Alivia & Gavin

..And I think these children are beautiful.

Alivia & Gavin

Simply precious.

Had to share a quick sample of the shoot...

Lovely kiddos!

Fireflies.

I'm HOME!

...and completely refreshed.

I spent one amazing week in North Carolina with Jeremy's family..

and a few days with my family in Tennesse!

We had an incredible visit!

Thank you all for being so thoughtful, sweet and

making our vacation extra special.

William Palmer is the absolute best babysitter ever.. He was totally Jonah's "new found friend"... He'll make an amazing Dad someday. :)

Mary Elisabeth, Jonah and little Vallie.. (who is Fancy Nancy.. in person!) played with the little man to no end.. and he adored every second of the attention!

----------

Jonah got to take a great big look at his Daddy's "roots"

He smiled and gurgled..

I'm sure he caught all of it.

Or at least.. His Daddy thought he did.

grin.

Jonah with his first cousin Abigail... what a cute little team of trouble they made!

-----------

I'm having SO many mixed emotions right now.

Jonah is coming so alive.
It's so precious.

Watching a child grow.. is truly a miracle.

Sitting in my den the other evening..

I could see little creatures flickering outside my window.

Fireflies.

They still make me smile, want to grab a net, pull of my shoes

and run outside on that cool damp grass.

I can almost see the curls bouncing and ribbons flying..

and echoed laughter into the night.

I loved to capture them in a bottle.

Sit them on a shelf...

and even in the greatest darkness..

they would sparkle.

I guess somethings we never forget no matter how old we are.

..and in my mind...

Right now, I almost wish Jonah was a little firefly.

So I could stop in my day to day,

Grab a little jar,

Stick him inside,

then simply smile proudly at how much he's starting to shine...

and enjoy all the priceless moments we are getting together.

The happy smiles.

The first "big boy" food messes.

Grabbing his toes.

Singing along with every tune.

The precious morning face.

The baby days.

No amounts of money..

No gold..

No silver..

No riches..

Can buy those "firefly moments"

They shine.. and in the blink of an eye they're gone.

So treasure them.

Love them.

Give them your all.

Because we'll turn around.. and all too soon..

Our little fireflies will be grown...

they'll sprout tiny wings..

and find a way out of that small jar on our shelf..

Then someday..

Deep in the darkness..

We'll see a twinkle..

a flicker..

a little light shining..

And we'll smile..

thank God..

feel so blessed..

..and we'll remember.

-------------

Believe.

BELIEVE.

Sometimes I truly wonder if we realize how much

we are actually capable of as Christians...

If we only believe...

ALL THINGS are possible if we only believe.

But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying,

Fear not, BELIEVE only, and she shall be made whole.

Luke 8:50

I'm going to pray our Lord will guide me through this post.. Mostly because I've sat down at this blog for almost a week.. and no thoughts came.

But I feel like I should write now...

On Tuesday evening,

Jeremy came home from work.. I'd been feeling crummy all day long.. just aching and I thought it was allergies.. No biggie.

After deciding we were going to grab something to eat out, I stood at my ironing board ..

ironing his shirt..

and suddenly my world began to spin.

Everything went blurry.

I grabbed the tip of the board..

and a cold sweat broke out all over me...

Fear gripped my heart.

Flashes of hospital rooms entered my mind.

It couldn't be.

Not that.

Isn't it amazing how you have a traumatic situation in your life..

and the devil CONSTANTLY brings it back to your memory anytime he possibly can?

Just to scare you?

Just to drag you down?

I lunged for the phone and dialed my Mom's cell..

"Mom, something is wrong with me."

In a worried tone my Mother assured me everything was ok

and I probably needed to check my blood pressure.

my blood pressure.

that.

I felt my heart sink.

I slowly pulled the dreaded dusty monitor out of a bottom

drawer wrapped it around my wrist..

High.

Very high.

At 13 years old.. Blood pressure nearly took my life when I had severe kidney issues..

At 22 years old, My little boy Jonah came three months early because of preeclampsia..

ALL blood pressure related.

But, for all of my dear friends and readers...

On May 11th, 2009 ..I had my most recent birthday...

And at 24 years old, I'm here to tell you all ..

God is going to heal me.

Because ... I believe He will.

And it won't be just partially.. it will be fully, completely

and He WILL get the glory.

I have no doubts that the grains of sand on that mountain are already falling..

falling..

slowly..

and this mountain shall be moved.

No matter what the doctors find.
No matter how high the numbers are.

