A Contest!

My best bud, Heather, and her super cool friend, Ivy, are having an awesome contest over at their groovy site, home-ec101. Check it out and you could possibly win a way cool apron!! ;-)

http://www.home-ec101.com/win-it-your-very-own-callie-micks-apron/#comments

Beautiful Bride

This is Kylenne. Isn't she gorgeous? I'm excited about these portraits because this was my first bridal shoot. I'm about half way done with the editing process. It's well after mid-night so I think I'm going to finish up tomorrow! These are my favorites so far.

Ryleigh the Cute

A few pictures...

Heather came over yesterday and we took some pictures of baby Ellie. This is my favorite one of her sweet little tootsies.


Look who's spending the night with me. I adore this kid!


The boys decided 8:00 AM was a wonderful time for an art project. They were so excited, I had to humor them.

Ansel Adams - I would have liked this guy.

If you like photography or have studied it's history at all, then you've heard the name Ansel Adams. Born in 1902, he was one of the greatest photographers of all time. I've read about him and seen a lot of his work. He was a master. I was reading a bit about him today when I got a glimpse into his personality...

"One time when Ansel was shooting in the Sierra Nevada with some friends, he came away from his camera and walked into the scene. He grabbed hold of a tree limb, ripped it off the tree, and tossed it aside. When his more environmentally concerned friends made an uproar, he simply stated that it did not belong in the picture."

I would have liked this guy.

http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/ansel.asp#moon

And more...

http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/adams.html

I need SUGAR!

So Mike and I have decided to lose some weight for the new year. We're cutting back on our portion sizes and eating only 1 sweet item a day. The 1-a-day sweet thing might not seem like a biggie to most people, but I am not a normal person. I can (and sometimes do) eat dessert after breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then some! I have somehow survived off of a mostly sugar diet since my kids have been born. I think it's sort of been my way of dealing with stress. OK, so that said, I've cut out about 85% of my sugar intake, and even though my body might eventually thank me, I'm currently having some serious withdrawals. Go on and laugh, but I'm not kidding. I'm totally on edge. I'm like a big, mean hungry bear around here. Mike keeps asking me what's wrong and I respond something like, "NOTHING! Just leave me alone! I'm FIIIINE!". He's keeping the holy water handy because at any given minute my head could do a 360. Seriously, I think I'd rather be full-figured and happy than be so crabby. I need my sugar fix!

What I did this morning

You'd think someone said to me, "Hey, Margo, I want you to go out and take a series of busy and distracting photographs." and I said, "Sure!"

Still, there's something I like about these.

My Baby Christian...

 

For the first time in years...

I do my grocery shopping at super wal-mart, and today as I was walking toward the baby department I realized for the first time in about 5 years that I didn't need to purchase a single baby related item. I stopped in my tracks, nearly causing a collision, and scanned my list. Sure enough, I didn't even so much as need toddler wipes, or pull-ups - not even a bottle of baby shampoo! 2 years ago I longed for this day, and I thought it would never come. But instead of feeling happy that my kids are bigger, I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. Why was I in such a hurry for my babies to grow? Why did I rush the precious time away? It's over much too soon. I'm not ready to move on. I long to hold a baby just once more. I know how exhausting having a baby can be, I'm not too far removed, but it's worth it. I'm ready for one more child, but my husband is entirely against it. He has his reasons, and he tries to rationalize with me about finances and the like, but my heart just won't hear a word of it. This longing is not a rational one. My mind doesn't want another child, my heart does. So I'll wait, and I'll pray for God to have his way.

The New Year, Ya'll...

Christian and Daddy

Christian's little girl cousin - Chrissy

Stephen running from Bam

Bam chasing Stephen (this is the sort of thing we do for fun in the sticks.)

Bam playing with the boys (my kids call my mom Bam, if you haven't figured that out) ;)

Dad and my uncle, Barry, with a fresh mess of fish. (What red neck? Me??)

Uhhh...is that a huntin' dawg in the foreground?

Is that there youngin' a peein' in them there bushes??

Who ya callin' backwoods, huh?

...And the best for last - my beautiful Gungy - the most wonderful grandmother in the world.

So that's how we celebrate the new year in this small town that I love! :-)