Happy Thanksgiving!

My life is so blessed.

Given the time of year, I've been thinking lately about how much I have to be thankful for - blessings both big and small, and even the challenges turn out to be blessings in disguise.

But, the sappy and heartfelt post will have to wait until another time.

Right now I'm too busy soaking up the joy that is my family reunion...and looking forward to a belly full to turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Three Thousand Words

A picture's worth a thousand words...so here's the story of Nadia and Blackie the Cat in three photos.


if you look really close, so you see a black kitty tail peeking out by her feet.





Actually, that's not quote the full story - because as much as Nadia torments her at times, Blackie truly does love her back. In the the rare times when Nadia leaves her alone for more than 5 minutes, Blackie comes to seek out some Nadia-lovin' and she seems lost when Nadia is not home. Every night, Blackie sleeps curled up at Nadia's feet. They are just like any pair of best friends - they frustrated the heck out of each other, but they will always stick by each other too.

Four

Four seasons in a year.
Four quarters in a dollar.
Four chambers in a heart.
Four cardinal directions.
Four Gospels.
Four leaves in a lucky clover.

Four years ago today...
....my life was blessed with a daughter.



Happy Birthday to my favorite FOUR year old!
I love from here to the moon and back again.

Race for the (hiccup) Cure

Day One:
"If you have the hiccups and think about cows, they will go away. I'm not kidding!"
I read my little brother Daniel's Facebook status and laugh.
"What's this about hiccups and cows?!" I ask.
"Yes, " he exclaims, "it's an amazing discovery!"
"I tried it and so did my friend, and it really works. Think about cows...and hiccups dissapear."
He is totally serious.
I laugh. I tease.
And I tell him that I can't wait to get hiccups...
so I can test his theory

Day Two:
What luck!
I get the hiccups.
I think about cows.
The hiccups do not go away.
I tell Daniel that his theory is flawed.
He accuses me of not wanting the hiccups to stop.
Surely, he insists, I must have still been trying to hiccup.
Clearly, the problem lies with me - not the bovine hiccup cure.

Day Three:
Nadia gets the hiccups.
I tell her that Uncle D says that they will go away if she thinks about cows.
So she thinks about cows.
"Cows!" she chants, "cows, cows, cows."
"Brown cows....white cows..."
*hiccup*
She reports the results to me:
"It worked for a minute and my hiccups went away....
but then new hiccups started."

Day Four
I'm at work and a friend comes back to the frame shop to raid the 1st aid kit.
He's not feeling well - needs meds for a headache, and he has hiccups that won't go away.
I tell him my brother's theory.
We laugh.
Ten minutes later, he's back again.
"You can never mock your brother again," he tells me,
"Because it worked!"
Daniel has a new hero.

Next time you have the hiccups, will you do me a favor?
Think about cows...
and then let me know what happens.
Maybe we're really onto something here.
Maybe this is the next great scientific breakthrough!

------
On a totally unrelated note, because I feel compelled to include a picture with every post - a few pictures from A Midsummer Night's Dream last weekend. Daniel has become quite the thespian in the last few months, and I am so proud of my brother. The play, put on by our town's Youth Acting Guild, was fantastic and Dan did a great job. He is Egeus, in the white robe, in the photo below. Even Nadia stayed enthralled for the entire two hour show (the fairies may have helped with that). This coming weekend is Thoroughly Modern Millie - can't wait! Dan, you should already know it but in case you don't - I love you and I'm proud of you.



And a couple more pics of the play.

Kristin, Brett & Lilly

A few days ago I got to do something I hadn't done in quite some time: a photoshoot.

And I had a blast!

Kristin, Brett and Lilly - you guys are simply the best. I love this family. They are so real, so easy going, so fun, so full of laugher - not to mention, a very cute kid and good-looking parents. :o)

Lilly is an awesome little girl, too. She took a few minutes to warm up, but once she decided she was okay with me - I swear, the kid never stopped smiling and laughing. And oh what a laugh!

This wasn't the first time I photographed their family - you can see last year's session here.

I'll tell you honestly, I haven't felt the passion for the camera lately. I haven't had any desire to do photoshoots. But I had such a good time with this family...well by golly, they made me realize that I do miss it! Hanging out with them working the camera just felt like enjoying a morning with friends. In no time at all, we'd capured a memory card full of fabulous photos. Driving home after the shoot, that was the first time I've felt that photographer's high in a while. Now I kinda feel the itch to do it again....

My apologies in advance for waaaaay too many pictures. It's just impossible for me to pick and chose between so many winners. Believe me, this is just a tiny percentage of all the photos we got. :o)

Kristin and Brett, thanks so much for meeting up with me and letting me capture your beautiful family! Let me know next time you'll be in town, and we'll plan a playdate!