red, white & blue

it's sure hard to get pictures of these two lately.

they are either doing their own thing...

completely distracted...

busy eating grass...

or trying to crawl away when no one is looking...

we had a great time celebrating independence day.
hope your holiday was just as relaxing and fun!

family photos

more than a month ago we had new family photos taken.
it was a hot, muggy, buggy evening.
this did not create a very good mood among us,
but our wonderful photographer was patient and kind,
and we still managed to pull it together for a few quick clicks.
since i finally got around to placing the order for family and friends,
i decided to share a few of my favorites in this post.

and because in "real life" things are not always "picture perfect"...

thanks stacie!
see you again in the fall.

photos from a three year old

ben took the camera for a few minutes the other day,
and here's what he thought was "picture perfect".

the tree

a machine, his car (or lawnmower depending on the situation) and the compost bin

grass

more tree

pretty sure this was an accidental click  :)

more tree

i am sure julia is really going to appreciate her brother someday

bark

iris and daylily

the step and his recently planted pansies

that pretty much sums it up.
he always wants to take pictures when i am.
thank goodness for digital cameras!

inspiration

 

this is what inspired this.

absolutely stunning.

and it all happens in less than a week.

until next year...

four months

last friday was four months.
this little girl is growing way too fast!

unexpected surprises

this week has been full of some unexpected surprises and encouraging moments that have left my heart full.

like taking a some quick photos after a warm afternoon walk at the park.
i had been wanting to shoot some outside photos with the kids for awhile,
and instead of trying to "schedule" time with clothes,
accessories and props like i had been wanting to do
(probably from seeing too many photo blogs and pinterest ideas),
things fell together on their own.
to me the moments i captured are perfect -
even though they are not the "perfection" i was planning in my mind.
i think i am finally learning the joy of contentment,
and letting go of comparison and expectations that often leave me feeling less than happy.
what a waste of my time.

here are a couple of the pictures i shot on monday afternoon.
they are like sunshine to me.

wishing you a happy weekend!

one month

hello all!
we're still relaxing and enjoying the holidays here at home,
but thought i'd post a few pictures of miss julia's one month photo shoot (at home, by mom).

and can't forget big brother...

hope you are still enjoying the season!

ps - take a look at the best concert post again, i got the video uploaded!
and that cute headband - a gift for julia from our friend megan.  love it!

thankful

wow!  didn't mean to take quite this long of a break from posting.
but that's how things have gone lately...
the days are flying by and my computer time has become less and less as we hurry around getting ready for baby.

this last weekend was so nice though -
we had a three day weekend at home.
just the three of us.

and on sunday afternoon we went to the park for some family pictures.
i was incredibly thankful that on short notice we were able to have some lovely photos taken.
i really didn't think we had the time (or even the budget) to do so before our baby arrived,
but thanks to referral from a friend we were able to schedule a session with a local photographer -
and we were so happy with the results!

 

she's also a mom and a local resident in our small town.
she was able to squeeze us into her full schedule.
she was great to work with - even brought elmo!
and she quickly got our photos to us.
ben has been calling her "my new friend".
thank you so much stacie!
here's a quick sampling of some my favorites...

have a wonderful week!
i hope to share more of "what" we've been up to lately very soon.