we are packed

our flight to Atlanta leaves at 6:05 am tomorrow. I'm a little nervous. I don't love flying. But what can you do? We then fly nonstop from Atlanta to Hawaii for over nine hours. Nine! Hours!

I said goodbye to my loves tonight. That was rough. So, I can't wait to see them in a week.

I hope to come back with lots of pictures and some great stories!

One more of my loves.

my little boy

he assures me that he is not my baby boy. he is not yet a big boy either. instead, he says, he is my little boy. and he totally has me wrapped around his little finger.

oh, how he melts me on a daily basis. he starts each morning by running down the hall, throwing his arms around my neck, his legs around my waist and giving me the longest, best bear hug ever. and i love that he'll just sit with me for the longest time. i could snuggle with him all day long.

oh, but is he ever ornery. and he knows it too. he will get the goofiest grin on his face when he knows that he's being naughty. he tries to charm his way out of trouble. and sometimes, i do give in to him. it is so bad, i know. but how can i help it? when he gives me that grin. sigh. that's it. it's over. stick a fork in me. mama is done.

he won't let me sing my "song" for him anymore. when he was a baby, i would sing "baby mine" to him when i rocked him to sleep. but no more. now, i either sing "yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me" or "the pirates who don't do anything" to him. and he grins that silly, sweet grin while he bounces and sings along.

he can work on puzzles for hours. he is quite quick at it too. one morning, he had half of a 70-piece puzzle completed (he'd worked on it with daddy). i took a shower. and in that time, he finished the puzzle all by himself. i was amazed. his other loves are cars and dinosaurs. and bugs. of course. always bugs. he drove his train over a caterpillar yesterday. poor critter. the caterpillar made it, a little worse for wear. and i allowed him to escape to our back yard to avoid future meetings with some wheeled vehicle.

but what a total love. he is such a happy little boy. he is such a loving, affectionate doll. my little boy. my little love. he'll always be my baby boy. just don't tell him so.

beautiful dreamer

one more month of kindergarten to go. it is so hard to believe. so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that my baby is no longer a baby. she is growing into quite the little lady. her teacher says that she is such a thankful girl. she's also called her a deep thinker. my child. she asks a million questions. she wants to know everything about everything, even things that i cannot put into words to explain.

she is compassionate. to everyone except her brother. but i guess that he doesn't count for that. :) he is, after all, her brother. her best friend. her worst enemy. the one who will be there for her even when no one else is. so, while he may not be the recipient of her compassion now, he will be.

we have ducks in our neighborhood. we saw two today who are injured. she was quite concerned about their well-being. but unfortunately, we are unable to help them. instead, we will feed them. and swoon over the little babies who follow their mama around. so cute.

she is smart. too smart. she gets that from me. okay, so her daddy is pretty smart too, in ways that i am not.

she is an artist. her art is different from mine. she can already draw better than me (not that it is saying much, but she is quite good. i however, am not). and her imagination knows no limits. the things she comes up with are amazing. she will be a wonderful writer some day. and she will be able to illustrate her stories with her own drawings.

i am smitten with my girl. sometimes, her questions tire my brain. sometimes, i get frustrated and lose my patience. sometimes, i am not the mom she deserves. but always, i am smitten. always.

four things about me

my friend amy forwarded this message to me. it was one i hadn't seen before (although i'm sure many have). so, i thought i'd post it here instead of forwarding it on. :)

four places i go over and over:
1. church/addie's school (it's the same place)
2. target
3. downtown charleston
4. walmart

four movies i have watched more than four times:
1. dead poet's society
2. ferris bueller's day off
3. ratatouille (my new favorite pixar movie ever!)
4. enchanted

four places i have lived:
1. goshen, ohio
2. greenville, sc
3. summerville, sc
(do you believe that is IT!)

four tv shows i watch:
1. american idol (i take this show WAY too seriously)
2. project runway
3. dancing with the stars
4. anything on travel channel having to do with disney

four places i have been:
1. orlando, fl (i am a disney nut)
2. new orleans, la
3. gatlinburg, tn
4. new york city
(my poor travel list has to do with a fear of flying. however, i will be going to hawaii in a week)

people who email me regulary:
1. wendy
2. amy c
3. amy s
4. sara

four of my favorite foods:
1. chocolate
2. peanut butter
3. whole grain bread
4. pasta

four places i would like to visit:
1. california
2. new england
3. ireland
4. caribbean (will i find captain jack there?)

things i'm looking forward to in 2008:
1. traveling to hawaii in a week
2. thanksgiving at walt disney world
3. continuing to grow my business
4. visiting boston in july with addie

happiness is...

...monster trucks

mobile studio

i am branching out and dipping my toes into studio photography. don't worry. i'm not going to get away from my outdoor portraits. that area has my heart in a major way. there is no background more beautiful than the one God gave to us in His creation. but there are times that a little extra light can be a huge help. you may even see me dragging my softbox and stand to the beach! the whole set-up is portable--no outlets needed. you just have to give me ten minutes to get it set up (and another ten to tear it down).

so, i picked up some fabric from gdc the other day. i've always loved this fabric, but a seamstress i am not. i've always wondered how i could use it, because i think it's too "big" to use for clothing (or else i'd send it to the friend who makes customs for addie). with the help of my softbox, i now have the perfect use. it makes a gorgeous backdrop for studio-style portraits. now, i know it isn't for everyone, but i love it. i also have a gorgeous brown and gold muslin backdrop coming too. as if my lens addiction wasn't enough, now i'm going to be addicted to collecting backdrops!

what do you think?

not a baby anymore

so, on saturday, while i was busy working at the two sessions, michael thought he'd give ian a little trim. well, i guess little is probably not an accurate word.

last week, i was very fortunate to get this:



isn't he cute? yes, it's on my splash page. it's also on a new canvas in my living room. it's pure love.

but then, i came home saturday to this:



isn't that sad? isn't that just heartbreaking? seriously, i cried. needless to say, he is SO growing that back out. i much prefer his normally disheveled do. it's just more him.

i tried to even up his bangs some, but i still can't wait until it grows out. seriously.