what's keeping me busy theses days

Here's a sneak peek of my newest newborn session. Finally rocked this pose I've been trying. :)

Its a bird! Its a Plane Its a.....

Bird. :)

I have to admit. I think birds are kind of dirty. I'm pretty sure my mom told me they were when I was little and now I want nothing to do with touching a bird....

But, I do think their silhouettes are cute, I once had a wooden one in my living room until it got broken, one of my favorite t-shirts has a bird on it as well as my current journal.

And I totally dig this picture I took in my backyard.

come rain or shine, my adeline

Laying next to me in bed tonight is my precious girl.

She is fantastic.

She is beautiful.

She is creative.

She is asking me to please "turn down" my computer so that she can sleep.

She is Adeline.... and I love sneaking her into bed with us at night.

Shh... don't tell.

Its a battle.

My heart is constantly at war with... well... everything.
Every. Single. Morning. I battle my body just to get out of bed.
I battle the temptation to be critical about everything.
I battle being kind when I want to be snippy.
I battle finding my worth in my weight or my wardrobe.
I battle being self-righteous when I secretly know that the sin inside me is repulsive.
I battle to go consistently to God daily, to worship Him as He deserves, to fill my heart and my mind with who He is.

Most recently I find myself battling the temptation to be overly focussed on my own abilities vs. believing what God can and will do in and through me. As Johnny & I embark on this new adventure (planting out a new church in Highland!) I am finding myself more and more aware of how little we have to offer in regards to skill, gift, experience, wisdom, etc.

And yet.

Even as I type those words tears come to my eyes.

And yet.

God is kind. He is good. He is powerful. He is loving. He is merciful. He is forgiving. He is sovereign. And because Jesus died to pay for my sins He extends these things to me...

God is kind to me. God is good to me. God is powerful on my behalf. God loves me. God is merciful to me. God forgives me. God uses his sovereignty to guide me.

And so, in the midst of these battles I am asking God to help me lift my eyes off of myself. Off of my sin. Off of my fatigue. Off of my own thoughts on how things should be done.... and onto Him. This God of infinite wisdom and power who loves me intimately & promises to guide me daily.

I choose to walk by faith.

To remember that God has been faithful to me in the past.
To believe He will continue to be faithful to me today and in the future.

To believe God will help me win the battle.

"I lift my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber or sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore."
Psalm 121



And Nicholas has green eyes. Nobody believes me but if you want to battle it out I hate to break it to you but I'm gonna win.

Cowgirl Addy & Cowboy John Michael

I've had a few requests to notify people when I'm coming to Knoxville... so here it is! I'm coming to Knoxville! If you'd like to book a session please let me know. I have a few people who have first choice because they contacted me previously but if they don't all book a session I'll be opening it up to more people. So, let me know if you're interested in a session and I'll put you on my "hold list". Tentatively my available dates will be early morning and evenings of July 8-11.

Maybe I'll even bring this awesome cowgirl/boy hat as a prop. :

blogging burnout

I don't blog a lot. I guess I can chalk it up to lack of interest. When I first got a blog I loved updating it, I loved writing about my kids, their silly antics, how they were growing and how I was coping.  Now, I love to think about blogging. If I could blog the way I twitter I'd blog all the time... but as it is I've turned out to be a blogging burnout. 

 Sometimes when I blog I feel the pressure to show lots of pictures and say little. Other times I feel a bit lame not writing much. :)  This time I'm going to keep it short and include a picture... because everyone loves pictures, especially when they're of this adorable peanut.

I'm waiting anxiously for my big sister to send me a picture of her belly. She's got a baby in it. :) This will be the first sibling we've had to have a baby and we are SO E X C I T E D.  It'll be a Thanksgiving baby and we will all be very thankful!

Meanwhile I'm staying very busy with photography, the kids are growing like weeds. I should videotape them more. They say the funniest things and have the funniest little accents/speech impediments.... which comically have transferred to many adults we know!  

Here are some of our fave things they say:

JM: Cuz I want to sometimes.

Addy: I yuv you werry werry much.

both kids: "Ganks"

JM: Umm.... Actuawee.... um... no

Well, maybe these mini posts will encourage me to post more often.

Until then.... enjoy this warm weather!

A Boy & His B

For those of you who live far away... allow me to introduce you to our 4th child... John Michael's blanket. :) He has affectionately nicknamed it, "B" which is cute because his Uncle DD also had a "B" and one day, before John Michael could really talk much DD asked us if John Michael called his blanket his "B"? I kind of rolled my eyes like, "No, why would he call it the same thing you called it? That seems weird." Not a week later John Michael started calling it his "B." I was officially humbled. :)

The original blanket came from my sister's mother-in-law. Its a super nice "Kashwear" blanket that he was immediately in love with. My sister got him a back-up blanket and also picked him up a knock off one he loves. He is rarely seen without it.









Its his best friend. You should see his face light up when we get it out of the dryer. He even asks us to "tuck it in."

Its hard to imagine that one day he'll be "over" it... but until then they're pretty much connected at the hip. :)