Happy 10th Anniversary...to us.

I am so so so behind but that's nothing new. I have so much to talk about and don't really know where to begin. I'm just going to skip it all for now. A big date is approaching.

Tomorrow Neil and I will have been married 10 years, together 16 years. It's funny because here we are celebrating our 10th and we should be going on a trip to somewhere tropical (we didn't go on a honeymoon and still haven't been anywhere romantic alone, but one day we will and it will be fantastic) but instead we are painting rooms and moving around furniture to make room for our 3rd sweet baby. So things don't always go as planned. Something I know very very well, so it's not a surprise. I honestly don't think I would want it any other way right now. What a wonderful way to celebrate 10 years, preparing for another little miracle into our family.

Let's see... We were married 10 years ago in Champaign, IL at a beautiful Presbyterian church. 350 guests packed the church on the hottest day of the year. I remember so clearly watching the 10:00 news at mom and dad's the night before seeing the forecast for July 3rd calling for 97 degree temperatures. Unfortunately, they were right on, too. No breeze, just hot and humid. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned that our church didn't have air conditioning. Not something we thought about when booking the church in December. Oops. Lesson learned with that one, and one that we can hopefully pass down to all our kids.

(Neil and I at the church, 9 years later...shot last summer by my friend Erin.)

But it was a beautiful ceremony, I must say. All 6 of my girls looked amazing in their ivory dresses and carrying blue flowers. My flower girls, Ashley and Taylor, the cutest little flower girls ever. My dear friend, Kristin, sang John Denver's Follow Me (one that was sang at my parents' wedding making it extra special) and Bette Midler's Rose. My grandma Libby was at the wedding as she fought off breast cancer, totally exhausted but would never miss my wedding for the world (she passed away 8 months later and I loved her dearly like a best friend). It was the hottest day of the year, and the shortest ceremony ever, but it was still very special, as it should be. I married my first love..my high school sweetheart, and here we are 10 years later reminiscing that day. Wow.

We've had some very challenging times, but I can say they all have only made us stronger. I'd never wish hard times on other couples but I have to say that it's really the only thing in a relationship that will force you to either come closer together or pull you apart. I'm thankful we made the choice for these challenges to bring us closer together. Our infertility, losing babies, and thinking we'd never have a family was a huge obstacle for us to make it through. But we did. I would have picked no one other than Neil to sit with me in the bathroom for hours as I lost a baby, and I wouldn't want anyone other than Neil to say "it's going to be okay". (I told him I didn't believe him, but in my heart, I did.) He's been my lifesaver...my strong tower...holding me up while I know he was dealing with the same intense pain as I.

I lost my two grandmothers and my grandpa during our time together. I held my grandpas hand as he took his last breath, and Neil was there with me during that moment...the hardest moment in my life, I think. Neil lost two of his grandfathers. Those weren't easy times. Parts of both of us suddenly gone, in really, a very short time. And then there was Noah's birth, where I was intibated and put completed under; Neil unable to even be in the room as his son was cut out of my body. And then Maia's labor of 31 hours ending with a c-section, in which of course he was next to my side through every minute of it. God's challenged us with a lot, still is...but He's also proven to us that we can get through just about anything with faith, compassion, patience, and love.

I'm so lucky to have someone who loves me as he does. He does so much for me. So much for our family. So often I think to myself "no one else would do this for me, I'm so lucky to have him" and then I say a prayer thanking God for my wonderful husband. He's the most amazing father taking so much time out to play with them, color with them, teaching Noah how to ride his bike, doing Maia's hair (when I know it isn't something on his "most exciting father moment" list), taking them grocery shopping so mommy can have some time to herself, taking them to the farmer's market to pick out flowers for mommy to plant, taking the kids somewhere while letting mommy sleep in bed all day when she is experiencing aches and pains, and the list goes on and on and on. I am truly truly blessed.

I could go on and on with this blog post, but I won't bore you more since I probably already have. I just wanted to give Neil the recognition he deserves. I love him so much and these 10 years, well, they've truly been the best years of my life.

I love you, Neilly. Happy 10th Anniversary.

Teeny snipit of great info...

If interested, this is a really great site that explains some of my health problems and the things we're dealing with with the baby right now. It's been the best site for me to use to share with family so it's all more understandable. Anyway... thanks again for everything. I've felt your prayers and appreciate immensely all the emails and comments and Facebook support. I'm very lucky to have such amazing people in my life.

http://www.neonatallupus.com/neonatal-lupus.html

Here we go again...

