Archive for the ‘just me’ Category

Summer Days Gone By

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

I can’t believe I have not posted since MOTHER’S DAY! Yikes! I have been alive and well over at my tilt blog
 in case you’ve been worried.

We are having a busy summer, mostly staying close to home and finding ways to spend a lot of our time and not a lot of $$. Things have really picked up with the studio and I am enjoying a variety of photo sessions and it has been quite enjoyable.

Baby C. is going to be three months old! Where has the time gone? She is a smiley girl, with lots of chub and she is as sweet as ever. I recently posted some updated pictures of the kids on my Tilt Blog in case you want to take a peek.

I am in the middle of moving massive amounts of data from one drive to another so I do not have access to my millions of images. This post will have to be “image-less.” Just imagine me yawning at my computer, surrounded by four kids on a HOT afternoon. 😉

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Glad To Be

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

. . . her Mother.

She’s got me wrapped around her little finger, and she knows it! I just wish I could catch a few zzzzzzz’s when she does (23 hours a day) . . . but with three other kiddos to love that just doesn’t happen.

. . . and this is some of what I did on Mother’s Day:


{this chair was purchased mostly for DH as a “Sunday Nap Chair.” I love to snuggle with the kids in it- and I would say I use it more than the Papa Bear. Perhaps it is “too soft” for his liking? Anyhow, it is great for a Sunday Snooze, because it is in our sunniest room in the house, and it reclines really far back so you can actually get some rest in it. Baby C. seems to like it too.}

I hope all of you Mothers and Mothers-to-be enjoyed a beautiful, sunny, snuggly Mother’s Day on Sunday. I am so thankful for my own Mom and Mother-in-law who made me feel extra loved on Sunday too.

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Be Still My Heart

Friday, May 8th, 2009

{Baby C on her due date–12 days old}

A huge heartfelt THANK YOU for all of the wonderful comments, phone calls, visits, surprise packages in the mail, yummy meals, play-dates for the older kiddos, carpools, lovely gifts, sweet and tiny outfits for sweet and tiny newborns, childcare, movies on loan, grocery trips, and love. We couldn’t have done it with out your help.

More pictures to come. We introduced baby C to the studio yesterday- just a simple, quiet outing with M and C while the big girls were at school. C was amazing to photograph and was such a good sport. We’re off to a good start. I have plenty of photos from the first (almost) 2 weeks that I hope to share when I have a minute.

{3 days old and only 24 hours a day to sleep}

Posted in family. children, just me, newborn | 3 Comments »

We’re In Love . . .

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

. . . with our brand new baby girl! We’re so glad to be home now and settling in to a new routine as a family of six. Baby C’s arrival came late Saturday night following a swift and intense labor and delivery. She is 6 lbs. 13 oz. & 19.5″ long. She’s by far our tiniest baby yet she is healthy and robust and her proportions seem perfect. She’s eating like a champ and working hard to add some chub onto her petite frame.

Our sweet babe has won us over with her beautiful eyes, heavenly scent and purely amazing spirit packaged in such a perfect little body. My recovery has been quite remarkable and there’s no doubt we have been blessed to feel the concerns regarding the baby’s growth quickly fade away. Her sisters and brother are smitten with her and I feel spoiled that being the mom I get to hold her the most!

I will post more details and pictures soon, but for now– a quick sneak peak!

Posted in family, just me, newborn | 15 Comments »

Still A Round . . .

Friday, April 24th, 2009

. . . bellied, pregnant mama tonight. This week has been quite the whirlwind with one visit to the hospital on account of false labor, one non-stress test (just got home from this one tonight), one ultrasound (earlier today), two birthdays (DH and DD on the same day), a first ever soccer practice, and possibly a baby’s arrival this weekend. If not, I’ll likely be induced in the middle of next week. With all of the craziness, life is good and we are ready for our baby’s arrival.

