One month to go...

Today is September 30th. In one month, it will be October 30th. My due date. At times, I feel like this baby wants out right now and I think, "Oh, wow, that will be nice not to be pregnant anymore!" Then I quickly get fearful and think, "I haven't washed her sheets! I don't have proper curtains in the room! I am not even sure what the two other kids will be doing when I have to go to the hospital! Do I need to pack a bag? Should the baby have a fancy coming home outfit?" I think I need these last 30 days. As though the previous nine months haven't been enough time to mull these important matters over...

But, the reality of the baby's arrival really hit home over the weekend when I received a terrific surprise organized by my older sister. A drawback to the military lifestyle is that many of my dearest friends are not the nearest, geographically speaking. But, as another military spouse, my sister appreciated that fact and created a Baby Shower in a Box for me, contacting friends and mailing a huge box of gifts to me. The thoughtfulness from so many was so touching to me and really helped me tangibly realize there is a new little person coming to our family.

The thank you cards my sister hand made certainly sums up my emotion:

The HUGE box of goodies:

All the bounty on display for a photo, then everything washable had a meeting with a bottle of Dreft detergent.

Certainly the most creative and shameless gift of the lot: onesies advertising my business! Who could of thought of such a thing? Only another photographer, Karyn Kuniyuki!

Before my first was born, I felt frantically unprepared until I bought a package of newborn sized diapers. This time, I bought the diapers three months in advance. I guess I am ready.

Woo-hoo, I won!

My entry into I Heart Faces' Completely Candid contest this week was awarded FIRST PRIZE! 

If you click the link above, you can see the very stiff competition every entrant faces each week. 

If you click HERE you can see my entry. I am indeed honored and pretty excited with my win. Now to try to outdo myself next week and the next and the....!

What's in the Bucket?

Strange things lurk under the green bucket on my back patio. I have photographic evidence now.

I ♥ Faces Contest, Week 37 :: Candid

Many of my pictures are candids: snapping a shot while my daughter runs around the backyard or capturing a fleeting moment between brother and sister. So I had a lot of pictures I could have used for this week's I Heart Faces challenge. But there was one particular series of pictures I took back in June that sprang to mind.

After a children's event in Austin, I encountered Art, a street artist, and started a conversation with him. As we spoke, he sketched an amazing pencil drawing of my stepson and me. And I took his picture. (You can see the full post HERE.)

Click the button below to add your entry to this week's contest:

Rinse Cycle :: Harker Heights Children's Photographer

I wondered if my purchase of a raincoat for my daughter was just wasted money (might explain why it was on sale...no one else was silly enough to think it would rain in Central Texas), but I was vindicated a week or so ago when the skies parted and it RAINED. Torrents of rain that actually resulted in flooding. The very dry earth just couldn't absorb all this new liquid. We had our own bit of a lake forming in the backyard and who was I to say no to a pitiful request to don the giraffe raincoat, slip on the far too small froggie rainboots and grab an umbrella for a jaunt outside in the rain.

Here you can see the gradual and enthusiastic metamorphosis from dry to wet, toddler style:

Preschool :: Harker Heights Children's Photographer

(My three year old has been back to her twice a week preschool for two weeks now, but life events have prevented me from posting her first day pictures sooner.)

After humiliating my stepson on his first day of school (click HERE to see that post), I felt compelled to exact the same torture on my daughter. But you know, the three year old was far less cooperative, even though she felt none of the embarrassment of her brother. She just wanted to get to school and have nothing to do with posing for cute photos. However, persistence being one of the most necessary tools in a photographer's bag of tricks, I did manage to preserve a few of the morning's details.

She would not pose on the front step, but after reentering the house, kept coming closer and closer to me with a huge, goofy grin on her face. I caught this picture and in it I see a glimpse of what she will look like in a few more years. I guess she is growing up...

A nutritious breakfast of bread, butter and strawberries...we just aren't big on protein around here!

If we escape our nomadic military lifestyle and stay put, it will be great fun to see how much she grows compared to the tree.

I took a similar picture last year (click HERE) and am amazed at the changes in just 12 months.

And here is Ms. Independent, marching into school with confidence, armed with her Handy Manny Rolling Backpack and her new lunchbox. I think she might have remembered to kiss me goodbye...

I ♥ Faces Contest, Week 36 :: Contemplative

As a mother, I find I have little time to be contemplative. Between determining the culinary fare for a three year old and a teenager, remembering to take my prenatal vitamin, running from this errand to that, I just don't pause and think deep thoughts. There was a time when I was more reflective on the world around me: towards the end of high school and start of college. So it really is not a surprise that my entry this week for I Heart Faces' challenge of Contemplation is one of a high school senior, ready to step out into the world. I can only imagine the dreams, aspirations and fears tumbling through this beautiful girl's mind as she balances between girl and woman.

We also have the fun of a Pet's Category. As you can tell by the REALLY thick glass, this is not a pet, per se. I cannot envision lavishing hugs and kisses on this fellow, but I love the drama of the shot.

Come on over and join the fun! Not only are the weekly contests fun, there is a ton of information and cool giveaways throughout the week.

Remembering Grandpa

What can you say to adequately convey the almost 82 years of a man's life? In the funeral program, we were given facts and figures of a life spent working hard and the number of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who survived him. But what of the man?

My grandpa, who left his cancer riddled body last week to rejoice in Heaven, was one of the hardest working, most dedicated men I have known. Even in death, I recognize he was not flawless, but I do see the pure heart of a man who loved God, loved his wife and family and always sought to do his best in every job he was given.

I can look around my house and see tangible evidence of his love for his family: the letter he wrote to me when I was in college, the walking stick he carved by hand for me, the last birthday card I will ever receive from him, mentioning his pleasure from our most recent visit and his desire to do it again next year. Next year, sadly, won't come.

As a photographer, I also have pictures of Grandpa. Lots of pictures. More pictures than many other family members. And I was so glad to be able to share those memories with everyone at the funeral who also loved my grandpa. A request for pictures went out among family members for a slideshow that would be shown at the funeral. Immediately, my uncle asked me to send "that one of me and Daddy laughing, before the palsey made it hard for him to smile. I have that one framed at home." And I scoured my photo albums for prints and my digital files for JPEGs. In the process, I uncovered some wonderful memories and reaffirmed to myself the infinite value of pictures. They don't have to be great, they don't have to be perfectly framed, they simply need to be taken. There will never be another picture of my grandfather. Never. 

In my house, in my files, I hold gold: the precious images of a beloved man, cherished by all who knew him.

Branson, MO, 2001

Laying out corn for the deer, Eureka Springs, AR, 2001

My uncle and grandpa, laughing at my cousin's wedding, Fayetteville, AR, 2003

My grandparents with their three children, Eureka Springs, AR, 2004

My daughter with her great grandparents, Thanksgiving 2006

My niece with her great grandfather, Pine Bluff, AR, 2008

My daughter and nephew with Grandpa, Thanksgiving 2008

Great grandparents with 5 of their 8 great grandchildren, Thanksgiving 2008

Reading the funnies, Pine Bluff, AR, March 2009

Married 61 years, a testament to all who knew them, July 2009

My stepson's first opportunity to meet Grandpa was also his last. I am so glad we made that trip. July 2009