Sarah's turn!

Sarah was still getting over a cold (and the last of her 2 year molars) when I took those photos of the boys. So, as we played in the beautiful 65 degree unseasonably warm March twilight, I got a few fun shots.




Just a classic Sarah look.


She really doesn't look like a toddler anymore! She's all girl...




She hit herself on the head with the shaft of a golf club! I love that pout!

New photos of the boys

Thomas was being so cute this morning. He's been sick all week and is finally starting to feel better. We were having some one on one time sharing a nectarine, when he announced, with head in hands "I really do like nectarines when they're not hard. They're really yummy when their soft and juicy like these!"

I agree : )

I'd just returned from a Lifestyle Kids 6 month photo session and had my camera handy, so I snapped this:



Then Jacob emerged from the basement, asking for chocolate cake. I bribed him (since he doesn't like to be photographed). Here's the fruit of the bribe... not too bad!



Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when I informed Jacob (who has had a fever for the last two nights) that he'd be taking a nap when his siblings nap. His pronouncement: "That's the worst thing I've ever heard!"

Oh well.

I am back! I promise.

Without having an internet connection (I am 37,000 feet above the earth as I type this) I think the last time I blogged was November. Seriously, I think I’ve been too busy. I remember telling Brad at Thanksgiving that I just needed to make it to the second week of February and things would settle down. So, I began counting down the weeks…

Here I sit, on the way to Scottsdale, on the 15th of February. Back in November, I could never have anticipated what lay ahead of me. All of the busyness and business expansion happened, if not because of my efforts then in spite of them : ) But, adding to the life lessons we pick up along the way was a resounding sense of the Lord saying “not your plans, Mine.”

Today marks the first day of my third trimester of this pregnancy. I am amazed that I still battle nausea daily. It is not as debilitating as it was in the first weeks, but I am growing weary of it. Having said that, a friend of mine was so sick with her last baby that she had to have an IV line inserted so that she could receive fluids and anti-nausea meds throughout the duration of her gestation. So, really, I have nothing to complain about. I am functionally pretty normal (though I am guessing that those close to me are secretly really looking forward to me not being pregnant any more!). I am convinced that being pregnant at 30 is entirely different than being pregnant at 23. This has been a poignant reminder that my body is aging. I am so looking forward to meeting our little Joel Andrew in May. He certainly is a busy little guy.



Joel about 10 weeks ago. We think his profile looks like Tommy's did in utero.

The last time I put any of my thoughts here for you to see, I promised to talk about my Grandma’s visit with her dear friend, Beth. Grandma reminded me of this last week, though I hadn’t really ever forgotten. I just hadn’t found the time. When Grandma and Grandpa flew from New Mexico (actually, they flew from Texas but live in NM) to Minnesota for my birthday in October, I had the privilege of accompanying my Grandmother (dad’s mom) to visit her friend, Beth. Beth lives just outside the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and Grandma rarely sees her. I think the last time they saw each other was the weekend of my wedding, almost 10 years ago. They talk to each other by phone and email often. In fact, I think Beth and Grandma have a scheduled phone date just like Grandma and Grandpa and I do. Let me re-emphasize one thing here, my Grandmother, who is in her 80s, uses email to communicate with her friend between phone conversations. I was 13 when I got my first computer – a 486! - and Grandma sent me my very first email. This was not someone to reluctantly come to terms with the technological age, she blazed into it ready and willing. Most of you would envy the Macs that grace their desktops.

Since so many months have passed since their visit, I fear I cannot remember how many years Beth and Grandma have known each other. My Grandpa and Beth’s husband graduated from West Point together in the 40s. The women didn’t meet then, though. I seem to remember that they met at Fort Bliss after they were both married. This, however, could be mere construct on my part. Perhaps the funniest part of hearing their stories as they related them to one another and to me was Grandma’s admission that she didn’t like Beth at all when they first met. It had something to do with Beth’s earrings, I think. I am glad that mere pieces of metal did not end up getting in the way of this life-long friendship.