I just got an alarming phone call from the Pediatric Cardiologist who I saw 2 weeks ago in Peoria, IL. Yes, he called me himself. (gulp) I knew it wasn’t good.

Back up a minute. Most of you know, but maybe not all, that last year was a year from hell for me. I mean, really, that’s the easiest way for me to sum it up. It was bad. Halfway through the year I realized my hair shouldn’t still be falling out after 2 years of it happening in drastic amounts and my body starting acting very strange (high blood pressure, muscle spasms, weight gain, heart palps, muscle and joint pain, dizziness, extreme exhaustion, and the list goes on). So I went to my doctor and they started doing tests upon tests. Over a period of about 6 months I found out that I had Hypothyroidism, PCOS (female thing that can cause a lot of crazy side-effects), Sjogren’s Disease and I also had 4 antibody tests that came back positive signifying either MS, Lupus or Fibromyalgia. The day I found out I was pregnant, I also was told I probably had Fibromyalgia, but we still don’t know for certain. I can’t undergo anymore tests until after the baby is born. Right now my body has went into “remission” and it’s the best thing I’ve ever experienced in a long time. This pregnancy has been a complete blessing in more ways than one. I was told I probably would not be able to have anymore children (we assumed we were done anyway) and so this baby is such a miracle. And going into remission, a huge blessing as well. I haven’t felt so good in 3 years. My energy level is up, blood pressure is good so far, pains have gone away, my hair stopped falling out, etc. It’s been a miracle in itself. The sucky thing is, I feel in my heart that I have Lupus and getting the phone call today reinforced what my instincts are telling me.

So my Rheumatologist, Dr. T, told me I must see a Pediatric Cardiologist later in pregnancy to have a fetal Echocardiogram halfway through the pregnancy. I guess one of the antibodies can cause heart risks in the baby. So I had that test done 2 weeks ago and the doctor told me that day that everything looked good. But he said depending on what exact antibodies came back positive, I may need to be seen later on towards the end of pregnancy again. Didn’t seem like any big deal at the time because I was already told that baby’s heart was fine. Neil and I were very happy.

Well, when Dr. H called me this morning, he said he talked to my Rheumatologist, Dr. T. who went over all my positive antibodies with him and one major one popped up, called the anti-SSA/La antibody. (“Okay....” I thought.) And Dr. H said with this antibody, the baby can develop Progressive Fetal Heart Block in the 3rd trimester over time. (I took a deep breath.) He then went on to say he needs to see me every 2 weeks to have Echocardiograms done. He said if something does develop they can probably do something to stop it. (“Surgery? Good God, please no.” I thought.) He wanted to see me today (of all days, when I have to clean my house head to toe for the baby shower I’m throwing Saturday for one of my best friends). I told him I really couldn’t (besides the 1-1/2 hour drive to Peoria), so he said he will see me the first of next week. Ugh. So here I go on another joyous ride, with more tests and lots of money and lots of worry. I’m already spending $300 out of pocket every single month for my Lovenox injections which I take till the end of pregnancy (also for a positive antibody --- damn antibodies!!) and then all my other drugs that I have to take to sustain this pregnancy and keep the baby healthy. Ugh ugh ugh ugh.

I know there is a reason God is putting me through all this. It’s funny. My friend, Jenn, just sent me a quote this morning. It’s something I already thought in my heart and mind just because of all my miscarriages and years of infertility and pain. It’s exactly why I feel like I went through all that.

"It is such a comfort to know that Jesus' wounds remain visible in His risen body. Our wounds are not taken away, but become sources of hope to others." -Henri Nouwen

I know there is a reason why becoming a mother has been so difficult for me. I know there is a reason why sustaining my pregnancies have been so difficult. I know there is a reason why birth was so hard for me. I know there is a reason why both my children came so close to death. I know there is a reason why I’m going through it all again. There is a reason. I may not ever truly know why, but I have to hold it in my mind and heart that it’s to become a source of hope to others. And in the meantime I will thank God every second of the day for the blessings he has given me. I’m so blessed. Here I am, once told would probably never have a baby, with 2 gorgeous perfect children, and now pregnant again! He will get me through again, I know. God is good. Thank you all for your love, prayers, everything, through these journeys. I also couldn’t have gotten through them without the support system I have.

