A Baby Shower

For your viewing pleasure...

a baby shower for my dear friend Erin,

hosted by yours truly.

 

 

The invites.

 

 The backyard seating.

 

Chalk art.

 



 

The lemonade stand.

The food table.

 

 

The cake.

 

Candy bar.



 

The mama of honor.

 

Decorate a bib or onsie.

 Guests.

 

Friends.

 

Gifts.

 

 

 The end.

 

6th Anniversary

It has been ages since I've made a post to my blog and for the four of you who read this, sorry 'bout that one! Teaching isn't a profession for the the lazy and unmotivated, that's for sure. But when you add several obligations on top of the full-time job, it can be killer. This year has been the busiest I've ever had in my life.

Today is my 6-year wedding annivesary, so I forced Mikey to take a few photos in the backyard with me. We froze our tushes off for all of about 4.5 minutes to get these:

On Grief

I've neglected my blog for awhile. With my crazy schedule of teaching, coaching, and taking classes, I don't have much down time. And I'm struggling with what to blog about. My mind's been burdened with a lot of heartache... thoughts that I'm not sure I want to type for anyone to see.

A friend of mine has shared this quote many times (it's from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables), and I found out this summer how true it is.
 

 

 

"Certain thoughts are prayers. 
There are moments when,
whatever the attitude of the body may be,
the soul is on its knees."


And I'm not sure how long it will be before the hurt starts to lessen, the tears become less frequent, and such moments become fewer and farther between. But I do know that if I didn't have my faith, I'd be a broken and bitter woman right now.


There are those whose battles have been far bigger than my own in the past couple of months. It is them I think about when my own soul has fallen to its knees.


 

Blast from the Past

If you don't know my little sister, you have never met the most beautiful girl in the entire universe. If you don't believe me, keep reading this post.

When we were little girls, I used to force her to let me apply her makeup and then put her in age-inappropriate poses (think of a six-year-old trying to look sexy). Then I would take "fashion" photos of her. I didn't like to be the model... I just wanted to practice my makeup and photography because I was pretty sure at the age of nine that I was going places, people!

Fast forward twenty years... On Pinterest I saw this gorgeous photograph that I wanted to try to recreate for the fun of it:

photo credit: Marcella Fernanda

So last time I visited home, I made my sister model for me again. This is the version we came up with:

And for your viewing pleasure, here are a few others that I adore:

(I think this is the one I'm going to frame and put on my wall)

And a couple that she's going to kill me for putting up, but they make me laugh out loud until snot is running out my nose, so I figured they might do the same for you. She was getting sick of trying to look serious and started cheesin':

Hol, please move to Colorado so we can do this more often!!!

I Heart Faces: August Photo Challenge {Pet Faces}

For Katie

there is no comfort,

no joy

in times like these,

except for knowing

that God heals all things

and wipes every tear

when we one day join with Him

and all of our loved ones

who have gone before us.

On the evening of June 30th, my sister-in-law Katie had a severe asthma attack and collapsed while photographing a wedding. Although she suffered from countless asthma attacks throughout the years, this one was fatal. She was a month away from her 25th birthday.

 

Just typing those words makes my heart ache all over again. I go back and forth between mourning and not believing that it ever happened. But it did, and my mind is trying to spare my heart from the pain of all that this beautiful woman left behind.

Katie was married to my brother-in-law with whom she had two gorgeous babies. My nephew and niece were nothing short of miracles as she had been told that she could not have children. 

She was an incredible artist who owned a successful photography business. She inspired other photographers with her talent and will forever be remembered by the images she created for other families.

We miss you, Katie.

This is one of the photos I took last fall when Katie + family came down for a visit. She was pregnant with her daughter at the time.

Until we meet again...

xoxo

On Facing Battles

In the early morning of June 30th, my stepsister was involved in a single-vehicle accident in which she was ejected from the vehicle and suffered from a crushed vertebra. She spent over a week at the Campbell County Hospital in Gillette, Wyoming, where she underwent spinal surgery, before being transported to Craig Rehabilitation Center in Englewood, Colorado. She began treatment there on July 9th.

My family feels so blessed that KT survived such a horrific wreck-- that is a miracle in itself. However, we are broken-hearted thinking about all that she is going through emotionally and physically in the aftermath of the accident-- having your entire world turned upside-down in one moment is unbelievably scary.

 While KT has made huge strides in her recovery in the past week, she still faces battles in the healing process. If you are reading this, please please please say a prayer for this incredible young woman. I believe so strongly in the power of prayer, and God is listening to every one of us!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ktide

Keep on keepin' on, KT!