{my family}

Last weekend we had Kim take our family pictures for us. I'd had it on the calendar for awhile, and was really looking forward to it. I had Justin haul my big brown chair out to the country. He wasn't too happy about that, and of course getting a toddler to hold still and look at the camera is quite the job. I guess I felt a little like most of my clients, worrying that we weren't getting any "keepers." Justin was grumpy, Barrett was distracted and ornery, and I was stressed. It added to my frustration that the weather and evening sunlight were perfect, and Barrett didn't want to sit still long enough to take advantage of it. But, Kim did a great job, and I am really excited with what we were able to get....even if Barrett is eating fruit snacks in 90% of the pictures! Can you tell?!?!

After we were done with the family pictures, I tried to get a few of Barrett in his new hat. I bought it from the sweetest lady on Etsy, and got a great deal. I'd been looking at several of these, and they were all around $30. I got this one for $16...I told her what colors I wanted, and she made it made it fast and shipped it for free! She was great to work with, and even told me if I sent her a picture to use in her listings, that she'd give me 30% off my next purchase!

So, there they are...our 2009 family pictures! I'm sharing my favorites with you here, because I'm not even sure I'll get around to doing Christmas cards this year. I'm too busy doing them for everyone else :)

Thanks again, Kim!!

Dress-up

Oh my goodness, I've been a horrible blogger lately! I hate that I haven't been posting very often...for my loyal readers, and for the sake of our memories! Things are just so crazy right now with my business, and I hardly have time to even breathe! I am still loving every minute of it, but with portrait sessions, editing, assembling wedding invites, and my duties as a wife and mother...I could really use a few more hours in the day! I am looking forward to next month, when things will slow down and I can enjoy the holidays!

Of course I'm also forcing myself to work on my Blurb book every chance I get!! I have decided in 2010, I will slurp my posts and pictures into Blurb at the end of each month. That way I'm not doing a whole year's worth and then trying to tweak the layout. I am WAY too anal for that business! Plus, I'm finding that it's telling me some of my images are low resolution and may not print well?!?! I don't understand it. Anyone that's done a book know about this? It doesn't make sense...I will have three images in a post (example: 4th of July) that were all taken the same day, with the same camera, uploaded the same way, etc. AND it's telling me that two of them are fine, but one has the little low-resolution "warning" symbol over it? Anyone? It's only frustrating to me because all of my pictures from my 2008 blog are on the PC in our office. I only use that computer if I'm printing invites or envelopes for clients, and I don't have the Booksmart software downloaded on it. I'm not sure what's the easiest way to get these pictures replaced. I don't want to have to leave them out of the book!

AND...what's a post without a few pictures!?!
(A few pictures that might be fun to share with Barrett's first girlfriend)

Barrett loves to dress-up in our clothes, hats and shoes. Every morning while I'm in the bathroom getting ready, he's sitting on the floor of our closet putting on our shoes. He loves Daddy's work boots, cowboy boot and tennis shoes. He likes my flip flops and high heels. He also loves to wear Daddy's hats around. And yes, he's also still sporting the Christmas capri jammies. They're all the rage, people!

By the way...If you were praying for Stellan, but haven't heard the AMAZING news, you'll want to go check it out!
The game is over...and God, Stellan's doctors and Stellan all hit a HOME RUN! Wow!

praying for Stellan

He needs your prayers today...sweet baby Stellan does

In April, we wore orange and prayed for Stellan, as he battled SVT.
Today we're praying for him still, as he undergoes heart surgery in Boston.
I've been reading Mckmama's updates all day.

I've never met this family. I only know them through their blog.
But today, their battle is weighing heavy on my heart. Please join me, and say a little prayer for Stellan, his family, and the doctors that are operating on him.

I'm laying it out there...

Laying it out there...so that you all can help hold me accountable!

You hear me talk (all the time) about how I make updating this blog so important, because it is our family scrapbook. Where I document all of our family memories with pictures and journaling. AND how I plan to print a blog book each year of all my posts, so that we will have an actual scrapbook to hold in our hands. I started my blog in April of 2008, and at the end of 2008, I started working on our blog book for all of my 2008 posts and pictures. I "slurped" all into a book at Blurb. Well, I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, and it was all a little overwhelming to me! Plus I'm way too much of a perfectionist when it comes to things like this.

NOW...it's November 2009!
Almost another year of posting has gone by, and I still haven't printed my 2008 book! Eek!

Here what my book looks like now...in the designing stages of the software:

So, I got just the {push} I needed the other day to FINISH the stinkin' 2008 book and get it printed before the end of the year! An email from Blurb with THIS OFFER! 20% off a book AND free shipping!! If you're interested in making a blog book, I think anyone can use this offer and code. You just have to create an account, download the slurping software (Booksmart), and get started! Don't be a slacker like me though, and take a whole year to print your book :)

Here is a sample of one of the blog books a Blurb user has made....

You can flip through the book HERE

It's easy to see I'm sooo excited about this...so WHY is it taking me forever and a day to get it finished and printed?!?! Not sure, but that's why I'm telling you, my friends! The above offer is good through November 24th, so that is my deadline! I hope to be able to share pictures of my finished book with you sometime in December!

Wish me luck! Happy book-making to you, if you decide to give it a whirl!