My appt is scheduled for Monday in Peoria. Then every 2 weeks after that till baby is born. Being 23 weeks pregnant, I guess I have probably 7 more. With my OB being in Bloomington, I’m starting to think we should maybe consider relocating for a while :)

Back to business!

New Orleans, like always, was a blast. It was our 4th time there as a couple, Neil's 8th time. We love it there. So much to do, see, and especially eat. You definitely cannot go there if you're on a diet, which is why I love going there pregnant. I can't be on a diet and I can use baby/pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything! :) Golly, the food is so good.

So we got back Sunday at almost midnight. The actual drive back was kinda crazy. We stopped in Marion, Illinois for dinner thinking we could go somewhere good since I am familiar with the town since my mom's family lives there and we went to school there. We were going to go eat at a great Mexican place that we like but when we found it, all the lights were out. Then we noticed that other places were out, and then we saw all the uprooted trees. I called my mom who then called my aunt, and while she was making her phone calls, I talked to my cousin, Abby, and she told me that Friday night they had an "inland hurricane". Some reports say that and others say a tornado. Whatever it was, it was very bad. 3 people were killed, homes destroyed, lives changed. Thankfully my family was okay (we have probably 3 dozen or more relatives down there). Southern Illinois University is just getting back to school today as well as some businesses and the government offices. So needless to say, we drove on up a few miles to Mt. Vernon to eat. The storms have been awful through the midwest. Thankfully we didn't encounter a single drop of rain in New Orleans. We were really lucky.

More about New Orleans with pictures in the coming days!

Yesterday I had a big job. I started as head photographer for a new magazine called "Thrive". Strangely enough I got this job through Facebook. Facebook has been extraordinary for me and my business. I never dreamed it would. Katrina from Showcard Studios saw my work and really liked it. She called me and the rest is history. Check out her design group. It's AWESOME. She is very very talented!

So we are made up of mostly women; the graphic designers, journalist and myself, are all female. It's kinda of empowering and pretty darn awesome. Our first issue comes out in June. My deadline was coming up so yesterday I made my rounds shooting various places around the area. We are showcasing entertainment and businesses that people may not know of. My first stop was The Surf Club, a private pool nestled into a corner of Decatur. I had never been there before. It was in shambles when I was there since they are getting ready to open in a week and a half. They're repainting the 3 pools, getting the lounge areas ready and so forth. So I didn't have much at all to shoot which made it difficult. But I did what I could. I like photography challenges! Here's just a couple. Check out Thrive in June to see the rest.

So this is how it should look during the peak of summer. I found this big photo in the lounge and shot a picture of the picture :) I'm sure this one won't be used in the magazine. I just did it for reference.
Then it was off to "Just a Little Prick" which is a tattoo parlor on West Eldorado. It was the coolest tattoo parlor I've ever set eyes on. It was really neat, very clean, very retro. Loved the design. It totally threw me off thinking "are we really in Decatur?". I had the most fun there. I had the kids with me and at the entrance it said (on more than one sign), "No kids allowed under any circumstance". Well, guess what?! I got to break a rule. So the kids sat on this sparkly silver retro bench and watched in awe. They were so incredibly good. The workers even commented. (I'm so proud of my kiddos.) So a guy was in the middle of getting a really cool army tattoo. We got to see the tattoo artist draw it on and begin tattooing. I also got to see a girl get her tongue pierced but I didn't think that needed to be in any magazine promoting Decatur ;) So here's a few shots...I'm sure Kat will chose some others for the 'zine, so remember to check it out in June. (Sorry for all the plugs, but I'm just very excited about my new job and this new magazine - it's what Decatur needs!)
The kids on their retro bench. They sat there like this the entire time.

Noah mesmerized. He wasn't the only one mesmerized, I was too!

Our last stop was at Michael Scherer's recording studio for DreamVizion Productions. He is part of a jazz trio but also does score for movies, one of which will be showcased at the Sundance Film Festival this year! Isn't that awesome?! He's so young, too. I had a fabulous time meeting him and the kids loved listening to his music.

Have a great rainy day everyone! I love days like this...

Oh, and just for the record, I go to see the Pediatric Cardiologist next Thursday in Peoria, IL. They will do and Echocardiogram on baby's heart. I'm seeing some of the best doctors in the state. I have a feeling everything will be okay, but they have to do this for precaution which is good. I feel like I'm in such good hands with my amazing doctors, not to mention friends with such strengthening prayer. Thank you :) xo

Off to NOLA!

