fall into full swing

Labor day is over and that means that fall is officially here.

Last week I spent some time w/Sarah for her senior session.



Then had 2 Mia's come out for some pics

Here's the first...




Here's the second...



Friday I had the Skip Meister Family come out for a family session. We were a little worried about the wind but all in all I thought the session went really well. Even got a picture of Skip trying out the rope swing...I'm sure they'll want to frame that one and hang it in the living room:) Haven't had a time to edit those yet....that's on my to-do list for tomorrow.

The rest of the weekend was busy w/lots of friends and family coming and going. Monday morning I woke up and had 21 kids to make breakfast for!

Today I'm just going to try to regroup and get organized for the rest of the week.

Orders are flying in so it's really important for me to stay on top of everything.

And shockingly enough...we are completely out of food at our house so grocery shopping is a must today.

beyond exhausted

I don't remember ever being so tired in my life! We just got done hosting about 20 teenage girls for a weekend retreat and these girls don't stop. Between the devotions, swimming, vball, canoe race, scavenger hunt, service projects, horseback riding, & tackle football, yes that's right, these girls played some mean tackle football (I did not participate it that) there was no time for any r&r! I think we all had a blast but had hardly any sleep and then to top the weekend off my family hosted about 350 people for a hog roast & horse show on Sunday afternoon. It's Tuesday and I still haven't recovered!



I had a couple of sessions before the weekend fun, starting w/the Heinold family out at the old school center. This family had a reunion and had people come from all over to attend, including California and Mexico.


Also Kylee's owner "Steven" wanted some pics of her in action. This dog can catch a frisbee in mid air. She is quite the athlete.



Then Shelby came out for her senior session and brought along her beautiful prom dress. I love it when seniors bring out these big pretty dresses. They make for great pics.



After that I met Nick down by the river for his senior session. We had a good time running around snapping pics on the docks & by the old buildings.



After the last session I had to get serious about getting ready for the retreat so I spent a couple of days cleaning...a dreaded job. I even went so far as to clean out Logan's drawers.

Now, I think I'm a pretty laid back mom and let my guys get away w/all sorts of collections but this one I had to throw out. Can you imagine pulling open a drawer to find this.....




I had to draw the line somewhere right?

last week of juggling???

The kids are back in school this wednesday....maybe. The IB teachers are talking about a strike so maybe not? I'm not super anxious for the schedules to begin but not having to juggle quite so much will be a relief.

I'll try to remember what in the world I've been doing. I end up having to look thru my last few backed up files to remember it all:)

I took pictures of my husband's side of the family at our house for my father-in-law's 70th birthday gift. I think I forgot to post pics of that so here's one.


Here are the Klecker kids that I was just getting ready to edit before the last post.....pretty cute huh?


I had a really cool session w/Emily for her senior pics and we got to use one of the Horsemeister Friesians in some of her pictures. This was one of my favs...


On the 11th Jenna came out for her senior session. This was one of those simply beautiful sittings.


I'm in the process of uploading pics from the weekend sessions and hope to be able to get them all edited in the next few days. At this point, I feel like I'm lucky to be able to blog once every couple of weeks.

I keep telling myself that once the kids are back in school things will be a little less hectic....whenever that actually happens.

now where was i?

The only way for me to catch up on my blog is to look back on my calendar to try to figure out where I've been and what I've been doing. I tend to forget what I did yesterday if I don't write it down....too much going on I guess.

Last Saturday I ran out to the Martin's home in Brimfield to take their family pics. I was praying the whole way because the sky was DARK over that way. I got there a few minutes early and asked if everyone was there and they were so I said "lets get started", and we did. We were racing the lighting and rain and were able to beat it, but just barely. It actually started pouring before I could get to my car so we waited the worst of it out in the garage. The sky made for some dramatic backdrops though.



On Wednesday morning it was out to Bridlewood stables to photograph Brenda's horse "Fox" who is about to go to his new home in VA and Amy's mare "Nora". It was HOT and I was glad we scheduled for an early morning shoot. I was dripping by the time we were all done but these horses really were beautiful.