Two thinks struck me, as I sat with these two wonderful women. First, that they’d already been fast friends for 20 or more years at the time that I was born. Somehow, that gave a little more weight to my dad’s assertion that while we’re given our family, we have the privilege of adding to it with our friends. The second thing that really hit home that afternoon was this: we all have stories. Of course we will all tacitly nod at this statement, or even think to ourselves “of course we do, what a obvious thing to say.” But really, as we live our lives, day by day we’re building our legacies.

Each time a President leaves office, or a new administration begins, we hear talk of legacy building. It seems to reference the large things, the things about the presidency that will stand out on the landscape of history. I am not speaking here about events. What I took from this afternoon spent with my Grandmother and her friend was a sense of a joint legacy, a shared history that was more than mere shared experience. We all have that opportunity each day that we live. We can choose to just “get through the next few days/weeks/months” as I referred to at the beginning of this post, or we can live each of those days to do the best we can for those with whom we interact; not only the people we love but the people we don’t even know. The deep breath we take and the smile on our faces after waiting in a long line at a store with cranky kids, or the choice we make not to complain about the road construction or the $15 per bag fee when we check our luggage.

At the end of the day, my gut-check is this: Did I teach my children to love Jesus more in what I did and didn’t do, and in doing so do I love Him more? Sadly, too many days, I think my answer is “no”. As my story builds and I add to a shared history with those around me, I strive to have more days where my answer is “yes,” but only with His help, strength and grace.


Grandma is the one with the lovely white hair. I do hope I inherit this beautiful white (I seem to have inherited the other characteristics of her hair, why not that?).

Thank you and Goodnight

I was just turning off the local news, and for some reason held on to that phrase as I was about to close my computer and head to bed. "Thank you, and goodnight" I said to my computer. Seriously. Hmmm. I believe I am tired.

For the last two days, I have not taken a nap. This would be quite a feat for a two year old, but shouldn't seem like such a big deal to me. Except that it is. Have you noticed that I haven't posted since September? No, I didn't get tired of blogging. Just tired. Twelve weeks later, I am beginning to wake up. Do you see where this is going? This weekend will conclude my first trimester of my fifth pregnancy. We are happily (even more happily now that the morning sickness - really all day sickness - has tapered) expecting our FIFTH little person baby! Our kids are thrilled, even little Sarah seems to get it.

Brad and I were excited to meet our first little niece almost three weeks ago now. Little Mckenna was born to Brad's sister and her husband and she is a beautiful baby! I got to take her photos, of course. Though, I don't know how her mom and dad could have said "no," I didn't really give them much choice : )



Sarah thanks Jesus every night for "baby kenna," as she can't quite say "Mckenna" yet. She's quite in love with the cousin she's met only once. She will make a great big sister, of that we couldn't be more sure.



That's Tommy (age 3) and Sarah (2) with little Mckenna. Ironically, Jacob was behind the camera. Literally. He grabbed his uncle's point and shoot and started clicking. I bet they got some interesting photos.

I really do need to go to bed now, but wanted to get back into the habit of posting. So, here was a start. Next, I'll get to tell you about my visit with my Grandma Shannon and her dear friend, Beth. Stay tuned.

It's almost Eli's birthday

I was about to head to bed and happened to glance over at the side of my computer screen where I have my email sorted into folders. I have a whole folder of emails from when we were anticipating Eli's birth. It was so amazing to sit and read some of them. I loved reading the words Brad wrote to others as he spoke about our son. He handled a good amount of the communication with our friends and family, and then with people who were friends of friends of friends... Wow. We were so blessed to not only have the privilege of carrying and meeting our beautiful first born son, but to have so many families come along side of us with prayers, with love and with their own stories. To all of you who walked along side of us during Eli's brief visit to this earth, thank you. This Saturday, September 6, 2008 will be his 6th birthday. Please know that as you carried us, we've been so humbled to be able to extend that to so many others. And the gift goes on...

Portland CityFest

I am having a ball at the Portland CityFest with Luis Palau! I saw some cool extreme sports, BMX and FMX! That is clearly not my photography strength... Here are a couple, bmx and skateboarding!





