50 Most Beautiful Moms

A few months ago I received an exciting message that I had been chosen as one of 50 photographers across the United States to take part in Beauty Revived 50 Most Beautiful Moms Campaign!! What an honor!  My job was to photograph, "One of the most beautiful moms." My first thought was my very own mom...she is the most beautiful mom that I have ever known both inside and out.  She is the mom I try every day to be.  And before I become a puddle on the floor, they have given me permission to share her magazine feature spread with all of you.  Delight!!!  I love you so much, mom! Happy, happy Mother's Day! What a blessing to call you mine! 

P.S. I ordered a magazine for you and for me.  I cannot wait to see it!

Rachel's Ring Ceremony

In just a few weeks our Rachel will graduate Magna Cum Laude a semester early!  We are so proud of her!!!  Last night, we traveled to a very special Ring Ceremony where she received her university ring.  It was a beautiful ceremony!  Baylor University should take note and would do well to offer such a special ring ceremony to their students. Rachel was beaming!  What a beautiful celebration!  University President, Dr. Hall, presented rings to each student and sweetly stayed after the ceremony for pictures.  Rachel and her friend Katie were excited to have their picture taken with him.

What a night to treasure!  I cannot believe graduation is just around the corner.

A Cousin Session {Sneak Peek}

These two sweet boys simply made my day.  Our oldest daughter was having a really rough day and our baby girl had a lady run right in to the back of her truck.  They are both more than fine, thank you Lord, but this momma's heart was a bit frazzled.  I was spent! I'm thankful God is in control of everything because having these two sweet cousins over for their annual Cousin Session was just what I needed.  They were full of smiles, giggles, cookie breath, and the sweetest hugs.  Mr. C even told me he loved Kiki.  Swoon!    They are both so much fun and so very precious.  What a joy it is to photograph them and to know their beautiful mommies.  God is so good!

Sisters

Our Rachel came home from college this weekend and we were all sooooooooooo happy to see her.  Our family of four was reunited and it never felt so good!  We have certainly missed having our girls all to ourselves and it was just what this heart of mine needed.  My cup was full and I treasured every moment. Rachel joined her daddy and I on the sidelines Friday night to capture pictures of the football boys and the band.  Hannah is the Drum Major for the second year in a row. I turned around for a second to see Rachel saying hello to her sister in the stands.   I love this image so much! From a photographer's perspective, it's technically way off, the color balance is off, and it's underexposed big time, but as a mom, it was a moment I didn't want to miss capturing and I treasure it!  It shows the special sister relationship our girls are blessed to have and we are blessed to watch. I love the image but love these two daughters of ours even more.  What joy is ours to be their parents!

Thinking about this image, it makes me think of our Heavenly Father and how He sees us....sees the real us.  We aren't picture perfect all of the time (or even much of the time if we are honest) and our lives certainly aren't picture perfect either, but He loves us and even treasures us.  We are the apple of His eye....what a blessed thought!

Last 1st Day of School Picture

My baby girl is a senior this year and my oldest is a senior in college who will graduate early!  Be still my heart!  Didn't I just hold them in my arms for the very first time yesterday?! Hannah was sweet to give me a few minutes to grab this picture before we both headed out the door.  She had friends to meet at the high school flag pole so that they could pray together before the new school year began and I needed a few minutes to make sure a presentation worked before sharing it with all of the high school faculty and staff....and to be honest, I needed a few minutes to wipe my tears and take it all in.

Hannah is the Student Council President and gave the best welcome to school speech to the entire high school while  I tried my best to contain my tears.  And my Rachel stepped in to her very first classroom as a student teacher in a room full of young kindergartners this morning.  I just know they are going to love her!

My heart is full and my mind is flooded with precious memories.  From her first day of Kindergarten to the 1st day of her Senior year.  {Sob!}  Jeremiah 29:11, sweet baby girl!  We are so very proud of you!

Blood Moon 2014

I'm so thankful for large Palladium windows on a cold night! I set my alarm at different times through the night and through sleepy eyes was blessed to capture this through the window. What a beautiful sight! "The Heavens declare the glory of God!" Psalm 19

Ten on Tuesday

1.  The exclusive Easter Sessions were announced yesterday and we are nearly sold out!  I have a few openings, but please don't wait!

2.  Speaking of Easter, the bunnies may have just had baby bunnies on one of the coldest days of the year.  OIY!  We will see, but how fun to have baby bunnies at our Easter sessions.

3.  

Are you watching The Voice? We love that show!!!  On our trip to New York, we found these chairs from the Voice and had to do our best interpretation.  Love my man!

4.  Did you watch the Oscars Sunday night?  It's always fun to see the parade of dresses and jewelry. I watched it in my Wichita State sweatshirt....so glamorous!

5.  Speaking of Wichita State!  They are the ONLY undefeated college basketball team in the country.  So cool!  My dad is a WSU graduate!

6.  I am ready for March Madness!!!  I always have fun filling out a bracket and keeping up with the progress on my iphone.  Growing up my initials were KU.  I can remember thinking as a child that I simply had to go to KU because those were my initials and being from Kansas, that seemed the thing to do.  Funny!  KU is good, but WSU is doing much better this year.  I may pick them to win it all!  And who knows if our Baylor bears will even make the big show this year.

