Sneak Peak for Angie's Family

19 - the number of people in the family I photographed last weekend
5 - the age (in weeks) of the youngest family member
421 - the number of pictures I took that day
0- the number of photos with all 19 people smiling, in focus, looking at the camera
3 - the number of days it took me to stop panicking and figure out what to do

When I stopped hyperventilating, I realized that I had to do something. This amazing family was only together for a few days before they scattered across the country again. Unfortunately for me, that meant no "do overs." So I brushed up on my Photoshop skills and got to work. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it (and I can breath again). What do you think? You'll have to click on the photos to see the whole image.

Before

After

Here are a few more photos from this shoot:

Imperfectly Perfect...

Steve and I have always been spenders. Well, Steve is a bigger spender than me. I'm a little tight. But the truth is, we like to eat out. We like to go to movies. We never balanced our check book. We never had a budget. We just spent when we felt like spending (which Steve seemed to feel like a lot more than me). Ha! We do round each other out, that's for sure. Thankfully, we didn't get into any trouble with our spending...unless you count that time a few weeks after Kate was born when I forgot to transfer some funds to our checking account and we ended up with $300 in overdraft charges (but let's just chalk that up to postpartum brain loss, okay?). Steve and I have been blessed, and we have really been feeling a desire to be better stewards of the money that God has given us. So we took the Dave Ramsay Financial Peace University class at our church and I've been clipping coupons like a crazy woman (thanks to help from Millicent and Judy)! We're trying to be "thriftier," but since we're being completely honest here - we still don't have a budget and we have yet to balance our checkbook (Dave Ramsay would be so disappointed in us - we're like Dave Ramsay flunkees). However, the thrifty mindset is slowly taking hold. Please see exhibit A: My Anniversary Present.
Steve loves to buy me flowers. Loves it. Seriously, you would not believe the elaborate flower arrangements I have received from this man. I love them and I love him, but I do not love seeing the charges for them on my credit card statement. I tried not to mention it, but let me just tell you that this year he really melted my heart. He picked out the flowers and then arranged them himself, in a vase that we already own. That's thrifty and romantic. He was disappointed that the arrangement wasn't perfect. But in my mind, there could be no better flower arrangement than this one. It's imperfectly perfect, don't you think? Just one sign that we are becoming better stewards of all that God has given us!

Girls' Night Out...

Remember my crazy crush on Edward Cullen? Ughhh...love that vampire. Seriously. Love Him! But so do my friends Katie and Kristi. So I have to share my Edward with them (and millions of other love-struck teenagers and middle-aged moms). It was hard, but if you can't beat em, join em, right? So I joined Katie and Kristi - all decked out in our Team Edward shirts, for the Midnight opening of Eclipse. Check out these shirts. Unfortunately, the Team Edward maternity apparrel is a little lacking, so we had to make Katie's shirt. Gotta love velcro and puffy paint.

We took Edward out to dinner and bought him a drink.

...and poked him the eye with a breadstick!
We posed for pictures and laughed at the crowds and walked right into our theatre like VIPs, without having to wait in the crazy long lines. That part was awesome!

We laughed so much and had a blast. The movie was Awesome. In my opinion, it was the best of the series so far. And sharing my Edward with two good friends wasn't so bad, either. Thanks, girls...can't wait until November 2011 - when we can do it again!

Wordless Wednesday...

He's a Keeper

Nine years ago this month (I'm a little late...it was June 2), Steve and I started our married life together. What a wonderful adventure it has been. The one thing I know to be true today is that I definitely married the right man. I love Steve with every ounce of me, and I am so proud of him as a husband and a father. He makes me laugh and he encourages me and he supports my crazy dreams. He repaints the family room a million times (just because I've changed my mind about the color) and he takes the trash out every week so I don't even have to think about it. Of course we fight and drive each other crazy (just keeping it real here), but the truth is that I could never imagine my life without him.

Yesterday, we were leisurely sitting in our new plastic adirondak chairs, watching the kids play in their new plastic pool in the backyard (our life seems to be full of plastic these days). Out of nowhere, Steve squeezes a soaking wet ball all over me, starting a large-scale water battle. The girls watched as Steve and I laughed and soaked each other and acted like kids. I'm a 34-year-old mom, but yesterday I felt like a crazy-in-love teenager...giggling and splashing and chasing the cute boy around the yard. That's why I love this man and I thank God for sending him to me!