We are off to New Orleans tomorrow with our friends, Heather & Lee. Very excited as we all need this getaway. Heather is also pregnant, 7 weeks ahead of me. We're very much looking forward to muffaletta and beignets! If you could spy on us, you'd see us in every restaurant at some point in the French Quarter. I haven't found a place yet which compares to such food greatness in the United States! Such a perk being preggers getting to eat it all without any guilt!



We're also looking forward to the culture and relaxation. It's a much needed break for us all. We'll be meeting our dear friends, Jen and Ryan, over the weekend as they are coming to spend it there with us. We're so very excited. We haven't seen Jen since this time last year.

NOLA, here we come!!

{ p.s. Grandma's Diary really truly seriously updated finally...over a week's worth. I'm slowing updating... I've missed Grandma's entries, hoping you have, too. }

Foto Friday ~ Some "Rain Rain Go Away" Inspiriation

It is essential to our well-being, and to our lives, that we play and enjoy life. Every single day do something that makes your heart sing. - Marcia Wieder

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.
- Saint Augustine

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. – Helen Keller

Risk-taking, trust and serendipity are key ingredients of joy... -- Rita Golden Gelman

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time. – Marcel Proust

If I have a monument in this world, it is my son.

- Maya Angelou

Well, if you haven’t checked out Facebook, you don’t know that we found out what baby # 3 is yesterday, .... and....we are having a BOY!! :):)
Clear as day, a boy, and my favorite shot of all. I laid down on the table and the tech said "you want to know the sex, right?". I said "yep!" and she put the doppler on my tummy and bam, there it was loud and clear right away, HIS little pee-pee. Definitely a BOY! :) The kids were very excited about this photo (what is it with anatomy?!). They both keep talking about seeing his "ding-dong" ;)

We are really shocked that we are even talking about boy parts again because both Neil and I thought it was a girl! Most of our family thought it was a girl (Chel's thinking was right-on, though!) and most of our friends also thought it was a girl (Alexis pinned it, too, and she's proud nonetheless!). I don't know if it's because of the high heart beat, my bad morning sickness and the fact that my uterus is still measuring 2 weeks ahead as it did with Maia that we all thought girl? Obviously none of that means anything! Maybe that's why the first thing we saw was his privates? He wanted to make sure we knew that he was not a girl but a bouncing baby boy :) (Oh, and the kids pinned it, too -- even Maia -- from day 1! Kids have remarkable instincts!)

He was measuring perfectly...heart with 4 chambers, all that good stuff. In 3 weeks, though, I go for an Echo of baby’s heart with a Pediatric Cardiologist. Everything should be fine, but it’s for precautionary measures with my recently diagnosed auto-immune disorders which can cause heart defects in the babies. I feel pretty good about it, though, my faith intact. I also have a low-lying placenta, something I’ve never had before. Just means MORE ultrasounds later on (not always a bad thing!). In people preparing for a vaginal birth, this means a c-section, but since I’m already having a c-section, it’s not really that big of a deal. I just have to be careful of bleeding in the meantime. Scheduled c-section will be September 17th! As for all the autoimmune stuff, everything has gone into “remission” and I am feeling the best I have felt in probably 2 years. My energy is so high and I just feel so good every day. It's a miracle. All my constant aches, pains and spasms, exhaustion, high blood pressure, everything, GONE. This pregnancy has been a Godsend. I’ve been really enjoying this pregnancy trying to milk this time for all it’s worth until it all comes back. But I'm praying for a miracle that it won't.

We are quite excited, and so are the grandparents. This is the last grandchild for Neil's parents and for my own, with my mom and dad having 3 granddaughters and 1 grandson, this will give my dad another boy to wrestle with, and with Neil's mom, she has 3 granddaughters, too, so this will also make the 2nd boy for her. For Neil's dad and Martha, they have 4 granddaughters and 1 grandson, so this will give them another boy as well filling in the gaps a tiny bit :) I think it's neat how Neil's mom and dad had two boys (no girls), and now they get two grandsons. What I find really really funny is that I remember at one point Chel saying she wanted all boys and here they have all girls. And I always imagined myself with more girls than boys, and here we're having all the boys in the family. I just love how it all works out. God really is amazing in His plans :)

Enjoy the rest of the ultrasound pics. We were VERY lucky in that the u/s tech (who I love) switched over from 3-D to 4-D imaging for a split-second and gave us a photo of Baby Strawberry so we could see him more as how he truly looks right now. It's pretty amazing. And the rest, pretty explanatory. He has long feet and legs just as Noah did. And I think he already looks uncannily like both Noah and daddy.