7.  Remember my bout with pneumonia this fall?  A few weeks ago, I had an instant 102 fever, cough, and I felt awful.  I didn't think I would ever be as sick as I was this fall.  Through many tears, I started the process of seeing doctors again trying to avoid pneumonia. Thankfully, the bronchitis didn't turn in to pneumonia!  But, there were a few scares.  God graciously walked with me through each one of those tests and they all turned out to be negative.  Praise the Lord!

8.  I felt better this weekend than I have in weeks!!! I tried not to overdo, but it felt so good to feel like myself again.  I even had time to get my eyebrows tamed.  And then I didn't feel so good after that.  I'm kidding!

9.  Did you see the movie Gravity?  I watched it while my family was at the State Basketball tournament this weekend.  Sandra Bullock did a fantastic job, I'm surprised she didn't win best actress.  I  have to admit, there were scenes in that movie that made me feel a bit claustrophobic.  As a computer teacher, I loved the graphics!

10.  My man is an incredible omelet maker.  They are seriously delicious and always turn out so perfectly.  Me?  Not so much!  I made myself an omelet Sunday morning while my family was still out of town.  It started off okay....and then quickly turned to hash.  Here is a very blurry iphone picture.  It may have looked yucky, but it tasted pretty good!

Spreading Love

Valentine's Day found our household filled to overflowing with love, as always, but also a breathing machine, heavy doses of antibiotics, and a romantic dinner at home.....I use the word romantic loosely. My sweetheart took really good care of me but I was terribly sick once again. I honestly thought after being so sick with pneumonia this fall that I wouldn't be that sick ever  again. Sigh! I was wrong, and on Valentine's Day! My sweetheart loved his gift and I was thrilled. It was quite a step up from the usual card that I give him. I missed Rachel and Carly, the Corgi, but it was sweet to talk to my college valentines and I am counting the days until they are home for a visit.

Our youngest Valentine is taking a CNA course through our school and loving it. Part of what they get to do is help take care of some very sweet patients in a retirement home. Hannah was determined to spread the Love of the Lord with them and to make some special Valentine's Day gifts. I helped her find a template via Skip to My Lou and we printed the butterfly pattern and then she began carefully cutting out each one.

Please, excuse the quality of these pictures.  I was doing a breathing treatment at the time and my Iphone was all that I had handy and didn't want to miss capturing the joy she had carefully putting together each Valentine.

I loved hearing her stories when she got home and seeing the joy in her eyes as she told them. A Valentine's Day to remember after all.

Our Dancing Queen

"You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeenDancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen"

I'll be singing that song all day and pretending I am roller skating like I did in 1970-something.

Happy 17th birthday, sweetheart! Seventeen years ago today, God blessed us with one of the most precious gifts and we are so very thankful! Not only are you gorgeous inside and out, but you shine so beautifully for your Heavenly Father each day! What a blessing to be your mom! I pray that your day is filled to overflowing with absolute joy and laughter. Oh, how we love you!!!

God's Love is Everywhere

It's true!  God's love is everywhere!  It's written in the beautiful colors of the rising and setting sun, it's in the beauty of my daughter's faces, and I could go on and on.  His love for you is absolutely everywhere!  Are you looking for it?  Ask Him to reveal His great love for you today and then be watching and waiting! On my first day back from Christmas break, I just wasn't feeling like being back in my classroom.  Rachel was home and that's where I wanted to be too.  How's that for honesty?

As I got ready that morning, I was gently reminded that this day wasn't mine after all, but His and He had purpose for my day.  Was I going to look for it, or be grumpy because our break was over?  Ouch!

When I arrived in my classroom, I turned on the heater (brrr!), my computer, and my scentsy.  I am a big believer in making my classroom an inviting and welcoming place.  Within about 20 minutes, I glanced over at my Scentsy and saw this:

Do you see the heart?  A few seconds later and I would have missed it.  God was showing me that He was right there with me in my classroom and that He loved me.  He cares about every single detail of our lives.  Some can say this was just a coincidence but if the Father Above orders and ordains every minute and every second of our life, I don't believe it was a coincidence at all.  God was showing me He loved me...and I'm thankful I didn't miss it!

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."   I John 3:1.

Do you need a little encouragement today?  Simply look up and ask God to show you just how much He loves you....and if you say it in faith, even faith of a mustard seed, you will see it!  You are dearly loved!!!

Take Courage

On a day like today, I would really like to remind a certain someone that words can be hurtful and to remind him that Proverbs 29:20 explains, "Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

And then the Faithful One reminds me that He loves that punk person too and then He reminds me that I have been guilty of being too hasty in my words too. OIY!!!

And while this warrior heart of mine looks up and exclaims that this case is different because the hasty, foolish words hurt my dearly loved family, who didn't deserve to be treated this way, He puts His arms of love around me and tells me, "Child of Mine, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.""  John 16:33.

And He has it all under control....the hasty words didn't slip past his sight; He sees and He knows.   So, I will try my best to keep looking up and let Him take care of the situation.   But seriously, if He needs some ideas on how to handle this situation/person, I'm His girl!