Here's some pictures from the day we were married. They are actually pictures of pictures, so the quality is lacking. Please notice my hot, skinny body. I do miss it and have been searching for it, but it seems to be forever lost. At least I haven't lost the cute guy standing next to me in these pictures! He is a keeper!

Father's Day Poem

Dear Steve,

It takes a special guy
To be the daddy to little girls
One who can play with dolls
and fix the clasp on their string of pearls.

It takes a man who is strong
and tender all the same
to watch the Little Mermaid
and play the “Pretty, Princess Game.”

It takes a man with patience
and fingers that are fair
To button their little dresses
and put pigtails in their hair.

I know it isn’t easy
and I wonder what you think
to have a house full of tutus,
to be surrounded each day by pink.

But you take it all in stride
and read Fancy Nancy like a pro
You teach them to fight with nerf swords
and then you paint their toes.

They are the luckiest girls alive
To have a daddy as kind as you
To build them a giant swing set
And buy them sparkly shoes.

It takes a special guy
and God knew just the one
to be the father of two little girls…
You’re their world, their stars, their sun.

Happy Father’s Day, Babe. We love you so very much!
Love,
Holly, Kate & Ellie

Girl Power

My tiny dancer made her first stage debut...dancing her heart out to a song called "Girl Power." There were some nerves (on my part more than hers)and lots of excitement about the pink costume and the red lipstick (on her part more than mine). The teacher told me that she had to turn Kate around just before the curtains opened, because she was facing the wrong way! My sweet girl was the tiniest dancer of the entire show, and I think I was the happiest mom, so thankful that God blessed me with her.


P.S. I went to get my camera before I loaded Kate into the car,and when I turned around I saw her doing the Miss America wave to all the people in the parking lot. It was the cutest thing!

Sneak Peak of Baby Briggs

I spent about an hour with this sweet baby boy, and I think I'm in love. He's the sweetest, calmest, coolest baby around. I'm still editing the photos, but here's a sneak peak of Baby Briggs (He even has a cool name to go with his super sweet personality - don't you love that?).

Note: You might have to click on the horizontal photos to see the full view. My blog isn't wide enough to post large horizontal photos.

On living...and dying.

The past week has been a difficult one for my family. About three weeks ago, my Grandma got very sick, was diagnosed with lung cancer, and moved in with my parents. The girls and I stopped in often to visit, taking pictures they had painted or bringing bowls of soup and banana bread. It was during one of these visits that we experienced the dreaded diaper incident pictured in my last post.

Ellie came running up to me with a messy hand, saying "ooooooh, yucky." I thought it was chocolate or peanut butter (my grandma loved peanut butter cups and there were several laying around the house that day), but I quickly realized it was a handful of poo. The same poo which was leaking out of her pants and onto the carpet. When I went to search for my diaper bag, I realized that I had forgotten it. Nice. That's stellar parenting right there. After a mini panic attack, my dad helped me strip Ellie down outside and wash her off. He suggested we use the hose, but I opted for a bucket and washcloth. We were still trying to figure out what to put on her when we had a brilliant idea. Ellie could wear the Depends that my mom had just bought for my Grandma. They worked perfectly and Ellie was thrilled with her new outfit. Of course, the rest of us couldn't stop laughing, which was exactly the medicine we needed at such a sad time.

That was the last time that Kate and Ellie got to see my Grandma. Three days later, she went to Heaven to be with Jesus. Those three days were sad and scary. They were exhausting and emotional. They were filled with family and tears, laughter and prayers. I realize now that in the midst of dying...the house was filled with life. We played old country music. We ate pancakes and bacon at midnight. We took turns comforting my Grandma and leaning on each other. We cried and we talked and we prayed harder than many of us had before in our entire lives. At one point, I was exhausted and emotionally drained and I asked my dad when the next shift was going to arrive...who was going to take the next shift? Less than 20 minutes later, as I watched my Grandma take her last breath, I felt a rush of peace and relief, of sadness and celebration, all at the same time. My dad looked at me and said, "I think Jesus took the next shift." And we cried and laughed, continuing to live and believe, even in the midst of death.

Name that Outfit...

Ellie is quite the fashionista. Can you tell? She is loving this new outfit and asks for it frequently. She calls it her "baby soup" (bathing suit). Can you guess what it is? It's a great story...check back soon for all the details!