off to haiti

So I'm off to haiti today. We won't actually get there till tomorrow but the flights are supposedly on time and things are actually happening. I've been holding my breath for the past couple weeks, not really knowing if I should actually pack or not.

David is staying home to hold down the fort...kind of scary...LOL! He's got this strategy where he acts totally helpless and clueless and the kids all pull together and keep everything running smoothly....grrr! Why can't they do that while I'm home? So NOT fair!

He's also got to drop off proofs to headstart and bring in all the current orders. However, if you are reading this and you have recently put in an order, we will not be mailing orders out till I get home so things should come together in the first week of March.

I'm looking forward to hugging my sister and her kids...it's been too long.

drake's going home!

Today we went up to the hospital to visit Drake & his mom & dad. They had just had a meeting w/the dr and decided not to do the experimental treatment for cmv. There are so many side effects and no long term studies so after much prayer and lots of research Nate & Brook decided against it.

Drake is deaf in his right ear and this virus may or may not attack the other ear & possibly his eyes w/in the next 2 years but the treatment was not guaranteed to work either and the side effects just too severe.

So after scheduling lots of dr appts for testing and other things they are going to be allowed to take him home. His big sister Mae will be so excited...she's been waiting and waiting, and I'm sure Noah will be thrilled to have his parents back home.

We just will continue to pray for Drake, that the virus will not do anymore damage and that he can be a healthy active little boy like his big brother.

still praying

Today I had the adventure of photographing Farmington Headstart pre-school kids in my studio. They had just a ton of energy! We were done though in less than 45 minutes.

After that I had to stop at a couple of stores to get some more supplies for Haiti. I'm supposed to be boarding a plane this Sunday if everything goes according to plan. I've packed 2 big suitcases full of stuff to take there.

When I got home I had to hurry and get the pictures edited and get the proofs ordered so we can get them in next week.

I really wanted to go back up to the hospital to spend some more time w/my new great nephew "Drake" but ran out of time. I got to hold him yesterday and he just stared at me for the longest time. Of course I told him I am his favorite aunt (gotta start that early:) and just enjoyed holding him. He's so precious. We are still praying for a miracle for him. He's been in the nicu since he was born last week. He's been diagnosed w/CMV (a pretty serious virus) and it has been a roller coaster of tests and results every day. I think his parents are about worn out! Take a minute and pray for Nate & Brook & baby Drake after you read this. Pray for wisdom, strength, & comfort for his parents, and the miracle of God's healing for Drake.

Luke's Room

Today as a surprise to our youngest child, the one who's bedroom still kind of looked like a nursery, we remodeled his room while he was at school.

I guess because he was the last baby, his bedroom just stayed looking like a baby's room but now that he's 9 we figured he'd really like a new look.

Luke loves skateboarding so we used that in our ideas. My husband had the idea of making one wall look like an old brick wall w/graffiti so we went w/that. I think it turned out pretty cool and for once we actually surprised Luke. He's kind of a snoop and finds Christmas & birthday gifts before the day he's supposed to open them.

I had to meet w/our tax man this morning so while I was doing that, David filled holes, taped and cut in w/bright blue paint. I got home about 12:30 and helped finish the walls while David grabbed lunch. Then David started bringing in the wall that he had already been working on in the garage the day before. I also put a fresh coat of paint onto his dresser and then David hung some big hooks to mount his skateboards while I put up tony hawk stickers. We finished w/about 5 minutes to spare:)

I think he won't grow out of this one too fast. He loved it. Of course as soon as Jessica saw it her comment was "my turn"....it never ends!

Baby Drake

I took these of my adorable new great nephew "Drake". He was born yesterday early morning and has had a pretty rough start. He actually had started to bleed into his brain and we are even now waiting for the latest brain scan to see if he's going to be okay. He has been doing better today & we are praying that he will continue to improve. I bet over a million prayers have gone up for this little guy in the past 24 hours.

snow sick.

So after being on day 6 of the 30 day shred, I found this way more effective way to lose a couple of pounds....called the stomach flu. I don't recommend it...however I did lose 4lbs in 1 day. Now if I can just find a way to stay dehydrated and keep it off:)

After about 3 days of not feeling super great, last night I finally started feeling a little more myself, which is good because today I'm supposed to take a bunch of 3 & 4 year olds pre-school pics.....depending on if they HAVE school. I'm still waiting to hear if the shoot is on because of course we've had another 1/2 foot of snow.

I'm kind of glad that our school is in session today. After a snow day yesterday my younger boys are antsy and need to go today! However, they are not happy about it.

Is anyone else ready for green grass and blue skies?

more puppy pics

Well they are 4 weeks old now so here are a few more pics...I know, I've posted more pics of my pups than my kids but they are so cute at this age!

The first 2 are of the puppy we are keeping. We are calling her Sierra. The next 3 pics are a little boy that we've nicknamed Bolt because he has a lightning bolt on his back. He's the tiniest boy but pretty spunky!

The next 2 are of a girl we call Panda. Then 2 of Diesel. Diesel has alreay got a home and they've chosen his name and I think it fits him really well! He did NOT care for having his picture taken and howled thru most of them:)

Then we've got 2 of Mac (just a nickname because his new owners have yet to come up w/one). I've been calling him Mac because he is built like a mack truck!

The last pics are of MissT (she's got a T on her back). She's is the tiniest of all of them and soooo cute.

Preschool Sessions

This past week I've begun booking the spring preschool sessions. I love photographing the preschool aged kids! It's always a challenge to get past the "practiced" smiles and get a few real ones. I was able to book one for Feb. and the others in March. March is looking busy, busy, busy!

I am still planning on going to Haiti the end of February and then I've got a weekend in Springfield the first part of March and then we will be gone the last week of March so it's a bit of a challenge to fit some work in there somewhere:)

We're weaning our colt so he's over at my sister's farm w/a bunch of other foals his age. I'm waiting for some snow and then I'm taking a camera over there. These guys are so cute together. There are 6 black foals all in the same paddock together. Black foals + white snow = really awesome pictures.

Our pups are growing so quickly! We already have homes for 2 of them and we've decided to keep one (crazy, I know) so we just have 3 more we need to find homes for. They are hilarious to watch right now! I need to get more pics of them too.

I've also started the tortureous dvd called "the 30 day shred"...thankyou kristin...I think? Ouch! Just the name alone hurts, however, it's getting easier everyday so I think I'll probably live through it. Swimsuit season's coming:)