Orange Parasol

We interrupt these vacation photos

for a quick showing of the

Orange Parasol.....

I can't wait to use it more!!!!

Photos from my trip...

I've got so much editing to do before I am done with all of the photos I took while I was in Spokane,

but I wanted to share what I've done so far.

This is my friend Lisa.

She's also a photographer and an amazing digital scrapper.

You can see her work here on her blog.

She has such a beautiful smile that lights up her whole face, doesn't she?

It's part of what drew me to her in the first place.

She has such a pleasant, welcoming spirit!

I wish we had had more time to do a full shoot.
This was just a quickie shoot on the side of the road beside an old building that she was photographing.

I talked her into letting me turn the camera on her really quick.

And this is Katie....Linda's daughter.


She's such a natural in front of the camera.

This is another model I wish I had more time with.

Someday I'm going to take her out on a real shoot and use those deep brown eyes to update my portfolio.

This is just the beginning of many photos of some of the activities we did while in Spokane.



This is Coeur D Alene, Idaho which is about 20 minutes north of where Linda lives.

The lake there is beautiful and we played at the nearby park too.



These are two of my new favorite shots!


I took these shots when we stopped to take photos of that old building I mentioned before.
I thought it was such a cute idea to put old, worn out boots on the fence posts that I could not resist capturing them to share over and over again!

Here is that old building that was the whole reason for pulling over on the side of the road that day.

I wish I could do a bridal shoot here.
I can just see a beautiful girl in a white gown against that weathered wall.
Anyone getting married soon who wants to take a road trip?

I'll upload more as I finish editing, but for now,

we've got to go pick up Madison's camera.

She has a Nikon Cool Pix and it's been at Best Buy getting fixed all week.

Good thing we got a call today that it is ready because she's having major camera withdrawls!

90 East

Hi Blog friends!!!

I've missed posting and I'm happy to read in my comments and e-mails that some of you missed me too!

I neglected to mention here that I was leaving for a quick vacation this week because I thought I'd be back before anyone missed me.

The girls and I left a rainy Seattle on Saturday afternoon for what was supposed to be a quick three day trip to visit friends in Spokane.

We ended up staying two extra days because we were having so much fun.
Here is some of what lies between Seattle and Spokane.....

The gorgeous Cascade Mountains!



We turned a corner and gasped at the sudden beauty of this rainbow.
It was amazing!
We could see it from end to end.
Madison and I talked for miles about how God romances us with simple things like this all the time if we'll just recognize His hand in the little things.


There were loads of farms in the foothills.
One clever farm owner placed a sign on the highway that said,
"Crop names in fence line."
Sure enough there were little blue signs for 10 or so miles indicating what was planted in the fields behind them.
How often have you passed a field and wondered what it was that was growing there?
We saw three kinds of potatoes, two kinds of corn, peas and alfalpha growing in his fields.
It was a great distraction from what can be a boring stretch of highway.


There is alot of this......... nothing but vastness.
But it's only a short 5 hour drive between Seattle and Spokane and it was well worth the drive!

And here's one of the main reasons why we made the trip!

Linda and Lisa!

Linda lives in Spokane and Lisa flew up from Southern California.

I have not seen Lisa in almost 4 years.

We all met in California while we were stationed there and became fast friends.

We'd go out on girls nights to movies and dinner.

We'd help each other decorate, rock each others babies and do all the things that good friends do.

It was so awesome to reunite for a bit and to make plans to do it again!!

I have so many photos to add to the blog in the next few days so check back soon!

Yummy Cupcakes......

My friend Linda is the queen of research and she used her skills to find this cupcake shop in Seattle.

She made a quick stop at my house while enroute to Canada with her mom and sisters last week.

On their way back, we spent a day together and this cupcake shop was on our list of places to visit.

They had some great flavors like

espresso, mint, strawberry, dark chocolate and orange.

Yummy!

We also peeked into some interesting little shops on the same street.


I found these parasoles in a little local artists shop
and I thought they'd make a great photo prop.
Linda's daughter Katie, helped me decide if they were big enough to use with models.
Isn't she cute?
I ended up with a gorgeous orange one which I hope you will see soon in some of my photos.


I had to include this photo of Madison.
I took it on the steps beside the cupcake shop and I think it's my new favorite of her.
Sometimes I look at her and it takes my breath away because she's becoming such a gorgeous young lady.
Her Daddy is going to be so shocked at how much she has changed in five months!

Look Mom, No Hands!!!!

Following in the tradition of her brothers, her sister, her mom and two of her uncles, Bren has taken on the sport of soccer!

She was so excited to finally get out on the field and find out what those pink and black cleats can do!

She is on an all girl U6 soccer team called

"The Ponytail Possee"

On Monday night all of the U6 teams practice together in a soccer workshop put on by soccer players from the UK.

This is Coach Scott leading Bren's group.

She is going to learn so much about the game this year!

After practice, look who we went and got at the airport.........

Riding the people mover trying to find the gate......

Waiting............

"Oh no, the paparazzi is here!"

Yup! Madison is HOME!!!

I'm so happy to have my girl back again!

Happy Birthday Jason!

Today is my brother Jason's 36th birthday!

Right now my boys are at a BBQ with him to celebrate the day.

Jason is such a fun person!

He's an awesome Uncle, a wonderful brother and an all around great guy!

He's an encourager, a motivator and a charmer.

He's talented in more areas than he knows and I'm so proud of him!

Even though we've been separated by many miles during most of our adult lives, my life is definitely fuller because he's in it.

Some day we'll lay down roots closer to family and get to "live the dream".

Happy birthday Jason!!!

I love and miss you!

