The Importance of Photography

The subject of photography and the important role it plays in our life has been heavy on my mind. You know that saying "a picture is worth a thousand words"? I think that rings true when you've lost someone close to you.

In the last year I've known directly or indirectly seven families who have suffered the loss of a child or children. It's heartbreaking to imagine and these events have really struck a cord with me. I've been doing photography for almost four years on and off and I cherish being able to capture our life with my camera. If you haven't had your family photos taken in a while, please go and don't put yourself in a position of regret. I'm so thankful we had our family photos done just a few months before dad died. 

Here's a little secret- a good photograph doesn't always mean you have on the perfect outfit or the subject is smiling directly in the camera. Sometimes it means letting go and embracing all the lovely moments of life....

 

The Great Hair Dilemma

Over the last few weeks I've finally noticed that my hair is starting to grow! One of the perks of being pregnant I've been waiting for. Although one day I have plans to cut my hair super short, I'm enjoying the lack of hair loss. However, Madelyn's hair is a whole other ball game. We call her hair-do a "mini mullet".  Cony thinks I'm trying too hard to put hair bows in her hair much less attempt a ponytail. But I tried anyway, even if it was an epic failure. 

Pregnancy & Fears

I've felt comfortable talking about our infertility and how we got pregnant but have been hesitant to talk about the pregnancy itself in fear of hurting those who are still struggling with infertility (which is something I do not take lightly). But I'm done being hesitant only because if I don't document this journey, who will? Monday I hit 28 weeks, which means I'm in the third and final trimester. I've really enjoyed being pregnant and still am! Don't get me wrong- it ain't no walk in the park but just being able to have this experience is something to cherish (the good, the bad and the ugly). 

Last week while I was still recovering from being sick and nursing Maddie to health from the flu, my worst pregnancy nightmare came to life when I was in a car wreck. My sister was in the passenger seat while Jordan and Maddie were in the back. I'm trying to come to peace about the situation so I won't go into great detail. The short version consist of me getting hit by a woman who was in a lane too early. Both Jordan and Maddie were upset about the ordeal and walked away with seatbelt marks on their necks. Couldn't be more thankful nothing more serious happened. Cony drove me to the ER later to be monitored for most of the evening and hearing her heartbeat was music to our ears, especially since I hadn't felt her kick for a while and had minor cramping. Since learning I was pregnant driving has been my least favorite thing to do. I have my personal reasons as to why and the night of the accident I was a complete basket-case. A week later I'm still recovering and conquering that fear.... because life must go on. 

She has picked up a new cheesy "I can do no wrong" smile. And I'm not 100% certain how she learned to kiss because she comes at you with her mouth wide opened ready to slobber all over your face. I didn't think it was possible, but she just keeps getting yummier and yummier. 

This Girl is on Fire

I don't know what has happened this week but our baby girl is quickly turning into a child. She communicates more (words AND sign language), whines more, jumps more, climbs more and loves on us more. She's become obsessed with dogs and will wake up in her crib with her high pitch "ruff ruff" call. "Moo and Ruff Ruff" are her favorite and we're working on "Meow and Quack".  Although she's giving us a run for our money, she's our bliss. 

Believe it or not, Madelyn isn't the only one in this household. Shocking, I know! For the last three months Cony has been working as an electrician and hated every moment of it. We look back on it now as a huge blessing for many reasons but mostly to know for certainty he indeed does not want to be an electrician for life. He got a full time job that uses his degree in downtown Atlanta. The commute isn't awesome- however, he found a commuters bus he takes and either reads or sleeps on his way down. So far so good! 

The last few months haven't been easy but we are still alive and happy and more importantly grateful for our trials that help us become better. 

Pudding Cookies

Y'all know I love Instagram and the wealth of knowledge I've gained from others about talents, products & food. This recipe is one of those things and after many requests I thought I'd pass along the goodness.  


Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups chopped walnuts (optional) 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside. 

2. In large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar & white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture and add chocolate chips! 

3. Bake 10-12 minutes. Edges should be golden brown and may not seem completely done. Each batch makes about 4 large dozen cookies and freeze really well. 

Let me know how you like them! Also, I've used chocolate pudding mix and they were extra yummy. Next time I plan on using banana! 

Sorry I can't remember who I found this recipe through to give proper credit because you deserve it!

Taking a Little Time

Our reality at the moment is not ideal... for us. Cony works really long days, 6 days a week. I work every day and not able to see M3 until after she wakes up from her afternoon nap. We're doing what we have to do at the moment, and I'm grateful (beyond words) that we have the resources we do. We're finding the balance and I finally took a little time to capture Baby Girl in real time. 

Learning and Communicating

I've been thinking a lot about my communication skills (or lack thereof) and how quickly our little Firecracker is learning. She'll take any opportunity to play with our phones and pretend she's talking to someone. She only says "Dadda, Dadda" so I assume she's trying to talk to Cony. She'll even go to her little play table and sit in her own chair like she's holding a conference. The other afternoon I picked her up when she wanted my phone and I wouldn't give it to her and she looked at me for 10 seconds and I could see her mind just working up a storm. She then surprised me by putting her left hand over her left ear and her right hand over my ear and started talking. We were having a very own conversation with our "ear phones". How she came up with that idea, I'll never know. We've worked on sign language with her from the beginning and "more" has become her favorite new word. Slowly but surely working on "thank you" and "please". 

I'm delighted she loves to brush her teeth but not so delighted when she runs to our bathroom, climbs on the toilet and grabs both of our toothbrushes in both hands to alternate brushes in her mouth. Don't get me wrong, it's the cutest dang thing... until I think about her hands just being all over our toilet.

We've been in our house for five weeks and on Monday I just found the motivation to clean our room. It's not perfect, but you can see the floor. Unfortunately, we both hate our bed and have found we sleep better on our sofa. Pretty sad indeed. As I think about all the things that need to be done before Miss Olive arrives, I would love to have our room completely decorated/cleaned/organized more than any other room (including the nursery!). I think people underestimate the power of a beautiful master bedroom on their relationship. 

Included in that list of things to do is take a photo with Madelyn with my "real" camera. I haven't taken one since before we left Connecticut. It's been our way to document her growth and development and have missed out on so much in the last two months.  Photography has been heavy on my mind the last few weeks and the important role it plays in our life. And I'm not just talking about our personal life, I mean everyone's life.  

Looking back on this week and being blessed with more hours at work and other job opportunities AND being able to reschedule appointments,  it's reminded me that just because someone didn't buy us a new car doesn't mean we weren't blessed with exactly what we needed...