Reason #JOS,HUA that I love Mr. Clean Erasers...
Although due to the plaster texture of these old walls, the paint started to come off. Guess we'll be repainting the hall soon. Thankfully, he switched to a washable marker before entering our room and climbing under the covers and WHITE sheets.
And here's a random shot of Jey while I was attempting to get a shot for his yearbook. I somehow managed to get a decent one for the book but it's so boring compared to this one:
No, not really.
I am an Artistic Engineer of Domestic and Community Affairs. Specifically, a Household Management Specialist with an emphasis on family relations, child development and religious education. I provide training in the areas of life application and college preparatory skills and oversee the creative views of my community.
(AKA I'm a Christian stay-at-home Pastor's wife/homeschooling mommy with a photography biz on the side.)
Another title for this would be: Tired.
Picture of some of that cheesecake... (recipe found here)
And Amy, this one's for you!
The boys ripped off the label and although it kind of ruined the frame, it left a little heart and I thought of you and how you like to find hearts in unexpected places. Blessings are sometimes hidden by things we don't like, aren't they? :)
(anyone singing that song from the original Parent Trap yet?)
I had the opportunity to meet with some fabulous photographers from all over the midwest at an intimate get together in Indiana last weekend. Not only did we have a blast getting to know each other, we were able to share valuable information and I walked away with some great new ideas. The one thing I didn't really do was shoot. How odd is that, right? Due to the weather, we stayed in the studio and with so many shooting, it got a bit crowded at times so I just let others shoot while I watched and chatted with everyone, soaking in all I could.
Here is one group shot from the weekend. The amazing Jessica Bell brought her son along to model and he came in handy when we wanted a group shot! Jess and I work together on weddings and if you are looking for a great photographer in the Jasper, IN area, call her!
I'm one of the squatters (lol), the one on the left, next to the fabulous Emily Southerland, one of the speakers. Check out her work and look her up if you are in the St. Louis, MO area.
Another uber talented photographer snagged a couple shots of my littlest monkey and she posted a peek on her blog HERE. Jennifer Dexter is located in Lafayette, IN and surrounding counties if you are looking for an awesome photographer in that area.
Thanks so much to our wonderful Host, Jeannette Kaufman. If you are in the Terre Haute, IN area, give her a call to photograph your family!
I said I didn't really shoot that weekend but I meant at the workshop. I did shoot some of a few rowdy kids at the hotel. Jess and I drove up together with two kids each and we were all a little stir crazy after hours in the car together. We piled into the hotel room and then let them get some of their pent up energy out. They were so hilariously crazy we did what any good mom would do... took pictures:
Jeremiah getting some great height...
Lots of giggles as they raced from bed to bed...
We dubbed Miss K the Violent Jumper...
Joshua never likes to be left out of anything...
So D gave him a hand...
Then he got into the action with a few tricks of his own...
You can catch another perspective here on Jess's Blog: CLICK HERE!
AND NOW...
(drumroll)
The much anticipated recipe to the infamous dessert that is oh-so bad and yet OH-so yummerific (yes, it's a word. I just made it up so write it into your dictionaries). I called it a chocolate chip cheesecake because that is a good description but that isn't really the offical name of this recipe. I love this treat but it's so rich and SO tempting that I try to reserve making it only for large gatherings so I have no leftovers to consume when I get back home!
MOCHA MACAROON TORTE
Crust and Filling:
1 (18oz) pkg Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
1 (8oz) pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp brewed coffee (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Topping:
1/4 sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup Semisweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Press cookie dough into bottom of ungreased 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Bake 12-18 minutes or until light golden brown (will not be baked completely). Remove the partially baked crust and let cool for 10 minutes.
While cooling, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until smooth. Add coconut, 1/4 cup sugar, coffee, and vanilla; blend well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon and carefully spread mixture over crust. Sprinkle with all topping ingredients.
Return to oven and bake an additional 40-45 minutes - until filling is set and edges are light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before running knife around edges to loosen. Carefully remove from pan and cool 1 hour. Then refrigerate 1-2 hours or until chilled. Store in refrigerator and try to not eat too much at one time. :)
I was trying out a new backdrop stand in my garage and noticed the light from the window was brilliant so I snagged the boys for a photo op. Of course, it didn't go as planned. Typical everyday life I'm capturing here...
Joshua was eating (of all things) a prune and wasn't planning to stop for pictures...
"Mommy, you are silly enough to get a little smile from me..."
He's done...
This is all I got from Jeremiah... (look at his cool eyes!)
I might like this one better in B&W...