Way down in the dirty south.......

There is a very special family that we love and adore!

Conn, Trudy, Dylan and Nick Cole.

Michael was able to spend some time with them while he was there.

He's good friends with Nick.

Trudy sent me these photos this morning which made me long for the smell of fried catfish, the sound of a charming southern drawl, the feeling of uncontrollable laughter, the taste of sweet tea and the sting of a fresh sunburn!

Don't they just look like a load of trouble?
Nick, Michael and Josh.

Never a dull moment with these three!

Josh is Michael's very best friend.

It was at Josh's house that Michael stayed for five weeks....

bless his tired momma!

I just heard from Grandma and Grandpa that both Zachary and Michael are having a great time in Pace, Florida.

They caught 35 pounds of catfish yesterday which I'm sure is being fried up as I type this!

There is a tradition at Grandpa's house that I'm sure will happen again this Summer.

It involves several watermelons a hose and lots of buckets of water!

They grow their watermelons sweet down there, but nothing is as sweet as grabbing a handfull of juicy watermelon and throwing it at a loved one!

Have fun boys! I miss you!!

Romance from the other side of the world!

Look what my sweet, romantic husband sent me yesterday!!!!

18 gorgeous red roses....one for each year that we have known each other.

Sixteen years ago yesterday we were just two kids,

22 and 21,

with stars in our eyes and big dreams, but not much else.

We said our vows on the lawn of a church in Ellicott City, MD.

On that warm July afternoon, I don't think either one of us realized how hard we were going to have to fight for our marriage in the years to come or how miraculously God would take our imperfections and blend them together to make something of beauty.

Our first son was already 8 months old at the time of our marriage.

We packed up a U-haul with barely enough to start a home, left all we knew and made our first of many moves within months of our wedding day.

Being newlyweds with a toddler and living far from the support of family,

we were definitely challenged right from the start.

By many people's assumptions, we were probably not supposed to make it.

But, through the grace of a God that brought us together in the first place,

we now stand here 16 years later,

with four beautiful children and a lifetime of experiences across this country.

God has promoted David beyond our best plans

and he has brought us through many storms of life.

We are continually in awe over how far God has brought us from the place where we began.

Not just geographically, but emotionally and spiritually as well.

When we consider the whole picture, we really feel like we are beating the odds.

Two kids with dead end jobs, both from broken homes, who met in a dance club, had a baby and got married so young, aren't supposed to be where we are right now!

We should be having some sort of custody battle or managing step parents and blending familes according to our culture today.

In this country where so many marriages end in divorce, we realize that we are not the norm.

This makes us all the more

thankful,

protective

and watchful

over the state of our marriage.

We are so blessed to have a marriage that is not perfect,

but is alive

and purposeful.

It hasn't been an easy road at all.

It's been quite trying at times, but we've relied heavily on our faith

and have grown

and have learned

from every mistake we've made.

We have learned that the most important thing we can do for our marriage ( and our kids) is to intentionally love eachother every day.

David is a gift to me.

The more I know him, the more I am convinced that God designed him just for me.

All of his quirks, the way he sees the world,

his values and character

and even his flaws

are all a part of God's plan to perfect something in me and to make me into

who I am supposed to be.

Where I am weak, David has strengths.

Where David is weak, I have strengths.

We could (and sometimes do!) take these differences

and build a mountain of irritation and frustration on them.

But the longer we are together

and the more we learn about God's purpose for us,

the more we realize that God designed us specifically for each other so that we could be
one strong unit,

not two completely comfortable individuals.

Becoming one strong unit is definitely not a comfortable task!

It means that both sides have to sacrifice their own personal preferences and desires to make harmonious decisions that benefit the unit.

I'm not always good at this and I often forget the ultimate goal, but I'm getting better with God's grace and each passing year.

My mom began praying for my mate when I was a little girl.

When we were married, she gave him a card telling him how great it was to know the person for whom she had been praying all those years.

A while ago I started praying for the men my daughters would one day marry and build a life with.

It would be my greatest joy if they found men that were as dedicated to their families and loved them as much as their Daddy loves me!

Happy Anniversary, honey!

I love you more everyday!!

I wanted to include some photos of us when we were first beginning our lives together, but they are burried way too deep in the storage closet.

Just one of the many inconveniences of having all of the strong men in my house elsewhere!

Call me "Curly!"!!

How could Bren and I let our time together go by without having a "girly night"?

Last week I bought some sponge rollers

and Bren could not wait to sleep in them

and wake up to springy spirals.

So after a long bubble bath



where she played until her feet got all pruny,



I rolled her hair in 28 sponge rollers.

She looked so cute in them and could hardly settle down to sleep she was so excited!

I had no idea of the power of 28 blue sponge rollers!

But look what they did!!!!

They transformed her hair into millions of tiny spirals!!

At first Bren wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
I kept telling her that we could wash it out and start over but this time we'd roll them looser.

But the more we played with it, the more she liked it!

We settled on a big poofy ponytail and she was as happy as a clam!

"Just call me Curly today, mom" she grinned.

Here are some black and whites from this morning that I liked.

I think I really like this look on her and will definitely roll her up again.

I might try to use fewer rollers and roll bigger chunks of hair next time to see what we get.

And you know this can only mean one thing.......

Yup!

I'm having company!!

They should be on their way from Spokane very soon!

My friend Linda, her daughter Katie and her sister Jennifer will be arriving tonight.

Tomorrow we'll go pick up Linda's mom and other sister at the airport in Seattle.

The five of them will leave for a trip to Canada on Friday.

They'll spend another night with me on their way back from Canada.

Tomorrow is also my wedding anniversary.... 16 years!