What a Wonderful Week!!

Oh I've just had the best week... hanging out with Gillian and Lucia... taking hundreds of photos, drinking too much coffee and staying up late. 

I have so many new fabulous photos I couldn't possibly post them all, but here is a little showcase I hope you'll enjoy... a mish mash of some of our favorites, in no particular order. This is TRULY the BEST Mother's Day gift I've ever received!! THANK YOU AGAIN GILLIAN!!

Take a TALENTED photographer, handsome boy, funky old beat up truck and golden light... and this is what you get!!

We were so happy to find a little patch of bluebonnets... 

Of course you can't come to Texas and not ride a horse!!!

Gillian has a new lens... and she has already mastered it. They make a GREAT team... combining her ability and the delicious creamy bokeh of the lens... the results are breath-taking. She let me take her new toy on a test run (because I was drooling all over it!) and sadly, I just cannot for the life of me make it SING the way she does. She is so gifted!!! She is a huge inspiration to me. If you'd like to check out more of her work, visit her website at www.gigiphotography.com or her blog, at www.gigiphotography.com/blog. You won't regret it! 

Ohhhhhhhh one of my FAAAAAAAAAAVES. :)

And of course I adore all the ones of me and Jasper snuggling. 

And this one has got to be my ALL-TIME FAVORITE EVER photo taken of me and the kiddos together. I'm going to print this on a huge canvas. I can't wait! 

Double click this photo below to check out Jasper's shirt... says "Mama's Boy." ;) 

Jasper decided to get in on the action... he picked up my camera and starting taking Lucia's picture while I took some of Gillian... I turned around and saw this and my heart just sang! He's a natural!

Here are a few of his results. 

Ohhhhhh and Lucia is such a sweet pea. I got to meet her for the first time when she was just a few weeks old. She is a joy to have in the house... she is silly and sweet and mild-mannered and quiet and loving. Melts my heart every time she comes to give me a hug or kiss. I am still trying to convince Gillian to leave her with me, but for some reason I'm having trouble convincing her. Hmmm. Couldn't possibly understand why! ;) 

Unfortunately, Gillian is upstairs packing her suitcase and I'm feeling sad she's leaving today (So soon??!! But didn't you just get here??!!) but I know she's anxious to get home to her two other sweet girls. 

I'll post more pictures soon... I have a CRAZY busy weekend ahead... volunteering and two baseball games tonight, then two more games tomorrow AND my father-in-law is coming for a visit... so I have to do a quick turnaround on the house and guest room sheets... fun times!! I can certainly never complain of being bored!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! 

Purty as a Picture...

Meet Gillian. :) One of my very dearest friends EVER. I'm sure you've heard me talk about her... if not, well, you obviously haven't been paying attention. Ha ha ha. ;) 

We met online five years ago via a photography forum and people thought we were CRAZY the first time we decided to meet in person... but we hit it off just as well in real life as we did online, so it's been a fabulous relationship ever since. 

Gillian is beautiful. And frilly. And girly. And super duper sweet. Did I mention she's beautiful? I love her in so many ways. She inspires me. She is a FANTASTIC photographer and is always cheering me on and boosting my confidence. She also listens to me whine and well, we email each other back and forth literally dozens of times a day. 

And she's HERE, right now, sitting next to me on my sofa while we both update our blogs and facebook pages. Ha ha ha. Yes, we're BOTH total computer dorks. :) 

We've been trying out some photo shoots together, scouting new fields and locations, braving Texas-sized mosquitos, fire ants and a sometimes grumpy toddler... and just laughing at the chaos!! But I *am* loving some of the results!! 

Tonight it's my turn to be the subject... eek. Gillian is a wizard though, and I know she'll make us look FABULOUS. I can't wait. 

So here's my GORGEOUS, wonderful, sweet blue-eyed Canadian sweetie... Gillian. :) 

(Oh, and yes, she LOVES to tease us about our accents! HA HA HA. She says Jasper's is especially thick.)

