Hello, Hello!

Hi.

I've been missing y'all.

I shot that wedding I'd mentioned. It was a family wedding.

I was so, so nervous. I kept dreaming someone knocked my camera off the tripod and broke it and I didn't have a backup and we didn't get any pictures of the wedding day. Seriously, dreamed that a few times.

I prayed and prayed God would help me think through every click of a dial, through every adjustment, that I'd use my equipment well, and that I'd capture it all in a way they'd be thrilled with.

I sweated a LOT. I learned a LOT.

A word about The Engineer...I couldn't have done it without him. He toted everything, held the camera when my arms were exhausted, chased the sun and bounced the light right where I needed it. He was amazing. Indispensable. He was my biggest fan, my encourager. Definitely my better half.

I am so thankful to the Lord for the results and I hope, hope, hope the family feels like we captured the day well.

I'm going to give you a running update between wedding pictures.

I have zero pictures of my own children from the last two weeks of our lives. Every camera card I had was full...full of wedding pics. I was terrified of deleting them. I have since burned them all to disc and cleared off the memory cards.

We spent a week in Vidalia. The Engineer led his assessment and he kicked rear.

He completely rocked the entire thing. Got only positive comments.

The kids and I bedded down in the hotel...

Sister spent the first night throwing up. I literally got on my knees and pleaded with God to spare the rest of our family. And He did. And we gave thanks.

On night two, Little Bit ate a tube of toothpaste. I felt like a great mom. Poison Control was most helpful. Thankfully, it was a travel tube and she hadn't consumed enough to be "toxic." A little milk and a lot of tears later (because I took the tube away and used a towel to scrub out her mouth) and she was just fine.

Day three brought an exciting morning thanks to a horrific sound in the walls...like every pipe was going to burst. Little Bit was up and has taken quite an interest in the potty. She had just flushed it when the noise began. And I hadn't been in there with her.

I wasn't sure what, but I was sure she'd flushed something...so I called the front desk.

Maintenance was already on the way. Only, they couldn't find anything wrong in our bathroom.

I was relieved to learn it was the man upstairs. Not us. Whew.

Day four had it's own excitement. We'd just finished drying off after a long afternoon at the hotel pool when Little Bit declared she was going swimming again. I, of course, told her "no."

She looked me in the eye and walked right over to the pool steps. I was standing across the pool from her and told her again, "NO."

Without taking her eyes off mine she defiantly stepped into the pool...only she lost her balance and though she was on the steps and could touch, she couldn't right herself. She just thrashed, face down. I ran and jumped and cleared almost half the pool and swam the rest of the way to her. It was scary. Really, really scary. She gasped and threw up some water.

As soon as I could see she was breathing and would be fine I looked her in the eyes and said at least five times, "I told you not to get in the pool."

We got to spend some time on a farm feeding and petting horses. The same sweet friends who took us to the farm treated me and the children to dinner twice (The Engineer worked some loooong days) and enlisted the children's help decorating their Christmas tree.

We've been home for a week and my every spare moment has consisted of finishing freelance projects.

And I've been reminded afresh of why I quit freelance and why I just need to say "no."

Nausea has set in and I am so thankful for God's gracious provision. It hasn't been nearly as bad as with the others. I think the fact that we waited so long for this precious baby has made the sickness more bearable.

Last night, at 10:30 I told The Engineer I was super hungry. He went to Krystals for chili cheese fries and a cherry slush. That is so gross, I know. It tasted SO good to me. That's the first just, disgusting choice I've made food wise. Hopefully the last.

I cried a few nights ago. I felt rotten. Nauseated. I told The Engineer I felt like a terrible mother...no energy for playing with the kids...I felt like I was doing everything halfway. I was grumpy during homeschool. Just kind of a punk in general.

He held me and reminded me this is only a season. This too, shall pass. And he has been so supportive. So sweet. I love that man. With every pregnancy his compassion and love and kindness seem to grow.

I'm re-reading The Mission Of Motherhood because it was like a balm to my soul the first time I read it and my soul needs some balm right now.

It's the kind of book that reminds you why you're doing what you're doing...why this whole mothering thing is eternal business. That God is glorified in what feels like the mundane.

Right now, I need to be reminded of that. That God is glorified in the mundane...in the washing of dishes and clothes.

He is glorified in the vacuuming and the mopping, in correcting the umpteenth math paper...in reminding Little Man for the millionth time that there is only one Q in the alphabet.

So here's to a new and fresh week. Here's to living life in full color. Here's to noticing and seeing. And here's to washing dishes and pouring milk and even bouts of nausea - to the glory of God.

