iHeartFaces: Wedding Bells

I had the privilege of taking pictures at a wedding a few months ago. When my friend called to see if I would take pictures for her daughter's wedding, I was just a bit excited. :) Although WAY out of my league as I am new to all this picture taking stuff, I felt honored that they would ask me to help out.

It was small and intimate ceremony. Just the bride and groom's parents, grandparents and siblings. The groom was leaving for military training the next day, so they decided to get married before he had to leave.

This was my favorite picture of the day. A private moment stolen between the young couple.

Go here to see more Wedding pictures on iHeartFaces.

Bits of busy

So I was just scanning my blog and realized that For the most part all I see is pictures. I haven't really written anything in awhile. Life has just been so busy, and I suspect that it will continue to be that way for awhile. So, pictures it is. I will write more when I have the time (I feel like I keep saying that). :)

Here's what's been going on here,

~The past week and a half have been FULL of cleaning and packing. We are starting to give away our furniture and belongings. What we don't need now we have already given away. It doesn't even feel sad to be parting with our things. It's just freeing. As we going through everything we have I have realized just how much stuff we own. It is a good feeling to be rid of what we don't need (although I still feel sad about some things...not quite as much as I did here but I have my moments.). I am starting to like the idea of living a more simple life. :)

~The other reason I have been so busy is because we are getting ready for my family to arrive...TOMORROW!! I can't believe it is time already. Seems like we planned this get together so long ago. I haven't seen my sister and my brother and their families in almost 3 years!! I have missed them so much. They will all be here for 5 whole days! I have not seen my 3 year old nephew since he was a baby....and I have yet to meet my sweet niece who is 11 months. You can be sure there will be lots of pictures taken at this reunion. Along with my siblings my dad is coming. There will be 13 people total (including our family of 6). Oh, I cannot wait!

~It has been so hot here...but...I heard rumors that it was going to cool down a bit to maybe the 70's. That would be just perfect! We are hoping to make it to the beach and a few parks while my family is here.

~Anna has been having trouble with her asthma again. I suspect it is this super hot weather. I ended up having to take her to the Dr as it got progressively worse. We have her on breathing treatments every few hours to keep it under control. We don't want to end up back in the hospital like we did a few years back.

~While I had Anna to the Dr's I had her check Anna's ears. She has been having trouble hearing for what seems like a VERY long time. I had had her checked back in Feb. but was told it was just fluid in the ear. Anna's hearing seems to have gotten worse since then, so I mentioned it to the Dr. Sure enough there is STILL fluid in there. The Dr. said this was very concerning. :( We have to take her to an ENT specialist to determine what is going on. So we are looking at cramming possibly one more surgery in before we move?! We will know more July 8th. If you think of it please be in prayer with us about this.

~James decided that he wanted to potty train last week. Just woke up one morning and said out of the blue, "I have to go potty." So we are in the midst of potty training. :) He is doing pretty good, but it is a long process. I am hopping by the time we move he will be pretty much done. I am really proud of him.

I think that's pretty much it here, other then really random things that I'm sure no one cares to know. :)

I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far.

I am off to spend a little time with my man and then it's off to bed. I should really do some more cleaning but I'm tired and I don't think my family will really care if everything is spotless.

Oh, and here's a picture...because what's a post without at least one? :)

This was taken the last time I was with my sister in Oct. 2006. My sister Allie is on the right holding her son Gage. James is the baby on my lap. They were all so little.

If my blog is quiet for awhile you know where I'll be....spending time with the ones I love.

Until later.

You Capture: Summer

flowers. sundresses.
green grass and trees.
All say summer to me. :)

go over to Beth's blog to see more summer pictures.

Wordless Wedness: Boys

(my nephew Evan, James and Ryan)

The kind of man he is

I called my dad tonight to wish him a happy Father's day. In the course of our conversation he ended up telling me how proud he was of me...and how thankful he was that I was his daughter. Those were the kind of things I was supposed to be saying to him. It is Father's day after all. I called to tell him what a wonderful father he is, and he ends up telling me how much he loves me. That is the who my dad is. Always thoughtful, humble, godly. I don't know what I would do without his encouragement and wisdom. I often find myself at a loss as to how to express my gratitude towards him. I have an amazingly supportive father. I could not be more blessed. I am so grateful for any and all time we get to spend with him.

