You in the Pictures

I don't have a lot of pictures of me just being with the boys, and over the past week Paul has been changing that and these pictures mean more to me than I would have imagined.

We played Ring Around the Rosy - until the boys, who were wearing white, dramatically fell down at the end of the little chorus onto the red brick. That game ended and we moved on to London Bridges.

We giggled and played and Paul captured the precious moments.

This picture so beautifully captures one of my favorite things about Judah as a 3 year old. Throughout each day he frequently says to me; 

"Mommy, hold my hand."

Take some time this week to pass your camera to your spouse or a friend and ask them to take pictures of you just being with your children. Nothing fancy, staged or perfect.

Just the every day.

They will be cherished pictures.

I promise. 

Sharing on Chatting at the Sky.

It is Coming!

I am working on the next in the series on Green Smoothies - thanks for being so patient!

We have been busy cleaning house - yesterday we tore up all the carpeting in Paul's office. We discovered that our entire upper level has dreamy wood floors and we can't wait to get rid of all the carpeting! His office is the first room we have cleared of carpet and I am already exhausted! 

Judah has developed a passion for games and on Sunday we played no less than 10 games. Exhausting.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to those that have voted for my photograph! It means a lot to me that so many of you would take the time to vote. The photography festival isn't until the beginning of June and I believe the voting is open until then. I will keep you posted if I place! 

And finally, I have posted a few new posts on my BOY TERRAIN blog, the most recent being about their felt swords.

Dramatic Black and White

Paul taught Wesley how to do perfect push ups. 

The top photograph is my submission for I Heart Faces, but I couldn't not post the series of pictures I took of Wesley getting his lesson.

"Focusing on Angles"

From our recent trip to the zoo.

Insecurities

I did something new, scary and thoroughly out of my element. 

I submitted some of my photography to a store to be sold.

The last few months I have discovered some interesting things about myself, top among them being insecurities about my photography. 

When I was in Charleston I spent an entire day taking pictures of things - the beach, the buildings - objects that were just there. I realized in taking all the pictures of things that I enjoyed it much more than I enjoy taking pictures of people because there was no risk of disappointing people with subpar photography.

I was pretty surprised to discover those hidden insecurities. But they are there. And they are real. 

Since realizing my insecurities I have decided to do something about them - and thus, in part, my search to find a store that would carry my photography. 

I feel very much out of my element - out of control. Vulnerable to other peoples criticism. Exposed. 

It's hard to acknowledge my insecurities. 

It is harder still to tackle them and decide to do something about it.

It feels - weird.

And I don't particularly like it.

And I hope the weird feeling passes quickly.

I shared that submitting my photography was in part to aid me in getting out of my comfort and "safe" zone - the other part of it is because Paul and I have started a year long challenge with each other. We've dubbed it "The $20 Bill Challenge" and I am so excited about it! I will share more in depth about it later this week.

But until then - I want to know:

How have you pushed yourself out of your "comfort zone"?

And did it feel weird?

Engagement Shoot

A few favorites from an engagement shoot yesterday, taken out at her grandfathers farm.

Theme: Hands On

 

From an engagement shoot yesterday.

Dance

I did her senior pictures back in December.

She has been dancing since she was 3 years old.

Valentine

 

Happy Valentines Day! 

 

  

There's a few more pictures from our impromptu photo shoot here.

His Embarrassing Secret Revealed...

A few friends and I started a group a couple of weeks ago on Facebook to encourage ourselves to take more pictures and better pictures. Each week we have two challenges we have to photograph - one of the challenges for this week was low angle photography. I spent part of the morning on my belly with the boys - Judah is fairly easy to photograph as he will follow instructions and hold still for longer than a split second. Wesley on the other hand was hard to photograph as he is always moving!

These two ended up being my favorite though - Wesley with underwear on his head and then seeming to be embarrassed about the first picture.

Let me know if you're interested in joining the photography group, it's just for fun and we'd love to have more people play along each week!

Charleston, SC

 

My time in Charleston was wonderfully fun, but it's great to be back home.

Judah's comment when we walked in the door was; "You missed me so you wanted to come find me?"

Missed you I did dear Judah!

To see more pictures from Charleston you can click on the above picture to see an entire album on Facebook.

The Beauty at the End of the Day

 Paul is working in Charleston S.C. for a few days and I am down here with him. My wonderful sister is staying with the boys, for which I am very grateful.

I arrived here just before sunset last evening and went straight to the beach.

We come to this beach a few times each summer.

I have never seen it so empty.

So deserted.

So beautiful.

The way the sun hit the water, the sand and the sea shells was breath taking.

 

I was the only person there, surrounded by all this beauty.

It was the first sunset I have attempted to capture, so it was extra special to me.

Today, while Paul is working, my plans are to roam the streets of Charleston and attempt to capture some of the charm of the city.

But my mind is still thinking of the beauty of the sunset and the One who made it.

Check out more Tuesday's Unwrapped.

Texture

I have been meaning to join in the i heart faces fun each week and when I saw the challenge this week was texture I decided now was as good a time as any to jump in!

I captured this mans picture November '08 when I took out my friends dslr camera on a trial run. This man was fishing and had such a captivating face. I know you're probably suppose to add a texture to the picture, but I am submitting this one as I think it has a lot of natural texture.

Check out more i heart faces submissions!

Pictures from Our Backyard

 

 It has warmed up here and we are practically living outside.

Paul is doing much better, but is still taking it easy as he's not quite back to normal. So we sit on the porch and watch our boys entertain themselves.

The boys are loving exploring and digging. They were given some digger trucks for Christmas and a couple of them have made their way outside.

I have been taking my camera out with us a lot. I play a game with myself where I pick one lens before heading out and then only use that lens for the time we're outside. These pictures were all taken with the Nikon 50mm f.1.8

I love this lens!

It was the first lens I bought (apart from the kit lens) and would highly recommend it!

 

We've got some poison berries growing in our yard. I really should read up on what to do when your child accidentally eats these as I am pretty sure Wesley will attempt to eat them one day. He's funny like that.

Green mossy stuff growing on a rock.

 

Some sticks.