It's so much fun to be here on site with the Palau organization. This is such an amazing team. Last night, I got to see Chris Tomlin and some really neat guests of the festival! I even saw the family from TLC's Little People Big World. According to the estimates from the park police, there were 75,000 people here yesterday. Wow.

Tonight Hawk Nelson, Mercy Me and Toby Mac will take the mainstage. Jacob and Tommy would love to see Toby Mac!

Here's a photo of Brad photographing Chris Tomlin... just doing what he does.

I get to go shoot with Brad!

I've posted before about Brad's work with the Luis Palau Association. This time, I get to join him and I am so excited! Portland Fest is this week... I'll post more : )

My kids, again!

We went to Como Zoo today. I grew up going to Como - It was wonderful! It's so much more kid friendly than the MN Zoo (of which we are members... so no Zoo bashing here), partly because it's smaller, so it's easier for little legs. I didn't have to carry anyone out of the park! We had a ball. Here is Jacob, in charge of his siblings, headed toward the entrance. He managed to get them turned around to indulge his mom's desire to snap a photo. Sarah really is there underneath that baseball cap. She wanted to wear one, since her brothers were, but all I had for her was my MN Gopher Hockey cap. She couldn't really see well at all ; )



We had fun looking at the HUGE Gorillas in the primates building. When we walked out of the building, Jacob and Tommy began singing a favorite Veggie Tales Silly Song, the lyric is this "If it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey - even if it has a monkey kind of shape - if it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey, if it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey it's an ape!"

So, the natural follow up question from Mom: "was the Gorilla a monkey or an ape?" They considered it for a moment - and with a good amount of confidence announced that it was an ape. Good job, boys. Thanks Veggie Tales : )



I was just musing about technology with my dad. He told me that when my Grandmother was born, commercial radio was not even on the air yet. And here are my kids, fewer than 90 years later, playing on a computer together. Jacob told me today, "my game isn't loading. Maybe if we turn it off and turn it back on again, it will work." Of course, it did. We'd expect that of a kid in this generation. My first computer was a IBM 486. It had just about enough power to type a letter. I thought I was pretty cool! It didn't have spell check, and I typed a whole paper about education and spelled it "edjucation." The irony.



We go to the pool a bit in the summer (yes, it really is warm enough for that in MN) and while the kids LOVE the water, I think sometimes they love the snack bar more!

A man of many dimples : )

I had trouble choosing which of these to pick... this was such a fun session! I photographed this little guy for the first time about 3 months ago, when it was cold and we were stuck inside. I don't think I've ever seen dimples like this little guy has. Amazing!

Baby JD

This little guy was out cold for most of his session. He shut his eyes just as I walked in his front door. He was about 3 weeks old here and just adorable! I had the privilege of photographing his whole family about 2 months ago when I came to do his mom's maternity session. It always such a treat to see the little person who was growing inside : ) Oh, and thanks to his parents' sense of adventure - we took a few in the long grass of their backyard. Truly a backdrop I never considered for a newborn!

Look what I found in my inbox today

I opened my email this evening, after teaching all night and missing my kids' bedtime. In it was 9 email notifications that I'd received an e-card. I'd received 9 e-cards from my son, Jacob. Jacob is 4 and has access to a laptop set up for the kids. Apparently, he asked Brad this morning for my email address, written on a piece of paper. He did this all by himself, and I am a proud mom.

Connor's Slideshow

I met Connor and his family when I did his newborn photos. One month later they invited me into their home to do a Lifestyle Kids session and capture how much he'd grown, as well as some wonderful photos of his beautiful big sister. He's so blessed to have her! I had so much fun with them. Enjoy!




Oh, and by the way, I am home in Minnesota now!

Getting ready to head home

Well, since arriving in Arizona 7 weeks ago, I've been largely silent on my blog... working 13 hour days will do that. But, things are up and running here - thanks to my amazing team of photographers - and we're looking at heading home next week. I've learned lots of amazing things here, not the least of which is that 85 degrees in the dark with no humidity is actually pretty cool. And by "cool" I mean "chilly," as opposed "neat," although that adjective also applies. This comment is largely for the Midwesterners reading this blog, who have long made fun of people from the south/southwest. The other thing I learned is that it takes a lemon a really long time to ripen on a tree. We have a lemon tree in our back patio area at the house in which we are staying. The kids and I have been watching the same lemon ripen since we got here. It's just about ready!