Thank you dad for all you do for us. I thank God for who you are and that I get to be your daughter. You mean more to me then I would ever be able to say. Thank you for always being there for us and for your thoughts and prayers.

Happy Father's day. I love you!

They call him dad

You guide our little ones and they look up to you and follow

You cherish and find joy in them and they adore you.

Your strong hands protect, encourage, and love...and they trust and love you in return.

I am so thankful that our children have such a godly man to call daddy.

Happy Father's day Bill!

Wordless Wednesday

Ryan loves to pick flowers for me from the backyard (usually dandelions).

Roots and all! :)

I love it...and I love him! What a sweet boy indeed!

All your problems

I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon outside with the kids. At one point Ryan ran off to the backyard to pout. I had no idea what he was so upset about, so after a minute I followed to where he was sitting. Anna came up behind me and sat down next to Ryan as I asked him what was wrong. He sat there quietly, head down lip out not willing to speak. Anna in her very grown up way, placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "It's ok Ryan. You can tell mom. She can help you with all your problems."

I almost had to remind myself to breath. What did she say? Does she really think that? How encouraging to know that she feels (at least right then) that she can come to me with her thoughts and problems, and she was encouraging her brother to do the same. This is something that I pray for...that our children would see us as always available and willing to help.

While all was resolved in matter of minutes and the kids ran back to play, my heart lingered at the moment of that memory. I pray that I never forget the importance of my job...the importance of listening to and tending to little hearts...

You Capture: Nature

Tonight we took the kids to a park to burn off some of the everlasting energy they seem to possess. :) It was fairly late in the evening when we headed out, so this gave me a great opportunity to catch nature at one of my favorite times of the day. Ah, the beauty of seeing the sun set!

The view from the park is just beautiful. In a way it reminds me of the rolling hills of where I grew up.

Catching the sun starting to go down between the evergreens.

I love the peace I feel at this hour.

Nothing is more beautiful to me then being surrounded by God's creation outdoors and my family.

I had to throw this one in of Claire and me. I didn't take it but I did set the camera up (on the right setting) so all Bill had to do was focus and snap! :)

You can check out more nature pictures on Beth's blog.

Tea Party

My friend Janel and I decided to do a combined birthday party for our daughters. Anna and Ella's birthday's are a week apart (2 years in age difference). Our theme was a fancy tea party. We had a blast planning all the food, decorations and activities. Janel and I stayed up until about 1:30 am the night before making all the food. Oh the laughter we shared in the process! What great memories I have tucked away from some of our last months here.

The girls were invited to wear their fanciest dress and accessories. Janel and I spent time curling our girls hair, painting nails, and applying (a little bit) make up.

Anna was quite pleased with how her hair and outfit turned out. She said she felt like a
princess. :)

Putting on fancy heal shoes!

Some of the girls wore fancy hats.

We started the party by talking about manors and what it means to be a lady. Here Janel is reading to them from a Fancy Nancy book.

Heading outside to the tea party. We set up a screen tent and decorated the inside. Look at all those beautiful dresses. :)

Petite fours, made by yours truly.

We used my grandma's fancy dishes to serve the girls. Each girl had a flower pot with a flower sucker as a place holder

Some decorations.

The tea pot and tea cup cupcakes that we slaved over into the wee hours of the night. Hey, it wasn't perfect but our girls loved it!

One of the girls trying a crumpet with jam.

Yummy scones made by Janel, and the pb&j finger sandwiches.

Enjoying a cup of tea.

One of the activities we did was to (attempt) play croquet with the girls.

Janel and her daughter Ella and myself and Anna.

I am so glad we decided to do this together. I know this is a party that we will all treasure and remember for a long time.