Can't wait to meet you, Baby!!!

Happy Day!

First of all, Happy Birthday, Chel!!! it's Michelle's very special day today as she is entering the wonderful 30's! :) Hope it's a really spectacular day, Chel!

What a better picture to put up than the one of she and I when we were both preggie back in 2005. Chel, I want that cute shirt. I forgot how HARD it is to find cute maternity clothes!

Most of you know my very dear friend, Alexis. She and her family are living in Japan now for the next 2-1/2 years. They've been there since the first of the year. I'm thankful that throughout the miles (she's halfway around the world, 14 hours ahead), she's still so close. We keep in touch in every way imaginable. You can follow her amazing journey as a stranger in a new world (with a huge language barrier) here----> You don't want to miss it.

So yesterday the kids got a package in the mail from none other than Alexis in Japan. They were beyond excited! Usually they get packages from Oklahoma, not Japan! :) Of course Maia doesn't understand the actual distance and that it's coming from a different far-away country, but Noah does (but monkey-see, monkey-do). But they both do realize when I say it's from Japan, that it's something probably from Sami. That means a celebration in our house! As you can see, they were thrilled!

And what was it? It looked like Japanese candy and, to Noah's excitement . . .

. . .his very own pair of chopsticks!! (He loves to use chopsticks. We get sushi quite regularly in our house, whether we go out or get take out. Noah has learned quite well how to use them - I think he's a little better than his mommy, actually! He loves using them, so he was SO excited to have his own very cool Japanese pair. Sami would be proud of his chopstick usage! )

So the kids weren't the only ones excited about the goodies, Neil was all into it as well. (Last night we all dug into them. My favorite is the green - slight apple taste. All very "light" in taste. I like it a lot.)
Neil got a kick out of these candies and you can only imagine what he called them. He told me I needed to put on Alexis's Facebook page, "Thanks for the nipples!". Yeah, that's my husband! I spared Alexis the harassment :)

And Alexis didn't leave her favorite Val out. For my birthday in March, she sent me the best little surprise. My own Bento Box and chopsticks! I looooove it. Thanks again, dear friend. The kids thank you, too!! It's all been so very special.

Gummi Worms in the Grass

Fun shots of the day....

I came home from a shoot last weekend and caught Maia with my camera laying in the grass eating gummi worms. Priceless photos which I love. 100% my girl :)




And then I joined her :)

17 weeks...

...and 23 to go. Well, actually 21 because I'll be having the baby earlier. But still, not even half-way there and I'm getting pretty darn big. (insert cringy-face here) I didn't realize how big, either, until this past week. It was gorgeous out on Saturday so we (and my camera) were outside a lot. While out, Neil shot a picture of me, while I did a belly self-portrait of myself. This baby is so active and obviously growing quite well. I am getting even more anxious as the days approach to the big ultrasound in just 9 days now. It couldn't come quick enough!


And while playing outside on this same day, it began to sprinkle. The kids automatically ran for the umbrellas although they weren't even really needed. (What is it with umbrellas, anyway?)


And then last Thursday, Heather and I went baby registering (for her, not me. Although I did try and get her to scan the bar codes twice so maybe she'd get two of some things to give to her favorite preggie friend -- me. She never did do it and I'm not sure why?? :)) So while there, we found the funniest most fitting bib for my child. Isn't it great?!

Got Ketchup?

Welcome Marin...and welcome SPRING!

Last week our friends, Jason and Johanna were in town visiting family and friends, so we had he honor of finally meeting baby Marin and I had the GREAT honor of photographing her. She is completely lovely in every way...so beautiful and perfect. While Marin was no completely comfortable with Neil, Neil seemed to be quite comfortable with her. I think he's ready to become a daddy again :)

I also think Maia is ready to become a big sister. With the help of Debbie, she did pretty well holding little Marin :)

This is one of my favorites of Marin. She's sporting the 1970's look with Johanna's baby bonnet. You can see more at my VWC blog: http://www.vwcphotography.typepad.com

Jas and Jo, it was so great seeing you guys...together as a "family". What amazing parents you are! And Jo, you look so fabulous. Love ya lots!!

The biggest news in our house is Noah's latest achievement. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels!! It was such an exciting day for him. I have never seen so many smiles on his face in one day.