We’ve been on “high alert” for a couple of weeks now, as the babe has been measuring small in the tummy and femur but her head measurements are right on. There have been many NST’s, a few ultrasounds, plenty of prayers, eating excessive amounts of protein and fat (thank you to my good friends who have supplied me with the most decadent foods known to woman-kind!), and lots of nesting going on. My wonderful DH even caulked the bathtub for me because for some reason it was high on the “must do before the baby arrives” list. We’ve been so blessed with help from neighbors tending kids and a brief stay from one of my sisters and her husband which really made a difference when we had to make a late night trip to the hospital. During all of this, our sweet little A. developed an abcess on one of her front teeth which affected the neighboring two teeth as well and so she had three extractions in one fell swoop. This was a hard one for me as a mom–and she is now finally getting used to having a window in her smile. The same day S. had one tooth extracted and we were confined to eating soft, squishy foods for a bit.

I share this because many of you are close friends and family and perhaps it is also my therapy– I want to remember the craziness that surrounded to the miracle of our little girl’s arrival. Even though things can seem difficult and overwhelming at times–there are SO many blessings squished in between everything. THREE of my best buddies from college have given birth this month. The very day I was “rejected” from being admitted to the hospital with false labor, a good friend was admitted and experienced the safe and healthy delivery of her baby. Miracles happen all around us–and many seem to go unnoticed. I hope to recognize each one.

Lest I go on and on, I’ve got to share a few images captured by my wonderful business partner Kimberly of Tilt Photography during a studio session last week. Kimberly captured some images that I will treasure always–especially that I feel they really show the connection I feel with my children. While I am shy about sharing my baby belly with you all, I am proud of the work my body has done to grow a baby, and I am thankful to have these pictures to remind me of the blessing of motherhood. Be forewarned, this belly hasn’t seen the light of day, well, since I was a baby. 😉

Posted in children, family, just me, maternity, newborn | 8 Comments »

She’ll Be Here . . .

Friday, March 6th, 2009

We are gearing up for baby in “T minus two months.” I’m due May 7th, but M. arrived a surprising two weeks early, so perhaps we’ll have some baby news in a mere 6 weeks! We’re so excited. . . and so far I’ve been feeling great and am still highly functioning. I haven’t kept up with blogging the way I’d like to, but there’s only so much of me to go around (and around).

I am on a “baby high” right now, as one week ago today I had the amazing privilege of being the birth photographer for my brother and his wife. Documenting the entrance into the world of a gorgeous baby girl (also my niece) was wonderful, and I will post some pictures soon. She was one of the most alert and wide-eyed newborns I’ve ever seen at just minutes old.

Also, I am planning to do hypno-birthing this time around. I am still convincing DH that he’ll do just fine (though I think he should be the one assuring me, right?). With my first two babies I chose to go the natural (unmedicated) route and opted for an epidural with M. who happened to be posterior. For baby #4 I would love to go natural again, but with some implemented relaxation techniques that can help get me through it. So if you can’t reach me, perhaps I am practicing my “deep relaxation” techniques and I am able to tune out the phone and computer. :)

For those who may be curious, we haven’t settled on a name. Finding the perfect name for another girl is tricky . . . and I’d like her to have a unique letter of the alphabet from our other family initials: M, A, S, K. Any suggestions?

Posted in family, just me, newborn | 5 Comments »

Let’s Do This The Whole Day!

Friday, March 6th, 2009

One recent evening the kids were craving some family time, and I was feeling in the crafty mood. We came across a wonderful website by a talented artist: The Toymaker who offers patterns for paper toys for free-download. Her creative patterns and pretty illustrations were just the thing we needed! We enjoyed our creating so much that we continued printing, cutting and gluing until way past bedtime! S. was so excited to know she had the following day off of school, she said, “Let’s do this the WHOLE day tomorrow!” . . . and we pretty much did.