This is sweet little Lucia, Gillian's youngest of THREE girls (yes, she manages to take care of THREE girls under the age of 5, run a VERY successful photography business AND have AWESOME hairdos every day! I don't know HOW she does it... but she does!!) I think Lucia's been enjoying having Mommy all to herself for a few days. Doesn't she look happy? 

SPEAKING of Lucia... whoops, darn, the doorbell just woke her up... ohhhhh noooo. :( Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to blog some photos of me and my kiddos... FUN stuff! 

If you want to check out Gillian's INCREDIBLE work... go to www.gigiphotography.com or have a peek at her cool blog at www.gigiphotography.com/blog. 

Have a GREAT day! 

It's the little things...

I love regular ol' days in my life. Sometimes I think it's these regular ol' days I adore the most. Not the big exciting special days full of events and parties and sports and travel... but the days at home, just being us, doing what we do. 

Yesterday was one of those days. Nothing special, and yet, I loved it. :)

Here are some snapshots, all from yesterday... to show you what I mean. 

Planted some flowers. I think these African Daisies are my new favorites. The colors just blow my mind. 

Picked the kids up from school and Kathryn was quite chatty because they'd seen "THE FILM" in school. ;) I remember that film well. Big day for those kiddos. Anyway, then we were hanging out and the kids were telling me stories from their day, eating their after school snacks and I noticed they were pretty darned cute sitting together, in their shirts that kinda matched with all the colors, so I asked if they'd oblige me and sit for a couple of quick pics... 

Roxie wasn't really cooperating, as usual. She is, I swear, the CUTEST stinkin' dog you've ever laid eyes on... and yet she's so unphotogenic it's not even funny. She HATES my camera. She's a tough client. Anyway, this one still makes me smile. 
And this photo ("Come on, PLEASE, just put your arm around him for ONE second and let me take a picture!") cost me exactly $4 and four pieces of Easter candy. These kids have learned to drive a hard bargain when it comes to photo bribes!!
This is Kathryn explaining to me that I was now OVER my 5-photo limit and so I owed them MORE Easter candy. Ha ha ha. 
And this is Jasper's latest obsession... fortune tellers. Do you remember making these as a kid? I used to LOVE them. Funny how little things like this resurface and bring back memories!! Anyway, Jasper discovered that one thing even MORE fun than the regular sized fortune tellers is MINIATURE fortune tellers. We have, with no exaggeration, about 3 dozen of these things all around the house and every five seconds Jasper comes up to you... "Pick a color!!" giggle giggle "Pick a number!" giggle giggle "Pick another number!" 
Sometimes you get lucky and get something like "I like you" or "You are cool." But don't be fooled. Most of the time you get something more along the lines of "Your butt is so big that the universe is falling." Ohhhhhhhhkay.
After my "big butt" fortune, Roxie and I decided to go for a stroll in the field across from our house. I almost stepped on a tarantula (ew!) and was trying to lure it back out of its hole so I could take a picture of it when John came driving up from work. Of course, Roxie goes BALLISTIC when she sees him... especially when he races her through the field! She LOVES this game... and she's so beautiful when she's running this fast... just a big black and white blur with a huge grin on her face. It's fun and totally terrifying to watch the race... I'm sooooooo scared that one day Roxie is going to get a little too close to the tire and get squashed... EEK. But she seems to be a pretty good judge...

And they're off! (Click on the photo to see it larger... I didn't have my zoom lens on my camera!)
Uh oh, now she's gaining on him...
Oh yeah!! 
Roxie wins again! (John usually lets her win so she'll have good doggie self esteem.) Seeeeee... she is TOTALLY smiling!!!!
That's it. Just little details of my happy day. Just us. Doing what we do. :) 

CH CH CH CH CHAAAAAANGES...

Okay, out with the old, and in with the new... soon! It's coming! I'm tired of looking at the same ol' header on this blog so I'm off to try to figure out how to make some fresh changes! :) 

See you soon.