And to welcome in spring....a favorite shot in March:

I think it's finally spring, guys!! Yay!! I'm soooo ready to get into my garden!

Long-awaited update

It's been long enough since I posted at my more recent blog that I don't think some of you know that I'm pregnant. Way to welcome myself back with big news, hey? So now let's back up a bit.

The day I found out I was pregnant, I also found out I had Fibromyalgia and Sjogren's Syndrome. A few months before that, I found out I also had Hypothyroidism and PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome). As if my life couldn't have gotten any more complicated when we found out the news of another baby in incubation. ;) I wasn't sure whether to be excited or worried. Of course I only got very worried, excitement unable to set in.

To bring you up to my current status, I'm still pregnant. (Great big smile.) 16-1/2 weeks, to be exact. We find out the sex of the baby in 15 days (yes, I'm counting down).

The first 13 weeks were a crazy roller coaster filled with mostly the big downs. I was super sick, losing about 10 lbs. I was extremely exhausted, not just because of the pregnancy, but also because of my illnesses, well, and then the fact that I was also mothering two pre-school-aged children. It was very hard. I've had one bout of major pain lasting about a week. When I have the bouts of pain, it's hard to function. My arms, legs, feet, elbows, upper back all hurt. (When I say "hurt", it feels just like body aches when you have the flu, only worse. So sit back and imagine that. It's not fun.) I get spasms throughout my body and limbs go numb. I also get really exhausted and just need to sleep, but as all us mothers know, that's nearly impossible. So I just bite my tongue through the pain, try and parent the best I can, and do what I can to just get through another day (all the while complaining and crying to Neil every waking minute he's here -- he's my rock). Thankfully that just lasted about a week. Things have pretty much been in remission since then. Knock-on-wood. I would be quite happy if I could make it the rest of the pregnancy without anymore bouts. Actually, I would be ecstatic.

On the plus side, baby is doing quite well. S/he is growing on time and then some. S/he is measuring 2 weeks ahead (something we'll get more concerned with as time goes on) and his/her heart rate has been nice and high. Now I'm feeling kicks and movements constantly which is reassuring and wonderful. I have missed those kicks...something you hope to never forget once you're not pregnant, but when you are again, you welcome back that feeling with open arms because you forgot how great the real thing felt.

The first few weeks were tough. Not just because I was so sick but because it was a very risky time. I saw my doctor every 2 weeks and had 4 ultrasounds in that time. We went into the pregnancy thinking I was going to miscarry, but s/he came through for me! Making it to the 13 week point was such a huge huge milestone. I have now "graduated" to just every 4-week appointments.

Now we're just waiting anxiously for the next appointment, hoping we get good news from the level II ultrasound which will tell us a lot about the baby's health. I'm very nervous about that. I am taking a lot of drugs and while I know they are deemed safe, it is still scary to put anything questionable in your body when you're carrying a baby.

In other areas of our life... Neil is working hard and traveling a LOT. He got another new responsibility at work and so far that has meant he travels much more. Not my cup of tea, especially during pregnancy. I am hoping he'll get it out of his system before baby arrives. I'll need him much more then. But in the last 3 weeks he has been to New York City, San Antonio, Geneva, Switzerland, and Paris, France. Tomorrow he leaves for Chicago. Based on his pictures, I really hope to get to go to Switzerland with him sometime. Looks gorgeous and a place I'd love to document with my own photography.

I signed Noah up last week for kindergarten. That was hard. On me. I sat in the car and took a few deep breaths and held back tears before heading in. It was just such a big step in his/my life. It means reading, writing, tying shoes, losing teeth, and going full-days at school. My baby is a big boy now. It's hard to come to that realization some days, especially on the day of registration.

Maia is also signed up for next year, pre-school. She'll go every day, half days. She's very very ready and I'm ready for her. (It's so much easier to let go of her versus Noah and I'm not sure why that is, but it is.) She already knows her teacher quite well and a handful of her classmates. I know she will do very well and I'm thrilled for her. She'll have a much better time getting to go to school every day than spending the mornings with mommy and baby. It will also be good for baby and me to have this one-on-one time together. Ultimately will make it easier for all I hope.

In my photography world, to be honest, I've been very slow. After Christmas, most sittings stopped, and I have no weddings booked for 2009 (something I did on purpose and am very excited about). Not being busy has been a Godsend as I don't think I could have done anything, even if asked to, the past 4 months. Now that spring is peeking out it's head, people are getting the itch for photos, so my months ahead are booking up. I love family and baby/child sittings. While I adore weddings, I feel I can be more creative and have much more fun with smaller shoots. Not to mention I get MUCH more time with my family.

