Monday, January 23, 2012

All Hudson, All the time!

Apparently this blog is now all about my son.

It shouldn't be. The girls are beautiful, sweet and funny too, but lately he's been the star of some pictures that totally melt my heart.

Like this one.
Isn't he adorable?? That's a children's dictionary he's poring over there.
Puff, the stuffed animal my sister Amy made for Jasmine on her first Christmas, is a family favorite. I love seeing them include him in their lives!

Ties

Hudson hates ties. He doesn't like anything touching his neck. "It's too tight, mama."
But yesterday I found his clip-on tie in the diaper bag, and he insisted on wearing it today.
with the shirt he asked for by name, his "mom's handy man" shirt.

The result?

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Do I have a right-brained son??

Hudson refers to things by their descriptions.
Is that a "boy thing" or is it a sign that he's right-brained? (or something else I haven't thought of)
Dogs aren't dogs. They're "woofs."
Blue isn't blue. It's "daddy's color."
There's another example of this, but Josh and I are both blanking at the moment on what, exactly, that is. It's cute, though!

so....is he right-brained???


My new photo theme is up! I'd love to have even more of my friends join me!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Cocoa

The kids went outside with Josh on Sunday.

They had a great time in the snow.
I had a great time staying inside and warm.

When they came back, they suggested hot cocoa. I obliged.


Unfortunately, moments after I got this sweet picture, she dropped the mug. The handle was broken. The cocoa was all over the table.
We're not sure which happened first, the handle breaking or the mug falling. Either way, this is the last picture of this mug.

Rest In Peace, Alice Mug.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Friday List

1. It's snowing.

2. And windy.

3. However, we haven't had any earthquakes lately! (name the reference)

4. Jasmine's learning magic tricks. Last night she was trying one that she just couldn't get to work. She hasn't figured out that it's important to read all the way through the description before attempting the trick. So she went back to read one more sentence and decided that was the key she'd been missing.

5. The sentence was "add glitter and stars to the hat to make it more magical."

6. The other trick she tried was making a coin disappear.

7. She lost the coin mid-trick.

8. It surprised even her!

9. Hudson this morning asked: "who will go with me upstairs? I don't want to go with myself!"

10. He's hilarious.

11. He's started calling me "mama" instead of "mommy." He even asked permission to do so.

12. He's also exceedingly cute.
13. Bekah's pretty cute, too.

14. Jasmine's really cute, too, but she hasn't been the focus of my pictures much this week. I'll remedy that when my new backdrops get here today.

15. My word for the year is "willingness." I'm struggling with it already, knowing how much it can demand of me, but I know it's a good stretch, and I need to be stretched.

16. I see Bekah as willing. She's willing to try things, even if she have any idea if she'll succeed.

17. So here's my picture for my goal of 2012:
She's dancing, though last year she was scared of the big class. She was reading before her 4th birthday because she wanted to learn. I want to be like her!

18. I like toddler toes. I know it won't be long before I want him wearing socks all the time, so I'll enjoy this kind of thing as long as I can:


Happy Friday!!!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I really should be teaching...

But this is important!!

Today, my first challenge went live.
http://tellyourstoryeveryday.com/2012/01/glimpses/
I am SO excited about this! I can't wait to see what people do for it!!
My friend Stacey is joining me in this. Her pictures are going to be on each post (I'm hoping), so people can get two pictures as inspiration.

But I'm going to post my pictures here, because that's what my blog is about (right???)
Bekah wakes up for breakfast. She doesn’t think mornings happen until food’s in her tummy. The girls usually do school in the back room, but this is a normal scene, doing their copywork on the dining room table. Doing yoga as gym class. Jasmine practicing her magic trick, learning not to tell people how it works. Bekah’s Sudoku boards, complete with some of the numbers coughing (that’s the little circles on the page) and the note at the bottom, “Boo is not rede [ready] yet”). Hudson taking a picture of me taking a picture, and then working on his wooden beads.


I have plans to turn this into a photo book at the end of the year. I'm hoping to start working on that this afternoon, after school's done for the day, so I don't get behind from the outset and just never get it done. THAT is what this challenge is really all about, after all!! 

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Taking the Next Step

I think it's obvious that I spent most of 2011 focusing (ha! get it?) on photography.
The result is, in order of when things happened,
~an etsy store,
~a Facebook Fan Page
~my own store
~gigs that came my way with no promotion of my own
~leading a weekly photo challenge (tomorrow will be the first theme!!)


So this year should be exciting. I have no clue what will be happening, but I'm already able to see that it will stretch me. Not all stretching is easy or painless, but it's necessary for growth.

I hope to see my style continue to form.
I would love to see more details before I take the picture, instead of having to photoshop them out after the fact. I'm tired of having to clone out branches that were in front of people's faces. It's time to NOTICE.
I want to continue to use my gift, my time and my passion for God's glory. Last year I was there to meet and say goodbye to Emma. Who knows what will come my way this year?!?
I selfishly want to see my prints sell more; to have more fans; to get a bigger following...and to be chosen by Pioneer Woman for one of her photo challenges. But those are things that will hopefully just come, not something I have to work for. Just working towards.


So one of the things I'm trying to figure out is blogging. Right now I consider my Facebook fan page to be my blog for my photography. I don't want people to tune out of my "family" blog by posting all the time about pictures, but I already struggle keeping up with two blogs, so there's no way I could handle a third. Not and expect any sort of consistency.

And I don't like the way my site's galleries look. At all. I don't think they're professional looking or inviting. So I need to figure that out, too. (poor Josh!!)

My word for the year is 'willingness.' I want to be willing to try things. To accept challenges that come my way. Not just photographically, but especially in this area. So it should be fun to see what comes my way and how different my life and my pictures look in December of 2012!

Thursday, January 05, 2012

My Kids

I should really do this once a month or so...

Bekah...
has started speaking in various accents. Her favorites are 'British' and 'Southern.' She keeps us very entertained.

Hudson...
is Mr. Talkbox. He has a vocabulary much larger than I remember the girls' being at 2 1/2. (could be the fact that "he's my baby so he can't be grown up enough to talk that much!") His newest word is "actually," and his favorite sentence is, "Mommy, I have to tell you something." He loves to tell me, "I love you so much." It melts my heart every. single. time.

Jasmine...
is growing up. She's just acting so much more mature (most of the time) lately. She's sweet company. She enjoys school (most of the time). She asks good questions about life, and loves learning. Especially about anything science-related.

I love my kids. I'm so thankful that I get to spend my days with them!!

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

2012:a look ahead

I can finally spill the beans!!!
A week or two ago, my dear friend Nicole asked if I would be interested in leading a weekly photography challenge on a blog she was setting up. After .0328 seconds of thought I wrote back "YES!!!" and couldn't sleep that night.

And finally my day arrived!!
Tell Your Story Every Day

My first few weeks are already planned, and February in the works.

I have to stay ahead, so that when we're on vacation it's already set up and written (and photographed).


I'm a huge fan of Jon Acuff and his witty, pointful blog Stuff Christians Like. Right now he's working on helping people figure out their goals for 2012 and take the baby steps necessary to make it happen. I just read the past couple days' posts, and yesterday's was to write out our list of goals for the year and take a picture of it. I was happy to oblige :)


I was able to make my 2011 goal, which was to really work on my photography and see where it led me. And take all opportunities that came my way. So I can't wait to see what happens this year!