{Mommy Moment}
While getting ready this morning, Joshua was digging in my make up and Jeremiah was talking non-stop asking me to do all kinds of things. I told Jeremiah to show Joshua how the scale worked in hopes it would occupy them long enough for me to get my contacts in. They didn't go for it but Jeremiah and I had a nice conversation:
Me: Jeremiah how much do you weigh?
Jey: One thousand-a!
Me: One thousand pounds? Wow, I wonder what that means mommy weighs?
Jey: Three hundred feet!
Great. Apparently I'm not just big, I'm wide. Nice.
Beautiful little Kyla is seriously the definition of sweetness! She was a trooper throughout the session and we were able to try out a lot of different ideas...
Something Fun and Funky?
(Hat made by the talented Anita Letts)
Or maybe she's a girly girl...
We tried a couple of other hats...
(this bonnet is from the uber fab Heather Bauers)
Her older sis says she doesn't like hats. You can tell in that shot, eh? lol
She appears to almost like this one but don't let that cute face fool you, she disliked this one even more...
(probably because it's one I actually made)
We did some more classic shots like her tiny feet with Mommy's & Daddy's rings...
And couldn't help but keep shooting while she hung out with mom. Thinking...
And some honest-to-goodness sweetness...
But no matter what her cute little personality says about her, she will always be the perfect gift from Heaven...
(thanks for the wings, Jen!)
Kyla and family... Thank you SO much for allowing me to capture your newest treasure. What a blessing to be a part of her life and to spend the afternoon with such a wonderful family. I think I'll move in. I'll even eat the soup!
xoxo
My sweet little Valentines...
One day I need to post the rest of the ones I took for their Vday cards.
In the meantime, here is a silly sneak peek:
Love these guys!
Brody is due in a couple weeks but he has been getting anxious to arrive early! We kept rearranging schedules to get this shoot done before he arrives. 8 inches of snow didn't help! But I think we were able to get a few pics of gorgeous mommy awaiting her second little man!
Little Boy Blue... we're excited to meet you!
Had to do a classic... 
A fun story about this cool purple ring... mom loved it last Mother's Day and it just so happened to turn out to be Brody's birth stone! How great is that?
Mommy is glowing...
Jenn, you are beautiful. I know you don't feel like it but, wow, you sure are...
Come soon and safely, Brody!
xoxo
He's only 4 months younger than Joshua but we still call him Baby Isaiah. Probably because that is what Jeremiah calls him and Joshua doesn't say anything so we just go with that. lol These boys really seem to like to play together. Here are a couple of their fave toys...
Look at these cuties!!! They loved riding up and down the hall in the big blue tote that Jeremiah (and Isaiah's mommy!) pushed...
Until Jeremiah couldn't pull anymore. He needs more muscle power...
Lindsey, you're awesome. That's all.
Say, Say, Isaiah.... come out and play with me...
I love that you can see his mommy in the balloon. It's like he's looking at her! :)
I'll share a little secret with you. I have a weakness. It's chocolate. It's WHITE chocolate. It's raspberry. It's almond. It's M&Ms. Can't get any better than this. I can eat the whole package in one blink...
Yes, they really are that good.
Warning: Image Overload! Grab a cup of cocoa if you plan to go through the whole post! :)
We had about 5-6 inches of snow this past weekend. It was so pretty! But frigid! When the wind stopped and the sun came out, I took the boys out to play. They had so much fun! John took a few pics before retreating into the house but I couldn't resist so I took over moment capturing. He took the first three pics.
It was still too powdery to make a snow man although we tried...
Joshua just didn't know what to think! He looks so small out there...
Whenever he goes outside (or escapes to outside) he first runs to the shed to play with the bikes and other outdoor toys. But he needed a little reassurance walking through all the snow...
"Yay! I missed you, Bikes!"
Jeremiah had fun throwing snow everywhere and shoveling it around the yard. He took a break for mommy to take some pics...
Mr. Cool...
He slid down the slide and pushed all the snow off, landing in a big pile of... snow! Goofy kid...
The snow was like velcro, it just stuck to all their soft clothing...
We don't get enough snow to need to get snowpants every year so we just make due in our regular clothes!
Joshua didn't completely trust his footing in the deep snow so he hung onto the shed wall for a while...
But then got used to things and ventrued out on his own to explore...
He tried to do all the things he does when there is no snow and was disappointed when he saw the playground full of snow. He whined about the slide but didn't want to go down like Jeremiah did. Funny how the tables turned today!
Good thing we bought him some boots to match Jeremiah's...
Jey posing for me and showing off the snow that stuck to him...
Joshua is done...
It was fun while it lasted!