A few months ago I was offered a job through a graphic design firm in Decatur to work for them doing specific photo shoots every month. They kind of interviewed me and I got to see and hear exactly what they wanted from me. I was excited with what I saw and the girls at the firm were excited with what they saw in my work. (Yay!) So, now that the magazine is finally starting up, I can talk about it! It's called "Thrive" and it's about Decatur (and surrounding areas) focusing on the good and positive about Decatur (especially night life and recreation; Decatur's reputation isn't that wonderful to outsiders, even some insiders) and highlighting those positive things on a monthly basis. I am, and will be, the main photographer documenting these things! My first "job" begins this month and the first publication will be out in June. I am very very excited. A great way to expand my work portfolio, have a steady stream of moolah coming in, and it will give me the chance to open myself up more. I tend to stay in this nice little bubble most of the time and I think I need to get out more :)

I was also contacted at the beginning of the year about my "Informant" movie photos. This magazine "Illinois Country Living" has decided to do a special issue dedicated to the movie and will be published in September when the movie comes out. They've chosen my photos for the article as well as the COVER photo!! They interviewed me, too, and I'm kinda nervous about that part, hoping they won't publish any of it. ;) I think I had some pretty corny answers. It's hard to come up with clever stuff! But, ultimately, I am soooo excited and hope to get a few copies to hand out to those of you who love me most ;)

Well, I will end this post for now. I have a feeling it's already WAY more than what you were hoping for. I guess that's what you get when you don't see "me" anymore and my blog doesn't see you. Sorry for the hiatus. I've missed you all a lot. I'm also going to update Grandma's Diary. I've been getting lots of slack from my mom and Great Aunt...in very nice subtle ways ;)

Lots of love ~ Val

I'm ba-aaaaaack!

Soo...I'm coming back. My Squarespace account is down because I was tired of paying. It gets expensive, hence why it's no longer there. Blogger rules! (Just kidding...kinda :)) So much to update you on...I'm very behind...hoping to catch up a little every day? Stay tuned! And welcome back to me!

Change your feeds please.

Some people were having trouble with new posts showing up in their feeds from the new Purple Valley @ Squarespace. So I bought a domain name and now everything should be good to go. So for the last time, please change your feeds and bookmarks to:

http://www.purple-valley.com

Hope to see you there!

Say hello to Lucy

Okay, I can't stand it. I have to post her picture tonight.

Lucy Sue Ann. 10 weeks old and the most adorable little fluff ball I've held in a long long time. The kids and I went to mom's to meet her this afternoon. We all fell in love. Welcome to the family, Lucy!

Macrolicious Monday and a bit of Trail Mix

It's Macrolicious Monday today. Gotta have something to be happy about right? I could call it Blue Monday, but I have to be as positive as possible for the beginning of a new week's start, right?! Seeing a nice macro shot makes me so happy because it shows how intricate and detailed our world around us is. I shot this just last night after I had watered my flowers. Hope you like.

How about a little updating from me today since it's been quite a long time?

Most positive thing of the day thus far is that my neighbor, a dentist, former ER nurse, came over this morning and checked my BP for me per doctor's orders. Good news is that it was 132/84 -- getting better! And that bottom number is down tons which is the best news. Formerly, a week and a half ago, it was 150/100. S-C-A-R-Y. So later today I call my doctor and give her the latest on my numbers. I hope she's happy. I think she will be. What a stressor off of me. I was beyond stressed. I hope I can live like life is meant to be lived and re-concentrate with the important things going on in my life now like:

Alexis. She's always an important person in my life, but since she has some BIG STUFF going on in her life right now, it impacts me a lot. That's what friends are for, right? Well, she has bigger than big news. Bigger than bigger. She's in for quite an adventure. More than an adventure. I'm not even sure what the right word is for it? Voyage, pilgrimage, crusade, expedition, trek, excursion, passage…?? I hope you will stop by her blog, check it out and wish her well. I, for one, am super excited for her. I know she's excited too, but anxious and nervous, so I hope to do my best to take on some of that nervousness for her (I am good at being a nervous/anxious person!) so she can really enjoy what she and her family are about to embark on. It's just really thrilling!

