 

Another Great Hartz Awareness Site!!!

The 2 most frequently read posts on my blog are #1  ”Hide Tide Heals – What a hoot!” and #2 “URGENT-Do not use Hartz products!”  It’s nice to know that the information about Hartz is getting around, my cat Iggy didn’t die in vain, and that other Hartz awareness sites are linking to by blog to help spread the word. Having Iggy die an excruciating death as a result of using Hartz was the worst thing that happened to me in 2008. 

Today I found HartzSyndrome.org. Please check out this site. It stresses that Sergeant’s flea & tick products are also linked to pet harm &/or death.  

There’s also an informative article about Pets & Pesticides at this link to the Center for Public Integrity. Info from this article:

“…pyrethroid-based flea and tick treatments — from Hartz, Sergeant’s, Farnam, and Bayer — are approved for sale by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and they are readily available at grocery stores, specialty pet retailers, and hardware stores. But they are also linked to thousands of reported pet poisonings, and they have stirred the ire of pet owners, the concern of veterinarians, and the attention of regulatory agencies.”

On  a happier note….. Have a Safe and Fabulously HAPPY    NEW YEAR!!!

Love & Blessings,

                                       Ignaps (“Iggy”) …. RIP

CERTIFIED!

Our annual Professional Photographers Society of North Florida Christmas Party was the other night … a night full of surprises.  First, I was given this beautiful basket full of home-made chocolate goodies made by several of the women from our guild.  Deeeeeee licious ! ! !

 

Next, I was awarded the Jim and Adrienne Abrisch Scholarship, which is a paid Florida School tuition for May 31st-June 4, 2009 at Daytona Beach Community College. Since only new members are eligible to apply, it was a one time opportunity for me.  Applicants had to submit a written application answering multiple questions, such as what photography means to you. I couldn’t believe my ears when part of MY essay  was read by our president just before announcing the winner of the scholarship! The scholarship program was begun in honor of Professional Photographers Society of North Florida members Jim and Adrienne Abrisch after they were killed in a plane crash on December 12, 2001.  They were dear people who were greatly loved and respected.

Chris from Desktop Darkroom was on hand to photograph us again this year and did a fabulous job.  He took this photo of me and Mike Permenter.  Mike had a large influence in my next surprise.

 

 

When I got home and opened my mail, I found out that I passed the image submission phase of my certification process! In August I passed the written exam. Then I had to submit 20 images to a panel of Certified Professional Photographer judges.  Thanks to Mike, I passed BOTH the exam and the image submission on my first try. Mike is not only an awesome photographer, he is also our local PhotoShop guru. He helped me study for the exam, critiques my work, and gives me advice whenever I need it.   I have to thank Rick Ferro also, who gave me some valuable constructive criticism on several portraits I was considering to submit.

 

Thanks for reading and sharing my excitement!  I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend Florida School if I hadn’t won the scholarship. You have no idea how grateful I am to have won. I thank  God for these blessings!

Don’t forget…. JESUS is the reason for this season!!!  Let Him shine through you during this crazy, busy holiday season.  Much easier said than done, I know, but really…. we’re too blessed to be stressed, right!?  

 

Lots of Love & Blessings,

Pix from Thanksgiving

How many times do you have to do something before it’s considered a tradition? I think I’ve started one for our family by photographically documenting Ryley’s growth from Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving….

 

Our 3rd annual photo by the bird

She’s getting big. Time goes by so fast!

We always start our day in our PJs…I always thought jeans were my favorite thing to wear until Jerry pointed out that I always go for my pajamas. In public, definitely jeans or khakis though. 

Some sticker fun in the morning. They fascinate her right now…

 

 

Then outside (in PJs) for some fresh air and sunshine.

 

 

Our Senegal parrot ‘Snuggles’ caught some rays too.

 

The raccoon path. They visit our yard every night, and over the past year have worn a path in the grass!!!

 

 

Some gardening…

 

 

 

One  of Ryley’s new vocabulary words is “RELAX”

 

Finally, grabbing some bubbles from doing the dishes…

 

My images probably look a bit different in this post because I processed them on my laptop. The color is different.

I hope you all had a safe & happy Thanksgiving, and that you slowed down long enough to remember to count your blessings.

Love & Blessings,

Marriage, and the Slow Fade

Sunday was our 6 year anniversary…

We started the day by going to church where Ryley learned that Jesus lives in her heart. Since we conceived Ryley on our 3rd anniversary, we decided to celebrate her this year and took her to Chuck E Cheeses for the first time. We had a ton of fun….

 

 

 the Thinker…

 

 

 

 

 Haven’t you always wanted to do that?

 

 

Ryley talked about Chuck E “Cheeses” all the way home. When we were getting her ready for bed and talking about her day, I asked her to tell her daddy who lives in her heart. She said “Chuck E CHEESES!!!”… turns out ‘Cheeses’ sounds an awful lot like ‘Jesus’ when coming out of the mouth of a toddler. Isn’t that a good one!?

Being a parent is an amazing experience!

Since I’m on the topic of anniversaries/marriage, I want to encourage everyone to see the movie FIREPROOF. It’s an awesome movie about love & marriage, and how easily we fall into the destructive cycles that all too often lead to divorce. Please take a few minutes to watch this short video about the inspiration behind the song Slow Fade from Fireproof. You will be glad you did! Then watch and listen to the music video SLOW FADE by Casting Crowns (click on the underlined words above to their links).

Jerry and I are about half way through a marriage class at our church with several other couples using the video series Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs and his wife Sarah.  It is by far the BEST information available on marriage and the needs of men & women. He explains in a humorous way how God designed us to be DIFFERENT. It is absolutely amazing and eye opening.  It’s SO GOOD that I want to stand on a mountain top and tell the world about it. When you hear it, it makes SO MUCH SENSE. AND it’s the way God made us to be, so you don’t feel like such a lousy person/spouse after you realize why the differences lead to conflict.

The divorce rate is so high because it’s so easy for husbands and wives to get trapped in the “Crazy Cycle” of miscommunication, misunderstanding, hurt, anger, and bitterness. This is information that our sons and daughters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, friends, etc. etc. need to know so they don’t go through all the pain and heartache that we’ve experienced in our own relationships.  You can see all kinds of stuff for FREE just by going to the website (www.loveandrespect.com)… like this little snippet on the “Crazy Cycle” or check out these FREE video segments… like the one called “Pink & Blue”. 

You can get the entire Love and Respsect video series through download for only $40, and I promise, it’s worth it!!! Click here. OR you can purchase each segment separately for $10. So if you’re skeptical, you can just watch the 1st segment to see if you like it. 

God’s timing is perfect. I am a child of a bitter divorce and years of resentment between my parents. I know the scars this can leave in people. We need to help others not put our children and ourselves through that!

It’s no accident that I saw the movie Fireproof, found the video & inspiration for Slow Fade, AND am in this awesome marriage class all in the same time frame. PLEASE take some time and check out the links above!

I love you all,

Baby’s First!

Yesterday evening, I photographed the Perry family (Cathy Perry Ministries)for the first time since Isabella was born 5 months ago (see my Precious Perry post in my April archives). As I was setting up, I asked Cathy if Isabella was sitting up by herself yet. She said that she could a little bit, but usually flopped over. She wasn’t sitting up all by herself yet…. 

Well look what Isabella did for the FIRST time, DURING our session!!!!  We were so excited … especially me to be able to be right there, not only being a part of that special milestone, but also able to photograph it for Trey & Cathy!

I just had to post a couple of images this morning

to make their day

 Love & Blessings,

First time sitting up! h.a.e photography - copyright heidi ecklor