Thursday Jessica remodeled her room. She did this mostly on her own, picking out her paint and putting it on her walls and picking out her bedding. She decided she's done w/fairies and flowers (she's 15 so no surprise there) and went w/bright green walls and polka dots. She also decided to do away w/dressers all together and go w/these cubicles instead. I was a little worried about the color but I think it all turned out pretty cool. I should have taken "before" pics but didnt'...sorry.



On Friday Molly brought over Asher for his 3 month pics and I grabbed a laundry basket and a blanket and had some fun taking this smiley boy's pics. He's got such sparkly eyes:)



Then Friday afternoon I had a whole bunch of people show up for different reasons but then they all stayed to swim. We also found a surprise in our shed. Jamima, aka "Daisy" our duck was hatching out her eggs. This poor duck has been trying w/out success for the past 3 years to have ducklings and this year alone had layed eggs in 4 different areas before she decided the shed was safe. Twelve cute little ducklings have been added to our "ark". Between the dogs, cats, bass, & racoon we'll have to see how many actually survive. They are really adorable though.



Last night I had a friend's sister come by for some photography/editing advice and then stay to observe Caden & Gavin's session....that I have yet to edit so no pics yet.

In between session's I've had my hands full trying to keep up w/editing, ordering, shipping, and wedding contracts. So far this year was slow for weddings for me and now all of a sudden I've signed 3 in the past week. This fall is going to be busy, busy, busy.

Jordan

Jordan passed away Saturday night at 8:28. Please continue to pray for his young wife, Katelyn and their 2 little girls. The following was taken from their blog.

Monday, July 26, 2010

-I'm going to a better place.

-Is that okay with you, Baby?

-Yeah; it's what Jesus wants.



I want this to be a revival. And not just for the people in this room. For everyone.
-Jordan, 7.24.10

Revival Service.

In memory of Jordan Schroeder.

In honor of Jesus Christ.

Northwoods Community Church
Peoria, IL
Officiating: Jeff Thames and Jesse Schroeder
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010,
10:00 a.m.

Visitation:
Roanoke Apostolic Christian Fellowship Hall
Roanoke, IL
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010,
2-4 p.m. & 6-8 p.m.

Graveside service at Roanoke A.C. Church Cemetary


To God be the glory!

lots of HOT sessions...

I think my computer issues are finally solved. I've been working on 4 different ones till I could get this new one hooked up and everything downloaded on it. My third time doing that in a week...not so much fun.

It's been hot but I've still been doing lots of sessions right thru the heat.

Let see, I went out to Bluegrass Stables to shoot Ana's senior pics w/her lovely mare. It was a blast and there were just tons of places to shoot....I could have spent all evening there, so pretty.





Then I did little Caleb and his parents. It was sweltering hot during this shoot but you can't tell it by looking at him....such a doll!


Celtin is turning "2" so he came out and he had lots of fun seeing the animals and chasing Donald, who loved every minute of it:) Donald would just let him catch up enough to touch his back and then take off again. It was a riot!



And yesterday Libby came out for her senior pics. She was a trooper in 90 degree weather and 5 clothing changes, including one w/a coat! You can't even tell she was about dying in that coat...and she does look hot, but it a good way:)



In between all of these I was NOT the favorite mom and woke my kids up at 9:00 am the past couple of days to attack the weeds that are threatening to overtake us....so cruel, I know. We also went up to the hospital a couple of times to visit my mom-in-law, who is finally back home as of today, and Luke had a dentist appointment today for 3 fillings. So we are staying plenty busy this summer.

Tomorrow it's out to Brimfield for another family session....maybe it will cool down?

We are still praying for a miracle for Jordan...take a minute and lift him up to the Father.

a few pics from indiana & Jordan

we took a mini vacation to the indiana dunes over the weekend. Here's a few pics...oh yeah, pay close attention to the one w/the camper in it...check out the ac:)






On a more serious note, today I am in continual prayer for a young couple from our church. Jordan is 25 years old and has cancer...a really bad kind of cancer that he's been fighting for a year now and was told there's nothing more that can be done medically. Jordan is a husband and a father to 2 precious little girls. We are praying that God would have mercy on this family and that He would heal Jordan. Please pray for them today. You can read their story here: http://www.jkschroeder.blogspot.com/