Guess what? Root canals really *do* suck!

I'm not sure what's worse... getting old, or admitting it. 

Today, I feel like I took a giant leap toward officially becoming an old woman. :( I got my first crown. No, not a nice sparkly bejeweled crown, but a stinkin' FAKE TOOTH OF A CROWN. 

Sigh. It came as quite a shock, but after several hours, I think I have finally cried out most of the tears, I think. 

Yes, I had the dreaded root canal AND got a crown today... all in one very miserable, very expensive trip to the dentist. I wonder if the Tooth Fairy will come and leave $1,500 under my pillow tonight??? You think? 

Probably not. 

So yeah. I feel old. My teeth are officially starting to fall out (okay, that's exaggerating just a bit, but just be nice to your elders and play along with me or I might whack you with my cane... well, I don't have a cane, yet, but I probably will soon...). John's already making jokes about me going to the store to buy Fixodent (in case, God forbid, the temporary crown decides to fall out during Easter brunch). 

So0000 not funny. I had to remind him that HE will turn 40 LONG before I will. And yes, I do plan to rub it in. Daily. 

I just recently finished reading the BEST book (Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet) and in one part a man was describing an older woman as having "attractive crinkles at the corners of her eyes." Awwwwwww. Isn't that SWEET??!! I want *my* husband to talk about me that way, not make Fixodent jokes!! 

The reality of it is, it's happening. I'm getting old. And I don't like it, even though I try to convince myself that what my mother says is true, that at least it's better than the alternative. ;) 

I just wish the *reality* of growing old with your spouse was as romantic as the notion seems to be when you're young and talking about growing old together. Know what I mean? 

Not quite sure what the point of this blog is. Just to blog it I suppose. To say I had a traumatic experience today. To say I feel old. To say my husband better be extra nice to me for a day or two while I lick my wounds. To say I had to kiss a new Dyson vacuum cleaner goodbye as I paid the unexpected dentist bill. To say getting older sucks, even though it's still better than being dead. 

And that's all I've got to say. 

Anticipation... It's all Good.

I'm not the most patient person you'll ever meet. I readily admit it. I do NOT like waiting for surprises to be revealed or for hair appointments to be available. I get really grumpy if I have to sit for more than 15 minutes in a waiting room and I found out the sex of both of my babies as early in my pregnancy as possible. As a kid, I HATED counting down until Christmas morning or the first day of summer camp and I still stare out the window waiting for the UPS truck on days when I'm getting a fun package. Can't stand traffic or red lights or being put on hold on the telephone.

But I'm trying to get better. Just be patient with me. ;) 

I'm definitely making progress. I'm even starting to enjoy the anticipation of things. Maybe it's because I ALWAYS seem to have a good thing going, so the waiting in between is easier? I don't know. But yes, I am enjoying watching my yard slowly burst forth with color. Every day I look at the buds and I feel giddy watching them grow until they look as though they could burst open right before my very eyes! 

I'm getting better about enjoying being lost in a really long book or being excited for a certain movie to come out on DVD. It's all good. 

I have a LOT to look forward to and I'm enjoying the feeling of anticipation... waiting for my first nephew to arrive on April 14 (maybe that's easier knowing EXACTLY when he's coming!) and I'm super duper looking forward to my dearest friend Gillian coming to visit on April 20. And before all that, there's Easter and right after that we're going to California to MEET my nephew (and of course, squeeze in a trip to Disneyland! WOO HOO!)... 

So I just feel happy. And full of patience. It's lovely that all this waiting isn't coated in anxiety, but rather seems to surround me like a pleasant aura of gladness. 

Maybe it's because I've finally learned to just be totally okay in the NOW, not always looking backward or forward, but just being content at every moment. I can sit on my porch, letting the minutes wash over me until I realize those minutes have turned into hours. And I am still ready to sit some more. :)

There's a lovely quote you may have heard that sums it up so perfectly...

"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." -Babatunde Olatunji