Oh Where, Oh Where…

Has Aprille gone?

It has been four thousand weeks since my last post! Long are the days and short is the motivation, or need I guess. See I blog because it is better than talking to myself I think. I am a person who needs to hash things out. I talk to myself, I fight with myself, and I act out things in my head. It is cathartic. This blog turned into something I could use to hash things out. Lately I guess life had just been quieter. It is a quiet season full of crunchy leaves and seasonal coffee creamer.

It is about to be less quiet for me. I love Christmas but last Christmas was less than stellar for me. It had a great outcome but now things that used to sing to me of joy are sort of tainted by last year’s circumstances. Now decorating the tree stings of things I just don’t want associated with Christmas. So this year I will be replacing those memories with new fresh ones smelling of cinnamon and orange peels, apple cider, crisp winter air, and burning pine branches.

I will be changing the way I do Christmas this year in order to create new memories. Sometimes you have to be proactive. I am fortunate that I get along well with my family so Christmas with them is always lovely. My mom does Christmas well. My whole immediate family embraces the real spirit of Christmas and the day is full of small thoughtful gifts and a true sense of love, celebration of the gift we really celebrate and family.

This year I think we will be doing Christmas morning at home in our house, my two babies, the love of my life and the dog we call crack head. We have never spent a Christmas morning at home and I think it will be nice. I think I need that this year, snuggling with my babies. I haven’t spent a Christmas away from my Mom in a long time, not since splitting holidays with my father as a teen.

I don’t think she will mind. She is a good Mommy.

I need to think of some fun things to do with the kids and Daddy this year around Christmas. I think I need some new fun things.

So what are you doing this year? Do you have any traditions that you keep? Do you spend the holidays with your family? Do you volunteer? Do you watch a 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Carol? Tell me what you do and give me ideas for something to do to re-set the mood this year.

(This is an opportunity for me to see just how many readers have completely given up on me EVER doing a blog post again and don’t even notice a new one!) Sigh. You know you love me anyways.

Boys.

In the car today nate was singing a little song that I think maybe they were singing in class singing "I’m making soup, I’m making soup" and making pot stirring motions.

I was all awww that’s so cute! I wonder what song he’s singing. Maybe they pretended they were making soup in his preschool class today.

Then a minute later after he discovered we were paying attention to him the song changed into "I’m making poop, I’m making pooooop!!"

Boys.

Meet My Buddy….

…Grumpy McGrumperson

Dislikes: Smiling in photos, getting out of bed, empty countertops where bananas should be, throwing leaves in the air, blowing his nose, and Mommy’s affinity for her camera.

Likes: Soggy shoes, smelly pumpkin guts, stealing his sister’s milk, applying mascara to his toe nails, waking his sister up, growling, breaking crayons and snuggles with mommy after a good cathartic grumpy episode.

“Humph! I NO Grumperson!”

A Crisp Fall Indeed

I am missing the leaves in the mountains this fall. I can feel them changing without me. My sister Lindsey loves this quote and I have to say, I am inclined to agree.

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

(Over) Exposed on the Beach

I have been experimenting a lot with my photography lately. Some of it has been a complete fail but good experience. I have decided I need a graduated filter for some of the stuff I like to shoot and some of it I need Photoshop so I can merge several exposures into one photo using HDR so that is productive right?

That one is straight out of the camera. It was that pretty. The 50mm lens isn’t nearly wide enough of an angle though. I still love it but I will be renting a 10-22mm lens for a beach project I have over the Thanksgiving weekend.

We took off for the beach for the day last Saturday. I love when Alex is all "wanna go to the b.e.a.c.h.?" We spell a lot you know, to mess with the kid's heads. And so Alex can learn how to spell in English since it is his second language. And so I can learn how to spell in English, since I can't spell to save my life and I am supposed to teach my kid how to read now. Someday when Ella can read I will go through all my blog posts and edit all the sentences that start with “And” because that is a no no, right along side interchanging there, they’re and their. You know, so she can’t accuse me of bad grammar.

Random Aside: It is incredibly annoying trying to teach a five year old how to sound out words when there are about 9 million sounds an A can possibly make in the English language.

So we went to the beach. I did not have hurricane force winds this time so I got to take some photos! Woo hoo! Most of them are overexposed but I like it. It is where I am. I wanted to see their (correct usage of their) eyes so overexposed in that sunlight was the way to go. Nice hair. I see your mother doesn’t want to cut your hair. As usual.

Okay so I like the exposure on this one pretty well but you see her arm on the right? See that blue line tracing her arm? WHY?That is Nate focused on getting away from that wave quickly. This one is cute. I took him home with me.

Daddy always builds a big pool for the kids when we go to the beach. He is awesome. Nate prefers his dugout pool to the waves anytime.Ella loves the waves now and has a ball with it. Sand in every single place possible. I didn’t post the ones of her picking her sand wedgie.

She kind of reminds me of Ophelia in this one - except less dead and more relaxing in the sun. 

Have a nice day!

October

Fall is on the way. Cool air has moved in, the spiders are spinning, the leaves are changing and I am a happy girl. Here is a little reminder of the miracles you can find around you every day if you just keep your eyes open. Have your camera handy, stop to appreciate it and then take a photo or twelve.

  

Some Wildflowers

I thought some flowers might be in order today, the eighth anniversary of Nine Eleven.

When I was photographing this butterfly I first thought oh sad, he is all torn up. It won't look so good in the photos. Then I thought wow, he is all torn up. He is a fighter! I wonder what kinds of things have tried to tear him apart, eat him, pluck him piece by piece. So often I feel like that and at face value, we just feel less ourselves, less valued because of our scars and the things eating us piece by piece. I used to feel like those little pieces being taken from me would be the end of me. I would just slowly get plucked away small piece by small piece. Not anymore.

The more I know God and find that real relationship, the less I feel that.

I think this butterfly's scars and wounds make it all the more amazing to behold. It is still movin along. Still beautiful.

Wedding One

You guys! I helped shoot a wedding!

Melanie (my cousin) of Rethink Real Photography asked me to help shoot a wedding last weekend and miracle of miracles it worked out where I could soo... Here are some from the day!

I was asked to focus on the groom, groomsmen and some details. I could post more but these are some favorite from the day. The groom, okay all the males were GREAT! The groom was confidant, fun, relaxed and knew he looked good. He was so fun to shoot!

This guy, him I did not pose once. 100% naturally smooth.

So. much. fun.