My mom. She got a new puppy!! Remember Shelby, our family doggie, who passed away not long ago at the age of 17? Well, mom being the animal lover she is, could not live another day without a furry best friend. So Saturday she took a long 6 hour trek to pick up a puppy who was saved from going to a puppy mill. Yay mom! She is 10 weeks old, part Bichon part Shih Tzu with brown and white markings and her name is Lucy. Lucy is named after mom's favorite actress of all time and her middle name is Sue Ann which is what Shelby's middle name was. So Shelby's great 17-year legacy lives on. Today the kids and I get to meet Lucy. We cannot wait to meet our newest family member!

Neil. He is working hard taking over two areas at work now which is exciting for him, and me. It means he's gained a promotion and possibly even more in the upcoming months. I'm very proud of him and what he's done here of recently. It's also meant a lot of traveling. He'll be off this week to Hershey, Pennsylvania. Any orders for fresh chocolate, anyone? Last time he was out there he brought me back Bliss before it was even on the market. Mmmmm…bliss. I wish he'd take us on one of these trips so we could go here. And he always stays here, which he says has the best buffet he's ever had in his life. Some days I think his job is better than mine. Well…nah.

Noah. He began his 2nd year of pre-school last week. He's the oldest in his class which is a good thing, I think. He is in a new school this year . . . brand new . . . and just stunning. We love it, he loves it, everyone loves it. Here he is quite excited on his first day of school. That's my boy!

And I can't go without showing my girl, too. She wished she was going. One more year. She may be sad that she isn't going, but I am not. I gain one more year and I know that year is just going to fly by…

So, really that's not all that exciting. Just living life. Heather is moving into her new house this weekend and we're going to help. Heather actually has to work so I'm going to monitor this move in lieu of her while a handful of guys work hard and I sit. Vickie, wanna come join me on the front lawn with a margarita? :c)

Hope you all have a really great week. Happy Macrolicious Monday… and see you soon!

What is life?

WHAT IS LIFE?

Life is an Adventure ... Dare it
Life is a Beauty ... Praise it
Life is a Challenge ... Meet it
Life is a Duty ... Perform it
Life is a Love ... Enjoy it
Life is a Tragedy ... Face it
Life is a Struggle ... Fight it
Life is a Promise ... Fulfill it
Life is a Game ... Play it
Life is a Gift ... Accept it
Life is a Journey ... Complete it
Life is a Mystery ... Unfold it
Life is a Goal ... Achieve it
Life is an Opportunity ... Take it
Life is a Puzzle ... Solve it
Life is a Song ... Sing it
Life is a Sorrow ... Overcome it
Life is a Spirit ... Realize it

Life is meant to be enjoyed. As much as possible, anyways. It's way way way too short not to. Of course we all have bad days but in the mist of those, we must remember that life is beautiful, an adventure, a gift. We weren't put here by accident. We all have a purpose. We may not know that purpose or understand it or in our eyes, we may never find it, but I guarantee we've all found it but maybe just don't see it. Anyone who would try to argue with me that our life is not a blessing, a gift from God, I would be happy to argue. I'd probably win. That may be brash, but I don't care. I know 99% of the people I know and care about would stand behind me. It's great to realize and know how lucky we are, isn't it? To have that assurance even when we aren't at our best. It's so strengthening.

Having been through some challenging times as of late, I've opened my eyes to this more. Just how much of a gift my life is. Even through the tests, waiting on the tests, the panic and anxiety, I've still been able to see this. There's always someone out there hurting more I am. Always. Just while I have been going through my unexplained high blood pressure and symptoms, a good friend of mine has had a big set back in her life. My problems don't even come close. Her husband was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. They're young. They don't have babies yet. And they so direly want babies. They were in the middle of an adoption process when J was diagnosed. And a colleague of Neil's, just 31 years old, was diagnosed a couple months ago with stage IV colon cancer. She and her husband have an 8-month old baby. So yeah, life can definitely be worse. I am thankful for my life and thankful for these friends' lives. I hope and pray and pray some more than C & J can get through this very very difficult time as he goes through surgery and then chemo. My thoughts and prayers are always with the M family as well.

I shot a picture a few weeks ago as I was leaving a shoot in rural Illinois. It made me think about life, about how beautiful everything about it is, and how thankful I am for it and the gifts it brings along the way.

"There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey."

I'm off to a new place and I hope you will come visit me…

Love,
Val

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same.
Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination."
-Don Williams Jr.