{believe it or not, M’s little airplane is still in-tact!!}

{S. made a whole family of pandas complete with a little cottage. These are so darling!!}

{A’s toy store didn’t last quite as long as the other paper crafts, and little brother got a hold of it and dismantled it!}

I highly recommend this website- if your kiddos love paper and glue as much as mine, you are sure to find hours worth of fun here. Our crafting project eventually became a photography project as well. We set up a mini-backdrop on the window sill and with a piece of blue paper created a sky to give the scene depth.

Posted in crafts, fairies, just me | 2 Comments »

Hello There Blog . . .

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Just checking in, seeing as I have devoted such a measly amount of attention to my blog family as of late. Life has certainly been busy and I can hardly believe that our summer days are dwindling!

Recent projects include:

Photo shoots and then some more shoots
Big changes to Studiocharm
Studio construction–drywall, framing and new steps this week
Completion of a mural project (yes, I still paint once in a while)
Watching the Olympics!! Go USA :)
School shopping with the kiddos- back to school already?
A fabulous wedding I photographed last Saturday– will be posting pictures soon!
A last-minute campout with the family also last Saturday
Two HUGE (7’x5′) faux stained glass windows nearing completion
Working on keeping the dirty dishes at bay
Marketing plans for upcoming expo and boutiques- Sept. & Oct.
Discovering dino bones at Thanksgiving Point (see photo)
Desperately wanting to find time to update the website and this rusty old blog.
Watching my kiddos closely so that they don’t grow up too fast. I think it is already happening!
Smoochin’ the DH- can’t resist this one! 😉
Reception to photograph tomorrow night in Provo Canyon
RS responsibilities (trying to keep my church commitments a priority- I am currently serving in the Relief Society)
and last but not least, burning the midnight oil.

Q: I’ve been asked from time to time, “How do you do it all?”
A: “I don’t . . . I just do a little of a lot of things. I struggle to keep a balance and know that I will be working at that for the rest of my life.”

A quote from my 6 year old S. while completely enamored with Presto the Magician at a magic show we attended last week: “He’s magic alright!!” She was in awe of his awesome skills, and I admit being impressed too. I wish I had a bit of his magic powers. One of the first things I’d do with said powers is tackle that ever expanding laundry mountain!


{Having a little fun along the way while trying to keep my sweet little ones safe from the giant brontosaurus feet! M. has the most awesome sound effects of a dinosaur growl. He melts my heart.}

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Orem Summer Fest

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Hello everyone, hello neglected blog. We spent a good portion of the day preparing to go to the Orem Summer Fest and consequently participating in the OSF with our financial contribution spent on tickets to be used on the carnival rides, $1 bills to be spent ever so casually, and the last of our cash reserves to furnish a cup of sprite and a billowy pink serving of cotton candy. Mmmmm, sugar!

I didn’t even bring a camera to document our expenditures, and more importantly, M. on the carousel with a grin from ear to ear. Also noteworthy, and photoworthy: A. backing her way off of the Indiana Jones adventure climbing/ slide contraption with a sudden burst of tears as she couldn’t quite figure out how to escape the ride entirely. More reasons I should have brought the camera: the three kiddos sat inside a real fire engine and ambulance with no emergency at all. There was plenty of sliding on the standard playground equipment (for free, even better!) and because I had earned my stripes and we were all famished, we indulged in a comfort food meal at Cafe Rio (didn’t we eat there last week?). I have to say all of this was done with out the assistant of VIP (very important parent), AKA DH. Yes, I was feeling quite adventurous. Next time I am definitely bringing the hubby along!

Also- a shout out to my great and talented friend Britt! She’s got some beautiful hair accessories
for sale in her booth at the OSF and graciously allowed me to display one of my fairy canvases in the booth. I will include a link to her website shortly. The OSF will continue the whole day tomorrow.

Also coming soon: plenty of pictures of the latest storybook canvases. I am SO excited about where we’re headed with these . . . I have lost sleep over it!! Here’s a spot with more information previously posted about the canvases. Click here for the first fairy canvas images.

Posted in fairies, just me | 1 Comment »