First Day of School!

It's insane.  I have two kids in school now.  A third grader and a kindergartner.  How does this stuff happen so fast?  

Things were a little bit complicated this year with Brady still away.  Third grade lines up on the complete opposite side of the school from kindergarten. We were also running behind thanks to the two littlest people in the house so we ended up saying good day to Cadence and letting her run to the other side of the school to line up while the rest of us pretty much ran to the other end of the school to line Rory up for the first time. 

Thankfully Cadence is a pro and didn't mind in the least.  And thankfully Rory's teacher was saying hi to all the kids in line so they were late walking in and we just made it in time.    

Both girls have excellent teachers this year and I am super sad that we will only have them until the end of October. Then we will be at a new school in San Antonio doing the first day all over again.  

Beckah and Owen had a really good day at home with just me.  Beckah did ask when we could go and pick up the girls at twenty minute intervals the whole time they were gone.  But Owen only screamed at and tackled Beckah to the ground over toy rights three times.  Over all I considered the day a success. 

Happy Birthday Owen

Two years ago today we met you for the first time.  

You were a surprise.  One of the biggest surprises of our lives.  

We had been doing the girl thing for so long that a sweet little boy was a bit of a shock. 

You were different from your girls from the very beginning. 

So different. 

So wonderfully different.  A wonderful compliment to our family.

Just what we needed.

Watching you grow has been such a joy and being your mother, such a privilege.

  

You have taught me so much.  You have given me the other half of the parenting coin. 

I find so much joy watching you with your father.  Seeing all the wonderful things I love in the man I married bloom in the boy we created together. 

I adore your love for your sisters.  That you call them "my girls."  That you want to be where they are and do what they do. 

You are stubborn. You are loud.  You are messy. 

You are cuddly. You are funny.  You are sweet.

You are strong.

Everyday you grow up a little bit more.

It brings me so much joy to see you growing...

...and at the same time it breaks my heart.

Because you are my baby.

My last.

So today, on your birthday, I want you to know that you are loved.

You are special. 

And best of all... 

You are ours. 

Happy 2nd Birthday Owenfish. 

Pictures of my cuties...

The other kids were awesome while we took pictures of Cadence in her dress yesterday.  I managed to get a few really good pictures of them as well.  Enjoy!

I'm taking pictures again...

But just of the kids.  I didn't renew my photography website this year.  It was a big step for me to let it go.  There was a big part of me that still wanted to get a business going again and so I held on to it even though I wasn't doing anything with it for the last four years.

The loss of my iMac last year made me face somethings that I don't think I wanted to face.  I love taking photos and editing those photos.  I love the finished product and seeing people's reactions to their preserved memories.

I don't enjoy setting up backdrops and props.  It's why almost all of my kids pictures are simple portraits, even as babies.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE seeing everyone's new babies all wrapped in a basket, or bed of flowers, or hanging from a limb.  I love seeing pictures like that and admire photographers creativity in making those photos a reality.  I just don't like setting them up myself.  I don't like having to have back drops and extra lights, both of which can be very necessary.  I spent 5 years in college for an almost completed photography degree.  Believe me, I know the value of a studio set up and that studio set ups can be necessary.  But I don't like having to set them up.

I don't like negotiating price with people.  I don't like that people expect high end photos with Walmart prices.  I don't like that people don't respect the time and effort it takes to get them those high end photos.  I have been lucky.  Most of my clients in the past have been wonderful and totally understand the value of what I do (and I wasn't even close to expensive).  Most of my clients have given me memories and experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything.  I have worked for so many friends and family and I fell blessed to have the ability to give them permanent memories of those brief times in their lives.  But there have been more than a handful of clients I have turned away because they felt that my price and my time were negotiable.

I love taking pictures, but I don't the business of taking pictures.  It took until November of last year for me to admit this to myself.  It took me until January for me to admit that it was okay for me to feel this way and to let my website go.

I'm still a photographer.  I even still consider myself a professional.  For now I will be taking pictures of my kids, and maybe some of your kids if I feel like dragging my monstrosity of a professional camera around.  And I am going to fall in love with being a photographer again without any pressure, mostly from myself.