Birthdays, Travel, Flashes, & Reformation Day

Y'all are so cool. Thank you so much for celebrating with us!!! We are pumped! God has been so gracious through all of this. We got to see and hear the baby's heartbeat this past Monday. I get teary just thinking about it! I've done a bit of dry heaving, but all in all, I feel about 95% better than I did with  any of my other pregnancies. Score! And the times waves of nausea have hit and I have needed a break, God's been gracious and a break has been possible. It's been such a blessing!

I feel like I'm barely catching my breath. This has been a BUSY fall and a lot of fun. A few weekends ago my sisters and I gathered at Mama's to celebrate her birthday! It was a wonderful weekend. Mama even brought us breakfast in bed Saturday morning. (And it was her birthday!?)

We took her out for for a fancy dinner...where Mother most definitely got hit on! That would make TWO birthday dinners in a row where that has happened. 

Happy Birthday, Mama! We are all so thankful for your precious life and all the ways you've loved us!!!

Love this shot of The Engineer...

And then last week we spent in Atlanta. The Engineer had business there all week. He's heading up a big assessment and he is THE Man in Charge. I am SO proud of him! He is completely rocking it.

We stayed downtown in the Marriot Marquis. You may remember it from this post.

The kids and I walked to Imagine It Children's Museum. 

We got there around 11:30. There were a TON of little kiddos there on a field trip. My kids couldn't find a spot to play anywhere...around two they all cleared out there were just a handful of mamas and their children left and it was SO MUCH FUN!

The kids milked a cow...real liquid came out. 

There was an entire "Fairy Tale" section...

And a HUGE glass wall where the children could paint.

The museum staff rinsed and squeegeed it after the completion of each masterpiece. (I got in there and mixed primaries...my kids could have cared less...)

And there was a HUGE machine contraption thing that you could load with plastic balls and operate...it's too complicated to explain, but was super cool and occupied most of Little Man's time. And that's just naming a few...if you're in the area, it's definitely worth it! (Just make sure you aren't going in the middle of a field trip!) We shut the place down.

We spent the first half of each day in our room, schooling and eating instant grits. The last half we spent at the pool... picnic-ing on canned tuna, peanut butter sandwiches, trail mix, etc. The pool was on the third floor of the hotel and was indoor/outdoor with a glass wall dividing the two. The kids had so much fun swimming under that divider. They averaged 4-5 hours of swimming per day. 

Before we ever left town, we gave the kids options as far as what they wanted to do while we were in Atlanta. We told them we had a set amount of funds available and let them have a say in how we allocated those funds. The result: two meals a day in the room, the children and I shared an entree for dinner out each night, made one trip to a museum, ate frozen yogurt once, and there was enough left over for dinner at The Melting Pot on the last night. Once all was said and done, they were quite pleased with our use of funds! I love that!

I'm shooting a family wedding here in the next little bit and have been practicing with a new flash. I'm not a flash girl.

I like to shoot with natural light and adjust my settings to accommodate...flashes scare and intrigue me.

But a wedding in a church is a whole new ball game. A flash will be a MUST!

And the one on my camera wouldn't cut it...

So I've been practicing. The Engineer has been helping.

We're practicing working as a team.

And I'm trying to learn how to avoid hot spots like the white blur in the background of this hilarious moment! (This is SO life at our house!)

I'm learning how to communicate with the flash...

And that when shooting in certain modes, the flash responds differently.

I feel like I'm learning a whole new language.

I'm pretty excited about it. 

I'm hoping to kick things up a notch.

But I have a long way to go.

My subjects...

Agreed to pose for us in order to postpone rest time.

I try to use things like rest time to my advantage. Especially when overexposing their faces.

I'm looking forward to figuring this thing out... 

Like I said...I have a long way to go...

But the practice is fun!

And the children are adorable!

And I love working with The Engineer, especially on something that crosses art and throwing photons.

Monday night we joined our church fam for a Reformation Day party. Thanks to my sweet in-laws, Sister was "Indian Princess Wild Flower," Little Man was "Buzz Lightyear," and Little Bit was "Fancy Nancy." The Engineer wore a haz mat suite from the Nuclear Plant, his hard hat, and a Superman cape..."Super Nuclear Man." According to the children, I was a "butterfly princess." I cut butterflies in half and glued the wings all around my eyes...someone asked if I was Lady Gaga. Um. Really? NO. NO!!!! 

The kids were completely hyped up on candy. Some of us weren't quite ready to leave. In fact, one of us, I won't name names, had an all out two year old temper tantrum...kicking legs, flailing arms, cries at the top of her lungs. Sweet thing. Life is just so rough.