Do you ever have days where things just aren't going right, or you're feeling a little sorry for yourself? We all do. Especially at this very scary time in our lives when we're so worried about what tomorrow will bring.
Let me introduce you to someone who epitomizes faith, hope, strength, perseverance and love.
Her name is Stephanie Nielson. Stephanie and her husband Christian were in a near fatal small plane crash over five months ago. They were both severely burned, Stephanie more than her beloved, Mr. Nielson, as she calls him.
I stumbled upon her blog somewhere along the way and have been following it ever since. Stephanie and Christian have 4 beautiful children. After the crash their families stepped in taking the children and just pulling together to try and keep the family going while Stephanie and Christian lay in hospitals fighting for their lives. Stephanie was in a drug induced coma for several months as her body tried to heal itself and accept the many, many skin grafts that were required.
Through it all Stephanie's sister kept us all up to date on her blog as well as re posting old posts of Stephanie.
After just visiting Stephanie's blog
http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ I discovered that she is back to blogging! She's been released from the hospital and, although she's got a long way to go, she's home with her husband, kids and other loved ones and well on her way to recovery.
If you ever need a little inspiration go check out her blog. It will help you to believe that we truly can overcome just about anything, with a little faith.
Chuck Taylors that is! Miss "K" has been wanting a pair of Chuck Taylors for awhile now. Seems that every time we try them on they either don't have her size or don't have the style she wants ... BUT, she finally got a pair on Saturday! She was so excited! I saw it as an opportunity! I used my exceptional Mommy Prowess and told her that I'd buy her a pair IF she'd pose for some pics for me in her new Chucks. (Hey! Whatever it takes!) Well, of course, she agreed! I mean what kid wouldn't agree to anything to get what they want, right?
What you might notice about these pics is something seems to be missing. In every single one! When it came right down to actually taking some pics, she wasn't really in the moooooood. Imagine that. So we came to a compromise. Feet and legs only. That way no "beautifying" required. LOL I rather like the way these came out. :)
Now she'd like a pair in every color! :)
My 17 year old son has been a proud member of his high school Air Force JROTC Unit for 3 years now. This week he became an officer - First Lieutenant. And a Flight Commander. He's pretty excited and we're very proud of him!
There's just nothing like a man in a uniform!
After all my whining, we finally got a little snow! And I do mean a little bit ... as in scant, meager, paltry, minimal, tiny ... okay you get the drift. But we got some! And we were thrilled! Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to do anything with and it was powder fine. But it sure was perty!
Miss K and Gidget came out to check it out. Brrrrrrrrr was it cold!!!! Only in the 20s with a wind chill below that! We were freezing!
Poor "K" had just gotten home from the dentist and had a mouth full of Novacaine - 2 shots up top. Check out those floppy lips!!! hehe!
Meet the world's tiniest snowman! Is she not adorable?!
She was not easy to create! The snow was so powdery that it didn't want to stick together. Miss "K" finally managed to construct two tiny balls and her little snowlady was on her way.
2 coffee beans for eyes, the very tip of a carrot for a nose and a tiny sprig of rosemary formed into a wreath to adorn her tiny little head and our little snowlady came to life! We love her! As it was only 16 degrees when we got up this morning, she's still sitting right outside the kitchen window for us to enjoy. :)
Miss "K" and her cute little snowlady. :)
Maybe next time we'll have a snowfall that's really something to write home about!!
Check out these really cool photo borders that I just got! They can really spice up a boring old 4x6 print! How perfect would these be just to slip into an album. Or if you're a scrapbooker, half the work is done for you!
These bordered photos are all ready to pop into a frame. No matting necessary. Or just to tuck into a card to family or friends. They add a nice finished look to your prints.
If you're interested in having a border added to your 4x6 print orders, just let me know.
I'm offering these at no extra charge.
Yesterday I showed you Lisa's baby and, although my baby is much more ordinary, I thought I'd share him with you today. This is Rocky. Rocky Balboa to be exact. Plucked off a busy downtown street at just 5 weeks old ... covered with dirt and fleas ... he became a much loved member of our household about 2 1/2 years ago. As you can see, he has grown into one handsome feline.
Basically, he rules the roost here. Although we have another cat and two dogs, Rocky is still the baby and is spoiled rotten. But he has one of those million dollar personalities and you can't help but love him.
HE loves me. I am his chosen one. 5 humans in this house and I'm his favorite. I can't sit down without him jumping in my lap. And if I won't sit down, he just hangs on my leg. He does like my hubby and my son. He runs from the girls - cause they're always trying to hug him and squeeze him. They're dog people.
I'll have to look for a pic of him when he first came to live with us. THAT will make your heart melt for sure!!!
By the way .... just wanted to report that it's 13 degrees with a 2 degree wind chill this morning and STILL not one flake of snow!!!! What's the deal??? My daughter had snow at college, less than 100 miles away. My friend in Boone has had several inches of snow already. Is it too much to ask for just a few flakes? sigh .... (Now watch, we'll get a blizzard or something and everyone will blame me for wishing for snow!!!) LOL
When you watch this little guy running full speed ahead, it's so hard to believe that he's only 2 weeks old! It's truly a miracle how some young animals can just get up and take off at such a young age. This one's all legs, but he's got them all figured out!
At one of this week's models ....
It's been awhile since I've had an opportunity to photograph some horses. I didn't realize how much I've missed it. Is this little guy not the most precious thing??? He's just 2 weeks old and is the newest baby of my good friend, Lisa. The girls and I fell in love with him. Who wouldn't??
More to come later!
Here's a few more from the other day when Miss "S" and I were out. It turned out to be such a nasty day out, cold and rainy, we ended up going home early. At least we got a few before she heads back to college tomorrow.
My beautiful "almost 20 year old" daughter. Love how this shows off her eyes.
I've been wanting to try this shot for quite awhile. Miss "S" has the perfect coat for it, so I asked her to bring it home from college when she came home for winter break. We finally went out today and did a mini photo shoot. Not long, cause it started to sprinkle and got downright cooooooooold outside! I wish it would SNOW! I know alot of you have had more than your fair share of snow, but we want some!!! Please send it our way!
As I continue to go through photos from past sessions to put on my new website, I find images that just touch my heart and make me smile. Like these little guys. When we first started their photo session they were dressed in their Sunday best and they were mighty handsome. But after awhile they went inside to change and came out in white t-shirts, old jeans, boots and cowboy hats. When they put these clothes on, their true personalities came out! The next three images are some of my all time faves! I recently upgraded to full version Photoshop and bought some actions to boot. Here's my fave three images after I've tweaked and played in photoshop a bit.
Tomorrow everything at the Keys' house goes back to normal. Kids go back to school, husband goes back to work and I get back to "normal". For me "normal" is having the house to myself from 8ish till 3ish. It's been a much needed break for us all, but I'm ready to get back to work.
My blog has been looking pretty boring lately. Too much text, not enough pics.
Here's some pics that I wasn't able to share with you before Christmas. I had such a good time with this group of teens back in late October. It was cold and windy this particular day, but we had a really good time. We've got a brother and sister and each of their sweeties.
IT'S OFFICIAL! MY NEW WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING!
I haven't finished loading images yet, but decided to go ahead and make the switch. I will be adding the rest of the images and open galleries over the next couple of days, so just check back if you're looking for your photos!
I hope you like it!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
WISHING THE VERY BEST TO YOU AND YOURS
IN 2009!
PLEASE DO NOT COPY
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Thank you for respecting my work.
