I can't help myself...

Just had to share one more.

More cuteness overload...

I got to go over today and take pictures of some more family. I am feeling SO lucky! I am pretty sure this one will make my sister cry with happiness. And, let's face it...most portrait photographers kinda like it when that happens.

Quote of the week...

"Failure means to succeed in a way that doesn't really matter."

--Patrick M. Morley

I got to take pictures this weekend...

Is this one of the sweetest and cutest families or what? I had so much fun getting to try some new things with them. They are such wonderful people, inside and out. I hope I am just like them when I grow up.

Quote of the week...

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

--Author Unknown

Little things that make me happy...

...an adult with braces. It shows such a willingness to be patient to get what you want that I just admire it. Plus, there is something so incredibly funny about hearing a woman who has grandchildren say, "I can't wait 'til I get my stupid braces off."

...the garbage man. I have a special little dance for when I see the garbage truck and know he is headed for my street. And if I actually look out the window while my garbage is being dumped...oh, that does it. I must jump up and down like it's Christmas. I hope I never get over what a lovely thing it is to have someone come to your house and take away all your gross stuff.

...someone out running for exercise on the street. Double happy points if the weather is cold, triple happy points if there is snow on the ground. It just makes me so joyful to see someone out, working hard in unglamorous conditions, to do something good for themselves. When it's a woman, I have a nearly overwhelming desire to scream out my car window, "You GO, Girl!!" However, I stop myself because I cannot pull that exclamation off--for many reasons which we will not cover at this time. So I just think it. Happily.

...finding a parking space right in front. This is especially wonderful if it's a busy day at a store that is almost always crowded, and I have all my little ones with me. I have been known to decide that if I have the kids with me and I find a space right up front, that it is a sign from God that He loves me and wants me to have a good day.

...thank you notes. I am not one to be offended if I send something and don't get a thank you note. I know the age we live in and that sending those, for many, is a lost art. I also know that there are many times good intentions but no follow through. Maybe that's why getting a thank you note is SO lovely to me. I recently realized that I have not taught this art to my children, and have changed my ways. I am embarrassed to think of all the thank you's that haven't gotten said, and knowing the smile it puts on my face to get one makes me all the more determined to say it in writing a lot more often.

Take moment today, if you like, and think about the little things that make you happy!

Quote of the week...

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

~Henry James

One down, Six to go...

I didn't cry when her name was read. I didn't cry when I saw her face on the ju

mbo screen, singing

.

I was SO proud of myself. I thought, see? I am not going to be one of THOSE moms who gets all weepy and teary and says things like "my baby!"

Then, I looked through the viewfinder and took this picture.

Always thought of these two as my "starter kids". They were my first girl and first boy, then there is a large spread between them and my "little ones." And so I snapped the picture, and then laughed as I couldn't control the tears. I think I may have even said, "My babies."

I am SO not as cool as I thought I was.

Quote of the Week...

"Each new day that dawns can be a new day for us to begin to change. We can change our environment. We can change our lives by substituting new habits for old. We can mold our character and future by purer thoughts and nobler actions."

--James E. Faust

Apparently I don't handle my stress well...

Yeah. There's a shocker.

We have been doing major home improvement projects, and getting the daughter graduated. [mission accomplished--pictures and more in an upcoming post]

We also had company, which I enjoy, although I always want to have everything "perfect". This required much in the way of cleaning and painting and preparing food and blah blah blah. All very important and earth shattering things, I assure you.

The house looked wonderful, the guests were fun, and the food was yummy and plentiful. We got through all the events with very little complications, and had a great time.

But something was lurking beneath the surface, waiting to strike.

Saturday afternoon, I started getting a little rash on my neck. Just kind of red and itchy. Didn't really even think too much about it until late in the evening when it started to spread a bit and get more itchy. Went to the store and got some cream to calm it down and went to bed. The next morning it was about the same. Didn't worry about it, went on with the day.

I woke up early the next morning with something all over my neck and part of my face WAY scarier than anything I have ever seen on Discovery Health Channel. Should they choose to approach me for a documentary, my working titles for it are: "Dermatology Nightmares: When Rashes Go Mutant." OR "Swelling, Oozing, and Blisters: The Triple Threat The Government Doesn't Want You To Know About."

After several trips to the ER and Urgent Care, which included something like 15 prescriptions and some really mean stinging shots to my rear... I am almost healed. It has gotten down to where I just look like I am recovering from a burn, and the pain involved is MUCH more manageable. After I finish the 15 prescriptions in a few weeks, hopefully it will be all gone.

The doctors tell me that this kind of thing usually manifests when the body and mind are under extreme stress and the immune system is worn down. It also has something to do with having the chicken pox virus in my spinal fluid, but I won't bore you with all the details. Suffice it to say, my mind stressed my body into a mother of a reaction.

It has been an interesting experience. I think I had kind of a revelation this week. I take things WAY too personally. I worry about things that are not only beyond my control, but silly and insignificant in the big scheme of things. I really try hard to make everything in my surroundings "perfect" because somehow I think it will distract others (or perhaps more truthfully, me) from the ways in which I feel I fall short as a person. I work far too hard at making things look the way I want them to rather than just enjoying and accepting things (including me) as they are. I am grateful that I didn't let these habits ruin all the fun of the events...but judging by my body's reaction, I just internalized it to be dealt with another day.

I've got some changing to do. I'm going to ask myself some tough questions and be willing to either work with or live with the answers. It's time to let go of certain things before I look back and realize that I really didn't embrace my life and live it with my whole heart.

Wish me luck.