Yesterday I killed my first (and hopefully last) scorpion. I really have no issues with bugs, I am usually the appointed bug-handler in our house. But, I must admit, that was a bit much for me. Tommy got into a tussle with some fire ants about a week ago. At first, they had the upper hand (and have left the bites to prove it), but then Tommy introduced them to the fountain he was playing in - and they lost. All of that said, I've not seen one mosquito! ; )

Our team here consists of four amazing women, I am so blessed to have them in our world. Heather, Laura, Jacqueline and Michelle make up the photographic talent of First Day Photo Arizona, and are a wonderful team to build on! Laura had us come to a favorite photo spot the other day to do some family photos a la Arizona. Here are just a few. THANK YOU LAURA! Jacob was in his typical "I hate pictures" form (at least he wasn't asking her to erase them... sometimes that's the direction he goes), so we had to get creative! Enjoy - and think of us next week with our little ones - ROADTRIP!

The boys

Here's a rare photo of our boys. They have to have equal time, you see. The last post was a photo of their sister : )

A new photo of Sarah and Mom

I think this is my favorite photo of me and Sarah Joy since she was about 3 weeks old! She's 19 months old now, and, to quote her big brother Jacob, she's "extremely happy!" and so are we : )

I can't believe that we don't have babies in our house anymore. She's clearly a little girl now, and so very much a GIRL! She loves shoes, dresses, dolls (only her favorites will do). But, she also loves to do anything her brothers will include her in. Right now, she's rather fond of throwing herself on the floor and having a tantrum if you tell her "no" to something she wants to do. It doesn't happen often, but it really does happen. Yikes.

Maddie's Eyelashes

Check these out!

It's cold in Arizona

Two weeks ago I had a root canal - OUCH! Hat's off to my endodontist, though. I feel much better. The next day we got in the car and drove 1600 miles with our kids. We've been in Arizona for the last couple weeks starting a new contract with a health system. Last week, the temperature reached 113 degrees, admittedly hot (especially for a girl raised in Minnesota). Yesterday, I think the high was 58. Brad was in Wisconsin shooting a wedding and I think the weather was nicer there than here. Yes, I know that this isn't a weather blog : ) Although it does seem to me that people from colder climes have a bit of an obsession with the topic. What I find really funny is that my kids thought that 60 degree weather was chilly and they didn't want to go outside. Just 2 weeks ago (at home in MN), that would have felt wonderful to them. I will say that I'll take 100 in AZ over 100 in MN any day of the year. It's supposed to be hot again over the weekend.

Erin (the Erin in the wedding photos in a former post) asked me whether there were cactus or palm trees here. The answer: both. And citrus trees (there's a lemon tree in our back yard!), and other really beautiful deciduous trees I've never seen before. I've also never seen cactus in bloom, or pink cactus, for that matter. Obviously, this is really only interesting to those who have not been to Arizona - like me.

I've been getting a wonderful response from the hospital staff in our new sites. They are really excited by what we offer and are such a pleasure to work with. We're really pleased to be here in AZ, but we miss our friends at home : )

Our new logo!

Introducing the new "face" (or would that be flower) of First Day Photo. We've needed a redesign for sometime, and a great collaboration from some talented designers brought us this! Thank you so much Em and Erin... I love it, and so do our clients!

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Today was Maddie's first birthday! We took her photos in the hospital, and I took her 6 month photos, too. Today, I got to meet Maddie and her Mom and Dad and Grandma to take her 1 year photos. Here are a few cute ones:

Two Cuddly Cuties

Take a look at these two cuddly cuties! These sisters were almost exactly the same weight at birth (within a fraction of an ounce) and were so much fun to photograph. Thanks, mom and dad of these girls, for letting me share your daughters with our First Day Photo world : )