The charts may not match up with my claim... yet.

But they will.

We all have our storms.

We all have our hard times.

We all have our tests.

And We all have a promise.

No matter who you are.. God knows your situation..

and..

"But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

I can remember leaving the hospital the last time...

with a victory in my soul.

... and I'm here to say.. once again victory is right up the road.

When David defeated Goliath..

It wasn't that he fought well.

But, that he believed well.

I'd appreciate your continued prayers...

God bless you all!

Thank you!

Cypress Bend Resort - Mother's Day 2009

Thank you all so much for the encouraging e-mails!
I DO feel incredibly blessed this Mother's day!

Every good and every perfect

gift is from above...

James 1:17

Just for Mother's Day...

So, I jumped on online earlier to check my e-mail...

and received this from a dear friend.

Thought I would share it..

I've never read anything SO incredibly true.

To all you lovely ladies out there...

Happy Mother's Day!

May 10, 2009

And to my own precious Mom..

who has prayed for me, helped me, loved me..

I'm so thankful for you.

I love you.

Jonah was a couple weeks old.. Probably around 3 lbs. :)

I hope you will take the time to enjoy this..

I did.

IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Written By: Dale Hansen Bourke

Time is running out for my friend. We were sitting at lunch when she casually mentions that she and her husband were thinking of "starting a family". What she means is that her biological clock has begun its countdown, and she is being forced to consider the prospect of motherhood.

"We're taking a survey!" she says, half-joking.

"Do you think we should have a baby?"

"It will change your life"

I say carefully, keeping my tone neutral.

"I know" she says. "No more sleeping in on Saturdays

and no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my friend,

trying to decide what to tell her.

I want her to know what she will never learn in child birth classes. I want to tell her that her physical wombs of childbearing heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional womb so raw that she will be forever venerable.

I consider warning her that she will never read another newspaper again without asking,

"What if that would have been my child?"

That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children

she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce to the level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going to an important meeting and she'll think about her babies' sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her child is alright.

I want my friend to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of Independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in the restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. She would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for so many more years - not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her children accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My friend's relationship with her husband will change, not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby or never hesitates to play with his son or daughter. I think she should know that she'll fall in love with her husband again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to hit a baseball. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it hurts.

My friend's quizzical eyes makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes..

"You'll never regret it, " I say finally.

Then I reach across the table, squeeze my friend's hand, and offer a prayer for her and me and those mere mortal women who stumble their way into the holiest of callings.

Dale Hanson Bourke

Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul

May 7, 2009.

Jonah rolled over for the very first time.
It was SUCH a proud moment.

Simply HAD to tell you dear readers...

:)

And who would have guessed...

I just so happened to be taking his picture..

and "bloop" over he went!

Telling Grammy all about it.

One proud Daddy.

One happy baby.

Sweet moments.

We are so incredibly blessed.

:)

I have this moment...

So, I've decided something.

I strive too much for perfection with my photography.

seriously.

For example...
I work myself to death trying to capture the perfect smile.
perfect lighting. (which is good.)
perfect side of the face.
perfect backdrop.
perfect...
perfect..
perfect.

ahem.

Today while watching Jonah on the floor, laying on his blankie, beside my desk watching me work.. I couldn't help but laugh at his every move.

Grab his doggie...
Eat his doggie...
Eat the blankie...
Mess his collar up...
Grab the doggie again..
Grin up at me and coo..
Eat the blankie again..

You get the idea. :)

So, I decided to capture what I saw in the moment..
instead of my serious need for perfection.

I pushed back my chair.. grabbed my camera sitting beside me..

and began snapping.

:)

Here's what I came up with.
The real deal.. the "unedited" kiddo that I find simply hilarious at times...

Jonah & his doggie.


See! I didn't fix the collar... :)


the "goofy" grin.. haha!


And yes, my precious boy is teething.


And he's VERY energetic!


And no, the puppy probably won't end up with ears..


and yes, he's completely rotten and it's adorable.

I'm thankful for him.

For our Jonah-Boy.

It's these moments I'll never have again.
I love to see him snuggle with that old puppy.
I love the fact that he drools when he grins.
He's healthy.
He's growing.
And he's one happy little guy.

Like the old song goes..

We have this moment to hold in our hands.
And touch.. as it slips through our fingers like sand...
Yesterday's gone, and tomorrow may never come...
But we have this moment today.

..so treasure it.

:)

Hope this brought you a smile.