Jeremiah saw someone make a heart with their hands and decided to make a "Gem" with his and wanted me to take a picture of it...



But really, I just wanted to take a picture of him...



Then I tried to get in the picture with him...


Maybe we could take a pic of the two of us? Well, someone wanted to be silly...


If you can't beat 'em, join 'em...


I love my boy...


{Mommy Moment}
Jeremiah sometimes makes up words for things he doesn't know the names of. Once he told me that a fence post was a "kenkolopia" because he couldn't remember that it was called a post. I asked him who told him that and he said, "No one told me! I just know things." I giggled and he proceeded to clarify... "I know lots of things and sometimes I don't know some things."
He's so profound, isn't he?

My boys are so different. Last year, they did a craft inspired by the book, Elmer The Patchwork Elephant and I immediately spotted their different personalities come to life in this project. Jeremiah is my straight-laced perfectionist and Joshua is a bit more scattered and haphazard in how he approaches things...



I saved these and have them on a wall in my office because it reminds me so much of how unique they are. And it just makes me smile.

They are as different as night and day... and I kinda like it that way.

xoxo

I couldn't resist posting this sweet, sweet Little Man...



Elliot was the sweetest! Just 10 days old and he started out at whopping 10lbs! I love little chunkaroos! He just smooshed into a sleepy little snuggly ball. And then he made all those cute little gurgly sighs and coos... Melt my heart! I wanted to just eat him up! He loves his mommy and really loves his daddy too! Little boys are just the bestest, don't you think?

Mom, I hope you like this little sneak peek! More coming soon!
xoxo


{Mommy Moment}
*sigh*

Little baby boys always make me want another one. And then to give me one as cute and chubby as this? Wow, someone needs to give me ideas on how to convince hubby we need another one here!

Another great part of Homeschooling is getting to do things when we want! lol Like going to Trunnell's Farm Market to play and pick out pumpkins without fighting a crowd of wild kids. We just have to fight our own wild kids. :)


Lindsey and I carved out some time from our busy schedules last week to take our boys to pick out pumpkins and play. We were the only ones there! It was kinda odd and lonely looking but the boys had so much fun running around in the different mazes, pumping water, playing in the corn, swinging, riding the bikes and kicking up dirt wherever they went. They were filthy and exhausted but had a great time. We laughed at all the funky looking pumpkins and gourds. I loved all the colors, textures and funky twisted stems...



Then we made a quick trip through the store where Joshua got hooked on the apple flavored popcorn:



kinda gross looking but surprisingly yummy!

As usual, I took too many pics so you get another slideshow to view them a little easier! Enjoy!

I am beyond pooped but wanted to post a quick little post. Our church had our Fall Festival tonight and everyone worked so hard to make it happen! I'm so proud and appreciative of all the volunteers who made this happen - THANK YOU!!!

I didn't take a ton of pics since I worked some of the booths and spent the rest of the time trying to keep my two excited boys within reach in the midst of the crowd. They had SO MUCH fun! Joshua was beside himself giddy that he got to putt with the golf club and toss a football. He was just beaming and hovered around those booths as often as he could! Jeremiah loved the huge inflatable obstacle courses and that he could get prizes and candy at each booth. Seeing their little faces so bright and excited made my heart so happy. It seemed so simple to me but they were having a blast! We've been so busy lately, it was fun to just spend time enjoying their joy. Joshua missed his nap but didn't get too out of sorts and Jeremiah worked up a serious appetite (probably from the 50 million trips through the obstacle course!). If you know this kid, you know he's not a big eater and he's a picky one at that. But he ended up eating a hot dog and 3/4 of his hamburger! That is almost more than he eats altogether in one day! Also, it's amazing that my picky pete ate a hot dog.

"Hey, Mom" he said a bit puzzled. "Hot dogs are not hot!"


Joshua was pretty awesome at the football toss. He scored like 80% of the shots! Little shorty...


I am pooped. I feel like I didn't work near as hard as so many others since I spent half the time chasing my own kids but I'm wiped out. I'm going to sleep good tonight (I hope!) and am looking forward to worshipping with others in the morning! God is so good to us!

xoxo

My sweet friend, Liz, asked me about taking pictures of Crayons as she and her husband wanted to decorate their daughter's room with this theme. I had so much fun! I bought some fresh crayons and late one night I played around with them. 15 minutes later I had a ton of images. The next day, I shot my little man coloring with them and threw those into the mix. Its always nice to have these little projects to keep things fresh when you have been mainly photographing people. Since there are so many pics (and these are not all of them!) I decided to toss them into a slideshow and that just made it more fun.

Enjoy!

ISO 100
Aperture f/4.5
Shutter Speed 1/1000sec
Focal length 200mm
Shot with Canon 5d and Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS USM

You often hear the phrase "Today, I marry my best friend" as a cliche used on invitations and wedding programs... but this day I do believe I witnessed two best friends becoming one. A beautiful union of two beautiful souls. Surrounded by their close friends and family. Surrounded with love and adoration. Surrounded by everything beautiful and happy, Ashley and Tim became one...





After all there is something about a wedding-gown prettier than in any other gown in the world.

~Douglas William Jerrold







Love is patient, love is kind...


A most beautiful bride...



Ashley, you are stunning...



Workin' it...



The groom was most dapper as well. Waiting for the ceremony...


His crew was HILARIOUS...

The whole party was a fun bunch...




Everything about that day was beautiful...



They do...




They love happily ever after...



xoxo

I teamed up with my good friend, Lindsey, and took our boys to Trunnell's Farm Market to play and get some pumpkins. The boys had so much fun! I haven't even looked at those pics yet so hopefully you'll see that outing soon. Until then...

Later that evening, I met my niece and her fiance for an Engagment Session. We raced the light all over town (seriously, ALL.OVER.TOWN) but we were fortunate to get to each location with the PERFECT yummy light we needed each time!

More to come but for now a little something fun. I snagged these cute little pumpkins on the way out the door thinking they might be fun for a fall session. It's so fun living in the Midwest (I grew up in Southern California). I LOVE all the fall colors! It makes the frozen winters and humid summers worth it!

Happy Fall!!!

...would I have ever thought to paint a room this color...



But somehow, it's working for Jey's room! Go figure.

We stripped the wall paper to reveal this *lovely* blue wall. But it's now going to be Green Gecko. Jey loves it so happy happy joy joy.

I was asked to shoot some crayons in creative artsy ways and it was really a fun little project! Just what I needed to break some monotony of shooting the usual. I have lots of images but I'll wait until the project is finished and delivered. So for now you get a sneak peek at The Crayon Project...

I had no idea what to title this post. We ventured out to the park last night with my bestie, Lindsey, and her family for a photo session swap. Jeremiah REALLY REALLY wanted me to capture this pose. Not sure why. Not sure what in the world he was doing. But he thought it was pretty cool so here ya go. My wierd-o kid...

Looking through my pics for something to blog real quick and ran across this. Not sure when I shot it, where I shot it or why I shot it. Not even sure what it is...



But it was interesting so there ya go. lol

{Mommy Moment}

Jeremiah's boots are back.
*sigh*

As you can see...

Jeremiah LOVES haircuts!

(look at the devilish grin, the little stinker!)

(notice the angry eyebrows!)

It has been weeks (months?) since I did this but am just now getting around to posting this. I'm good at that, aren't I?

Anyway... its always fun when I can do something crafty in the name of learning. This craft was super easy and quick and the boys enjoyed helping. I took some felt and sewed the sides and the boys helped me fill them with dry beans. Easy Peasy!





I was going to sew them by hand but it's always fun to break out the sewing machine. Besides, Joshua is always fascinated with it. lol

While I sewed the bags, the boys decorated a matboard that we now use to toss the
bean bags into...




We use them in a variety of ways. We toss them to practice coordination, to teach colors and counting with Joshua... so many things to do with them and they are fun too! Sometimes I mark lines on the floor with masking tape and that opens the door for more game ideas! I often find that they've stolen my bean bag box and made up a new game with them on their own.


xoxo

This afternoon I was so blessed to go to the hospital to visit my sweet friend, Brandy. She was scheduled for a c-section in two weeks but sometimes things don't go as planned, do they? Late Thursday night I was thinking of her and left her a message on Facebook, saying "Not long now!" I was referring to the two short weeks until her due date. Little did we know she'd go into labor just a few hours later! Of course I had to capture some snapshots of the family that almost doubled over night!

Here is the most adorable Tate, the new Big Brother in town...
(check out his cool shirt!)



Yup, TWINS! Daddy Dustin made me laugh when he told me (referring to my own two boys) that they caught up and passed us in one fell swoop! He wasn't kidding, was he! And look at these two little bundles of cuddly cuteness...


That is Reese with his "little" brother Lane laying on top. Lane just wanted to sleep the day away no matter what was going on but that little Reese... let's just say he's a fighter! Both boys were so strong and healthy. I was completely surprised since they were two weeks early and twins! Reese was 7lbs 2oz and Lane was 6lbs 8oz. BIG BOYS for being crammed in mommy all this time! And she didn't look huge either. (Yeah, I'm jealous. I looked and weighed more with just one in my belly! lol)

So what did Big Brother Tate think of his new little brothers?


The men of the family...


Nana looks pretty proud too, doesn't she?


Tate's not really sure what to think of all of it but he knows he's still loved like crazy and he is going to be such a great big brother!


Mommy, you are beautiful and so so so blessed!


Thanks for allowing me to capture these moments. What a beautiful family! Congratulations!!!!!

xoxo

One day Isaiah came over for a playdate with my littlest J while his mommy put in a couple hours at the office. They are so funny! It's like watching little kids play soccer... wherever the ball goes, the whole group goes! These two followed each other around as if they were handcuffed together. They played hard in every room in the house and randomly burst into giggles at the most curious times... It was just too much fun to watch them!

Stopping for a snack...


Taking a little ride...
(they used to fit in it together nicely but they've grown a bit since the last time they tried this!)

Not so fun anymore...


Joshua is 4 months older and you can tell Joshua is taller but he's also much scrawnier!

They ran and played in the sunshine until they were both red faced and sweaty so we stopped for a popscicle break. I didn't want to ruin Isaiah's clothes so I stripped him down and Joshua just got a partial stripping....


I thought popsicles would be fun, but apparently it's a serious task...


"Are you going to eat that?"


"Did you see him eyeing my popsicle?"


Serious...

About halfway through, Joshua was done and started playing with his. He'd fling it and chunks would fly out, giving him and Isaiah a good giggle...

Isaiah tried the flinging trick with his...

But then realized it was wasteful...

He ate his and Joshua's...

I just cracked up and kept taking pics knowing his mommy would think it was funny too. Man, I love these kids.

But they ended up a sticky, sloppy mess so I threw them in the tub and they loved having a playmate to splash with...



They took turns dousing each other with cups of water and then laughing hysterically. I knew I had to take pics of this for their high school yearbook. Or blackmail. Let's just say they better keep their rooms clean and be nice to mommy. lol